Here’s the translated text:
The result was that I managed to send everyone home.
Even though I said I would finish for today, no one seemed to want to get up. Even though I said we should go back now, there was no sign of anyone moving.
I noticed that everyone was looking at Yubin’s reaction as I checked on each person one by one.
Since they had spent so much time with Yubin, they all felt that Yubin’s house was like their own home. They realized that Yubin had been living with me in this house for a long time.
Yubin didn’t intend to leave or get up, but after seeing the others watching her, she got up saying she would go first. The atmosphere changed from there.
While I could understand wanting to stay with them, I feared that without my presence, unnecessary conflicts might arise among them.
I decided that it was right to send everyone home today. As I suggested that everyone should head back to their respective homes, I naturally included Yubin in that suggestion.
Yubin seemed reluctant, but she understood that if she stayed, the other members wouldn’t leave either. She got up with a displeased look.
Only after everyone left did I remain alone at home. Although I couldn’t tell what conversations they had while returning, I hoped they didn’t fight. Perhaps they didn’t say anything until they parted ways.
HunterKiller members continued to be on my mind, but I decided to prioritize the immediate tasks at hand. Since the schedule was already set, there wasn’t much to organize.
In the morning, I planned to go to the hospital, and in the afternoon, I would visit headquarters to retrieve my smartphone.
However, since headquarters had changed, my smartphone might not be there. I hoped someone had found and kept it for me.
I woke up in the morning without realizing when I fell asleep.
During my absence of a month, the weather in Seoul had significantly changed. Winter had arrived, and it was no longer possible to walk around in thin clothes, so I took out my coat from deep within my closet.
It wasn’t extremely cold that I needed thick winter clothing, but it was cold enough that going outside without proper attire was difficult.
After washing up, I put on the clothes I had taken out and wore a hat I rarely used, along with a mask. Due to the stress of being followed by the guerrilla team just a month ago, I decided to cover my face as a precaution.
Although the likelihood of the guerrilla team appearing immediately was low, it couldn’t hurt to be careful.
As I stepped outside, the cold air hit my face. I thought about how it would be even colder if December came. Just then, I met someone in front of my house.
It was a woman wearing a light ivory-colored training suit and a black hat pulled down, with a mask on her face. Even though I could only see her eyes through the hat and mask, I knew who she was.
“Disguise?”
“You’re also wrapped up, so what?”
She hadn’t been told when I would come out, yet Yubin was waiting outside in the cold weather.
“What happened this morning?”
Although she was dressed in a training suit, she didn’t seem to be planning to exercise. She looked like she was ready for any sudden situation.
“I’m going to the hospital. I came because I was worried.”
Even though I said it was difficult today, it seemed inevitable that she would come since our house was nearby. However, it was somewhat troublesome. While going to the hospital was necessary, I was concerned about the attention it might draw, especially with Yubin accompanying me.
Simply sending Yubin away after she had waited since morning would make me feel uncomfortable, so I decided to go to the hospital with her.
“Okay. Let’s go together.”
She smiled and led the way, and Yubin slowly followed behind me. Despite walking with my girlfriend, I felt uneasy in many ways.
I hadn’t properly apologized to her for what happened a month ago, and last night, I had a long conversation with the other members at my place, discussing many things that were hard to summarize.
“Why are you going to the hospital?”
I had only mentioned going to the hospital, but I hadn’t explained the reason. Now that we had decided to go together, I felt there was no need to hide it anymore. However, instead of explaining here, I thought it would be better to talk about it there.
I didn’t want to bring up uncomfortable topics right now.
“I’ll explain when we get there.”
It was a difficult topic to explain to a complete stranger, so I postponed the explanation and responded in a subdued voice. Yubin didn’t ask further.
We didn’t talk during the journey. I felt sorry for her, and I couldn’t think of what to say that would make her feel better.
It was easier to bring up the topic when we were all together. Spending time alone with my girlfriend after a month wasn’t entirely pleasant.
After a few stops on the subway, we arrived at a large hospital, and I headed straight for the desk. Thinking I no longer needed to hide, I took off my hat and mask. Yubin, who was beside me, removed her mask after looking around the hospital.
Following the staff’s directions, we moved to a building next to the main building. I stood in front of a room with Yubin, and I hadn’t explained the reason for coming to the hospital until I knocked and entered.
On the bed inside, a young man with dark brown hair lay. An IV was inserted into his arm, and he had an oxygen mask on his face.
Next to the bed, a heart rate monitor showed regular lines.
“Older Brother?”
Yubin called out to me as I stood still, looking at him. I forced a smile as I looked at her.
I entered the ward and stood next to the bed. Yubin and I alternated between looking at the young man on the bed, my friend and colleague Klugger.
“Who is he?”
Klugger was unconscious and unable to regain consciousness. I stood silently, watching him, before slowly speaking.
“He’s a teammate from the same team. He hasn’t regained consciousness since that day’s incident, and he was moved here the day after I woke up…”
I couldn’t finish my explanation and sighed deeply.
When I first heard the news of my teammates’ deaths, I felt nothing. It was early morning, and I had just woken up when I received the news, so my mind was hazy, and I couldn’t feel any emotion.
A few days later, I visited the columbarium where their remains were kept. Spacystro had a custom similar to Korea, burning the deceased and storing the ashes in the columbarium.
Seeing their urns and photos in the columbarium, I felt a surge of sorrow and anger. It was heartbreaking that I couldn’t properly bid farewell to my comrades after ten years, and I was furious that Indigo and his team had caused us to lose our friends.
I had lost many comrades before. During my time in the maternal period, when we went to war, a comrade would often return as a body every few days.
During my time in space, we were always in dangerous situations, so many comrades died while on reconnaissance missions.
However, losing a comrade never became familiar to me. I didn’t want it to become familiar.
Even though it was just yesterday that we were laughing and talking together, I didn’t want to think that it couldn’t be helped.
“……”
Yubin was silent. It seemed she finally realized that I hadn’t explained why I came to the hospital.
I didn’t bring her here to give her a shock or make her feel any special emotion.
Now, I didn’t want to keep hiding various things related to me anymore.
So, I also informed her that one of the teammates was still unconscious due to that day’s incident.
“He was a hometown friend. We met at the training camp and lived together in the same unit before and after coming to Earth.”
Looking at Klugger lying motionless, negative emotions boiled up inside me again. Should I have killed Indigo that day, even if it meant facing punishment? Should I have beaten him up when we met at the bar during the gathering?
I know it’s too late to regret now, but I do regret it.
“Did you ever fight with him?”
From my side, Yubin cautiously spoke. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
“Yeah. This guy also got beaten up badly by Yubin. Do you remember the two who always charged first when the battle started, attacking Yubin first?”
The tactics of the three teams varied, and the positions of the soldiers rushing forward changed each time. But Yubin nodded as she recalled a few common points among those countless strategies.
“Yes, I remember.”
“They were me and this guy.”
Yubin was surprised and opened her eyes wide when she realized that one of the two people she fought with was me and the other was the young man lying on the bed. Her gaze shifted back to Klugger.
“We used to curse a lot before dating. Today, Red’s condition is really good. Today, Red is hitting harder than usual…”
Many conversations I had with Klugger came to mind. Yubin remained calm despite hearing that he had cursed at her and simply listened to my story.
“I don’t have many friends. This guy is one of the few.”
It was quite a shock for me to learn that Klugger, who had lived with me for a long time, was now in a state of unconsciousness. Seira might not have shown it, but she must have been shocked too.
I wondered if Esmeralda had visited Klugger’s ward once. The biggest thought that came to mind was that perhaps I could be the one lying on the bed instead of Klugger.
Whether it was fortunate or not, it wasn’t about whether I could stand up or not. If I had remained unconscious and unable to stand up, what would have happened to the HunterKiller members?
Would they have treated the events with me as a mere incident and gradually forgotten me, each finding their own path in life?
But given the conversation and atmosphere from yesterday, it didn’t seem likely.
“Shall we go now?”
“Huh? Can we leave so soon?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to check your face.”
I didn’t come to the hospital with any particular purpose. Klugger was in a coma, and I hadn’t been able to check his condition since I had been continuously on the spaceship.
I came to see my fallen comrade with my own eyes, and there was no need to stay any longer.
“Alright.”
Yubin went out of the ward first, and I confirmed Klugger’s appearance once more before leaving.
“Yubin!”
Just as I was about to move outside, a strange voice called out to Yubin in the hospital corridor, and we both turned our heads simultaneously.
There was a woman with long silver hair standing there, waving at Yubin from afar.
“It was really Yubin. I thought I was mistaken.”
“Silver? Why are you here?”
Although I was seeing her for the first time in person, I knew her face. Silver, another hyper-human like Yubin, was part of a different team at Seoul headquarters.
“I called out your name on purpose since we’re outside.”
Silver approached Yubin confidently, stopped abruptly when she was close, and looked at me.
“……Are you part of the group?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Oh! Your boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”
Silver greeted me cheerfully, and I responded with a small voice, meeting her eyes.
“My older brother is a bit shy… This is Silver, she’s a hyper-human like me.”
The voice with which I introduced Silver to me and revealed for the first time that I was a hyper-human had a peculiar tremor.
“Is it okay to say?”
“Yeah. I already know that you’re a hyper-human.”
Unable to expose my information to Silver, I avoided eye contact. Since Silver had something to discuss with Yubin, she continued their conversation.
“By the way, I heard Red is in a relationship too. I heard Blue has a boyfriend as well.”
My heart sank, and I felt sweat on my back. Yubin seemed to be carefully observing me, while Silver, unaware of the situation, continued speaking.
“Hey, Older Brother! This might take a while. Shall we wait outside?”
“Huh? Yeah, alright. I’ll wait outside. Take your time.”
It was a situation where a hyper-human and a Spacystro member were together, and since the relationships were complicated, it seemed best for me to let Yubin leave the hospital first.
I hurriedly bowed to Silver and left the scene. Even as I moved away, I could hear their voices in conversation.
“But what happened to Red at the hospital?”
“Oh, Older Brother knows someone who is hospitalized…”
I couldn’t hear any more of their conversation, and I left the hospital.
Although I had only been inside for less than 10 minutes, it felt like a lot had happened in such a short time.
On the surface, it was a typical large hospital, so it shouldn’t have been unusual to see anyone. But it was surprising that I encountered someone today. It seems I need to be cautious for a while.
With no way to contact Yubin, where should I wait for her?
“Ah!”
Without giving me a moment to compose myself, another voice called out to me. Who could it be? With no one from Earth I knew here, who would call me?
But recognizing the familiar voice, my rapidly beating heart calmed down quickly, and I turned my head towards the sound.
In a corner of the hospital, a young man with dark blue hair was smoking a cigarette and waved at me.
“Theo?”
I had known Theo for a long time, but he was now affiliated with a different group.
“Esmeralda?”
Next to him, Esmeralda was smoking a cigarette in civilian clothes.
Meeting Theo was a pleasant surprise, but why today?
Inside were two hyper-humans. Outside were a Spacystro officer and a soldier.
These two groups should not meet.
