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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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I didn’t glean any useful information during my Sunday shift either. The only thing I gained was a sense of exhaustion from Pink’s chaotic energy.
I wasn’t sure if Pink was the strange one or if I was, but I definitely couldn’t get used to her disregard for personal boundaries.
However, humans were adaptable creatures, and by the following Saturday, when I returned to work and saw Pink again, I’d already adjusted to her eccentricities.
“Hi!”
I waved back at her cheerful greeting. She was always so energetic; I wondered if she ever had down moments.
“Hey.”
“How was your week, Ah-ssi?”
“Ah-ssi?”
I stopped mid-motion as I was tying my apron, confused by the sudden nickname. I stared at her, unsure how to respond to her questioning look.
From my research, I knew “Ah-ssi” was a term used to address young ladies from noble families during the Joseon Dynasty. While it could also be used as a respectful term for any young woman, regardless of social status, it wasn’t commonly used in modern times.
“Yeah, your name starts with ‘A,’ so Ah-ssi.”
“‘A’ is just ‘A.’ Why ‘Ah’?”
“Don’t overthink it. Nicknames are like that.”
I didn’t like the nonsensical nickname. Nicknames were usually based on someone’s characteristics or behavior, but she’d just decided on a nickname for me on a whim.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just call me by my name since we’re speaking informally?”
“It’s an unusual name, so it doesn’t roll off the tongue.”
I knew my name wasn’t common among foreigners in Korea. I didn’t know if it was used as a name globally, but according to my research, it wasn’t very common.
“Whether it’s ‘A’ or ‘Ah-ssi,’ it sounds like a curse word if you say it forcefully. And why are you adding the honorific ‘-ssi’ when we’re speaking informally?”
“You’re so picky.”
She grumbled and started washing dishes, and I stood next to her, drying the dishes piled up in the sink.
“I’m not being picky. It’s just weird.”
“It’s not weird at all~”
Her teasing tone was irritating. I wanted to retort, but I held back, knowing I wouldn’t be able to handle her if she decided to punch me.
“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
“…”
I was about to answer casually, then stopped. I did have a girlfriend, but admitting it would only lead to complications. Knowing Pink, she’d probably ask for a picture, and if I refused, she’d tease me relentlessly, accusing me of lying.
It was just a guess, but I couldn’t risk revealing my relationship, even if that scenario didn’t play out. After all, my girlfriend was Red of Team Hunter Killer, Pink’s teammate.
“No.”
“That’s why you don’t have a girlfriend, because you’re so picky about trivial things.”
I’d miscalculated. She had a pointless comment ready even if I said no. She even linked it to my previous statement, which felt like a personal attack. I felt frustrated that I had to deny having a girlfriend when I did, but I decided to be patient.
“What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”
I wanted to turn the tables on her and see what I could learn.
“…Not right now.”
“Not right now?”
I didn’t miss her slight hesitation and focused on her every word, hoping to find an opening.
“I broke up with him recently!”
She kicked my shin. It wasn’t as powerful as when she’d thrown the customer out of the café last week; it was just a normal kick, but it still hurt.
“Ouch!”
I almost dropped the cup I was holding and instinctively cried out in pain.
“You broke up with him. Why are you taking it out on me?”
She seemed embarrassed, too, and kept her gaze fixed on the sink, continuing to wash dishes without looking at me. Annoyed, I flicked some water from my rubber gloves at her face.
She was wearing a mask again this week, so she only felt the droplets that landed near her eyes, and she frowned.
“Are you picking a fight? Have you forgotten I’m a superhuman?”
I’d made a mistake. If she decided to get serious, I’d be toast without my suit. While she probably wouldn’t use her full strength on me here, it was still a scary thought, considering I fought Hunter Killer every week, even if she was just bluffing.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Yeah, you should know better.”
She nudged my side with her elbow, her smug look making me want to smack her, but I imagined myself getting crushed by her superhuman strength and decided against it.
“So, what have you been doing until 25 without dating anyone?”
Her question, clearly meant to provoke me, made me look at her. I wasn’t actually 25, but I was older, and it sounded like she was asking what I’d been doing my entire life without dating anyone.
Moreover, I’d said I didn’t have a girlfriend, not that I’d never dated. Of course, I hadn’t dated anyone before Yu-bin, but still.
It was annoying that Pink, completely unaware of my situation, seemed to assume I was a hopeless single.
“Are you making fun of me?”
I glared at her, and Pink, seemingly genuinely surprised, raised her voice.
“No! I was just curious!”
“What else would I have been doing? Just working and living.”
It was one of the few truths I could tell Pink, given that most of my information was fabricated. I’d spent 20 years hiding on Earth, participating in duels, and even before that, while traveling through space and living on my home planet, my life had revolved around work, so I’d never had time for dating.
“Why did you break up with your boyfriend?”
“Oh?!”
I couldn’t tell her much truth about myself, and I wasn’t good at making up stories, so I changed the subject.
Pink looked flustered, her hands still washing dishes, her eyes darting around.
“Personality… differences?”
“Why the question mark?”
She glared at me like an angry cat, and I quickly looked away, resuming my dishwashing. Was I not allowed to ask questions because I was physically weaker? This was unfair.
“If you don’t know the reason, that means you got dumped.”
If she’d had a boyfriend until recently and had broken up without a clear reason, the only logical conclusion was that she’d been dumped. But Pink glared at me, her eyes sharp, as if denying it. I avoided her gaze.
“No, I dumped him!”
“You dumped him? Why?”
“Because… I got bored!”
I’d thought her personality was just unusually cheerful, but maybe she wasn’t quite sane. A woman who dumped her boyfriends out of boredom… as someone who’d just experienced his first relationship, I couldn’t comprehend her values.
“Then why did you say it was personality differences if you dumped him because you were bored?”
“It’s none of your business.”
She was right. It wasn’t my business whether she’d dumped him because she was bored or if she’d actually been dumped and was trying to save face.
If she’d been dumped, it was just a defense mechanism, and if she’d done the dumping… while I didn’t understand her values, I couldn’t judge her. There were all sorts of people and relationships in the world, and it was important to respect each other’s values.
“How many men have you ‘gotten bored’ of and dumped?”
“Huh?”
Pink’s hands stopped. She stared at me, either surprised by the unexpected question or trying to calculate the number. I looked back at her, my gaze still reflecting my frustration with the earlier unfairness.
“What? Can’t I ask?”
“No, well… about 10, 20!”
“10 or 20?”
“2-20!”
Her flustered reaction made me suspicious, but for now, I had to take her word for it. Still, 20 seemed like an absurdly high number.
Pink was only 25. Did she count every short-term fling? If so, 20 wasn’t entirely impossible.
“That’s a lot of ex-boyfriends.”
“None of your business! It’s not like I’m going to date you. Unfortunately, you’re not my type.”
“That’s good to hear. You’re not my type either.”
I retorted sarcastically, mimicking her tone, and she responded by kicking my shin again.
I needed to talk to Ruche about changing my surveillance target again. If that didn’t work, I had to find information quickly and get away from this woman.
“You don’t seem to be afraid of superhumans.”
We took a break after the café emptied out a bit. Pink, who’d come out to the back door with her phone, seemed curious about my nonchalant attitude towards superhumans.
There was nothing for me to be afraid of. As a member of Spacetroe, there wasn’t much difference between ordinary Earthlings and superhumans, from my perspective. The only difference was that superhumans were stronger and beat us up during duels. But even that wasn’t scary after 20 years.
“What are you getting at?”
“You sound like you’re expecting me to say something weird.”
We glared at each other. She had a point, so I sighed and asked,
“Why? Should I be scared?”
“I’d rather you weren’t. A previous part-timer quit after finding out I was a superhuman.”
I couldn’t understand why. While the perception of superhumans had improved, not everyone viewed them positively. It was probably because they were seen as different.
Prejudice existed regardless of the era, and some people directed their anger at innocent individuals. Some things never changed, no matter how much society progressed or how diverse the population became.
Even on planets in different galaxies, humans weren’t that different.
“That’s their problem. I don’t care if you’re a superhuman or not.”
Constantly being aware of Pink’s superhuman status would create distance, making it harder to gather information. There was no need to sabotage my mission.
Moreover, the owner and the other part-timer treated Pink normally, without prejudice or discrimination, so I just had to blend in.
Pink seemed surprised that I, someone she’d only known for a week, had no prejudice against superhumans.
Since I was monitoring Hunter Killer members, not ordinary citizens, I wasn’t fully aware of the current social perception of superhumans. But it seemed that even after 20 years of Spacetroe’s presence on Earth, people without prejudice against superhumans were rare.
“You’re really strange.”
She could have said something nice, but her words annoyed me.
“Strange? Me? You’re 20 times stranger than I am.”
I considered myself quite normal, at least by Earth standards. While the definition of “normal” was subjective, I didn’t think I was particularly unusual or eccentric.
Of course, it was just my opinion, and I couldn’t argue if someone disagreed, but I considered myself more normal than Pink, with her unpredictable energy levels and intense, boundary-less friendliness.
“I’m not strange at all!”
I had a lot to say, but I gave up, knowing it would be a waste of breath.
“Okay, let’s say you’re not strange. You’re not strange! Not strange at all!”
People were often unaware of their own flaws. While some were self-aware, those with strong personalities often didn’t see their flaws as flaws.
I didn’t know my own flaws either. I’d never thought about them. Pink was probably the same.
With her strong personality, even if I pointed out her flaws, she’d probably just ignore me.
“That’s it!”
I dodged her attempted kick to my shin. No matter how physically superior she was, I wasn’t going to just stand there and take it.
Our chase ended as our break time was over. As we headed back to the kitchen, something hit the back of my head.
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Bro is cooked