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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Overwork makes people irritable, and irritable people direct their stress somewhere.
Humans have limits to how much they can multitask, and when those limits are exceeded, fatigue accumulates. And without a chance to alleviate that fatigue, humans must continue to work to find a way to survive.
Red, Hong Yu-bin, couldn’t remember the last time she’d properly rested. She was facing her first final exams as a university student and was incredibly stressed.
One might think freshman exams couldn’t be that difficult, but even simple tasks become challenging when you have no time for yourself.
“…”
Standing at the convenience store counter, reviewing her textbook during a lull in customers, was one of the few opportunities Yu-bin had to study.
She’d loved space science since she was young, but in a world where invaders had descended from space, space science was a highly sought-after field, and the competition was fierce.
Years ago, before she even became an adult, she’d already been active as Red of Team Hunter Killer. She’d managed to get into a reputable university, but with weekly meetings to strategize against Spacetroe and the duels themselves, she still lacked time for herself.
No matter how times changed, the rule remained constant: those with better environments and more time to study accumulated more knowledge. Though Yu-bin was in university, her lack of time was causing her grades to fall behind her peers.
“Ugh… what is this?”
She hadn’t been able to attend many lectures, so her grades were precarious. And because she missed so many classes, she hadn’t made any friends among her classmates. Her Hunter Killer duties kept her busy, and she’d never joined her classmates for drinks.
She hadn’t even considered going out for drinks. She knew how busy she was.
Time was increasingly scarce, and when she encountered an unfamiliar equation, her mind would freeze, her thoughts wouldn’t process, and her mood would instantly sour.
3rd floor, Earth Defense Alliance, Seoul, Korea Branch Headquarters. Team “Hunter Killer.”
While Team Hunter Killer was busy dealing with the invading force from outer space, Spacetroe, Spacetroe troops were also appearing sporadically in various locations. As a result, there were several teams stationed at the Seoul branch headquarters.
Among them, Team Hunter Killer boasted high performance, earning the envy of other teams while simultaneously being the busiest.
“Where are Blue and Yellow?”
“They left a while ago.”
As soon as the meeting ended, Yu-bin looked for Blue and Yellow, who were nowhere to be seen. Green, who had seen them leaving, answered, and Yu-bin sighed.
“It can’t be helped. Blue has to take care of her child, and Yellow marches to the beat of her own drum.”
Pink added her two cents, and Yu-bin tried her best to understand. She knew Blue’s circumstances and Yellow’s personality. However, she couldn’t help but think that leaving the team before all the work was done wasn’t good team behavior.
“…You two go ahead. I’ll handle the performance report.”
After the weekly Seoul branch meeting, each team submitted their weekly performance report. While Team Hunter Killer had good results, the team atmosphere was somewhat disorganized, and Yu-bin often handled the reports alone.
“Okay.”
Pink, putting on her coat, waved and headed for the elevator. Green looked at Yu-bin, a little concerned.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You go ahead, Green.”
Green was worried about leaving Yu-bin to handle the work alone, but she knew Yu-bin preferred to work independently and wouldn’t accept help, so she gathered her things and headed for the elevator.
Arriving at the branch manager’s office, Yu-bin knocked. A deep male voice called out, “Come in.”
She opened the door and entered. A middle-aged man with white hair sat at his desk. Yu-bin greeted him immediately.
“Hello, Branch Manager.”
“Let’s start with last week’s performance report.”
Yu-bin presented the report she’d prepared. The content of the performance reports didn’t change much. She reported on strategies discussed in the team meetings for countering Spacetroe, along with details and results of their duels.
Of course, they also submitted reports on the days of the duels, but sometimes they had two or three duels a week, so a weekly summary report was required.
The branch manager simply nodded as he listened. When she finished, he looked up at Yu-bin.
“Team Hunter Killer’s performance is excellent, so just keep doing what you’re doing, but…”
He trailed off, and Yu-bin felt a sense of unease.
“How about assigning your achievements to other teams?”
There was a saying that a feeling of unease was never wrong, and Yu-bin’s unease proved to be justified.
Most people knew that internal politics were at play, not just within the Seoul branch but throughout the entire alliance, though it hadn’t been leaked to the public yet. The proposal to increase the number of operations for lower-performing teams to improve their results had been brought up several times.
And each time, Yu-bin’s response remained the same.
“Duels are not child’s play. It’s not a good idea to even slightly increase the risk of failure just to improve performance statistics.”
“However, the team you mainly face always loses to you. There’s been talk that the team you’re fighting is actually the weakest in Seoul.”
Yu-bin understood what the branch manager was saying. Team Hunter Killer had faced several opponents in Seoul, and the team they fought most often was their current rival team. While it was true that they always won against the opposing team, led by an executive named “Ruche,” Yu-bin knew they were fighting with everything they had, so she couldn’t just hand them off to another team.
“It doesn’t matter. Our team intends to maintain the current status quo.”
While they didn’t meet often, the members of Team Hunter Killer weren’t distant, and they were always in agreement about maintaining their team.
The branch manager, who had tried various reasons to reassign Team Hunter Killer’s achievements, knew he couldn’t convince Yu-bin right now, but Yu-bin also knew he wouldn’t give up.
The meeting and performance report usually marked the end of her workday, but Yu-bin had no time to rest. Final exams were starting next week, and she had a lot to prepare for.
The next day, I was greeted by a morning meeting and my afternoon convenience store shift. Only Green unni attended the meeting, so it wasn’t a proper team meeting. On top of that, I’d stayed up all night researching, getting only about an hour of sleep, so I kept nodding off during my shift.
“I’d like to check out.”
As I scanned the items a customer brought to the counter, a wave of drowsiness hit me, and I dropped the onigiri I was holding.
“!”
I forced my eyes open to wake myself up and scanned the onigiri again.
“You seem very tired today.”
“Yes, a little.”
I responded reflexively to the voice in front of me and slowly lifted my head.
“You seem like a student.”
“Yes, I’m a university student. I have a lot of assignments these days.”
The customer was the one who came to the store every day at the same time for over a month. I only worked three days a week, but after seeing him for several weeks, he’d become a familiar face.
At first, I thought he was just a regular, but the unchanging time of his visits, and the fact that he always showed up on the days I worked, made me wonder if he was suspicious. At some point, I stopped paying much attention and just considered him a regular customer.
“That sounds tough.”
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had said that to me. Even a stranger I had never spoken to expressed concern for me, while the people I worked closest with were a mess.
“I have to do it. It’s my responsibility.”
The Earth Defense Alliance, Team Hunter Killer, Red… it wasn’t something I had volunteered for, but somehow, I had been burdened with responsibility and brainwashed into feeling a sense of duty. It had become my job.
“Have a good day.”
After I finished ringing him up and bagging his items, he left the store. Too tired to even look at my textbook, I stood there, dozing off as I worked.
After my shift, I returned home and opened my “Deep Space Technology Theory” textbook. It was filled with difficult words and equations, and there was far more I didn’t understand than what I did, making me frown from the start.
The fact that I had no one to ask frustrated me. I banged my head on the desk in frustration and fell asleep.
Did I sleep through the entire day because I hadn’t slept the night before? When I opened my eyes, it was time for my shift. I hurriedly stuffed my textbook into my bag and rushed out.
“…”
I muttered equations to myself as I looked at the textbook, but the words wouldn’t register.
Hearing the chime of the door as a customer entered, I put the book down and greeted him, “Welcome.” It was the customer who came every week at the same time. I just assumed he’d pick out his usual items and leave. I normally wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but I was so frustrated with my studies that random thoughts kept popping into my head.
“!”
Feeling dejected, I watched the customer as he browsed. When our eyes met, he quickly looked away, then fumbled around, picking up his items. He brought them to the counter, and I started scanning.
“That looks like a difficult book.”
“It is difficult. Even the upperclassmen say it’s the hardest freshman course.”
I’d only seen those upperclassmen at the entrance ceremony, and that’s when I’d heard that “Deep Space Technology Theory” was the hardest. Apparently, freshmen found it the most difficult because they didn’t know anything.
“Deep space technology is difficult. The initial theories are tough.”
I was surprised that he knew about my major. I’d always thought of him as just a customer.
“You seem to know a lot about it.”
“Yes… a little.”
The fact that he knew the initial theories were difficult meant he knew more than that, and he definitely knew things I currently didn’t. Or at least he knew something about them.
He left the store after paying, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
I watched him through the glass window behind the counter as he hurried away. He turned around, looked at me, and then entered the building right in front of the convenience store.
Maybe he held the solution to my problems. Sometimes, it’s easier to ask a complete stranger for help than someone you vaguely know. I just had to be bold.
Sunday arrived, and the customer came to the convenience store again. I tried not to be conscious of him, but I couldn’t help but look at him. As he brought his items to the counter, I asked him about the formula I was stuck on.
“Do you know the asteroid trajectory calculation formula used in deep space exploration?”
“The distance between stars and the planet the asteroid is orbiting…”
He answered quickly, then trailed off. I was so excited I could barely contain myself.
“You know it?!”
“Yes… a little.”
A little was enough. I was certain he knew what I didn’t.
I ended up stopping him and asking him to tutor me. Thankfully, he agreed. All I had to do was ask specific questions and compensate him appropriately.
As we walked to a nearby cafe after my shift, I noticed he walked rather slowly for a man, lagging behind. I kept stopping to make sure he was still following. If he left, my newfound hope would vanish. Just getting through this one final exam would be a huge relief, so I had to hold onto him.
At the cafe, I learned that he was an MIT graduate. He was a foreigner named “A,” five years older than I’d initially thought.
I had to figure out how to keep this man around. As an MIT graduate, he must possess an incredible amount of knowledge that I couldn’t even imagine.
“Oppa.”
“Ack!”
The most important thing was to close the distance. I didn’t know if this would work, and it could ruin things permanently, but I had nothing to lose, and it was better than not trying.
I just had to act like my usual self.
“This is a bit shameless, but could I ask you for help with my studies when you have time? I can’t offer much, but I can compensate you.”
I mustered my courage and asked him. My hands were shaking from nervousness, and I could only focus on his lips.
“Sure, if you’re okay with it, Yu-bin.”
“Just call me Yu-bin.”
I wanted to jump for joy when he agreed, but I suppressed my excitement and tried to remain calm on the outside.
I successfully exchanged numbers with him. I wondered if I was being too opportunistic, but it would be nice to make a friend, especially since I didn’t have many, what with university and my Hunter Killer duties.
I couldn’t hide my joy on the way home. Back in my room, the thought of having met someone who could teach me so much made me punch my bed several times in excitement.
Not only was he knowledgeable, but he also seemed to enjoy teaching, so all I had to do was understand what he taught. I felt like I’d never meet someone like him again.
The image of him coughing after I called him “oppa” at the cafe flashed through my mind, and I drifted off to sleep, happy.
The next day, I wondered how to contact him.
I needed study guides for the exams, and I thought it would be better to go with him than to go alone, which made me even more anxious about contacting him.
I spent the whole day studying and agonizing over what to say. Suddenly, as I came across something I didn’t understand, an idea struck me.
‘Our relationship started because I asked him for help with my studies, so I can just ask him about my studies!’
Where had yesterday’s me, who asked for his number with the intention of asking him more questions, gone? Had my brain short-circuited from happiness?
First, I’d ask about my studies.
[I have a question. Is it okay to ask?]
It took more effort than I expected to send that one message. I’d never exchanged messages with a guy before, so I didn’t even know how to phrase it.
[Yes, it’s fine.]
[Oppa, drop the formalities.]
[Ah;; sorry. I’m not used to it. So, what’s your question?]
I encouraged him to use informal language to make him more comfortable with me, then asked about what I didn’t understand. While the question was important, it wasn’t the main point today. As I received his detailed explanations, I looked for the right moment to bring up the main topic.
And when the subject of our conversation shifted, I seized the opportunity.
[Oppa, can I ask you something?]
[Sure, ask away.]
[Are you free tomorrow?]
I anxiously waited for his reply, hoping he’d say yes. He was usually quick to respond. He’d replied almost instantly to my first message and answered my questions immediately.
[Yeah, I’m free.]
As expected, his reply came quickly, and I immediately told him the time and place to meet. Gwanghwamun, 1 PM. It was the perfect time; I could go straight there after my morning meeting.
It was almost a unilateral declaration, but after sending the message, the tension drained away, and I collapsed onto my bed. I’d made good progress with my studies, so I fell asleep, satisfied.
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