I Became a Magical Girl In a Harem Manga

"What kind of doodle would be nice? Should I draw a cute teddy bear?"

It's been a while since I played around by drawing on someone's body as a joke. I haven't thought about doing such childish pranks since I was young.

But when you become an adult, there are times when you want to return to your childhood. Now is one of those times.

I reached out and placed my hand on Ms. Hye-Rim's shirt. As I fumbled to lift her shirt, feeling her stomach, it happened.

"Ugh...!"

"...!!"

Suddenly, Hye-Rim let out a soft moan, and I quickly pulled my hand back.

Had she woken up? Did she catch on to the prank I was about to pull? I glanced at her face, but her eyes were still closed. Her face was just a little redder, and she breathed a bit quicker.

Was she suddenly feeling unwell? But no, that didn’t seem to be the case as her breathing soon returned to normal.

"...Maybe it's just a habit when she's drunk?"

Ms. Hye-Rim's sleep-talking is certainly unique.

It's cute, though. As a personal wish, I’d love to see more of this sleep-talking. Right by my side. In my bed at home.

"...Ahem. What am I even thinking as an idol?"

Of course, if Ms. Hye-Rim and I ever become that close, it wouldn't be impossible.

Adding this small hope to the mix, I slowly reached for her shirt again, this time being even more careful as I lifted it.

Underneath the shirt, there was another layer, a short-sleeve T-shirt. I lifted that slightly as well.

"Ugh...!"

Was she sleep-talking again? I glanced at Hye-Rim’s face while holding a pen.

It happened as I thought about quickly finishing the doodle and maybe fulfilling some of my personal desires afterward.

"...Huh?"

The pen I was directing toward her belly suddenly stopped. It was not because it was blocked by anything, but because my hand had been frozen.

Why did my hand stop? It was because my entire body stiffened at what I saw.

What I was looking at shocked me so much that I couldn't move. I even forgot about my silly plan to draw a teddy bear.

What appeared before my eyes was not something normal.

"...What is this?"

Even now, that memory sometimes resurfaces in my dreams. Back when I was still not accustomed to fighting as a magical girl. The face of the one who humiliated me, sneering at my defeat.

'Oh my, you have quite the body, don’t you? This will make for a good experiment.'

That hand that roved over my entire body. No matter how much I wanted to resist, all the strength had already drained from me.

All I could do was glare at the person groping me.

'Watch closely. From now on, this will be the curse that binds you for life.'

As he said this, he slowly caressed my belly.

A strange sensation. A feeling of something boiling up inside me, spreading throughout my body.

"Ugh...!"

A moan escaped my lips without me realizing. Delighted by my reaction, he grinned wickedly and whispered in my ear.

'It feels strange, doesn’t it? I understand. It will at first. But you need to get used to it.'

His hot breath against my ear felt far more sensitive than usual, and I let out a ragged breath.

Enjoying my reaction, he grinned even more.

'It’s done. It’s been carved beautifully.'

After spending a while rubbing my belly, his hand finally lifted.

At that moment, I saw it. The strange mark on my belly, which hadn't been there before.

Just looking at it made me feel disgusted... it was something I would never want anyone to see. The symbol of humiliation that drove me mad just looking at it myself.

As I despaired, he patted my head and whispered in my ear.

'Now, you’ll have to live your life recalling this day in humiliation. How does it feel to have lost while trying to play the hero? Now you’ll have to live with an indelible disgrace for the rest of your life.'

Even though he could’ve killed me right then, he didn’t.

Instead, he delighted in mocking me, thrilled that he had left me alive.

It was hard to even breathe, but I forced out a few words, telling him that someday I would kill him.

'Hahaha! Well, give it a try if you can. I’ll let you go this time. Challenge me again sometime. Of course, before that...'

He slid his hand along my chin.

Lifting my face close to his, he looked straight at me with those violet eyes.

'I’ll carve another mark on you.'

The sensation of falling asleep under the influence of alcohol... it’s not so bad.

At home, Yoo Seo-Eun always nags me about drinking too much, saying it’s bad for my health. I appreciate the concern, but as an adult, sometimes I just want to drink until I pass out.

So when Alice offered me her shoulder to lean on and told me to sleep, I was honestly happy. I could drink to my heart’s content and sleep peacefully. A little break like that is precious for working adults.

So, I gladly accepted Alice's kindness and let myself drift into a boozy sleep...

"Mmm..."

A strange sensation came over me.

It was a familiar feeling. Something that had become a part of my life. I didn't pay much attention to it normally, but now, outside and with someone else, it was something I shouldn't be feeling.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, my eyes reflexively opened.

"Oh...!"

"Huh?"

The moment I opened my eyes and lifted my head, I locked eyes with Alice, who had an unmistakably panicked expression.

What’s going on? Why does she look so startled? And why is she holding a pen?

Still half-asleep and groggy from the alcohol, I glanced at Alice. She was frozen, alternating between looking at my face and something lower.

Wondering what was wrong, I followed her gaze and looked down...

"...!!!"

There was my exposed belly, fully visible.

It wasn't just that my bare skin was showing; the real issue was that Alice had seen my belly. Which meant... she had seen it—what no one else had ever seen.

As soon as I realized that, I quickly pulled my shirt down. Now I understood why Alice had looked so shocked.

"..."

"..."

An awkward silence filled the room. Any trace of my drunkenness had vanished. We both sat there, speechless, with our heads down, avoiding each other's eyes.

After about a minute of silence, I was the first to speak.

"Alice."

"Y-yes?!"

"Is there still some alcohol left?"

"...Huh? There’s still some left, yes?"

"Good."

Satisfied with the answer, I reached for the bottle of sake.

And then...

"Hup!"

"M-ms. Hye-Rim?!"

I raised the bottle to my lips and chugged the remaining alcohol in one go.

Yeah. Since things had come to this, I might as well get completely wasted and forget everything. If I black out, maybe I’ll forget everything that happened today.

Sometimes escaping reality is a good solution, right?

"Ms. Hye-Rim! You shouldn’t drink all that at once! Ms. Hye-Rim!!"

"So, you were planning to pull a prank and doodle on my belly while I was sleeping?"

"...Yes."

"And that's how you ended up seeing... this?"

"I’m really sorry..."

Now that I understood the situation, I let out a sigh. I never expected things to turn out like this. I reached out toward Alice, who was hanging her head in shame, clearly feeling guilty.

Flick!

"Ouch!"

I flicked her forehead lightly. Alice teared up from the sting.

"That was for trying to prank me. That’s the only thing you did wrong, so you don’t have to feel so guilty."

"Ugh, okay."

"As for... well, seeing the mark on my belly, that’s not your fault. The one who’s to blame is the person who put it there."

"C-can you tell me what that mark is? And how it got there?"

Still rubbing her forehead, Alice asked.

I guess she’d be curious. After all, it’s not every day you see such a strange and embarrassing mark on someone's body.

"Sorry, I really don’t want to talk about it."

But I had no desire to explain.

"I’ve lived my life trying to hide this from everyone. Even though you’ve seen it now, I still don’t want to talk about it. I hope you can understand."

"Y-yeah, I totally understand."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Just to be clear, in case you were wondering, I didn’t put this mark on myself, okay? It was forced on me. I’m a victim too."

"I figured, but you were forced into it? Even someone as strong as you was overpowered?"

Alice’s eyes widened in surprise as she asked again.

"You mean, even you lost to someone back then?"

"It happened when I was still in high school... before I became strong."

"They did that to a high schooler?!"

Without meaning to, I started revealing bits of information, and with each new piece, Alice’s eyes grew wider.

"...I don’t want to say any more. Alice, sorry but please don't ask anymore."

"Oh, um, okay. I’m sorry."

"No need to apologize. Just don’t tell anyone else about this, okay? Let’s keep this our little secret."

"Our... secret?"

At those words, Alice swallowed nervously and nodded, understanding.

"Alright. Let's end this conversation here. By the way, Alice, I have another favor to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Can you take me home?"

"...What?"

"I drank the rest of the alcohol, and now I feel like I'm going to pass out again."

And with those words, I lost consciousness once more.

"M-ms. Hye-Rim! Are you okay?!"

No, I’m not okay. I feel like... like I’m really going to die.

T/N: wow what a lore tease, barely learned anything