I felt bad. I thought it would be fine soon, but the stray thoughts in my head wouldn’t go away.
The wounds healed quickly. They weren’t severe enough to not heal, and it didn’t take long for them to recover. Washing was enough to erase most of the marks on my body.
After getting out of the shower, Yubin didn’t ask me about what happened that day. I tried to act normally, but it seemed Yubin didn’t see it that way. Instead, she didn’t ask right away, noticing something was different.
Even though I wasn’t in good shape, I went straight home. It looked like she was waiting for me to bring up the topic first. She might eventually ask directly about that day if I keep quiet, but it seemed she didn’t want to bring it up until I did.
Originally, I planned to go to the arcade the next day to meet SuA. But even the next day, the stray thoughts in my head didn’t fade.
Seeing Yubin not asking about why I was in such a state made my mind even more complicated. The tangled thoughts persisted, so I stayed at home without doing anything.
The weekend started. On Saturday, I went to the cafe for a part-time job. Yura, who hadn’t seen me for a week, hugged me right away, but noticed my not-so-bright expression and tilted her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Yeah, a little.”
With an answer that left room for further conversation, I lightly kissed her.
“If you have any hard times, just tell me. I’ll help.”
Being comforted by Yura’s words after kissing her made me smile slightly, but the stray thoughts still lingered.
I worked as usual and talked with Yura as usual. However, we didn’t end up drinking together after work. I didn’t feel like drinking immediately, and Yura probably thought I wasn’t in the mood today either. We exchanged greetings at the cafe and went our separate ways.
Yura’s behavior didn’t change much the next day.
After finishing my Sunday part-time job, I headed to Hayang’s house. Seeing her bright smile greet me at the door made me happy, but then complex thoughts crept in again.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.”
While eating, I momentarily blanked out. Seeing me like this, Hayang worriedly asked if something was wrong. But I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it with Yubin, Yura, or Hayang.
Yubin never told me about being a hyper-human, while Yura and Hayang knew I knew they were hyper-humans. The reason I couldn’t bring it up wasn’t because of them.
I think our relationship is close, so I find it hard to bring up the topic. Even if I try to avoid talking about Indigo and hint around, I can’t share the jumbled thoughts in my head with them.
Perhaps because it’s too close? I didn’t want to burden them.
They might not feel burdened, but that’s how I felt.
Given my position as a Spacystro, it’s difficult to bring up the topic easily. Even if there’s a chance to bring it up now, I don’t want to do it.
Monday came, and I felt like constant stray thoughts would arise if I stayed at home, so I went outside to clear my mind. Moving habitually without thinking, I found myself in front of the arcade when I regained consciousness.
Is SuA inside? Thinking that, I went down the arcade stairs, but SuA wasn’t there on Monday morning. Maybe she had a meeting?
Since I came out of habit, it’s not a problem if I don’t meet her. And even if I met now, I doubt I’d know what to say.
As I was about to move forward to go somewhere, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
“A?”
Turning my head, I saw SuA standing there with an ion drink in one hand, dressed more lightly than before.
“Oh, hi.”
“?”
Our eyes met, and I greeted her, but she stared at me intently and slowly approached without replying.
“Why didn’t you come on Friday?”
It could be understandable if she missed one day, but we’ve been playing games together recently. SuA bluntly asked why I didn’t come on Friday. Should I mention something related to it? I’m not sure. But I felt I could talk about the hyper-human aspect with her.
The reason… I’m not sure. It’s hard to explain.
But I felt I could at least hint at it.
“…Can’t we just play games at your place today?”
What came out was not an answer but a request to play games at SuA’s place. SuA looked puzzled for a moment. Being tall for a woman, SuA’s slight eye movement met mine, and I saw her tense gaze relax.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
She readily agreed to my request to play games at her place. But why did SuA come to the arcade on Monday morning instead of going to a meeting? Could there still be unresolved issues with the members? Or maybe things were resolved, but she’s maintaining her usual routine?
“Want anything to eat?”
“No, not right now.”
I hadn’t eaten properly all weekend due to my complex thoughts. Though I ate, it was just to fill my stomach, not enjoying the food.
Without buying anything, I moved towards SuA’s place. Familiar place. I entered the spacious penthouse and sat on the living room sofa.
SuA gave me a drink, and I turned on the game console and placed her gamepad on the table. Though she didn’t ask any questions and seemed ready to use the gamepad, her gaze soon shifted to me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Scared?”
“You’re really noticeable.”
It’s understandable that Yubin, Yura, and Hayang would worry and ask if they saw me like this. Clearly, I was visibly affected.
How should I bring it up? I thought about it, but no clear words came to mind, so I just spoke whatever came to mind.
“How’s the hyper-human activity?”
“Huh?”
She seemed surprised. It’s understandable. When I asked about her worries, she suddenly mentioned her own issue.
“It’s fine. Why?”
“The perception of hyper-humans isn’t good.”
“That’s true.”
“I’ve realized that.”
All weekend, my mind was filled with the complex thought of why hyper-humans, despite their efforts, are still being criticized.
I knew hyper-humans faced discrimination. HunterKiller members also lived in discriminatory environments, and I wanted to tell them there was no reason for them to be discriminated against.
But experiencing Indigo and the group’s actions firsthand made me realize there were entities causing hyper-humans to be discriminated against.
I knew from investigations that some hyper-humans committed violent acts. While I thought the media’s influence played a role, I believed it wasn’t significant.
My perspective was short-sighted. People believe what the media says and form their views based on it. News serves to inform people of events and enable them to think.
“Why? Did someone beat you up somewhere?”
Casually said, but the truth in her words was unsettling. Should I tell SuA about being assaulted by a hyper-human?
“Not exactly. I saw something.”
I couldn’t say it.
But just saying “I saw it,” SuA sighed deeply, put down the gamepad, and redirected her gaze back to me. Her usually strong gaze was now filled with concern.
“Did you get hurt?”
Did she think I was at the scene?
“No, I didn’t get hurt.”
“…Do you know that some hyper-humans commit crimes?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Why can’t the other hyper-humans do anything about it?”
Simply put, they might fear being labeled as whistleblowers. But considering Yura and SuA’s personalities, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case. So, why don’t they do anything if they know?
“They’ve given up.”
SuA said in a low voice, observing my silence. There seemed to be a weight of years as a hyper-human and time spent as a HunterKiller member in her words.
“Do you know how hyper-humans are born?”
“No, I don’t.”
Though I conducted various investigations on hyper-humans, I didn’t know how they were created or appeared before us. Efforts to gather information were futile since Earth Defense Union and Spacystro completely block each other’s information systems.
“Probably not all, but at least 90% of hyper-humans were born because of money.”
SuA’s following statement was quite shocking. Twenty years ago, after the Spacystro invasion, global DNA tests identified suitable genes for hyper-humans. These genes were given to couples who were paid, and experiments were performed on their children.
We knew that humans, facing extinction, acted in certain ways during planetary invasions. Criminal acts or unethical behaviors occurred due to individuals losing their humanity.
But conducting experiments on children who hadn’t reached puberty was unprecedented on Earth. Was this common elsewhere? Even during wars, children are generally spared. It was hard to understand why experiments were done on children of one’s own planet and then faced discrimination later.
“I and our members became hyper-humans because of our parents’ greed for money. Most hyper-humans were born this way and ended up in a discriminatory world.”
Then, where did the early hyper-humans go? They must have found results from experiments on pre-pubescent children somewhere. The subjects were likely the initial humans who became hyper-humans.
For now, I focused on SuA’s words.
“As a result, many people went astray. Of course, understanding the actions of criminals isn’t easy. Still, knowing that certain acts shouldn’t be done, and not having a plan to deal with them, isn’t ideal either. But…”
SuA’s confident voice faded as she spoke, and her gaze dropped. Unlike her usual domineering presence, I swallowed hard, watching her closely.
“After experiencing it for so long, I gave up. Convincing people who discriminate against hyper-humans and correcting those committing crimes.”
SuA is a kind person. Initially, I didn’t know, but understanding her better revealed that despite her rough exterior, she genuinely cares for others and sometimes regrets her clumsy actions.
But when dealing with people whose interests don’t align, no matter how much effort is put in, giving up is inevitable. Understanding each other is essential to persuade and change someone. However, there are structures where mutual understanding is impossible.
For SuA, these structures are the people who discriminate against hyper-humans and those committing crimes.
“Sorry, I got sidetracked. You said you saw hyper-humans beating someone, right?”
“Yeah.”
“To be honest, the first thing I thought when I heard that wasn’t about worrying for them.”
It was a predictable reaction. Listening to SuA’s comment and applying the information and experiences I had gathered, there was no reason to worry about hyper-humans being discriminated against.
“…Have I grown to dislike hyper-humans?”
Hearing SuA’s hesitant words, I froze.
Unconsciously, I thought of SuA as a strong person. Despite realizing her regrettable actions, I still fixed the idea of her being strong in my mind.
SuA, like me, didn’t like being disliked as a hyper-human. Isn’t that natural? Who would like being disliked? Even a criminal who commits heinous crimes wouldn’t like being disliked.
Now, even if I give up on hyper-humans committing crimes, it’s unlikely that SuA’s feelings towards fighting for Earth would change.
On the other hand, I felt it was good not to have brought this up to Yubin, Yura, and Hayang. Especially, Yubin, who saw me in such a state, hearing it was caused by hyper-humans would have surely been shocking.
“No.”
I replied firmly. I felt it was good to have brought it up with SuA. Though it might not be entirely comfortable for her, bringing it up was easier compared to the others, and I felt my thoughts were becoming clearer.
Certainly, nothing was solved immediately.
Still, I understood the fundamental reason why hyper-humans were being blamed. There were violent hyper-humans, and those trying to correct them existed, but their efforts didn’t stop the overall disdain.
However, I didn’t know the root cause. Whether discrimination against hyper-humans came first or their criminal acts.
It remained unchanged that solving this wasn’t within my capabilities.
Yet, I had a fragmentary solution on how to make HunterKiller members not be hated or discriminated against.
Since I can’t solve the current hatred and discrimination, the only thing I can do is not hate or discriminate against them. And gradually find answers one by one. It was a simple yet profound solution, and though it took a while to realize, discussing with SuA eased the worries that plagued me over the weekend.
Despite her seemingly uneasy demeanor, SuA seemed uncertain. It’s understandable. To her, I’m a regular person, and she’s likely seen many leave after expressing dislike for hyper-humans.
“Maybe someday, I’ll start hating hyper-humans.”
This is true. After experiencing one-sided violence from Indigo and the group, I can’t say I won’t start hating hyper-humans. But, my words to SuA are sincere.
“But even if that day comes, I won’t hate you.”
To me, hyper-humans are just ordinary Earthlings. Therefore, I won’t look at her with discriminatory eyes. Even if I start disliking Earthlings, I won’t dislike the current HunterKiller members.
“…”
Silent, SuA looked bewildered, then kicked me onto the sofa and grabbed the gamepad, directing her gaze to the TV.
“We’re already playing. You crazy guy!”
“Feel free to remove ‘crazy guy’ though.”
