There are moments when memories can fade away after spending a passionate night with a girlfriend. When sharing happy times together, the wish for those moments to last forever often arises. Feeling each other’s warmth, one might eventually fall asleep and wake up to the morning.
“Huh?”
Waking up and opening my eyes, I frowned at the sunlight streaming into the bedroom. After wiping the sleep from my eyes, I saw SuA’s bedroom ceiling. Feeling the warmth under the blanket, I looked around. SuA and Hayang were still asleep, cuddled up to me. Although I had woken up, I couldn’t move, so I lay still and glanced at the clock on the wall.
10:00. It was still morning, not yet afternoon, and it didn’t feel like I had slept in too much. Just then, Hayang was the first to open her eyes.
“You’re awake?”
“Yeah. What time is it?”
“10:00.”
Hayang, who was used to waking up early, instinctively realized it was later than usual. Rubbing her eyes, she asked for the time. Upon hearing it was 10:00, she stretched and got up, causing the blanket to slide off.
“Yellow seems to be sleeping deeply?”
“It’s still early for her to wake up.”
Contrary to Hayang, SuA often stayed up late playing games, so she usually woke up much later. While she used to force herself up early to go to arcades, after we started dating, she preferred playing games at home, making her wake-up times even later.
With Hayang up, I could move, so I adjusted SuA to sleep comfortably and then kissed Hayang. The sweet morning kiss made us both smile naturally. Wondering if there were any messages, I looked around for my smartphone, only to recall I had left it in the living room yesterday after coming into the room with Hayang and SuA.
“It’s probably in the living room,” I thought. Just then, SuA, who seemed to be fast asleep, opened her eyes and stared at me.
“You’re awake?”
“Yeah.”
Her concise response came as she lay motionless, just watching me. A question mark appeared in my mind as I looked at her, realizing she wasn’t looking at me but at Hayang.
“?”
Turning my head, I saw Hayang, who also noticed SuA looking at her and tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
Without a word, Hayang asked why SuA was staring at her. I had a feeling SuA wouldn’t respond immediately, and as expected, SuA simply said, “Nothing,” and pulled the blanket over her head.
Just as she did, it seemed like I understood why she had been staring at Hayang. Fighting back a laugh, I slipped under the blanket.
“What’s up?”
Inside the blanket, I met SuA’s eyes, curled up, and kissed her immediately.
“!”
She tried to avoid it, but I kept my lips on hers, deepening the kiss until she calmed down. When I pulled back, her face was flushed. I touched her cheek and then came out of the blanket. Clearly, it was evident what had happened under there, and as soon as I emerged, Hayang kissed me.
“Shall we eat?”
“Sure.”
Washing up and lazing around, it was almost lunchtime, so we quickly got out of bed, took turns showering, and prepared our meal.
After eating, SuA went back to playing games on the living room sofa, while I sat Hayang on my lap and watched the two play.
“She’s really good.”
It was hard to believe she had just started playing yesterday, and I was certain I wouldn’t be able to beat her in a game now.
“Really? She’s good?”
“She’s much better than A.”
“Do you have to compare?”
“It’s the truth.”
Having no idea she had such a knack for gaming, Hayang asked, and SuA bluntly stated the fact. In a much improved atmosphere compared to yesterday, the two focused on their game. Watching them in awe, I thought about spending the evening with Yubin at home and decided to make contact. Looking around, I sought my smartphone.
I noticed it lying under the table in front of the sofa, but with Hayang sitting on my lap, it was hard to reach, so I decided to wait until this game ended.
While waiting for their game to finish, I remembered that both Hayang and SuA had expressed their desire to join Spacystro. Although not intentional, it seemed like a good opportunity to discuss it with them.
Hayang was pro-harem, while Sua was against it, but joining Spacystro was a different matter, so it didn’t come with the same reservations.
“Are you both still set on joining Spacystro?”
As beating around the bush would be tiresome, I got straight to the point. Both paused their game simultaneously and exchanged glances.
Seemingly askng each other, “You too?” their gazes then turned to me, silently awaiting my response. They exchanged looks once more, and Hayang was the first to speak up.
“Yes. I haven’t changed my mind.”
“…Me neither.”
Neither of them had changed their stance.
“Is it because Yellow wants to be with you that she’s considering Spacystro?”
Hayang asked SuA her reasons for wanting to join, but SuA provided no answer. Yet, her silence was affirmation enough.
“And Blue?”
Turning the question back to Hayang, I asked why she wanted to join Spacystro, which essentially meant, “I’m considering it for such reasons, what about you?”
Understanding my drift, Hayang smiled and replied, “Same here.”
“I’ve got a favor to ask of you both.”
The reason I inquired about their intentions was for a specific request, and as I brought it up, they abandoned their game to focus entirely on my words.
“I’ve been ordered to rest, but once I return to HQ, I’ll continue investigating the Hyper-humans. However, from both past findings and current data from the spaceship, I haven’t found any substantial information about them.”
I was seeking information about Hyper-humans. To ask this of them implied turning against Earth’s forces.
Simply put, a Hyper-human belonging to the Earth Defense Union defecting to Spacystro could be seen as betrayal, but there’s a significant difference between leaking information to Spacystro and not.
Of course, neither of them saw it as betraying Earth’s people, and knowing part of what they’ve been through, I didn’t feel it was betrayal either.
However, leaking internal information would change the gravity of the situation entirely. So, I didn’t plan to force it upon them.
“If it’s too much, it’s okay to decline.”
In essence, it was more to assess the possibility. Even when discussing with everyone, active HunterKiller members themselves were unaware of the location of the research laboratory within South Korea.
“What kind of information are you wanting?”
SuA, who had no lingering attachments to protecting Earth, was keen to assist, prompting her to ask what exact information I needed.
“Anything unreleased internal information.”
Initially, it was about perceptions of Hyper-humans, then about their fundamental investigations. But I hadn’t found concrete data providing clear answers and was unsure what exactly I needed.
“If you can share internal information on Hyper-humans, it would be great. I’ll organize more and discuss it later.”
To be honest, I wanted to inquire about the experiments conducted on Hyper-humans, but recalling the darkened expressions when such topics were raised among all of us, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
“Once you’ve organized your thoughts, share them. I’ll do my best to help,” I assured her.
“Okay.”
Having already decided to come to Spacystro, Hayang was also ready to assist. Knowing our girlfriends were eager to help lightened my mood significantly.
“We should discuss this with the others too.”
Given that Yura granted me control over the suit, there’s a possibility she might consider joining Spacystro. Although unsure about Milky Way and Yubin’s thoughts, discussing it seemed worthwhile, and I nodded in agreement to Hayang’s suggestion.
“Alright. I was planning to meet Yubin at her home anyway, so I’ll ask then.”
We decided to save the detailed discussions for Spacestrom for another time, so not to rush into many topics at once. Shortly after, the two resumed their game, and I took turns playing with them.
And indeed, it became apparent Hayang was better than me.
Additionally, SuA taunted me for being bad at the game.
Engrossed in our gaming session, evening approached, and I realized I hadn’t checked my phone yet. Grabbing it from the floor, I found the battery dead. The screen wouldn’t turn on.
“It’s about time to head home.”
“Red might get mad if you‘re late, so you better hurry.”
After spending a pleasant two days together, Hayang respected others spending time with me too. While SuA didn’t say much, she seemed agreeable to me meeting Yubin.
After tidying up, I left SuA’s place and headed home. It would’ve been ideal to have my phone charged, but instead, I decided to return home quickly and contact her from there.
After completing her assignment, shunning diverse views on Hyper-humans, Red left school, heading home lightly considering meeting A.
Having texted A upon leaving school yet receiving no reply suggested they were still with Blue and Yellow. Hoping they would share as joyful a time with her as they did with the others.
Initially, shocked and severely jealous upon discovering A’s relationships with the members, Red gradually acknowledged that only she was at a loss maintaining such jealousy.
A being an alien made reasoning futile, so she resolved to make the best of the time they could share.
“Even so, the lack of replies is too much.”
Sending one more text just in case but still getting no answer, Red neared A’s home.
“Has something happened?”
Remembering the prior accident involving A intensified her anxiety without contact. Then, realizing she could simply contact Blue or Yellow if A was unreachable, she called Blue.
“Red, you couldn’t reach A?”
Nearly arriving at A’s place, Blue instantly knew why Red had called.
“Right. They aren’t with you?”
“We were together earlier. A left to meet you.”
“Really?”
Upon hearing A had come to meet her, Red’s face lit up. But A’s lack of response increased her unease, which, in turn, Blue’s words settled.
“A’s phone died without charging. Probably will arrive soon if you wait at home.”
“Got it.”
All tension in Red dissipated, and hanging up, she entered the house with a lighter heart.
A hadn’t yet arrived, the room was dark and silent, so Red took off her shoes and waited for A’s return.
Approximately ten minutes later, footsteps were heard outside.
Within the multi-tenant building, footsteps weren’t odd, but these halted right in front of A’s door.
“Guess they’ve arrived.”
Muttering to herself, Red approached the door, hearing the keypad being pressed.
“Hey! Why haven’t you…”
As she opened the door, Red froze. It was neither A nor even a man standing there. Though unfamiliar, the face seemed somewhat known, and Red immediately recognized who she was.
Siera, having pressed the keypad and opened the door, stiffened at seeing Red inside A’s dwelling.
Instantly drawing their weapons, both clashed, with Siera pushing Red into the room first, starting a standoff.
In the nerve-racking silence, Siera’s entrance door slowly closed on its own.
