—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The sun had set, and a dark dawn blanketed the city.
Moonlight couldn’t pierce the sky dominated by gray clouds, and only the holographic lights of the city, leaking from the upper and middle levels, serenely illuminated the streets below.
A young man, Shiun Lee, about to enter an old bar, stepped back from the suddenly noisy entrance.
“Fucking hell, what’s that bitch doing?!”
“Hey, hey, run instead of talking!”
Simultaneously with his retreat, two men in shabby clothes poured out of the entrance, as if fleeing.
They might have glanced at Shiun, standing right next to the entrance, but preoccupied with their escape, they ran without looking back, disappearing beyond the alleyway.
‘…Hmm.’
Should I just go back?
After a brief moment of contemplation, Shiun shook his head, collected himself, and entered the bar.
Neon signs flashed inside like a club.
Broken chairs and a few intact ones were scattered around, and several people who appeared to be unconscious vagrants were lying on the floor.
Shiun carefully stepped around the collapsed vagrants.
His steps led him to the stage.
On the stage, he saw a red-haired woman sitting in a chair, holding her eyelids.
“Hey, Andrea.”
“…Oh, it’s you. Shiun.”
At his call, Andrea raised her head and looked at Shiun.
“You’re finally calling my name right.”
“…Well, I can’t keep mispronouncing it, considering you’re supposedly my singer.”
Andrea sighed and replied.
Since she wasn’t wrong, Shiun nodded and, after setting up an intact chair he found on the floor, sat in front of her.
“So, what happened today?”
“…Same as always.”
Andrea continued,
“They told me to get lost if I was going to sing depressing songs, so I gave those bastards a reason to get lost instead.”
“Your temper hasn’t changed.”
Shiun chuckled behind his mask.
Andrea’s eyes sharpened slightly, displeased with his reaction, but she didn’t get angry.
They were colleagues who had undertaken several mercenary requests together as a “side job.”
While others knew Andrea’s mercenary work as her “main job,” in reality, being a singer was her main occupation, and that was her side hustle.
“You’ll run out of places to sing if you keep getting banned. You should control your temper a little.”
“Then I’ll just sing on the streets.”
Perhaps the image of Andrea singing on the streets came to his mind.
Shiun nodded without hesitation.
“Well, you’re a good singer.”
Hearing his reply, Andrea leaned back against the chair. Her blood-red hair cascaded down.
A brief silence followed.
It was quite a while before Andrea called Shiun again.
“……Hey.”
“Yeah?”
Without looking at Shiun, Andrea mumbled listlessly, as if talking to herself.
“Should I just give up on being a singer?”
“You? Why suddenly?”
“Not suddenly…It’s just…you know.”
There were plenty of reasons, even without Andrea explicitly stating them.
The number of bars she was banned from was too many to count on one hand.
Another reason was that she had started mercenary work as a part-time job and discovered she had quite a talent for it.
The list was endless.
It felt as if everything in the world was telling her to quit being a singer.
‘…He probably agrees.’
He was her colleague in mercenary work.
He’d probably prefer her to focus on mercenary work rather than waste time on a hopeless singing career.
However, her expectations were wrong.
“No, absolutely don’t give up.”
“……Why?”
Shiun spoke with conviction.
“You can definitely succeed as a singer.”
“…What’s the point? Look at me now.”
“Of course, it’s a little tough now, but things will change soon.”
As if saying it was destiny, Shiun looked directly at Andrea.
“I’m serious. Want to make a bet?”
“…Ha, a bet.”
Sensing the loss of venom in Andrea’s reply, Shiun continued in a confident voice,
“Let’s make a bet. I guarantee it. You’ll become the most famous singer in this city.”
“…….”
Andrea, who had been staring blankly into space, turned her gaze to Shiun.
He spoke with more belief in her than she had in herself.
And.
Even though they were just words.
For someone to fall in love.
For the thorns of a rose to be broken.
No further reason was needed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Briefly reminiscing about the past, Andrea couldn’t easily define the emotion she was currently feeling.
An emotion she had never felt in her entire life, and one she thought she would never feel, was ‘envy.’
‘…Sigh.’
Catherine had spent ten years with Shiun, creating countless memories.
And the AI named Eve clearly harbored feelings for Shiun, her savior, that went beyond simple affection.
But what about her?
She had only received a few words of comfort at a bar.
‘…Envy, jealousy.’
Emotions unbefitting Andrea, yet they dominated her heart.
Of course.
Andrea thought it was ridiculous that she was feeling this way.
Originally, it was a love she would have given up on due to Catherine’s existence.
She had hidden those feelings well until now.
She even supported and advised Catherine, helping their love blossom from behind the scenes.
Yet, now that a future where they could all be together had been realized, she found herself envying the relationship between the other two.
Thinking about it, it was the same during the live broadcast.
If he acknowledged polyamory, he acknowledged it.
Why did she feel the need to add that she was aiming for the first spot?
Andrea felt ashamed and self-deprecating about her actions.
“…So.”
As Andrea was lost in thought, Catherine spoke to her.
“Why you?”
“……Uh.”
The reason she fell in love.
“…Just because?”
“…….”
“No, really….”
Since she had brought it up herself, Andrea wanted to crawl into a hole as the situation unfolded.
Fortunately, the mask she wore to hide her face concealed her blushing cheeks.
But the heat didn’t dissipate.
Andrea continuously fanned herself with her hand, trying to change the subject.
“Anyway, we’re going to live together now.”
“You’re just on the same floor for now.”
“Let’s skip the minor details.”
Andrea looked at Catherine, who muttered, Are they minor details?
“What I mean is, we’ll need rules.”
“If you’re talking about rules.”
It was Eve who answered Andrea.
Her expressionless face betrayed no emotion, but she seemed interested in Andrea’s words.
“I’m not talking about anything grand.”
Andrea continued,
“At least let’s not fight while living together.”
It was also a reminder to herself.
Having joined them later, she didn’t want to disturb the two, and most importantly, she didn’t want to make Shiun uncomfortable.
She thought they could each live at their own pace, or perhaps find a common rhythm.
“…Have you made up your mind?”
“You sent that message, too.”
After receiving that message, Andrea had posted a question about polyamory online and ended up appearing on a live broadcast.
Hearing her answer, Catherine put down her shopping bags and stretched.
“Well, then it’s fine.”
“…You kind of knew, didn’t you?”
“I just asked you about polyamory, that’s all.”
Even as she said that, she seemed to have known.
Andrea approached Eve and extended her hand.
She was offering a handshake.
“…Anyway, I look forward to it.”
Looking down at Andrea’s hand, Eve slowly took it.
“Multiple individuals are suitable for service. This is a logical choice.”
“…Huh?”
Andrea asked back, seemingly not understanding Eve’s words.
But Eve didn’t answer and turned back to look at the convenience store, waiting for Shiun to arrive.
In any case, it seemed like an agreement.
Watching the two, Andrea breathed lightly and said,
“Who would believe that three people like one person?”
At that moment.
Catherine replied to Andrea’s words.
“Three people? What are you talking about?”
“You, me, and Eve. That’s three.”
Catherine shook her head firmly.
“No, a few more might be added.”
“?”
“…Four, five, hmm. I think it could be up to six….”
Andrea couldn’t immediately comprehend what she had just heard.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I was fully enjoying my solitude at the convenience store when I figured it was time to go back, so I bought a drink and went outside.
With the cold drink in hand, I returned to the three waiting outside.
…….
But somehow.
Unlike before I entered the convenience store, Andrea seemed to be looking at me like I was trash.
“…….”
Did she notice I was deliberately taking my time?
I didn’t know what I did wrong, but I apologized first.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
