Chapter 179: A Woman's Enemy Is... (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 179: A Woman's Enemy Is... (1)
Interior construction was still underway at the new Spacetro Seoul Branch headquarters. It had been about three weeks since the exterior and interior design work began, and with the rapid pace of the project, at least one task was being completed every day.
As the headquarters gradually took shape, the executives began to find some breathing room. As was their custom, the team leaders gathered for lunch.
"It’s going to be a cold one this year, isn't it?"
Esmeralda, Luche, and Seira had arrived first and were already seated. Angelica, who arrived late, took off her coat, hung it over her chair, and sat down.
There was a major topic of interest among the executives. Everyone already knew that Luche was A.T., but the burning question was when A—who had been closest to her during her time as A.T.—would finally discover her true identity.
Having watched them spend a staggering ten years together without A noticing a thing, they had begun to think it would be impossible for him to figure it out unless someone told him directly.
"So, how did he find out?"
But yesterday, A had briefly visited the headquarters, and the truth had finally come out. Luche had been half out of her mind all day, and it didn't take long for the news to reach the other team leaders.
Since there was no reason to hide it anymore, Luche had been the first to mention that A now knew everything. Angelica, who was the most invested in this particular drama, had been counting down the minutes until lunch today.
"Should we order the regular sets first?"
As soon as Angelica sat down, she cut straight to the chase, but Luche, perhaps feeling shy now that the topic was being broached, tried to divert her attention to the menu.
"How did A find out, anyway?"
Angelica, however, didn't fall for Luche's diversion and asked again.
"Angelica. Let's eat first and talk slowly."
Esmeralda, who had been sitting quietly, calmed Angelica down, seeing as she was practically vibrating with excitement to hear Luche's story. Angelica glanced at Esmeralda, nodded, and decided to set her curiosity aside for a moment.
"It’s fascinating. When we talked before, you said he didn't seem to have a clue."
A few months ago, the team leaders had gathered to talk about Luche and A. At that time, A had been completely oblivious to the fact that Luche was A.T.
Knowing that Luche and A hadn't had much time for a relaxed conversation lately, Angelica found it quite surprising that he had suddenly learned the truth.
"He said Roy let something slip," Seira chimed in.
Having heard the whole story from A, Seira shared what she knew while looking at the menu. Luche kept her eyes fixed on the menu as well, unable to bring herself to watch the others discuss her embarrassing situation.
After they ordered their meals, the waiting period began, and Angelica’s eyes immediately locked onto Luche.
"What did A say?"
"What do you mean, 'what did he say'? He was just shocked."
It was embarrassing enough that A had found out, but having to talk about it with the other team leaders was even worse.
Even Esmeralda, who Luche thought wouldn't be interested in such things, was sitting there with a dignified air while stealing glances at her, clearly curious about the whole ordeal.
There was no way Luche could miss those stares. She couldn't bring herself to look at either Angelica or Esmeralda.
It wasn't like she could look at Seira, either. If asked who was the hardest to make eye contact with, Luche would have said Seira without hesitation; for some reason, she found herself walking on eggshells around her.
"What's there to be so self-conscious about now?"
Seira noticed Luche's behavior. To her, it felt strange and awkward for Luche to be acting this way after all this time, so she grumbled under her breath.
"I thought I'd be fine, but... I guess I am a bit self-conscious."
Until just yesterday, before A found out everything, Luche never imagined she’d feel this way around Seira, whom she usually bickered with whenever they met.
But now that A knew she was A.T., and she realized she could finally look at him with the feelings she had been hiding, she couldn't help but be mindful of Seira.
"It’s not that big of a deal."
"Not a big deal? It took A ten years to figure it out."
At Seira’s muttered comment while looking at her smartphone, Angelica countered that it was a good thing A finally knew after a decade. Just thinking about it made Luche feel as if the frustrations of the last ten years had been washed away, and a smile played on her lips.
"I'm just glad he knows now. It was so frustrating watching from the sidelines."
"I agree with that."
Seira, not wanting to be purely celebratory, tossed the comment out, and Esmeralda nodded in agreement.
As the one who had assigned A as A.T.'s handler back in the day, Esmeralda had felt the frustration of the last ten years more keenly than anyone.
Despite her great patience, A’s inability to notice anything for a decade had been enough to push her to her limits. There were moments when she considered telling him herself, but since Luche hadn't wanted that, she had swallowed her words every time.
"So, are you going to compete with Seira now?"
At Angelica’s words—knowing full well the feelings both Luche and Seira harbored for A—both women flinched simultaneously.
They flinched as if she had hit the nail on the head, but they each had different reasons.
Luche, in particular, knowing A's current situation, knew that competing with Seira wasn't the issue anymore.
She had thought about telling them, but she kept her mouth shut, fearing that if too many people knew about A's current circumstances, the progress he was finally making might fall apart.
Even when A hadn't known her identity, she hadn't been sad or angry. She wouldn't have minded if it took another twenty years for him to realize. But the thought of ruining A's current situation and being hated by him was worse than death.
At the same time, while she had lost the head start in becoming closer to A, she didn't want to lose to Seira, of all people.
"Why would I compete with her?" Seira asked, denying Angelica's words as she grabbed her water glass.
Her reason for flinching was simple. She just wanted to deny being linked to A in front of others, as she always had.
The reason for her denial was straightforward: she didn't want to expose her feelings so easily to be gossiped about.
However, to Angelica and Esmeralda, who had known her for decades, her feelings were written all over her face.
And the fact that A couldn't see it was another point of frustration for them.
"You like him too, don't you?"
At Luche’s blunt statement of fact, Seira spat out the water she was trying to drink. She coughed and pulled out a tissue to wipe the water dripping from her chin.
"W-Who does?!"
"Can you stop pretending? Honestly, it’s so obvious."
Seira avoided Luche’s glaring eyes. It was unclear whether it was from the coughing fit or embarrassment, but her face was flushed bright red.
"Don't push her too hard. Seira’s a tsundere, after all."
"Tsundere? What’s that?"
When Angelica summed up Seira’s behavior with a term used on Earth, Esmeralda, who didn't know the meaning, asked for clarification.
"It means someone who acts like they don't like the person they actually have feelings for."
After understanding the definition and glancing at Seira, Esmeralda nodded. Seira, feeling as though her status as a tsundere was being finalized, refused to meet the eyes of the other team leaders.
"If you keep acting like that, A won't notice even if he dies and is reborn."
It had taken ten years for A to realize Luche was A.T. Luche had been waiting for the day he would finally recognize her, and it had finally happened.
She believed she could express her feelings more openly now and vowed to show A more sides of herself.
In other words, it had taken ten years just to fasten the first button that would allow A to see Luche for who she truly was.
"...So what?"
Seira, still unwilling to admit her feelings in front of others, replied as if it were no concern of hers.
"Even I waited ten years for him to notice without being obvious. How long have you and A known each other?"
The length of time Seira and A had known each other was incomparable to Luche’s. Even compared to the other team leaders present, Seira had known A the longest; she had known him longer than anyone else in the entire universe.
"A long time."
"And yet, he still hasn't noticed a thing. Don't you think there's a problem with your approach?"
To Luche, Seira was a rival. Who would become closer to A first was a significant issue for both of them.
However, Seira didn't rush her situation. The fact that A didn't understand her feelings right now wasn't a major problem for her.
That was why she could afford to do nothing during the ten years A and Luche spent as superior and subordinate, and why she wasn't particularly pushing herself even now that A knew Luche's identity.
Luche understood Seira’s mindset to some extent. While she clearly recognized her as a rival, perhaps because she now had some peace of mind, she felt she could speak candidly about Seira’s current methods.
"I don't care."
"I'm telling you, you won't even be able to go to the grave together at this rate."
At those words, Seira’s face turned beet red as she glared at Luche. Their rivalry had begun a long time ago.
Back when Luche was A.T., her feelings for A hadn't been certain yet, but the competition between the two women had already started.
Even then, Seira had recognized Luche as a woman and an enemy, and Luche had vaguely sensed that Seira was wary of her.
As time passed, Luche came to understand Seira to some degree, and she knew that Seira’s goal wasn't to immediately advance her relationship with A.
Seira’s goal wasn't to date A or start a family right away. Her goal was to be with him at the very end of their long lives.
But now that A knew about Luche after ten years, Luche felt that with Seira’s current approach, she wouldn't be with him at the end of this life, or even the next.
"I don't care what method you use. I'm just telling you just in case."
Seira’s eyes wavered as she continued to glare at Luche with a flushed face. Luche, feeling her gaze, took a sip of the water in front of her.
Luche’s thoughts were equally complicated because she knew A's current situation.
The title of 'first' was already out of reach, but she hadn't been obsessed with being the first from the start. However, the fact that the 'opponent' was their current enemy, Team Hunter Killer, was a different matter.
Moreover, since she was the one who had ordered the surveillance of Hunter Killer, she had no rebuttal if Seira brought up her old warnings to make sure A did nothing.
Those sluts must have seduced him.
She knew when A had started dating the members of Hunter Killer, but she didn't know the specific details of how it happened. She knew the situation, but she didn't know their mutual feelings.
A hadn't mentioned their feelings in his reports.
It was natural since there was no need to report personal emotions, but since A, who had never dated while traveling through many planets, was suddenly dating the members of Hunter Killer, Luche couldn't help but think they had seduced him first.
Should I put them in their place the next time we clash?
Forgetting her repeated defeats at the hands of Hunter Killer, she gripped her glass tightly, thinking only of how to break their spirits.
"I'll handle my own business, so you just worry about making sure A doesn't do anything reckless from now on."
Hearing Seira’s words—still wishing for A to do nothing—Luche thought it was already too late. But fearing Seira might lose her mind if she told her now, Luche just nodded, then paused and looked at her.
"I'm telling you, that kind of talk is exactly why he doesn't notice your feelings."
"!"
On the day of the bombing incident, Seira had run into A at the old headquarters and told him to do nothing, as was her habit, which had made A angry.
And while A was lying unconscious, Seira had told Luche that A had been mad at her. At the time, since A was down, Luche had hesitated to talk about emotional issues, but now she could clearly point out Seira’s problem.
"You know he hates hearing that. If you're not going to say it when you see him, you should get out of the habit of saying it beforehand."
A had gotten angry after hearing something he didn't want to hear. If A hadn't woken up after that day, Seira’s last memory of him would have been him being angry at her for saying things he hated.
She had realized after that day that there was a problem with her speech habits. Reminded of her issue by the words that had slipped out unconsciously, she hung her head low.
"I like him."
At Luche’s sudden declaration, Seira, who had been looking down, raised her head and stared at her. Esmeralda and Angelica, sitting opposite them, also widened their eyes and looked at Luche.
"It’s obvious to anyone that Seira likes him, too."
"Ahem!"
Ignoring Seira’s fake cough, Luche turned her gaze toward Esmeralda and Angelica.
"What about you two?"
A heavy silence fell over the table. Esmeralda and Angelica fell silent at Luche’s sudden question, their eyes shifting from Luche to each other.