Chapter 15: Pink, But Not a Slut (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15: Pink, But Not a Slut (1)
A quiet Saturday afternoon. Four subway stops from my house lies a neighborhood that stays crowded day and night. If you walk about fifteen minutes from there, you enter a secluded area where a quiet cafe sits, seeing only a moderate trickle of people.
This cafe, which also sells bread, occasionally gets a surge of visitors thanks to enthusiastic promotion on social media. However, because of its remote location, it’s practically empty on weekdays. Even on weekends, it’s not exactly bustling. The number of customers is so irregular that the deviation is massive even on Saturdays. Case in point: despite it being a Saturday afternoon when business should be at its peak, the shop was deserted. I found myself genuinely worrying if they could even afford the rent.
So, why did I come to this cafe?
I was currently washing dishes alongside Pink from Team Hunter Killer.
"Sigh..."
"Sighing already on your first day?"
Just being around her—a woman whose energy levels were utterly unpredictable—made me feel exhausted.
To explain the situation in a way that makes sense, we have to go back three days.
*
"Pink?"
"Yeah. I’ve roughly confirmed her location."
Last week, Luche mentioned changing the surveillance target. Since my reports on Red hadn't yielded any significant results for a week, Luche pushed forward with the change. From my perspective, it was too inconvenient to keep Yubin by my side while simultaneously maintaining a watchful eye on her, so I agreed to switch targets as Luche ordered.
"So, are we going there now?"
It was a weekday afternoon. I had been summoned to headquarters, where a plainclothes Luche told me we were going somewhere. I was dragged along without knowing why, and only after we boarded the subway did she inform me that the target had been set to Pink and that we were currently en route.
"Couldn't you have told me that sooner? I was wondering why you were wearing a wig."
Luche was wearing a black wig to hide her natural ash-gray hair, and her makeup was much lighter than usual. It had been so long since I’d seen her in civilian clothes that I’d forgotten, but she tends to dress quite modestly when she’s off the clock.
Right now, she was wearing a white T-shirt, a denim jacket, and a black skirt that fell just above her knees.
"But do you really need to go yourself? With Red, you just tossed me the location and sent me off."
"It's because I'm not entirely sure if the location is accurate. You got a problem with that?!"
I looked out the window to avoid Luche’s gaze as she hissed like an angry stray cat. She couldn't seem to smooth out the furrow in her brow, clearly annoyed by my blatant disregard.
"Stop scowling. You'll get wrinkles."
"I'm younger than you, so it's fine."
"Yes, yes. Of course."
Luche is my superior and the executive in charge of our team, but she is actually the youngest person in the entire group. Since we live in a meritocratic society, age doesn't really matter and I’ve never given it much thought, but sometimes, when she acts vulnerable, everyone ends up feeling like her guardian.
"And stop wearing such heavy makeup. How many times do I have to tell you it makes you look old?"
"I told you, it’s for the atmosphere!"
Luche was secretly self-conscious about being the youngest, and to hide it, she always wore heavy makeup during confrontations. The team members had told her several times to tone it down, but she never listened. On a day like today, with her makeup light, she looked at least ten years younger than when she went all out.
"Forget the 'atmosphere.' Obsessing over stuff like that is exactly why you don't seem mature."
I hadn't intended to, but once I started, the nagging just kept coming. Usually, I was the one getting lectured, but on very rare occasions, the roles were reversed.
"Look. It's been twenty years since we came to Earth, and you haven't changed a bit."
Structurally, we are the same as Earth's humans, but there are distinct differences in our biological rhythms and lifespans. Humans on Earth change drastically in appearance twenty years after they hit twenty, but we hardly change at all.
The advantage is that we can maintain our physical prime for a long time. The disadvantage is that because our bodies are so full of energy, our mental growth is slower compared to Earth's humans.
Of course, this varies from person to person, so it’s not a universal rule, but one thing was certain: compared to twenty years ago, I couldn't find a single thing about Luche that had changed.
"It's the same when you lose a duel. Every single time, we tell you, 'Don't cry, don't cry.' But what's the point? You burst into tears immediately. It makes it hard for us to treat you strictly as a superior, Luche."
As I poured out the continuous stream of nagging, I noticed Luche had gone quiet. I shifted my gaze from the window back to her.
"Hic... ugh...!"
Luche was bowing her head, hiccuping. That was the signal right before she burst into tears. The moment I saw it, a realization hit me like a physical blow to the back of the head: I went too far.
Luche isn't the mentally resilient type. It’s not that she crumbles easily at everything, but when someone she’s known for a long time points out a flaw she’s already aware of, the tears flow easily.
In particular, while we only met in person for the first time on Earth, she and I had frequently communicated back when I was stationed on the ship during our voyage through space. In the current team, I’ve known her the longest.
Because we’ve known each other so long, there’s a level of comfort, but conversely, I am the person most capable of shattering her mental state.
"I'm joking! It's a joke! You have no idea how mature you are, Luche!"
I immediately tried to backtrack and soothe her, but Luche knew well enough that saying such things at this timing wasn't sincere.
"Forget it..."
This was bad. If she truly got sulky, it would definitely last for days. If Luche stayed upset while we were supposed to be finding a surveillance target, nothing would get done.
"You're really the best, Luche. You're so amazing!"
Since we were on the subway, I was conscious of people watching, which limited the words I could use. I felt like a complete idiot, but my feelings didn't matter right now. I had to stop Luche from crying at all costs.
However, nothing I said seemed to get through. Eventually, I had to use the one method I really didn't want to use.
"Phew..."
This was a trump card that required a deep breath and mental preparation. I hadn't wanted to use it ever again after the first time.
Having steeled my resolve, I placed my hand on Luche’s head—she was already showing signs of an imminent breakdown—and stroked her hair.
"No, it's okay. Our Luche is so impressive."
Luche hates being treated like a child, but ironically, this method works the best. It was so out of character for me that it made my heart shrink and gave me goosebumps, but I’d learned it worked after being pressured into doing it once by the other team members long ago. As I mentioned, I had a massive aversion to treating Luche like a child, so I had intended to keep this move sealed away if possible.
"..."
Her hiccups gradually subsided, and Luche remained still with her head bowed.
"I'll buy you ice cream when we get off the subway."
She didn't answer, but she gave a small nod.
No matter how provocative her clothes were or how heavy her makeup was, it seemed impossible that I’d ever stop seeing this mentally fragile Luche as anything other than a younger sister.
*
It was only after we got off the subway and I bought Luche an ice cream that things finally started moving forward.
"It's this way."
With summer in full swing, the sun was scorching. Sweat trickled down my back just from walking. The thought of having to walk this path every time I came to monitor her made me want to gag.
After walking for about fifteen minutes from the station, we found a cafe nestled among several houses.
"Is that it?"
"Yeah. I wonder if she's inside?"
We peeked inside from the exterior, trying our best not to look suspicious, but the back of the counter wasn't visible from the street.
"Wait a second. She won't recognize us anyway, right?"
"...Right?"
Luche looked completely different from her usual self, and there was no way Pink would recognize me, since I’d only ever appeared before the Hunter Killers in my suit.
"Let's just go in as customers. That'll be the most natural."
"Good idea."
Still, I felt a prickle of tension as we stepped into the cafe. The clean, bright atmosphere immediately gave off a good vibe. Luche and I walked toward the counter.
There was no one there. As we lingered, waiting to order, someone slowly walked out from the back. Long pink hair and pale purple eyes. Half her face was covered by a mask, but from her gaze and aura alone, we knew instantly: she was Pink of Team Hunter Killer.
"Where did everyone go?"
Pink looked around the shop, and seeing no other employees, she stepped up to the register.
"May I take your order?"
She greeted us with a natural, professional smile. I decided to order as naturally as possible.
"I'll have an iced Americano..."
I couldn't call Luche by name, so I just finished my order and looked at her. Luche, looking even more nervous than I was, spoke up.
"I'll... I-I'll have an iced chocolate! Please."
Man, she really can't keep a straight face.
"Sure thing. I'll give you a buzzer to let you know when your drinks are ready."
After paying, I took the buzzer Pink handed me, and we sat down across from each other at a table.
"What was that? You were practically advertising that we're suspicious!"
"Look who's talking! Why did your voice trail off like that?!"
We started bickering in low voices. Knowing this fight would only end in my defeat, I raised the white flag first.
"I just won't do it next time. If there even is a next time."
"Why are you saying such unlucky things again?"
"Do you have any idea how fast my heart beats when I'm doing surveillance? I feel like my head's gonna get lopped off at any moment."
"Killing is forbidden anyway!"
Sensing the volume was about to rise again, I surrendered once more.
As Luche said, killing was strictly forbidden by the rules, so we were never supposed to take each other's lives. But that didn't make it any less terrifying.
I had managed to reach my current relationship with Red, but if things had gone wrong even slightly, who knows what would have happened.
"Fine. Anyway, we've confirmed she's here. So I just have to monitor her from now on, right?"
"Yeah. Do you have a plan?"
Just as Luche asked about my method, the buzzer went off. I stood up and headed to the counter to pick up the drinks. Pink was standing there. Since I obviously couldn't make eye contact, I avoided her gaze as much as possible.
"Thank you."
As I was about to take the tray and leave while keeping my eyes down, I spotted something. Taped to the bottom of the counter was an A4 sheet of paper that read: 'Hiring part-time kitchen help for weekends.'
I etched that into my memory and returned to the seat where Luche was waiting.
"How was it? Do you think she noticed?"
"If she noticed, would I be standing here like this?!"
I snapped back in a whisper at the ridiculous question. I thought for a moment, and since Luche was right in front of me, I decided to just ask.
"Luche. Can I take on a second job?"
"Huh?"
Luche probably thought I was talking nonsense. Since I’d cut out all the context and just said I wanted a second job, it was only natural for her to react that way.
"I'm going to work here."
It wasn't because I had some brilliant, innovative plan. It was simply following the old Korean proverb: To catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger's den. To properly monitor the target, I would enter the very place where she worked. It might be reckless, but I’d learned one thing from meeting Yubin.
Talking to someone once yields more information than watching them from afar for a hundred days.
Of course, I hadn't managed to get any definitive information that would guarantee a win while monitoring Yubin. But I did know that what I could accomplish changed drastically depending on the relationship I built.
And so, I reached out, had an interview, and got hired. I was told to start the very next day...
Which led to the current situation.
"Even this morning, you know? I was on my way to work and I felt someone watching me again!"
Pink’s personality was unlike anyone I had ever met. She was excessively social; watching her get excited and talk to herself was like watching a hyperactive puppy with pink fur. And I don't mean that in a good way.
To give you an idea of how social she was: there was no way she remembered me as a customer, yet she was currently giving me a play-by-play of everything that had happened to her from last night until this morning, even though we’d basically just met today.
I think I’ve made a mistake.