Chapter 32: Safety Zone (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Safety Zone (2)
Life is mostly a series of coincidences. Whether something is planned or not, I believe the moment a process turns into a result, it is always a coincidence.
You might fail because the coincidences didn't align, or you might succeed because they did.
Coincidence is the essential bridge between process and result. Then what about the beginning? While beginnings usually stem from a plan, they are often sparked by unplanned coincidences as well.
This unexpected encounter with Green paralyzed my thoughts. I hadn't sought her out intentionally for surveillance, nor did I even know she was here. To think we’d meet in a park only ten minutes away from Headquarters—is this what they mean by the proverb "it’s darkest under the lamp"?
"It’s quite hot today, isn't it?"
Perhaps because our eyes met for a moment after I sat down, or perhaps because she felt it would be awkward to just turn away, Green spoke to me first. Since she had no idea who I was or what I did, there was no need for me to show my internal fluster.
"Yes. But I'm glad it's not humid this year. Last year was terrible."
"It did rain a lot last summer. But they say the monsoon season starts again next week."
A refreshing yet clear voice drifted into my ears. Though we had fought many times, this was the first time I had actually heard her speak.
Yubin was the team leader, so I always heard her voice giving orders during our battles, and I hadn't been particularly interested in Yura until I got to know her personally.
However, as Green fought on the front lines, I had been struck by her several times and was well aware of her presence, yet I had never once seen her speak during a duel. Maybe she had spoken and I just hadn't heard her, but regardless, this chance encounter was the first time I truly heard her voice.
"The monsoon season..."
I hate the rain. It had rained twice recently, but since I wasn't alone at the time, I didn't have much to complain about. I’m the type who becomes incredibly lethargic when it rains. It’s not that I lose all my energy or feel sick; I just simply dislike the rain.
After that trailing sentence, Green fell silent. Since I didn't have anything specific to say either, I stayed quiet, but I couldn't help my eyes from drifting toward her, knowing that Hunter Killer’s Green was sitting right next to me.
When I stole a glance at her, Green was sitting blankly, watching the trees sway in the wind. She didn't look lost in thought. She was staring at the trees with a vacant expression, as if she truly wasn't thinking about anything at all.
I watched her for a moment, wondering why she was acting like that. Sensing my gaze, Green flinched slightly, then turned her head to look at me and gave a small, eye-crinkling smile.
This was the first time I had ever coincidentally met an opponent I had just faced in a duel. Was that why? The awkwardness permeating my body felt twice as heavy as usual.
"Ahem!"
I cleared my throat and averted my eyes, shifting my gaze to the trees she had been watching.
"It’s strange, isn't it? The way they sway in the wind."
"Pardon?"
Was this some kind of philosophical talk? I had no choice but to turn back to her at her sudden remark.
Green was looking at the trees again, but unlike her blank expression from before, she now wore a faint smile. They say you can read someone's thoughts to some extent by their expression, but you can't know everything.
Usually, I can get a general sense of things, but I couldn't tell what Green was thinking at all. Not that I particularly wanted to know. I wasn't on a mission to surveil her right now; we had just happened to meet while I was out for a brief rest.
However, humans naturally tend to look at the other person's face during a conversation, whether that person is a friend or a foe.
"Aren't they just swaying because of the wind?"
I gave the most obvious answer to her question. Finding trees swaying in the wind strange? I didn't see what was so strange about it. Isn't that a common occurrence on any planet with an atmosphere?
Hearing my answer, Green simply replied, "I suppose so," with a smile, her eyes still fixed on the trees. It suddenly occurred to me that her green hair matched the color of nature quite well. Was that why she kept staring at the trees?
"The wind must be nice."
When I met Yubin and she spoke to me, I wondered what her intentions were.
When I met Yura and saw her behavior, I thought her energy was more than I could handle.
As for Green, I had no idea what was going on in her head.
Hearing her words, I realized she hadn't been looking at the trees, but at the wind. You can't see the wind, but you can tell it's blowing by the way the trees sway.
Unable to find a response to her inscrutable words, I stared at her with a blank face. Green, who had been dazed, finally seemed to snap back to reality and turned her gaze back to me.
"I'm sorry. I said something weird, didn't I? It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to another person."
A long time since she talked to someone? Doesn't she talk to her fellow Hunter Killer members? Based on what Yura and Yubin had said, Green was the one who attended the Hunter Killer meetings most frequently alongside Yubin. Yet she said it had been a long time since she’d had a conversation—was she more taciturn than she appeared?
But to think of her as taciturn, she had been striking up small talk with me, a stranger.
"No. I don't mind."
It wasn't exactly rude to bring up something difficult to answer. She hadn't harmed me, nor had she asked anything uncomfortable. She had just asked a question I didn't know how to answer, so it wasn't something she needed to apologize for.
If anything was on my mind, it was why she was sitting here like this when she should have gone home after the duel.
Whatever Green did or wherever she went was none of my business. But since we had met like this, I couldn't help but be curious.
Then again, I couldn't exactly ask her, so I decided to just stay curious. After all, once we parted ways, we likely wouldn't meet like this again.
"..."
The moment I stood up to head back to the office.
"Have a safe trip back."
Green offered me a smile and a farewell. Was it a trend among young people on Earth these days to be this polite to total strangers?
"Yes. Goodbye."
I gave her a slight bow and left the park, walking slowly back toward the office. Once I was a bit further away, I couldn't help but look back. She was still sitting there, looking at the trees—no, at the wind.
Leaving her behind, I returned to the office, and my first day of investigating the Superhumans ended without any significant results.
Perhaps it was a change of heart, but there was one thing I had become curious about. First Yubin, then Yura. Getting involved with the members of Team Hunter Killer made me want to know more about the team itself, alongside my research into Superhumans.
As enemies and research subjects, of course.
*
Friday. I stayed home all day, intending to get some proper rest, and Yubin came over after her part-time job.
"Oppa~"
Yubin entered the house with an adorable, sing-song voice and rushed into my arms.
"Good job today."
I felt her warmth as I stroked her red hair. Hugging Yubin as she softly pressed against me always felt good.
"Are you staying over tonight?"
"I have an office assistant job tomorrow morning, so I have to leave in a bit."
It seemed there was a Hunter Killer meeting tomorrow morning. Yubin still hadn't told me that she was a superhuman and a member of Hunter Killer. Considering everything Yura had gone through, she was probably afraid to tell me the truth.
Of course, since I was also deceiving her, I couldn't really say anything about it. The only difference was that Yubin didn't know I was deceiving her, while I knew she was hiding something from me.
"What is it?"
As I looked at her, lost in thought, Yubin looked up at me with her jewel-like red eyes and tilted her head.
"I'm just happy to be with you."
I rubbed my cheek against hers as she nestled in my arms. Yubin laughed, saying it tickled, before eventually rubbing her cheek back against mine.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Could our relationship ever have a happy ending?
An invader and an Earthling. If we, who met as enemies, ever told each other the truth, could we still stay like this?
I knew Yubin's identity, but she didn't know mine.
Even though I already knew she was Hunter Killer’s Red, I couldn't envision what it would look like when the moment came for us to speak the truth with our own lips.
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
It was time for dinner, so I had to think about the menu again. I answered without hesitation.
"You."
"Huh? Eek!"
I carried her straight to the bed. For now, I chose to enjoy the happiness of the moment rather than worry about the future. Today, once again, I became a beast.
After our passionate encounter, Yubin and I lay side by side in bed, completely naked under the covers. We enjoyed the luxury of having the air conditioner on full blast while huddled under the blanket in the middle of summer, feeling each other's warmth beneath the sheets.
"Is the office job okay? You seemed pretty stressed before."
I was always extra careful when bringing up Hunter Killer. I was constantly mindful of my words, worried I might accidentally let slip information I wasn't supposed to know.
"Yeah. My relationship with the unni I work with has improved, and the atmosphere with the others is the same as always, so there are no problems."
"I haven't heard much about that job other than that the atmosphere was bad. What kind of people are there?"
When I suddenly expressed curiosity about something I didn't usually ask, Yubin, who had been burying her face in my chest, looked up at me. I briefly reflected on my behavior, wondering if I had done something suspicious.
"What’s this? Are you worried about where I work?"
Yubin seemed to think I was curious because I was concerned for her. Of course, I was concerned. Setting aside the relationship between Spacetro and Hunter Killer, she was my girlfriend, after all.
"Of course I'm worried. I was afraid you might be stressed again but were keeping it from me so I wouldn't worry."
Yubin giggled and pressed her body even closer to mine. We were so close there wasn't a gap between us, and we shared another laugh as I kissed her forehead.
"The person in charge there is whatever, but the people I work with don't really talk about themselves, so I don't actually know much in detail."
It seemed that while the atmosphere had improved after her conflict and reconciliation with Yura, they hadn't yet reached the point of sharing personal stories despite their sudden closeness.
"Besides, they're all such unique people."
I could completely agree with that. Looking at Yubin, Yura, and the Green I met the other day, it was clear that the group was made up of individuals with very strong personalities.
And for some reason, Team Hunter Killer was currently struggling with internal harmony.
"There's this unni named Eunha, she's the one I work with the most."
She was talking about Green. I couldn't tell she was Green just by the name, but she was the one Yubin worked with most. Given that Green was the one who attended meetings most frequently, it was almost certain that this "Eunha" was Green.
"Lately, it seems like she doesn't want to go home."
"She doesn't want to go home?"
"Yeah. Only the eldest unni and Eunha-unni live with their families, but even after work is over, Eunha-unni keeps looking for things to do."
I didn't know the reason, but she was avoiding going home. Was that why she was just sitting there in the park the other day?
"I asked her yesterday why she wasn't going home yet, and she just said, 'Just because.'"
"So you were worried?"
"Well, she's the one I work with the most. I can't help but be a little concerned."
I didn't have enough information to know about the others yet. Since I was investigating Superhumans and gradually learning about Hunter Killer, it seemed necessary to first look into Green, whom I had at least seen in person.
Tomorrow was my day to work at the cafe, so I should ask Yura. I just hoped she wouldn't ask if I was interested in her again.
"Are you meeting the contractors again tomorrow?"
"Oh? Right."
I responded naturally to Yubin's question. Since I had a prior offense of making her angry by staying out all night without a word last week, I had to be extra careful for the time being.
"Will you be late tomorrow too?"
"Tomorrow... I will be late, but not because of drinking. It's for work."
After my shift at the cafe, I planned to stop by the office to see if I could access the data on Superhumans.
"Then tomorrow I'll just go straight home instead of coming to your place, Oppa."
"Alright."
I hugged Yubin once more as I mentally planned out the next day.
*
The following afternoon.
I arrived at the cafe, greeted the Boss at the counter, and went into the kitchen, but Yura was nowhere to be seen.
"Did she go to the restroom?"
There were signs of work being done, so she had definitely clocked in. She must have just stepped away for a moment. With that thought, I went into the storage room to change into my uniform, and I saw a familiar profile checking the ingredients to be brought out from the back.
"Hey."
The moment I entered the storage room, Yura turned her head and our eyes met. Setting down the box of ingredients she was holding, Yura began walking toward me without hesitation.
Intimidated by her momentum and wondering if I had already messed something up, my body froze. The moment the storage room door I had opened swung shut, Yura reached me, grabbed my collar, pulled me toward her, and pressed her lips against mine.
Startled by the deep kiss as her tongue immediately intertwined with mine, I instinctively tried to pull back, but I was no match for her physical strength. As I gradually calmed down, I wrapped my arms around her waist and lost myself in the kiss.
After a moment of the lingering, sticky kiss, Yura pulled her lips away and smiled.
"Hey."
She greeted me with a flushed face.
"...A kiss as soon as I get to work? What if someone sees?"
"Let them look."
And then, she pulled me in again, overlapping our lips once more.
Since escaping was impossible, I decided I might as well just keep kissing her.