—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
There are relationships where, despite considering someone a friend, you’re at a loss for words when you’re alone with them. Some people question the friendship in such situations, while others believe there’s no need to force conversation.
Of course, the latter is only possible if both individuals are naturally reserved. Most people fall into the former category.
Green was currently in that situation.
It was Monday morning, time for the Hunter Killer meeting, and surprisingly, all members were present, making for a smooth and productive discussion.
Usually, they’d all leave after the meeting to attend to their individual tasks, and Yellow and Blue, as always, left for their own errands.
Red, as the leader, usually stayed behind to finish up her work, but ever since Pink had started skipping her Monday morning shift to attend the meetings, they often chatted afterwards.
While their improved relationship was only a few weeks old, they’d been talking a lot during that time.
“Red, look at this.”
Pink usually initiated the conversations. While Red was also outgoing, Pink, even more energetic, often engaged Red in conversation about trivial matters.
Pink showed Red something on her phone, and Red immediately responded with, “Cute.”
Curious, Green peeked over Pink’s shoulder and saw a video of a cat.
“What cat is this?”
“I found this channel recently. It’s about someone who ended up adopting a stray cat that kept following them.”
Unsure how to join their conversation about cat videos, Green stood there for a moment, then returned to her seat.
“You watch a lot of cat videos. Do you watch them while you’re working, too?”
“What are you talking about? I’m all business when I’m working.”
“Still enjoying your job?”
“Yeah, even more than before.”
Pink’s expression always brightened when she talked about the cafe lately, and Red would smile knowingly.
“It’s a guy, isn’t it?”
“Huh?!”
Pink, caught off guard by Red’s pointed question, avoided her gaze, then smiled.
“A boyfriend? Or a fling?”
“N-no, it’s not like that~”
Pink, not a good liar, denied it unconvincingly, and Red moved closer, pressing her for details.
“It seems pretty serious, though.”
“What about you! You denied it before, but you definitely have a boyfriend, don’t you?”
Red, also flustered, was now being interrogated by Pink, who was smiling knowingly. They were both clearly in relationships but seemed reluctant to admit it, as if the first one to confess would lose, and Green looked back and forth between them.
“Um…”
Green’s small voice drew their attention, and she quickly closed her mouth, startled by their sudden focus on her.
“Never mind.”
They’d been curious about what she was going to say, but seeing her change her mind, they didn’t press further.
While Red and Pink had reached a point where they could comfortably chat, the others weren’t there yet. They were still cautious around each other.
It wasn’t that they disliked each other; they just didn’t know each other well enough to be comfortable. They’d been working together for a long time, but their relationships remained superficial.
If they’d been like this from the beginning, becoming closer would have been easier, but now, they were too used to the current dynamic to suddenly change.
While Red and Pink had found common ground, Green hadn’t. She wanted to be closer to them, but she, too, had become accustomed to the current situation and didn’t know how to approach them.
“So, what’s the deal with this guy?”
Pink broke the brief silence, resuming her interrogation of Red, pressing her for details about the man she was seeing, and Red, unable to avoid the question, finally spoke.
“It’s not a big deal. We just became friends while working together.”
Pink, feeling a sense of accomplishment at having successfully baited Red, pressed further.
“Working together? A colleague? Or a customer?”
Red, looking slightly uncomfortable, answered Pink’s questions one by one, and Green listened quietly.
She suddenly remembered A’s words from their encounter in the park two days ago.
Listening.
He’d said that conversations required both a speaker and a listener, and that listening was also important. He’d said people would open up more if you just listened attentively, so Green nodded slightly every time Red spoke.
Red and Pink, engrossed in their conversation, noticed Green’s attentive gaze.
“You’re curious, too, aren’t you, Green? About Red’s boyfriend!”
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
Red’s strong denial at Pink’s loud exclamation only confirmed her relationship, and Green couldn’t help but smile.
“…What’s the big deal about having a boyfriend?”
It was a simple question, but it was Green’s best effort, and Red, surprised by Green’s sudden participation in a topic she usually avoided, blushed.
“He’s not my boyfriend…”
Seeing Red mumble and look down, Pink and Green found her surprisingly cute. They say women in love become more beautiful, but perhaps because Red was only 20, barely an adult, there was a youthful innocence about her.
While neither Pink nor Green had much dating experience, they could still relate. Pink, especially, was in a quasi-relationship, so she understood Red’s reaction.
“What about you, Pink?”
Green’s sudden question, prompted by Red’s reaction, shifted the focus. Pink, now under scrutiny, didn’t know how to respond and avoided their gaze.
“Why don’t you just tell us? You’re not going to make us listen to your story and then refuse to share your own, are you?”
As Red leaned closer, Pink, thinking about how to answer, suddenly thought of A, and her face flushed.
“It’s written all over your face. He works at the cafe with you, doesn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Pink finally admitted it under Red’s persistent questioning, and Green also leaned closer, eager to hear more.
“It’s not what you think! We’re not dating yet…”
While Pink had already decided they were dating, she hadn’t received a clear confirmation from A yet. So, she told them they weren’t officially dating, but seeing her blush, Red and Green were convinced otherwise and became even more curious.
“Then it’s a fling?”
“A fling… I guess… I like him, that’s for sure.”
Red, hearing Pink confess her feelings, slapped her thigh excitedly, urging her to continue.
Green was enjoying the conversation, but she was even happier to finally be included.
Listening to their stories about how they’d met their respective partners piqued Green’s interest in romance, something she’d never been interested in before. While they were still hiding some details, she was confident she’d hear more interesting stories if they continued talking like this.
“What about you, Green? Any stories?”
After Pink finished her story, the attention turned to Green.
“Me?”
She thought about the people she’d met in her life but couldn’t recall any romantic feelings.
“Not really. I don’t work anywhere like you two.”
Red and Pink nodded, realizing she hadn’t had any such experiences.
“You’ll find someone someday. I never thought this would happen with Oppa either.”
“Ooh, so he’s older?”
Red, having inadvertently revealed that her boyfriend was older, quickly covered Pink’s eyes, sensing her attempt to pry.
“The rest of the story is for later.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Yeah, I’m not fair.”
Having shared fun stories, they were both in a good mood, smiling and teasing each other. As Red had said, Green thought she might be able to share more interesting stories with them someday.
“Like Red said, you’ll find someone. I never expected it either, and it just… happened.”
“Yeah.”
Listening to Pink, Green smiled, thinking about the possibility of having more fun conversations with them in the future.
Unlike Red, Green didn’t have any specific tasks to attend to even if she stayed at headquarters. She’d thought about helping Red with her work, but Red had been spending most of her time with Pink lately and didn’t seem to need her assistance.
She didn’t think it was a bad thing. Green understood that Red probably found it easier to ask Pink for help, given her energetic personality and willingness to ask questions.
She left headquarters and arrived near her apartment, but she didn’t feel like going home.
She went to the park out of habit, and remembering the pleasant conversation with her teammates, she wondered if A, who had given her advice the other day, might be there, and looked towards the bench where he usually sat.
“Sigh…”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
It had been two days since I’d borrowed Seira’s account, and I’d been searching continuously, but after uncovering the general outline, I hadn’t found any more substantial information.
The amount of data accumulated over 20 years was overwhelming.
The process of superhuman creation, the high turnover rate of early superhumans, the reason for the current funding method… even the basic information was difficult to find, and I wasn’t even sure if the Spacetroe archives contained the answers I was looking for.
“Incidents and accidents, huh?”
I’d been able to find information on recent incidents involving superhumans. There had been cases of some superhumans harming civilians, but they’d all been quietly resolved without any charges, due to their superhuman status.
Frustrated by my lack of progress, I’d lost my appetite. Ruche had asked me to have dinner with her, but I’d declined and come to the park to clear my head.
I’d hoped to see Green, but it was a Monday, a meeting day, and I didn’t know when it would end, so I tried not to get my hopes up. But seeing the bench empty, I felt a pang of disappointment. I’d hoped to get some information from her.
As I sat there, trying to clear my head, I felt a presence beside me and turned my head. Green, with her voluminous green bob, was standing there.
“Hello.”
Her brighter expression compared to our last encounter suggested she’d had a good conversation with her teammates.
“Hi. It’s a bit hot today.”
“It is.”
She smiled at my casual comment about the weather and sat down on the bench next to me, her usual spot.
“You look happy. Did something good happen?”
“Ah, is it that obvious?”
She chuckled awkwardly and scratched her cheek, either embarrassed or flustered by my observation. I instinctively glanced at her cheek, and the bruise was gone.
“The conversation flowed naturally… after I tried listening like you suggested.”
“The first step is always the hardest, but it’s not a big deal once you try, right?”
“Yes. It was actually fun, talking with them.”
I was curious about their conversation, since Yu-bin was my girlfriend and Yu-ra was practically my girlfriend, too, even if we hadn’t made it official.
“What did you talk about?”
“About their boyfriends.”
Of all topics, why that one? I felt a lump in my throat, even though I hadn’t eaten anything.
“M-my boyfriend?”
“Yes. They both denied having boyfriends, but even I could tell something was up.”
They were both terrible liars, so their attempts to hide their relationships had probably made it even more obvious.
The problem was, the lump in my throat wasn’t going away.
“You mean the conversation I mentioned before?”
“Yes! That’s what they were talking about!”
Green, excited, started recounting their conversation.
She told me about how Yu-bin and I, and Yu-ra and I, had first met. They’d cleverly omitted any identifying details about me, so they clearly hadn’t realized I was the “boyfriend” in both stories.
Hearing them talk about me like this was strangely amusing.
Green, oblivious to the fact that she was talking about me, spoke freely.
While she seemed like an overthinker, she spoke naturally, without hesitation, as she recounted the stories and their reactions, which put me at ease.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Strangely amusing”, wtf is my guy talking about, I’d be sweating my ass off if I found out the girls I’d been two timing we’re talking about their boyfriends with each other.