Chapter 3: Convenience Store Red (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 3: Convenience Store Red (2)
Sunday afternoon. A seat inside the convenience store.
—Beep!
The sound of the barcode scanner at the counter reached my ears as the clerk rang up another customer’s items. I sat in my chair, looking over her major textbook.
It was too late to turn back time; the deed was done. I couldn't ignore the way her eyes sparkled whenever she approached me to talk during the lulls between customers.
She was convinced that I was someone with a fair amount of knowledge in her field of study. With her exams approaching, she was exhausted from grappling with her major subjects, and I simply couldn't find it in me to refuse her request to help her study.
“Here, have this.”
Reading her textbook was surprisingly interesting. It allowed me to see what kind of knowledge Earth was currently imparting to students just entering society, and it revealed that their deep space technology was still in its infancy, even theoretically.
As I was engrossed in the book, she stepped out from behind the counter and approached me, handing me a drink. I reflexively bowed my head.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry for asking such a sudden favor.”
“No, it’s fine. I have plenty of time anyway…”
Because I had agreed to help her at a nearby cafe once her shift ended, I was stuck. I found myself reading her textbook, but I had no one to blame but myself. I decided to take this opportunity to monitor her more closely.
“Do you work in this field?”
“Yes, well… something like that.”
In hindsight, saying no probably would have been the better answer.
However, since I actually possessed knowledge of deep space navigation technology and couldn't think of a lie on the spot, I answered her question directly. My response only served to pique her curiosity further.
“I haven't been studying this for very long, so I’ve never actually met an expert before.”
“It’s my first time meeting a student, too.”
It had to be. As a soldier of Spacetro, there was no reason for me to encounter an Earthling college student, let alone one studying the rudimentary stages of the knowledge I possessed.
If anything, the fact that Red of Team Hunter Killer was a college student studying deep space technology was the real shock. I could tell she was young from her appearance, but I hadn't realized she was a college student who had only just become an adult by Earth's standards.
A customer walked into the store, and she returned to the counter after greeting them. I could feel her gaze drifting toward me every now and then. I turned my attention back to her book. There were notes scribbled everywhere, and in one corner, there was a doodle of her fighting a Spacetro soldier.
“…….”
Since all Spacetro grunts wore the same uniform, I couldn't shake the feeling that the one getting beaten up in the drawing was me.
Time passed, and the sun began to set. Red’s replacement, a young man, entered the store. After the handover, she changed into her private clothes—a white blouse and jeans—and came over to me.
“I’m finished.”
“Okay.”
I packed the book and followed her as she led the way out of the convenience store. Even outside, I simply trailed behind her as she headed toward the cafe. Walking right beside her felt awkward for some reason, and following from behind made it easier to keep an eye on her.
However, Red wouldn't leave me be. Every time the gap between us widened, she would stop and wait for me to catch up.
The power of one-sided familiarity is a frightening thing. Even though I’d been seeing her for over a month, we’d only had our first conversation two days ago. I hadn't expected her to be this unguarded.
Then again, thinking about it further, she had no reason to be wary of me. To be precise, she didn't need to be. She was Red of the Hunter Killers, the protectors of Seoul. Her physical abilities were beyond those of ordinary humans; she could take down even those of us from outer space in a single blow. From her perspective, if an ordinary-looking man like me turned out to be strange or suspicious, she could simply subdue me in an instant.
“I haven't introduced myself yet. I’m Hong Yubin. I’m 20.”
“I see.”
I already knew her name. It was on the nametag of her part-time uniform. I had guessed her age, but now I had confirmation that she was exactly 20.
As we walked side by side, I felt her gaze shifting toward me repeatedly. Even a monkey could have guessed that she wanted me to introduce myself.
“A. I’m 25.”
“A? Are you a foreigner?”
“Yes. You could say that.”
Since I had no intention of getting involved with Earthlings, I hadn't bothered to come up with a pseudonym. I figured that if I hesitated while trying to think of a name, I’d look suspicious, so I just gave her my real name. As for being 25… I just picked an age that seemed to fit my appearance in the eyes of an Earthling.
“That’s interesting. I thought you were only a year or two older than me.”
Apparently, I looked younger than the age I’d given. Looking young to Red didn't particularly benefit me, but it didn't feel bad either.
“Then you must have graduated from university?”
“Yes.”
“Did you go to a university abroad?”
She had mentioned that she’d never met anyone so far ahead in her major before, and that seemed to be the honest truth, as she kept peppering me with questions.
“Yes.”
“Where did you go?”
I had no choice but to keep my answers short. The longer the answer, the less time I had to think, so I gave brief replies and used the intervals to anticipate her next questions.
“MAT.”
According to the information I’d gathered, that was the name of the most famous engineering school on Earth. Since it was located outside of Korea, it fit the "foreign university" narrative. However, that answer only fueled her curiosity even more.
“If you graduated from such a famous place, why are you here?!”
It wasn't a malicious question. She was genuinely curious as to why I was here. Was the university I mentioned really that incredible? I had just picked the name of a famous place.
“Well, there are various circumstances.”
“Ah.”
She nodded, accepting the answer without prying into my personal affairs. For some reason, her gaze now seemed to hold a hint of respect, which only made me feel more burdened.
“Is it really okay for me to be learning from someone who went to MAT?”
I think naming the most famous school was a mistake. Since it was a difficult university to get into, Red seemed to feel that it might be disrespectful for her to be tutored by me.
“It’s fine.”
I didn't know the exact level of knowledge at MAT, but considering the overall technological level of Earth, they were bound to be behind us in deep space technology. Therefore, there wouldn't be any issues with the level of knowledge, and since she had no way of verifying if I actually graduated from MAT, there was no real problem.
Before I knew it, we arrived at the cafe. Once we found a seat, she headed to the counter, saying she would buy the coffee. I told her I’d pay for my own, but she insisted on buying since she was the one being tutored and made me sit down.
The things she asked about in the cafe were truly the basics of the basics. I explained them to her exactly as she asked.
There were slight differences in the terminology used on Earth versus outer space, but I was able to navigate that with a bit of intuition. Even when I couldn't respond immediately, she seemed to think it was because I was thinking of more advanced concepts. When I explained things in terms of Earth's knowledge, she understood right away.
“Learning from an MAT graduate… that’s amazing, Oppa.”
I nearly spat out the coffee I was drinking and broke into a coughing fit.
“Gah—! Hack!”
“Are you okay?!”
Startled, she hurried to give me some tissues. I wiped the spilled coffee while coughing and looked up.
“Wh-what? What did you say?”
“I said it’s amazing…”
“No, after that.”
“…Oppa?”
“Yes. Why so suddenly…?”
“Well, you’re 25. You’re older than me, so that’s why I called you that… Ah! Was it too sudden?”
It was sudden, yes, but more than that, I couldn't help but be shocked by a word I was hearing for the first time in my life. While our language has several words similar to Earth's, I had never once been called "Oppa" in my entire life, even in my own tongue.
At this level of familiarity, it wasn't just a matter of one-sided closeness; it was just the way Red—Hong Yubin—was. She was the type of woman who naturally closed the distance with people without any hesitation. She was the polar opposite of me, someone who felt a great deal of discomfort in getting close to others.
“Ah, it’s okay. I was just a bit surprised.”
“Really? Is this your first time being called Oppa?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
To Red, I was a foreigner who graduated from MAT. She probably assumed that as a foreigner, I’d never had the chance to encounter the word. Whatever the reason, it was true that it was my first time.
“Oppa.”
I flinched and wiped my mouth, turning to look at her. Our eyes met, and Red let out a small giggle.
“I thought you were a weirdo because you came to the convenience store at the same time every day, but you’re actually quite fun.”
I didn't recall doing anything particularly "fun," but Red seemed to find my reaction amusing.
“I know it’s shameless of me, but could I ask you to help me study when you have time? I can’t give you much, but I’ll make it worth your while.”
I wasn't keen on narrowing the distance between us, but doing so would allow me to monitor her more closely. In other words, there was no reason to refuse. I could have done it without any compensation, but that would have been even more suspicious, so I decided to accept her request.
“Sure. If you’re okay with it, Yubin-ssi.”
“Just call me Yubin.”
“Okay. Yubin.”
“I meant you can speak casually to me. Is it because you’re a foreigner? You answer like a robot.”
Red didn't stop smiling as she spoke. Since I found it difficult to suddenly close the distance, I scratched my head awkwardly before deciding to just go for it once.
“Alright. Then I’ll speak comfortably. Yubin-ah.”
“Okay. Since I’m the younger one, I’ll start speaking casually to you slowly.”
There are all sorts of people in the world. Earth is diverse, but the universe is even more so. I thought I’d experienced many different types of people, but in all my long years, a person like Red was a first.
She was so different from the Red who used to beat the living daylights out of me that I wondered if they were even the same person. If I could figure her out more, it would make for an excellent report.
“Two hours have passed already.”
Following Red as she checked her smartphone, I turned on my own screen. Just as she said, two hours had already flown by since we started studying at the cafe. We packed up our things to wrap up.
Stepping out of the cafe, the sweltering summer air hit us. Thinking back to last year’s weather, it was bound to get even hotter… Korea’s weather is truly strange. It’s nice having distinct seasons, but it’s deathly hot in the summer and deathly cold in the winter. I’d been to planets with even more extreme environments, but back then, I wore a specialized suit, so I never felt the direct effects of the temperature like this.
Because I had been stationed on Earth for twenty years, I had to blend into society and hide my identity. Naturally, this meant I couldn't wear my suit and had to experience the climate changes firsthand.
“It’s hot. It’s only going to get hotter from here.”
Red seemed to be thinking the same thing as she fanned herself with her hand and spoke aloud. I nodded in agreement.
“Thanks for helping me out on such short notice.”
As she said her goodbyes, she suddenly held out her smartphone toward me.
“?”
As I stood there wondering what she intended, two firm words came out of Red’s mouth.
“Your number.”
It felt like more had happened today than in the entire past month of monitoring her. It was a lot of information to process, but not more than I could handle. I took her phone and entered my number.
Red called me to give me her number in return. Looking at her number on my screen, I felt a strange sense of pride, as if I’d accomplished something major.
“Thanks. Is it okay if I contact you during the week too?”
“Yes… yeah. It’s fine.”
“Thank you! I’ll be in touch.”
She looked genuinely happy. Rather than worrying about whether my actions were right or wrong, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction from having someone rely on me. However, I soon reminded myself that I was there to monitor her. I said my goodbyes first and left.
Red called out another goodbye behind me, but I just gave her a wave and continued on my way. She seemed to be heading home as well.
As soon as I returned to my room, I collapsed onto my bed from exhaustion and habitually turned on my smartphone. There was a missed call notification I hadn't seen earlier because I was looking at the call from Red. Checking it, I saw ten missed calls from Luche.
I realized I was in for a massive scolding since I’d ignored her calls and failed to deliver today’s monitoring report. I called her back.
—[Hey!!!]
Sure enough, Luche started screaming the moment she picked up.
“I’m sorry. I didn't know you called.”
—[Is that supposed to be an excuse?! I always call you on the days you go out to monitor!]
“I’ll make sure to pick up from now on. Please, calm down.”
Huffing, she pushed aside her anger to focus on the purpose of her call. Her voice soon calmed as she asked for today’s report.
—[Nothing special happened today, right?]
A lot of special things had happened. Compared to the past month, today was overflowing with things worth reporting. Just as I was about to open my mouth—
—[Wait. I have another call coming in. I’ll take your report later.]
Luche hung up, likely because of an urgent call.
“…I wonder if this is okay?”
I figured it might be better to gather everything that happened as I got closer to Red and report it all at once. Since today’s report was a bust anyway, I decided to put it on hold for now.