I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the gaze fixed on me began. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t recall feeling it before. The first time I noticed it was when I was shopping with Hayang not too long ago.
Was that really the first time? Or had they been watching me even before that? What was certain was that the gaze wasn’t just observing me or the hyper-human girlfriend by my side. It was focused directly on me, surveilling me.
However, it didn’t seem like the person was professionally trained or experienced in surveillance, as they couldn’t entirely conceal their presence. Despite feeling extremely tired lately, I could still notice it, which made me think they hadn’t been watching me before the day I went shopping with Hayang.
Suddenly, I wondered if they had started monitoring me when I was with Hayang. If that was the first time they spotted me and began their surveillance, then I had noticed them relatively quickly.
The bigger issue was that if this surveillance continued, it would severely restrict my actions. Especially since I only go out to meet my hyper-human girlfriend or visit the Spacystro headquarters. If I were exposed in any situation, it could lead to serious problems.
Actually, it might have already been exposed. However, without any concrete evidence and only relying on a perceived footprint and intuition, I couldn’t definitively confirm that someone was watching me.
“Sigh…”
As I let out a deep sigh, Yura, who was drying the dishes and cups next to me, tilted her head and looked at me.
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh? No, just wondering when work will end.”
Unable to tell Yura about my current predicament, I brushed it off and continued doing the dishes. Yura, without any suspicion, resumed her task, and I kept thinking as I washed the dishes.
If the person surveilling me was still around today, there was a possibility they were near the cafe. The issue was that even if I spotted them, I couldn’t immediately identify them as the one watching me.
Facing someone whose face, age, or gender I didn’t know, there were too many possible escapes.
Attempting to gather enough information to close all those gaps could expose my true identity in the meantime.
If the person was related to hyper-humans, my situation could become even more precarious. The uncertainty was so overwhelming that I wished it were just someone I knew.
The only people I knew aside from my girlfriends were those from Spacystro, and while I wasn’t keen on it, I could use the excuse of gathering information by associating with the HunterKiller members.
However, that was unlikely. Someone who knew me wouldn’t surveil me while strategizing; they would have just asked me directly if something was wrong.
Therefore, the probability increased that they were related to a hyper-human, but could someone really have found out about me when I had kept my personal information concealed? Even if they started surveilling me when I was with Hayang, that would still be strange.
Having a boyfriend in HunterKiller’s Blue wouldn’t justify surveilling that boyfriend.
At that moment, the worst possible scenario came to mind.
What if it was someone else among my girlfriends? So far, I had only felt surveilled when I was with Hayang, Milky Way, and SuA.
If it were really one of my girlfriends, it would narrow down to Yubin or Yura, but I didn’t want to think that way. Moreover, since neither had shown any unusual behavior around me, it didn’t seem plausible that it was either of them.
“You don’t look so good today.”
“Maybe it’s because I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t fall asleep at night.”
Yura, who was drying a dish, put it down and reached out, placing the back of her hand on my forehead.
“No fever.”
She checked my temperature as a precaution, but nothing was out of the ordinary. My recent insomnia was due to overthinking my schedule and various other things, so it wasn’t likely that something was wrong with my body.
If anything, if there were issues, they should arise in the future. Not being able to sleep due to pain, but rather gradually weakening from lack of sleep.
“Maybe you should get checked out more thoroughly?”
With the back of her hand still on my forehead, she brought her forehead closer to mine and pressed them together. Despite all the overthinking and fatigue from lack of proper sleep, spending time with my girlfriend always boosted my spirits and made me feel better.
“You said we shouldn’t do this at the shop.”
Touching foreheads and staring into my eyes, Yura gave me a meaningful smile, and I couldn’t help but laugh at how obvious she was being.
“This isn’t a signal, I’m just doing it.”
“It wasn’t? That’s a shame.”
Always ready for sex, Yura often tried to initiate in the kitchen, and I had to constantly control her actions. Though we had done it in the warehouse before, even then, we were in danger of being caught. After that incident, I decided not to engage in the cafe anymore.
Simply put, having sex with my girlfriend during working hours in the cafe’s warehouse was high risk and just didn’t make sense.
Of course, after curbing Yura’s advances at the cafe, I would let loose at her place and explore each other’s bodies. Truthfully, when Yura used her body to seduce me at the cafe, it was hard to resist at times.
However, recently, due to feeling physically exhausted, I haven’t been pushing myself to have sex. I didn’t want my partner to be dissatisfied, and I was unsure of how my body would react, so I had to be cautious.
“Instead, let’s do it a lot when we get home today.”
“Promise?”
Her face lit up at the prospect of having a wild and enjoyable time at home, and she extended her pinky finger to which I linked mine.
“Yeah, promise.”
Seeing Yura’s bright smile made me feel how much she cherished our time together. Talking like this and thinking about each other filled me with happiness, but as soon as I turned away, I was back to overthinking.
What to do today? What about tomorrow? The day after, and beyond?
Though some daily routines repeated, even in the same atmosphere, situations changed slightly each day, just like people weren’t the same every day.
And in the ever-changing circumstances, I had to carefully examine everything, and even when speaking, I was always anxious about inadvertently exposing information about myself.
Of course, even with all the exhaustion, meeting with her still brought joy and happiness. It wasn’t just frustrating; the problem was my mood and body worked separately.
After finishing our shift, we changed our clothes, said goodbye to the manager, and walked out. As soon as we stepped outside, Yura linked her arm with mine, and we smiled at each other.
We walked for about 15 minutes towards Yura’s place, and when we were halfway there, I felt the gaze again.
“!”
I quickly turned my head and caught a glimpse of someone moving in the distance. Yura, sensing the gaze directed at us, also looked back.
“Who was that?”
“Yeah.”
Answering her question, I furrowed my brow and scrutinized the distance. The person who had disappeared didn’t reappear, but it was clear they were keeping a distance while watching me. As I looked into the distance, Yura glanced up at me.
“Since when?”
“Huh?”
“Since when have they been following us? It doesn’t seem like it’s just a day or two.”
Observing my reaction, Yura’s sharp gaze showed no wavering. As a hyper-human, Yura must have been conscious of others’ gazes. Even if she didn’t pay much attention now, there must have been times in the past where she had to be wary, making her more accustomed to it than me.
“Since I briefly went out earlier this week.”
With the truth already exposed, I could no longer hide it from Yura. Of course, I didn’t mention meeting Hayang. I couldn’t directly admit what I had done.
“They’re about 300 meters away, should we follow?”
“No, they’ve probably already fled.”
Though not professionally trained in surveillance, the person was undoubtedly fast. Yesterday, when I was with SuA, I sent her to the subway station first, then tried to follow the gaze, but the person had already escaped.
Though untrained, the way they secured a quick escape route and fled swiftly suggested they weren’t just an ordinary person.
Even if I ran at full speed, it would be hard to catch up. I couldn’t use my full physical abilities in front of Yura, and sending her away could lead to her accidentally revealing that I had been with Hayang, Milky Way, and SuA, which would be troublesome.
“Let’s just hurry home.”
“Okay.”
Agreeing with my suggestion, Yura released my arm, and we sprinted towards her place. The distance wasn’t far, so even at a normal human pace, it was manageable.
Yura kept up with my speed, occasionally glancing back to ensure we weren’t being followed, but there was no sign of pursuit after the person fled.
Once home, Yura asked who was following me, but since I didn’t know, there was nothing to say. I told her I’d felt this presence for some time and had been trying to confirm it occasionally.
After that, Yura didn’t inquire further. With no information and being unable to confirm anything, she knew persistent questioning wouldn’t solve anything.
Not too far in the past.
Silver, from the Earth Defense Union’s Seoul branch Special Force Team, had just exited the elevator. After confirming with Blue that she didn’t have a boyfriend, he headed towards their office. Finding it empty, he stepped out for a moment.
“White!”
He ran into White, who had just arrived at headquarters. They casually greeted each other, growing closer.
“Sorry, am I late? Where’s everyone else?”
“No one’s here yet. You’re not that late, so don’t worry.”
Smiling, they started a conversation and moved inside to escape the heat. Silver thought about how White had initiated the conversation with Blue and shared what he’d heard from her.
“About HunterKiller’s Blue.”
“Yeah.”
White, who had seen Blue leaving a furniture store with someone who appeared to be her boyfriend, was interested, wondering if Blue was preparing for marriage. She quickly reacted to Silver’s words.
“She’s not getting married.”
“Oh… really?”
Disappointed by the anticlimactic revelation, White’s excitement waned, but perked up again at Silver’s next words.
“But she does have a boyfriend.”
“Right? I knew it!”
Excited by the mention of a boyfriend, White started talking as if she’d thought so too. She enjoyed hearing about other people’s romantic lives. Or maybe not—most regular people wouldn’t find others’ love lives that entertaining.
Especially as a hyper-human, living in conditions not conducive to romance, she couldn’t help but be more interested in her colleagues’ relationships.
“Should we ask her about it later?”
“Don’t be too pushy.”
“I have some tact.”
The two continued chatting, eventually stepping inside the headquarters.
Meanwhile, Gainesboro from Team Guerrilla, exiting the headquarters, had clearly overheard their conversation.
‘Pointless chatter.’
Disinterested in other people’s love lives, Gainesboro casually dismissed their conversation and went his own way.
And a short while before that.
In a hospital room with white walls, the sound of shattering objects echoed. Outside, people in white coats ignored the familiar noise, and Gainesboro, who had coincidentally entered, wasn’t startled either.
Calmly, he opened the door to the source of the sound and stepped inside. Inside, a man with dark blue hair, his face wrapped in bandages, had his fist against the wall. The wall was slightly cracked, but the man’s fist appeared unscathed.
“You’ll aggravate your injuries.”
“Shut up! If you’re here to make pointless jokes, then leave.”
Indigo, who had been utterly defeated by Spacystro’s Team 3, was recovering at the hyper-human research institute. Memories of that defeat kept resurfacing, leading him to smash objects daily. Now, even the researchers and Gainesboro, who frequented the institute to check on him, were accustomed to his behavior.
“That’s harsh, asshle. I brought something you’d really enjoy.”
“What?”
Turning his head at Gainesboro’s meaningful words, Indigo saw several photos tossed onto the bed.
“What’s this?”
“Take a closer look.”
Examining the photos, Indigo found the woman in them familiar but couldn’t pinpoint anything unusual. As he scrutinized the images, Gainesboro silently watched him, and shortly after, Kaki entered the room.
“Look at this mess. Are you a thug?”
Mocking the chaotic state of the room, Kaki sat on a chair by the hospital bed. Indigo, finding nothing odd in the photos, furrowed his brow and glared at Gainesboro.
“What is this? If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
“The guy next to her. Doesn’t he look familiar?”
“Next to her?”
The photo showed Blue at a taxi stand outside a mall. Following Gainesboro’s words, Indigo checked the face of the man beside her.
He looked somewhat familiar, but Indigo couldn’t place him. As he pondered, a memory flashed through his mind.
“The bar?”
“Bingo.”
Indigo finally remembered—the man was one of the guys they had casually assaulted in the bar for fun. Smirking at the memory, Indigo looked at Gainesboro with a questioning gaze.
“But what does that have to do with me? So, the guy got beat up—what does that have to do with Blue?”
“That guy. He was with Red before.”
At Kaki’s intriguing comment, Indigo’s eyes widened.
“With Red? Where?”
“Saw them shopping near the station in the morning. Looked like they were involved.”
“You sure?”
“Do I look like I can’t recognize people?”
In the photo, Blue and the man looked like they deeply cared for each other. Hearing from Kaki that the man had previously been with Red, Indigo couldn’t suppress a grin.
For him, the misfortune and suffering of others were a source of joy. Indigo was the type of person who could sacrifice anyone for his own pleasure.
“Where’s the female researcher who usually works this shift?”
“Ah, I fuked her so hard in the ward that she got transferred to another department.”
Casually answering Kaki’s innocent question, Indigo spoke of his rape of the woman as if it were a badge of honor, devoid of any guilt.
“Take it easy. Remember the time you raped three women at the bar and got reported?”
This wasn’t the only issue. Having spent a long time with him, Gainesboro and Kaki had also absorbed his warped values. They casually mentioned the bar rapes without a hint of remorse.
“Damn it. So what? She should be grateful I fu*ked her. It was delicious.”
Still staring at the photos with a lecherous grin, Indigo licked his lips. Then, looking up at Gainesboro, he spoke in a voice filled with amusement.
“Gaines. Get the boys to tail this guy. If they notice anything suspicious, take photos and send them to me.”
“Already told them.”
At Gainesboro’s quick thinking, Indigo burst out laughing. Kaki, understanding what they were up to, cursed, “You psychos,” before leaving the ward, laughing.
