I Became My Ex-Girlfriend’s Summon

9 – 9.

It was during the summer vacation.

While Mayeonseo went to the United States to spend time with her family.

I started using the phone she gave me to communicate with her constantly.

As a result, my mother naturally asked about the phone….

“Did your girlfriend buy you a phone?!”

My mother, who found out by accident, reacted as expected.

“No… why?”

“Just because my phone was lagging….”

“No, I mean! Are you saying she’s pretty?!”

“…Is that what you want to say to your son?”

Although my mother seemed quite surprised, fortunately, she didn’t bring up any further topics.

“I see… our son is already….”

Just looking at me with an indescribable expression, she asked me one question.

“So… do you really like that girl?”

Do you love Mayeonseo?

Without hesitation, I replied sincerely.

“Now, I don’t think I can live without her.”

My mother, who nodded quietly with a slightly surprised face as if unexpectedly, ended the conversation with the words, “Love her a lot from now on.”

There was a vague tenderness in my mother’s face as she said that.

*

I had already suspected it from the phone gift, but Mayeonseo was surprisingly generous when it came to giving to the person she loved.

Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming.

“What’s this?”

“Your gift.”

“Huh?”

It was right before the end of the vacation when I met her at a cafe after she returned from the United States.

She handed me a small shopping bag, calling it a gift.

It was an impressive shopping bag of a brand with a bright orange color.

“Suddenly?”

“I just thought of you while shopping and bought one.”

“I already received a birthday gift before.”

“…Don’t you want it?”

A faint hint of madness flickered in Mayeonseo’s eyes as she glanced at me.

Instinctively sensing a threat, I clapped my hands and accepted the gift with a sly smile.

“No, it’s not that I don’t like it… Anyway, thank you.”

“Go ahead and open it.”

I take out a small box decorated with a luxurious ribbon from the shopping bag.

“It looks like a jewelry box.”

Admiring the quality of the unusual case, I carefully open the box and finally reveal the gift inside.

And the gift turned out to be none other than a leather wallet.

“Wow. It looks really expensive…?”

The wallet I originally used was decent enough.

It was a high-quality handmade item made from leather I obtained personally from the top as a symbol of using it when I grew up, a gift from my mother’s boyfriend, ‘that guy’, a long time ago.

But what Ma Yeon-seo gave me looked several times more expensive than that.

“This… seems really expensive, doesn’t it?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

She evades the question subtly.

‘Her… would it come up if I search it?’

I didn’t know much about the brand, so I decided to scratch my head and pretend to sleep.

Isn’t there a saying that ignorance is bliss?

I didn’t want to unnecessarily burden myself by looking it up and feeling overwhelmed.

“So… what do you think?”

Meanwhile, Ma Yeon-seo, hiding her anxious expression while stirring her drink with a straw, subtly asked for my impression.

Anyway, since I received a gift, I should show an appropriate reaction.

“I really like it! The design is clean and it looks very luxurious. Honestly, I wonder if it’s okay for me to receive something like this.”

“…That’s a relief. It’s made from leather from the Tower, so it should last a long time.”

Fortunately, she seemed satisfied too and smiled lightly.

“Wow. If it’s made from the Tower… I guess I won’t get stabbed if I carry this around. Right?”

“You shouldn’t get into situations where you’ll get stabbed.”

“hehehe. That’s true.”

Ignoring the gazes around us, I stuck close to her and playfully acted cute.

“What do I do if I keep receiving things like this all the time?”

“It’s okay. I gave it to you because I wanted to.”

“hahahaha. Do you always have to say things so nicely? Be a little more modest.”

Mayeonseo seemed pleased with my aegyo and had a content expression.

It was worth it to act cute like this.

“Someday, I’ll definitely repay her.”

And so, with determination, a new semester began.

It was the final semester, but not much had changed from the first semester.

During the day, we attended classes as usual, and after school, I went to Mayeonseo’s house.

“Oh, did you use up everything I bought before?”

“I didn’t order anything today because I didn’t need to.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I still have some medicine from before. I’ll be fine today.”

“Hey. Last time, you said the same thing and it turned into a disaster.”

“So, you’re not going to do it?”

“…Ah, no. That’s…”

“Then quietly take off your clothes.”

“Yeah….”

And when evening comes, I return home in a hurry, like I’m about to pass out, and fall into bed.

“…I didn’t do anything, but I’m so exhausted….”

Occasionally, we go on dates.

“Hey, isn’t this place too expensive? One menu item is so expensive….”

“But it tastes good.”

“No, of course it tastes good!”

“Oh. You don’t like it? Should I call the owner and ask why it’s so expensive?”

“No, let’s just eat. Yeah. That’s right. There must be a reason.”

I also receive gifts from her from time to time.

“We got matching couple rings? Not that we’re going to match, but that we already matched?”

“Yeah.”

“No…. When did you measure the size of my finger?”

“When you were sleeping.”

“What?”

We chose a school to attend together, based on our academic performance.

“Oh! I saw it before, and the school uniform here is pretty.”

“We can’t go to a place with pretty uniforms.”

“Why? I want to see you wearing the uniform here.”

“But other girls also wear pretty uniforms.”

“Wow… you’re really jealous, something I never expected.”

“That’s why we can’t go there.”

“Well then…”

As the days went by, a life with a growing sense of gloom became natural.

December. A crisp cold winter.

I was waiting for a rare contact from Mayeonseo, who had been absent from school.

“No contact.”

Mayeonseo and I were lucky enough to enter the school we had applied for together.

It was a place known for not having pretty uniforms, but there were rumors that they would change them to be pretty starting from next year, and the facilities were quite good, so I had some expectations.

“…high school….”

As I approached my academic future, I found myself caught up in a few concerns.

The worries about my future that I had been avoiding suddenly came to me.

Three more years until I become an adult and enter society.

Now it was time to start thinking about my career path.

“University seems like the safest option.”

In the current situation, where I don’t have a clear dream, it seems most plausible to manage my grades diligently and get into college.

The problem is that it costs quite a bit of money.

“It might be okay to start working altogether.”

It’s not a bad idea to jump into the job market as soon as I graduate.

I can definitely handle studying and working at the same time.

Of course, it’s entirely my responsibility to make it happen.

“Neither option is easy.”

Lost in such thoughts for a while,

Buzz ─ My phone vibrated briefly.

“?”

I quickly glanced at the screen, and there was the name I had been waiting for, Mayeonseo.

“Why did she finally contact me now?”

I swiftly unlocked my phone and checked her message.

And…

“Huh…?”

I doubted my eyes for a moment and looked closely at the screen.

Gyeonseo ♥ [I’ve awakened.]

The message said that she had awakened.

*

What does it mean to awaken?

After the appearance of the Tower, gaining a mysterious supernatural ability one day is called “awakening”.

The human who achieves awakening is called an “awakened one” and recently, they have been making remarkable achievements in many industries other than conquering the Tower.

So much so that there are even jokes that awakening is similar to winning the lottery….

And now, an awakened one was sitting right in front of me.

“How is it? Cute, right?”

A cafe near the house that I often visit.

Mayeonseo had been telling stories while gently patting the small flame sitting on her palm.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

As it moved sluggishly in response to her gestures, it overflowed with vitality like a real living being.

It was a fire elemental that was summoned simultaneously with her awakening.

“Life is really unfair.”

Upon hearing the news of her awakening, I could finally understand the conflicting emotions.

Awakening is a significant event comparable to winning the lottery.

I was naturally happy because there were no downsides, but later, as I thought about it more deeply, I couldn’t just be happy.

Mayeonseo is not only smart, beautiful, and comes from a great family, but she also awakened.

And on top of that, she possesses summoning abilities, said to be one of the best among all awakened ones in the world.

And what about me?

My mind is average, my appearance is average, and my family background is nothing to boast about.

Thanks to that, I could keenly feel the “huge gap” that is often talked about in various aspects.

The difference between us became even more pronounced.

“I actually have another name, but it’s hard to pronounce, so I decided to go by Nabi.”

“…That’s fine. Yeah…”

“Really?”

Mayeonseo happily continued her story about awakening and spirits.

I was quite worried when I came to meet her, but seeing her brighter than usual made me change my mind a bit.

“Yeah… That’s not important between us anyway.”

From the beginning, Mayeonseo and I met because we genuinely liked each other.

Whether she’s an awakened or not, it doesn’t matter.

Mayeonseo likes me, and I like her too.

That’s all there is to it.

That’s what I thought.

…Until that moment came.

“What, what? Did I hear wrong?”

“……”

“You have to go to a different school! What does that mean?”

Minors who are awakened are legally required to receive compulsory education at specific designated facilities.

However, the school that Mayeonseo and I had planned to attend was not included.

In other words, we have to attend a different school against our will.

“Well, this is just ridiculous…!”

It was absurd, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The law said so, and what could a mere student like me do?

Out of curiosity, I even considered transferring schools, but it wasn’t easy for a “sports high school” like that.

In the end, I had no choice but to accept reality and adapt.

“…What should I do…?”

But Mayeonseo couldn’t do that.

Having ended up separated from me, Mayeonseo started to visibly worry.

She, who had always been composed in everything, even shed tears.

“I don’t want to be separated from you… Without me… Huk…”

She was particularly anxious about the possibility of me being taken away by another girl.

“Shouldn’t I be the one worrying about this…?”

Honestly, it was hard to empathize, but I couldn’t just ignore my girlfriend’s sadness.

I desperately tried to comfort her.

“Yeonso. It’s just a school. I’m not going anywhere weird, right?”

“Other girls will definitely not leave you alone… Yuchan. Can’t you just drop out?”

“Well, what should I do?”

“Drop out and let’s live at my place…!”

“Drop out…?”

As if she wasn’t just talking, she even looked up the procedure for dropping out and tried to take me away.

“I’ll talk to my mother about it. Okay?”

That wasn’t enough, and I even tried to persuade her at my house.

“Hey, you’re not in your right mind.”

I was greatly taken aback and had no choice but to try to convince her, stammering with trust.

“Yeonso, can’t you just believe me a little? Do you think I’m the kind of pathetic guy who just fools around with any girl?”

“…No.”

“Yeah, I’m not that kind of guy. You know, I quit my club and don’t even contact other girls because of you.”

“…That’s because I’m with you…”

“Even if you’re with me, you can do whatever you want. There are so many ways. Right?”

“……”

Ma Yeonseo’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

“Did I say that for no reason?”

Gulp. I swallowed my saliva unconsciously and threw all sorts of tactics to make her feel at ease.

“If you can trust me from now on, I’ll do anything.”

“…Anything?”

“Anything. I’ll install a location tracking app if you want, and I’ll even let you check my phone regularly.”

“……”

For some reason, Ma Yeonseo suddenly closed her mouth and turned her gaze away.

It seemed like my persuasion was working.

“So, don’t worry too much. I only have Ma Yeonseo for the rest of my life.”

“…Really?”

“Really. If it’s not you, I can’t meet any other woman. Where else can I meet such a beautiful and lovely woman? Even if I do, I won’t be satisfied.”

She seemed pleased with my compliment and subtly relaxed her expression.

Now, we’re almost there.

“I’ll study hard while you’re gone, and later, I’ll propose to you with a diamond ring.”

“…If it’s a proposal….”

“We should get married. I’ve set my standards high, so you won’t refuse, right?”

“Ah… Yes, we should get married.”

She swallowed nervously at the mention of marriage and tentatively responded with excitement.

Seeing that everything was completely okay, I smiled lightly and gave her a gentle kiss.

“I love you.”

“…Me too. I love you.”

And so, we, who seemed like we would stick together forever, were separated for the first time.