Chapter 90: Just Like Everyone Else (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: Just Like Everyone Else (1)
The day of the duel arrived, and Yellow was in high spirits.
While she couldn't strictly call them "lovers" yet, they had crossed a line that made the term feel fitting enough. The anxiety that had been budding inside her had finally withered away.
Until recently, she hadn't been able to grasp what was so exciting when the other members talked about romance. But now that things had progressed with A, the mere thought of telling the others made her heart race with uncontrollable excitement.
However, Yellow wasn't the type to suddenly pour her heart out and chat giddily just because one big event had occurred. She had always been one to keep her emotions tucked away.
Knowing herself well, Yellow tried not to let on that anything had happened until a natural opening in the conversation arose. Yet, the unusually high tension she displayed during the duel told the other members everything they needed to know.
"!!!"
A Spacetro soldier approaching Red flinched, seemingly startled by the sheer momentum of Yellow’s charge. Yellow leaped high into the air, her mid-air roundhouse kick slamming into the soldier’s head and pinning him to the ground.
Normally, it was a situation where she could have attacked with more composure while receiving support from the other members, but Yellow, unable to contain her own energy, threw herself at the Spacetro soldiers.
To an outsider who didn't know the dynamic between Spacetro’s Seoul Branch Team 3 and the Earth Defense Union’s Team Hunter Killer, it might have looked like Yellow was charging in recklessly. However, the members of Hunter Killer were reassured by her vigor, while the Spacetro soldiers grew frantic, struggling just to hold back this one woman.
Spacetro soldiers lunged at Yellow from all sides, but she moved as if she were on fast-forward in a world running at normal speed, striking and blowing away every single soldier who dared to approach.
"She’s moving a lot more than usual today."
Among Hunter Killer’s vanguard, Yellow used her hands and feet as her primary weapons. Since her attack range was the shortest, she naturally had to move her body the most. During duels, she often showcased a variety of movements, as if releasing all the pent-up energy she didn't use in her daily life.
Even taking that into account, the sheer volume of movement Yellow was displaying today gave the members a certainty—whether for better or worse, something had definitely happened to her.
Since the current roster was formed, Team Hunter Killer had never once lost to Spacetro. Having won every single one of the numerous duels held over the past three years, one might think their sense of accomplishment would have faded. However, the members of Hunter Killer felt a sense of achievement with every victory and never let their guard down.
Until quite recently, their communication hadn't been very smooth, so they didn't know what each other was thinking. But in their own different ways, none of them were resting on the laurels of their repeated victories.
"Good work, everyone."
Having won the duel, the members of Hunter Killer returned to the headquarters' underground parking lot and dismounted from their bikes. As they removed their helmets at Red’s word, they began to chat lightly about the day's battle.
"The other side seemed unusually spirited today, too."
"That happens sometimes. But today, I think Yellow was the cause."
Red replied to Blue, who was speaking with a relaxed smile of victory. Red’s gaze shifted toward Yellow, who was walking at the very back alongside Pink. Red felt that the reason Spacetro’s momentum seemed stronger than usual was because Yellow’s own energy was so off the charts. And the moment she looked at her...
"What?! Seriously?!"
Pink let out a startled, loud cry, and the other members who happened to look at Yellow at that moment were equally shocked.
"Hey! You're being too loud!"
Pink had been the most interested in the stories of Yellow and Green, and since she had been generous with her advice, Yellow had first given her a brief summary of the past few days. Pink wore a look of shock the members had never seen before, and naturally, everyone’s attention turned toward the two of them.
"Why? What's going on?"
Sensing that this wasn't a serious matter but rather a juicy story, Red stopped walking toward the elevator and stared intently at Yellow with a smile.
Yellow realized a moment too late that this wasn't the right timing, but she had already spilled the beans to Pink, the most active talker when it came to romance.
"She said she had sex with her boyfriend!"
"I told you, he's not my boyfriend!"
Yellow didn't seem to mind the fact that her having sex was being broadcasted; she prioritized correcting the fact that the man she’d slept with wasn't her boyfriend.
"Really?! When?"
Red’s eyes widened, unable to hide her interest in the news that Yellow—whose progress she’d been worried about—had finally done it. Blue’s reaction was relatively subdued, but the way her gaze was fixed on Yellow showed that she was just as intrigued.
"Let's talk upstairs. Upstairs."
Since they were in an underground parking lot where people could pass by at any moment, they decided to save the lewd talk for the locker room. Just as they were waiting for the elevator, anticipating Yellow’s story, a van pulled into the parking lot.
The van door slid open roughly, and the first man to step out spat out a curse.
"For fuck's sake!"
The chaotic entrance drew the eyes of the Hunter Killer members. Their brows furrowed simultaneously.
"What? Looks like Hunter Killer is back from a duel too?"
Indigo, who had been venting his anger into the air after getting out of the car, noticed the gaze of the Hunter Killer team and looked back at them. Even though they were just making eye contact, the Hunter Killer members were giving him looks of pure contempt. Indigo, for reasons unknown, took a mocking tone with them.
"Must be nice. Always padding your stats against the weak teams."
The elevator arrived just then. Ignoring Indigo’s words, the members boarded one by one. Yellow, who was the last to watch Indigo, flipped him the middle finger right before stepping into the elevator.
"That fucking bitch."
Left alone, Indigo spat out another curse at the spot where the Hunter Killer members had stood. Soon, his teammates began to climb out of the van.
"What? Was someone here?"
"Hunter Killer."
Indigo answered his teammate Khaki with a voice still thick with rage, gritting his teeth so hard they creaked.
"Let's see how long they keep acting so confident. If I get the chance, I'm going to kidnap the whole lot of them and fuck them senseless."
"Give it a rest. You might actually get killed."
Gain, who had stepped out behind Khaki, spoke with a chuckle, but Indigo was too consumed by the fury of his defeat and the insulting looks from the Hunter Killer members to listen.
*
Up in the 3rd floor Hunter Killer office, the members quickly forgot about Indigo, their minds filled with the excitement of their upcoming conversation. They didn't consider Indigo the type of person worth their concern, so the encounter hadn't dampened their mood in the slightest.
The moment they entered the locker room to change, Pink’s lewd gaze fell upon Yellow. Yellow instinctively avoided the look, which felt like Pink was licking her with her eyes.
"So, how did it happen?"
"...I jumped him."
"You jumped him?!"
Yellow had been worried about how to start the story, but once she began, the tale of her recent exploit flowed out smoothly. The point that excited the members the most was that the day Yellow "jumped" her boyfriend was the very day he had been waiting at her house, the day she had sent him away without even having lunch together.
"So while we were talking about what would happen to you two, you were already having sex?"
"How is he? Is he good in bed?"
Behind Red, who was recalling the day they had lunch and wondered when Yellow would make progress, Pink threw out a blunt question.
Though the question was direct, Yellow didn't feel any particular resistance to talking about sex. She simply corrected the boyfriend part again.
"I told you, he's not my boyfriend yet... As for the sex..."
She couldn't bring herself to tell them that she had spent the entire day having sex, reaching countless climaxes, and had been utterly defeated by pleasure again the next day. Yellow cleared her throat lightly and continued.
"He was... decent. But still, he can't keep up with a superhuman’s stamina."
"Really? My oppa is a civilian, but he doesn't fall behind in stamina when we're doing it."
"Aren't men usually like that? My boyfriend gets so intense when he drinks that I can't even handle him."
Pink, conveniently leaving out the fact that she was the one who lost her mind during drunken sex, slowly turned her gaze toward Blue. Knowing exactly what kind of answer Pink wanted the moment their eyes met, Blue gave a gentle smile.
"My darling seems to have better stamina than me in bed."
"Right? I'm telling you, that's how men are."
Pink, who was talking as if she knew all about men, actually only had experience with one person, just like the others. She was just acting tough because she wanted to seem experienced and skilled.
Of course, even as she said that, she knew that if she had sex with her boyfriend—with A—after her part-time job this week to make up for missing out last week, she had no confidence in winning against him.
Meanwhile, with Yellow joining the "romance" talk—though it was more like "sex" talk—the person who found it hardest to participate was Green.
"..."
Green, who couldn't possibly follow a conversation about whether a boyfriend was good in bed or not, had to keep listening to the members' banter with a face she couldn't hide was turning beet red.
Blue, noticing that Green had finished changing in silence, asked her in a low voice.
"What about you, Green? Have you met the person who helped you?"
A week had passed since the trip, but Green hadn't seen A once. Their meetings in the park, which had started by chance, had turned into scheduled appointments once they exchanged numbers.
"No. Not since the trip..."
She had gathered her courage once or twice to text him first and meet up, but she hesitated to call him out, feeling like she was wasting his time just to see his face without a specific purpose. Moreover, something seemed to have happened on A’s end as well, as he hadn't texted her first either. Green was falling deeper into worry.
"You haven't met? Why?"
"Things have been a bit hectic."
After telling the members about her family situation, Green didn't want to make them worry anymore, so she didn't reveal the inner turmoil she was facing.
"Because of the move?"
"Yeah. There's a lot to look into."
Her father was in a detention center, and since a prison sentence was virtually guaranteed, she was preparing to move to prevent him from finding her after his release. The members knew she was moving, and Blue, who had the most recent experience with moving, could understand why Green was so busy.
"Can't you prepare for the move together?"
At Pink’s curious question, Green waved her hands frantically as if having a fit.
"No! He's already helped me so much, and this is something I have to do on my own. I haven't even told him I'm moving yet..."
"You haven't told him?"
"No."
Red, surprised that Green still hadn't mentioned it despite having prepared for the move for quite some time, asked for confirmation. Green simply nodded her head in response.
"Green. I hope you don't misunderstand what I'm about to say, but... you do like him, right?"
Not telling him about the move didn't necessarily mean she didn't like him, but Red believed it was normal to want to tell the person you like about what's going on in your life and to hear about theirs.
Red herself hesitated to ask A about minor things because she hadn't revealed the fact that she was a superhuman. Because of that situation, she sincerely hoped Green could have a completely normal romance.
Above all, since the man who helped Green supposedly did so even knowing she was a superhuman, Red thought Green was in a much better position than herself, who had to hide her identity.
Hearing Red’s question, Green was about to say yes, but she hesitated for a moment and fell into thought.
Do I... really like him?
In the end, she couldn't answer then and there. Team Hunter Killer finished their work and headed home separately.
On her way home, Green couldn't stop wondering if she truly liked A.
She liked him, but was it really the heart of a woman for a man?
When she heard the members talking about having physical relations with their boyfriends, she didn't immediately feel a desire to have a physical relationship with A.
If it happened, she wouldn't hate it. But Green was more concerned with whether she liked it or not, rather than just not hating it, and she couldn't reach a decision.
Do I feel like I like him just because he helped me?
She definitely liked him. But she couldn't figure out the direction of that "liking."
She had spent all this time thinking she had fallen for A, but since she hadn't seen him since the trip, her thoughts were bound to grow deeper.
Can I see him today?
She pulled her smartphone from her pocket. Looking at the last text they had exchanged, she debated whether to ask if they could meet for a moment.
But she didn't have the courage to text him while she herself didn't even know how she felt. With a deep sigh, she put her phone back in her pocket and headed toward her house.