—
She tried her best not to be conscious of it. To Yellow, the topic of relationships was something distant and unrelated to her. Even when her members boasted about their boyfriends, she didn’t pay much attention.
But the moment the conversation turned toward her, her subconsciousness could no longer remain subconscious. The only person she could bring up as a potential romantic interest was A, and every time she mentioned him, the members’ attention focused on her.
As this situation repeated, Yellow inevitably became more conscious of A’s existence. Regardless of her own choice, thoughts of him surfaced in her subconscious mind.
The day after their trip and the subsequent confrontation. On Friday, her heart fluttering, she headed to the arcade, but A didn’t show up that day. She thought about texting him but decided against it, not wanting to seem too concerned about someone she had become so conscious of. She endured the weekend without contacting him.
Since there were no meetings scheduled for Monday, Yellow, dressed casually, headed to the arcade again. The Yellow who thought it didn’t matter whether A came or not no longer existed.
Playing games with him was fun, and the thrill of teaching him and watching him grow was unforgettable. She was aware that her interpersonal relationships weren’t the smoothest, which made her bond with A even more precious to her.
If her connection with A were to end now, she had no idea when, where, or how she might form a new one. She even began to think that A might be the first and last person to enjoy playing games with her without any ulterior motives.
It might seem like an extreme thought, but it was a crucial issue for Yellow. Growing up in a less-than-harmonious household, finding someone who could enjoy games with her was invaluable.
But what about the people who approached her to play games? They either had ulterior motives beyond gaming or couldn’t handle her blunt way of speaking and left.
Of course, Yellow wasn’t entirely innocent in this process. She was fully aware of her own shortcomings. But knowing her flaws didn’t make it easy to fix them.
Moreover, in an environment where she hadn’t been able to address those flaws, A appeared. He matched her rough way of speaking, eagerly learned to play games, and became the first person who could truly enjoy gaming with her.
The feeling of having made a friend gradually morphed due to her limited situation and the members’ teasing. And it was changing in a very positive direction.
But Yellow was confused. He had no romantic feelings for her and was purely interested in learning to play games with her. So why was she developing romantic feelings for him? The unfamiliar emotions scared her and made her feel like she was doing something she shouldn’t.
She tried to push away the thoughts sprouting in her mind, but on Monday morning, she ran into him.
A, who always remained confident even after losing games, had a troubled expression she’d never seen before.
Was he not in the mood to play at the arcade? Or did he have something to say? With these thoughts, Yellow agreed to A’s request to play games at his place and went with him.
He still looked troubled. His gaze, as if unsure how to look at her, was fixed on the ground. Seeing this, Yellow couldn’t help but feel concerned about his state.
“Is something wrong?”
Her worried question revealed that he had witnessed the violent actions of some hyper-humans.
Yellow felt her heart sink. Her newfound friend might start to view hyper-humans negatively, and that perspective could affect how he saw her.
The insurmountable wall between hyper-humans and ordinary people still exists. The wall of discrimination and lack of communication is hard to overcome, and in this world, only a few are trying to bridge it. So, if the wall couldn’t be crossed, wouldn’t it be better to explain the reality of hyper-humans to him clearly?
Yellow began to explain about hyper-humans—why they came into existence and why even within their community, violent hyper-humans were left unchecked.
“Maybe someday I’ll come to hate hyper-humans.”
The words stabbed deep into her heart, but they also revealed A’s honest nature, unvarnished by pretenses.
“But even if that day comes, I’ll never hate you.”
Her heart raced. He said they were friends and that he wouldn’t hate her. She knew that life was unpredictable. A day might come when A would be disappointed by her actions and grow to dislike her. But that day wasn’t now, and for the time being, A had no reason to hate her.
“We started the game, you idiot!”
So, as the members said, could this be an opportunity to grow closer? If so, wouldn’t they have more time to share their hobby together?
Her head felt overheated, her face flushed, and Yellow, in an attempt to distract herself, loudly kicked him, sending him tumbling onto the sofa. She turned her gaze to the TV, unable to look at him for some reason.
After SuA kicked her side, they played games together. Though not everything was resolved, her heart felt lighter, and as they played and lost repeatedly, the complicated thoughts in her mind gradually faded.
They spent the day playing games until sunset, ordering delivery food for meals.
“We didn’t win a single match.”
“How was playing other games?”
“It was fun.”
Now, instead of being limited to fighting games, she tried multiplayer games she had never played before and had a great time. Whenever her gameplay was frustrating, SuA cursed at her, but not wanting to lose in the battle of harsh words, she cursed back.
“……Are you coming tomorrow too?”
The subjectless question made her hesitate. Was he talking about the arcade?
“The arcade? It’s a bit iffy, but if you call me, I’ll come.”
“No, you idiot!”
Thinking he was talking about the arcade, she said she’d come if called, only to be called an idiot. Maybe it wasn’t about the arcade?
Asking if she would come tomorrow too… Was he asking if she’d come to his place, not the arcade?
She had already visited his place several times and felt familiar with it, but SuA seemed awkward, avoiding eye contact after asking.
“Oh, I’ll come. But is it okay if we just play games at your place and not go to the arcade?”
“It’s fine. You can play games at home too.”
She thought SuA preferred playing at the arcade, but apparently, it didn’t matter much. Since it was hot outside and going back and forth would be tiring, it was more comfortable for her to play games at SuA’s place anyway.
Soon, SuA took out her phone and sent her a message with a four-digit number. Puzzled, she looked up at him.
“It’s the door code. I won’t be here in the morning, so come in and play games or something.”
“Is that really okay? If you’re not here in the morning, I could come in the afternoon…”
She asked if it was okay to enter his place when he wasn’t there, but before she could finish, his sharp gaze made her reply, “Got it.”
Perhaps he thought that if she came early and he wasn’t there, she would leave? It was hard to be certain, but it seemed he genuinely wanted her to come over and play games.
“Then, I’ll get going.”
“Alright.”
She said goodbye to SuA, who saw her off at the door, and left his place. On her way home, she messaged Yura and Hayang. They were probably still worried about her, so she wanted to reassure them.
She sent a message saying she was fine and would explain later when they met. As expected, she got worried replies. She felt spoiled by their kindness, receiving such concern despite her abilities.
The next morning, the usual meeting was held at the HunterKiller headquarters. With all members participating and roles being distributed, the meeting went more smoothly, and afterward, they had their usual chitchat time.
“…….”
Yellow quietly listened to the conversation between Red, Pink, and Blue in the corner. Green was awkwardly stuck in the middle, weathering the storm of gossip.
“Does this happen often?”
Having recently started attending meetings regularly, Yellow found it fascinating to see the members chatting like this. It seemed like they were always talking about similar things, but the flow of conversation never broke.
For Yellow, who had little to talk about besides games, it was just intriguing.
“Then, let’s wrap this up here.”
“How about lunch?”
With Red’s closing statement and Pink’s suggestion to have lunch together, Yellow hesitated. On one hand, she thought it would be nice to build better communication with the members by eating together. On the other hand, she had received a message from A just an hour ago, asking if she could come over to his place, and she wanted to get back quickly to play games with him.
“Uh, I have someone waiting for me…”
Torn between the two, she chose to go back to A, who was waiting at her place. But as she spoke, she wondered if her actions were creating distance between her and the members.
However, the members, who had grown to know Yellow better after their trip, said it was fine, and Pink, wearing a meaningful smile, stared right at her.
“Why, why?”
Feeling like her thoughts were being read, Yellow unconsciously shrank back.
“Who is it?”
“Huh?”
She couldn’t immediately answer the question. She was already concerned about A after what she’d heard yesterday, and now, with the members teasing her about a potential romance, the whirlwind of thoughts in her head became overwhelming.
She didn’t realize that her hesitation only further stimulated the members’ romantic instincts.
“The guy you mentioned before?”
“A date?!”
“It’s not a date. We’re just playing games at his place…”
Only after speaking did she realize she had said too much.
“An indoor date?”
“No, we’ve played games at his place before.”
She tried to downplay it, but Red and Pink, already in romance mode, didn’t hear her words.
After relentless questioning, Yellow was the first to give in.
“So you played games with him all day yesterday, and you’re doing it again today?”
“That’s what’s happening.”
“Where’s he waiting? Nearby?”
“No, at my place.”
Her mention of him waiting at her place caused a stir, and even Green, who she thought wouldn’t get involved, was quietly listening intently from the back.
“What? So today’s the day?”
“That’s not possible?!”
At Pink’s words, Yellow’s face, which rarely showed any change in expression, turned bright red. But Pink spoke to her with a serious expression.
“For people like us, you never know when an opportunity will come. Think carefully. Do you like him? Or not really?”
“……I don’t dislike him.”
“Don’t be vague. Do you like him?”
The dynamic between Yellow and Pink, who usually acted like they wanted to tear each other apart, suddenly shifted, with Yellow yielding to Pink’s words. Red found it curious how discussions about romance could have such an impact, and she wondered who could have tamed the fierce Yellow.
Of course, she wasn’t curious enough to want to meet this person. She barely had enough time to laugh and chat with A while lying in bed watching TV, so there was no time to meet other guys.
On the other hand, overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, Yellow eventually nodded at Pink’s question, “Do you like him?” The continuous questioning made her swirling emotions clearer, and she ended up nodding.
But Yellow, who hadn’t fully come to terms with her feelings, remained silent even after nodding.
“I might have pushed too hard, but the choice is yours, Yellow. And I truly mean it when I say you never know when an opportunity will come.”
Pink, whose life had become happier since starting her relationship, wanted to encourage Yellow to pursue love if she had found someone compatible. But the final decision rested with Yellow, so she didn’t push further and grabbed her phone to leave.
“How did you and your boyfriend start dating?”
At Yellow’s unexpected serious question, Pink smiled, coughed once, and then looked directly at Yellow.
“We got drunk and slept together.”
The blunt answer left Yellow staring at her in shock.
“There are many ways. I can’t give advice since I don’t have male friends either, but I don’t think maintaining a friendship is the best way.”
Though Pink spoke casually, her words carried significant weight for Yellow, who took them to heart.
The members went out for lunch, but they eventually let Yellow go home. Their sincere concern made her think of A, who was waiting for her at home. On the subway ride back, she searched about friendships between men and women on her phone.
Being friends with A was good. But there were limits to friendship. If A got a girlfriend in the near future, not sometime far off, it would be hard to remain just gaming friends.
The ambiguous nature of male-female friendships often leads to an empty end.
Yellow wanted to preserve the joyful, happy times for as long as possible.
Perhaps, then, it would be better to end this ambiguous relationship?
With that thought, as she arrived home, she swallowed nervously, even though she was just entering her own place.
—
