The unfocused gaze met mine. Though looking at me, her eyes seemed as if they weren’t seeing me at all, and no words would come out. It felt like my entire body was restrained, and my limbs wouldn’t move as I willed them to. I tried to speak, but no voice came out.
Yubin’s passionate red eyes were colder than the harshest winter. She looked at me without saying a word.
“Ah…”
I opened my mouth to explain, but I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t understand how we had reached this situation, and there was nothing to explain. Meeting five members of the same team simultaneously was clearly my mistake from any perspective.
I couldn’t face Ha Young’s disappointed gaze, and Eunji was looking sad. SuA was angry, and Yura was looking at me with a mix of emotions.
With my black suit on, being found out about meeting the five of them and even being identified as Spacystro left me speechless. Could it be because I faced too many situations at once?
At the very least, I should have apologized, but I couldn’t say anything. The gazes of the five were still directed at me, and no sound came from their mouths. If only they would hit me; this silence might end. But I couldn’t even feel the value of that, as there was no movement in my fingertips.
And then, when I took a step forward, the world went dark. The sky grew dark, and it felt like the ground beneath my feet was disappearing. I kept falling into an unknown place, waiting for the emptiness to end in silence.
“!!!”
I woke up from a deep sleep. As I felt I had hit the bottom, both my eyes opened, and I urgently sat up.
My whole body was covered in cold sweat, and Eunji, who was sleeping beside me, looked at me with worried eyes.
“Older Brother, are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. I just had a bad dream.”
It was a dream. I couldn’t stop thinking about how to avoid being discovered, and I ended up not sleeping for days, eventually dreaming that my identity was exposed to the five of them.
“…Try to sleep more. I’ll get some water and come back.”
Feeling thirsty due to the cold sweat, I left Eunji, who was still looking at me, and headed to the kitchen. I heard the sound of water filling the cup, and my gaze turned to the window.
The dark, quiet dawn outside was silent. Distant car sounds broke the silence, but soon they faded away.
What day is it today? I thought as I walked into the living room and checked my smartphone.
Friday. The shock of waking up from a nightmare made me forget the day, the day of the week, and what I did during the day.
There had been a confrontation yesterday, and after experiencing defeat as usual, I received a call from Eunji. After going to her house, we spent time together and went to bed.
It had only been three days since Hayang and I went shopping at the mart, and after that, I had been spending each day either meeting SuA or Eunji.
“Haah-.”
A sigh escaped my lips as I drank the water in the cup. I sat on the sofa in the living room, lost in thought for a moment. There would come a time when this situation would be revealed to the five of us.
I couldn’t avoid it, and even if I knew about it after parting ways, the fact that I spent time with the five of them wouldn’t change. Ultimately, it would affect them in some way.
However, I was also worried about when that moment would definitely come. While the possibility of power loss hasn’t completely disappeared, the possibility of the hyper-humans’ death isn’t entirely gone either.
If the experiments on pre-pubescent children were meant to delay their premature deaths, then the five HunterKillers would face a much faster death than others.
Death is natural for life. However, if life is shortened by experiments and ends tragically… I don’t think I could accept that moment.
Above all, the five people who gave me unconditional love despite my indifference to love. My job is to repay the feelings they’ve given me, and what I wish for is their happiness.
But if I were to face death at a moment when I could have been a little happier…
“Ahhh.”
I let out a short sound and shook my head.
“Older Brother, are you feeling unwell?”
Worried about my absence from the room, Eunji came out from the bedroom.
“I’m fine. I just have a lot to think about.”
Eunji slowly moved closer and sat next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. Naturally, I put my hand around her shoulder, and even though we were wearing clothes, our body heat was felt, and the uneasiness I felt earlier seemed to fade a bit.
“Is it work-related?”
“…Yeah.”
That’s right, it is work. Even if the relationship changes, my affiliation with Spacystro remains unchanged, and it can be seen that Spacystro thinks about hyper-humans.
“There’s nothing I can do to help, but if you’re too stressed, please tell me. Just talking can ease the burden a bit.”
Instead of feeling grateful for Eunhi’s comforting words, sadness overcame me first. I couldn’t bear to look at Eunhi, who was leaning on me, so I turned my gaze to the window.
Eunhi knew well that speaking about painful things could give strength to someone. That’s why she wanted me to talk when I was struggling, but my story was something I couldn’t share with anyone now.
If it were a problem I could openly discuss, I wouldn’t be so troubled. Since it’s something I can’t share with anyone and must solve alone, and it’s related to Eunhi’s life, I couldn’t say anything.
“…I’ll talk when I feel better.”
It was a promise I couldn’t keep. I was still looking out the window, and Eunhi looked up at me, fixing her gaze on the window. I turned my head at the sensation of her gaze, and when our eyes met, Eunhi smiled.
“Older Brother, do you know this?”
“What is it?”
Eunhi, who began her conversation mysteriously, told me with a smile.
“I’ve been so happy lately.”
“…”
I couldn’t say anything else. Although I could respond to Eunhi’s words without relating them to my current situation, it felt like my rationality prevented me from speaking.
“Every day isn’t like this, but still, being able to meet you and spend time together makes me feel incredibly happy. I want to live like this forever.”
Eunhi already felt happy just by being with me. Would others feel the same way? When I was with the five women with different charms, I felt happy too.
Meeting someone made me feel their heart, and I could sense the sincerity in their feelings. I couldn’t help but feel happiness from the clear affection I felt, even when just sitting quietly.
If others feel the same way, then they already feel happy because of me. In that case, I had to protect their happiness somehow.
It wasn’t an obligation, but a choice I made, and because it was my choice, I didn’t want to break the current happiness of the five people.
Yet, the more Eunhi felt happy being with me, the heavier my heart became.
“How do you feel when you’re with me?”
Eunhi asked me with a slight uncertainty in her small voice. Her face, which was full of smiles just moments ago, now held a hint of worry. To avoid showing my own worry in front of her, I kissed her moist lips while smiling and looking straight at her.
“I’m happy when I’m with you too.”
It was genuine. This wasn’t just a statement to resolve the situation; I genuinely felt happy when I was with Eunhi, so I conveyed my feelings to her.
Eunhi buried her face in my embrace, feeling as if she was listening to my heartbeat. We stayed silently in the quiet early morning, feeling each other’s warmth.
In the afternoon the next day, I arrived at the arcade where I always go. SuA was already playing games inside, and since it was Friday afternoon, many people were scattered throughout.
“How many rounds have you played?”
As I approached SuA, who was currently dominating the opponent with the joystick, she replied with a short “fourth round.” I silently watched her until she finished the game, and soon after, the screen displayed “Win,” announcing her victory.
“No mercy.”
“Of course.”
SuA stretched and got up from her seat. The reason I came to the arcade wasn’t to play games. My destination was SuA’s house, and since she had an early meeting in the morning, she came to the arcade to play briefly before going home.
“Wanna play one more game?”
“If I go home, I’ll just lose anyway. Why bother here?”
Going home to play would mean my defeat was almost certain. I was already used to losing streaks at the arcade, and the thought of losing again at home after losing here didn’t appeal to me.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Let’s eat and then go. I’m hungry.”
“Okay.”
I grabbed SuA’s hand and we left the arcade. After deliberating what to eat, we entered a nearby restaurant and ordered our meals, waiting for them to arrive.
Then, I suddenly thought that if SuA, who had talked about the initial experiments with the hyper-humans, brought up the topic of the hyper-humans more easily, it might be easier to discuss it. So, I cautiously broached the subject.
“But, you know.”
SuA, who was watching a game video on her smartphone, lifted her head at my voice. Despite not minding the surrounding gazes, it felt a bit awkward to bring up the topic of the hyper-humans first. With a tense heart, I swallowed my saliva and spoke.
“The members of the group associated with the hyper-humans often change. Why is that?”
I had brought up the most troubling issue recently, and SuA, who had been quietly observing me as I suddenly brought up the topic of the hyper-humans, glanced back at her smartphone. Did she find it suspicious? Or was it uncomfortable to talk about the hyper-humans even if SuA said it?
Just as I thought this, SuA casually opened her mouth.
“I don’t know. Our team has been together for three years, but two members left five years ago, and it was called a transfer.”
According to SuA, two members left the HunterKillers, which had five members five years ago, and two years later, Yubin and Eunji joined. At that time, I didn’t care about the changes in the hyper-human team.
I only thought that with the change in members, a major revision of strategy might be necessary, but I hadn’t considered why people left, who replaced them, or the reasons behind such replacements.
“Did they go somewhere else?”
“For starters, yes. But since we haven’t been in contact after that, I don’t know what they’ve been doing.”
Seeing SuA speak calmly, I was sure she truly didn’t know. If something happened to them and SuA knew, she would have spoken without hesitation. SuA, who doesn’t dwell on past events unnecessarily, would be sad but wouldn’t hide it.
“So that’s it. You mentioned some kind of experiment before. What was that about?”
I wondered if I could hear more, but SuA’s gaze, which had been fixed on her phone, turned back to me. Despite having done nothing wrong, I felt my body shrink as her gaze fixed on me.
“Strange? You brought up everything about the hyper-humans.”
Since I intentionally avoided bringing up the topic of the hyper-humans, fearing it might provide an opportunity for my identity to be revealed, it wasn’t strange for SuA to feel unfamiliar with the sudden talk about the hyper-humans.
“Just a bit curious. It’s about your girlfriend, right?”
At the mention of girlfriend, SuA’s eyebrows twitched, and she opened her mouth as if to start a conversation, but closed it and frowned.
“I’ll tell you later.”
I couldn’t tell whether she didn’t want to talk about the experiment or was hesitant due to the restaurant setting, but regardless, I didn’t push further.
“Alright.”
By then, the food had arrived, and we ate our lunch at the restaurant before leaving.
“…”
As we started walking towards the subway station with our hands clasped, I suddenly stopped.
“Why?”
When SuA saw me abruptly stop, she looked at me with concern, and I laughed awkwardly, thinking of something.
“Just need to drop by somewhere quickly. Can you wait at the station?”
“We can go together, right?”
“No, it’ll be quick. Just wait at the station.”
“…Alright.”
Feeling somewhat awkward, SuA let go of my hand and headed towards the station first. I quickly ran off, weaving through pedestrians to reach a secluded alley. No one was inside.
“…”
Quietly lowering my body, I examined the ground. Fresh footprints on the dirt led into the alley.
They didn’t head straight into the alley but paused at a spot outside before hurriedly moving inward.
“What is it?”
The trail of the footprints faded quickly, but the unease I felt when meeting Hayang a few days ago and Eunji yesterday confirmed that it wasn’t just my heightened sensitivity.
“Who’s there?”
Someone is watching me.
