Evil Organization’s Extra Mr. A – Chapter 17

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The concept of “superhuman” didn’t exist 20 years ago when we first arrived on Earth.

Back then, Earth lacked the physical capabilities to counter Spacetroe and relied on large-scale military weapons. While Earth’s weapons were powerful, they were no match for Spacetroe, with our advanced deep space navigation technology.

Just as Earthlings were losing hope, Spacetroe miraculously proposed a duel under equal conditions. Earth accepted, proposing non-lethal duels in various regions.

We didn’t understand the reason behind their proposal at the time, but it didn’t take long for us to find out.

Earth had been planning to create superhumans with enhanced physical abilities through genetic modification experiments, but various organizations and groups had opposed it, citing concerns about human rights and the potential disruption of global balance.

However, faced with the dire situation of an alien invasion with overwhelming technological superiority, the Earth Defense Alliance pushed forward with the superhuman experiments. As a result, individuals with abilities surpassing not only ordinary humans but even some Spacetroe executives emerged, and we were now facing them in duels.

While public opinion had softened considerably, the initial reaction to superhumans had been negative. Created through artificial experiments to protect Earth, they fought for the planet, yet Earthlings struggled to accept these beings who were different from them.

Now, mindful of Spacetroe’s presence, most superhumans concealed their abilities in their daily lives.

While Yu-bin never mentioned anything related to superhumans or even Spacetroe, Pink was different.

“All done, Owner?”

“Yes, thank you.”

She openly displayed her superhuman abilities, and the owner was clearly aware of them. The part-timer at the counter also didn’t seem surprised, suggesting she knew as well.

“Why? Surprised? Let’s get back to work.”

She glanced at me, standing there dumbfounded, and returned to the kitchen. I hesitantly followed her.

I knew superhumans hid their identities because of Spacetroe. But even if they revealed themselves, we had no way of knowing.

Pink’s display of strength, effortlessly overpowering a grown man in her workplace, was a clear demonstration of her superhuman abilities, yet I hadn’t realized it until just now.

“Surprised?”

“Of course, I’m surprised. You just threw a customer out like that.”

Superhuman or not, I’d lived in Korea for quite a while after arriving on Earth and had seen my share of difficult customers in various establishments, but I’d never seen anyone throw a customer out like that.

“? No, I mean about me being a superhuman.”

“I don’t care about that.”

I knew she was a superhuman. What surprised me was that she was openly using her powers.

“You’re strange, you know? People are usually surprised to see a superhuman.”

Had my reaction been too nonchalant? She seemed to think I wasn’t impressed by superhumans.

“I saw plenty of them when I was living abroad. I even saw them fighting.”

“When you were young?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, seemingly convinced by my explanation. As Pink herself knew, duels usually took place in the middle of the city, not in secluded areas.

While it seemed like a disregard for public safety, the no-killing rule was in place, and duels in secluded areas could lead to unforeseen incidents, so they were held in public.

Spacetroe had agreed to the no-killing rule, and we were obligated to follow orders, so we strictly adhered to it and tried our best to avoid harming civilians during duels in urban areas.

Unlike us and the Hunter Killer team, civilians had ordinary human bodies, and even an attack from a low-ranking minion like me could be fatal.

“But is it okay? Aren’t the customers scared?”

It was a place of business, and while it was less crowded than usual for a weekend, there were still customers. Word would spread easily.

“It’s fine. The owner keeps it quiet. And the cafe’s become more peaceful, so the customers don’t seem to mind.”

It seemed Pink could be so open about her identity thanks to the owner’s open-mindedness and discretion.

“But it’s still not good to stand out, so I work in the kitchen.”

While I didn’t want to admit it, due to her narcissistic tendencies, Pink was quite attractive. Yu-bin was my girlfriend, but objectively speaking, Pink was slightly, just slightly, prettier.

While working at the counter would attract more male customers, it seemed she found it difficult to constantly be in the public eye, even though she used her abilities for the sake of the cafe.

“How is it? Working in the kitchen with such a beauty, it’s like a dream come true, right?”

As I resumed washing dishes, her narcissistic comment made me sigh involuntarily.

“Sigh…”

“Already sighing on your first day?”

I glanced at Pink, who was washing dishes next to me. She seemed oblivious to the fact that she was the reason for my sigh.

My first day was chaotic. I couldn’t ignore Pink because of my surveillance mission, and the sudden influx of customers kept me busy with work.

The kitchen work, which I initially thought would involve just washing dishes and organizing supplies, was far more demanding than I’d anticipated. Since I was new, Pink handled most of the tasks while I continued washing dishes.

“Afternoon shift, you’re done.”

Just as I was about to take a break, it was time to clock out. The owner poked her head into the kitchen and announced the end of our shift. The evening staff arrived and exchanged familiar greetings with Pink. I just awkwardly nodded.

“Time to go home!”

Pink also worked the opening shift until the afternoon, so we finished at the same time. As I came out of the storage room after changing, I ran into Pink, who was also changing in the break room.

Seeing her outfit, I finally understood the difference between Pink in her suit during duels and Pink working at the cafe.

While working, her baggy jumpsuit hid her figure. But now, changed into a tight black dress, her curves were accentuated.

She’d also taken off her mask and let down her hair, which she’d tied up while working. The difference was striking. That’s why she seemed so different from how I remembered her in her suit.

“Why? Do I look even prettier now?”

Seeing her sleeveless dress, chosen to combat the summer heat, I understood why that man had followed her this morning. But her narcissistic comment made me frown. How many times was she going to repeat the same thing? Did she crave compliments that much?

“Yes, yes.”

I replied perfunctorily and left the kitchen. Pink put on a thin cardigan and followed me out. We said goodbye to the owner and walked towards the subway station without much conversation.

“See you tomorrow!”

I turned around at Pink’s voice. She was walking in the opposite direction, waving at me as she walked backwards. She was incredibly cheerful.

“Yeah.”

I replied casually and waved back half-heartedly.

Near my apartment, I glanced at the convenience store, where Yu-bin would have finished her shift, and entered my building. I found Yu-bin squatting in front of my door.

“What are you doing here?”

“…”

She looked up at me with a sullen expression, her eyes narrowed. I wondered if I’d done something wrong and checked my phone.

93 messages, 15 missed calls. All from Yu-bin.

“Where were you?”

Her sharp tone urged me to answer quickly, but I couldn’t tell her I’d been working at the café where Pink worked.

“Let’s go inside first.”

I offered her my hand, trying to buy myself some time, but she stood up without taking it. I opened the door and let her in.

She walked in without looking at me and sat down on the sofa. Feeling obligated to sit next to her, I did.

“I’m sorry.”

I had to apologize. Whatever explanation I gave would be a lie, but it was my fault for not contacting her for so long.

Yu-bin had plenty of time to text and call during her convenience store shift, and we’d exchanged messages frequently. She was understandably upset that I hadn’t contacted her all afternoon and hadn’t answered her calls.

“I thought you’d be busy, so I came to your place, but you weren’t here either.”

Her tone was clearly sulky, and I didn’t know what to say. Apologizing further would only make things worse.

“I had to meet someone for work. It was a last-minute thing, so I couldn’t contact you.”

Yu-bin, who had been looking down at the floor, looked up at me.

“I feel like I don’t know much about you, Oppa.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t really know what you do for work.”

If she knew what I really did, I’d probably be dead. Even with the no-killing rule, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself.

“You’re not hiding anything from me, are you?”

“No. I’m freelancing as a deep space technology program designer. I was meeting a client today.”

It was a hastily concocted lie, but it sounded plausible. It was related to the false information I’d already given her, and she had no way of verifying it.

“You’re not hiding anything from me, are you, Yu-bin?”

“No.”

…Of course, we both knew we couldn’t tell each other the truth.

But knowing her true identity, I felt a strange pang of… something, hearing her deny it so firmly, even though I knew she couldn’t tell me.

It was an indescribable feeling, and not a pleasant one.

“I’m sorry. I’ll contact you next time.”

I apologized again and hugged her, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling. Her sulky expression quickly softened as she hugged me back.

“Okay, I forgive you.”

“I’ll probably be busy on weekends for a while. I might not be able to answer your calls in the afternoon.”

“Okay, it’s fine now that you’ve told me.”

The lack of communication had been the reason for her sulking, and now that I’d explained and given her a heads-up, Yu-bin smiled and accepted my apology.

“You were on your way home, but came here because I wasn’t answering?”

“I was planning to stop by anyway before going home, but I got worried when you weren’t answering.”

It was a short walk, three or four minutes, from the convenience store where Yu-bin worked to my apartment. She could even run it in under a minute, so it was natural for her to stop by after work.

“I’ll text you the door code. You can come in and wait if I’m not home.”

“Okay.”

Seeing her satisfied expression, I felt confident that I’d handled the situation well and wanted to pat myself on the back.

Yu-bin hadn’t brought any clothes or toiletries today, so she decided to go home after dinner. After she left, I called Ruche.

“Hello?”

“What are you doing?”

“About to shower. Why?”

“Just calling to report after work.”

From now on, I’d have to report to her on my way home, in case Yu-bin was at my place.

“Go ahead.”

Since it was my first day, I didn’t have much to report, so I just mentioned the few potentially useful things I’d observed.

The most significant piece of information was that Pink didn’t hide the fact that she was a superhuman. While it wasn’t immediately helpful, knowing her tendencies could help me formulate a better surveillance strategy.

“So, you just worked all day?”

“It couldn’t be helped. I infiltrated as a part-timer, so I had to work.”

“Okay. Are you going tomorrow, too?”

The part-time job, only afternoon shifts, was on weekends, and I had to go to work tomorrow to monitor Pink.

“Yes. Please be patient until I get used to the environment there.”

“I wasn’t planning to rush you from the start. Work hard, and let me know if you find anything.”

“Understood.”

Ruche hung up, and I was finally alone, enveloped in silence.

I wanted to hold Yu-bin in my arms again, but I decided to restrain myself when we both had work the next day. I needed to conserve my energy.

Just as I was about to get up and shower, my phone rang. It was Yu-bin.

“Hello?”

She was just calling to chat on her way home, and my first day of monitoring Pink ended without any significant results.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇