Chapter 31
It had been two days since I received a text from Yura saying she would continue working at the café. Thursday rolled around, and as usual, we faced off in our regular match, which ended, as it always did, with our team’s defeat.
Every week, we concealed our true identities and repeated this process. It almost felt like I was developing some strange hobby, but I quickly shook off that thought. After returning to headquarters, instead of heading straight home, I sat down in front of the office computer.
“What was the password?”
Though I had my assigned seat and computer, my primary duty was remote work, and I rarely had reason to come to the office for surveillance tasks. It had been a while since I last turned on the computer.
I entered the password I usually used, and it logged in without any issues. A clean desktop screen greeted me.
“Let’s see.”
I muttered to myself as I navigated the computer and accessed the Spacystro’s dedicated server. My account had limited permissions, so I could only access a restricted range of data, but that was enough to find what I was looking for.
The data I was searching for was information about Hyper-humans. I had received and reviewed various documents so far, but most of the materials I received were related to the Earth Defense Union, not Hyper-humans. Even when I did receive information about Hyper-humans, it was mostly analyses of their armaments and combat capabilities.
After accessing the server, I began browsing the archives for information on Hyper-humans. Most of it was already familiar: how Hyper-humans came into existence, their level of combat power, and how they’ve fought up until now.
To summarize what I knew, Hyper-humans appeared 20 years after we arrived on Earth. However, they emerged suddenly one day under unknown circumstances, and it’s believed they were created through genetic modification experiments.
“Is there anything strange here?”
I was still unclear about the early days of the Hyper-humans. Shortly after arriving on Earth, I was stationed on a mothership in the Pacific Ocean for a while before being suddenly reassigned to Seoul.
That was about 10 years after we arrived on Earth, and it was also when I first encountered a Hyper-human. Of course, I wasn’t completely unaware of their existence. Working on the mothership, I received a lot of information and had to report it to my superiors, so I couldn’t help but know about them.
“The data…”
Although I looked through the data on Hyper-humans, most of what I could access with my account was information about their combat power. While that was useful from a tactical standpoint, what I was curious about now wasn’t their combat capabilities but public opinion and perception of Hyper-humans.
“From a security standpoint, combat data should be higher level. Is it a permission issue?”
As I pondered what to do, I stretched, only to lock eyes with Luche, who had just stepped out of the room. She glanced around as if checking her surroundings, then tilted her head at me.
Wondering why she was acting that way, I tilted my head back at her.
“Not going home?”
“I have something to look up.”
She seemed intrigued by the fact that I was still at my desk, since I usually either chatted or headed straight home after a match. She walked over and stood beside me, glancing at the data on the monitor before turning her gaze to me.
“Looking up Hyper-humans?”
“Yes. But I don’t have the permissions to access it with my account.”
“Don’t you usually ask the information team for data?”
“I’m looking for older data, not recent stuff.”
Responding to her, I rested my chin on my hand and continued scrolling through the documents on the screen.
“You should be able to access combat-related data, though?”
“That’s not what I’m looking for.”
Luche, who had been quietly watching, pulled up a chair and sat down beside me. I thought something might be up, but she just stared at the monitor without saying a word to me.
“I’m looking for data on public perception of Hyper-humans. There should be old articles or secretly collected classified materials, but I don’t see any.”
“Is it because of surveillance?”
“Yes. I’m just a little curious.”
Then it occurred to me that Luche’s account might have access to more data. I turned to her, and sensing my gaze, she blinked at me with her round eyes.
“Luche, can I borrow your account?”
I got straight to the point. For a moment, she seemed to process what I’d said, then shook her head vehemently.
“No way. Absolutely not.”
“Why? I’ll just look at the data. I won’t peek at anything else.”
Each account that could access the archives stored personal data, often including private information. That’s why sharing accounts was generally avoided. I’d asked just in case, but the answer was as expected.
“Of course not.”
“What, do you have something weird stored there or something?”
The moment I said that, Luche’s palm struck my shoulder with a loud smack, and I felt a sharp pain.
“There’s nothing weird!”
“Don’t you raise your hand a little too often?”
“It’s because you’re talking nonsense! You’re strong, so you can take a hit.”
“Being strong doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt!”
We bickered for a bit before turning our attention back to the monitor. With no way to access the data right now, I felt stuck.
“……Do you have a girlfriend or something?”
I was about to take a sip of water from the cup on my desk when Luche’s sudden question made me almost spit it out.
“Huh?!”
“Is it the Team 4 Leader?!”
“Why are we talking about her?! And no, I don’t have a girlfriend!”
I couldn’t exactly say that I was dating Red, whom I’d met through a surveillance mission, or that I’d spent a night with Pink. No matter how much I lied or talked nonsense elsewhere, there were some things I couldn’t say.
“Just… you seem in a good mood lately, and the only woman you’re close to is the Team 4 Leader.”
“We’re not close. I’ve just known her for a long time.”
The Team 4 Leader Luche was talking about—she was my fellow recruit, and while she was a team leader, she was senior to Luche.
I, too, was of a higher rank than Luche, but since I wasn’t a team leader or executive, at best, I was just a high-ranking subordinate.
To get back on track, the Team 4 Leader Luche had briefly misunderstood—we just happened to grow up in the same neighborhood and ended up in the same recruit class. There was no romantic relationship between us. In fact, I hadn’t dated anyone until I met Yubin.
Was it just because I seemed in a good mood that Luche asked that question?
“But why are you asking that?”
It’s not like I had any ulterior motives. I was just curious about why Luche brought it up.
“Just a woman’s intuition, I guess.”
So that’s what they meant by “a woman’s intuition”? Maybe, unconsciously, I was giving off vibes that I had a girlfriend. I’d have to be more careful from now on.
“Speaking of the Team 4 Leader, she doesn’t really use her account for anything other than data access. If you want to borrow an account, you should ask her.”
“The Team 4 Leader?”
Honestly, we’ve known each other for a long time and are from the same recruit class, but there’s some awkwardness between us. The awkwardness stems precisely from the fact that we’ve known each other for so long and are of the same class. I’m still a regular soldier, while she’s a team leader. We’re on completely different paths.
Plus, her sharp personality makes things increasingly uncomfortable. The last time we spoke was a few months ago, right before I was assigned to the Red surveillance mission. We ran into each other after a defeat, heading home. I don’t even remember what we talked about.
But aside from the awkwardness, I really wanted to access the data. Having seen the treatment Yura was receiving as a Hyper-human, I felt that, as her friend and as an invader, I needed to understand the situation clearly.
“Then I’ll go see her for a bit.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Having made up my mind in an instant, I got up from my seat. Luche just sat there, watching me walk toward the elevator.
Spacystro Seoul Headquarters, 4th Floor
I rarely ventured to the 4th floor, usually staying either on the 3rd floor where my team was or in the underground parking lot.
“Hey, what brings you here?”
A colleague working in the 4th-floor office greeted me.
“I’m here to see the Team 4 Leader. Is she in?”
“No, she went up to the roof to meet with the Team 1 Leader.”
“The Team 1 Leader?!”
This just made things more uncomfortable. While the Team 4 Leader was my fellow recruit, there was a rank gap between us. But the Team 1 Leader—he was the person I felt most uneasy around in Spacystro. No, I should clarify: the Team 4 Leader makes me uncomfortable, but the Team 1 Leader… he scares me.
“If it’s urgent, you can go up.”
“…No, I’ll come back later.”
“Alright. Should I let her know you came by?”
If I left a message that I’d come to see the Team 4 Leader, she’d probably approach me with her usual strict attitude. My goal was just to briefly use her account to access some articles. I didn’t want to get into any arguments, especially not in front of her subordinates.
I’m just a regular soldier, and she’s a team leader. Even if we’re from the same recruit class, I didn’t want to raise my voice in front of her team.
“No, I’ll contact her myself later.”
“Okay.”
Of course, I had no intention of contacting her, but saying this would prevent them from reporting my visit. It was my way of saying, “I’ll handle it, so you don’t need to do anything.”
Instead of heading back to the 3rd floor to stare at inaccessible data, I decided to take a breather and headed down to the 1st floor in the elevator.
I left headquarters and started walking aimlessly. My destination was a park about 15 minutes away, complete with benches, shade, and a relaxing atmosphere—perfect for clearing my mind.
The only downside was that the weather was a bit hot, but this summer hadn’t been too humid, so walking outside for a bit wasn’t too exhausting.
I bought a fruit juice from a convenience store and arrived at the park. Kids were playing, and adults wearing sun hats were exercising here and there. Watching the children enjoying their school break reminded me of my own childhood, running around energetically.
For a moment, the Team 4 Leader’s face popped into my head, but I quickly brushed it aside.
Then I went back to thinking about accessing the data.
Luche had outright refused to lend me her account, so the only person I could ask was the Team 4 Leader. I did know the Team 1 Leader and the Team 2 Leader, but unlike Luche and the Team 4 Leader, their ranks were significantly higher, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask them for their accounts.
If the Team 4 Leader also refused, there was no one else I could turn to immediately. I’d have to ask other recruits or colleagues in different regions.
I thought my long military career had given me a decent network, but oddly, I didn’t know anyone in the information team.
When thoughts get complicated, even things I normally wouldn’t notice start to bother me.
Was it because of what Luche said about me having a girlfriend? I started worrying about how to maintain my relationship with Yubin moving forward.
The invader and the Earthling. Spacystro and the Earth Defense Union.
And a relationship where neither of us had clearly defined our positions.
Was there really a good solution to this complicated, tangled mess?
When things get complicated, I feel stressed.
I tried to start something, but it didn’t go as planned. I went to seek help, but meeting the right person wasn’t easy. From the start, everything felt off, and my motivation was waning.
To relieve my frustration, I opened the drink in my hand and gulped it down.
As I sighed deeply, feeling the suffocating frustration bubbling up inside me, I heard—
“Haa…”
“Ha…”
At the same time, a sigh came from beside me. I turned my head and saw that the person next to me had also turned toward me at the same time.
While it was probably the first time she’d seen me, I knew exactly who she was.
Voluminous green bob-cut hair and refreshing, meadow-like lime green eyes.
By some coincidence, I had run into HunterKiller’s Green at the park I’d come to for a break.
“Oh, hello.”
The moment our eyes met, and with no easy way to avoid her gaze, she greeted me. I nodded instinctively, accepting her greeting.
“Hello.”
