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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Time doesn’t wait, even when you’re anxious. Your heart races, your thoughts multiply, but a cluttered mind doesn’t complicate the flow of time. Time simply flows as it is, and it can feel resentful when it doesn’t wait for you to find the answers to your worries.
That was Green’s situation. Even though it was just a matter of contacting him and meeting up, meeting A required a great deal of resolve from her, and making that resolution required a lot of thought.
She hadn’t always been like this. After first meeting A, getting to know him, and up until he helped her, Green had enjoyed meeting him. But as time went on, an anxiety she couldn’t tell anyone began to sprout within her.
“……Haaah.”
Green, who had arrived at the conference room first on Monday morning, was still just staring at the smartphone screen she had been looking at all weekend, not taking any action. She didn’t know exactly what A did, but he was a working professional who spent his days busy, regardless of whether it was a weekday or a weekend.
And their occasional meetings during lunch had become a regular occurrence. But ironically, the source of Green’s worries was those repeated meetings with A.
She was happy to keep seeing him, and there was not a single reason to dislike it. But she wondered if it was okay for her, who was only receiving his help, to continue meeting him while harboring such conflicted feelings. And what magnified those worries was the reality that she was a superhuman.
“You’re here early.”
Red, who came in next, greeted her, and Green replied with a simple, “Yeah.” Red, who pulled out a chair and sat down, looked bright today, but even more cheerful than usual.
“Did something happen?”
“Huh? Why?”
Not realizing her expression had been read, Red looked at Green with wide eyes, wondering if something serious had happened.
“No, just…you look happy.”
“Ah.”
She was aware she was in a good mood, but she only then realized her expression was bright enough for others to ask about it.
“I went on a date with my oppa after the duel last week.”
“Did you go somewhere fun?”
“Not anywhere special. We just watched a movie together, and went shopping.”
Red, whose dates with A had decreased recently, hadn’t expressed it to him, but she had been feeling a little disappointed. He had been swamped with freelance work lately, and she couldn’t say anything about him being busy when he had been free for a while. She knew that being busy now meant they would have more leisure time for dates later.
But just because a person understood their current situation and knew what was to come didn’t mean other feelings wouldn’t arise. For Red, who had been counting down the days until their next date, the date they had after the duel was incredibly valuable.
Even the day after their date, A was so swamped with work that they barely had any time to relax together, but Red had enjoyed the date so much that her good mood didn’t fade all weekend. And today, Monday, her happiness was doubled at the thought of chatting with the members.
“Good morning.”
Pink and Blue came in together, offering their greetings.
“Hi. Did you two come together?”
“No, we met downstairs.”
As they exchanged trivial greetings and were about to start chatting, Yellow arrived, completing the group, and the meeting began.
During the meeting, everyone forgot about their love lives and focused on their work. The moment the meeting ended, they all let their guard down and started talking about what they had done with their boyfriends over the weekend.
“I played games with him all day on Friday.”
“We had some intense fun drinking after my shift.”
“He came over to my place after work and we had dinner together…”
Starting with Red’s story about her date, the members’ stories poured out one after another. Yellow, who said she had only played games, seemed to have a healthier complexion. Pink, whose movements hinted at what she had done after drinking, and Blue, who shyly trailed off.
To Green, whose worries were piling up, it felt as if everyone had had a special few days. They all talked about what had happened, but they were careful not to reveal their boyfriends’ personal information, probably a habit from their long years as Hunter Killers.
But even with the limited information, Green could deduce some things about their boyfriends. Of course, it wasn’t anything spectacular. They were ordinary office workers or freelancers who had no prejudice against superhumans.
When Red talked about her boyfriend, she didn’t mention anything about superhumans, which made Green think that she hadn’t talked to him about it yet.
“Red, are you going to tell your boyfriend you’re a superhuman?”
This was what Green was most concerned about right now. Of course, A knew that Green was a superhuman and had no prejudice. But that was when they were just acquaintances; it would be a different story if they became a couple. Green wasn’t thinking about developing a romantic relationship with A just yet, but she was leaving some room for it, so she asked Red, who hadn’t yet revealed her identity to her boyfriend, directly.
Red was at a loss for words for a moment. It was a question she couldn’t help but ponder, and she hadn’t yet prepared herself, so she hadn’t told A she was a superhuman. She knew it would get harder to tell him as time went on, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier to say.
“I think I’ll tell him someday. But I can’t do it yet.”
“What if, just what if, you tell him you’re a superhuman, and your boyfriend doesn’t like it? What will you do?”
Red stared at Green without answering for a moment. The other members also looked at Green, who was asking so pointedly, and Green looked back at Red with an unwavering gaze.
And for a moment, she imagined it.
‘If oppa finds out I’m a superhuman and dislikes me…’
Just the thought of it made a corner of her heart ache, and she couldn’t lift her head. If his always gentle gaze and playful yet considerate actions, and that kind voice, were to suddenly turn the complete opposite…
“…….”
Red laughed hollowly.
“Wouldn’t it be sad?”
Her answer was a question. But it wasn’t a question directed at Green. It was a question she asked herself, unable to imagine the emotions she would feel if that moment ever came.
The moment she heard Red’s subdued voice, Green realized she had been too persistent and quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry. Did I ask too much?”
“No, it’s okay.”
While Green’s question had made her think for a moment, she wasn’t hurt or angry. As Green had asked, a situation where she would have to reveal her identity would come someday. It wasn’t something she could avoid by trying.
And Red, as the first person to hear about Green’s situation, knew that Green was currently worried about the person who had helped her. She couldn’t say she knew everything, but as someone who had joined Hunter Killer around the same time and had seen her most in meetings, she was confident she understood a little.
“You’re anxious, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to meet him?”
“I’m a little hesitant to contact him first…”
Given Green’s situation, the members couldn’t easily give advice. If it were just a story of a man and a woman meeting, they could have added a word or two, but Green and that person’s relationship was set against the backdrop of Green’s difficult family environment.
Her difficult family environment would gradually fade and cease to be a problem, but that was in the future. And there was no guarantee that the person would be by Green’s side when that much time had passed.
“Doesn’t he text you first?”
Pink, who had been listening from behind, asked out of frustration, and Green nodded.
“It’s not like he has a girlfriend or something, right?”
“I…don’t know.”
Pink was also grateful to the person who had helped Green. But having experienced her share of different people in the world, Pink also suspected that he might be someone who was trying to get with Green.
But the fact that there had been no contact after Green’s situation had progressed to a certain point and she had even gone on a vacation she had never been on before began to fuel Pink’s thoughts.
“It’s strange that there’s been no contact since you came back from the trip.”
“I think it’s probably because he’s busy. We used to meet for a short time during his lunch break when he was working.”
Once again, she felt guilty for taking up his precious lunch time.
“I don’t think so. You met by chance without knowing each other at all, and it would be weirder for him to meet you every time if he had a girlfriend.”
Red, not wanting to think of the worst-case scenario either, tried to counter Pink’s words logically. Pink, too, even though she had said it, didn’t want to think about that possibility. But whether to move forward or backward, someone had to bring it up to create options.
“Is there anything you want to do together? You could use that as a reason to meet.”
Blue advised, recalling how she had called A when she was going to look at furniture before her move. At the time, she really needed help, and her only option was A, but now that she thought about it, it was true that she had called him because there was something she wanted to do with him. And the effect was great.
“Something I want to do…”
Green thought of A.
Unable to control her growing feelings for him, Green had started to look into things related to romance.
‘The person who comes to mind first when you want to do something.’
That was the first phrase Green had seen. And just as it said, whenever she saw something on TV that looked fun, A was the first person she thought of. But when she actually thought about what she wanted to do with A, nothing came to mind.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, a story she had seen before flashed in her mind.
She was envious that the members had special times with their boyfriends, and she felt she wanted to have such special times with A too. But she thought that specialness required a catalyst, and she didn’t think she had any material for such a catalyst.
But as she started talking with the members, asking questions, hearing questions, and thinking, something suddenly came to her, and Green took a deep breath in and out.
“Sorry, can I go first?”
Green’s time was limited. The time she could meet him was his lunch break, about an hour. Wanting to try the one thing she had thought of thanks to the members, she immediately got up from her seat.
“Yeah, hurry up and go.”
The members, who couldn’t know what it was but instinctively felt that Green had thought of something that would give her courage, urged her on. Green immediately left the headquarters and headed home.
More precisely, she headed to the park in front of her house, took her smartphone out of her pocket, took another deep breath, and sent him a text.
[Are you at work?]
The text was sent, but there was no reply for a short while. She knew that A, who would be working, couldn’t reply right away, but she was anxious.
‘Is it over?’
It was a thought that couldn’t be completely ruled out. She didn’t know what A had been thinking while helping and taking care of her, but there was a limit to how much kindness one could show without receiving anything in return. And if A’s feelings had completely turned away from her…
Green shook her head.
As she was heading to the park, holding her smartphone in her hand with a pounding heart, she felt a vibration in her tightly clenched hand and immediately checked her smartphone.
[Yes. Is your meeting over?]
A proper reply had arrived from A, and Green’s anxious expression was replaced by a bright one as she sent him a reply.
[It just finished.]
She was about to send another text asking if they could meet for lunch, but her hand froze the moment she started typing.
Just because he replied didn’t mean she could be sure his feelings hadn’t changed.
‘He won’t find it annoying, right? What if he doesn’t want to?’
She had left the headquarters and hastily sent a text because she wanted to have one special experience, but when she was about to ask to meet, her head cooled down, and her hand, about to press the send button, froze like a stone.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to just exchange greetings like this?’
If it was true that A no longer wanted to see her, it might be better to maintain an awkward distance without confirming that fact.
Thinking so, Green gave up on sending the text.
[Can we meet for a bit during lunch?]
Just as she was about to turn off her smartphone screen, a text arrived from A. Green’s empty gaze, which had been on the floor, came back to life, and she immediately sent him a reply.
[Yes, we can.]
[Then I’ll go to the park for lunch.]
Although Green hadn’t been the one to ask to meet, the small desire for something special was leading to a situation where she could meet A again, and Green decided to be a little braver.
Soon, Green got off at her station and, unable to contain her excitement, headed to a nearby convenience store.
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