Chapter 184: A Woman's Enemy Is... (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 184: A Woman's Enemy Is... (6)
Passionate nights with a girlfriend often lead to moments where memory simply fades away. When you share such happy times, you find yourself wishing they would last forever; eventually, wrapped in each other's warmth, you drift off to sleep and wake up to a new morning.
"Mm?"
As I regained consciousness and opened my eyes, I winced at the sunlight streaming into the master bedroom. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes and taking a proper look, Su-ah’s bedroom ceiling came into focus. Feeling the warmth beneath the covers, I glanced at both sides of me.
Su-ah and Hayoung were still fast asleep, clinging to me. Finding myself in a position where I couldn't possibly move, I lay still and let my eyes wander to the clock on the wall.
10:00 AM. It was still morning, not yet afternoon. Just as I was thinking that I hadn't woken up as late as I’d expected, Hayoung opened her eyes first.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"Ten."
Having developed a habit of waking up early, Hayoung instinctively sensed she was up later than usual. She looked at me with half-open eyes and asked for the time.
Upon hearing it was ten, she rubbed her eyes and sat up to stretch. As she rose, the blanket covering her slid down.
"Yellow seems to be deep asleep."
"It's still early for her."
In contrast to Hayoung, Su-ah often stayed up late playing games, so she woke up late far more often than she woke up early.
She used to force herself up early when she wanted to go to the arcade, but since we started dating, she spent more time playing games at home with me, making early mornings even rarer.
With Hayoung up, I was finally able to move. I settled Su-ah back down so she could sleep comfortably, then leaned in to kiss the still-seated Hayoung.
The light morning kiss was sweet. After our lips parted, we looked at each other and naturally broke into smiles.
I looked around for my smartphone to see if I had any messages, but then I remembered that I’d left it in the living room when I followed Hayoung and Su-ah into the bedroom last night.
It must be in the living room, I thought. Just then, Su-ah, who I thought was sound asleep, opened her eyes while still lying down and stared intently at me.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah."
I asked her as she lay there motionless, and she gave a concise reply, her gaze fixed on me.
Wondering what was wrong, I looked back at her with a metaphorical question mark over my head, only to realize she wasn't actually looking at me—she was looking at Hayoung.
"?"
I immediately turned my head toward Hayoung. She, too, realized Su-ah was staring at her and tilted her head in confusion.
"What is it?"
Faced with that silent, unwavering gaze, Hayoung was the first to ask why she was being watched.
I had a feeling Su-ah wouldn't answer right away, and true to my prediction, she simply muttered, "Nothing," and pulled the blanket over her head.
The moment she hid under the covers, I felt like I understood why she had been staring so intently at Hayoung. Suppressing a laugh that threatened to leak out, I dove under the blanket after her.
"What are you doing?"
Inside the dark space of the covers, I locked eyes with the curled-up Su-ah and immediately kissed her.
"!"
She tried to pull away, but I didn't let go, deepening the kiss until she quickly grew docile. When I finally pulled back, her face was flushed red. I stroked her cheek before emerging from the blanket. Since the atmosphere was unmistakably that of two people who had just shared a kiss under the covers, Hayoung kissed me the moment I came out.
"Should we eat?"
"Let's."
If we just idled around after washing up, it would be lunchtime in the blink of an eye. I hopped out of bed, and we took turns washing up while preparing a meal.
After we finished eating, Su-ah sat back down on the living room sofa and started gaming. I pulled Hayoung onto my lap and watched the two of them play together.
"You're really good."
Hayoung played so well it was hard to believe she had only started yesterday. I was certain that if I played against her now, I wouldn't stand a chance.
"Really? Am I doing well?"
"You're way better than A."
"Did you really have to make the comparison?"
"It's just the truth."
When Hayoung asked, seemingly unaware of her own gaming talent, Su-ah hit me with the cold, hard facts.
In an atmosphere much improved from the day before, the two continued to focus on their game. I watched them in admiration for a while before looking around for my phone, thinking I should contact Yubin since I’d be spending time with her at home toward evening.
I spotted my smartphone on the floor under the coffee table. Since Hayoung was sitting on my lap, it was difficult to pick up, so I decided to wait until their current match ended.
As I waited, a thought suddenly occurred to me: both Hayoung and Su-ah had expressed their desire to join Spacetro.
Realizing I was currently with the two people who happened to share the same opinion—even if it wasn't intentional—I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to talk about it.
Hayoung was in favor of the harem while Su-ah was against it, but joining Spacetro was a separate issue. There was no need to feel pressured by the harem situation here.
"Is your stance on wanting to join Spacetro still the same?"
Knowing that dragging it out or beating around the bush would only be exhausting, I asked point-blank. Both of their hands stopped moving instantly. Rather than looking at me, they looked at each other first.
Their startled expressions seemed to ask, 'You too?' It was only after that silent exchange that they turned their gaze toward me. I waited for an answer to my question, and the two looked at each other once more. Hayoung was the first to speak.
"Yeah. My mind hasn't changed."
"…Me neither."
Neither of them had changed their minds.
"Is Yellow trying to go to Spacetro because she wants to be with him, too?"
Hayoung asked Su-ah her reason for wanting to join, but Su-ah didn't answer. It didn't matter, though. Her silence was as good as an affirmation of Hayoung's words.
"What about Blue?"
Su-ah threw the question back at Hayoung, which was essentially like saying, "That's my reason for moving, what's yours?"
Understanding the implication perfectly, Hayoung smiled and replied, "Same for me."
"There's one thing I want to ask of you both."
The reason I’d asked if their minds were made up was to make a specific request. Seeing my serious tone, the two stopped their game entirely and focused on my words.
"I've been ordered to take a break for now, but once I return to headquarters, I'm going to continue my investigation into Superhumans. However, I couldn't find any fundamental information about them in the data I’ve looked at so far, nor in the records I found on the ship."
What I was looking for was information regarding Superhumans. And asking them for that was, in essence, asking them to betray the Earth's forces.
The very act of Superhumans belonging to the Earth Defense Union moving to Spacetro could be seen as a form of betrayal, but there was a massive difference between simply leaving and handing over intelligence to Spacetro.
Of course, neither of them had any lingering loyalty to the idea of "betraying" humanity, and since I knew some of the hardships they had endured, it didn't feel like a betrayal to me either.
However, handing over internal information carried a completely different weight. I had no intention of forcing them.
"If it's too difficult, you don't have to do it."
I had brought it up mostly to check the possibility. When we had all gathered to talk before, I’d confirmed that even the active members of Hunter Killer didn't know the locations of the research institutes within Korea.
"What kind of information do you want to find?"
Su-ah, who no longer felt any attachment to the act of protecting Earth, asked about the specific information I wanted, seemingly willing to help me actively.
"Anything is fine. As long as it's internal information that hasn't been made public."
At first, it was a survey of perceptions regarding Superhumans, and after that, I had been conducting a fundamental investigation into them. However, I hadn't found any data that gave a clear answer, and I was in a position where I couldn't say for certain exactly what data was needed right now.
"Internal info on Superhumans would be best, but I'll talk to you again after I've organized my thoughts a bit more."
In truth, I wanted to ask about the experiments Superhumans were subjected to. But when we had talked about the research institutes and experiments during our group conversation, I remembered how all my girlfriends' expressions had darkened at once. I couldn't bring myself to ask.
"Tell me when you've sorted it out. I'll do my best to help with whatever I can."
"Yeah."
Hayoung, who had already solidified her decision to come to Spacetro, was also willing to help. Seeing my girlfriends so eager to assist made me feel like I could take on the world.
"I think it would be good to talk about this with the others as well."
Since Yura had given me the authority to control her suit, there was a possibility she was considering coming to Spacetro. I didn't know what Eunha or Yubin thought, but it was certainly worth discussing. I nodded at Hayoung's suggestion.
"Yeah. I'm supposed to go home and meet Yubin later anyway, so I'll ask her then."
Rather than rushing through a lot of topics, I decided to stop the Spacetro talk there so we could process things one by one. The two went back to their game, and I took turns playing with them.
And as expected, it became crystal clear that Hayoung was better than me.
The fact that Su-ah cursed at me for being bad at games was just a bonus.
As we played, evening approached. Just as I was about to get ready to head home, I realized I hadn't checked my phone all day. I finally picked it up from the floor and tried to turn it on, but the screen remained dark; the battery was dead.
"It's about time for her to get home."
"Red might get mad if you're late, so you should hurry."
Since we had spent an enjoyable two days and one night together, Hayoung was respectful of the time I needed to spend with others. Su-ah didn't say much, but the atmosphere suggested she was fine with me going to see Yubin.
I tidied up the traces of our hangout and left Su-ah's place, heading straight for my home. It would have been better if I’d charged my phone before leaving, but I figured it was better to get home and wait for her there rather than waiting for it to charge before calling.
*
After finishing her assignments and ignoring the various stares directed at her as a superhuman, Red left campus and headed home with a light step, excited to see A.
She had sent A a text when she left school, but the lack of a reply told her he was still with Blue and Yellow. She hoped that since he’d spent time with them, he would spend an equally enjoyable time with her.
When she first found out that all the members were A's girlfriends, she had been shocked and incredibly jealous. But as time passed, she realized that being jealous was only hurting herself.
She felt there was a limit to holding an alien like A to human standards of right and wrong, so she decided to focus on making the most of the time she could spend with him.
"Still, isn't this a bit too much silence?"
She sent one more text just in case, but there was still no reply. Red drew closer to A's apartment.
"Nothing happened, right?"
Because A had been in a major accident before, she grew anxious when she couldn't reach him. Then, thinking she could just call Blue or Yellow if she couldn't get a hold of him, she dialed Blue's number.
—Red. Haven't you met him yet?
Blue answered the phone, already fully aware of why Red was calling and what the situation was.
"No. Wasn't he with you?"
—He was until a little while ago. He left for home a bit ago to meet you.
"Really?"
Red's face brightened at the news that A was on his way to see her. However, the fact that she couldn't reach him while he was on his way made her even more anxious, but that anxiety was quickly dispelled by Blue's next words.
—His phone battery died, and he left without charging it. If you wait at the house, won't he arrive soon?
"Got it."
With that, all of Red's worries vanished. She hung up and entered the building with a much lighter heart.
The lights were off and the room was dark, suggesting A hadn't arrived yet. Red took off her shoes and went inside to wait for him.
About ten minutes later, she heard footsteps outside the door.
Since the building contained several studio apartments, hearing footsteps wasn't unusual, but these footsteps stopped exactly in front of A's door.
"He's here."
Muttering to herself, she walked toward the entryway, hearing the sound of the digital door lock's keypad being pressed.
"Hey! Why haven't you been answering your—"
The moment the door swung open, Red froze. The person standing at the door wasn't A. It wasn't even a man. It wasn't a face she was intimately familiar with, but it was definitely one she recognized. Red knew exactly who she was in an instant.
Seira, who had entered the code and opened the door, froze upon seeing Red inside A's apartment.
In an instant, the two clashed as they drew their respective weapons. Seira, who had drawn her blade first, pushed Red back, and the two faced off inside the small room.
In the suffocating tension, neither could utter a word, cold sweat beads forming on their skin. The door Seira had opened began to slowly, automatically swing shut.