Evil Organization’s Extra Mr. A – Chapter 20

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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As expected, Yu-bin was waiting for me at my apartment. She didn’t seem upset, but she wasn’t exactly happy either. There was a subdued air about her.

“What happened?”

Seeing her unchanged demeanor even after she’d showered, I asked. I already knew the reason, but I couldn’t tell her, so I had to listen to her explanation as if hearing it for the first time. I didn’t mind. Hearing her perspective again might reveal something new.

“There’s this place where I work, right?”

“The office assistant job?”

“Yeah, that one.”

She was referring to her Hunter Killer duties as an office assistant job. I started piecing things together as she spoke.

“There are a few other part-timers like me there.”

If the “office assistant job” was the Earth Defense Alliance Seoul headquarters, then the other part-timers were her Hunter Killer teammates. Or maybe she was including members of other teams.

“But they don’t show up on time and don’t keep their promises.”

During my observation of Yu-bin, she’d always been punctual. If her teammates were consistently unreliable, even someone with her patience and easygoing nature would reach their limit.

“We had something scheduled this morning, and they didn’t show up again, so I gave them a piece of my mind.”

“Did you curse them out?”

I hadn’t seen the messages Pink had received, so I didn’t know how heated their exchange had been. Judging by Pink’s reaction and Yu-bin’s current mood, it seemed likely they’d exchanged harsh words.

Yu-bin just nodded. While I didn’t know the extent of their argument, the fact that they’d resorted to cursing meant things had gotten quite heated.

And I’d made a mistake by taking Red’s side, unknowingly arguing with my girlfriend while Pink was unaware of our relationship. I shouldn’t have interfered in the first place.

I, usually perceptive, had made a careless mistake.

“That’s not right. Not keeping promises they made.”

I sat next to Yu-bin, who was perched on the edge of the bed, and placed my hand on hers. She glanced at me and intertwined our fingers.

“It’s okay. I know their circumstances, but I shouldn’t have been so harsh.”

Yu-bin, initially angry, had calmed down, and now, only the discomfort of the unresolved situation remained.

“Are you going tomorrow, too?”

“Yes.”

Yu-bin would be going to Hunter Killer headquarters during the week. While I didn’t know if Pink would show up tomorrow, there was only one thing I could say, given my limited understanding of their relationship and the overall situation.

“If you think you were wrong, apologize to them tomorrow.”

She considered my words and nodded quietly.

“Cheer up. You haven’t eaten dinner, have you?”

I gently pinched her cheeks, which were still slightly puffed up, and her sullen expression finally brightened.

“No. Let’s eat.”

We were both hungry after our shifts and had dinner together. After dinner… there was only one thing to do.

Lately, I’d been able to control my primal urges a little better, so we could enjoy ourselves without overdoing it. We hadn’t complained about back pain in a while.

Monday morning, 3rd floor of the Earth Defense Alliance Seoul headquarters.

Red entered the meeting room after swiping her card. Only Green and Yellow were there.

“Where are Pink and Blue?”

She asked as she sat down, but Yellow didn’t react, and Green just shrugged, saying she didn’t know.

While I knew their general schedules, they were always vague. They never gave specific times or details, so all I could do was wait.

Blue always had to take care of her child and never knew when she’d be available. While she always showed up on duel days, she rarely attended other meetings.

“I doubt Blue unni will be here today because of her nephew.”

Red had been in a bad mood at every meeting recently, and Green, who regularly attended, was the most perceptive of Red’s state, so she spoke cautiously.

“Probably.”

Pink always said she had work. I didn’t know where or what she did, and since we didn’t discuss personal matters within the team, it felt awkward to ask now.

“At least there are three of us today.”

Yellow was the most problematic of the three who frequently missed meetings. Regardless of her schedule, communication with her was difficult. Sometimes, the team wondered if she’d forgotten how to talk.

She never mentioned her schedule, and when Red had asked her to attend a meeting once, she’d simply replied,

“Winning is all that matters.”

That was the state of Team Hunter Killer. While they were familiar with each other after three years, the lack of communication meant they knew very little about each other’s lives.

This lack of communication created a constantly shifting team dynamic, and Red, as the leader, inevitably felt stressed.

The meetings had become practically pointless, but we couldn’t abandon them entirely, considering the importance of our mission.

Still, with three members present, it would be better than usual, I thought, just as the meeting room door opened.

“What? Yellow’s here, too.”

Pink entered, surprised to see Yellow, and their eyes met Red’s for a moment before they quickly looked away.

Pink took the seat farthest from Red, and Red, after glancing at her, started the meeting. Hunter Killer meetings usually involved analyzing Spacetroe’s strength and formulating strategies based on information gathered from other teams’ duels and reports from around the world.

Duels took place daily around the globe, and there was a lot to discuss just from compiling and analyzing the data.

Yellow remained silent throughout the meeting, but Pink actively participated, commenting on new information, and Red and Green added their input, making the meeting surprisingly productive.

After the meeting, as they were packing up and getting ready to leave, Pink approached Red.

“Can we talk?”

Red, who was sitting, met Pink’s gaze without flinching and stood up.

“Sure.”

They took the elevator to the rooftop. The sun was shining brightly, and a cool breeze was blowing. Pink sat down on a bench under a shaded area, and Red stood a short distance away, watching her.

“What are you doing? We can’t talk if you’re standing all the way over there.”

Red had needed a moment to gather her thoughts and walked over to the shaded area at Pink’s words. The atmosphere wasn’t exactly friendly, so Pink remained seated while Red stood there, and a brief silence ensued.

They both knew the reason for the awkwardness, but unsure of each other’s feelings, neither could speak.

Red recalled A’s words from yesterday. She knew she’d been too harsh, and as A had said, if she felt she was wrong, she should apologize.

She’d realized she was in the wrong, even though A had taken her side.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

The same words came out of their mouths simultaneously, breaking the silence. They hadn’t been looking at each other and now their eyes met.

“Huh?”

Pink hadn’t expected Red to apologize. While Red had been the one to initiate the harsh words, Pink wasn’t entirely blameless either.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Why are you apologizing?”

Red hadn’t expected Pink to apologize either.

Another silence fell between them, and they stared at each other before bursting out laughing.

“What? You were actually sorry?”

“I never thought you would apologize.”

The atmosphere softened, and Red sat down across from Pink.

“A friend at work told me yesterday that I should be more understanding, since I’m older, and that I should try to talk things out and clear up any misunderstandings, even though I wasn’t entirely blameless.”

Red, who had never tried to reconcile like this before, listened quietly.

“I ended up arguing with him, but when I thought about it later, he had a point. I was wrong to get angry when I wasn’t entirely blameless.”

Pink had argued with A the previous day and had started to realize she was in the wrong. Back at home, she’d been troubled by both the argument with A and her conflict with Red. She’d decided to apologize, skipped her morning shift, and attended the meeting today.

Red nodded as she listened, then closed her eyes briefly before opening them and looking directly at Pink.

“Someone I know told me the same thing. If I think I’m wrong, I should apologize first. I’m sorry for being harsh yesterday.”

They accepted each other’s apologies, and the conversation abruptly ended, leaving an awkward silence.

“This is the first time we’ve had a proper conversation in three years.”

Pink’s words made Red laugh, realizing they’d been on the same team for three years without any real conversation.

“I know, right? We just exchanged greetings when you first joined, and that was it.”

Her words brought back memories, and Red looked at Pink and said. They’d had a proper conversation when Pink first joined the team, but the team members, already busy with their own schedules, had stopped attending meetings, and Red, stressed, had simply resigned herself to the situation.

“Remember? I used to call you ‘unni’ back then.”

“Yeah, you joined as the youngest member, not the leader.”

Reminiscing about the past, they started talking more openly. They shared stories they hadn’t known about each other, discussed their different perspectives on shared experiences, and had their first real conversation.

“I’ll tell you about my schedule from now on. I still might not be able to attend, though.”

“Just letting me know is enough. It’s better than waiting without knowing.”

They realized how little they knew about each other’s lives and agreed that Pink would share her schedule. While her busy life wouldn’t change, and she still might not be able to attend meetings, Red’s main complaint had been the lack of communication, not the absences themselves, so Pink sharing her schedule was enough.

“I’ll try to make time for at least one meeting a week. You know how low the Hunter Killer salary is; it’s hard to make ends meet without a side hustle.”

“Okay.”

“Now I need to apologize to my friend.”

Pink, feeling guilty towards A, took out her phone and texted him, using the number she’d gotten from the owner.

“Me too.”

Red also took out her phone and sent a message.

“Huh?”

I was lying on the sofa, watching TV, when my phone vibrated on the coffee table. I checked the messages. There were two, one from Yu-bin.

[Oppa, I made up with my friend.]

Before replying, I checked the other message. It was from an unknown number.

[It’s me, Kwon Yu-ra. Sorry about yesterday. Thanks to you, I made up with Red.]

It seemed they were together after their conversation. While I wasn’t thrilled about the improved atmosphere within the enemy team, I was happy they’d reconciled.

“Why did they even fight in the first place?”

I replied to both messages and went back to watching TV.

Thanks to their unprecedented teamwork in this week’s duel, our team suffered another crushing defeat.

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