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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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She tried her best not to be conscious of it. To Yellow, talk of romance was a distant story that had nothing to do with her, and she never paid much mind when the other members boasted about their boyfriends.
But the moment the conversation turned to her, her subconscious was no longer subconscious. The only man she could talk about was A, and whenever she mentioned him, the members’ attention focused on her.
And as this situation repeated, Yellow couldn’t help but become more conscious of A’s existence. The thought, no longer a matter of her own choice, made her think of him even unconsciously.
After returning from the trip and finishing the duel, she headed to the arcade with a fluttering heart on Friday. But A didn’t show up that day. She thought about texting him, but feeling that she was becoming too conscious of him, she held back and endured the weekend.
With no meeting scheduled for Monday, Yellow got ready and headed to the arcade. The Yellow who thought it didn’t matter whether A came or not was gone.
Playing games with him was fun, and she couldn’t forget the thrill of teaching him and watching him grow. She was aware that her social relationships weren’t smooth. That’s why her encounter and connection with A were so precious to her.
If her connection with A were to be severed now, she didn’t know when, where, or how a new one would appear. She even thought that A might be the first and last person to enjoy games with her without any ulterior motives.
It might have seemed like an extreme thought, but for Yellow, it was a very important issue. For Yellow, who found solace in games amidst a difficult family life, the existence of someone to enjoy games with was precious.
But what about the people who approached her to play games? They were either people with ulterior motives or those who couldn’t stand her way of speaking and left.
Of course, Yellow wasn’t blameless in this process. She was well aware of her own faults. But knowing one’s flaws didn’t make it easy to fix them.
Furthermore, with no environment to facilitate such a change, A appeared before her. He responded to her rough way of speaking with the same energy, learned the game diligently, and became the first person Yellow could enjoy games with.
The feeling of having made a friend was gradually being transformed by her limited circumstances and the members’ teasing. And it was in a very positive direction.
But Yellow was confused. He didn’t have any romantic feelings for her; he was purely learning the game. So, for her to develop romantic feelings for him first? She felt a fear of these unfamiliar emotions, and at the same time, felt like she was doing something she shouldn’t.
She tried to erase the budding thoughts from her mind, but on Monday morning, she ran into him.
A, who always played with tenacity, never losing his confidence even when he lost, had an unprecedentedly worried expression on his face.
Was he not in the mood to play at the arcade? Or did he have something to say? With those thoughts, Yellow agreed to A’s request to play at her house, and they went home together.
He still had a worried look on his face. His eyes, as if unsure how to look at her, were fixed on the floor, and seeing that, Yellow couldn’t help but be concerned about his condition.
“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
What she learned from her worried question was that he had witnessed the actions of some superhumans who engaged in violent and criminal acts.
Yellow’s heart sank. It was something that could make her newfound friend think negatively of superhumans, and she felt that this would affect how he saw her.
There was still an insurmountable wall between superhumans and ordinary people. The wall of discrimination and lack of communication was difficult to overcome, and in the current world, very few were trying to cross it. If so, if the wall was insurmountable, wouldn’t it be better to tell him clearly about superhumans?
Yellow began to talk about superhumans. About why they came to exist and why even among themselves, they let the violent ones be.
“Maybe a day will come when I hate superhumans.”
His words pierced deep into her heart, but at the same time, they revealed his character and felt like a sincere, unadorned confession.
“But even if that day comes, I will never hate you.”
Yellow’s heart pounded. They had become friends, and he had told her he would never hate her. She knew that nothing was certain in life. A day might come when A would be disappointed in her and dislike her. But it wasn’t now, and to the current A, Yellow was someone he would never hate.
“I already started the game, you crazy bastard!”
Did that mean, as the members said, there was a chance for them to become closer? If so, wouldn’t they have more time to enjoy their shared hobby together in the future?
Her head felt like it was overheating, and her face flushed. Yellow raised her voice unnecessarily, kicked him in the side, knocking him over on the sofa, and turned her gaze to the TV. For some reason, she couldn’t look at his face right now.
After Su-a kicked me in the side, we played games together. Not everything was resolved, but with a lighter heart, I played with her, losing match after match, and the complex thoughts that had dominated my mind gradually disappeared.
We ended up playing games until sunset, ordering delivery for dinner and spending the day together.
“I didn’t win a single match in the end.”
“How about playing other games?”
“It was fun.”
We were no longer limited to just one fighting game, and we had a good time playing various multiplayer games she hadn’t been able to play before. Whenever I made a clumsy move, Su-a would curse at me, but not wanting to lose to her harsh words, I would curse back.
“……Are you coming tomorrow?”
I hesitated at the question without a subject, wondering what she meant. Was she talking about the arcade?
“The arcade? It’s a bit up in the air, but if you want me to, I’ll come.”
“No, you idiot!”
I thought she was talking about the arcade, so I said I’d come if she wanted me to, and suddenly I was called an idiot. Was she not talking about the arcade?
Asking if I was coming tomorrow… She must have been asking if I was coming to her house, not the arcade.
I thought I had gotten used to her house after visiting a few times, but Su-a, looking awkward for some reason, wouldn’t meet my eyes after asking the question.
“Ah, I’ll come. But is it okay to just play at your house instead of the arcade?”
“It doesn’t matter. I can play games at home too.”
I thought Su-a enjoyed playing at the arcade more than at home, but it seemed it didn’t really matter. The weather was hot, and it would get hotter going back and forth, so from my perspective, it was more comfortable to play at her house.
Then, she took out her smartphone and sent me a text. The message had no other content than a 4-digit number, and I looked up at her, wondering what it was.
“It’s the door code. I won’t be here in the morning tomorrow, so you can come in and play games.”
“Is that okay? If you’re not here in the morning, I can come in the afternoon…”
I asked if it was okay to enter an empty house, but before I could finish, her glare made me reply, “I understand.”
I wondered if she thought I would leave if I came early and she wasn’t there. Reinterpreting her clumsy actions a little, I thought I could understand her intention, but it was hard to be certain. Still, it seemed that for now, she really wanted me to come to her house and play games with her.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Okay.”
I said goodbye to Su-a, who saw me off at the door, and left her house. On my way home, I sent a text to Yu-ra and Ha-yeong. They were probably still worried about me, so it would be good to put their minds at ease.
I told them I would explain properly when we met next time, and for now, I was okay. As expected, I received replies saying they had been worried. To be worried about by such kind people, I felt I was enjoying a luxury beyond my capabilities.
The next morning, a regular meeting was held at the Hunter Killer headquarters. With all the members present, the roles were distributed, making the meeting run more smoothly. After the meeting, they had their usual chat time.
“…….”
Yellow quietly listened to the conversation between Red, Pink, and Blue from the side. Green was awkwardly caught in the middle, enduring the barrage of chatter.
‘Are they always like this?’
Yellow, who had only recently started attending meetings regularly, couldn’t help but find it amazing to watch the members chat. It seemed like they were always talking about similar things, yet the conversation never stopped.
To Yellow, who only had games as a conversation topic, it was simply fascinating.
“Shall we wrap it up here for today?”
“How about lunch?”
With Red’s declaration to end the meeting, Pink suggested they have lunch together, and Yellow hesitated. Now that she could communicate smoothly with the members, she thought it would be nice to eat together, but at the same time, she had just received a text from A an hour ago, asking if it was okay to go inside, so she also wanted to hurry home and play games with him.
“Um, I have someone waiting for me…”
After debating which to choose, she decided to go to A first, who had made prior plans and was waiting at her house. But as she spoke, she trailed off, worried that her actions might seem like she was distancing herself from the members.
However, the members, who had gotten to know Yellow to some extent after the trip, told her it was okay. Pink, with a knowing smile, stared intently at Yellow.
“What, what?”
Yellow, feeling as if her thoughts were being read, shrank back without realizing it.
“Who is it?”
“Huh?”
She couldn’t answer immediately. A was already on her mind because of what she had heard yesterday, and she felt she wouldn’t be able to handle the flood of thoughts if the members started teasing her about a relationship again.
And Yellow didn’t realize that her brief hesitation was what stimulated the members’ romantic imaginations.
“The person you mentioned before?”
“A date?!”
“It’s not a date. We’re just going to play games at home…”
Only after she had said it did she realize she had said the wrong thing.
“An indoor date?”
“No, I told you we’ve played games at my house before.”
She tried to play it off as no big deal, but her words didn’t reach Red and Pink, whose romantic circuits had already been switched on.
And after a barrage of persistent questions, it was Yellow who surrendered first.
“So you played games together all day yesterday, and you’re doing it again today?”
“That’s how it turned out.”
“Where is he waiting? Is he waiting nearby?”
“No, at home.”
They made a fuss at her saying he was waiting at home, and Green, who Yellow thought wouldn’t be interested in this kind of talk, was listening intently from behind.
“What? So today’s the day?”
“As if!”
At Pink’s words, Yellow’s expression changed, but her face, which rarely changed color, flushed bright red. But Pink spoke to Yellow with a surprisingly serious expression.
“For people like us, you never know when the opportunity will come. Think about it. Do you like him? Or not really?”
“……I don’t dislike him.”
“Not ambiguously. Do you like him?”
The relationship between Yellow and Pink, who usually acted as if they were going to devour each other, instantly changed to one where Yellow was submissive to Pink’s words. Red wondered who the person was who could tame the fierce Yellow, while also thinking how influential talk of romance could be.
Of course, she wasn’t curious enough to want to see who he was. She barely had enough time to lie in bed with A, watching TV and laughing, so she had no time to meet another woman’s man.
Meanwhile, Yellow, flustered by the barrage of questions, finally nodded at Pink’s question, “Do you like him?” The repeated question of whether she liked him seemed to make the complicated feelings in her head clearer, and it led to her nodding.
But still unable to fully accept her own thoughts, Yellow remained silent even after nodding.
“I was a little forceful, but the choice is yours, Yellow. And I’m serious when I say you never know when the opportunity will come.”
Pink, who had been happy every day since she started dating, wanted to strongly recommend that Yellow start a relationship if she found someone she liked. But since the final choice of feelings was up to the person herself, she didn’t say any more and picked up her smartphone from the desk to get up.
“How did you and your boyfriend get together?”
At Yellow’s unprecedentedly direct question, a smile played on Pink’s lips. She cleared her throat once and looked at Yellow clearly.
“We got drunk and slept together.”
At the completely unfiltered answer, Yellow stared at her blankly.
“There are many ways. I’ve never had a male friend, so I can’t give advice, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to maintain a friendship.”
She said it casually, but to Yellow, it was quite an important piece of advice, and she took her words to heart.
The members went to eat together, and they finally convinced Yellow, who had wanted to join them, to go home. Their sincerity, greater than her own, made her think of A waiting for her at home. On the subway home, she searched for articles about male-female friendships on her smartphone.
It was good to be friends with A. But there were limits to friendship. She felt that if A got a girlfriend in the near future, not even in the distant future, it would be difficult for them to remain gaming friends.
Male-female friendships were ambiguous, and ambiguous relationships were bound to end in vain.
Yellow wanted the fun and happy times to last longer.
If so, wouldn’t it be better to end this ambiguous relationship?
With that thought, Yellow arrived in front of her house and, even though it was her own home, she swallowed hard, feeling nervous.
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