Esmeralda. One of the things she valued most in her life was composure. No matter what moment came, maintaining composure and thinking calmly would lead to a breakthrough.
In fact, she had broken through many experiences she had gone through with calmness and composure. Although there were difficult times and painful moments in the process, she managed to resolve them in the end.
Putting out each other’s guilt while talking with A also greatly benefited from composure. Thanks to composure, she could listen to his story in detail and tell him about herself.
Of course, composure couldn’t do its part during the hot night after that, but it was enough for them to reach a point of empathy by holding each other.
After returning to headquarters and going to work. Esmeralda thought she could maintain her usual composure and tried to do so.
She knew she would see A when entering the office. So, she planned to greet him with her usual composed attitude and go to her room.
“Good.”
Let’s not be conscious of the deep time we spent together. We agreed to keep our usual appearances for a while, so let’s do that. With her mind prepared, Esmeralda entered the office, exchanged greetings with subordinates, and met A’s eyes.
Her heart pounded heavily. She held his gaze firmly, greeted him calmly, and hurriedly walked into the room.
Nothing had changed in the unchanged room except for Esmeralda herself. She couldn’t calm her rapidly beating heart even when the door closed.
No matter how hard she tried not to, A’s figure stood out more clearly than anyone else’s. No matter how much she tried not to think about it, memories of the hot night they spent together came to mind. His words, his gaze, every gesture he made towards her came back to her.
The more she tried not to recall that day, the clearer those memories became, leaving Esmeralda unable to calm herself.
“Calm down. Calm down.”
So preoccupied was she that she failed to exchange greetings with her fellow and long-time friend, Angelique, who was beside A. She wondered if he noticed her unusual behavior.
She immediately wanted to go out and listen to what A and Angelique were talking about, worrying if they were discussing her.
However, rushing out of the room right away and then coming back out seemed too awkward. Esmeralda couldn’t bring herself to leave the room, feeling that any action would seem awkward.
It felt even more awkward knowing that Angelique and A were casually chatting, especially since Angelique knew most of the situation involving Luche and Siera, including herself.
The only thing they didn’t know was that A and Esmeralda had crossed the front line on a reconnaissance mission. Even though A wouldn’t openly talk about keeping up appearances, she still felt anxious about it.
“Calm down. Esmeralda. Calm down.”
While she wasn’t speaking to herself, she felt she needed to say something to soothe her tense self. She calmed her rapidly beating heart and took a deep breath, trying to settle her racing pulse.
“This will make people misunderstand.”
She took another deep breath. The tension seemed to ease, and Esmeralda sat down.
No matter how much A bothered her, she had work to do. As a team leader, she had done much and would continue to do so. She decided to focus more on her work and regain her composure quickly.
Esmeralda’s demeanor as she sat down and worked looked no different from usual.
Like a sturdy tree standing firm against the wind, she unemotionally checked the incoming and outgoing data on her computer.
There was nothing new from higher-ups regarding the last report. Feeling frustrated at the uncertainty of whether the operation’s success would result in rewards or punishment for missed reports, A wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
Luche, her direct superior, also felt frustrated, and so did Esmeralda. Regardless, there had been a response from above, and it was in a state of suspension. It wasn’t a situation where everything could be handled easily.
Therefore, they decided to give A a task that he could focus on now. Although it might be burdensome, she thought it was better than just waiting idly.
Even though A had girlfriends to take care of him, the team leaders, who had watched over him for much longer than A’s girlfriends, couldn’t fully trust the HunterKiller team.
Though they had cooperated in operations, they were still enemies both past and present.
Their relationship lacked trust, and just participating in an operation didn’t suddenly build that trust.
Regardless of how much A trusted and liked his girlfriends, the team leaders couldn’t fully trust the HunterKiller team.
“It seems like they’re going to observe this training until the confrontation is suspended.”
The reason they entrusted A with designing the training wasn’t just to give him a task to focus on. The directive from above was to halt confrontations. Therefore, what he did outside of that didn’t matter.
The higher-ups must have known that the Seoul branch was preparing for training. While they didn’t review each branch’s schedule individually, Esmeralda was confident they had confirmed it, given the importance of the matter.
They assigned A the design of the training as if they were observing the situation until the training ended. Though it worried her that A hadn’t led any operations before, she decided to trust him due to his extensive experience and direct leadership.
However, she didn’t want to burden him with this information yet.
No matter what kind of training A designed, she intended to faithfully execute it as a team leader and achieve tangible results. This way, even if she faced disciplinary action for missing reports, she hoped it would be somewhat mitigated.
Although her girlfriends’ trust wasn’t absolute, A’s expressions had noticeably softened since spending time with them. It seemed he had developed the habit of smiling, and his rigid expression had become softer, something Esmeralda remembered from a long time ago.
While she was annoyed that it wasn’t her presence that made him soft, she didn’t want to ruin his happiness.
Moreover, since they hadn’t discussed their future after their intense night together, it was necessary to clarify their relationship with A.
“Are you busy?”
Esmeralda looked up from her computer screen at the sudden voice.
Angelique peeked in through the slightly open door. Checking her watch, she realized quite some time had passed.
“Huh? No. Why?”
“I knocked, but you didn’t answer.”
With her usual bright expression, Angelique entered the room, and Esmeralda was concerned about her, thinking she had just come back from being with A.
“What’s the matter?”
“Just went to the cafe with A and talked a bit.”
“Ah, I see.”
While Esmeralda was lost in thought inside the room, Angelique had gone to the headquarters cafe with A and spent some time talking. Realizing how much time had passed, Esmeralda stared intently at Angelique as she sat on the sofa.
“Is your stare too intense? Do you really want to hear this?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Eager to hear the conversation between Angelique and A, she stared intensely at Angelique, who smiled as if she would burn under such a hot gaze.
“We didn’t have any special conversation. I was just curious because Siera has been acting strange lately.”
“Siera?”
Esmeralda hadn’t had the chance to check Siera’s condition. From preparations for training to the reconnaissance mission, including what happened during the reconnaissance.
Esmeralda was so preoccupied with figuring out what to do with A that she had no time to consider others. Realizing she was far from composed, Esmeralda sighed.
“Yes. She seems to be very cautious. Her gaze is also uneasy.”
“So, what happened between A and her?”
Angelique explained in detail the conversation she had with A. Knowing that Siera and A had recently resolved their strained relationship, Esmeralda nodded and recalled their conversation.
A hadn’t said much about Siera, which Esmeralda understood well. Both A and Esmeralda hadn’t anticipated what would happen during the reconnaissance mission, and discussing their own feelings was already overwhelming. Discussing Siera’s situation was out of the question.
“Thank goodness. They finally understood each other’s thoughts, even if it’s late.”
Though her situation differed, Esmeralda felt relieved that Siera had finally voiced her long-held thoughts, just like her.
Seeing Siera struggle, she felt proud that she had taken a step forward. Although she hadn’t confessed her feelings to A yet, she believed it would help improve their relationship.
“…”
Angelique fell silent after finishing her talk about Siera, and now she was looking at Esmeralda with a heated gaze, the opposite of before.
Unable to properly see Angelique’s intense gaze due to discomfort, Esmeralda briefly avoided her eyes but then realized she had no reason to avoid her and asked.
“Why?”
“Has anything happened to you, Esmeralda?”
At her question, Esmeralda was speechless. There was certainly a big issue she couldn’t explain to A. While explaining would make the story long, Esmeralda knew Angelique had already guessed to some extent from the moment she asked.
Angelique was perceptive and good at reading atmospheres. Many people relied on and respected her, but sometimes she could understand situations with an unnervingly quick intuition.
“…”
She didn’t respond immediately. Knowing that the longer she took, the more Angelique would be convinced, she hesitated despite knowing this.
She pondered how best to explain, but no matter how she put it, Angelique would likely find the answer. Thus, Esmeralda decided to be honest.
“When we talked during the reconnaissance mission, he mentioned feeling guilty about something from the past.”
Intently watching Esmeralda, Angelique waited silently for her to continue after she started speaking.
“He felt he couldn’t protect something that could have made him happier. He didn’t realize he was that troubled. Even if they had a real marriage instead of just a paper one, he wouldn’t have been happy.”
“That’s just how A is.”
Angelique understood both Esmeralda’s and A’s perspectives. Both were dear to her, having spent a long time together.
“So?”
Esmeralda averted her gaze, not wanting to show her blushing face.
When Luche and Siera talked about A, she had observed from behind. Now, she couldn’t tell A how she wanted to relive old times with him.
Angelique smiled.
“It worked out well.”
Esmeralda felt her face burning, almost as if it were on fire. Angelique’s brief comment told her that she understood all the circumstances, and she couldn’t hide her embarrassment at having her deepest secret revealed to her closest friend.
“Ahem! Anyway, that’s how it is. But until the training ends, we’ll act as usual.”
Esmeralda, who had spoken about her plans for the near future, glared at Angelique.
“How did you know?”
“Your actions were different from usual. Should I say I sensed it?”
The moment she met A in the office, Angelique might have noticed, realizing Esmeralda’s situation. Knowing Angelique had already predicted the situation to some extent, Esmeralda sighed, realizing she couldn’t hide the truth.
“What about you, Angelique? Did nothing happen with A?”
Though they never directly said it, Esmeralda and Angelique knew what A meant to each other. They had used various excuses like the passage of time and age difference, but they couldn’t completely erase their feelings.
“I didn’t have anything happen. And I’m different from the three of you. I don’t want to be just friends with A.”
Esmeralda thought she couldn’t hide the truth from Angelique. However, the same was true for Angelique. She couldn’t hide her true feelings from Esmeralda either.
No matter how hard they tried to hide, they already knew too much about each other.
Angelique was quick to notice and read the atmosphere, and so was Esmeralda, their best friend.
“Trying to dodge with that kind of excuse again?”
“…Well, I am a bit different.”
Esmeralda subconsciously knew Angelique thought she was different.
Hearing that, all she could do was sigh, still glaring at Angelique.
“Do you need a deeper explanation? I don’t think you’re that different.”
“But all three of us have a special connection with A. I am quite different. Just watching from afar…”
“I think that watching for this long makes it a special connection.”
Angelique continued to avoid Esmeralda’s gaze, thinking she didn’t fit the category.
Esmeralda sighed again, staring intently at Angelique.
“You confirmed what happened with me. You asked about what happened with Siera. Wasn’t that to get closer to A?”
“…How did you know?”
“How could I know? It’s just a feeling.”
Realizing she couldn’t hide it, Angelique smiled awkwardly and asked, and Esmeralda responded, as if questioning why she was asking.
