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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Without finding any clear answer, time passed by helplessly, and the next day, I met Hayeong on a rare weekday. I met Eunha during lunch, then Sua after that, and I was scheduled to meet Hayeong around the time a typical office worker would get off work.
It wasn’t that we met for any particular reason. Hayeong had said she was going grocery shopping at a large supermarket, and I was just going with her.
We often met at each other’s homes, but we had only walked around outside together a few times, so it did feel a little different from usual.
The reason we didn’t meet outside was, first of all, the thought that someone might recognize them as superhumans. I couldn’t help but be mindful of them, as they were sensitive to the gazes of others, and even when I asked if there was anything they wanted to do, they usually didn’t talk much about wanting to do things outside.
The only ones who weren’t conscious of others’ gazes were Sua and Yubin. After we started dating, we almost always played games together at Sua’s house, but that didn’t mean we didn’t go to the arcade at all. Seeing that she often went to the arcade on days she didn’t meet me, I couldn’t imagine Sua being conscious of anyone’s gaze.
Yubin was the type who didn’t care about the attention she got for being a superhuman. Yura was the same, but Yura was the type who wouldn’t bother creating a reason to go out when she had no reason to.
Yubin also spent more time indoors with me, but fundamentally, she had no reservations about shopping or going out.
Another reason also had to do with the gazes of others, but it wasn’t because of the Hunter Killer members, but because of me. If someone happened to discover and recognize me with them, it would become a considerably dangerous matter.
It wouldn’t be revealed that I was Spastro, but if a story about me being discovered were to circulate, it could be revealed that I was meeting all the Hunter Killer members.
As the years went by, interest in superhumans had waned compared to the past, but it hadn’t disappeared entirely. There were many superhumans who caused incidents, including Team Guerrilla, which Indigo belonged to, and because of the various negative perspectives scattered throughout society, it was possible that someone would recognize a superhuman who had been exposed to the media.
Just being cautious all the time wasn’t the answer, and I couldn’t just live cooped up in case someone recognized her, so I decided to go grocery shopping with Hayeong.
And, on one hand, I also wanted to feel again what it was like when we had walked around looking at furniture together as Hayeong was preparing to move.
Lately, I had been losing sleep, and tiring days continued for various reasons, so I had wished for a moment to feel a little peace of mind.
“Honey!”
When I arrived in front of the supermarket where we had arranged to meet, Hayeong, who had spotted me, waved from a distance.
She had her hair, which she usually wore in a bun, styled in a half-updo using braids, and the sight of her in a neatly tailored light blue dress over a white t-shirt suited her hairstyle today well.
“You’re here early?”
Even though I had arrived ten minutes before the appointed time, Hayeong was already there, and as I approached, she hugged me tightly and looked up with a smile.
“Yep. I was so excited to see you on a weekday that I came out early.”
I hugged her as she smiled cutely, and after taking her hand, we went inside the supermarket together. Hayeong had experience coming to the supermarket with her nephews, so she pulled out a shopping cart without hesitation, and I pushed the cart she had gotten as we moved inside.
“This is the first time we’ve gone grocery shopping together, isn’t it?”
“You’re right.”
Hayeong was excited at the thought of shopping together, and I recalled that we had never been on a proper date other than when we went to look at furniture around the time she moved.
It felt a little lacking to call grocery shopping in the evening a date, and I thought it would be good to set a day and have a proper date sometime.
“What are you planning to buy?”
“I wrote down what I need to buy.”
From the small bag in her hand, she took out a note with a shopping list written on it, and the note was packed with things to buy.
“You have a lot to buy?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to invite the members over to my house soon and cook them something delicious.”
The reason I hadn’t met anyone yesterday was that the Hunter Killer members had gathered to hang out together. I didn’t know what they did, but seeing the atmosphere, it seemed the members had fun among themselves yesterday as well.
The beach trip too. Compared to the days when they clammed up whenever I talked about the members, this was nothing short of a huge step forward, and a smile spread across my face at the fact that everyone was getting along well.
“Did you have fun yesterday?”
When I asked a thrilled Hayeong about the time she spent with the members yesterday, she looked at me and nodded. The smile that filled her face made me feel that she had truly had a great time.
“We chatted at a cafe together and took a ton of pictures. Look at this.”
She took her smartphone out of her bag and showed me several pictures they had all taken together yesterday. They had taken so many pictures that even when I kept swiping the screen, new pictures with the members appeared, and seeing the members having fun in the photos made me feel good too.
“These are sticker photos.”
Sticker photos decorated with various effects were saved on the smartphone. There was a variety of photos, some with funny faces and others with pretty expressions.
Perhaps because all of their hair colors were so distinct, every photo looked vibrant.
“……Come to think of it, I don’t have any pictures with you, honey?”
“Ah……”
At the mention of photos, I avoided Hayeong’s gaze as she stared at me with an awkward expression. It seemed like she wanted to take a picture together, but taking a picture felt a bit off to me.
I thought it might become a problem if I shared a photo with the members, so I had intentionally avoided taking pictures until now. Of course, there was another reason besides that. I didn’t really like having my picture taken.
Whenever I tried to just take a picture, my expression would become stiff and awkward, so I hadn’t liked having my picture taken since long ago, and apart from officially used photos, I had only taken a few pictures.
If the only reason was that I disliked having my picture taken, I would have agreed when my girlfriend asked to take a picture and taken one with her. I disliked what I disliked, but there was no reason not to do something my girlfriend asked for.
However, because of the photo-sharing issue I mentioned earlier, it was a difficult situation to agree to take a picture even if she asked.
“I don’t really like having my picture taken……”
It was true that I didn’t like having my picture taken, but I needed a reason to refuse even when it was possible, so I had no choice but to use the truth as an excuse. I felt sorry for Hayeong, but it couldn’t be helped right now.
Even if someone else asked to take a picture, I would say the same thing.
“Why?”
Hayeong tilted her head, curious as to why I disliked having my picture taken.
“……I have a disease where I die if I get my picture taken.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it was because I disliked how my expression got awkward when taking pictures. For some reason, I was embarrassed to say it, and after spouting such nonsense, I thought it might have been better to just tell her the truth.
“I see.”
Hayeong nodded her head, accepting my nonsensical words. She probably didn’t understand what I said just now but thought that there must be a reason I disliked it enough to give such an excuse.
“Should we start by looking for the things we need to buy?”
“Let’s do that.”
I hurriedly changed the subject, and since it didn’t matter if we couldn’t take a picture now, Hayeong joined me in pushing the cart I was steering, and we wandered around the supermarket.
Groceries were piling up in the cart one by one, and Hayeong busily looked over various things, checking what she needed to buy and putting the items in the cart. Looking at the piling items, I wondered if they really ate this much.
Yura and Sua ate quite a lot, but even so, it was a large amount for just one meal together.
Watching Hayeong from a distance as she looked over various things, I stood in one spot for a moment and waited for her.
“!”
I frowned at a sudden headache that struck me. The headache didn’t last long and disappeared quickly, but the unpleasant sensation of it lingered, distorting my expression for a moment.
Then, wondering if someone might have recognized the superhuman Hayeong, I looked around, but no one seemed to recognize her. Was I getting ahead of myself, thinking someone would recognize her as a superhuman?
From now on, I would have to try and coordinate our schedules so we could have some proper dates. If dates were added, coordinating would become much more difficult than it had been so far, but if I thought it through and coordinated well, it would become a situation where everyone could be satisfied.
What kind of date would be good? I wasn’t sure. I still had a mountain of things to learn about the five of them. As I thought this, I slowly approached Hayeong, who was contemplating which item to choose.
“Please try some of this.”
Turning my head at the voice from the side, a supermarket employee was presenting a tasting corner, and on the grill in front of me lay appetizingly brown meat.
“It’s a free sample, would you like to try some?”
“Ah, yes.”
I was a little hungry because I hadn’t had dinner, and as if mesmerized by the employee’s words, I picked up a piece of meat with a toothpick and put it in my mouth.
As the tender meat was chewed, the aroma of its juices spread inside my mouth, and moving my jaw, I diligently chewed the meat in my mouth.
“Honey. What are you doing?”
Hayeong, who had meticulously examined two products from the same company and made up her mind, came over holding one, discovered me eating meat, and approached my side to link her arm with mine.
“They said it was a sample, so I was trying it.”
“If you’d like, please try some. The meat is very tender, so it’s excellent.”
“Here.”
Hearing the employee’s words, I picked up a piece of meat with a toothpick and put it in Hayeong’s mouth. Tasting the meat in her mouth, Hayeong’s eyes sparkled.
“It’s delicious. Should we get some to eat at home?”
“I’d love that.”
“Ma’am. Two packs, please.”
“Yes. You two must be a newlywed couple?”
I placed two packs of packaged meat into the cart, and at the employee’s smiling question, Hayeong’s face turned red.
“A co-couple?”
We had been mistaken for a couple when we were looking at furniture too, but perhaps because it had been a while, Hayeong blushed and couldn’t hide that she was in a good mood.
Then, as if checking my reaction, she glanced at me, and since I was fine with anything that made Hayeong happy, I answered with a silent smile.
“Yes. That’s right. We’re a couple.”
Finally, with a bright smile, Hayeong answered the employee that we were a couple. The employee added, “You two look so good together,” and we thanked the employee and pushed the cart to buy our next item.
As if her mood had gotten even better after the talk of being a couple, Hayeong hummed as she looked over the items she still hadn’t bought.
“Did you like hearing that we were a couple that much?”
Watching Hayeong, who had been happy for a good while, I asked her with a smile on my lips, and she, who had been contemplating with milk in both hands, turned her head and directed her bluish eyes toward me.
“Yeah. They say it because we look good together, honey.”
“Well, that’s true. Anyone would see us as a couple if we call each other ‘honey’ while shopping together like this.”
I let go of the cart and approached, leaning my chin on Hayeong’s shoulder as I bent my body slightly.
“We don’t really need to buy milk, do we?”
I spoke in a playful tone, trying to elicit a blushing and embarrassed reaction, but Hayeong shook her head and spoke firmly.
“No way. What’s mine is yours.”
“That’s an honor. Did you not produce much today?”
“I was fine since I squeezed enough out after waking up in the morning.”
My gaze naturally went to her chest, and as if conscious of my gaze, she looked at me, who was leaning on her shoulder.
“We can’t do it here since it’s a public place.”
“I know how to distinguish that much.”
As I replied to her words, which sounded like she was scolding a child, I also wondered for a moment if Hayeong saw me as someone who gets turned on without distinguishing between time and place.
Of course, there was no way she would think that, so I brushed it off as a joke, and after a light kiss, we continued shopping.
We wandered inside the supermarket for over an hour, picked out everything we needed to buy, and looked at anything worth seeing, then came out of the supermarket holding bags full of groceries.
“It’s crowded. Think we can catch a taxi?”
Even though it was a weekday evening, the area outside the supermarket was crowded with people who had finished their shopping, and since we had no means of transport, I was worried if we could even catch a taxi with all our bags.
“It’s because of the weekday sale this week. Taxis are over there.”
Hayeong, who had been linking her arm with mine while I was looking around for a taxi, headed toward the taxi stand, and walking with her, we got into a parked taxi.
Hayeong told the taxi driver her address, and we soon departed for her home. Perhaps because I had become sensitive due to fatigue, I stared blankly out the window, at the sense of unease I had felt right up until getting into the taxi.
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