Chapter 33

Most of life is chance. Whether it’s planned or unplanned, the moment when the process becomes the result is all chance.

Failure can occur due to misalignment of chance, and success can also occur due to alignment of chance.

There is definitely a need for chance between the process and the result. Then what about the beginning? The start usually occurs due to a plan, but sometimes it starts due to an unexpected chance that was not part of the plan.

The unexpected meeting with Green paralyzed her thoughts. It wasn’t intentional surveillance, and she didn’t even know this place existed. Moreover, the meeting spot was just a ten-minute walk from headquarters in a park. Could the Korean saying “the darkest place is under the lamp” be referring to this?

“It’s quite hot today, isn’t it?”

Their eyes met for a moment, so instead of turning away, Green spoke to me. She probably doesn’t know who I am or where I’m from, so there’s no need for me to show any outward signs of panic.

“Yes. But it’s not as humid this year, which is a relief. Last year was extremely humid.”

“There was a lot of rain last summer. But they’re saying it will be rainy next week too.”

Her clear and distinct voice entered my ears. We’ve fought many times, but this is the first time I’ve heard her voice.

Yubin, being the team leader, always gives orders during confrontations, so I’ve heard her voice. Yura, before getting to know her personally, I didn’t pay much attention.

But having fought Green in battle, I recognized her, though I had never seen her speak during confrontations. It’s possible I didn’t hear her, but regardless, this is the first time I’ve heard her voice by chance.

“Rainy…”

I don’t like it when it rains. There were two instances recently, but since I wasn’t alone then, there was nothing to complain about. When it rains, I become quite powerless. It’s not that I lack energy or feel sick, I just don’t like the rain.

With a trailing sentence, Green fell silent. Since there wasn’t anything specific to say, I remained quiet as well, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t help but look at her, being beside a HunterKiller’s Green.

Glancing over, I saw Green sitting blankly, staring at a tree swaying in the wind. She didn’t seem lost in thought. Her expression was blank, as if she wasn’t thinking about anything while staring at the tree.

Why was she doing that? I observed her for a moment, and noticing my gaze, Green flinched, turned her head, looked at me, and smiled.

It was the first time I encountered someone I battled by chance. Could that be why? The awkwardness within me seemed twice as strong compared to usual.

“Hmm!”

Coughing to avoid her gaze, I shifted my focus to the tree she was looking at.

“Isn’t it amazing? The way it sways in the wind.”

“Really?”

Is she talking philosophically? I couldn’t help but turn back to look at her again because of her unexpected comment.

Green was still looking at the tree, but unlike before when she looked dazed, now she wore a slight smile. While one can read someone’s thoughts to some extent just by their facial expressions, it’s impossible to know everything.

Still, generally, one can get a sense of what they’re thinking. However, I couldn’t tell what Green was thinking. It’s not that I particularly want to know. Right now, I’m not on a mission to monitor her, and I just happened to meet her while taking a break.

However, when people talk to each other, they naturally look at each other’s expressions. This applies whether the person is friendly or unfriendly.

“Just the wind blowing, right?”

To her question, I gave a rather obvious answer. Is it amazing that trees sway in the wind? I’m not sure what’s so amazing about it. Isn’t it a common occurrence on any planet where machinery exists?

Upon hearing my response, Green briefly replied, “Yes,” with a smile, still fixated on the tree. Suddenly, I felt her green hair blended well with nature, perhaps explaining why she kept looking at the tree—or the wind.

“The wind must be nice.”

When Yubin approaches me, I wonder what her intention is.

When I met Yura, I felt overwhelmed by her presence.

Green, I can’t tell what she’s thinking at all.

I realized she was looking at the wind, not the tree. Although it’s impossible to see the wind, you can tell it’s blowing when you see the tree sway.

Unable to find words to respond after hearing her incomprehensible statement, I stared at her with a bewildered expression. Stunned, Green finally returned to her senses and turned her gaze back to me.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something strange? It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to someone else.”

Long time since talking? Aren’t I talking with HunterKiller team members? From what Yura and Yubin said, Green apparently attends meetings with Yubin the most. So why does she say it’s been a long time since talking? Could she be a quiet person?

Yet, she’s gradually speaking to me, despite our first meeting.

“No, it’s fine. I’m not bothered.”

It’s not impolite to bring up difficult topics. She hasn’t caused me any trouble or asked anything awkward. She only asked a question I couldn’t answer, so it’s not enough to bother me.

What bothers me is why she’s acting like she’s leaving work after a confrontation.

Whatever Green does has nothing to do with me. But since we met and talked, curiosity is inevitable.

But I can’t ask her that. For now, I’ll just let it be. After all, once we part ways, it’s unlikely we’ll meet like this again.

“…”

As I stood up to return to the office.

“Take care on your way back.”

Green smiled and greeted me. Is it a trend among young people on Earth to greet strangers like this?

“Yes, thank you.”

I nodded and left the park, slowly heading back to the office. By the time I was a bit further away, I couldn’t help but turn around. She was still sitting there, looking at the tree—or the wind.

Leaving her behind, I returned to the office, and the investigation into the hyper-human began without any immediate results.

Perhaps it could be called a change of heart. One thing became clear: I wanted to know more about the HunterKiller team, just as much as I wanted to know about the hyper-human.

Friday. I decided to take the day off and stay home. Yubin, who finished her part-time job, came over.

“Brother~”

With a childish tone, Yubin entered the house and rushed into my arms.

“You worked hard today.”

As I stroked her red hair and felt her warmth, holding her felt good as always.

“Do you want to stay tonight?”

“I have to go to work as an office assistant in the morning, so I’ll leave a bit later.”

It seems there’s a meeting for the HunterKiller team tomorrow morning. Yubin hasn’t told me yet that she is a hyper-human and part of the HunterKiller team. If I apply what happened to Yura to her, telling me the truth might be scary.

Of course, I’m also keeping secrets from her, so I can’t say anything about that. The difference is that Yubin doesn’t know I’m hiding something from her, while I know she’s hiding something from me.

“Why are you so quiet?”

Looking at her for a moment, Yubin tilted her head with her ruby-red eyes.

“I like being with you.”

Pressing my cheek against hers, I rubbed her cheeks. Yubin laughed, and eventually, she rubbed her cheeks against mine.

Suddenly, I wondered:

Can our relationship end happily?

An invader and an Earthling. Even if we, who met as enemies, tell each other the truth, can we still live like this?

I know about Yubin’s identity, but she doesn’t know about mine.

Even knowing she is the Red of the HunterKiller team, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like when we finally reveal our truths to each other.

“Anything you want to eat?”

It’s dinner time, so I need to think about what to eat. Without hesitation, I said,

“You.”

“Huh? Really!”

I jumped onto the bed, choosing to enjoy the present happiness rather than worry about the future. Today, I became a monkey again.

After the act, Yubin and I lay side by side on the bed without clothes, with the air conditioner on. We enjoyed the luxury of covering ourselves with blankets while the air conditioner was on during summer. Inside the blanket, we felt each other’s body heat.

“How’s the office assistant job going? You seemed stressed before.”

I was particularly cautious when discussing the HunterKiller team. I always worried about accidentally revealing information I shouldn’t know.

“Yeah, it’s going well. I get along better with the older sister I work with, and the atmosphere hasn’t changed, so there’s no problem.”

“I haven’t heard much about the office assistant job except that the atmosphere wasn’t good. Who are the people there?”

Seeing me suddenly interested in something I usually wouldn’t ask, Yubin buried her face in my chest, then looked up at me. Wondering if I did something wrong, I briefly checked my actions.

“What’s wrong? Are you worried about my work?”

Yubin must have felt I was worried about her. Of course, it’s natural to be concerned about her. Regardless of the relationship with Spacystro and the HunterKiller team, she is my girlfriend.

“Of course, I’m worried. I’m afraid you might be stressed and not telling me.”

Yubin smiled and pressed herself closer to me. So close that there was no space between us, and we both laughed for no reason. I kissed her forehead.

“As for the manager, it’s settled. The people I work with don’t talk much, so I don’t really know them in detail.”

After making up with Yura, things improved, but they haven’t become close enough to share much about each other.

“They’re such unique individuals.”

I completely agree. Yubin, Yura, and the Green I met yesterday are clearly part of a group where everyone has a strong personality.

And for some reason, the HunterKiller team is having trouble achieving harmony among its members.

“There’s this senior, Milky Way, who I work with the most.”

This is about Green. Although I can’t tell from just the name, Milky Way is the one who attends the most meetings. So, it’s almost certain that Milky Way is Green.

“Lately, she seems reluctant to go home.”

“She doesn’t want to go home?”

“Yeah. She lives with her eldest sister and that sister, but Milky Way keeps searching for something even after work.”

I don’t understand why, but she doesn’t want to go home. Was that why she was sitting quietly in the park yesterday?

“Yesterday, I asked why she wasn’t going straight home, and she just said, ‘Just.'”

“So it bothered you?”

“Of course, it did. She’s the one who works the most.”

I don’t know much about others. To investigate the hyper-human and learn more about the HunterKiller team, I need to investigate Green first. Tomorrow, I should ask Yura about her.

I hope she doesn’t ask if I’m interested.

“Are you meeting with company people tomorrow?”

“Huh? Yes.”

I answered with a natural reaction to Yubin’s question. Since I upset her last week by not saying anything while on a business trip, I need to be extra careful for a while.

“Will you be late again tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow… I’ll be late, but not for drinking. For work.”

After finishing my cafe job, I plan to check if I can access the data on the hyper-human in the office.

“Then, I won’t come to your place tomorrow and will go straight home.”

“Alright.”

I hugged Yubin again, planning my schedule for tomorrow.

The next afternoon.

I arrived at the cafe and greeted the owner at the counter before entering the kitchen. Yura wasn’t there.

“Maybe she went to the restroom?”

There were signs she had worked, so she definitely came to work. She must have stepped out for a moment. I thought as I went to change into my uniform and noticed a familiar figure in the storeroom.

“Hi.”

As soon as I entered the storeroom, our eyes met. Yura put down the box she was holding and walked towards me without hesitation.

Terrified by her assertiveness, I froze, thinking I made a mistake at work. As the storeroom door closed, Yura grabbed my collar and pulled me towards her, kissing me.

Startled by the deep kiss, I instinctively tried to pull away, but couldn’t overpower her. Gradually calming down, I embraced her waist and focused on the kiss.

After a brief, passionate kiss, Yura smiled.

“Hi.”

She greeted me with a blush.

“…Starting work with a kiss at the workplace, what will others think?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Then, she pulled me in for another kiss.

Since escaping is impossible, let’s just focus on the kiss.