Chapter 7: Convenience Store Red (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: Convenience Store Red (6)
I called Oppa so we could go to the bookstore together. When I stepped out of the subway and saw him standing there, I couldn't help but shake my head.
Beige cargo pants and a blue checkered shirt. He was wearing clothes that made me wonder where he even found them. For a moment, I actually debated whether I should pretend not to know him.
But my goal was to get reference books, and I couldn't just ignore him just because his fashion sense was a disaster. I called out to him as he stood there, blankly staring at Gwanghwamun Square.
"Oppa!"
It was only then that I realized I’d only told him the time and place, not where we were actually going. We headed into the bookstore together to look at the books.
It must have been annoying to have me suddenly reach out like that, yet he came out when I called and searched for books as if they were for himself. I was truly grateful. It felt rude not to repay him for helping me this much, but my current financial situation wasn't great.
First, I needed to get the books, so I focused on browsing so we could leave the bookstore quickly. That way, I might be able to do something more for him.
Once we bought the books and stepped outside, Oppa’s outfit—which I’d forgotten about while browsing—caught my eye again. My expression faltered, and I felt my brow furrow involuntarily. We weren't close enough for me to criticize his fashion, which only added to my frustration. I desperately wanted to fix his sense of style somehow.
After leaving the bookstore, I bought him dinner. Since I couldn't afford a fancy meal at a nice place, this was one of the few ways I could show my gratitude. I took him to a nearby Chinese restaurant.
"It’s because I’m grateful. Really."
Even though it wasn't much, Oppa smiled and thanked me. I thought to myself that he really was a kind-hearted person.
He was a bit clumsy, but he was so nice and never complained, which made me feel even more drawn to him. It wasn't exactly a romantic feeling yet; it was more of a lingering guilt for not being able to repay him properly.
I couldn't even fathom how much a tutoring session would cost with someone who graduated from the world’s most famous engineering university. And yet, here he was, being thankful for a simple meal at a Chinese restaurant. I felt both sorry and grateful.
It wasn't until we ordered and I went to the restroom to look in the mirror that I realized I was wearing white today. It wasn't like I’d been so busy that I’d lost my mind, yet I’d somehow thought it was a good idea to order jjamppong while wearing white.
I should grab an apron, I thought. But when I returned to the table, an apron was already draped over my chair. My gaze immediately shifted to Oppa.
"In case it splashes."
"...Thank you."
It might have been a small gesture to him, but the fact that he was looking out for me made me a little happy.
"If I get fed like this, I guess I’ll have to teach you a lot more things."
"My pockets will end up empty."
Oppa cracked a joke as we ate, but I couldn't help but worry if he was being serious. Knowing the vast gap in knowledge between us, my response was half-sincere.
After the meal, we parted ways. When I got home, I pulled out the reference books he’d picked for me.
He’d chosen them because they were well-summarized and perfect for my level of study. I opened one immediately and lost track of time reading. It was late by the time I finally washed up and went to bed.
From the next day on, the frequency of my messages to him increased. It was inevitable; the more I studied the books, the more things I wanted to clarify. However, I knew he had work, so I couldn't just message him whenever I wanted during the day. Instead, I marked everything I didn't understand while studying and asked him all at once in the evening.
[Oppa, what are you doing?]
[Just hanging out. What are you curious about?]
[You know immediately as soon as I text you now, don't you?]
Once the conversation started like that, he would answer my questions right away. With his lightning-fast replies, the volume of our texts grew, and eventually, we started sharing personal stories too.
Of course, most of it was about me.
[I’m telling you, they nag me every single day at work. And they just sit around doing nothing themselves.]
Oppa laughed, empathizing with my excessive workload and listening to my worries. I described the low meeting attendance of the Hunter Killer team members as a group project gone wrong, and I referred to the overall Union work as "another part-time job."
Since he had no connection to this world, I couldn't mention anything about the Union. It was only natural to keep it a secret.
The next day, I had an exam. I was testing from morning until afternoon. Since Oppa had helped me with more than just "Deep Space Technology Theory," I continued to rely on his assistance. Despite the short study period, I felt like I’d done well.
[I had an exam this afternoon, and I think I did well.]
[That’s a relief. Did the stuff I taught you show up?]
[It did! I was able to solve them thanks to you.]
A smile naturally formed on my face whenever I texted him. Was it because I could feel him caring for me? I felt a sense of comfort that I couldn't find at school or the Union.
[Does that mean I get another free meal?]
[Once I get my pay from the part-time job, lol.]
Time flew by as we texted, but I eventually had to reopen my books. While texting was fun, I couldn't afford to procrastinate with exams right around the corner.
I took the next exam, and it was another success. It was the "Deep Space Technology Theory" exam that Oppa had focused on, and almost everything he’d taught me appeared on the test. Even though I knew the exam range, the accuracy of his predictions was uncanny.
[Oppa, are you actually a professor at our school?]
[What are you talking about? Lol.]
[Every single problem you told me about showed up. :)]
Tomorrow was the final exam, and I also had a duel scheduled for the afternoon, so it was going to be a busy day. Feeling relieved that I’d cleared a major hurdle, my conversation with Oppa lasted a bit longer than usual.
[Are you ready for tomorrow’s exam?]
[I have to start studying now.]
It wasn't until Oppa brought up the exam that I remembered I still had studying to do. I hurriedly started working, my mind becoming a bit cluttered as I thought about tomorrow’s duel as well.
Oppa never messaged me first, and I usually only contacted him at night, so I figured there was no need to tell him about what I was doing during the day. I assumed he was busy working then anyway.
I finished studying for the subject and went to bed early to prepare for the hectic day ahead.
The final exam wasn't a total success. It wasn't a disaster, but I was worried my grade would be mediocre. After leaving school, I headed straight to the Union Headquarters.
I arrived just in time for the duel and headed to Namsan Park on a bike with the team members who were already there.
Spacetro had arrived first and was evacuating civilians before the fight. There were kindergarteners nearby; despite being invaders, Spacetro had a surprisingly strong law-abiding streak and made sure the children were far away from the combat zone.
I didn't know the specific name of the team we faced every time. We just referred to them collectively as Spacetro. I’d fought other teams before, but it was hard to find enemies as intensely committed as this group.
We always won because our individual team members were highly capable, but I couldn't understand the Branch Manager’s obsession with manipulating the performance results when dealing with enemies this serious.
"Hyaaah!"
Luche, an enemy executive, pulled out a rod I’d never seen before and clashed it against the sword in my hand. I thought I’d blocked it easily, but a shockwave sent me reeling back.
"Bringing out a strange weapon, are we?! Blue!"
When I called for support, Blue aimed her gun at Luche from a distance and pulled the trigger.
A flash of light streaked through the air, but Luche deflected it with a shockwave from her rod. Realizing that weapon was going to be a nuisance, I resolved to destroy it.
Once the soldiers around Luche were all down, our team’s attacks converged on her. It was multiple people attacking one, but there was no room to debate fairness. If we started losing and the defeats piled up, Seoul—and the Earth—would fall to them.
"Why don't you just give up already?!"
The moment I locked blades with Luche, the fallen Spacetro soldiers stood back up, and my teammates moved to intercept them.
As I struggled against her in a contest of strength, sword against rod, I felt the shockwaves, but I gritted my teeth and endured.
Just then, one of the soldiers who had stood up threw his sword at me. Because I was locked in combat, I almost couldn't dodge it, but the rod—unable to withstand the pressure of my sword—shattered.
The thrown sword, which I dodged a split second too late, grazed the side of my helmet. As soon as the soldier threw the sword and lunged at me, I drove my fist into his face.
My body was drained from enduring the shockwaves, but I poured everything I had into a single blow to end it. The attack was a success. As I watched the soldier fly back and turned toward Luche, who looked devastated by her broken rod, my body stumbled.
"Retreat!"
A Spacetro soldier’s voice rang out loudly. The standing soldiers grabbed Luche and their fallen comrades and hastily fled the scene.
"...Let's head back too."
The fatigue from enduring the attacks had accumulated instantly, leaving me with no energy to do anything else. At the suggestion of returning, the team members turned back toward their bikes.
Things were the same as usual after returning to the Union Headquarters. Blue and Green left first, followed by Yellow and Pink after they finished up. Just as I was about to leave, feeling aches all over my body...
"Red. The Branch Manager is calling for you."
"Suddenly?"
Daily reports were supposed to go to the Team Leader, not the Branch Manager. Having been summoned right after reporting to the Team Leader made me uneasy.
When I knocked and entered the office, the white-haired Branch Manager was sitting quietly, looking over some documents.
"You called for me?"
"Yes. I heard you won today’s duel as well."
"Yes."
What is it this time? the thought wouldn't leave my head.
I really wished he would stop talking about that damn performance manipulation.
"I heard the enemy had a new weapon this time?"
"It wasn't grand enough to be called a 'new weapon,' but it was something we haven't seen before."
I had, of course, reported Luche’s rod. Just talking about it made the strength drain from my body. It felt like my muscles had gone limp after enduring those powerful shockwaves, much like the exhaustion after an intense workout.
"Why didn't you secure it?"
"Pardon?"
This was one of the things I’d heard since I first joined the Union: secure the tools and equipment used by the enemy. But that only applied when the situation allowed for it.
"If it was a new enemy weapon, you should have secured it and brought it back."
The goal of securing items was to analyze Spacetro’s technology. However, in the last 20 years, the Earth Defense Union had never successfully secured a single item from Spacetro.
Whatever technology was at play, any secured item would quickly vanish, and they still hadn't figured out the cause, leaving them stuck in place.
Many scientists had tried to figure it out, but the overwhelming gap in technology was too much for current human intellect and technique to overcome. Apparently, many scientists had even quit out of sheer despair over the technological divide.
"Securing items is only done when the environment permits. If trying to secure an item increases the chance of defeat or results in team injuries, it becomes a major loss."
The Branch Manager looked up from his documents and glared at me with sharp eyes. I hated that look.
"Aren't you the team that wins every time? Where exactly is the possibility of a loss?"
I wanted to throw this manager, who only knew how to sit and talk, right in front of the Spacetro enemies so he could see just how intense they were.
As he said, we won every time. But we were never arrogant about it. Spacetro were invaders who came to conquer Earth; they were the enemy, the villains. But it was also true that they fought with everything they had for their own survival.
Did the Branch Manager have any idea of the fatigue we felt every time we faced them? No, did he even want to know?
"To have a goal right in front of you and fail to execute... I suppose this can be viewed as a performance shortfall."
He was spewing utter nonsense. Every time I heard it, I felt a wave of revulsion. I constantly wished someone would do something about this man.
Why?
Why?
Just why?
Why did I have to stand here and listen to this after fighting with everything I had for the sake of the Earth and coming back victorious?
"If you have nothing else to say, you may leave."
There were so many things I could have said in rebuttal. I knew I should speak up.
But I didn't even want to waste words on a human being who was so obsessed with padding stats that he would say something like that.
The fatigue felt like it was crushing my shoulders.
For the first time in my life, I realized something. Even when you’ve been treated unfairly and have the perfect means to argue back, if you feel such utter revulsion that you don't even want to view the other person as a human being, you just give up on the conversation entirely.
"I'll be going now."
It hurt. I didn't know if it was my body, my head, or everything. I couldn't tell where the pain was.
Whenever I tried to pinpoint the pain, it felt like it moved somewhere else. My mind grew cluttered, and my body felt heavy. I wanted to go home and rest. I wanted to go back to a place where I could actually find peace.
"Yubin."
As I walked aimlessly toward home, I heard a familiar voice. I slowly lifted my gaze, which had been fixed on the ground.
"Oppa?"
He was there. Had he just stepped out for a moment? Wearing comfortable training clothes with his hands in his pockets, he was looking at me.
"Hey. Hi."
I never expected to run into him like this. He usually solved his meals at the convenience store; what brought him out here all of a sudden?
"What a surprise, running into you on the street like this."
"Work finished, so I came out to buy a few things."
It seemed his workday had ended too. I should try to remember that for when we texted.
"Aren't you going to the convenience store today?"
Did he want to eat something else for a change? Convenience store food could fill you up, but for the sake of health, it was better to eat something with a better nutritional balance.
"Why would I go if you're not there?"
"..."
I felt my eyes widen. I’d never felt flustered so transparently before. Oppa, who had been answering casually while looking at the shop signs, turned his gaze toward me. I couldn't look him in the eye, so I looked away.
"...If you have time, do you want to grab dinner together?"
The thought of going home to rest vanished as if it had never existed.
He never messaged me first and only brought up eating together as a joke, so why now?
Why did he say that with a smile when I was having such a hard time?
The physical fatigue and the stress in my head vanished in an instant. I couldn't hide the smile spreading across my face.
"Yes. I'd love to."
"It's on me. Let's go."
Oppa led the way, and I walked beside him as we headed to a restaurant.
After we ordered and sat down to wait, I noticed Oppa rubbing his cheek.
"Did you get hurt?"
It wasn't a place that was easy to injure. How did he do it? Such a clumsy person.
"Yeah. I was spacing out and bumped into something."
"How do you even bump into something there?"
The situation was so perfectly in character for him that I couldn't help but laugh.
"Hold on a second."
I had a disposable ice pack in my bag that I’d packed right before heading out for the mission. The ice had mostly melted into liquid, but it wasn't bad for holding against a sore spot.
"You carry stuff like this around?"
"It's disposable. I packed it to use but didn't end up needing it. Hold it against the sore spot."
I handed him the ice pack. As he held it to his cheek, he started staring intently at my face. Was something wrong? His gaze made me self-conscious.
"Yubin. Next to your eye."
"Pardon?"
Was there something on my face? I pulled a compact mirror out of my bag and checked. There was a small scratch. It wasn't a large, noticeable wound, but it had left a tiny mark.
"Oh? When did I get this?"
"Wait a minute."
Oppa suddenly stood up, went to the counter, got some ointment from the owner, and came back.
"Apply this to the scratch. And this."
What he pulled out of his pocket was, unexpectedly, a beige bandage.
"You carry things like this around?"
"I'm clumsy, so I get hurt a lot."
The image of him saying he’d bumped his face while spacing out overlapped with this, and I burst out laughing again.
"What's so funny?"
His expression—truly not knowing why I was laughing—made it impossible to stop.
"Nothing. It's just... I feel like I can see why you say you're clumsy and get hurt a lot."
"Huh? Is that how I'm perceived?"
I could vividly see him hovering in the convenience store, agonizing over what to buy. Memories of him coming to the store for over a month flooded back.
"Well, Oppa, you're always fumbling and hesitating when you pick things out at the store."
"I don't think I'm a clumsy person, though."
It was funny how he wasn't aware of it. I felt much more comfortable with him, whom I’d known for barely a week, than with people I’d known for years.
"Sure, sure~ let's say you're not."
I tried desperately to stifle my laughter but couldn't. Teasing him playfully, we continued our conversation until the meal was over.
"Well, get home safe."
"Yeah. You too."
We said our goodbyes in front of the restaurant. I wanted to talk more, but I felt it would be rude to keep him any longer just for my own sake.
I watched him wave and walk away before turning toward my own home.
It would be a lie to say all the stress and irritation from earlier was gone, but the happiness from meeting him was much greater.
"Ah~ that was fun."
I muttered to myself, my steps light as I walked home. I wondered how I should contact him tomorrow, then remembered that tomorrow was my shift at the convenience store.
"It's already Friday."
Oppa would come to the store at the usual time tomorrow, wouldn't he?
Ah, I want to see him again already.