Chapter 1
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- I Just Wanted to Be a Magical Girl
A young demon that had just fallen into the human world, starving and exhausted, slowly chewed the flesh that had entered its mouth. As it swallowed that down its throat, a name came to mind, and after swallowing one more bite, memories began to surface little by little. A human who had approached with concern upon seeing a dirty, injured child of the same age crouched in a corner.
Kind, gentle, and good.
“Damn it.”
The demon spat out a curse. It felt disgusted.
This was the first time it had eaten a human. It was said that demons used to frequently practice cannibalism in the past, but now they rarely did so. This was because it had become widely known that demons became humanized each time they ate humans.
Just by swallowing and absorbing that blood and flesh, the memories, emotions, and thoughts that human had lived with melted into the demon. Small amounts were fine, but the more it ate, the more it accumulated, eventually causing the demon to mutate completely into something human-like. It had even heard stories of some demons who had become completely human living among humans as humans.
To become something like a human was the ultimate humiliation for a demon. That’s why modern demons avoided human meat. Instead, they absorbed power through s****l intercourse.
So this demon had never wanted to eat a human either.
It was just too hungry. Having fled while injured, it had expended too much energy and was on the verge of starvation. Having lost its reason, it had simply reached out toward the prey before it driven by survival instinct alone. If it hadn’t eaten immediately, it would probably have died.
The demon tore at the meat and drank the blood frantically without even tasting it. And once some rationality returned, feeling disgusted, it mechanically repeated only the motions of chewing with its teeth and swallowing down its throat.
The cannibalism it experienced for the first time in its life was utterly revolting. Having recovered its strength, all it wanted was to quickly dispose of everything and leave this place.
“Urgh…!”
When it had almost finished eating the meat, the demon dry-heaved. Dizziness washed over it. The world spun around and around. Chills covered its body.
Could it be indigestion?
The demon staggered as it cleaned up, then crouched down and lay hidden in the tree bushes. It suffered like that for several days without knowing why.
“Damn it.”
The demon, having barely regained its strength after several days, spat out another curse. The demon realized that the largest chunk of the human it had eaten remained coiled inside it.
The thing that should never have remained in the demon. But the thing that child had most wanted to leave behind.
That was…….
* * *
“Heave ho.”
Heesu made a sound of exertion as she lifted the shopping bag. The large shopping bag was packed full of books, DVDs, and Blu-rays. Worried that it might tear from the weight, she had stuck tape all over the corners and bottom seams, but still feeling uneasy, Heesu carefully hugged it instead of carrying it by hand. It would be terrible if she dropped any of them and damaged them while carrying it. They were all precious items.
As she descended the stairs step by step, struggling with the heavy shopping bag in her arms, she could see people sitting around the kitchen table preparing for a meal. Heesu passed by them without even glancing in their direction and said:
“I’m leaving.”
Her mother looked at Heesu with a worried expression.
“Heesu, you’re leaving already? Have some food before you go.”
Heesu replied curtly.
“I’m not hungry right now. I’ll eat something at my one-room apartment later, Mom.”
Her younger brother Jaeha, who had been watching, smirked and chuckled.
“Something? You’ll probably just eat cup noodles again.”
At those words, Heesu scowled and glared at Jaeha, snapping sharply:
“Mind your own business about what other people eat!”
Meeting her gaze without any concern, Jaeha shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t want to? I’m going to care?”
“That little…….”
Invisible sparks flew between the two glaring at each other. Just as another sibling fight was about to break out, their mother quickly stepped between them and called out to Heesu:
“Heesu, how can you call your younger brother a stranger! Jaeha is also saying this because he’s worried about you in his own way…….”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yeah. I’m not.”
At those words, both Heesu and Jaeha responded with disgust simultaneously. Their mother looked back and forth between the siblings with an expression of disbelief.
“You two really……. Why are you always so eager to devour each other!”
Heesu pointed at Jaeha with the most wronged expression in the world and shouted:
“Can’t you see? He picks fights with me every time he sees me!”
“That’s ridiculous. Try living properly, and see if I pick fights with you.”
“Look at that. There he goes again, talking back to his older sister!”
“If you act like an older sister, I’ll treat you like one. Don’t you think?”
“Whatever. I don’t want to eat with him. I’m leaving.”
“Heesu, don’t be like that and have some food before you go. If you keep eating instant food, it’ll harm your health. Okay?”
Their mother grabbed her sleeve and spoke earnestly, but Heesu shook her off with an annoyed expression.
“Ah, I got it. I got it. I’ll buy a rice ball later.”
“How is that good for your body? Heesu, don’t do that…….”
“Convenience store lunch boxes are pretty good these days.”
“Those aren’t good if you eat them too often either.”
“I said it’s fine…….”
“Yeah, Heesu. Just do what Mom says and eat before you go. Once you’re done, I’ll drive you back to your place.”
While Heesu was bickering with her mother, a gentle voice interjected. Heesu’s eyes widened. Only then did Heesu lift her head and see a face with refined and neat features sitting among her family members.
“Rian oppa! You were here too?”
“Yeah. I heard Heesu came down after a long time, so I came to see your face, but you’re leaving so quickly that I’m disappointed.”
Looking at Heesu’s delighted reaction, Rian smiled gently. He was such a sparkling person no matter when you saw him. Heesu’s expression naturally softened and she smiled back, giggling as if she had become a different person in an instant. It was an expression of pure bliss, as if she were looking at the best thing in the world.
There was no reason to refuse when Rian oppa suggested eating together. As if enchanted, Heesu was about to turn her steps toward him when:
“Look at her packing all those comic books again. Stop reading mangas already. You’re in college and still not acting your age, seriously.”
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