Chapter 30: Pink, But Not a Slut (16)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30: Pink, But Not a Slut (16)
Was I being too complacent? In the end, that whole mess happened because of the alcohol, and the moment I ran into Yubin after returning home—still having not fully sorted out my thoughts—I felt the hair on my body stand on end.
To Yubin, who didn't know the full story, I was just someone who went out for drinks and didn't crawl back home until the following evening. But having just come back from "doing the deed" with Yura, I found myself nervously scanning her face, consumed by guilt.
I was being complacent. Even if I was technically there to monitor her, I had taken the whole situation too lightly. I was even trying to justify sleeping with Yura the night before by blaming the intoxication.
I was fully aware of what I had done, but even so, I couldn't tell Yubin. And of course, the next time I saw Yura, I wouldn't be able to bring up Yubin either.
"……."
"So, you're saying you drank all night with those people?"
In the end, I had no choice but to lie to Yubin again. Instead of telling her I’d spent a steamy night with Yura after drinking, I told her I’d been out with people from a client company we’d met with.
"Yes."
I couldn't bring myself to meet her gaze as she sat on the sofa, looking down at me while I knelt on the floor before her.
She was probably staring at me with narrowed eyes.
Still, I figured I couldn't just stay kneeling and staring at the floor forever, so I slowly raised my head to look up at her. She was staring intently at me, her eyes wide and round.
"…Are you mad?"
"I am."
I asked just in case she wasn't as angry as I feared, but her sharp, immediate response sent a cold sweat down my back. I suppose this is what people mean when they say their blood ran cold.
Despite saying she was angry, Yubin didn't look away; she kept her eyes fixed on me. I was the one who wanted to dodge her gaze, but feeling like it would be a mistake to look away now, I stayed still and met her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
An apology was all I could offer. Anything else would have sounded strange. Honestly, even though I said I was drinking with clients, there was no way for me to prove it if she suspected I’d gone to a hostess bar or something similar.
"You're not just saying that without thinking, are you?"
"No. I'm sorry for drinking all night."
I bowed my head once more in apology, but Yubin remained silent. Wondering what was wrong, I looked up, only to find her glaring at me with sharp, triangular eyes this time.
"That's not it."
"Huh?"
"I'm not mad because you drank."
In that moment, my mind raced, trying to figure out what the problem was. I had definitely sent her a text yesterday saying I was going out for drinks. However, I hadn't mentioned that I’d be drinking all night and wouldn't be back until this evening. So, I assumed she was angry about the excessive drinking, but she said that wasn't it.
"……Can you tell me? I won't do it again."
"Contact."
"Contact?"
When I repeated the word she’d muttered, she nodded. Contact? I definitely contacted her to say I was drinking, didn't I? The moment that thought crossed my mind, I realized that even for the same situation, you have to apologize for the right thing.
The fact remained that I told her I was drinking but didn't say it would be all night. The point Yubin was upset about wasn't that I drank, but that I hadn't contacted her at all until the evening.
"I'm sorry. I'll make sure to keep in touch from now on."
I couldn't use the excuse that this was my first relationship. First time or not, communication is essential when you're dating. I just wish I’d realized that before things reached this point.
Of course, being with Yura meant it wasn't exactly the easiest situation to stay in touch, but thinking about the future, it was much better to know this now than not to.
I apologized to Yubin sincerely. Her sharp glare softened back into wide, round eyes. She stared at me for a moment before spreading her arms wide.
"?"
Normally, I would have hugged her without hesitation, but today I hesitated, wondering if I was even allowed to. When I didn't hug her immediately despite her open arms, she put on a pouting expression.
"I'm sorry."
Apologizing for both the lack of contact and the delay in hugging her, I dove into Yubin's embrace. I could feel the softness of her ample breasts through her clothes as I buried my face in them, and Yubin stroked my hair.
"I'm forgiving you just this once. Got it?"
"Yeah. Thank you."
Just being held in her arms eased the anxiety I’d been feeling while walking on eggshells moments ago.
I was sure there would be many more challenges ahead, but I vowed to myself not to make the same mistake again.
And at the same time, one thought occurred to me.
If I do this one more time, there won't be any forgiveness.
As I thought that while still in her arms, I looked up. Yubin pressed her lips against mine, and we shared a brief, sweet kiss.
*
The next day, Tuesday morning.
In a corner of the quiet, sparsely populated cafe, Pink and the Boss sat facing each other. Two cups of coffee sat on the table between them, but neither reached for their drink. They remained in an awkward silence.
The Boss was the one to break it. The middle-aged woman with a blonde bob, exuding her characteristic air of elegance, took a sip of her coffee, set it back down, and turned her gaze toward Pink.
Pink felt the gaze but remained still, staring only at the cup in front of her.
"You're quitting?"
"…Yes."
"May I ask why?"
As Pink was currently the longest-serving employee at the cafe, the Boss listened to her words with a serious demeanor. Knowing well that Pink was a Superhuman and had nowhere else to go, she couldn't help but feel concerned.
Of course, she didn't let those feelings show on her face, so from Pink's perspective, she was just nervously waiting for a reaction.
"I don't think the others like me very much…."
Pink didn't want to say with her own mouth that she’d been insulted for being a Superhuman. And she didn't know if the women who insulted her did so because she was a Superhuman, or if they just disliked the person known as Kwon Yura. Or perhaps it was both.
If the reputation of the human "Kwon Yura" was poor within the cafe, then it was only right for her to leave on her own.
"Shall we step outside for a moment?"
The Boss pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket and led Pink out the back door of the cafe. The memory of overhearing the people she’d trusted badmouthing her in this very spot just a few days ago came rushing back.
The Boss lit a cigarette in the shade. The tip glowed red as she inhaled, and when she pulled the cigarette from her lips and exhaled, a cloud of white smoke billowed out.
"They don't like you, huh…. I thought you knew that from the start."
Pink was quite shocked by the Boss's words. She had thought everyone liked her without prejudice, but the thought that perhaps no one had liked her from the beginning made her head spin.
"But they don't particularly hate you, either."
After saying that, the Boss took another drag of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke with a hollow sigh.
"This is just my opinion, so just listen. What you decide after hearing it is up to you."
The Boss, who usually didn't speak much, seemed poised to give a long, serious talk while she smoked. Pink found herself tensing up as she waited for her to continue.
"I don't particularly like or dislike someone just because they're a Superhuman. I feel the same way about ordinary people."
The Boss's deep eyes looked toward the ground for a moment before she looked up into the eyes of the nervous Pink.
"Besides, there's no way other people wouldn't have prejudices against a Superhuman."
The Boss was right. Pink wanted to be accepted as a Superhuman without prejudice, but the public perception of Superhumans was already at rock bottom. Even if every individual is different, it's very common for an entire group to be condemned because of the mistake of one person.
"Still, I think our girls are about average. They have prejudices, but I think they still see you for who you are."
The Boss took a sip of her coffee with one hand while continuing to smoke and speak.
"And those two... I've had my eye on them for a while."
Pink hadn't mentioned who it was that disliked her yet. But the Boss already knew the situation.
"I've often overheard them badmouthing not just you, but the other part-timers as well. So I told the kids at the counter to feel them out."
The two people who had been insulting Pink were already famous within the cafe for badmouthing others to the point of ruining the atmosphere. Realizing this, the Boss had asked about the other part-timers as well, and the only responses she got were insults.
And it was at that very timing that Pink had overheard them badmouthing her.
"Do you have somewhere else to go?"
The Boss checked to see if Pink had another workplace lined up after quitting the cafe, and Pink shook her head. Pink had never once been able to easily find a part-time job that ordinary people could get without much trouble. To be precise, she’d never been able to actually start working after finding one.
"Then stay. I'm going to fire them anyway."
"…Are you sure? Even if a Superhuman stays?"
Having finished her cigarette, the Boss tossed the butt into the trash. She wiped the condensation from her cold coffee cup onto her hand and then flicked the water onto Pink's face.
"I think I told you when I first found out you were a Superhuman, didn't I? I hire people if they're pretty, even if they're a bit bad at the job."
She walked past Pink and was about to enter the shop through the back door when she stopped and turned her head.
"If I were going to fire you for being a Superhuman, I would have done it a long time ago. What are you doing? The shipment is coming in today; you need to organize the storage room."
Leaving those words behind, the Boss closed the door and went inside.
Left alone, Pink's mind went blank from a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
She had been certain that everyone was badmouthing her, and she thought it was only right for her to be the one fired since she was the one disrupting the atmosphere among the workers.
But the Boss wanted her there. There was a sincerity felt beneath her dry tone.
"……."
Standing still, Pink broke into a smile and placed a hand over her heart. Feeling her rapid heartbeat, she couldn't suppress the joy of knowing there was someone who wanted her to stay.
There was still a long way to go before prejudices against Superhumans would disappear. If a social issue related to Superhumans arose tomorrow, the path would become even more difficult.
But even so, there was someone who saw her for who she was after working at the cafe for so long. The Boss. And the long-term employees saw Pink not as "Pink the Superhuman" or "Kwon Yura the Human," but as "Kwon Yura the Superhuman."
No matter how much she denied it, she couldn't deny the fact that she was a Superhuman. However, Pink had been fighting a constant battle to be seen as "Kwon Yura the Human," and now, people who saw her as "Kwon Yura the Superhuman" had emerged.
They didn't reject her. Prejudices existed, but prejudices exist even among ordinary people. However, just because someone holds a prejudice doesn't mean they view everyone similar to the object of that prejudice with the same eyes.
To the people at the cafe, Pink was just the ordinary Kwon Yura.
As she was lost in thought and about to enter the shop, the closed back door opened again.
The person who poked her head out was the Boss, who had gone inside just a moment ago.
"Also, ask A if he can work longer weekend shifts for a while."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. And I'm thinking of hiring a weekend manager, so if you're interested, let me know."
With that, the Boss went back inside.
The Boss had said it because she wanted Pink to stay, but in the end, the choice was Pink's.
Because she was seen as the ordinary Kwon Yura, Pink's desire to quit the cafe had long since vanished.
Instead, her first thought was that she wanted to work a bit longer in this place where she’d built up affection over the past year, and the emotion she felt in that moment was definitely joy.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, Pink felt a surge of emotion and contacted the person who came to mind first.
[I'm going to keep working at the cafe for the time being.]
After sending the text, Pink waited with an anxious heart. The moment she felt the vibration of the smartphone in her hand, she turned on the screen.
[Got it. See you this weekend.]
Seeing the reply from A, Pink smiled and stepped into the cafe to be recognized as someone who was working hard today as well.