The Earth Defense Union Seoul branch has multiple teams. The HunterKiller team, boasting the highest achievements and undefeated since its current members were assembled, is unanimously recognized as the top team.
However, there was another team that, alongside HunterKiller, was referred to as a representative of the Seoul branch due to its high performance. This team is SpecialForce Team. Though their win rate isn’t as high as HunterKiller’s, they have maintained a respectable record, and each member excels individually.
“White?”
Given that SpecialForce Team has been around longer than HunterKiller, Blue, who has been active as a hyper-human among the HunterKiller members for a long time, had some rapport with them. Of course, other members weren’t entirely unaware of other teams.
Due to the unfavorable atmosphere among HunterKiller members until recently, they didn’t have much room to show interest in other teams. Their relationships with other teams were superficial, just knowing faces but not particularly caring about them.
Blue had some rapport with them, but this made him anxious because unspoken information had spread as rumors.
“Yeah, really?”
“No way. I just started living alone. What marriage?”
A wasn’t unfamiliar with the idea of marriage, but given that they hadn’t been in a relationship long enough and felt it premature to think about marriage, hearing the rumor about marriage caught him off guard.
“But did White really say that?”
White, according to Blue, wasn’t someone who easily talked about others or spread baseless rumors. Therefore, he wanted to confirm with the woman in front if White was indeed the source of the rumor.
“No. White only said she saw you leaving a furniture store with a guy. She mentioned the atmosphere looked good.”
Marriage seemed like an exaggeration as the story developed. However, since spreading such a rumor was unwanted, Blue demanded the woman stop spreading it.
“It’s not marriage, so don’t spread false rumors.”
“I won’t. I didn’t tell anyone else. It was just something we talked about.”
The rumor hadn’t reached a significant scale yet. If questioned by someone unrelated to White, it would become a real rumor, but now it came from a teammate. However, rumors could grow unexpectedly, so Blue requested her not to let it out.
“Coming back from a match?”
“Yeah. We won again today.”
“I’ll wait for the team members.”
“Right. Be careful on your way.”
“Got it.”
After Blue got off the elevator, the woman inside went upstairs. Having confirmed no immediate issues, Blue thought about talking to White later and headed to the changing room.
Team 3 of Spacystro faced another defeat. While losing isn’t ideal, they’ve grown accustomed to it, and the lingering regret over defeats is a thing of the past.
More importantly, today, something other than the outcome of the match caught their attention. During the match, they recalled training encounters with HunterKiller members, but after returning, their focus shifted to something more pressing.
“How did it go?”
Forgetting to change clothes, we met our colleague, Luche, in her office, still in our suits with helmets off.
“Wait a moment.”
Since we fought before the training results came out, we approached the match without knowing the outcome, and even Team Leader Luche hadn’t checked the results yet. She tried to calm us down as much as possible while sitting at her desk and focusing on the monitor.
It was time for the results to come out. Luche was checking the results, and we watched her, holding our breaths. Finally, Luche stopped clicking the mouse and stared at the monitor, then turned it to face us.
Gathering around the monitor, we checked the results and shouted,
“Yay!!!”
We all cheered simultaneously. Among thousands of teams, our team ranked in the top 3%. For instance, if there were 1,000 teams, ours ranked within the top 30 based on training results.
“You already knew.”
Hearing a quiet voice behind us, we turned and lowered our excitement, saluting the woman who entered Luche’s office.
“Hello! Branch Manager!”
The woman was none other than the Branch Manager of Spacystro Seoul branch, the highest-ranking person in the building with the longest experience.
“What brings you here?”
Even Luche, who rarely spoke formally, stood up and addressed the Branch Manager politely. With a kind smile, the Branch Manager gestured for them to stay seated.
“Stay. You should hear this too.”
The Branch Manager sat on the sofa, and we stood before her, waiting for her words. Why would she come to the seldom-visited Team Leader’s office?
“The evaluation was very good, so support might decrease a bit.”
“Really?!”
Luche was the happiest to hear about support. Despite losing every match, including today’s, any support for our team was great news, possibly ending years of losses.
“Not much. And A.”
When the Branch Manager called me, my teammates moved aside, positioning me and the Branch Manager face-to-face. I answered loudly and clearly.
“Yes!”
I couldn’t recall when I last took such a disciplined stance. Though it might seem like I was uncomfortable with the Branch Manager, our team had many experienced members with numerous encounters with superiors.
The gentle and soft-spoken Branch Manager was one of the people we felt most comfortable around. Yet, perhaps due to the recent match or the Branch Manager’s rare visits, we felt slightly tense compared to usual.
“Your report was excellent. It will be used as training material for new recruits.”
“Oh!”
My teammates reacted more enthusiastically than I did, unsure how to respond to such positive feedback.
Personally, I felt lucky. My perception of controlling the site was limited, and being aware of training matters and meeting HunterKiller members during training heightened my alertness.
“Considering the good evaluation, were there any special mentions?”
I didn’t genuinely expect anything, but I casually asked, hoping for a positive response. The Branch Manager smiled mysteriously and pulled out a card from her pocket.
“Dinner is covered.”
At her words, everyone started chanting my name. “A!” “A!” echoed through the office, and Luche whispered, “Those fools.” I felt happy that my colleagues enjoyed the situation, and the Branch Manager smiled warmly as always.
“How much can we spend?”
“There’s plenty. Drink as much as you want, but be careful.”
“Of course.”
Even for a dinner, there were restrictions for us. Given our status, we needed to minimize contact with Earthlings when acting as a group. Since it wasn’t training or a match, we didn’t wear suits, so we had to be extra cautious about privacy.
Confident in our experience as a veteran team, we were sure to follow basic rules. Our team consisted of members who had never caused major incidents despite various missions across planets.
“You can’t skip tonight!”
“Right. The person footing the bill shouldn’t miss out.”
“I’m coming. And it’s not because of me. Everyone did well, so it’s shared.”
While my report contributed to the dinner, the Branch Manager clarified it was because the team’s overall performance led to my good report, which in turn led to the dinner.
Though my teammates praised me highly, I didn’t consider myself extraordinary. Rarely participating in dinners, my teammates insisted I attend, especially Kruger, who gave me a stern look.
“Don’t leave.”
“Think you can skip just because you’re not coming to the dinner?”
Honestly, I had nothing to refute. Preferring indoors and solitude over socializing, I often skipped dinners.
In recent years, my teammates had stopped inviting me. Now, as the dinner’s initiator, I was facing accumulated frustrations.
“You skipped the year-end dinner with an excuse.”
“And you skipped the winter training dinner saying it was cold.”
“Just come!”
Despite agreeing to come, they didn’t easily believe me. This was the treatment I deserved, given my past behavior. Honestly, I felt a little guilty about skipping dinners.
Amidst my colleagues’ complaints, I continued to insist on attending the dinner. After changing clothes, we agreed to meet at the dinner venue later. Since it was a busy day, I stayed at headquarters to gather data instead of going home.
After reading recent articles about hyper-humans, I texted Yubin that I’d be late for dinner due to work. Although it was our first meeting after her trip, I didn’t feel it had been long since we last met.
“Is Luche not coming?”
“She wouldn’t.”
“I just asked out of curiosity.”
If we ranked those who wouldn’t attend the dinner, I would surely be second. Then who would be first? No secrets here. Luche, who drinks less and dislikes supervisors attending dinners, intentionally skipped.
Previously, she attended a dinner after being persuaded by colleagues, but ended up drunk after a few sips.
Considering these points, while both of us avoid dinners, my reluctance feels more severe.
As dusk fell and the time to meet colleagues approached, I shut down my computer.
“Have fun and don’t drink too much.”
“Sure. Thanks for your hard work, Team Leader.”
While I don’t see Luche purely as a superior, I respect her abilities and efforts. Younger and with less experience, I recognize her dedication as a team leader.
Her brief, formal thanks contained genuine appreciation, and Luche smiled, sensing my sincerity.
“Right. A, you’ve worked hard too.”
Feeling suddenly cheerful, I left headquarters and slowly headed to the dinner place. Arriving on time, I found all my colleagues already seated. How eager were they for this dinner?
“Hey! You’re here!”
Excited colleagues made space for me and filled my glass. Perhaps it was because I rarely attended dinners, or maybe this is how they usually behave. Seeing their enthusiastic demeanor, I thought this dinner would be tiring.
“Honestly, I felt a bit uneasy when you said you’d skip.”
“I felt the same. Without you, it felt different.”
“Don’t overreact. One person doesn’t make a difference.”
Someone commented on how my absence affected the training, and others speculated about the poor results.
Adjusting the overly praising comments, I filled glasses and responded with equally strong remarks, leading to a toast and drinking.
While I don’t particularly enjoy dinners, sometimes they aren’t so bad.
“Damn kids!”
Just as we were enjoying ourselves, a passionate curse from nearby caught our attention. While hearing curses in bars is common, the target was unmistakably us.
Looking over, a group of men was there, and one with deep blue hair glared at us.
“Did you rent the whole place? You’re so noisy.”
The man, visibly angry, pushed his chair and approached us. None of his companions intervened.
Noticing the tense situation, my colleagues sobered up and assessed the surroundings.
Seeing the man’s reaction, an inexplicable unease struck me.
“Did you rent the place? You’re so noisy!”
A dozen men approached our table, kicking it and scattering food. Eyes turned toward the commotion, drawing everyone’s attention.
“We stepped in something.”
