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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Just a few hours ago.
The rain continued throughout the weekend, keeping the children indoors. Tired of being cooped up all week, they’d become quiet, and Blue diligently planned the trip.
The location was set, and she was making a list of things to pack for Ho-yeong.
While she kept telling herself the trip was for Ho-yeong, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement.
A didn’t need to go since Eun-ji already had a chaperone, but Blue felt responsible, and honestly, she needed a break.
“Aunt.”
Ho-yeong came into her room, and Blue smiled at him.
“Yes?”
“Which shirt is better? This one or this one?”
He was choosing his outfit for the trip, holding a blue striped t-shirt in one hand and a black raglan t-shirt in the other.
“They’re both nice, but I think this one suits you better.”
She picked the striped t-shirt, and Ho-yeong nodded and went back to his room. Blue had been surprised by Ho-yeong’s unusual behavior when she saw him with Eun-ji the other day.
He’d been so happy with his girlfriend, but back home, he’d reverted to his usual quiet self.
While she’d initially dismissed it as childish infatuation, she realized that even young children could be serious about their relationships.
She chuckled, finding it amusing that she, with zero dating experience, was analyzing children’s relationships.
‘I’ll understand someday.’
She thought she’d be able to understand Ho-yeong’s feelings if she ever found a partner.
She continued planning the trip, happily thinking about what to cook and what activities to do. There was still one uncertain element, but she was confident it would work out.
The rain intensified as time passed. It had been like this throughout the monsoon season: heavy downpours followed by brief lulls, then more rain.
While the summer weather had been relatively mild so far, the thought of the post-monsoon heat was already stifling.
As she stared out the window, watching the rain, she heard the door unlock.
Blue went to the entrance, knowing who it was.
The children, who’d been quietly playing in their rooms, also came running out, and there, standing at the door, were a man and a woman.
“Mom!”
It was Ho-yeong’s parents, her brother and sister-in-law.
“Were you good?”
She hugged her second nephew, and the oldest helped carry their parents’ luggage into the living room.
Ho-yeong, who’d been standing at a distance, looked at his father, their eyes meeting briefly, then he greeted him. Blue’s eyes met her brother’s.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah. Everything okay at home?”
“Everything’s fine.”
They exchanged brief greetings, then her sister-in-law’s sharp voice cut through the air.
“Fine? You couldn’t even manage the household expenses and asked me to send you money while we were on vacation.”
“I’m sorry. How was your trip?”
“It was alright.”
They’d been going on annual trips abroad since they got married, and this year, they’d gone to the Philippines. Blue, who’d never been abroad, or even traveled much, had only heard of the Philippines; she knew nothing about it.
“It’s hot in the Philippines, but it’s no joke here either.”
Blue’s brother, wiping his brow at the humid, muggy weather, took his suitcase and went to his room.
“There’s laundry in the suitcase, so unpack it. And draw me a bath. I feel disgusting.”
Her sister-in-law placed her suitcase by the door and walked inside, and Blue simply replied, “Okay,” and opened the suitcase.
It was crammed with unfolded clothes.
“Honey~ Mommy’s home.”
Her sister-in-law called out to Ho-yeong, who was watching them from a distance, but he just mumbled a reply and didn’t approach her.
As Blue sorted the clothes and loaded the washing machine, she heard her sister-in-law’s voice again.
“Is the bath ready yet?!”
“Almost done.”
Blue didn’t show any annoyance at her sister-in-law’s impatient tone, added detergent and fabric softener to the washing machine, and went to the bathroom.
She started filling the empty bathtub and then began preparing dinner.
Blue, suddenly busy with her brother and sister-in-law’s return, efficiently handled multiple tasks simultaneously.
After dinner, Blue had something to tell her sister-in-law.
“Um…”
She approached her sister-in-law, who was watching TV on the living room sofa. Even before Blue had spoken, her sister-in-law was looking at her with a disapproving frown, and Blue took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
“I’m planning to take Ho-yeong on a trip on Monday…”
“A trip?”
Her sister-in-law was surprised, the word “trip” an anomaly in Blue’s vocabulary, but her surprise was laced with disapproval.
“What trip? Who are you going with?”
“With Ho-yeong’s kindergarten friend and his guardian. They invited Ho-yeong.”
“They have a guardian, right? Then Ho-yeong can just go with them. Why do you need to go?”
“Ho-yeong is young, so I thought it would be better if a guardian went with him.”
Her sister-in-law, her gaze fixed on the TV, glared at Blue.
“I’m Ho-yeong’s guardian. Why are you acting like his guardian?”
“I just meant as an accompanying adult…”
“And if Ho-yeong goes alone, what about his brothers?”
The other family had initiated the trip, and they’d invited Ho-yeong. It would be presumptuous to ask if his brothers could come, too.
“Don’t you think the other children will feel left out? What are you going to do if they feel resentful?”
Her sister-in-law continued her tirade, then frowned and spoke in a sharper tone.
“Is the other guardian a man?”
“Yes, but…”
“Are you using Ho-yeong as an excuse to meet a man?”
“No! It’s not like that.”
“Sure. As if housework is so difficult that you’re trying to ditch two of the kids and go on a vacation.”
Had she been wrong to get excited about the trip?
Blue, regretting her earlier enthusiasm, lowered her head and remained silent.
“Anyway, I’m not allowing it. Who’s going to do the housework if you’re gone?”
“It’s just for one day, so…”
“Do you want to argue about this?”
It wasn’t happening. Dejected, Blue went to her room and looked at her phone on the desk.
She had to tell A they couldn’t go.
But she couldn’t shake the image of Eun-ji and Ho-yeong playing happily together. They’d both be disappointed.
Ho-yeong had been excited about the trip, even though he hadn’t shown it outwardly. Blue, having taken care of him for so long, could sense his joy.
But agonizing over it wouldn’t change anything.
The trip was off, and Blue had to take responsibility and tell A.
[I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I can make it to the trip. I apologize for the inconvenience, especially after you were so kind and considerate.]
She finally pressed send and almost immediately received a call from A.
“Hello?”
“Yes, I received your message. Can we meet?”
“N-now?”
His tone brooked no argument, and she received a text message with the meeting location. She quickly changed into a simple outfit, jeans and a navy blue t-shirt.
“I’ll be back soon.”
She said as she headed towards the door, but no one seemed to care. Only Ho-yeong watched her leave, and Blue made eye contact with him, nodding slightly to indicate she’d be back soon. Ho-yeong nodded back, and Blue left the apartment and headed towards the subway station.
I could have gone to her, or we could have met somewhere in between, but I’d sent her my address. It wasn’t far or difficult to find, so it was more convenient. I suspected there were unspoken issues at her home as well.
Several things didn’t add up. Blue was solely responsible for childcare, even though both parents were present.
If Ho-yeong’s parents worked abroad, they should have taken the children with them. Leaving them in Korea with Blue didn’t make sense for anyone.
Even if they occasionally worked abroad, it was still strange. Blue was the one burdened with childcare, not the parents.
I sat on a bench across the street from my apartment building, waiting for Blue, sipping on a juice I’d bought from the convenience store. Yu-bin was probably at Hunter Killer headquarters, dealing with Green’s situation, so there was an unfamiliar male employee at the counter.
I wondered what Yu-bin was doing. I should text her and ask her to come over later.
Lost in thought, I saw Blue approaching from a distance and waved. She saw me and waved back, hurrying towards me.
“Sorry for making you come all the way here in this rain.”
“No, I’m sorry. About the trip…”
There was no need for small talk. I didn’t want to waste time.
While conversations usually required some preamble before getting to the main point, I decided to skip it.
“What do you want to do, Ha-yeong?”
“Huh?”
She looked at me with wide eyes, not immediately grasping my question.
“About the trip. You want to go, don’t you?”
It was a blunt question, but Blue immediately nodded.
“Yes, I do.”
“Then why can’t you go?”
I didn’t know the reason yet. There might be a serious issue preventing her from going, so I wanted to confirm her desire first.
Blue clearly wanted to go. Now, all I needed to know was the reason, and depending on the reason, I could potentially change the situation.
“My sister-in-law, Ho-yeong’s mother, is against it.”
I tried to be rational. While Blue would be going as a chaperone, her sister-in-law might not want to send her child on a trip organized by someone she barely knew.
“Why is she against it?”
“There are several reasons, but I think the main one is that there would be no one to do the housework if I left.”
The absurdity of the reason left me speechless. I wanted to scratch my head and gather my thoughts, but there was nothing to think about, and I felt a headache coming on.
This was anger. Anger towards Earthlings who saw superhumans as nothing more than tools.
“What do they do for a living?”
“They just came back from a trip abroad. They’re at home now and work during the week.”
They’d gone on vacation while leaving Blue to take care of their children, and now, they were preventing her from going on a trip because of housework? How could I possibly justify this?
These two were… no, I shouldn’t generalize.
Blue hadn’t mentioned anything about her brother, Ho-yeong’s father. That meant the problem was likely her sister-in-law.
The fact that Blue’s brother was allowing this suggested he wasn’t a great person either, but I couldn’t judge him without knowing his side of the story.
“What do you want to do, Ha-yeong? You want to go, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll be waiting for you at the station on Monday morning.”
I hadn’t expressed my anger openly lately. While there had been moments of frustration, I hadn’t let it show.
But now, I was openly expressing my displeasure. While my anger was directed at her sister-in-law, Blue was the one facing me, bearing the brunt of my frustration.
It wasn’t just annoyance; it was a forceful, almost coercive, push.
“It’s your decision, Ha-yeong. Eun-ji and I will be waiting.”
This trip wasn’t for our own enjoyment. It would probably be difficult for both of us. But we’d agreed to go for the children.
I’d initially hoped the trip wouldn’t happen, but now that we were going, now that we were making plans,
I wanted the children, eager for an adventure, to have fun, even if the circumstances weren’t ideal.
The conversation ended awkwardly, without a clear resolution. I’d given Blue a choice, and she had to make it.
It was a difficult situation for her, and she probably thought I was being harsh, but if she couldn’t make her own decisions, there was nothing I could do to help her.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Blue bowed her head and slowly walked away.
“Ha-yeong, it’s Monday.”
I called out to her, and she turned around, nodded once, and continued walking.
“…Damn it.”
I suppressed a curse and went inside.
Lost in thought, unsure of what to do, Blue stopped when she saw a familiar figure.
“Blue?”
“Red? What are you doing here?”
Red, who’d been called to headquarters because of Green’s situation, was standing there. They were both surprised to see each other.
“Yeah, what brings you here?”
The atmosphere within Hunter Killer had improved recently, and while she wasn’t particularly close to Blue, she knew where her teammates lived.
“Oh, Red, your place is near here, right?”
While Red’s apartment was a bit of a walk from here, Blue only knew the general area, so she assumed it was nearby.
“Yeah. What about you, Blue?”
“I was meeting someone. Someone I know.”
Red was surprised that Blue, who seemed to spend all her time taking care of her nephews, had other social connections.
Of course, even the busiest people had social lives, and it was rude to assume otherwise, but they were superhumans.
It wasn’t strange to be surprised.
“Are you heading home?”
“Yeah. Is everything okay with Green?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you at the next meeting.”
“Okay.”
They exchanged awkward goodbyes and parted ways. Red watched Blue walk away, then headed towards A’s apartment.
Two days passed.
I sat in the train station, waiting, and Eun-ji sat beside me, just as anxious.
“Uncle, they’re coming, right? Right?”
Eun-ji, having heard from Ho-yeong that they might not be able to make it, kept asking if we were still going, and I’d reassured her, not wanting to disappoint her.
If Ho-yeong and Blue couldn’t come, I’d have to deal with the fallout, but I was prepared for that.
“Yes, we are. We still have time, so just wait a little longer.”
But I was also feeling anxious. If they didn’t show up, this trip, initiated by Eun-ji, would be a miserable experience for her.
My leg bounced nervously, and I suddenly felt a presence and turned my head.
A woman with blue hair and a young boy, holding her hand tightly, were looking around the station.
I nudged Eun-ji and pointed.
“Look, I told you they’d come.”
They spotted us at the same time, and as Eun-ji and Ho-yeong rushed towards each other, exchanging greetings,
Blue and I made eye contact. Things clearly hadn’t gone smoothly.
And it wasn’t entirely my fault.
I was content with being a small catalyst for change. Even small actions could have a big impact.
The choices presented by a small opportunity were numerous. Blue had made her choice, and while I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the situation, we were going on a trip.
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