How amazing it was that people went to work in this rain. Despite the deluge about to swallow us all, the fact that someone kept opening and closing the front door of my complex meant people were commuting to and from work, continuing to live their lives in the apartments upstairs. Working, dropping by the store, all the things they need to do to keep going. I needed to keep going too. If I wanted to be ordinary, I had to put the effort into being ordinary. I just felt annoyed that of all the ordinary things I had to do, I had to start with the one where I'm going to work in the rain . . .
— from A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon, tr. Anton Hur









