Luche found out that Ati was involved, and I thought the process of reporting the events from before would become dramatically different, but unexpectedly, nothing like that happened.
First, Luche got off the bus and went up to the office, and just as I was about to report, Luche said,
“I’m done for today.”
In fact, there wasn’t anything more to report about Luche’s girlfriends. If I continued, it would have entered a personal realm, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell Luche about that.
It wasn’t because of an old connection with Luche; it was because there were personal aspects between me and the girlfriends that I couldn’t share with anyone.
“Excuse me?”
Even though I didn’t expect Luche to immediately say “go home,” my habitual polite speech came out before realizing Luche was Ati.
Of course, Luche sharply looked at me, and noticing the polite speech, I cleared my throat to correct it.
“Is it okay if we just go home now?”
“Yeah. We were on break anyway. I’ll ask if I need anything later.”
“Alright.”
Meeting Luche and reporting to her made me forget that I was currently on break, not on duty.
Nodding in agreement with her words, I prepared to leave after saying goodbye. Just as I was about to do so, Luche, who had been rummaging through her drawer, approached me with a small notebook and showed me its contents.
“It’s been a while.”
The photo inside showed me and Luche from twenty years ago, or rather, Luche and Ati together. It was the last photo taken when she left the Sixth Fleet, and I was surprised and delighted to find out she still had this photo all these years.
Although Luche looked different now, seeing the photo alongside her made it clear that Ati’s appearance was somewhat visible.
“Do you remember how Theo and Klugger teased us back then?”
“What did they say?”
“They asked if the black-haired girl was our daughter.”
Back when we were in the Sixth Fleet, there was a rumor that Seira and I were a couple. During that time, a dark-haired girl who resembled me when I was calm and Seira when she was angry appeared, and everyone who knew we were close was quite surprised.
“I know. Back then, I didn’t think much of it and ignored it…”
Watching Luche trail off, I wondered what she had to say, and she clicked her tongue while looking at the photo.
“I should have killed Seira’s spirit back then.”
Even back then, the relationship between Luche and Seira was not good. From the start, there were signs of things going wrong, and I thought it would get better over time, but it only got worse.
“But this photo was taken by Seira.”
“A photo can be taken by anyone who was there.”
The relationship between Luche and Seira was still not good. I thought maybe their personalities didn’t match, but knowing Luche was Ati made me see it as a long-standing relationship.
To ease the tension, I smoothed down Luche’s hair, and her furrowed brows relaxed. While I hoped they would become friends, I just wanted them to stop fighting.
“Hold on. So, when the team was reorganized, you singled me out not because of my performance?”
“Of course not. Which team leader would take a subordinate with disciplinary records into a new team?”
I finally understood why I was assigned to the Third Team.
Even though many team leaders in the Seoul Branch knew me, the authority of the team leader choosing members was significant, and it was unlikely that a typical team leader would use someone like me.
“I never imagined I’d find out this ten years later.”
Ten years had passed since I joined the Third Team, and I had forgotten about the reason for my assignment. But learning new things about Luche made me recall the past decade.
“Thanks to that, I got my first girlfriend.”
“Are we just going to talk openly now?”
Feeling no need to hide anything, I spoke openly, and Luche responded playfully, but there was a hint of tension in her tone.
“Sorry. I’ll buy you something delicious next time.”
I tried to soothe her before she could get angry, and Luche closed her eyes and smiled brightly. This smile, which I often saw, felt somewhat new now that I knew she was Ati.
“Can’t take back that promise? I’ll report everything to higher-ups about the HunterKiller if you pretend not to know later.”
“Alright.”
Although there was no threat about the girlfriends, I felt I had given Luche a weakness and smiled.
After finishing the conversation, I left headquarters to go home as Luche suggested. Strictly speaking, since it wasn’t work-related, it wasn’t really leaving work, but just heading home.
It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was high in the sky. I started thinking about what to do next.
Feeling the cold wind, I realized winter was coming soon and decided I needed to move quickly before winter arrived.
I considered visiting SuA’s place, but given the current situation with the girlfriends, it wouldn’t be easy.
While the landlord approved, the other girlfriends opposed, and I needed to find a way to resolve this. Should I just barge into SuA’s place or try to persuade the girlfriends?
For everything to go smoothly, persuading the girlfriends would be best.
And to persuade them, meeting in person would be ideal, so I took out my smartphone to check who I could contact.
Just then, a message came in, and right after, a call came through. The screen showed ‘Yura,’ and I answered immediately.
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Just stepped out and am about to come back in.”
“Really? Do you have plans for dinner?”
“Dinner?”
I had no plans, but I pretended to think by making a sound with pursed lips.
“No plans? Come to my place for dinner.”
But Yura, who already knew my schedule, wasn’t fooled by my pretense and told me her request before I could respond.
“Alright. Should I go when my shift ends?”
Since I was already caught, I stopped pretending and checked the time based on Yura’s straightforward reply. She confirmed it with a simple “Yes,” and knowing her working hours well, I agreed.
I should visit the cafe sometime and greet the manager and other part-timers.
After a brief conversation with Yura, I checked the text message that had come in before the call.
When Pink returned home after her shift and cleaned up, she hummed a tune while unpacking groceries and setting up a drinking session on the living room table.
Pink had drunk alone for a month without Ay, and during the week Ay returned, they hadn’t had proper drinking time.
Finally, it was time for Pink and Ay to drink together again, and Pink couldn’t stop smiling, remembering how good it felt to get drunk and have sex.
“Put out some wine and some soju.”
She placed various drinks she had bought on the table and set out some snacks. Though not an expert cook, she managed to prepare some simple snacks for the drinking session.
For Pink, drinking with her boyfriend was a special moment. She expected tonight to be a very pleasant evening and glanced at the closet in the bedroom.
Inside the closet was the suit she had given control to Ay last week. Initially, she thought about wearing it happily, but decided to wait until she was more excited and postponed any further fun activities.
With such thoughts, Pink quickly set up the usual drinking session with Ay in her hand.
“About time…”
Feeling the time had come, the doorbell rang like a ghost. Without checking the intercom, Pink jumped up from the sofa and headed to the door.
“Ay!”
“Hey. I’m here.”
Seeing Ay standing at the door, Pink’s face lit up with a smile. Ay greeted her with a smile as well, but there was an awkwardness in his expression.
Wondering if something was wrong, Pink lowered her gaze from Ay’s face and noticed someone behind him.
“Whoa?”
Recognizing the figure, Pink watched the person behind Ay, who turned his head slowly towards her from behind Ay.
“Pink. Hi.”
“Green?”
After work, I asked Ay to come home, and he brought Green along.
While I supported the harem and expected such situations, being visited without warning caught me off guard.
However, the surprise was short-lived. Green’s arrival meant Pink had another friend to drink with, so she stepped back slightly from the doorway.
“Come in.”
Pink had never had a drinking session with anyone other than Ay, but with a colleague who supported the harem, there was no tension, only excitement.
Ay saw something unusual in Pink’s eyes as she guided him and Green to the entrance.
“Another day, another death sentence.”
Without needing much thought, he could predict his future.
