Chapter 122: A Fleeting Spring Dream (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: A Fleeting Spring Dream (5)
I couldn't tell exactly when that gaze had started observing me. No matter how much I racked my brain, I hadn't felt anything before; the first time I noticed it was a few days ago while grocery shopping with Hayoung.
Was that truly the first time, or had they been watching me even before then? One thing was certain: that gaze wasn't just a casual glance, nor was it someone looking at me because they recognized my superhuman girlfriend. It was fixed precisely on me, monitoring my every move.
However, the watcher hadn't completely hidden their presence, suggesting they weren't professionally trained or experienced in surveillance. Given that I could sense them even while feeling incredibly fatigued lately, it seemed likely there was no one tailing me before that day with Hayoung.
Did the surveillance start specifically because I was with her? If that was the first time I was spotted and the monitoring began then, I had caught on to the watcher relatively quickly.
The bigger problem was that if this surveillance continued, it would severely restrict my actions. I only really went out to meet my superhuman girlfriends or to go to the Spacetro Headquarters. Being discovered in either situation would lead to a major disaster.
No, perhaps I had already been found out. Furthermore, I still lacked clear evidence. Aside from finding a few footprints and relying on my intuition, I couldn't say with 100% certainty that someone was definitely watching me.
"Sigh..."
A sigh so heavy it felt like the floor might give way escaped my lips. Beside me, Yura, who was drying dishes and cups, tilted her head at me.
"Is something wrong?"
"Huh? No. I was just wondering when work would be over."
Since I wasn't in a position to tell Yura about my current situation, I gave a vague excuse and continued washing the dishes. Yura went back to drying the plates and cups without much suspicion, and I kept thinking as I scrubbed.
If the person watching me had found me again today, there was a chance they were currently near the cafe. The problem was that even if I caught a glimpse of someone, I couldn't immediately accuse them of being my stalker.
There were too many loopholes for someone whose face, age, and gender I didn't even know to slip through.
On the other hand, if I tried to gather enough information to close those loopholes, my identity might be completely exposed in the process.
If the person was related to the Superhumans, my position would become even more precarious. There were so many unsettling factors that I almost wished it was just someone I already knew.
Aside from my girlfriends, the only people I knew were from Spacetro. Though I didn't like the idea, I could at least use the excuse that I was dating the members of Hunter Killer to gather information.
But that was unlikely. Someone who knew me wouldn't need to monitor me like this to assess the situation; if they found something strange, they would have just asked me directly before resorting to surveillance.
That increased the probability that it was someone related to the Superhumans. But was there anyone who could recognize me, given that I hadn't exposed my personal information to the outside world? If the surveillance started because I was with Hayoung, that was also strange.
Even if Blue of Hunter Killer had a boyfriend, that alone wasn't a reason to put that boyfriend under surveillance.
At that moment, a worst-case scenario flashed through my mind.
What if it was one of my other girlfriends? So far, the times I felt I was being watched were when I was with Hayoung, Eunha, and Su-ah.
If it really was one of them, the suspects narrowed down to Yubin and Yura. But I didn't want to think that way. Moreover, since their behavior toward me hadn't changed at all, I found it even harder to believe it was either of them.
"You look troubled today."
"I think it's because I haven't been sleeping well lately."
"Why not?"
"I just can't seem to fall asleep at night."
Yura put down the plate and cloth she was holding and reached out, placing the back of her hand against my forehead.
"You don't have a fever."
She checked my temperature as a makeshift measure to see if something was wrong, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The reason I couldn't sleep lately was that I was constantly thinking about my schedule and various other things; there was no way my body was physically ill.
If anything, it was more likely that my health would deteriorate from here on out. It wasn't that I couldn't sleep because I was sick, but rather that my body was weakening because I couldn't sleep.
"Shouldn't we check more thoroughly?"
I gently lowered Yura's hand from my forehead and leaned in, pressing my forehead against hers. No matter how much I had to think or how tired I was from the lack of sleep, being with my girlfriend always gave me a bit of energy and lifted my mood.
"I thought you said we shouldn't do this at the shop anymore."
Yura stared into my eyes from inches away and gave a meaningful smile. I let out a hollow laugh at her transparent remark.
"This isn't a signal. I'm just doing it."
"It wasn't? What a shame."
Yura, who was always eager to have sex with me, tried to create a mood even in the kitchen whenever she got the chance, and I was always busy keeping her in check. We had done it in the storage room once before, but even then, we were one mistake away from being caught. Since then, I had tried to avoid doing anything at the cafe.
Simply put, having sex with your girlfriend while on the clock in a cafe storage room was high-risk and just plain nonsensical.
Of course, after preventing Yura from creating such suggestive situations, I would let loose and explore her body once we got to her house. To be honest, when Yura used her body to seduce me at the cafe, it was sometimes hard to stay in control.
However, due to my recent fatigue, I didn't try to push myself for sex. I was worried I might not be able to satisfy her, and since I didn't know what might happen to my body, I had to be careful.
"I'll make it up to you at home today instead."
"Is that a promise?"
Yura's face brightened at the prospect of a long, pleasurable time at home. She held out her pinky, and I hooked mine into hers.
"Yeah. I promise."
Looking at Yura's bright smile, I could feel that she cherished our time together just as much as I did. While talking like this and thinking of each other made me feel incredibly happy, the moment I turned away, I was lost in thought again.
What to do today, what to do tomorrow. What about the day after, and the day after that?
There were certain repeating patterns in my life, but even if the atmosphere repeated, situations changed slightly every day, just as people weren't in the exact same state every day.
And within those changing situations, I had to keep an eye on many things. Even when speaking, I was always on edge, worried I might accidentally leak information about myself.
Of course, even though I felt exhausted, meeting them was so joyful and happy that I couldn't be purely annoyed. The problem was that my mood and my body were operating on two different levels.
After finishing our shift, we changed clothes, said goodbye to the Boss, and stepped outside. As soon as we were out, Yura linked her arm with mine, and we shared a smile.
When we reached the halfway point to Yura's house—about a fifteen-minute walk—I felt it. That gaze.
"!"
I quickly whipped my head around and caught a glimpse of a figure moving in the distance. Yura must have felt the eyes on us too, as she turned around to scan the distance.
"Was someone there?"
"Yeah."
I answered her while frowning, peering intently into the distance. The figure that had vanished didn't reappear. I realized they were monitoring me while maintaining a certain distance. Yura looked up at me as I stared into the distance.
"Since when?"
"Huh?"
"How long has that thing been following you? Looking at your reaction, it doesn't seem like it's only been a day or two."
There was no hesitation in Yura's eyes as she sharply deduced my situation from my reaction. As a Superhuman, Yura had likely never been oblivious to the gaze of others. Even if she ignored them now, there must have been times in the past when she had to be conscious of the eyes following her everywhere. In that regard, she was more accustomed to being watched than I was.
"Since I went out earlier this week."
Since I had already been caught, there was no point in hiding it, so I told Yura the truth. Of course, I didn't mention that I had met Hayoung. I couldn't exactly confess my own misdeeds with my own mouth.
"The distance looks to be about 300 meters. Should I go after them?"
"No. They've probably already run off."
The person wasn't a professional or trained in surveillance, but they were certainly fast on their feet. Even yesterday when I was with Su-ah, I had sent her to the subway station first and tried to chase the gaze as quickly as possible, but they had already fled.
The fact that they hadn't been trained but had secured an escape route in advance and fled quickly meant it was hard to view them as just an ordinary person.
Even if I sprinted, it would be difficult to close the gap that had already opened. To catch them, I would have to use my full strength, but I couldn't use my physical abilities like that in front of Yura. Moreover, if I sent Yura after them, there was a risk the watcher might blurt out that I had been with Hayoung, Eunha, or Su-ah, which would be a massive headache.
"Let's just get home quickly."
"Okay."
Yura agreed to my suggestion. We let go of each other's arms and sprinted toward her house. It wasn't a long distance, so we could easily run it with normal physical strength. I ran at the speed of an average person.
Yura matched my pace, occasionally looking back to see if we were being followed, but there was no sign of anyone tailing us after the initial flight.
Once we arrived home, Yura asked who was following me, but since I knew nothing to begin with, there wasn't much I could say. I simply told her I'd been feeling like I was being followed for a while and had been checking periodically.
After that, Yura didn't ask any more about the stalker. She knew that without any information or certainty, asking more wouldn't solve anything.
*
In the not-so-distant past.
Silver, a member of Team Special Force from the Earth Defense Union Seoul Branch, stepped off the elevator. After confirming from Blue that she didn't have a boyfriend, Silver headed toward their office, but seeing it empty, she stepped back outside for a moment.
"White!"
She happened to run into White, who had just arrived at the headquarters. They exchanged light greetings as they approached each other.
"Sorry. Am I a bit late? Where is everyone else?"
"No one's here yet. You're not that late, so don't worry about it."
The two began chatting as they headed inside to escape the summer heat. Silver, remembering that the catalyst for her conversation with Blue had been White, told her what she had heard.
"About Blue from Hunter Killer."
"Yeah?"
White, who had been interested ever since she saw Blue coming out of a furniture store with a man she assumed was her boyfriend—even wondering if Blue was preparing for marriage—responded instantly to Silver's words.
"She said she's not getting married."
"Oh... really?"
White's excitement deflated at the disappointing news, but she perked up immediately at Silver's next words.
"But I think he really is her boyfriend."
"Right?! I knew it!"
Excited by the confirmation of a boyfriend, White spoke as if she had known all along. She loved hearing about other people's romances. Actually, for most people, nothing is as entertaining as someone else's love life.
Especially for Superhumans, who lived in an environment poorly suited for dating, it was impossible not to be interested in a colleague's romantic affairs.
"Should we ask her properly later?"
"Don't be too pushy about it."
"I have at least that much tact."
The two chatted as they entered the headquarters.
Gainsborough of Team Guerrilla, who was just leaving the headquarters, heard their conversation clearly.
Tsk, talking about such trivial nonsense.
Conversely, Gainsborough had zero interest in other people's love lives. He ignored their conversation and went on his way.
And then, a few days ago.
The sound of things breaking echoed through a ward made of white walls. The people in white coats outside ignored the noise as if they were used to it. Gainsborough, who arrived just then, wasn't surprised by the sound either.
He calmly opened the door to the hospital room, the source of the noise. Inside, a man with navy-blue hair and bandages wrapped around his face had his fist pressed against the wall. The wall was slightly cracked, but the man's fist looked perfectly fine, as if hitting the wall was nothing to him.
"You're going to reopen your wounds like that."
"Shut the fuck up. If you're here to make shitty jokes, get lost."
Indigo, who had been utterly defeated by Spacetro's Team 3, was recovering at the Superhuman Research Institute. The memory of that defeat haunted him, leading him to smash whatever was in sight every day. By now, the researchers at the institute and Gainsborough, who occasionally visited to check on him, were accustomed to his behavior.
"That's harsh, damn. I brought something you'd actually enjoy."
"What?"
At Gainsborough's meaningful words, Indigo turned his head. His eyes fell on a few photographs Gainsborough had tossed onto the bed.
"What's this?"
"Take a look."
Indigo examined the photos but couldn't find anything strange other than the fact that the woman in them had a familiar face. While Indigo stared intensely at the photos, Khaki entered the room.
"Look at the state of this room. Are you some kind of thug?"
Khaki entered with a sneer at the trashed room and sat in a chair next to the hospital bed. Indigo, still unable to find anything unusual in the photos, glared at Gainsborough with a furrowed brow.
"What is it? What about these photos? If you have something to say, just say it."
"The guy next to her. Doesn't he look familiar?"
"Next to her?"
The photo showed Blue at a taxi stand in front of a large mart. Following Gainsborough's lead, Indigo checked the face of the man standing next to her.
He looked like he'd seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. Indigo frowned, lost in thought, until a memory flashed through his mind.
"The pub?"
"Bingo."
He finally remembered that the man was one of the group they had assaulted for fun at a pub. Indigo began to smirk as the memory returned, but then he looked at Gainsborough with a face full of questions.
"So what? What does it matter if that loser is related to Blue or not?"
"That guy... he was with Red before."
At Khaki's interesting remark, Indigo's eyes widened.
"With Red? Where?"
"I saw them shopping together in the morning at the station near the headquarters. They looked like a couple, no matter how you sliced it."
"Are you sure?"
"Do you think I can't recognize a face?"
In the photo, Blue and the man looked like a couple who clearly cherished each other. And after hearing from Khaki that the same man had been with Red before, Indigo couldn't wipe the grin off his face.
To him, the misfortune and pain of others were a source of pleasure. Indigo was a human being who would sacrifice anyone for his own amusement.
"I don't see that female researcher who used to work this shift."
"Oh, I fucked her so much in the ward that they moved her to another lab."
In response to Khaki's casual question, Indigo spoke of raping the woman as if it were a badge of honor, showing no remorse whatsoever.
"Take it easy. There was already a report filed after you fucked those three women at the pub."
He wasn't the only one with issues. Having spent so much time with him, Gainsborough and Khaki had also been tainted by his values. They spoke of the rapes at the pub as if they were trivial matters.
"Fuck, who cares? They should be grateful I bothered to fuck them. They were damn tasty, though."
His eyes still fixed on the photos, Indigo licked his lips, unable to stop smiling. He looked up at Gainsborough and spoke with a voice full of mirth.
"Gain. Get some kids to tail this guy. Tell them to take photos and send them the moment they see anything strange."
"I already told them."
Indigo burst into laughter at Gainsborough's proactive move. Khaki, understanding exactly what they were planning, added a "You crazy bastards" and joined in the laughter that echoed through the ward.