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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Team Hunter Killer was considered the best team in the Earth Defense Alliance Seoul branch, and on par with them was Team Special Forces. While these two teams were recognized as the top, they weren’t necessarily famous.
Twenty years had passed since the battles with Spacetroe began, and the world, thrown into chaos by the alien invasion two decades prior, had quickly regained stability, thanks to their surprisingly peaceful invasion methods.
Naturally, public interest had shifted away from the portraits, and the media focused more on celebrities and current events than the weekly duels. There was nothing inherently wrong with this. Even though the portraits were fighting to protect Earth, the situation had remained largely stagnant for 20 years, so the waning interest was a natural phenomenon.
However, some portraits acted deplorably, tarnishing the efforts of their peers, and their actions further worsened the public perception of portraits, who were already framed as unproductive tax burdens.
And even in the Seoul branch, there were portraits who received only lenient punishments due to personnel shortages, despite engaging in publicly condemned behavior and repeatedly committing the same offenses.
When it came to notoriety, the most infamous team in the Seoul branch, by far, was Team Guerrilla.
The moment I saw him, I had a nagging sense of familiarity, but I couldn’t quite place him. However, his reckless actions triggered a memory, and I remembered who he was.
The man who had been verbally and physically abusive to the staff at the restaurant where I first met Ha-yeong.
“Everyone, stay calm.”
Both then and now, he caused trouble at my table, but the circumstances were different. Unlike that time when I quietly resolved the situation alone, I was now with my colleagues, having drinks together. Any rash action could escalate the situation unpredictably.
If this were construed as a duel outside the designated schedule, we would face disciplinary action for violating the rules. And since this was a rule highly valued within Spacetroe, we would have no grounds to object even if we were transferred to another branch.
While some colleagues might find it unfair, we knew there was nothing we could do. Even though 20 years had passed and public interest had waned, the fact remained that we were invaders. Therefore, even if the portraits acted recklessly, we had to be even more cautious and careful.
My colleagues, initially angered by the sudden attack on our table, their eyes flashing with hostility, regained their composure at my words and relaxed their hardened expressions toward the approaching man.
“Ah, I’m sorry. We were being too loud, weren’t we?”
Kruger gave an awkward laugh and extended a hand to appease him, but the man brushed it off, glaring at Kruger with drunken eyes.
“Sorry? Fuck, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
I couldn’t understand why he was being so aggressive and abusive towards us. I doubted there was any specific reason. He was simply in a bad mood, drunk, and we became his target.
People who became aggressive after drinking were often like that. There was no logic to their anger and actions. Trying to understand him would be foolish, and even if I knew it was foolish and tried to understand, I surely wouldn’t.
“Indigo, take it easy. You’re scaring them shitless.”
Indigo. I seemed to recall hearing his name during our previous encounter. It was probably a codename, not his real name, but that wasn’t important. What mattered was that the previous incident, combined with this one, firmly cemented the image of portrait Indigo in my mind.
“If you want to chatter and giggle in a group, get a private room. Why bother people?”
While I rarely attended team dinners, I wasn’t ignorant of drinking culture. Whether on our home planet, during invasions of other planets, or in space, I’d experienced enough drinking occasions to understand that bars and pubs were places meant to be lively and cheerful.
As expected, there was no logical reason behind his anger and actions.
And when you got down to it, we weren’t being that loud. Knowing we had to keep a low profile, we never acted conspicuously, even during team dinners.
Indigo had simply taken issue with us, and fueled by misplaced confidence, knowing that taking on a few ordinary men with a portrait’s physical abilities would be child’s play, he picked a fight.
“We’re having a team dinner after a long time, so…we’ll try to be quieter.”
“Hey.”
Kruger, acting as our representative, tried to calm Indigo down, but perhaps offended by Kruger’s seemingly admonishing tone, Indigo grabbed him by the collar, becoming even more aggressive. The colleagues next to him hurriedly tried to intervene, but Kruger signaled them with his eyes to stay back.
If several of us got involved, the situation could escalate beyond control. Determined to resolve the situation, I stepped forward, leaving my colleagues behind.
“I think it would be best to calm down a bit. There are a lot of customers here.”
Before I could even register the pain in my abdomen, I was tumbling across the floor, pushing aside the blue plastic chairs scattered around the bar.
“!”
I belatedly realized that Indigo had kicked me in the stomach. The pain itself wasn’t unbearable, but the sudden impact, registering moments later, made my mind go blank. I hadn’t expected him to resort to violence so readily.
Many eyes were already on us, and my colleagues, unable to call out my name easily, helped me up in this awkward situation.
“Calm down? Customers? Does that shit matter when I’m pissed because of you guys?”
This guy was beyond unreasonable. After spending time with the Hunter Killer members, I had forgotten that not all portraits were good people. No, perhaps all portraits were inherently good. Who could call those who fought every week to protect their planet evil?
Being invaders, we were well aware that the invaders were the evil ones in the eyes of the planet’s inhabitants. However, Indigo and his team members were undeniably malicious portraits.
They watched with amusement, drinking and laughing as their colleague verbally and physically abused people who might be civilians. They were clearly the same kind of people, just not directly involved.
“Sir, you can’t do this.”
Amidst the tense atmosphere, the bar owner came out to try and stop Indigo, but without even listening to him, Indigo grabbed the owner by the collar and lifted him up. Kruger, who was tall, remained still while being held by the collar, and the lifted bar owner, seemingly struggling to breathe, hit Indigo’s arm.
“Hah…fuck, do you all look down on portraits or something?”
I had to stop him somehow. The situation had already escalated, and preventing further damage was my priority. But even with that thought, the fact remained that we couldn’t do anything.
“Don’t do anything.”
I urged my colleagues, who were supporting me, not to act rashly. Using force and escaping the situation wouldn’t be difficult. While it might appear as self-defense, our actions, knowing Indigo was a portrait, would carry a different weight than his, done without that knowledge.
Above all, I felt that resorting to force would put us in the same category as him.
Kruger’s expression had soured since I was kicked. He was fiercely loyal and had leadership qualities. As someone who had served alongside him in various units for a long time, I knew his personality well.
I saw him clenching his fists, as if about to lash out at Indigo, and I called out to him, ignoring the surrounding gazes.
“Kruger!”
At my loud voice, both Kruger’s and Indigo’s gazes snapped towards me. Indigo was looking at me as well, but this wasn’t the time to worry about his gaze.
“Calm down.”
Just as I knew Kruger, he knew me. While I didn’t know exactly what he thought of me, he must have sensed that I was trying to be the most rational one in this situation.
His tense expression softened, but the problem was Indigo.
“Calm down? Calm down? The fuck did you just say?”
He threw the owner to the ground, shoved Kruger, and approached me.
Worried that my colleagues, who were supporting me, would get involved, I shook them off, and understanding my silent command to create distance, they stepped back.
I had a solution. No matter what Indigo did, I wouldn’t react, hoping he’d get bored and leave. I knew it was a passive approach.
There was a saying among Korean soldiers: If a fight breaks out while drinking, always leave the scene.
There was such a thing as position. Just because one possessed strength and ability didn’t mean they could disregard their position. Spacetroe regarded a more peaceful approach to invasion as a fundamental principle.
We were ordinary soldiers with mediocre strength and abilities, but we could retaliate against Indigo’s actions here. However, our position, our current situation, dictated that we shouldn’t.
Suppose we subdued him with force and ended the situation here. Looking at this situation alone, it would be self-defense and justifiable. But in the larger context of Spacetroe, our small action would make us outlaws.
“Let’s see you calm down. Go ahead!”
He threw a sauce dish from a nearby table at my clothes and slapped me across the face. It wasn’t just a light slap; he hit me hard enough to make me stumble, a proper slap.
But I didn’t react. I was angry that he slapped me, angry about this unfair treatment. But I had to endure. If I acted rashly here, it would create problems for Ruche, our team leader, who I knew was expecting us to have a pleasant team dinner.
We always lost to Hunter Killer, including today. I couldn’t burden Ruche any further.
My colleagues felt the same. Kruger, unable to contain his anger the moment I was slapped, lunged at Indigo but was kicked to the floor by one of Indigo’s companions.
I looked at Kruger with unwavering, steadfast eyes, and he, meeting my gaze, regained his composure. We had to endure. As ordinary soldiers, that’s all we could do. I never imagined our team dinner, meant to be a celebratory occasion after completing a rigorous training period, would turn out like this. It was the worst team dinner ever.
“You bastards are pissing me off.”
By the time some time had passed, all the other customers had left, and my colleagues and I were sprawled on the floor. Indigo, looking down at us with contempt, spat on my clothes.
My clothes were soiled, and the bar was a mess, but we endured.
There was a saying that enduring was winning, but it didn’t apply here. This wasn’t about winning or losing. Our patience prevented a potentially worse outcome.
Indigo and his group, having vented their anger on us, left the bar.
I slowly approached the bar owner, who was sitting in despair, tears in his eyes, looking at his wrecked establishment.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes…are you alright, sir?”
“Yes, don’t worry about us.”
Strangely, the police hadn’t arrived, but perhaps that was for the best.
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes, but those guys were portraits…”
It seemed the police had intentionally delayed their response because the perpetrators were portraits.
I hadn’t wanted to see it, but I glimpsed a side of how Earthlings viewed portraits negatively, and it felt awful.
After helping the owner up and tidying up the bar somewhat, we stepped outside. Time had passed, and we were a mess. No one spoke, but we all knew what we had to do.
And just then, my smartphone rang. I took it out of my pocket, and seeing the incoming video call from Ruche, my colleagues let out short sighs.
“Hey, everyone act drunk.”
I answered Ruche’s call.
“Huh? What happened to you guys?”
Ruche’s shocked expression at seeing our state was clearly visible on the screen.
“Ah! Ruche! We had a little tumble after drinking!”
Even though I wasn’t the type to get overly excited when drunk, I forced a drunken act, assuring Ruche that it was nothing serious. My colleagues chimed in with drunken voices.
“If you’re going to drink, be careful and get home safely. Are you hurt?”
“We’re fine! You know how tough we are!”
Even Kruger, whose expression had been grim, put his arm around me and spoke loudly to Ruche on the screen. Ruche shook her head as if exasperated with us idiots.
“Oh dear, I called just in case…Is the team dinner over?”
“Yes! We’re heading home now!”
Ban, Jack, and Ron, all looking disheveled, also acted as if they were drunk and had caused a scene. Ruche, thinking we had enjoyed the dinner, smiled.
“Alright. Everyone get home safe, and I’ll see you at the duel next week.”
“Yes! We’ll see you then!”
“Get some rest, Ruche!”
“We love you, Team Leader!”
With a series of loud farewells, the call ended, and as the screen went black, our expressions hardened again.
“Ha…we stepped in shit.”
“Should we report this? Ruche will be worried.”
“This is a headache.”
Following Ban’s sigh, Jack and Ron added their comments. As they said, I wondered if reporting this was the right thing to do. In any case, it wasn’t an official incident; it was just a bar fight. And we had stayed passive to prevent any potential escalation.
“Let’s keep our mouths shut for now. We’ll report it if things get bigger.”
We all understood Kruger’s intention. I agreed with him. Yet, something bothered me.
“Is that the right thing to do?”
Ban voiced his doubt. Everyone seemed to share the same thought as their gazes turned to Kruger. I spoke up on his behalf.
“Does right or wrong matter?”
In a war movie, we were like the nameless soldiers who appeared for a single frame and whose deaths went unnoticed. As I said before, we, who constantly lost, couldn’t burden Ruche any further.
After parting ways with my colleagues, I arrived home and remembered Yu-bin was waiting inside. I hated that I had to face her looking like this, and I was angry that this had happened.
I checked my disheveled appearance again, and my eyes fell on my soiled t-shirt.
‘I bought this on our first date.’
It was one of the shirts Yu-bin picked out for me when we first went shopping and had our first date, now stained beyond recognition.
Knowing that worrying wouldn’t change anything, I entered the door code and went inside.
“Oppa!”
Yu-bin, who had approached me with a cheerful voice, stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of me. I silently took off my shoes, went inside, and lowered myself into her embrace. Yu-bin hugged me, despite my disheveled state.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I silently nodded at her cautious question.
I hated facing Yu-bin like this, and anger welled up inside me at the thought of Indigo and his group undermining the efforts of the Hunter Killer members.
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