An Exorcist Magical Girl! – Chapter 115

Author: Dakku-san

To trust Baek Iri completely.

This was the first in Seo Jun’s memorandum.

“I will never doubt or wonder if you have an ulterior motive or if you are being paid by them. From this moment on, I will trust you completely,” Seo Jun said.

“Well, why…? I mean, thank you, but I’m suspicious, and now…?”

“Huh, come on. It’s a give and take.”

I looked stunned, and Seo Jun replied that she hadn’t expected the why question to come up.

“I’m just giving you back what you gave me, so take it.”

Her tone was blunt, as if annoyed that she had to say it, but a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Thanks for saying you’ll protect me, Baek Iri.”

Now would be a good time to shed a tear of gratitude.

But Seo Jun didn’t give me a chance to soak in the emotion and moved on to the next topic.

“So, let’s move on to the second point.”

“Uh-huh.”

“The second point I would like to suggest is, ‘No matter what happens, I don’t regret or beat myself up.'”

When Seo Jun saw that I didn’t object or question her, she scribbled on the paper.

“2. Baek Iri doesn’t regret or beat herself up no matter what (even if things turn out badly).”

I could tell what the parenthetical “when things turn out badly” was without her telling me.

I guess she meant when Choi Hee-young achieved her goal.

By the way, I was bothered by the use of me as the subject.

Is it because the sentence makes it clear that I am the only one left to regret or blame if such a terrible situation becomes a reality, or is it because Seo Jun assumes her own death as a given?

“Hey, Seo Jun, I didn’t say anything and you take that as consent?”

“I don’t need consent, this is coercion.”

“Oooh, that’s unreasonable.”

“No, it’s reasonable enough.”

Seo Jun grimaces as I try to argue the point, then adds.

“I think we have to agree… in advance.”

Ah, she speaks from experience.

Chan-young and Seo Jun should have made the promise the moment they realized that one of them might not make it.

They should have promised each other to let go of the loyalties that gnawed at them for the rest of their lives.

Because that’s something you can never say to yourself as the only survivor.

“You must be more rational, Seo Jun.”

“Me? I’m too late.”

As expected, she doesn’t even listen when someone who isn’t Chun Chan-young says that to her.

“Give me the paper. I’ll write.”

I took the paper from Seo Jun and wrote down everything I could think of.

Point 2 of the memorandum also applies to Seo Jun.

Seo Jun should remember that Baek Iri will not die.

Seo Jun will not give up Baek Iri’s protection. If she has anything to say, repeat point 4 of the memorandum. If she still has something to say, repeat point 4 of the memorandum twice more before speaking.

“What’s all this writing?”

“Oh, come on, they’re all necessary, and you’ve already written two of them.”

Seo Jun looked at the memorandum I had written and muttered, “What’s not going to make you puke…?”

“Suck it up if you don’t like it. It’s just that you’re assuming the worst, and that makes me nervous.”

“But aren’t we just going to stay home anyway? The police will take care of Choi Hee-young. I don’t know if this is a waste of time.”

I said this because I wanted to believe that nothing would happen and I wanted this memorandum I had just written to be a worthless piece of paper.

Seo Jun didn’t reply, didn’t argue, just stared at me.

The meaning of her silence was obvious. “Do I really have to point out that it’s just wishful thinking,” Seo Jun asked with her eyes.

“…I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re hoping for the same, Seo Jun.”

“I’m sorry.”

Seo Jun shrugged and said, “You know, no one can guarantee that it’s safe to stay like this.”

“…That’s true.”

I had no choice but to agree..

Staying at home is safer than going out, but it’s no guarantee of complete safety.

Choi Hee-young could break down the door in the middle of the night.

“She’ll do whatever it takes, and you never know when or how something might happen, so it’s better to be prepared.”

With that, Seo Jun pointed to the memorandum.

‘What the hell do you have in mind?’

“If you don’t have anything else to add, let’s finish this. Now sign it.”

Seo Jun scribbled her name at the bottom of the paper and turned it over to me.

I wrote my name underneath.

We each took a picture of the finished memorandum and stuck it on the refrigerator door.

Then we ate breakfast in silence.

* * *

I don’t think this life will last long.

Choi Hee-young is a serial killer whose face is known to the entire nation, so we don’t know when or where she will be caught.

Yesterday alone, countless YouTubers were running around downtown with their broadcasts on, hoping to catch Choi Hee-young.

There were some significant sightings, and the police were closing in on her. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before she was caught.

Given the circumstances, it was clear that Choi would want to accomplish her goal as quickly as possible.

No matter how long it took, within this week, she would put her plan into action one way or another.

Seo Jun had expected the same, so she had brought only a small bag of clothes.

The bag was heavy only because she had packed three bags of frozen dumplings and three sets of a 3000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

When I asked why she had brought so many dumplings, I was told to leave them behind.

“I thought you would only eat dumplings for three or four meals while you were here.”

“Oh, what… I’ll leave them for you to eat.”

“It’s like a housewarming gift.”

Knowing that staying tense would only make us tired and not change anything, we tried to enjoy the rest of the time as if we were on a school trip.

The puzzle Seo Jun had brought helped.

“What are we going to do when we finish this?”

“We haven’t finished anything yet and you’re already worrying about that? I don’t think we’ll finish the sky piece before lunch.”

Seo Jun, who had been wrestling with the blue puzzle pieces, gave me a pincer for worrying about everything.

“Oh, come on. Isn’t it fun to think of something to do? How about a scarf knitting kit? I can order it now and it will be here tomorrow morning.”

“Knitting in the summer?”

“If you start in the summer, you’ll never finish one in the winter.”

“Why don’t you buy some self-defense stuff instead?”

“Yes! Self-defense! Why didn’t I think of that? Let’s see… How about this: pepper spray and a mini stun gun.”

“Sounds good.”

“Check this out. They sell clubs and jackknives. You think they’ll buy them?”

“Don’t you have a frying pan and a knife at home?”

“Don’t put… in the shopping cart.”

After completing a puzzle, we took turns sleeping for forty minutes each before dinner.

We were both exhausted because we hadn’t slept well the night before.

Being mentally tired and physically drained was not good for us in more ways than one, so we decided to catch up on some sleep.

“Maybe we should divide our nights like this.”

“I’m sorry if I put you through that.”

“That’s why I brought you to my house, so don’t worry about it.”

While we were both sleeping, Choi Hee-young might climbed up a pipe on the outside of the building and broke in through a window.

We left the account open at 20% just in case.

But if I leave too many open, it will drain my stamina, so it’s just enough to detect anomalies.

“It would be useful to have a ghost to keep watch at night, but I don’t have one.”

“An exorcist’s house can’t be haunted.”

I thought about hiring a ghost as a night watchman, but of course there were no ghosts in my house.

Not a single one.

When I complained about my disappointment, Seo Jun laughed in disbelief.

It was a pretty peaceful time, considering the death threats she received.

Of course, I didn’t say the words out loud. I knew the peace would be shattered if I said it out loud.

“You don’t know about this, do you?”

* * *

Ten in the evening.

Seo Jun, who had decided to go to bed first, tossed and turned and asked.

“Yin Charang doesn’t know that you’ve been targeted or that you’re in my house right now.”

“Good. We have to make sure that he never finds out.”

I agreed.

He was a great man who would go out of his way to get Choi Hee-young himself.

“But of course he’ll find out tomorrow.”

No matter how well I hid it, he would find out tomorrow.

We’d both skip classes at the training center.

“Let’s just say it’s for school…”

“Oh, clever.”

I don’t know how many days this excuse will work.

A small sound that was part sigh, part yawn followed.

I turned off the bedside lamp and moved away quietly.

I could almost see Seo Jun’s hands overlapping as she scribbled a note on the empty table.

I wasn’t tired because I had slept less than an hour earlier, but I started to think about all the things we had talked about and suddenly I was alone.

“Ha… I hope this was all for nothing.”

I wanted to be able to look back and laugh at all the early mornings, bringing my friend home, writing memorandums, buying self-defense items, and keeping a watchful eye on the door, and say it was all for nothing.

That was then.

─ Limit Caller ID

My phone vibrates, breaking the silence of the night, and I get a call I never want to get used to.

“Damn…”

A friend’s safety was at stake, and I had to answer it, even though I didn’t want to.

But it wasn’t until I picked up the phone that I realized it wasn’t mine.

It was Seo Jun’s phone that was vibrating.

“……?”

Seo Jun woke up and stumbled over to me.

“Oh, there’s a call on your phone.”

“Caller ID restriction? Who is it?”

“Choi Hee-young, I think. I think you should answer…”