Chapter 44: Until the Blue Sky Comes (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: Until the Blue Sky Comes (4)
It wasn’t as if we were on a blind date. The children sat reading their books, and while Blue and I talked, our topics were limited. Since we weren't close enough to dive into deep conversations, we eventually turned to our own books.
Reading is a truly wonderful thing. To accumulate knowledge is to fill the gaps and deficiencies in one's life. Even if it’s just a comic book, it still represents a part of a nation’s or a planet’s culture, and thus possesses sufficient literary value.
I picked out a fantasy manga about a hero fighting a demon king. Seeing the demon fodder getting swept away by the hero’s sword, I felt a sense of kinship, as if I were looking at myself during that duel a few days ago.
I read the book while empathizing with the grunts, but the story ended, as expected, with the hero receiving all the applause.
As I lost myself in the pages, the sun began to set. It was still raining outside, so the sun itself wasn't visible, but the world had grown noticeably darker than it was at noon.
"Shall we head out?"
I couldn't keep taking up Blue’s time, and since Kirk had asked me to watch Eunji until dusk, the timing was just right.
"I want to play more."
Eunji made it clear she wanted to stay at the comic cafe longer, but she didn't throw a tantrum. She immediately closed the book she had been reading with Hoyoung.
"We have to go now. Your mom and dad will be waiting. Hoyoung has to go home, too."
"That's right. Let's all play together like this again next time."
As I spoke soothingly to Eunji, Blue chimed in to help. Eunji, who had been wearing a bit of a pout, brightened up at the thought that they might play together again.
"Okay!"
We left the comic cafe and saw Blue and Hoyoung off. Then, Eunji and I, each under our own umbrellas, headed toward her house. No matter how bright a child she was, I couldn't let her walk home alone after dark on a rainy day.
"You only read books at the cafe. Was it fun?"
"Yeah. They don't have comic books at kindergarten, and at home, Mom only lets me read one a day."
Since Kirk loved manga, there were probably plenty of books at their house, but many were likely inappropriate for a young girl like Eunji. Especially action series with graphic violence—you couldn't show those to a six-year-old. It seemed Eunji’s mother was rationing the books she could see as much as possible.
"When are you going to tell your dad about your boyfriend?"
"When Dad grows up a bit?"
To hear such a thing from his own daughter... I wondered what kind of life Kirk was leading at home.
"I want to be proud and say I have someone I like. But Dad is so childish that I can't tell him."
To be proud and say I have someone I like. That single sentence from a child’s mouth seemed to lodge itself deep in my chest.
I liked Yubin. But I couldn't say it proudly.
As for Yura, to be honest, I still didn't know my own heart. Did I truly like her, or was I simply drawn to her, influenced by her assertive personality?
However, seeing as I felt no rejection when we were physically intimate, I suppose I liked Yura as well.
But just like with Yubin, I couldn't say it proudly.
Because I am Spacetro, and they are Hunter Killer.
"Don't you have someone you like, Uncle?"
"Huh? Why do you ask?"
"Just curious. Dad married Mom, but you haven't married anyone yet, Uncle."
"...I suppose so. Someone I like, huh?"
When she actually asked if there was someone I liked, I thought of Yubin and Yura, but then I wondered if "like" was even the right word.
At some point, I realized I had started viewing every Superhuman I met as a medium for information. That realization left a lingering weight on my conscience.
"If you find someone you like, tell me, Uncle. I'll keep it a secret."
"Do you like Hoyoung, Eunji?"
"Yeah! I like him so much. I'm definitely going to marry him later."
Children are fickle; their favorites might change in an instant. I still believed that.
But even a fickle child was saying, with absolute certainty, that she liked someone at this very moment. In this regard, I was clearly lacking compared to a six-year-old.
If we weren't Spacetro and Hunter Killer, but had a normal relationship, would I have been able to say I liked them with such certainty?
No, would we have even met?
I didn't know. Was it because of the rain? My mood sank as my thoughts multiplied.
Then, seeing Eunji excitedly bragging about Hoyoung, a smile returned to my lips.
"Alright. If I find someone I like, I'll tell you first, Eunji."
"Then it's a promise!"
Walking beside me, Eunji stopped and held up her hand, extending her pinky toward me.
"Right. It's a promise."
When we arrived at Eunji’s house and I rang the bell, Kirk opened the door.
"Did you guys have fun?"
"Thanks to you. I appreciate it. Did you have fun with Uncle, Eunji?"
"Yeah. It was so much fun."
The massive Kirk scooped Eunji up in his arms. After confirming the sight of the happy father and daughter, I turned to head home.
"I'm off, then."
"Yeah. Get home safe."
"Bye, Uncle! See you next time!"
I waved once more to Eunji and left Kirk’s place for the station.
Yubin would probably be home. My pace quickened at the thought of seeing her soon. It felt as though I were rushing myself, even though no one was pushing me.
For now, I couldn't go anywhere and proudly declare that I liked her or that we were dating.
Perhaps that was why, the moment we saw each other, the moment we were face-to-face, we expressed the things we couldn't show the world even more intensely.
We were certainly in a relationship where we held massive secrets we couldn't tell our partners, but the fact that we liked each other remained unchanged.
I arrived home and punched in the door lock code. As soon as I stepped inside, my eyes met Yubin’s; she was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
"Oppa, welcome back."
Seeing her greet me with a smile, I instinctively opened my arms. Realizing my intent, Yubin immediately stood up from the sofa, ran to me, and threw herself into my embrace.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, and we held each other tightly, feeling each other's warmth for a moment.
"I got a bit rained on. Is it okay?"
It felt a bit late to ask after I was the one who opened my arms first, but using an umbrella doesn't mean you escape the rain entirely. My clothes were damp, and I was a bit sweaty from the humidity, but Yubin shook her head as if it didn't matter at all.
"It's fine."
I felt her bury her face in my chest, taking in my scent. Did she like this? I pulled her even closer, breathing in the scent of her neck.
"What about dinner?"
"I was waiting for you to come home so we could eat together."
"Is there anything you want?"
"Pizza."
"You wanted pizza today?"
"Yeah."
I pulled back slightly from our tight embrace, and when our eyes met, our lips overlapped.
Did my desire to hold her right then and there translate through the touch? Just as the kiss was about to deepen, Yubin pulled her lips away first.
"No. We have to eat first."
"I suppose we should."
I knew. If we surrendered to the swamp of pleasure right now, we would forget to eat, forget to wash, and simply crave each other all night long.
And it wasn't just once or twice that we’d ended up complaining about being hungry much later. Since we weren't creatures incapable of learning, we decided to eat first.
"But Oppa, it feels like you have more work than before lately."
"Yeah. I've gotten a bit busy."
After placing the order, we sat side-by-side on the sofa. Yubin leaned her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her waist, pulling her closer.
"We haven't even been able to go on dates."
"I'm sorry. Should we go somewhere once the monsoon season is over?"
"Let's go to a swimming pool."
A swimming pool. That was a place I hadn't visited even once since coming to Earth. Even when it came to places with water, the only place I’d been was the ocean, and even then, it wasn't for play—it was the deep Pacific.
Of course, I lived above sea level, but I had never really played in the water on Earth.
Even though it had been twenty years since I arrived.
"A swimming pool sounds ni—"
I was about to agree when something gave me pause. Yubin was undeniably beautiful. I could say that with confidence. She even had a great body.
And at a swimming pool, there would be men.
"How about somewhere other than a swimming pool?"
That was my conclusion. I’d rather go to a secluded beach; a swimming pool was too dangerous.
It wasn't that Yubin was in danger. It was that any man who tried to hit on her would be in danger.
If someone tried to pull something and she ended up hitting them, I wouldn't be able to handle the fallout.
"Somewhere else?"
Yubin thought hard, listing the places she wanted to go one by one. She wanted to go to a valley, an aquarium, and it seemed she wanted to try water sports at a lake too.
Just hearing her clearly state where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do made me feel better.
"And?"
I liked listening to her talk so excitedly, so I asked if there was anything else. As if a switch had been flipped, she began to talk even more.
Before I knew it, she had moved past summer to autumn, winter, and everything she wanted to do next year.
To be honest, I couldn't guarantee we would still be dating then. It was certain that if my situation became untenable or my identity was exposed, we wouldn't be able to see each other anymore.
And I didn't think I could keep the secret I was hiding forever.
Suddenly, I felt envious of Kirk. Kirk’s wife knew he was Spacetro. Even so, she chose to marry him.
Perhaps it was only possible because Kirk’s wife was an ordinary person, not a Superhuman. But regardless of whether one was a civilian or a Superhuman, I envied a relationship where two people from completely different origins could accept and understand each other.
I had never thought like this before, but it seemed that since meeting Yubin, my thoughts had become much more frequent.
While Yubin was talking excitedly, the intercom rang. The pizza arrived, and we spent the time eating while a movie played in the background.
The desire for this time to last just a little longer grew stronger.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
While we were quietly watching the movie, Yubin called me, and I turned my head. Even in the darkened room, she was looking at me with her vivid red eyes.
Was it because of the light from the TV? For a moment, the colors reflected in her pupils seemed to shift, and I felt as if I were being sucked into her eyes.
"If you have something on your mind, tell me."
"Huh?"
I responded with a question to her ambiguous statement. Yubin, watching me silently, pressed her body against mine and brought her face close.
"I'll tell you if I have something on my mind, too. So you tell me, okay?"
"Okay."
Since our faces were already close, we shared a kiss. As our bodies pressed together, we slowly began to undress each other.
"I love you."
"I love you."
The moment our lips parted, without either of us being first, we conveyed our sincerity to each other. I could already tell that tonight would be a passionate one.
*
Returning home, Blue sent Hoyoung inside first and then took off her shoes at the entrance.
"Auntie! I'm hungry!"
"What are we having for dinner?"
Her eldest and second nephews, who were home for the break, told their aunt—Blue—that they were hungry as soon as she walked in at dinner time.
"What should I make for you?"
"I want pizza!"
"I want chicken!"
At the mention of delivery food, Blue’s expression became troubled. Hoyoung, who had come in with her, zipped straight into his room.
Pulling out her smartphone to check her bank balance, Blue’s expression remained troubled. She spoke in a gentle voice to the two nephews clamoring for delivery.
"Auntie will make you something delicious, so can't we just eat that today?"
"What are you going to make?"
"Uh..."
Blue, who hadn't thought as far as what she would actually cook, racked her brain as hard as she could.
"Shall I make kalguksu?"
"I want pizza."
"I want chicken."
At the eldest and second nephews' insistence on delivery, Blue finally let out a sigh and put on a gentle smile again.
"Alright. I'll order pizza and chicken for you."
Looking at her smartphone screen, which was still on, she sighed once more at the remaining balance of 80,000 won.