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Taeri's day has been pretty uneventful so far.
So when a girl in frilly costume falls from a nearby tree right into her arms, she almost considers it an improvement. Almost.
Taeri—with her noodle arms that never touched gym equipment in her entire life—predictably loses her strength and balance. She crashes onto the ground, bringing the girl along with her.
"Ouch," The girl is sprawled on top of Taeri, elbows digging into her thigh and stomach. Taeri groans.
"Sorry, are you okay?" The girl looks down, brows knitted in concern. From below, illuminated by the sunlight, she seems to shine. Her short blonde hair glitters like spun star, her wide eyes framed by long lashes sparkle under the morning sun. Taeri feels breathless.
Although that might also be the girl's weight on top of her.
She wheezes, "Can you get off of me first?"
The girl winces, rubbing her right arm, "Oops, my bad."
She gently extricates herself from Taeri. Taeri tries to sit up, assessing her situation. Nothing seems to be broken or bruised, thankfully—only a few scratches here and there. She glares at the girl. The girl offers her a nervous smile.
"How did you—" Taeri directs her gaze to the tree from where the mysterious girl has fallen. The tree stands unperturbed, its leaves barely rustled except for an empty part between the branches that looks suspiciously human-shaped—or mysterious girl-shaped, "—what were you even doing up there!?"
The girl lets out an awkward chuckle, "Well, you see, it’s a long story—"
She pauses, face suddenly pulled into a frown. She then starts patting her costume in a frantic manner—and it must be a costume: puffy sleeves, flaring skirt, and big, flashy bows. Even Taeri, whom her friends affectionately call a 'walking fashion red siren', would not be caught dead wearing such an outfit.
"Oh noo," the girl whines, "I can’t believe I lost the brooch again. Unnie would give me an earful."
She scours the ground around her, then turns her attention back to Taeri, "Do you see an orange rose brooch anywhere?"
A rustling sound from above frees Taeri from the obligation to answer. Her eyes widen even more when a fluffy orange plushie floats down. The plushie lands with a soft thud and promptly toddles over to the mysterious girl's side.
"Thewnini!" The girl rushes forward and hugs the plushie. "You're okay!"
The plushie flaps its arms up and down, sharing her excitement. They dance in a circle, leaving Taeri on the ground, blinking, unable to comprehend the sight in front of her.
What. Did she hit her head when she fell just now? Why is there a moving plushie!?
"Oh, right," the girl seems to finally remember her existence after some time. "Thewnini, can you check her vital signs? I crashed into her pretty hard. She might be injured."
The plushie nods and jumps down from the girl's arms, advancing towards Taeri. Taeri stumbles backward. Weird day aside, being checked up by a moving plushie is where she crosses the line, thank you very much.
"Oh, no, no. No need, I'm fine—" Taeri's hand hits something as she retreats. She instinctively grasps the object, tracing its outline with her fingers. The ridges and dips bring to mind flower petals. Which, wait—
Taeri brings the object closer. When she opens her palm, she finds an orange brooch with a rose ornament staring back at her.
The girl cheers, "You found my brooch!"
So this was what she desperately searched for earlier. It looks like a regular brooch, small in size but with a certain weight to it. It might just be Taeri's imagination, but the brooch seems to pulse warmly with a gentle light.
Taeri shakes her head. She might really be concussed.
"Here, take it," she places the brooch on the mysterious girl's upturned palm. Her finger brushes against it, and a light shiver goes down Taeri's arm, raising goosebumps. The girl seems to experience the same thing, as she looks at Taeri with wide eyes.
Then, a splendid light emerges from the brooch and envelops her hand in searing warmth.
What—
The sensation spreads from her arm throughout her entire body. A surge of emotion bubbles in her chest as warm tears prick her eyes. And as soon as it starts, the moment ends, leaving her disoriented. Both she and the girl still assume their original position, but now a glittering bracelet with a yellow rose pendant dangles from her right wrist. It pulses warmly just like the orange brooch with the matching rose ornament on the girl's palm.
The girl looks at Taeri, then the bracelet on Taeri's wrist, then back to Taeri. Excitement slowly bubbles on her face, as trepidation curls inside Taeri's mind at the same time. Oh no no. She has a bad feeling about this.
The girl opens her mouth in a lovely grin. Whatever she was about to say gets cut off by screams from afar. She frowns, her whole stance turning alert. The fox plushie mimics her concerned expression and begins to bounce up and down, tugging the girl's hand toward the direction of the screaming noises.
"I know, Thewnini. Seems like the giant bastard is still kicking," She strikes a fist against her palm. "It's time to give it another beating."
She offers Taeri her hand. Taeri takes it and lets herself be pulled to her feet. When she wobbles, the girl places her hands on Taeri's elbows to balance her stance.
"What is happening? Why are there people screaming?"
"No time, I'll explain later, okay?" She slips a stray hair behind Taeri's ear. The tip of Taeri's ear burns as her fingers accidentally brush over it. "Go take cover. I'll be back soon."
With one last cheeky grin, the girl dashes over to the shopping district, where the loudest screams are coming.
Taeri should leave.
The sound, logical thing to do would be to go home or to get her head checked by the nearest available medical professional, and forget everything that just happened.
But her curiosity wins out.
Before she can overthink her actions, Taeri runs after the mysterious girl, following the commotion sounds.
She doesn't know what to expect. Was there a fire? A terrorist attack? But the sight that welcomes her when she finally reaches the shopping district is beyond her wildest imagination.
A giant monster is rampaging in the middle of the street, destroying the surrounding trees and buildings. Pedestrians are screaming, running in all directions, trying to take cover.
Mystery Girl soars above, wielding a large war hammer, having a face-off with the monster. Her fox plushie hovers around her, casting a protective orange shield that repels the debris thrown by the monster.
What the fuck is happening!?
"Take this!" Mystery Girl swings her war hammer toward the monster's head. Orange shock waves ripple through the sky and hit the monster one after another. The monster roars in pain and lashes out. She dodges just in time, the impact from the monster's punch destroying the building behind her.
"Hey, that could be dangerous!" She readies her stance for her next attack. "Thewnini, let's go!"
She swings her war hammer again, this time with her fox plushie joining its tiny paws on her grip on the war hammer. An orange fox paw print-shaped shockwave hits the monster. It bursts into tiny orange sparkles upon contact. The attack seems to slow the monster down, though not by much.
Mystery Girl's grin doesn't leave her face, but she is panting, exhaustion clearly visible. She's favouring her left side, and Taeri remembers that she broke her fall from the tree with her right arm earlier.
Right now, she can still go toe to toe with the monster. However, it won't take long before the monster starts gaining the upper hand.
Taeri needs to help her. But, how?
Think, Kim Taeri. Think.
She scans her surroundings. A red fire extinguisher catches her attention. She recounts the basic fire safety drill and runs to the fire extinguisher while avoiding the falling debris. She manages to pull the pin in record time and aims the nozzle toward the monster. With a sure squeeze, she activates the fire extinguisher. White foam shoots out and hits the monster right on the face.
The monster growls in surprise. The foam pressure is not strong enough to cause any damage or even to push it back, but hopefully, it will distract the monster enough for Mystery Girl to launch another attack.
"You!" Mystery Girl exclaims upon finally seeing her. "What are you doing here!? I told you to hide and take cover!"
"Well, be grateful I didn't because you clearly need some help!"
The foam stream continues for a few more seconds before it peters out in small globs. The monster growls, using its giant paw to remove the foam from its face. It shifts its attention to Taeri.
Shit.
Before Taeri can run, Mystery Girl swoops down and puts her arm around Taeri's waist. She jumps to the nearest rooftop, bringing Taeri along, before gently setting her down.
She pouts, "I totally had it under control."
Taeri raises an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Mostly under control," she amends.
"How's your arm? Can't your magical plushie heal you or something?"
She grimaces, "It's fine, I can still move. Thewnini has to save its power for later."
Taeri decides to believe her for now, "Do you have any plans?"
"I still have some power left for one more attack. But if it doesn't work, I'll have to call for reinforcements."
Taeri's eyes widen in surprise, "There's more of you!?"
"Yeah, of course? Seoul is large, dude. Do you think I can cover the whole city by myself?"
Well, that's fair. Still, how can there never be any sightings of girls in frilly costume fighting monsters in the middle of the day, if there's more than one of them? They should have made the news by now.
"Thewnini, can you contact Binini? Bitna-unnie should be near—"
"Look out!" The monster has swung its giant arm and destroyed the towering building next to them. Chunks of rock begin to fall in their direction at worrisome speed. Mystery Girl reacts instantly and positions herself in front of Taeri. Thewnini flies over them, about to cast another one of those orange shield bubble. But the monster sweeps its arm at Thewnini, sending the plushie flying, and the impact causes her and Mystery Girl to lose their balance and stumble, right under the trajectory of the falling rocks.
"NO!!" Mystery Girl screams, shielding Taeri with her body. Orange sparks jolt through her arms, turning most of the rocks to dust, but a big chunk of rock slips through and hits her shoulder blade. She falls onto Taeri, grunting in pain. Taeri instinctively puts her arms around her.
With both her saviour and her plush toy partner down, Taeri can only watch helplessly as the monster draws closer. It raises its fist. Taeri closes her eyes and braces herself for the collision...
Please, whoever's listening, please help us.
…but it never comes. When she opens her eyes, she's surprised by the brilliant light emanating from her bracelet. The monster groans and covers its eyes. It stumbles backward, shying away from the light.
A moment of clarity hits Taeri. She puts her hand in front of her, exposing the monster more to the brightness. It begins to scream in pain. The bracelet shines even brighter, and the world gradually turns white, as if colours are being blotted out from the surrounding objects, outlines erased—starting from the monster until it reaches the edge of her field of vision—leaving only Taeri untouched at the epicentre.
Time stands still. Taeri sits alone in a whiteout world with no other beings in sight, neither the monster nor the mysterious girl with her plushie. Her bracelet still shines like a dying star.
Hello.
Taeri lifts her head. A yellow duck plushie—around the same size as Thewnini—stands in front of her, tilting its head curiously.
Are you Taenini's new partner?
Taeri must've hit her head because there's no way it was the plushie talking. But for what seems like the recurring trend for the past hour, Taeri's bewilderment is proven right when another voice resounds inside her head.
You must be. Thank you for protecting Thewnini and her partner.
Its tiny wings hold Taeri's hands in gratitude, gazing up at her with its watery button eyes.
"Uh…Y-You're welcome?"
The plushie's beak wobbles into a smile. Thewnini is Taenini's friend, so Taenini doesn't like seeing her getting hurt.
Here, Taenini will help you.
It gently pecks at her bracelet with its beak.
The light from the bracelet dissipates. The rose ornament blooms, before its jewelled petals fall one by one, creating ripples as they touch the ground—as if the ground beneath has turned into a body of water. Tendrils of shimmery water glide from below and envelope her in an embrace. Then, a warm breeze disperses them in a flurry of yellow feathers.
The world turns blinding white once more.
Taeri opens her eyes. She's back at the shopping district, Mystery Girl still in her arms. The monster stands a few metres away, seemingly dazed and disoriented. The only difference is the yellow duck plushie holding her hand.
"Quack," greets Taenini.
To Taeri's endless wonder, she still understands what Taenini says even when its voice is no longer directly projected into her head. Has she gained the ability to understand duck speech now? Taeri thinks, slightly hysterical.
Oblivious to her internal panic, Taenini points to the monster, "Quack!"
"You want me to attack? With what exactly?"
"Quack, quaaack."
"Transformation? Weapon? What do you mean? I don't have—"
Taenini sandwiches Taeri's face between its wings and makes her turn her head. Taeri catches her reflection in the nearest shop's window. She almost doesn't recognize the person staring back.
Her shoulder-length, black hair is now a glittering orange, curled softly down her back, reaching her waist. Her red tracksuit is gone—instead she's wearing a similar costume to the mysterious girl's: wide, puffy sleeves, a flaring skirt, and knee-high tights, but her bows and dangling jewellery are yellow instead of orange. The yellow rose bracelet from earlier still adorns her wrist.
She looks… almost otherworldly. Whatever thing Taenini did to her bracelet has transformed her.
The duck plushie flaps its wings, trying to divert her attention back to the monster, who slowly gains its bearing back.
Right, no time to panic. She can do that later once the monster is defeated. She moves the still unconscious Mystery Girl and her fox plushie to a (hopefully) safer place.
"Okay, okay," she addresses Taenini, "You're right. But I still don't have anything to attack the monster with."
"Quack." Taeri must concentrate. Imagine a weapon forming in Taeri's hands.
She does as Taenini says—ignoring the part of her brain that says, this is crazy— and tries to imagine herself in a FPS game. To attack such a big opponent, a mid to long range weapon would be suitable. Something like…
A bow materializes in her hand, along with a heart-tip arrow nocked on the string, ready to be drawn and released.
"Whoa," Taeri stares in awe and runs her hand over the smooth material. The bow has a glossy finish that reflects the light and it fits perfectly in her grip.
Taenini claps its wings together. Taeri did it! Now we just need to defeat the monster.
Easier said than done. Taeri considers herself a decent shooter—within a game. But she never actually works a bow and arrow in real life. Hopefully, the number of hours she has spent playing PUBG and Valorant can constitute as practice and will contribute to her shooting skills. This might be their only chance. She can't fuck this up.
Taeri aims the arrow at the monster's eye. Taenini is there beside her, putting its tiny wing on her trembling palm, nodding encouragingly.
You can do it, Taeri. Taenini believes in you.
Taeri takes a deep breath, then releases the arrow with the next exhale.
The arrow flies true—leaving a trail of glittering light like shooting stars—and strikes the monster's eye. The monster screams in agony, clutching at its face. Crack appears on the wound site and light bursts out. The monster roars one last time before turning rigid like a statue and slowly crumbling to dust.
When the dust finally settles, a bewildered-looking cat sits in its place, licking its paw, before it scrambles away with a meow.
Taeri lets out a shaky laughter. Taenini tackles her into a hug, its button eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Taeri defeated the monster! Taenini is so proud! Taeri can now leave the rest to Taenini.
Taenini soars high in the sky, glowing with yellow aura. As it dances through the air, yellow feathers fall. They shine brightly and turn into yellow glitters upon touching other objects. The destroyed buildings and street magically mend themselves, all the debris created by the monster's rampage turns to dust. Her fatigue seems to lessen with each feather that touches her.
Taeri's mind finally begins to catch up with everything. She grips her bow tighter, bracing herself against it as her knees slowly give out. What the hell happened in the last hour? Her day had started off rather boring and suddenly she was fighting a monster? Her brain can't compute nor can it find any reasonable explanations.
"Incomingg!"
Mystery Girl floats down along with her plushie and stops in front of her. She grabs Taeri's waist with ease—supporting her weight—and brings her closer so they stand face to face.
"My saviour!" She shouts with a beaming smile that rivals the sun. Taeri can't help but feel starstruck.
Her injuries appear to have healed, and so do Thewnini's. Taeri assumes it's the result of the yellow feathers Taenini released, which also seem to heal the pedestrians caught in the monster's attack. The feathers must also possess a memory adjusting property, since no one is screaming about a giant monster that just attacked them. Most of the pedestrians resume their activities, while some pause and stare off into the distance, possibly trying to process the gap in their memory.
"What's going to happen now?" Taeri muses aloud, more a question to herself than to the mysterious girl.
"To start—"
Police and firetruck siren wails from the distance. The commotion must have attracted the authority's attention. Mystery Girl tugs at Taeri's hand.
"—we need to go before the polices come. C'mon, they'll ask too many questions," she tangles their fingers together, and pulls Taeri to the nearest alley. Thewnini jumps and perches its fluffy butt on her shoulder, while Taenini—done with her mending and healing duty—wiggles its way to the crook of Taeri's arm and comfortably settles there.
Taeri frowns, picturing the map of the surrounding area. The shopping district is just a few stations away from her dorm. Taeri tugs Mystery Girl's wrist and pulls her in another direction. She gives Taeri a questioning look.
"Let's go this way. My place is close by."
Taeri always considers herself a logical person. She's a T to a T. She likes when things have explanations or reasons behind them. The magical girl happily slurping ramyeon in her college dorm room with her floating fox plushie, and the duck plushie calmly sitting next to her, are unfortunately beyond reason and comprehension.
"A magical girl."
Mystery Girl—who finally introduced herself as Madeline Wooyeon Seok ("But you can just call me, Maddie!"), age 21, from Vancouver, Canada—beams, "Yep! Cool, right? I never thought magical girls were real. But then one of the monsters attacked my campus a few months ago, and the rest was history."
Now that she releases her magical girl transformation, she looks like your everyday, normal girl. Still lovely, but the kind you'll meet on the street and won't look twice at—though, Taeri thinks she would still steal a second glance.
Maddie's hair is still short, her fringes framing her face softly, but it's no longer the colour of starlight, just a normal brown with some blonde streaks in between. She's wearing a black tank top with a gray zipped-up hoodie along with cargo pants. Her hoodie keeps slipping while she's chewing her ramyeon, revealing her toned shoulder, and Taeri has to take a deep breath and stare at her ceiling every few minutes to retain her grip in reality.
"A magical girl with animal DNA," Taeri repeats, as if saying the words for the umpteenth time would make them easier to digest.
Maddie continues rambling on, seemingly unaware of Taeri's ongoing existential crisis.
"Yep! Honestly, I have the unnies to thank for everything. I was freaking out when I first found out. Oh! You have to meet them soon. They would love you, Taeri-yah," Upon finding that they're the same age, Maddie quickly dropped the honorific and assumed informal language with her. "Now that you're one of us—"
And that. That's the part Taeri has the biggest problem with.
"What do you mean I'm also one of you? Can't you undo whatever this is?" Taeri gestures to her entire body, emphasizing especially the yellow rose bracelet stubbornly circling her wrist like a vice. She has been trying to take it off for the past few hours, to no avail. If Maddie's brooch can fall off from her costume so easily, then why is her bracelet so hard to take off!?
Maddie gasps. Thewnini follows her master, her tiny, fluffy hands covering her mouth. Taenini—who's been patting her thigh through her existential crisis—begins to tremble and make a sobbing sound.
"Taeri-yah! Don't say that! Look, you made Taenini cry," Maddie picks up the duck plushie and covers its ears. (Or what would have been its ears, were Taenini not a duck and not a plushie)
Ugh, now Taeri feels horrible. She gently pries Maddie's fingers from Taenini and places the plushie on her lap, patting its back. "I'm sorry, Taenini. But being a magical girl is just something I can't wrap my mind around."
Maddie tilts her head curiously, "Why? What's so bad about being a magical girl?"
And well, Taeri did not have any answer for that.
"Did you not have a childhood phase of wanting to be some sort of superhero? I thought everyone did. I, for one, always want to be Spider-Man or a Pokémon trainer. Instead, I got this," Maddie chuckles wryly, proudly patting her orange brooch, "and a fox DNA."
Thewnini dances happily, wiggling her arms. Maddie laughs and hugs the plushie.
"And Thewnini too! But, hey, I'm not protesting. It's been fun so far."
It would be a lie to say that Taeri never fantasized about being a magical girl. But that was years ago, when she was still a little girl obsessed with the concept of a magical transformation. And how could she not? With just a brooch or a pendant, and a few well-placed chants, you can transform into someone entirely new. A better, more lovable version of you. Someone you're always meant to be.
But she soon grew out of the idea. Real transformation takes a ton of sacrifices and efforts, and the world is not so forgiving of people who want to be the version of themselves they have always seen their self as.
Taeri still has so many questions.
"Aren't you concerned with where the power comes from? Have you never watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica? What if Thewnini and Taenini are just like Kyubey?"
Maddie gasps again, this time covering Thewnini's (actually existent) fox ears, "Take that back! Our Zeronis are creatures pure of heart and full of love."
Thewnini nods, making a vindictive noise. Taenini is still trembling on Taeri's lap, whimpering. Taeri sighs.
"Say that I agree and go along with… all this, what will I be expected to do? Do I have to fight monsters every day now? I don't—I don't even know how to throw a punch!"
"Tuck your thumb over your middle finger to make a proper fist, keep your wrist straight, and then punch really hard."
"What."
"What?" Maddie at least has the decency to look sheepish. "You said you didn't know! So I'm teaching you how to throw a proper punch. I have a black belt in taekwondo, so you can trust me."
Good to know. Taeri, on the other hand, always got picked last for dodge ball games in high school because her aim and coordination suck. It was a miracle she got the monster with just one shot earlier.
She releases a frustrated breath, "My point is, I don't have any fighting experiences, unlike you. And now I'm expected to fight monsters? No, thank you."
"But you managed to defeat one earlier."
"That was—that was just a coincidence! Beginner's luck!"
"No, I don't think so," Maddie cups her face and draws her closer, her bright eyes full of determination, "I think, you, Kim Taeri, have the potential to be something you can never even begin to imagine."
Taeri's breath catches in her throat. She replies weakly, "How can you be so sure? You barely know me. I might not be the girl you thought I was."
"I just know," Maddie's smile is as dazzling as the sun, "Every girl can be a magical girl. Why? Because every girl is already a magical girl."
She releases her grip on Taeri, giggling lightly.
"At least that's what Jiwoo-unnie and Bitna-unnie always tell me."
This defies all logic and understanding. By all accounts, Taeri should not entertain this ridiculous notion. But something in Maddie's smile makes her want to believe in this magical girl gig and in herself.
She did defeat a monster. She might be braver than she herself believes.
"Okay," she takes a deep breath and releases it in succession, "do your worst."
Maddie squeals and throws her arms around Taeri. Taeri yelps, stumbling backward, unable to bear the grunt of Maddie's weight. She can't help but laugh back, Maddie's laughter being so infectious.
Maddie is lying on top of her, her face so close that Taeri can count the number of moles scattered on her skin, forming a constellation. There's even a couple near her lips.
Her lovely, pink lips.
Taeri's mouth suddenly feels too dry. Maddie is still grinning, but her eyes give Taeri a teasing and almost… hopeful look. Taeri's heart beats rabbit fast inside her ribcage. She inadvertently leans in.
"Quack!"
The moment is broken by Taenini's panicked squeal. In their excitement, they forgot that Taenini was still lying on Taeri's lap and got crushed by Maddie.
"Ah, sorry for that, Taenini," Maddie picks it up and places the duck plushie between her and Taeri. "Here, you and Thewnini can join the group hug."
Thewnini chirps and toddles over, completing the group hug.
"Yayy!" Maddie extends her arms, enveloping all of them in one big embrace. They share another giddy look.
The last warning she gets is the playful glint in Maddie's eyes before she dives in and plants a kiss on Taeri's cheek with one big smack. Taeri touches her cheek in disbelief.
Maddie giggles, looking almost shy now, her cheeks full of soft blush.
"As a thank you earlier. For being my knight in shining armour."
Taeri almost whimpers.
Is it too late to withdraw her acceptance? She's just a poor, useless lesbian. If she continues to interact with Seok Maddie, surely she will spontaneously combust into flames at some point.
She just hopes that the rest of Maddie's unnies will be easier to deal with.