Here’s the translated text:
Before I knew it, the situation had turned into a confrontation between HunterKiller and Spacystro. Before I knew it, I had become a spectator of this showdown.
To put it simply, we could just not care about each other, make concessions, and each do our own thing. Of course, if that were the case, the situation would be resolved easily and my mind would be at ease. But given that these two factions fight every week, it’s impossible for things to go so smoothly.
For example, it would be like the leaders of two warring nations meeting at a foreign tourist site.
“What are you planning to do?”
“There are many ways.”
Each side must choose two events, and out of those, we can only participate in one. If we have to choose one, it would be more advantageous to pick an event where we have a higher chance of winning. Anyway, I don’t really plan on playing much, and since I’m the referee, it doesn’t matter which event is chosen.
“Beach volleyball.”
“Do you know how to play?”
While beach volleyball is famous in various countries around Earth, not just Korea, Spacystro wouldn’t know. HunterKiller members haven’t traveled much, nor have they been in environments conducive to sports.
HunterKiller has physical capabilities comparable to or even surpassing the executives, but combat skills and athletic ability are different issues. Additionally, having traveled through numerous planets, they’ve enjoyed their fair share of activities, and as executives, they’ve spent vacations at the beach every year under the guise of training.
“What do you think they’ll bring?”
“Yeah, probably something common.”
“I think so too.”
Luche and Siera started guessing HunterKiller’s event. Actually, even if they brought something advantageous for themselves, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, since neither side knows much about the other except for combat, there’s no guarantee that the opponent won’t perform better than expected.
Thus, both teams chose two events and gathered facing each other on the sand.
The five members of HunterKiller and the four executives of Spacystro. Among them, I stood as the referee, while several colleagues who were playing at the beach came closer to watch the unfolding scene. The teammates who weren’t interested in the competition and were content with their own play continued to stay in their spots.
I’m not sure why I ended up being the referee, but this situation was uncomfortable. I felt the gaze of HunterKiller members staring at me, and despite not knowing my identity, it gave me a chill in my heart.
“Why are you only watching from our side?”
“Don’t worry about biased refereeing. I’ll be a convincing one.”
I’m not sure if I should trust this. Luche’s gaze seemed to suggest she wanted me to favor Spacystro in my judgments, but even though my identity hasn’t been revealed, making biased calls in this situation is unreasonable.
“Alright, I’ll see as the game goes on.”
Finally, the events for both teams were announced.
Spacystro’s executives chose beach volleyball and long jump. Among them, the event executed immediately without drawing lots was beach volleyball.
HunterKiller’s events were swimming and wrestling. The immediate event was swimming, and they needed to decide between long jump and wrestling by drawing lots.
“How do we decide the draw?”
“Coin toss. We don’t need a complicated process.”
“Alright. Who has a coin? Can you give it to me?”
One of the subordinates who was watching ran over and handed me a coin. As usual, I guess I’m supposed to be the referee.
Without being able to speak, I gestured that if the coin showed heads, Spacystro would do the long jump; if tails, HunterKiller would wrestle. Without hesitation, I flicked the coin into the air.
The spinning coin landed on my palm, and I covered it with my other hand. In front of both teams, I slowly lifted my hand to reveal the result. The coin showed tails, meaning HunterKiller would wrestle. Upon seeing their chosen event, HunterKiller clenched their fists in joy.
“Great!”
“Wrestling is doable.”
Wrestling, one of South Korea’s representative sports, is something I still don’t fully understand despite living there for ten years. But if you don’t know something, you learn by doing. Both teams, eager to start the game, didn’t want to waste time checking the rules.
The first match was Spacystro’s beach volleyball. Participants were HunterKiller’s Red (Yubin) and Yellow (SuA). Spacystro’s Esmeralda and Siera were also participating. With the tallest players from each team standing on the sand, it created quite a visual spectacle.
‘Models.’
Internally, I thought. I did another coin toss to decide the serve. The serve was taken by HunterKiller.
As the game began, I expected it to proceed like regular beach volleyball. However, when I saw the ball flying at speeds I couldn’t track, I was stunned.
Yubin served, Siera returned, and then Esmeralda spiked. SuA received the spike, and Yubin followed up with a kick in mid-air.
I’ve seen volleyball matches from Earth, and while physically we might be stronger due to our extraterrestrial origins, their athletic abilities honed by extensive training felt different from our brute strength. This was the first time I witnessed beach volleyball where players attacked with their feet in mid-air.
Blowing the whistle, I acknowledged HunterKiller’s point. Subsequent games were mostly in favor of HunterKiller. Despite having experience with beach volleyball, our executives got caught up in formalities and were overwhelmed by HunterKiller’s physical prowess and aggressive attacks.
“Block it!”
SuA tossed the serve high, and Yubin jumped and slammed the ball down. Watching such physical prowess, I thought, “I can’t anger the women of HunterKiller.”
If I ever got angry at a girlfriend with such physical strength and got slapped? Honestly, I wouldn’t survive. It was a moment of gratitude for being able to wear the suit during battles.
In the best-of-three sets, HunterKiller won 2-0. As Yubin celebrated by hugging SuA, Luche approached me.
“Hey. Make a biased call to end it quickly.”
Frankly, we’re not here to enjoy sports. We just want to get rid of the annoying enemy and relax at the beach. Therefore, no one would complain about biased refereeing. However, from my standpoint, I couldn’t make biased calls.
HunterKiller members were now getting along and even came on a trip. I didn’t want to ruin this. Moreover, seeing them work together and celebrate made me smile behind my mask.
So, I conveyed with gestures that I would strive for fairness, not wanting to ruin this good atmosphere. Luche understood and agreed surprisingly quickly. She wasn’t someone to demand biased refereeing.
She probably wanted to maintain the current environment where her subordinates could play, and upon seeing my gesture, she reconsidered her words and accepted my opinion.
Considering Spacystro lost in their first event, it’s understandable that she was anxious.
“Referee, you’re doing a good job.”
Yubin gave me a thumbs-up. Unable to reveal my identity, I bowed slightly in acknowledgment. Yubin smiled at me and rushed to encourage the other members.
“Let’s do the next one! Next!”
Siera, unable to express her frustration over losing, shouted loudly. The next event was swimming. Each team sent three participants in a relay race, with the first team to reach the finish line after turning around the marker winning.
HunterKiller sent Blue (Hayang), Red (Yubin), and Green (Milky Way). Spacystro sent Luche, Siera, and Angelique. Unlike beach volleyball, it was disappointing not to see the women move vigorously. It was the first time I saw HunterKiller members engaging in something other than combat, and I wished I could see them working together more.
“The goal is to return to the marker and come back.”
Luche pointed to a marker about 100 meters away, and Yubin nodded. They were the first starters from each side. Although inexperienced, Luche, as a caring superior, and Yubin, whom I liked, made it hard to decide who to cheer for.
Generally, I’d cheer for my girlfriend, but considering the many events they’ve shared, it was tough to ignore Luche. Even if I cheered, it would be silently in my heart.
The two stood on the wide marker preparing to start. I held up my hand, and as I blew the whistle, I dropped my hand to signal the start.
Yubin and Luche dived into the water and swam swiftly. Tense, I watched, and then turned my head due to a sensation from the side.
Yura, who wasn’t wearing a mask, was looking at me sharply. I looked around to see if she was looking at other executives, but no matter how much I tried to avoid it, her gaze was clearly directed at me.
Even as Spacystro and HunterKiller faced each other, I didn’t want to ignore Yura, whom I cherished. I made a gesture asking what was wrong, and she turned her head away from her piercing gaze.
Did I inadvertently provide a clue to my identity? Or did she start suspecting something? Realizing I was on a tightrope, everything became uncertain. I should have refused to be the referee from the beginning.
“Why are you acting weird?”
Yellow asked when he noticed Pink staring at the Spacystro referee. I shook my head.
“No, I was just wondering if anyone was doing anything suspicious.”
Yellow also glanced at the Spacystro referee.
“From the previous game, I don’t think they’ll make biased calls. And in swimming, it’s clear who will arrive first.”
“Right.”
I set aside my suspicions and turned my attention to Red, who was returning from the turn.
“It’s intense. Even if we lose this one, it’s fine since we already won one.”
Blue, who was waiting, smiled as Red returned. The soldier was surprised his voice carried over such a distance.
“There’s no such thing as a match where you can afford to lose.”
Seeing Hayang’s usual friendly smile and then her competitive one was a new experience. As Red arrived, she dove into the water. But Angelique had already started due to Luche arriving first.
Swimming fiercely, I chased after her, but Angelique’s excellent athleticism made it difficult to catch up.
“You worked hard. Ace-level performance, huh?”
“That’s something you say when we’re in space.”
Esmeralda approached Luche, who had arrived. Esmeralda was my direct superior in space, and Luche belonged to a completely different unit, so they rarely met. Was she just talking based on rumors?
While thinking about this, Angelique quickly turned the marker. Hayang hadn’t reached the turn yet, so I internally cheered for her. Now, I didn’t know whose hand to raise, but I decided to cheer internally based on the moment’s emotions. While it didn’t matter who won, I secretly wished for both sides to win. Watching the match made my hands sweat.
After Angelique arrived, Siera started. As soon as she started, I was certain of the outcome. Just as I thought, Siera won first, securing Spacystro’s victory in the second match.
I was certain because I knew Siera’s specialty was swimming.
After Green of HunterKiller arrived, I blew the whistle to declare Spacystro’s victory. Given the obvious outcome, HunterKiller accepted the defeat with applause.
The final event was wrestling. We moved to the sand for the match.
Again, three players from each team would compete, with the team that wins two out of three matches winning the overall match. Since the score was tied 1-1, the outcome of wrestling would determine the winner for controlling the beach.
The issue was:
“How do we do this?”
Wrestling requires wearing a belt, and none of our executives knew how to do it.
Living in Korea for a long time, we knew about wrestling as a culture but never had the opportunity or desire to try it. To us, it was just an unfamiliar sport.
Despite being told to use a long towel to make the belts, we could only stand still.
Meanwhile, HunterKiller members, who had roughly formed their belts, were looking at us. Avoiding eye contact, I noticed Yubin approaching.
“Don’t know how to wear the belt?”
“…Of course not.”
“We don’t know much either, but I’ll show you.”
Despite Luche’s curt response, Yubin made a proper belt structure and let Luche try it. It was somewhat satisfying to see two factions, always fighting and struggling, trying to win fairly.
On the other hand, I wondered if we would have developed a close relationship if we weren’t enemies. Realizing it was impossible, I quickly dismissed the thought.
Soon, the makeshift arena was ready, and the first players from each team, Yura and Siera, kneeled and faced each other, grabbing their belts. After confirming everything was set, they released each other and I blew the whistle loudly to start the match.
