Chapter 16: First Impressions and a Monster Attack

Some might question how racism could exist in South Korea, especially against a Korean.

But Si-yool couldn’t help but feel targeted.

“What’s with the darkie?” a voice had sneered.

The source of the comment was a woman with long, flowing blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and a curvy figure that her casual clothes couldn’t conceal. Her Korean was fluent, though slightly accented. She was clearly a foreigner, and a beautiful one at that.

“Shut your mouth, whitey,” Si-yool retorted. He wasn’t going to be polite to someone who insulted him, beautiful or not. They were fellow recruits, so there was no need for formalities.

Besides, the insult was inaccurate. He wasn’t a “darkie.” “Yellow monkey” would have been more appropriate.

“You have black hair and black eyes,” the woman explained, as if it was obvious.

“Crazy b*tch,” Si-yool muttered. In this world of magical girls, they discriminated based on hair color, not skin tone. A typical ignorant foreigner. Another crazy magical girl.

“Excuse me!” a high-pitched voice interrupted.

“Are you Kim Si-yool?”

It was another magical girl, this one with blue hair, a petite frame, and sly amber eyes accentuated by fox-like pink eyeshadow.

Si-yool glared at her, wondering why she was addressing him.

“Oh, right! I forgot to introduce myself!” she exclaimed, seemingly unfazed by his hostile gaze. “I’m Magical Girl Blue Fox! You can call me Sora!”

“Sora?” Si-yool asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Yes! I’m Japanese-American! But I kept my Japanese name, Sora!” she explained with a cheerful smile.

A lot had changed while he was gone. Not only were they gathering all the crazy magical girls from South Korea, but they were importing them from other countries too. The country was truly doomed.

“You’re 33, right?” Sora asked.

“Yeah, so what?” Si-yool replied, his tone flat.

Sora simply stared at him, a strange glint in her eyes. It made Si-yool uncomfortable. She was sizing him up, like those people in the other world who’d constantly evaluated him, judging his worth.

“I’ll call you ‘sunbae’ then,” Sora said with a smile.

“Why?” Si-yool asked, surprised.

“You’re older than me. That makes you ‘sunbae’,” Sora explained, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Si-yool didn’t bother arguing. It was pointless.

“Call me whatever you want,” he said, giving up.

“I like ‘sunbae’! It’s easier to say than ‘ajeossi.’ And I definitely don’t want to call you ‘oppa’,” Sora said.

“Just do what you want,” Si-yool sighed.

“And call me Sora, not ‘hey’,” she added.

He gave her an inch, and she took a mile. Blue Fox indeed. She was as cunning as a fox, with her sly smile and her ever-increasing demands.

Si-yool sighed. Arguing with a crazy person was pointless. He had to be the understanding one. He was a warrior, after all.

“Fine,” he said.

“Good!” Sora replied, her smile vanishing as she asked, “What do you think of my sister?”

“What?” Si-yool asked, confused. What sister?

Sora linked arms with the blonde woman. “I’m talking about my sister, Ray,” she explained.

So, that was her name. Ray. Probably short for “Ray of Light.” It was too good a name for that b*tch.

“Sora, why did you say my name?” Ray asked, frowning.

“What’s the big deal? He’s our new roommate. He should know our names, right?” Sora replied.

“Well, yeah, but…” Ray grumbled, not protesting further. Si-yool was surprised. He’d expected her to call Sora a racial slur.

“Your sister?” Si-yool asked. Their conversation sounded like a family squabble, but they looked and sounded nothing alike.

“My parents died during the kaijin invasion, and I was adopted by Ray’s family,” Sora explained with a smile. It was a heavy topic, so Si-yool changed the subject.

“So, what do I think of your sister?”

“Yes! Be honest!” Sora insisted.

“She’s an idiot,” Si-yool replied.

“That’s true,” Sora agreed.

“You’re better,” Si-yool added.

“Are you flirting with me?” Sora asked, her eyes narrowing.

They were definitely related. They were both crazy. Who would think that was flirting?

Si-yool looked at her with a deadpan expression. Sora just smiled.

“Too bad. I’m a lesbian,” she declared casually.

A Japanese-American lesbian. It all made sense now.

But there was something… unsettling about her. She was unpredictable, her thoughts and intentions a complete mystery. Si-yool felt a flicker of unease. This type of person was the most dangerous, especially in the other world. He had to be careful. He didn’t want to be stabbed in the back again.

“Hey, darkie! Why did you call me an idiot?!” Ray yelled, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Si-yool sighed. He’d simply stated a fact. What was her problem?

“Your head is empty,” he explained.

“Beer?” Ray asked, tilting her head.

“No, not that kind of empty, you idiot!”

“I’m smarter than you think!” Ray insisted.

“Oh, really?” Si-yool asked, skeptical.

“Do you even know what a superconductor is?”

“Of course! It’s a tool made of copper and lead, heated and pressurized to achieve zero resistance,” Ray replied instantly.

Si-yool was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to know that. He stared at her in silence, momentarily speechless.

Emboldened by his reaction, Ray continued, “Do you know how many kaijin-dians we American Maho Shojos have killed with superconductors?” She wagged her finger at him. “You’re no match for me.”

Si-yool stared at her, dumbfounded. She was calling that a superconductor?

“We call those ‘bullets,’ you idiot,” he said.

“It’s not wrong, is it? Prove me wrong,” Ray challenged.

Si-yool couldn’t. She was right. He hated to admit it, but she was a formidable opponent.

“That’s basic knowledge for anyone who lives in The City,” Ray said, a smug grin spreading across her face. “Got it?”

“The City? What’s that?” Si-yool asked.

“You don’t know New York? The most famous city in the world? You’re so uneducated,” Ray scoffed.

Si-yool wanted to punch her. And he disagreed about New York being the most famous city.

“New York? Please,” he scoffed.

“What?” Ray asked, her face twisting in annoyance.

“I lived in a more famous place,” Si-yool declared.

“Where?” Ray demanded, her eyes narrowed.

“Ssangmun-dong,” Si-yool replied calmly.

“Where the hell is that?”

“You don’t know Ssangmun-dong?” Si-yool asked, feigning surprise.

“What’s so special about it?” Ray asked, exasperated.

Si-yool grinned. Ssangmun-dong was the most famous place in the world.

“It’s the birthplace of Jo Sang-woo, the Seoul National University business prodigy, and Seong Gi-hun, the winner of Squid Game,” he declared.

“Oh,” Ray said, finally understanding.

“Does that answer your question?” Si-yool asked.

Ray remained silent, unable to refute his claim.

That should be enough to establish dominance. Now, it was time to use the barracks for their intended purpose.

“Sora, which bed is mine?” Si-yool asked. He was tired and wanted to sleep.

“Right next to Ray’s,” Sora replied, pointing.

“Thanks,” Si-yool said, heading towards the indicated bed and collapsing onto it. He’d unpack later. He’d had a long day: arrested, evaluated, nearly killed during the psychological evaluation, and then shipped off to become a magical girl. He’d been dragged around all day, his own will disregarded. And he still didn’t know if his parents were alive.

“F*ck my life,” he muttered. He was grateful for his Novelpia stock. Without it, he might have jumped into the Han River, seeking a true isekai, a world of dreams and hope, not the hellhole he’d just escaped.

But it wasn’t all bad. At least he had a bed to sleep in, a bed with a roof over it, not a dirt floor, a mosquito-infested tree, or a pile of rotting corpses.

“Darkie,” a voice said from beside him.

It would have been perfect, if not for the crazy b*tch next to him.

Si-yool cracked open an eye and glared at Ray.

“What?”

“Listen up,” she said. Sora had thoughtfully turned off the lights, but Ray’s blue eyes glowed menacingly in the darkness. “If you get confused and sleep in my bed, I will kill you. I’ll bash your head in with a superconductor. I’m serious.”

It was a rather harsh warning for a roommate.

“Oh,” Si-yool said, surprised.

“What?” Ray asked.

“Nothing,” Si-yool replied. It felt like he was back in the other world.

He closed his eyes. “Are you done? I’m going to sleep.”

And he drifted off to sleep.

A small girl stood before him. She wore a faded, patched dress and held a single moonflower in her hands. Her gray hair was choppily cut, and her pink eyes shimmered with a gentle sadness.

He knew her. He could never forget her.

The only person in the other world who’d treated him with kindness.

The reason he’d become a warrior.

She was his only precious connection in that hellhole.

He was overjoyed to see her. He had so much to tell her. Was she healthy now? How had she been? Did she have a name now? He wanted to tell her everything that had happened, to ask her to come with him to this world.

But before he could speak, she placed a finger on his lips.

Then, she smiled and said, “Sunbae!”

A word he’d never heard her say. A word she would never say.

He realized then.

“Oh, f*ck,” he muttered.

It was a dream.

He woke up to the familiar sight of the barracks, only something was off. It was still dark outside. He should still be asleep. But the lights were on, and there was a commotion outside. Were these lunatics having a party while he was sleeping?

“Sunbae!” Sora yelled, rushing towards him. Speak of the devil.

“If you want to party, do it quietly. I’m trying to sleep,” Si-yool grumbled.

“No, sunbae! It’s not that! It’s an emergency! Wake up!”

Si-yool looked at her, confused.

“There’s a kaijin outside!” Sora exclaimed.

“What?”

“We have to go! Now!”

A kaijin. The living disasters he’d only heard about. He was supposed to fight one?

“A kaijin?” he asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“Yes!”

A magical girl’s fight.

“Good luck,” Si-yool said, rolling over and pulling the covers over his head. It wasn’t his fight. They could handle it.

“Get up, you lazy bastard!” Sora yelled, her voice filled with frustration.

Si-yool drifted back to sleep, using her cries as a lullaby.