[ 65th Chapter ]
I blinked my eyes, wondering if I had seen Yellow wrong as I saw her enter the arcade. However, I knew that when you check to confirm if you’ve seen something wrong, the chances of it being correct are high. So, I carefully followed her and entered the arcade.
Various sounds from the game machines filled the arcade. I thought there wouldn’t be anyone in an arcade on a weekday morning, but surprisingly, there were people. Not many, but there were some.
Quite a few people were playing games throughout the arcade, and I searched among them for the yellow short hair I had just seen.
There was a meeting coming up, yet she didn’t go to the meeting and came to the arcade instead. This moment lowered my evaluation of her once again. Of course, it wouldn’t affect her at all, but it’s just how I felt.
It didn’t take long to find the noticeable yellow hair. In this place close to the HunterKiller headquarters, she came to the arcade in the morning instead of attending the meeting, manipulating the joystick to play fighting games enthusiastically.
She had a certain understanding of Earth’s culture, especially games which seemed quite intriguing. She had become dispassionate towards games after losing repeatedly to Koreans upon her arrival in Korea, but that didn’t mean she disliked the gaming culture.
She understood that games were deeply rooted as a part of culture, even if she wasn’t passionate about them anymore.
She was playing a fighting game that was popular worldwide. Moving the joystick skillfully to control her chosen character, Yellow soon won the game, paused briefly, then proceeded to the next stage.
Her gaming posture suggested she wasn’t a novice who visited the arcade for just a day or two. Whether she was good or not, her composed demeanor fit perfectly with the arcade atmosphere.
After observing her for a while, I realized standing still in the arcade would look suspicious, so I moved further away. Hiding between the game machines, I made sure she couldn’t easily spot me.
While staying in one place felt odd, I couldn’t play games either. My intention was to observe her, not to play.
Yellow continued playing games in one spot for nearly an hour without moving. Watching her play for such a long time was quite tiring.
“Why isn’t she going to the meeting?”
This was the most fundamental question. If she came here to buy sunscreen, and Yubin, who doesn’t have much free time before work, brought me here, it meant the HunterKiller headquarters weren’t far from where we were.
Of course, it might not be true. If it wasn’t, the fact that the headquarters were nearby would be omitted. Only if it wasn’t.
Moreover, even if one detail was resolved, it wouldn’t change the fact that she skipped the meeting and came to the arcade. It didn’t seem like she had any special reason to come to the arcade, so why was she playing games alone in the arcade during the day on a weekday?
When Yellow stood up, I involuntarily jumped in surprise, thinking I had been caught. Uninterested in her surroundings, Yellow left the arcade.
Leaving immediately could lead to a confrontation or increase the risk of being spotted, so I waited a bit before leaving the arcade. Fortunately, I found Yellow, who hadn’t gone far, when I exited.
Wondering where she was headed, I cautiously followed her. After taking the subway and changing lines, she ended up at a movie theater.
“Movie theater? Who is she meeting?”
As I followed her and speculated, I muttered to myself.
Although I successfully tracked her to the movie theater, I had no way of knowing which movie she was watching. Eventually, I confirmed her buying a ticket from afar.
Hyper-human was sensitive, and I worried she would be noticed quickly. But Yellow seemed oblivious to her surroundings, focused only on what she was doing.
In the end, I followed her into the movie screening room. The movie was an action film recently released, but I wasn’t interested. My attention was on observing her yellow hair from the back of the theater.
“What is she doing?”
It was obvious that she was playing alone.
But what puzzled me was not her current actions. Given that Yellow’s attendance at meetings was low and there was trouble at yesterday’s meeting, why was she skipping today’s meeting and wandering around playing games?
My information about her was limited, but putting the pieces together, it seemed she wasn’t close friends with the HunterKiller members, though they weren’t enemies.
Here’s the English translation of the provided Korean text:
What could be the reason she doesn’t attend separate meetings?
When she regained her senses, the movie credits were rolling, and she got up from her seat and left the cinema. Although she had been at the cinema for over two hours, she couldn’t recall anything about the movie’s content.
Yellow came out of the cinema and walked briskly without any hindrance in the scorching heat, took the subway again, and returned to the station where the arcade was just moments ago.
Chasing unpredictable actions made her feel annoyed. The meeting would have ended long ago, and now that she was wandering around alone, she realized it had nothing to do with the meeting.
Back at the station, Yellow entered a small ramen shop and started eating lunch.
It wasn’t possible to go into the same shop, and since the shop was small, they were bound to meet. So, she decided to wait outside until she came out.
Even when she bought drinks at the convenience store and came out, she was still having lunch at the ramen shop. She watched her eat from a distance, but her mind was so focused on Yellow that she didn’t feel hungry.
“She sure eats a lot.”
She could see Yellow eating what looked like three servings from afar. Eventually, seeing Yellow finish her meal and come out, she moved to follow her again, and she headed back to the arcade.
There were more people in the arcade than before, and she stood in front of a rhythm game machine, inserted money, chose a song, and accurately hit numerous notes displayed on the screen quickly. Whether it was fighting games or rhythm games, it was clear she wasn’t a novice, even if I’m not good at games.
While playing rhythm games frantically, Yellow stopped and seemed to be leaving, then sat down in front of a shooting game machine.
With a mindset of “let it be,” she decided to watch until she finished playing.
The decision to watch was due to the increasing number of people in the arcade. As the crowd grew, she felt confident enough to get closer and observe.
If she caught me now, it wouldn’t just be bad luck; she must know who I am.
After watching her finish the shooting game, she wondered where she might go next, but she sat down again in front of a fighting game machine. Those watching her seemed used to it, as she concentrated on the game without being aware of the onlookers, moving the joystick.
Some people who appeared to frequent the arcade backed away slightly when they saw her.
Tired of watching, I waited for her game to end while replying to multiple incoming messages in real-time.
But I could feel the limit approaching, and watching her play silently was getting uncomfortable. So, she sat down at an opposite game machine and inserted coins.
I didn’t know how to play fighting games, but tired of waiting, I decided to play one game. I matched with Yellow sitting opposite me.
Single-player mode prevents matching, but I inadvertently pressed buttons next to the joystick, putting me in a match against her.
Even though we had paused due to the rain, I never imagined we’d compete like this.
It was just to pass the time, and I wasn’t paying attention to the person across from me anyway, so I just played.
The result was a devastating defeat. I felt like I might get PTSD from such a clean loss.
Sighing deeply, Yellow, who had been sitting opposite me, got up. Was she caught tailing her? Tense and worried, but her goal was not me but the arcade exit.
Finally, thinking she had finished the game, she followed her outside.
Lost track of time underground in the arcade filled only with game sounds, and suddenly, it was dark.
Realizing it, she checked her smartphone and found a message from Yubin.
[Outside?]
Although she said she would wait at home, no one was there when she got home after finishing her part-time job. It was natural to send a message, and she replied saying she went out briefly and would return soon before continuing to follow Yellow, who was walking without any hindrance.
She took the subway and entered a market street, browsing through various shops, buying lots of food, and continued walking.
Then she entered what looked like her apartment complex. Given she entered an expensive apartment in an upscale neighborhood, it seemed she wasn’t lacking financially.
…All she learned by following her for a day was this much. Playing alone is fine, but spending the whole day at the arcade, cinema, and eating isn’t normal. Following her unpredictable behavior pattern only increased her curiosity.
“What kind of person is she?”
Her curiosity turned into a slightly irritated question. Since she had gone inside, there was nothing else she could do. If she set out again to find her next time, she would probably have to go to the arcade again.
However, she didn’t feel confident she could find Yellow, who didn’t know when she would attend the HunterKiller meeting, at the arcade again.
“Let’s go home.”
Sighing deeply, she headed towards the house where Yubin was waiting. All she could think about was who to ask about her growing curiosity about Yellow.
Arriving at the penthouse apartment, she held food in both hands and waited mindlessly for her arrival.
Upon reaching the penthouse floor and entering after entering the door code, she saw a single-story penthouse that occupied the entire floor.
But despite the enormous size of the house, there was no sign of anyone. She casually set up food on the living room table and turned on the console game, inserting an RPG game CD and played while eating.
Living alone in such a large penthouse, she was playing games while eating alone.
The next day, she went to work at a cafe, and today, she and Yura kissed.
We greeted each other before starting our part-time job.
Could it be due to last week’s aftermath? I had completely lost my hesitation as I hugged Yura and kissed her.
It was clearly visible how quickly Yura’s mood improved as she met me, whom she had been waiting for, and kissed. Today, while kissing, I also touched her chest; even though we were in a cafe warehouse, this seemed acceptable. No one was watching anyway.
Despite that, the curiosity about Yellow remained. Who exactly is she? She doesn’t talk much about Yellow, so should I ask?
“Yura.”
“Yeah?”
I called her while she was drying cups and plates next to me as she washed dishes. Yura turned her head and looked at me intently.
Although I felt a bit guilty asking Yura such a thing given what happened in the meeting two days ago, honestly, she was the most comfortable person to ask directly.
“HunterKiller’s Yellow, what kind of person is she?”
“……”
Yura’s eyebrows narrowed sharply, and for the first time, she gave me a blatantly annoyed expression.
“Why?”
“No, it’s nothing. We often talk about others, but I don’t think we’ve ever really talked about her.”
Even I knew it was an unreasonable excuse, but there was no choice but to bring up the topic first to open the floodgates. If I waited for Yura to bring it up first, I might never learn anything about Yellow.
“She’s a self-righteous brat.”
I could only awkwardly smile at her straightforward response.
“Don’t you get along well?”
“Not at all. She’s usually quiet, so I don’t know what she’s thinking, and besides, we fought in the meeting two days ago!”
Even Yura seemed disappointed with the fight over Green two days ago during their meeting.
“But isn’t it too harsh to say such things about Green? I understand it’s not wrong, but still, people should choose their words carefully. If you speak like that, even if you want to be friends, it won’t work out.”
“Do you want to be friends?”
She didn’t seem to have completely closed herself off. For some reason, I felt relieved knowing there might still be a chance for Yura and Yellow to become friends.
“Yes. After all, we’ve been on the same team for almost five years.”
HunterKiller’s system has been stable for three years, but Yura, who is Pink, Hayang, who is Blue, and Yellow started working together five years ago, so they’ve known each other longer than Yubin and Green.
“How can we become friends?”
“Hmm?”
I couldn’t answer since I knew nothing about Yellow either. When Yubin and I fought, I sided with Yubin because I was her boyfriend…
I couldn’t figure out how to start the conversation.
“Isn’t it important to know the other person first?”
After all, I need to know more about Yellow, and Yura does too. Maybe it would be better to start by giving advice on what I’m curious about?
“Knowing the other person…”
“Still, I don’t know much about Yellow, so I’m not sure how to talk about her.”
“Mm…”
Yura, who had been working with Yellow for five years, began to recall.
If I could, I might learn a little about Yellow through Yura.
The stories Yura told me about Yellow were quite interesting. They had known each other for a long time, and Yura wasn’t just someone with a weak ego, so they clashed frequently at first. Later, it seemed they avoided situations where they might fight again.
From this, I learned that Yellow was one year older than Yura, making her 26. To me, who is 25 and living on Earth, she would be considered older.
Actually, a one-year age difference isn’t significant enough to feel like a big gap. Depending on the situation, people can be considered older or younger even with a six-month birthday difference.
That might explain why Yura and Yellow fought frequently.
“Was age that important?”
According to Yura, Yellow never mentioned being older than her. The fights seemed to stem from personal feelings, and they realized they were each other’s opposites shortly after joining HunterKiller.
Since communication wasn’t smooth even among established members like Hayang and former members, no one tried to mediate between them.
Even after Yubin became the leader, communication remained poor. Recently, their relationship improved, but it seems the spark reignited between Yura and Yellow, who had previously been indifferent to each other.
“But what did you usually fight about?”
She mentioned fighting but didn’t specify the reasons. I thought understanding Yellow better might help, so I asked for a deeper explanation.
“The reasons, I don’t remember well. Most were trivial. Yellow’s manner of speaking was so rude that arguments often stemmed from her tone.”
“……Given how much you fought, were you not easy targets back then?”
“At the time, I was pretty hot-headed too. I had just gained independence and was stressed.”
As Yura smiled and honestly admitted her past behavior, our eyes met, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.
“Still, Yellow’s personality is indeed problematic. What should we do? It feels like she only knows how to make people feel bad when interacting?”
“But we haven’t had a proper conversation yet, right?”
Listening to Yura talk about Yellow, I realized that after their initial fights, there hadn’t been any communication between them. In simpler terms, after the fights, they stopped talking, leaving their thoughts about each other based mostly on assumptions and imagination.
Of course, assumptions based on partial knowledge often turn out to be accurate.
Here’s the translation of the provided text into English:
There are things you can only understand by experiencing them yourself, but I realized later that what I heard from someone who knows that person and what I experienced myself were almost the same.
Yura is telling me her thoughts about Yellow, but honestly, I don’t think there will be much difference when I get to know Yellow myself.
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes. If someone has a bad impression of that person and speaks lightly of others’ words, one should doubt what that person says. But Yura is not such a person.
When Yura talked about the argument earlier, she brought up the argument from two days ago during the meeting, and inevitably, she had to mention Green’s part.
But Yura told me about Green’s situation as just a family matter without knowing anything about it herself.
It’s not easy to talk about someone else’s family matters to a third party. Green’s story is certainly not something to be taken lightly.
In this regard, my trust in Yura increased even more. She explained to me that it’s difficult to give a detailed explanation to the listener because it’s a personal matter, and she clearly conveyed her feelings about Yellow.
“Are you going to tell? That’s how Green was spoken to.”
From my position, I couldn’t help but completely immerse myself in Yura’s emotions. I have a relationship with both Yura and Green, especially having many emotional exchanges with Yura. So, it makes sense that Yura would argue with Yellow, who spoke recklessly about a sensitive topic for Green, and I also felt displeasure towards Yellow for speaking to Green like that.
“I was just asking. There’s no need to say if it’s not right.”
Yura’s eyebrows narrowed as if she thought I suggested talking to Yellow. I answered her while pressing the crease between her eyebrows with my finger.
There’s no need to force friendship with someone incompatible. This applies to all of humanity with civilization across the universe. It’s clear that friendship can be formed and distance can be closed if one tries. But knowing they’re incompatible, there’s no need to force it.
Ultimately, either side or both sides would feel stressed in such a process.
“Anyway, since it’s like this, let’s drink tonight too.”
“Suddenly?”
I expected it. But for Yura, I was the first to hear everything about Yellow today. Of course, it wasn’t sudden just because I expected it. Even if it’s unexpected, it’s still sudden.
“Can’t I?”
“That’s not it.”
Yura seemed cute as she checked my reaction, thinking it might not be okay. After confirming that there was no sign of her coming to the kitchen, I hugged her waist and kissed her.
“Mmm… Uh…”
Immediately, she intertwined her tongue with mine, sharing slippery saliva and hot breaths. When we finished the kiss and parted our lips, saliva dangled between Yura and me.
“Let’s drink together after it’s over.”
“Yeah.”
After finishing my part-time job, we went to her house and drank together, ending up spending another hot night. Although it had been a week since I last held her, her seductive body was still soft and pleasant. I wondered if I was a bit rough, but Yura received my actions with her full passion, and we went to work the next day.
I didn’t go straight home after finishing work on Sunday. There was somewhere I needed to stop by.
After getting off the subway and moving a few stops, I arrived at an apartment. Riding the elevator to the top floor, I pressed the doorbell, and a voice came from inside.
“Yes~”
Hearing her familiar voice through the intercom, I replied lightly, “It’s me.” Soon, footsteps could be heard rushing from behind the entrance door. The door opened, and Hayang, smiling as usual, greeted me with her long blue hair tied up in a round bun.
“You’re here? Come in quickly.”
“Why are you so excited?”
Smiling, I asked her, who couldn’t hide her happiness as I entered. Hayang scratched her cheek sheepishly.
“You noticed? I guess I got excited because you said you were coming.”
It made me feel good to hear her say openly that she was happy because of me.
“Were you at home today?”
“Yeah. There were no meetings, and I looked into some things.”
Since Hayang started living independently, she had attended meetings since the move was completed, and when she came home, she looked into what she could do. I had informed her that I couldn’t come home due to work on weekdays.
I explained that I took leave to help with the move, and although only four days had passed since the move was completed, Hayang looked so happy and excited, as if she had been waiting for me to come.
“How was the meeting?”
Since Hayang hadn’t attended meetings until now, I wanted to check how she felt about it.
“Yeah, it was fine.”
The day after spending the night with her, there was an issue with Yellow during the meeting, which made me a bit nervous. I thought she would start communicating more with the team members, but then something like that happened.
Besides Green’s situation, I was concerned about points where Hayang was worried, and the direct argument with Yura, and the fact that Yubin needed to be concerned about these things. Nothing was left unnoticed for me.
Actually, the reason I came to Hayang’s house today was to check if she was okay. Of course, I didn’t think that the argument between Yellow and the team members would affect Hayang’s mental state. As the eldest sister in the team and with the strongest resilience among hyper-humans I’ve seen, she was the most resilient.
Most importantly, she had endured for ten years under a crazy older sister.
There was no need to worry, but still, having made up my mind to take responsibility in our relationship, I couldn’t completely ignore her.
“Lucky then.”
As I walked through the hallway and entered the living room, the smell of a delicious dinner filled the air.
“What a nice smell. What did you do today?”
“I’ve been preparing for your arrival, but, uh, if there’s anything you can’t eat, let me know. I’ll avoid making that later.”
She went to the kitchen, unsure if she had finished, to confirm what I couldn’t eat and carefully placed the seafood stew she had prepared onto a plate.
Watching her busy preparing dinner with an apron on, I felt proud and, at the same time, admired her.
I approached her from behind, holding the plate carefully, and hugged her waist, pressing my body against hers. Although she was momentarily surprised, Hayang soon smiled and turned her head to look at me.
Although she was relatively smaller compared to other HunterKiller members, she seemed bigger than anyone else. Certain parts were not as big as other members, though.
Regardless, our eyes met, and I held her closer, pressing my body against hers.
“Why?”
When I asked why she hugged me, the slight rise at the end of the question made it seem cute. Though this might be disliked by some, it didn’t bother me at all; instead, it blended well with her aura, making it pleasant to hear.
“Just because you looked great.”
“I think you look even better.”
She put down the plate next to the stove, turned around, and faced me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“How was your day?”
Even though I couldn’t tell Hayang, who knew I worked and came home from work, the truth about my day, I could still express my genuine feelings.
“It was okay, but it was also tough.”
No matter how enjoyable work is, it can be hard. When I honestly said this, Hayang reached out and gently stroked my hair.
“Hey, you. You worked hard today too.”
Initially, I held her in my arms, but gradually, my posture lowered, and I knelt while supporting my upper body, ending up being held by Hayang.
“Dinner is ready, so we can eat right away. What should we do first? Dinner? Bath? Or…?”
“You.”
“Uh…? Ah!”
Ultimately, among dinner, bath, and Hayang, I chose Hayang first, and then because of the bath, I ended up eating the prepared dinner last. Actually, wasn’t it Hayang who was prepared first?
After dinner, I lay my head on Hayang’s lap on the sofa in the living room. While watching TV, I glanced up and couldn’t see her face clearly due to her large chest. Only when Hayang slightly lowered her head did our eyes meet.
“Hey. Is there something you want to say to me?”
“Did you notice?”
“A little?”
In fact, I had been looking around because I wanted to ask Hayang something. Even though Yura has known Yellow for a long time, I thought Hayang might know something about the mysterious and unpleasant Yellow.
“Can you talk about your team members?”
Since I hadn’t properly discussed HunterKiller with Hayang yet, asking only about Yellow would seem odd, so I decided to ask about the whole team.
“Are you curious?”
“Just curious about what kind of people they are.”
“Then, who should I start with?”
“Hmm… Yellow?”
In response to a question that seemed to ask me to point out one person, I reflexively mentioned Yellow, who was currently the most curious. Hayang didn’t suspect anything and started talking about Yellow.
“What should I say? She’s quiet but also a bit extreme.”
Even though I first heard about Yellow’s argument, it seems clear that she doesn’t talk much based on everyone saying she’s quiet.
“And she’s very clumsy.”
“Clumsy?”
“Yeah. It’s like her thoughts and expressions don’t match.”
“Really? Not sure?”
“Yeah. I haven’t really talked about it in detail. But hey, do you have any questions for me?”
“For me?”
With a subtle smile, despite not having asked several questions yet, she held my face and moved closer when I asked primarily about Yellow.
“Want to do it again?”
Seeing Hayang nod shyly, I decided to hold off on asking about Yellow for now.
On Monday morning in the HunterKiller meeting room.
Unlike usual, more than half of the members were already in the meeting room at the start of the week.
Red, Pink, and Blue gathered first, chatting about the weather and news, followed by Green coming in.
“Hi.”
“Welcome. It’s hot, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s extremely hot.”
Entering with sweat beads forming on her forehead due to the hot weather, Green arrived.
The meeting hadn’t started yet, and it was unclear whether Yellow would come, so we didn’t begin the meeting immediately.
Yellow, whom we thought wouldn’t come, entered the meeting room. As soon as he entered, Yellow sensed the strange gazes from the members.
“What? Why?”
Pink and Blue were aware of Yellow, and Yellow immediately noticed the awkward atmosphere in the meeting room.
“Since everyone’s here, shall we start the meeting?”
Breaking the awkwardness, Red proceeded with the meeting as usual. However, there was a difference: a single thought was floating in each member’s mind.
‘Why did A ask about Yellow?’
‘Is A curious about Yellow?’
Though A’s question didn’t seem significant at first, during the meeting, Yellow became noticeable, and under the inexplicable discomfort, Yellow thought:
‘I want to go to the arcade…’
