In a certain apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, a room not too spacious but suitable for two people was neatly organized, reflecting the owner’s personality.
Esmeralda entered with a bag containing some bought alcohol and opened the door. Following her, Angelique, who came as a guest, entered her room.
There was no feeling of unfamiliarity when she entered. Angelique had been to Esmeralda’s place several times before, and vice versa.
They had stayed together in Spacystro for a long time and were comrades since their days in the same unit before Spacystro. They were closer than most friends.
Many comrades didn’t survive; they died on the frontlines when they were still recruits. Only two remained, and the bond of being the only remaining comrade in this vast world could not be broken.
“Do you have anything to eat?”
“I planned to make something simple. I don’t eat much at home, so there isn’t much available.”
“That’s fine.”
The two, who had finished work, drove through the dark night and arrived at Esmeralda’s place. It wasn’t unusual or strange for them to share meals or have a drink together occasionally.
Neither of them particularly enjoyed drinking. When there was an office party, they would participate accordingly. If not, they wouldn’t. They drank moderately like ordinary people.
Even those who enjoyed drinking sometimes felt the urge to drink on certain days, and today was one of those days for the two of them.
There wasn’t any bad news or sadness. They just wanted to enjoy a drink with a friend after a long time, so they decided to have a simple gathering at home.
While Esmeralda was putting away the bought items in the refrigerator, Angelique took off her coat and placed it on one side. Since they were close, Esmeralda didn’t pay much attention to Angelique being there, and Angelique didn’t feel uncomfortable being at her place.
“Want anything to eat?”
“Make whatever you can. There’s not much prepared.”
“But I thought maybe there would be something.”
The atmosphere was quite different from what she displayed in front of subordinates. She completely let go of the tension she held and the weight she carried as a superior officer. They didn’t show any emotional expressions.
Although they were expressionless, it seemed to reveal their true selves more openly.
Esmeralda, standing in the kitchen, took out the sausages she bought and started frying them. Soon, the smell of fried sausages filled the house, and Angelique stretched on the sofa.
“How’s the water leak issue fixed?”
“It was repaired recently. It caused some trouble for a while.”
“This winter wasn’t too cold. But winter is still winter, I guess.”
“Were you too busy to even notice the cold?”
“Yeah. From the end of last year until recently, I’ve been quite busy.”
While chatting about trivial matters, Angelique picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. As she flipped through channels, a news segment appeared with a familiar face.
“HunterKiller.”
“Is it on TV?”
Hearing Angelique’s mutterings, Esmeralda peeked out from the kitchen. The news was reporting on the embezzlement scandal that had erupted under A’s leadership recently.
It also mentioned that the HunterKiller team would temporarily suspend competitive activities, and the expressions on both of their faces were not good.
“Everything gets reported. Even things they usually don’t care about.”
“That’s true.”
This time, it was Esmeralda who muttered to herself, and Angelique softly agreed. To them, HunterKiller was an enemy. Despite working together on operations, that fact hadn’t changed.
However, due to their long experience with invasions, they excelled in identifying planets under attack. Although the number of invasions wasn’t significantly different from A’s, the experience gained from their roles differed greatly.
As invaders, they understood the feelings of those being invaded each time. They knew this because they themselves had experienced invasions, and their homelands had been destroyed beyond recognition.
They knew how painful it was to lose one’s place of life and how heavy the burden was for those fighting to protect it.
Though they were enemies, they couldn’t understand the actions of isolating hyper-humans. They were the ones to be brought down, and they frequently clashed, so they had more interactions with them than anyone else.
There were times they didn’t exchange a word during battles, and they couldn’t be considered close despite fighting against each other. However, having spent a long time on Earth, they understood Earth’s situation well, which made it even harder to comprehend why those who fought to protect would point fingers.
“Let’s watch something else.”
Not wanting to listen to the media rambling about news they already knew, Esmeralda said, and Angelique nodded, changing the channel.
The new channel showed a variety show where people were laughing and playing around. With just a few clicks of the remote, they found themselves in a completely different world.
“Has the schedule for Team 3 this week been submitted?”
“Yeah. We’re planning to proceed with a match against SpecialForce Team. Our team doesn’t have any matches this week, so we should prepare for training.”
This was an extension of the content they saw briefly on the news. While HunterKiller temporarily suspended competitive activities, the Spacystro Team 3, which was handling it, now lacked a match opponent.
However, Team 3 had not been able to form proper teamwork since the personnel change, and Luche suggested changing the match opponent.
The team leaders accepted the proposal, and four teams affiliated with the Seoul Branch would take turns competing.
“Has Siera said anything? Is there news about the new Team Endurance? We’re waiting for a report since we haven’t conducted a match.”
“I haven’t heard anything either.”
In response to Esmeralda’s question, Angelique shrugged her shoulders and replied. “I see.” Esmeralda responded briefly, finished cooking, and no further work-related discussions followed.
They couldn’t avoid talking about work entirely, but they didn’t want to dwell on complicated matters after work. They had plenty to do anyway.
“How was the training ground?”
“It was great. There was a branch conducting training, so we could check all the facilities. Everything was fine. The accommodation was also good.”
“Did you sleep with A?”
With a teasing tone, Angelique asked, and Esmeralda turned to look at her. Seeing her slightly blushing, Angelique chuckled.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“…Of course, I am. It happened when I went to work.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s a good thing.”
Angelique genuinely rejoiced over the fact that Esmeralda and A had finally talked about the things they had been holding back for a long time. Being close friends, they had a decent understanding of each other’s thoughts.
While the details were best known by the parties involved, just observing them gave an idea of the overall atmosphere.
But knowing this didn’t change anything. Ultimately, it was up to the two of them to resolve it, and there was no guarantee that giving advice would help smoothly solve the problem.
Meddling unnecessarily could worsen the situation, so Angelique had to patiently observe the two for a long time.
When she heard that A felt guilty about not saving the person Esmeralda had married, she thought it was understandable. Though the A Angelique knew and the A Esmeralda knew might differ slightly, the common knowledge they shared was extensive, and the A they knew was someone capable of such thoughts.
“I’m glad she has grown so much. When we first met, I had many worries.”
“Just hearing about it makes it sound amazing. I can’t imagine how it was in reality.”
This referred to the time when Angelique and A first met. Esmeralda, who didn’t know A’s appearance when she first joined as a recruit, had only heard stories.
Thinking about A, who used to be a strict principle-oriented person when she was under her command, Esmeralda found it hard to believe Angelique’s tales.
“There were many tough times. I think she changed a lot during that period. Still, the core of her hasn’t changed.”
Both knew about the numerous experiences A had gone through. When the planet Modeline was invaded, A had been scheduled to transfer to Esmeralda’s unit, and she had asked Angelique various questions upon hearing that A’s subordinate would join.
However, A lost her parents in front of her eyes during the invasion, and joining Esmeralda’s unit was delayed for some time.
“What do you think of him as a man?”
At Angelique’s question, Esmeralda flinched, and her hands stopped momentarily. This time, she didn’t blush. She stared intently at the food she was preparing, recalling him.
“I like him. He was good before, and he still is.”
With a smile on her lips, Esmeralda spoke sincerely. Although Angelique couldn’t see her expression, she could sense Esmeralda’s feelings through her words, understanding how Esmeralda viewed A.
Esmeralda prepared some sausages to eat with alcohol and served them on a plate. She also took out the alcohol from the refrigerator and glasses from the shelf and placed them on the table.
As she sat on the sofa, Angelique approached the dining table. The lid of the soju bottle was opened, and the glasses in front of both were filled with soju. The glasses clinked lightly, and they sipped their first drinks.
“Don’t you know what kind of man A is?”
“…Maybe it’s a bit different?”
Just as Angelique was about to answer, she hesitated. And the words she uttered were clearly different from what she originally intended to say.
Esmeralda looked at her with a sympathetic expression and refilled her empty glass.
She knew roughly what Esmeralda thought of A.
During her time in the aviation corps, when A joined as her subordinate, Angelique had several opportunities to meet her. They were on the same spaceship, and their units were close enough that they met more frequently after arriving in space.
Every time they met, Angelique asked about A. She inquired about recent activities, what she had done, and if she was struggling.
Despite asking repeatedly, Angelique never got tired of asking about A. This increased Esmeralda’s interest in A, and as these moments repeated, Esmeralda grew closer to A.
Esmeralda thought that Angelique had played a significant role in establishing their current relationship.
And as she thought this, she also realized how Angelique viewed A.
They had briefly discussed A earlier, but it didn’t last long. They had duties to attend to, and it wasn’t the right time to talk freely at headquarters.
Now they were in a completely private space, and Esmeralda sighed.
“It doesn’t matter why.”
Hearing this, Angelique smiled bitterly. As Esmeralda picked up her glass, they both drank after a light toast.
“If you’re not special, then no one is. There’s no particular reason why A and I are together that’s unique to HunterKiller members.”
“Feelings of connection are important.”
“I think you are a very special person to A.”
Shaking her head, Angelique’s reaction displeased Esmeralda, causing her eyebrows to narrow. She didn’t intend to get angry. Even if she did, seeing Angelique’s expression made it impossible to be angry.
“Why do you think that way?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you denying it so strongly?”
“Denying… I didn’t really mean to deny anything.”
“If it’s not denial, then what is it?”
Unable to respond to the pointed comment, Angelique realized she was denying her own feelings, even though she claimed otherwise. Her reaction clearly indicated denial.
“The only thing I did for A was offer advice when asked.”
“Isn’t there something more important? That means you rely on me a lot.”
“The feelings we shared with A are just that. Nothing more.”
Esmeralda, holding the bottle beside her, poured more alcohol into Angelique’s empty glass.
“You find it funny? We didn’t even see each other as anything more than colleagues. Suddenly, we ended up liking each other.”
Angelique thought her feelings towards A were minor, while others’ reasons for meeting were significant. Therefore, she believed that A wouldn’t choose her when the time came.
She knew many people met and lived happily together, but she couldn’t compare herself to Esmeralda, Luche, and Siera, who were in special relationships with A.
Esmeralda found Angelique’s thinking incomprehensible. Having lived in space for a long time, she had no concept of rivals. In a society where polygamy was common, she thought it would be better if Angelique was always with A.
However, even in a polygamous society, there were individuals who chose monogamy. This wasn’t strange. If A had chosen monogamy, Esmeralda would have been aware of Angelique.
For Esmeralda, Angelique, who supported A mentally when she was immature and emotionally fragile, seemed especially important.
If A chose Angelique alone, Esmeralda would respect that choice. She couldn’t understand why Angelique wanted to define and hide her true feelings about her relationship with A.
“Are you just anxious? Because you’ve been in this kind of relationship until now. You might think it shouldn’t change.”
Despite being someone who cared for others and boosted their self-esteem, Angelique ironically had low self-esteem herself.
“What if I revealed my true feelings?”
Usually cheerful and gentle, Angelique’s voice deepened. Seeing her rare, calm demeanor, Esmeralda tensed up and looked at her intently, holding the glass of alcohol.
“What if A doesn’t have any feelings for you?”
Angelique worried not about her own feelings but about maintaining a supportive relationship with each other. During this process, she began to see A as more than a colleague.
However, just because she felt this way didn’t mean A felt the same.
More importantly, A currently has a girlfriend. She was getting closer to A, along with Esmeralda and the others.
She thought there was nothing she could do in this situation. Seeing others become more special made her feel their shared feelings were insignificant.
“You’re being rude to A.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t know what emotions A has for you. Just because you’ve been in this kind of relationship, A might only think that way. …Isn’t that who A is?”
She couldn’t answer. Knowing the time they spent together, she didn’t want to trivialize even the slightest emotions she shared with A.
Despite knowing it was contradictory, she couldn’t help but think this way. There was no basis for it. Her desire prevented her from trivializing their time together.
Most importantly, Angelique knew well that A didn’t think of their time together as trivial.
“You don’t know how A feels. If you call your feelings trivial, you’re making A’s feelings for you seem trivial too.”
Esmeralda had never been angry with her before. But now, her sharp gaze contained anger. The frustration and the feelings toward A had created emotions she had never felt before.
“If A finds out you think that way and gets hurt, I won’t forgive you.”
Even though she couldn’t break their bond, she had to say this as a friend. Knowing no one else could say this to Angelique, Esmeralda decided to speak up.
“…Do you really like A?”
“Yes. When I’m next to him, I want to hold his hand. When our eyes meet, I want to kiss him. I’ve given up on it for a long time, so I want to fill that time as quickly as possible.”
Seeing Esmeralda openly express her feelings, Angelique’s face flushed. She admired Esmeralda’s sincerity and envied her for speaking boldly.
“Do you want me and A to be closer?”
“Of course. I wish you were there too when I’m with A.”
Lowering her head, Angelique looked at her reflection in the glass. Despite seeing her own face countless times, she felt she couldn’t recognize the expression on her face for the first time.
“You won’t be blamed for giving up. Many people give up, and you might too, but it’s not guaranteed.”
Reaching out to clink glasses with the dazed Angelique, she drank the contents of her glass.
“But if you keep being indecisive and just denying it, try and then give up. Don’t give up before you even know what A thinks.”
Because she had been that way, she hoped Angelique wouldn’t be like that.
She didn’t know A felt guilty about her, and after choosing the engagement, she had decided to distance herself, thinking she had wronged A.
After visiting and talking with him, they both realized they felt guilty towards each other and had discussed it. That night, although not completely, Esmeralda felt she had filled some of the emptiness in her heart, and she thought she could fill it more in the future.
Perhaps she hoped that someone as promising as Angelique wouldn’t give up here.
“…Yeah.”
Her voice was soft, but the answer was clear. The choice was Angelique’s, and thinking that further discussion would force her into a decision, Esmeralda didn’t bring up A anymore.
