Theo, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, was glad to meet, but there was no time to revel in joy. I approached the two people smoking in the smoking area and bowed to greet Esmeralda.
“Hello, Esmeralda. Did you come alone?”
Since I was affiliated with the Spacystro Army, I had to hide my identity externally, so when I met a superior outside, I didn’t salute.
As Esmeralda, who had been smoking, puffed out smoke and answered me, “Yeah. I’ve been busy for a while now, but finally have some free time. I came here to check on Klugger’s condition, along with Theo.”
Her gaze shifted to Theo, who seemed to have finished his cigarette as he shook off the butt and threw it away.
“I’m about to die from moving the headquarters. There’s a lot to do, but no one.”
The Spacystro Seoul Headquarters was still in the process of moving. Although I didn’t know the current progress, it seemed that a considerable amount of time had been spent because the internal construction of the moving headquarters was being handled by the Seoul Headquarters itself.
After Theo was newly assigned to the Seoul Branch and continued working, it seemed like they finally had some free time and came together to visit Klugger, as Esmeralda had said.
“Coming to the Seoul Branch means you’re assigned to Team 3, right?”
Team 3 had seen a decrease in personnel due to the guerrilla team’s terrorist activities, and although they knew new members were coming, they didn’t know who specifically.
The fact that Theo was present meant he had joined Team 3. So, after a long time, Theo, Klugger, and I formed a team together.
“Yeah. Klugger is lying down, but it feels nostalgic seeing all three of us on the same team.”
“Don’t cause any accidents this time. Cleaning up after your accidents isn’t easy.”
Listening to Theo, Esmeralda scolded him with a teasing tone, and both Theo and I laughed to ease the situation.
While Theo was genuinely smiling at past memories, I couldn’t afford to relax.
Currently, inside the hospital, there were Yubin and Silver from the SpecialForce team.
Although Theo had just arrived at the Seoul Branch and didn’t know them, Esmeralda did.
As the team leader, she practically led all the teams, so she was well-informed about the hyper-humans within Seoul.
She may not have known their personal details, but she knew their faces and basic information.
Above all, the main adversary of the Spacystro Seoul Branch Team 1, which Esmeralda led, was the SpecialForce team.
Silver also knew Esmeralda, and Esmeralda knew Silver, so if they met, who knows what kind of situation would unfold.
While fighting was against the rules, if Silver found out that a hyper-human patient was hospitalized here, the Earth Defense Union might investigate the hospital.
Furthermore, with Yubin there, it was a perfect situation where both Silver and Esmeralda could find out about Yubin and I being a couple.
Finally, the last place we parted ways was in front of Klugger’s hospital room, and if they were still talking there, we would inevitably meet.
I needed to find a way to avoid meeting. But I had no means to contact Yubin.
Before going to the new headquarters and finding a smartphone to contact her, it was clear that we would meet.
Not only did I not want to leave this spot, but if I left and those two entered the hospital, we might meet immediately, so I had to think hard and come up with a solution here.
“You’re on your way back from visiting Klugger?”
“Yeah. I just arrived in Seoul yesterday. I was ordered to rest for now, but I thought I should check on Klugger’s condition when I have some free time, so I came.”
“Oh? Speaking of which, I had something to give you when I saw you.”
While thinking about how to avoid meeting Silver, Esmeralda, and Theo, I noticed Theo rummaging through his bag.
A ray of light came down.
What Theo pulled out of his bag was none other than my smartphone.
“I found this while preparing for the move. You said it belonged to Team 3’s leader, so I kept it safe.”
“Hey. Thanks. I was actually planning to go to the headquarters to get this.”
This secured a means for me to contact Yubin. As soon as I received the smartphone, I turned on the screen, and it seemed Theo had already charged it, as the battery was full.
“So, you and Esmeralda are going to visit Klugger now?”
“Yeah. What are you going to do?”
“Well… I was going to head back, but since we’re meeting, I’ll join you too.”
Just having a means to contact didn’t mean I could simply turn around and warn Yubin. The best course of action was to directly enter and observe the situation to prevent a meeting.
“Before that, can I make a quick call?”
“Sure. I’ll wait here, so take your time.”
I bowed to Esmeralda and went a bit further from the smoking area, then immediately called Yubin.
The moment of the ringing felt so long, even though I had just made the call, I felt anxious that she wasn’t answering.
And then,
“Hello?”
Yubin, who knew I didn’t have my smartphone, answered with a surprised voice.
“Yubin. It’s me. Are you still in front of the hospital room?”
“Yeah. But, didn’t you say just now that you don’t have your phone?”
I decided to explain as succinctly as possible, postponing detailed explanations for later.
“A colleague and I met earlier, and he brought my phone.”
This explanation also conveyed to Yubin that ‘there’s a Spacystro soldier at the hospital entrance,’ and Yubin, who is sharp, understood the situation instantly.
“Uh… Oh. So?”
It seemed Silver was right next to her, so she couldn’t ask specific questions and quickly assessed the situation between Yubin and me.
“Team Leader is here too. We were about to go to that room just now, so if we go up now, we’ll definitely meet. Can you and Silver step aside for a bit?”
“Ugh… Alright.”
A sigh, implying frustration, was followed by a brief response, and the call ended.
I calmed my trembling heart and took a deep breath before heading toward where Esmeralda and Theo were.
Now, all that was left was to go in, and I could only trust Yubin.
Red hung up the call and glanced at Silver beside her, who tilted her head.
“Your boyfriend?”
“Yeah. I just met someone I know outside and will be chatting for a bit.”
Upon hearing the situation outside from A, Red felt a chill down her spine.
The request for Silver to step aside briefly made it clear what she intended without needing deep consideration.
The nearby staircase to the ward was close to the entrance of the hospital annex, and there was no reason for people coming up or going down to use another staircase unnecessarily.
In other words, if they ended the conversation here, Silver would likely go down via the nearby staircase, and it was obvious she would encounter the Spacystro executives and soldiers coming up.
“How about we talk in the lounge for a bit?”
There was only one option: avoid them by going to a higher floor lounge.
However, despite proposing to talk, Red felt awkward saying it.
Until a few months ago, Red had poor communication within the team, so it was unlikely she had close ties with members of other teams. Blue had some rapport with the SpecialForce team members due to their longer involvement in hyper-human activities, but Red did not.
Fortunately, the silver lining was that Silver, who is proactive and gets along well with people, was the one she encountered.
If it had been another member of the team she met in the hospital, Red would have likely ignored her even if she saw her.
“Sure. That works for me.”
Silver readily accepted Red’s suggestion and smiled, then they headed to the lounge on the upper floor together.
With the front of the ward empty, all that was left was for A to bring the Spacystro members into the ward.
However, although they came to the lounge under the pretext of talking, Red couldn’t think of anything good to say. Since Red didn’t know much about the other team members, she couldn’t possibly know about Silver’s interests or personal matters.
Thankfully, Silver provided the opening.
“How is the atmosphere in the HunterKiller team? I haven’t met them since the Guerrilla team incident, so I don’t know what it’s like.”
Thinking about the team atmosphere, Red recalled yesterday’s events with an awkward smile.
She couldn’t tell Silver, “Our team is currently fighting five members over one man, and he is a Spacystro soldier.”
Excluding personal matters, thinking about the overall team atmosphere, Red didn’t feel particularly positive.
“It’s not great. After all, it was a big incident, and we ran into executives close by.”
“It must be tough.”
“The people helping us are the ones working harder.”
Even though there had been no exchanges between teams in the past month, Red knew that the SpecialForce team was covering for the vacant positions in the HunterKiller team.
However, Red had forgotten that the SpecialForce team had been handling a lot of work due to the lack of proper mental state in the past month, and realizing this again when encountering Silver.
“There were so many reporters at the headquarters… Oh, I met Green in the middle. How is Green doing? He didn’t look well when I met him.”
Hearing about the team member from Silver, Red recalled how Green looked the previous day. While meeting A was good, Green was the quietest among those gathered in A’s room, and yesterday, due to the chaotic situation, Red couldn’t pay much attention to Green.
Still, it was clear that Green’s condition wasn’t entirely fine.
“He seems better lately.”
Red couldn’t worry Silver by telling her that their team members weren’t doing well, so she vaguely said that Green’s condition wasn’t bad.
“That’s a relief. Even though there’s little team interaction, I was worried about him being in such a situation.”
Seemingly relieved, Silver relaxed her shoulders slightly.
It was already common knowledge within that the Guerrilla team had attacked the Spacystro team on the day of the Olympic Bridge bombing.
Nobody knew why they chose Team 3 for the attack, but it was well-known that Indigo lost an arm as revenge for the attack.
Regardless of the hostile relationship, Spacystro never engaged in underhanded tactics or caused casualties, and the Guerrilla team’s attack, along with the hyper-human causing such large-scale damage, was well-known.
Lastly, the fact that the HunterKiller team was there was a significant concern for Silver.
“Thanks for worrying. We haven’t properly met in a month, but everyone seems to have improved when we met recently, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Red assumed that others were concerned about the mental shock from the shocking scene, and even though she wasn’t sure if the members were really doing better, she said it to reassure Silver.
“Yeah. It would be great if everyone returned safely to the field.”
They began discussing various topics starting with the members’ stories.
They talked about the atmosphere at the headquarters over the past month, how many reporters had come and gone.
Through her conversation with Silver, Red learned a few new things.
First, the official disbandment of the Guerrilla team, and the deployment of new hyper-humans to maintain the confrontation structure, was announced.
Although it was expected, the director opposed it.
But due to the severe crimes committed by members including Indigo, they couldn’t bury the past mistakes as they used to.
Even though new people were coming, Red wasn’t particularly interested in the new hyper-humans. There was no significance in who was coming since there had been no smooth communication with other teams.
Fortunately, the annoying Guerrilla team members were disappearing.
Without distinction, whether civilians or hyper-humans, the arrogant attitude and persistent sexual harassment were gone, which was truly joyful.
For the first time, Red got to hear about the atmosphere of another team. The SpecialForce team was as excellent as the HunterKiller team, and Red knew that part, but she didn’t know much about the internal atmosphere.
They were acquaintances who exchanged polite greetings but never became closer. Thus, it was surprising for Red when Silver greeted her upon accidentally spotting her in the hospital.
The more they talked, the more Red realized that Silver cared about other team members at the same headquarters, and she felt both joy and gratitude.
Their lengthy conversation continued, and Red’s smartphone rang.
“Hello?”
The caller was none other than A, informing that the executives and soldiers from the hospital had returned. Red acknowledged and hung up, mentioning the conversation to Silver, who was watching her.
“My brother is saying it’s time to head back.”
“Oh? Be careful on your way back. I need to head to the headquarters too.”
“Yeah. See you soon at the headquarters.”
Due to the lengthy conversation, there was no lingering sadness when they parted, and they exchanged goodbyes before descending to the first floor.
Red spotted A standing in front of the hospital and was anxious about possibly meeting, so she approached him, wiping his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief from his bag.
“Wash up before leaving.”
“I didn’t have the mental state for that.”
Though the situation was easier to handle than anticipated, it was tense because there was a chance of meeting. Once the situation was resolved, the tension eased.
When Red first arrived at the hospital and entered the room where someone she didn’t know was lying, she felt uncomfortable with A.
Having a month-long gap and learning many truths on the first day after the gap, Red didn’t know what to say when meeting today.
But after meeting Silver and talking with her, Red felt less tense when with A. Ultimately, she felt more at ease compared to when she and A left the ward earlier.
Perhaps A felt the same way, as Red’s discomfort seemed to have lessened when he looked at her again.
Despite an awkward smile, Red didn’t feel uncomfortable.
“But why is a Spacystro soldier hospitalized here, and the team leader is also visiting?”
“I… there’s a lot to explain.”
“Then let’s go somewhere and talk.”
There was much to explain and listen to, so they decided to move elsewhere.
Just as they were about to move, Red extended her hand to A.
Until they came to the hospital, they hadn’t had proper conversations, nor did they hold hands, so A was startled when he saw her extending her hand.
“Haven’t you grabbed yet?”
“Let’s grab.”
Despite feeling uncomfortable, the fact that Red and Yubin were my girlfriend remained unchanged.
Thinking this, A took Red’s hand and headed to a cafe to continue the explanation from yesterday.
Although Red was surprised to learn that the hospital was operated by Spacystro, she believed in A’s explanation and accepted everything she heard.
“But is it okay to share the time equally?”
“Didn’t I say it yesterday? Of course, it’s not okay.”
Yubin’s opinion on monopolizing me hadn’t changed. Proposing polygamy was out of the question.
“I just didn’t want to see you struggle anymore because of my stubbornness.”
Hearing Yubin’s words, I remembered that I had gotten angry at her that day.
Feeling guilty, I lashed out at her when I couldn’t handle my responsibilities, burdening Yubin instead.
Seeing my exhausted state, Yubin had been worried, and to spare me from showing such a difficult situation, she suggested dividing our time equally.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong, and I shouldn’t have lashed out.”
I didn’t want to dwell on the past argument with Yubin, so I immediately apologized.
Yubin immediately realized that I was apologizing for the argument from a month ago.
Silent for a moment, Yubin started speaking with a trembling voice.
“…I’m sorry too. I thought you’d want to break up if you knew I was a hyper-human…”
Yubin lowered her head.
I had already guessed why she hadn’t revealed her status as a hyper-human.
It was common knowledge that society viewed hyper-humans negatively, and revealing her identity to me, who had met her while concealing her status, was not an easy task.
“I concealed my identity for my own reasons too. If there’s any fault, it’s mine. At least I knew Yubin was a hyper-human.”
I knew this sounded presumptuous, but I needed to say this to Yubin, who felt guilty.
“Still, I do like you. Thanks to you, I’ve learned a lot.”
Yubin nodded silently, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
She then smiled playfully at me,
“But the person I like is not just me, but four others too.”
“Oh…”
Hearing this, I couldn’t say anything else.
Knowing that I had met all the HunterKiller members made me feel guilty, especially given that such behavior was unacceptable on Earth.
“I do feel like crying right now, honestly.”
Resting her chin on her hand and looking at me with tired eyes, she sighed deeply and smiled again.
“I’ll watch for a while. Take care for now. Got it?”
“Yes. I understand.”
Although she spoke gently, it was clear she hadn’t forgiven me. Despite the casual tone, she must have pondered deeply before saying this.
Since she said she would watch for a while, the first thing that came to mind was to act accordingly.
“How do we split the time evenly?”
“…I guess I need to contact the others first.”
“What about me?”
“Uh… Today…”
“Oh…”
Dividing the time equally meant that I could no longer meet anyone as I pleased. If I acted rashly, it could ruin the atmosphere among them prematurely. Honestly, it was risky, so I needed to think carefully and act accordingly.
Today, I met Yubin, and Yubin proposed dividing the time equally first. She realized today that the time she spent with me at the hospital was part of the divided time.
Considering the responsibilities I had ahead, it took quite a while before I could say, “I’ll meet someone else tomorrow.”
