[53rd Chapter]
On the same day, at the headquarters of the Earth Defense Union Seoul Branch.
In the third-floor meeting room used by the HunterKiller Team, Red and Pink were present, but Green, who usually attended meetings, was absent.
“How much more rain is there to come?”
Red muttered to herself while watching the late summer rain still drizzling down, while Pink remained silent, lying face-down on the desk.
Since learning about Green’s family situation, Red had given her a period to rest. Although Green said she was fine, there were legal matters to address due to her father’s issue, and Red didn’t want to add stress to her in her current state.
“It’s quiet.”
Noticing Green’s absence, Pink thought Red might feel lonely being alone in the meeting room, so she attended the meeting even after changing her part-time work schedule temporarily.
Though they called it a meeting, with the week’s battles canceled due to the rain, there wasn’t much to discuss.
HunterKiller meetings were usually places where members discussed their future plans and devised strategies if there were battles. With fewer recurring topics, as the members grew closer, they spent more time chatting casually.
“Right. How’s your part-time job?”
“It’s fine. I told them I’d go in the afternoon.”
Red also had a part-time job at a convenience store in the afternoon. While there was no harm in going home after the meeting ended, since everyone was gathered, she thought it would be better to spend the morning talking before heading out to work in the afternoon.
However, either due to the weather or because they were just the two of them, Red and Pink spent their time silently, without much conversation.
“Hello.”
When Blue entered the room, both were startled. Red turned her head from the window, and Pink sat up quickly.
“Blue, what’s going on? Why are you here at this hour?”
It was unusual for Blue, who rarely attended meetings, to show up during a busy morning, making her presence quite surprising.
“There’s a lot to talk about.”
Blue had her own reasons. Having decided to let go of childcare, she transferred her ongoing tasks to her elder sister, leaving her with only free time.
After declaring independence, she found time to visit the headquarters after looking into new housing options. If there had been a battle, she would have tried to make time yesterday, but the lack of a battle due to the rain allowed her to freely look around for houses.
Blue summarized her situation as best she could.
“So, thanks to that person’s help, my thoughts are clearer now. I feel much clearer-headed.”
She couldn’t explain everything about A, and even if she did, Red and Pink wouldn’t understand. So she narrowed down the story to explain how a chance encounter with someone significantly improved her situation.
However, the recent discussions about relationships had heightened Red and Pink’s curiosity, and they picked up on the details in Blue’s story.
“So, who is this person?”
It was natural for Blue’s situation to improve, which was a good thing. But asking about her current situation and future plans at this stage might overwhelm her. So, they changed the topic to something they enjoyed discussing.
“What? Who is this person?”
Blue hadn’t expected to be asked about the person who helped her or about A. She couldn’t hide her surprise, and Red and Pink looked at her with bright eyes.
Blue had unresolved thoughts, one of which was about A. For some reason, she was asked questions without hesitation, even though the proposal to travel was made for the children’s sake. Despite this, he suggested traveling together and even helped her look for houses without any complaints.
And when they traveled, Eunji’s words lingered in her mind.
As Eunji said, A was a good person. She believed he was an exceptionally good person if their relationship continued to develop further.
Red knew Blue had a boyfriend, and Pink had someone close to a boyfriend. Hearing these two ask questions about men made her think more clearly about A, leaving her speechless.
“Should I say he’s a good person?”
“If it’s Blue, I guess I’d expect to meet a nice person.”
Pink nodded in agreement with Red’s statement.
“He’s nice. He listens to my requests and helps when I’m confused.”
“…Our older brother is incredibly nice too.”
With the topic turning back to men, Red, who wanted to boast about her boyfriend, spoke up, and Pink’s gaze changed. It wasn’t out of malice or negativity; it was just her pride showing.
“Our guy is incredibly nice too. He doesn’t hold prejudices against hyper-humans. We even made plans to have drinks together after work this week.”
Red, who hid the fact that she was a hyper-human from A, couldn’t bring herself to talk about anything related to hyper-humans. However, Blue couldn’t avoid talking about prejudices regarding hyper-humans.
“He treated me well even knowing I was a hyper-human. I always thought there must be people without prejudice towards hyper-humans, and it felt great when he actually treated me kindly.”
Even though Blue was usually gentle and warm, her demeanor changed when she started boasting about someone she considered her own. She didn’t want to lose.
Although she wasn’t sure if she liked him, she didn’t want to hear that her kind treatment was inferior to others’ opinions.
Of course, she knew that team members wouldn’t evaluate her like that, but she felt competitive regardless.
“Really? Then if you like someone, even a hyper-human can be seen positively?”
Red was unsure. The thought of revealing her identity as a hyper-human to her boyfriend, A, and how it might instantly destroy the relationship she had built worried her.
“…”
Neither Blue nor Pink could give a clear answer. They had met people who didn’t have prejudices despite knowing they were hyper-humans, but they couldn’t guarantee that all people were like that.
Red also knew that most people had prejudices against hyper-humans, but she was anxious about revealing her identity to the person she liked.
“If you truly like someone, wouldn’t they accept you?”
When Pink was thinking about how to respond, Blue spoke first. She wore her usual gentle, warm smile.
“Red is pretty and nice. Her boyfriend will surely see her positively even knowing she’s a hyper-human.”
While she knew this wasn’t a responsibility-free statement, Blue couldn’t predict whether Red’s boyfriend had prejudices against hyper-humans. Saying “I don’t know” or “liking someone doesn’t mean they’ll be prejudice-free” would only deepen Red’s current anxiety.
This matter would eventually come to light. They might break up without knowing her identity as a hyper-human. But if everything went well, their relationship would last, and the moment to reveal her identity would come.
If Red’s boyfriend had negative prejudices against hyper-humans, it would hurt her deeply. But predicting such pain beforehand wasn’t possible.
And it was also uncertain whether Red’s boyfriend had prejudices against hyper-humans.
Certainly, the three of them didn’t realize they were talking about the same person.
“Judging from everyone’s brighter expressions recently, it seems important to meet the right person.”
Red and Blue nodded in agreement with Pink’s statement.
Just as they were about to delve into a discussion about men, the meeting room door opened.
All three turned their attention to the door, and Green shyly greeted them upon entering.
“Hello.”
“Green?!”
Seeing Green in the meeting room, Red was even more surprised than when Blue arrived.
“Are you okay? Is it alright to join the meeting?”
Pink was also concerned about Green’s well-being and wondered if she had pushed herself too hard.
“I’m fine. It’s the weekend, and it feels bad not to attend meetings.”
Green and Blue’s eyes met. While Green was unaware of Blue’s news, Blue approached her and hugged her warmly, knowing Green’s situation.
Although Blue was shorter, it seemed like Green was hugging her. Green immediately realized that Blue was comforting her.
“Why, why are you doing this?”
Embarrassed by the situation, Green blushed, and Blue patted her back.
“I’m sorry. You’ve never known anything about my situation.”
Realizing she hadn’t understood her teammates’ situations, Blue felt regretful, especially hearing about Green’s domestic abuse.
Though Blue was busy with childcare and her sister’s nagging, she felt guilty for not showing concern as the oldest sister.
“It’s okay. I’m not struggling anymore.”
Green had been dealing with domestic abuse investigations at the police station and court, and on days without incidents, she tried to regain her composure at home. Although she felt no longer troubled, she was disappointed that she couldn’t meet A due to the heavy rain.
They exchanged texts, but she hesitated to suggest meeting at the park, thinking A was busy. This made her thoughts of A even more vivid.
That night, when A listened to her, and the image of A restraining her father at the police station became clearer each day. She realized she often thought about A whenever she had free time.
“If you need help, just say. I’ll do anything.”
Now that Blue had the time to consider her teammates, she wanted to help Green. After focusing solely on their own situations, the HunterKiller members finally had the chance to see their long-time teammates, realizing their only support was each other.
While prolonged indifference couldn’t bridge the gap immediately, recent discussions about relationships helped narrow the awkward distance among them.
“Now that we have help, I’ll definitely speak up if I need anything.”
Feeling a warmth in her heart, Red embraced Blue and Pink, who also joined them.
The hug was awkward, but it was the first time they felt the bond between teammates they hadn’t noticed before.
“Who is this person helping us?”
While it wasn’t a significant detail, the existence of someone helping a hyper-human was valuable and caught their interest.
“Oh, it’s someone I know. How should I describe it?”
She hadn’t thought about explaining A before. She hadn’t expected to share her feelings with the team.
Suddenly, she remembered thinking about sharing her feelings about someone she liked with the team.
When she tried to express her thoughts, Green blushed, and Pink shyly fumbled, making it clear to the others that Green had a boyfriend.
“She’s a nice, warm-hearted, dependable person.”
This sparked a conversation about their loved ones, and the four began to share stories about those they cared for.
Though Blue was still uncertain and Green wasn’t sure if she truly liked her partner, the ambiguous feelings stimulated Red and Pink, who were already in a relationship.
When Green talked about meeting A in the park and helping her, Red and Pink exclaimed in admiration. The story felt like something from a drama, touching the women’s hearts.
Blue shared her story again, and Red suddenly recalled meeting Blue near her boyfriend’s house.
“Hold on. Blue, did you really meet someone you knew when we met on the street?”
“Yeah… I was visiting that person.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“How could I explain in that situation?”
Blushing, Blue felt as if her secrets were exposed, and Red teased her gently, despite being older, she couldn’t hide her shyness about love.
The morning felt short that day compared to usual, and despite the pouring rain, their hearts felt sunny.
