Chapter 63: Hot and Warm Like the Sun (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: Hot and Warm Like the Sun (2)
Spacetro has a few major events on its annual calendar. For instance, there’s the ‘Branch Report Inspection,’ where we submit reports to the main headquarters ship anchored at sea, and the ‘Annual Performance Report,’ which compiles and summarizes all the duels fought throughout the year.
Most of Spacetro’s operations revolve around the executives, and these tasks are no exception. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t major schedules that involve an ordinary soldier like me.
“Ah, I really don’t want to do this.”
Even though it only happens twice a year, I couldn’t hide my annoyance as I sat in front of the computer, scanning the training proposal. Yes. Training.
The most fundamental duty of an ordinary soldier is the duel. Since we face off against the Superhumans of the Earth Defense Union, we can’t afford to be slack in combat. Many of our soldiers have undergone years—sometimes decades—of training, to the point where combat instincts are etched into their very bones, so we don’t usually hold separate training sessions on a daily basis.
Of course, that varies depending on each team’s training results. In the case of the Seoul Branch—specifically Team 3, which I belong to—we lose to Hunter Killer every single time, yet we’ve never once missed a top spot in the overall training scores. Since our actual performance is poor despite being good at training, we can’t really complain about the lack of support.
Anyway, while we don’t typically do combat training, it does happen twice a year: once in the summer and once in the winter. Each team disperses to carry out the training outlined in the manual and then reports the results.
I thought this year’s summer training would be canceled because the monsoon season hit right when it was scheduled, but wouldn’t you know it? They decided to hold it in September, now that summer is practically over.
“I’m looking at a training schedule at the end of August. Unbelievable.”
As a rule, anything organized by your workplace is a chore. Even if you’re going somewhere fun, the moment it’s a work trip, it becomes a tedious drag. Even if it’s only twice a year, training is a massive pain.
“Is September not supposed to be hot?”
The edge of a file folder tapped the top of my head. I turned my gaze toward the familiar voice.
I locked eyes with Luche, who was looking down at me with narrowed eyes.
“Are you on break?”
“Yeah. I came out to rest for a bit.”
I felt a little self-conscious since she’d approached right as I was venting my frustrations while checking the schedule. My colleagues, who had been in the office because the training schedule was out, had vanished the moment Luche appeared. They usually don’t even act that uncomfortable around her.
“Why am I assigned to field control this time?”
Since training is conducted by team, the personnel required are also selected from within the team. The main roles are divided into those who undergo the training and those who prepare and execute it. I’ve always been part of the group undergoing the training, but for some reason, I’d been pulled out to serve as a training control officer this year.
I don’t mind doing something easier, but the sudden change felt suspicious.
“I was going to put you in as a participant, but the 4th Team Leader said, ‘Don’t make that guy do anything.’”
Watching her do a surprisingly good impression of Seira, my brow furrowed at the thought of Seira interfering with my work yet again.
But the irritation was short-lived as a strange thought occurred to me.
The relationship between Luche and Seira could be described as terrible. They usually face each other with expressionless masks or irritated voices, creating an atmosphere that forces everyone around them to walk on eggshells.
Of course, I’ve never seen them get into an emotional shouting match. I don’t know if it’s because they’re both Team Leaders or if their relationship isn’t actually that bad.
Regardless, they don’t look close even on the surface, so it didn’t make sense that Luche would listen to Seira and move me from training participant to field control.
“You actually listened to the 4th Team Leader?”
“Don’t even get me started. The 1st Team Leader said to prioritize experienced personnel for each team’s control staff.”
I knew it. There was no way Luche would just do what Seira said.
Luche claimed the 1st Team Leader said it, but the decision likely came from the Branch Manager, with the 1st Team Leader merely delivering the message.
Luche hated following Seira’s suggestion, but since it aligned with the orders from above, she complied and pulled me out, judging me to be the most suitable for field control. I could practically see her fuming because the situation made it look like she was doing Seira’s bidding.
“Where are the other teams going?”
I hadn’t finished reading the entire schedule yet. I’d only confirmed that our team was headed to the West Sea, so I was curious about the others.
“We’re all going to the same place.”
“What?”
Usually, summer and winter training are conducted separately by team, so everyone goes to different locations. There have been a few times when two teams overlapped, but this was the first time every single team was going to the same spot.
“It was hard to set a schedule because of the monsoon, and since the training is late anyway, it’s a hassle to split everyone up.”
Only then did I realize why they had picked experienced soldiers for field control. Since everyone was training together, the scale had grown, requiring people who were well-versed in various training exercises and knew how to handle variables.
“I thought it would be easy, but I guess not.”
I muttered to myself as I scrolled down and stopped, scanning the rest of the schedule. I finally noticed the note about all teams participating simultaneously. The header didn’t say ‘Team 3 Schedule’; it just said ‘Training Schedule.’ I’d assumed they just hadn’t bothered to categorize it by team, but I never dreamed it would be an integrated session.
“It’s lunchtime. Aren’t you going to eat?”
At Luche’s words, I checked the time. It was already noon. I had a lot to check regarding my duties for field control, but I still had to eat.
“What about you, Luche? Are you eating with the other Team Leaders again today?”
“That’s the plan. What about you, A?”
“I’m…”
I hesitated and looked at my smartphone, which was lying face down on the desk.
I checked to see if I’d received any texts, but there was nothing yet, leading to a moment of indecision.
“I’ll eat on my own.”
I didn’t really have anyone to eat with anyway, but saying that out loud felt too pathetic, so I just said I’d eat separately.
“Are you eating with the others?”
I had momentarily forgotten that my teammates were also in the office because of the training.
“Yes. Everyone’s in for once, so we should grab lunch together.”
“Is that so? All right then.”
I couldn’t quite grasp the intent behind Luche’s somewhat disappointed tone. I wondered what she had wanted to say.
Luche left to eat with the other Team Leaders, and I spent a moment thinking about how to handle lunch. Even though my teammates were in, there was something on my mind, so I wasn’t in the mood to join them.
With a ‘whatever’ attitude, I stepped out of the headquarters and headed toward the park, braving the sunlight that had grown even more intense after the rain.
“How is this August weather?”
No matter how late or long the monsoon had lasted, this heat was unseasonable and staggering. Thinking about how it would only get hotter, I figured the training would be a living hell.
Gradually wilting in the heat, I arrived at the park. No one was on the bench where I usually sat. Even in the shade, the heat made me wonder if coming out was a mistake. Of course, I’d come out hoping to see Green, whom I hadn’t met in a while, but the weather was just that brutal.
I didn’t have the heart to head straight back to headquarters, so I sat on the bench and hung my head. I’d sat down to rest, but the heat made it feel like anything but. Just as I was thinking that going back early might be the smarter move, I felt a sudden cold sensation against my neck.
“Ack! Cold!”
Startled, I looked up to see Green standing before me, holding two cans covered in condensation.
“Eunha.”
“Hello. It’s really hot, isn’t it?”
“It really is. Did you just get here?”
“Yes. I saw you sitting here as I was entering the park, so I ran and bought some drinks.”
I kept the thought of ‘What if I had left in the meantime?’ to myself. She probably hadn’t even considered that in her excitement to see me after so long. I don’t know if Green actually felt that way, but I was certainly happy to see her.
Since we hadn’t been able to meet while it was raining and had only exchanged texts, I was curious about how things were progressing and worried about whether she was doing okay.
“It’s incredibly hot.”
“I know. Normally, we’d be expecting a typhoon to cool things down by now.”
What we thought was a typhoon turned out to be the monsoon, and it seemed the actual typhoons would be arriving quite late as well. Weary of the unusually long summer, Green and I sat side by side on the bench, feeling the sweltering heat.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“I came just in case, but I only just arrived myself.”
“You should have texted me.”
“I thought you might be busy.”
I’d woken up at Hayoung’s place this morning and had breakfast. She’d headed to the Hunter Killer headquarters for a meeting. I’d come straight to the Spacetro headquarters from there, but I’d intentionally avoided texting her, thinking it was better not to contact her while the Hunter Killer members were gathered.
I had a rough idea of when the meeting would end, but since it was a meeting held in place of a canceled duel, I’d been cautious.
“Is something wrong?”
While I was happy to see Green, I noticed her expression didn’t look particularly comfortable.
It didn’t seem to be because of the weather, nor did it seem like the awkwardness of meeting after a long time.
“Well…”
Seeing her hesitate, I wondered if I’d asked something I shouldn’t have. But then I thought she might just feel bad about burdening me with things related to her father. I looked at her with a gaze that conveyed my willingness to listen, and Green, sensing my intent, finally spoke.
“The atmosphere at the meeting turned sour because of me.”
“At Hunter Killer?”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t understand how the atmosphere could have turned sour because of Green.
I knew she wasn’t the type to cause trouble for others, and I knew better than anyone that the other members wouldn’t judge her after learning about her situation.
Then, it clicked. There was one variable in the information I had. Yellow. The one member I still knew nothing about.
“Our team members call each other by our codenames. We’re distinguished by colors.”
“Yes, I know.”
Some information had been leaked to the media, and it was easy to find out that each superhuman had a codename, so it wasn’t strange for me to know that.
“There’s a member named Yellow who’s older than me. I think she was angry that I showed up for the meeting.”
“Can you tell me more?”
The news of trouble within Hunter Killer immediately made me worry about Yubin. As the team leader, Red, Yubin would be the one presiding over the meetings, and it was her role to maintain the team’s balance. I’d heard the atmosphere in Hunter Killer was improving lately, but I should have realized that as they got closer, friction was bound to happen.
Moreover, since Yellow had rarely been mentioned and I had no information on her, my first impression of her was already starting to sour upon hearing she was the cause of the tension.
“Yes.”
Green told me what had happened at the meeting. Yellow hadn’t known about Green’s situation and was unhappy that Green, whose personal issues weren’t even resolved yet, had attended the meeting. Since there had also been a clash with Yura in the process, I figured I’d be having another drink with Yura after work the day after tomorrow.
Green was just relaying the situation, and given her personality, she wouldn’t use any harsh language. Judging by the fact that she’d fought with Yura, the atmosphere must have been even worse than what Green was describing.
She said Red had stepped in to mediate and wrap things up, but looking at Green’s face, it didn’t seem like it had ended on a good note.
“I don’t think Yellow is very interested in being close with the team. Everyone else has been getting along so well lately, so I was hoping we could all be friends with her too.”
Green, who had briefly imagined Yellow joining their circle, gave a hollow smile.
“It’s always better to be on good terms with the people you work with.”
I agreed with her. If I was going to dig into Hunter Killer’s information anyway, it would be best to learn a bit about Yellow.
The information I had was that she, along with Red and Green, made up the team’s vanguard, and her weapon of choice was the tonfa. Her primary combat style was martial arts, and she was the tallest member of the team when wearing her suit. That was about it.
What I’d just learned from Green was that her personality was stronger than I’d thought. To put it bluntly, she sounded like a real piece of work.
And she was older than Green.
“What kind of person is this Yellow?”
“Yellow? She doesn’t come to meetings often, so I don’t know her that well either. She’s quiet, but she says exactly what’s on her mind.”
Quiet. When Yubin and Yura talked about the team, information on Yellow was extremely limited. All I’d heard back then was that she was taciturn, but honestly, after hearing Green’s story, I couldn’t picture Yellow being the quiet type at all.
“I see. Are you okay, Eunha? It must have been very uncomfortable for you.”
“I’m fine.”
She gave me a smile as she said she was okay, so I decided to take her word for it for now.
The day had started with a bit of trouble, but I figured it was better to talk about what we’d been up to during the monsoon instead of dwelling on that.
“Shall we move somewhere else?”
“Yes, let’s.”
First, I needed to get her somewhere cooler.
As for Yellow, I felt like I needed to look into her personally.
*
Meanwhile, at the lunch gathering of the Spacetro Team Leaders.
“I’m here.”
Luche greeted the other Team Leaders who were already seated.
“Hot, isn’t it? Sit here.”
The 2nd Team Leader, Angelica, pulled out a chair. Luche sat down, picked up a glass of water, and took a long drink to quench her thirst.
“You’re a bit late.”
When the 1st Team Leader, Esmeralda, asked why she was late, Luche set her glass down and answered.
“A was working, so I stayed to talk to him for a bit.”
At the mention of A, a faint smile played on Esmeralda’s lips.
“You two are exactly the same as always.”
She spoke as if reminiscing about the past, but Luche’s expression wasn’t particularly bright. Seira, sitting across from Luche, sensed the mood and spoke up.
“Don’t even bring that up. He doesn’t even remember.”
At Seira’s words, the eyes of the usually stoic Esmeralda widened slightly as she looked at Luche.
“Is that true? A really doesn’t know?”
“I’ve never explained it to him.”
Watching Luche answer with a voice full of regret, Seira let out an irritated sigh.
“Just let him live his life like this.”
“Let’s just eat! Food first.”
Luche forced her voice to go up an octave, and Esmeralda and Angelica decided to drop the subject for now and just watch over her.