Evil Organization’s Extra Mr. A – Chapter 79

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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It had become Hunter Killer versus Spacetroe Executives, and I was somehow the referee.

To put it simply, I could have just suggested we all ignore each other and enjoy ourselves separately. It would have been the easiest solution. But we were two factions engaged in a weekly battle; ignoring each other was impossible.

It was like two warring nations’ leaders meeting at a foreign tourist destination.

“So, what are we competing in?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Each side had to choose two events, and we could only pick one from our own list. That meant choosing an event we were likely to win would be advantageous. I wasn’t interested in participating anyway, and as the referee, I didn’t care what they chose.

“Beach volleyball.”

“Do you even know how to play?”

It was a popular beach sport in many countries, though not so much in Korea. While I wasn’t sure about Spacetroe, the Hunter Killer members didn’t have much experience with leisure activities or sports, given their circumstances.

While Hunter Killer had comparable, or even superior, physical abilities to the executives, combat skills and athleticism were different. The Spacetroe executives, having traveled to various planets and enjoyed various recreational activities, including annual “training” trips to the beach disguised as vacations, had a clear advantage in terms of experience.

“What do you think they’ll choose?”

“I don’t know. Some regular sport, probably?”

“I think so, too.”

Ruche and Seira speculated about Hunter Killer’s choices. While they could choose two events they were good at, without any information about each other outside of combat, there was a chance Hunter Killer might be better at something they considered their forte.

Both teams made their selections and gathered on the beach.

Five Hunter Killer members and four Spacetroe executives. I stood between them, ready to officiate, and a few of my teammates, who’d been playing nearby, came over to watch. The others, uninterested in the competition, content with their own fun, remained where they were, enjoying themselves.

I wasn’t sure how I’d become the referee, but I felt incredibly awkward, caught between the two factions. I could feel the Hunter Killer members’ gazes on me, and while they didn’t know my true identity, it still made me feel strangely uncomfortable.

“Why is the referee from your side?”

“Don’t worry about biased officiating. We chose someone impartial.”

I wasn’t sure if I should be offended or not. Ruche’s look seemed to be telling me to make calls in Spacetroe’s favor, but even if my identity was hidden, I couldn’t be openly biased.

“We’ll see about that.”

The two teams announced their chosen events.

Spacetroe had chosen beach volleyball and long jump. Beach volleyball was the first event.

Hunter Killer had chosen swimming and ssireum (Korean wrestling). Swimming was their first choice, and we’d randomly choose between long jump and ssireum for the final event.

“How should we decide?”

“Coin toss. No need to overcomplicate it.”

“Okay. Does anyone have a coin?”

One of my teammates, who’d been watching, came over and handed me a coin. So, I was the one flipping the coin.

Unable to speak because of my mask, I used hand gestures to indicate heads for Spacetroe’s long jump and tails for Hunter Killer’s ssireum, then flipped the coin.

It landed on my hand, and I covered it with my other hand. Both teams watched intently as I slowly revealed the coin. It was tails, and the Hunter Killer members, seeing their chosen event, pumped their fists in celebration.

“Yes!”

“Ssireum, we can do this.”

Ssireum. A traditional Korean wrestling sport. I’d lived in Korea for 10 years but still didn’t know much about it. But you learn by doing. Both teams, eager to start, decided to skip the rule explanations.

The first event was Spacetroe’s choice: beach volleyball. The players were Red (Yu-bin) and Yellow (Su-a) for Hunter Killer, and Esmeralda and Seira for Spacetroe. They were the tallest members of their respective teams, creating a visually striking scene as they faced each other on the sand.

‘They look like models.’

I thought to myself, then flipped the coin again to determine the serving team. Hunter Killer won the toss.

The game began, and I, expecting a standard game of beach volleyball, was stunned by the speed and intensity of their movements.

Yu-bin served, Seira received, Esmeralda spiked, Su-a blocked, and Yu-bin, in midair, kicked the ball downwards.

I’d seen volleyball on TV, considered the precursor to beach volleyball. While we, as extraterrestrials, were physically stronger, their athleticism, honed by years of training, was on a different level, a fact that always impressed me. But I’d never seen anyone use a kick in beach volleyball.

I blew the whistle, signaling a point for Hunter Killer. The subsequent rallies were mostly dominated by Hunter Killer. While the Spacetroe executives had some experience with beach volleyball, they were constrained by conventional rules, easily overpowered by Hunter Killer’s aggressive attacks and superior athleticism.

“Got it!”

Su-a tossed the returned serve high into the air, and Yu-bin, jumping high, spiked the ball with a powerful downward strike. Watching their impressive display of athleticism, I made a mental note to never anger a superhuman woman.

What if I angered my superhuman girlfriend and she slapped me? I honestly wouldn’t survive. I was grateful, once again, for the protection of our suits during duels.

Hunter Killer won the match 2-0, and as Yu-bin, cheering, hugged Su-a, Ruche came over to me.

“Hey, just make some biased calls and end this.”

We weren’t playing for fun; we were competing to get rid of the enemy and have the beach to ourselves. No one would complain if I made some calls in our favor. But I couldn’t do that.

I didn’t want to ruin Hunter Killer’s first team trip, especially now that they were finally getting along. Seeing them work together, celebrating their victory, made me smile behind my mask.

I couldn’t tell Ruche, “I can’t ruin their team spirit,” so I just gestured, indicating that as the referee, I had to be impartial.

“…Fine.”

While I doubted she’d understand, Ruche seemed to get my message and readily agreed. She wasn’t a bad person and probably hadn’t been serious about the biased calls.

She cared about her subordinates and had only suggested it so they could enjoy themselves, but seeing my insistence on fair play, she seemed to reconsider and accept my decision.

And I understood her frustration, having lost the first event, which Spacetroe had chosen.

“Hey, ref, good calls.”

Yu-bin gave me a thumbs-up. I couldn’t reveal my identity, so I just bowed slightly, and she smiled at me before rejoining her teammates.

“Next game! Next game!”

Seira, wanting to redeem themselves, yelled, and the next event was swimming. Three members from each team would participate in a relay race, swimming to a buoy and back, and the first team to finish would win.

Blue (Ha-yeong), Red (Yu-bin), and Green (Eun-ha) were the Hunter Killer representatives, and Ruche, Seira, and Angelica represented Spacetroe. I was slightly disappointed that this wasn’t a visually impressive event like beach volleyball. It was my first time seeing the Hunter Killer members participate in a team activity outside of duels, and I would have preferred to see them work together as a team, not individually.

“You swim to that buoy and back.”

Ruche pointed to a buoy about 100 meters out in the ocean, and Yu-bin nodded. They were the first swimmers for their respective teams, and I hesitated, unsure who to root for: my caring superior or my girlfriend.

While I’d normally cheer for my girlfriend, Ruche wasn’t just my superior; we had a history, and I couldn’t just disregard her. While my support had to be silent, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

They stood on the large buoy, ready to start, and I raised my hand, then blew the whistle and lowered my hand, signaling the start of the race.

Yu-bin and Ruche dove into the water and started swimming, and I, watching nervously, suddenly felt a gaze on me and turned my head.

Yu-ra was staring at me, a sharp glare I’d never seen before, especially not when I was wearing my mask.

I looked around, wondering if she was looking at someone else, one of the other executives, but her gaze was fixed on me.

Despite being on opposing sides, Spacetroe and Hunter Killer, I didn’t want to ignore Yu-ra, who was important to me, so I gestured, asking what was wrong, and she, having glared at me for a moment, looked away.

Had I inadvertently revealed something, a hint of my true identity? Or had she become suspicious of my behavior? The realization that I was walking a tightrope made me anxious. I should have refused to be the referee.

“What’s wrong?”

Yellow, seeing Pink staring at the Spacetroe referee, asked, and Pink shook her head.

“Nothing. I thought he was acting suspicious.”

Yellow also glanced at the referee.

“He seems impartial, based on the last match. And in swimming, it’s clear who wins.”

“That’s true.”

Pink, reassured, turned her attention back to Red, who was swimming back towards the shore.

“That’s intense. We’ve already won one round, so it’s okay to lose this one, you know?”

One of the Spacetroe soldiers, watching Red swim, commented to Blue, who was waiting for her turn, and Blue turned her head and smiled. The soldier was slightly surprised that she’d heard him from such a distance.

“There’s no such thing as a game where it’s okay to lose.”

Her competitive spirit, a different kind of smile from her usual gentle and reassuring one, made me feel… something. As Red reached the shore and Blue dove into the water, Ruche had already reached the buoy and was swimming back.

She swam with all her might, trying to catch up, but Angelica, a strong swimmer, was difficult to overtake.

“Good work. Still an ace, I see.”

“That was back in space.”

Esmeralda approached Ruche as she reached the shore. Esmeralda had been my direct superior back in space, while Ruche had been in a different unit, so they hadn’t interacted. Was she just commenting based on rumors?

As I was wondering, Angelica reached the buoy and turned back. Ha-yeong was still swimming towards it, and I cheered for her silently, relieved that Angelica was on her way back.

I didn’t know who I was rooting for at this point, just cheering for both of them, hoping they’d both do well. It was a ridiculous sentiment, wanting both sides to win, but I couldn’t help it. My hands were sweating as I watched the race.

After Angelica reached the shore, Seira dove into the water, and I knew, with certainty, who would win this round. And as I’d predicted, Seira reached the shore first, securing Spacetroe’s victory in the second event.

I knew Seira was a strong swimmer.

I blew the whistle as Green, the last swimmer for Hunter Killer, reached the shore, signaling Spacetroe’s victory. It had been a decisive win, and the Hunter Killer members, without complaint, applauded, accepting their defeat.

And finally, the last event: ssireum. We moved to the designated area on the beach and prepared for the match.

Three members from each team would compete, and the first team to win two matches would win the event. Since the overall score was tied 1-1, the winner of the ssireum match would determine who controlled the beach.

The problem was,

“How do we even do this?”

Ssireum required a satba (a belt worn around the waist and thigh), and none of the Spacetroe executives knew how to wear it.

While we’d lived in Korea for a long time and knew about ssireum, we’d never had the opportunity, or the desire, to try it ourselves. It was just another unfamiliar sport.

We were instructed to create a makeshift satba using long towels, but we just stood there, clueless.

The Hunter Killer members, having figured out the satba situation, were watching us. I avoided their gazes, even with my mask on, and Yu-bin approached me.

“Don’t you know how to wear a satba?”

“…Of course not.”

“We’re not experts either, but we can show you.”

Despite Ruche’s curt reply, Yu-bin, wanting a fair competition, showed her how to create a makeshift satba using a towel. Seeing the two factions, usually at each other’s throats, cooperating, even if it was just for a competition, amused me.

And I briefly wondered if they could have gotten along if they weren’t enemies, a thought I quickly dismissed as impossible.

A makeshift ssireum ring was created on the beach, and Yu-ra and Seira, the first wrestlers, knelt down, facing each other, gripping each other’s satba. I stepped back after confirming they were ready and blew the whistle, signaling the start of the match.

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