Evil Organization’s Extra Mr. A

[15th Chapter]

On a quiet Saturday afternoon. There is a bustling neighborhood that doesn’t distinguish between day and night, just a few subway stops away from my house. After walking for about 15 minutes from there, you enter a quiet neighborhood where there’s a cozy café with people coming and going moderately.

Although this café sells bread and has been promoted enthusiastically on social media, leading to occasional crowds, its remote location means it’s usually deserted on weekdays. Even on weekends, it’s not always packed. The number of customers varies irregularly, so even on weekends, the difference can be significant. For instance, on a Saturday afternoon when the store should be busy, it was surprisingly empty, making me wonder if they could afford the rent.

So why did I come to this café?

I was doing the dishes with Pink from the HunterKiller team.

“Haa…”

“Already sighing on the first day?”

Just being around her, who has unpredictable energy, makes me feel exhausted.

To understand the current situation, we need to go back three days.

“Pink?”

“Yes. I’ve roughly confirmed the position.”

Last week, Luche told me that the surveillance target had changed, and after a week of reports on Red with no significant results, Luche pushed for a change in target. Given how uncomfortable it was to keep an eye on Yubin while also surveilling her, I agreed to change the surveillance target as Luche instructed.

“So you’re going there now?”

On a weekday afternoon, I was called to headquarters in civilian clothes. Luche suggested going somewhere, and without understanding the reason, I was dragged out and took the subway. I found out the surveillance target was changed to Pink, and that’s why I’m here now.

“Why didn’t you tell me immediately? I was wondering why I had to wear a wig.”

Luche wore a black wig to cover her ash-gray hair and applied much lighter makeup than usual. It had been a long time since I last saw her in civilian clothes, but she tends to dress quite simply when she does.

She was wearing a black skirt falling below her knees, a white T-shirt, and a denim jacket.

“But do you really need to go yourself? With Red, you just gave the location and sent me off.”

“I’m not sure if the location is accurate, so I need to check. Is that a problem?!”

Avoiding her fierce gaze, I looked out the window, unable to relax my furrowed brow, which seemed to be ignored outright.

“Don’t make that face. You’ll get wrinkles.”

“I’m younger than you, so it’s fine.”

“Yes, yes.”

Luche is my superior and a senior member responsible for our team, yet she is the youngest among all team members. Regardless of the hierarchical society and age, I don’t particularly care, but sometimes, when she acts vulnerable, everyone feels like a guardian.

“And don’t put on too much makeup. How many times have I told you it makes you look older?”

“It’s necessary for the atmosphere!”

Like me, Luche is conscious of being the youngest and tries to hide it by putting on heavy makeup during confrontations. Despite telling her multiple times, she never listens. On days when she wears light makeup like today, she looks about ten years younger.

“That ‘atmosphere.’ The more you emphasize it, the less mature you seem.”

Unintentionally, once I started speaking, I began nagging Luche. Usually, I’m on the receiving end of such remarks, but rarely, I find myself in this position.

“Look. Twenty years have passed since I came to Earth, but nothing has changed.”

Though structurally similar to humans on Earth, we differ significantly in biological rhythms and lifespan. Humans on Earth visibly change after 20 years, whereas we hardly change at all.

The advantage is maintaining peak physical condition for a long time, but the downside is slower mental growth compared to humans on Earth due to abundant physical energy.

Of course, individual differences exist, but there’s no denying that Luche hasn’t changed much compared to twenty years ago.

“Even in confrontations, every time I lose, you keep saying, ‘Don’t cry,’ ‘Don’t cry.’ What’s the point of talking? You cry right away, making it hard to treat you purely as a superior.”

After pouring out my complaints, noticing Luche’s silence, I turned my gaze back to her.

“Guh, huh!”

Luche lowered her head and was hiccupping. This was a sign she was about to cry, and the realization hit me hard.

Luche isn’t someone with strong mental resilience. She doesn’t crumble easily, but she often cries when confronted with her known weaknesses by someone she knows well.

Especially, since this is the first time we’ve met since I came to Earth, but during our space travels, we had frequent communication opportunities, making us the longest-known teammates in the team.

While familiarity brings comfort, it also means I’m the one most affected when Luche’s mental state breaks down.

“Joke! Just a joke. Luche is so mature!”

Trying to soothe her, I quickly changed my tone, but I knew she wouldn’t take it seriously at this moment.

“Alright…”

This is bad. If she gets upset, it might last for days. We need to move to find the surveillance target immediately, and if Luche is upset, it will complicate things.

“Luche is amazing! How incredible she is!”

In the subway, with limited words due to public awareness, I felt like a fool, but at this moment, feeling foolish wasn’t important. I needed to prevent Luche from crying.

But nothing seemed to work, and eventually, I had to use a method I didn’t want to.

“Huuu…”

This method required deep breathing and mental preparation, and I hadn’t wanted to use it again since the last time.

Having prepared thoroughly, I placed my hand gently on Luche’s head, stroking it.

“No, Luche is amazing.”

Luche dislikes being treated like a child, but ironically, this method works best. Although it made my heart shrink and gave me goosebumps, I remembered that it worked before under pressure from other team members.

“……”

As Luche’s hiccups subsided, she only lowered her head silently.

“If we get off the subway, I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

She nodded without answering.

No matter how provocative her outfit or makeup, Luche’s fragile mentality makes it impossible to erase the feeling of treating her like a younger sister for the next few years.

Finally, after buying an ice cream for Luche and getting off the subway, the situation slowly progressed.

“This way.”

As summer approached, the sun was scorching, and sweat poured out just from walking. Thinking about having to walk this route repeatedly for surveillance made me feel nauseous.

After walking for about 15 minutes from the station, we found a café nestled among several houses.

“There?”

“Yeah. Probably inside.”

We peeked inside cautiously, trying not to appear suspicious, but the counter at the far end wasn’t visible from outside.

“Just a moment. We won’t be recognized anyway, right?”

“……Right?”

Luche was in a completely different appearance from usual, and given that I’ve only shown her my suited form in front of HunterKillers, she wouldn’t recognize me.

“Let’s go in as customers. That seems the most natural.”

“Good.”

Still holding some tension, we entered the café. The clean and bright ambiance made us feel naturally comfortable as we walked toward the counter.

There was no one at the counter, and when we peered inside, someone slowly walked out from within. Long pink hair with lavender eyes. Though half her face was covered by a mask, her gaze and demeanor told us she was HunterKiller’s Pink.

“Where is everyone?”

Looking around outside, seeing no other staff, Pink came out to the counter.

“Would you like to order something?”

She greeted us with a business-like smile and we decided to order naturally.

“I’ll have an iced Americano…”

Unable to call Luche’s name, I looked at her after ordering. Luche, looking even more tense, said,

“I’ll have… Oh, an iced chocolate! Please.”

Even though I said it, I couldn’t maintain my expression.

“Got it. I’ll let you know with a vibration alert when your drink is ready.”

After paying, I grabbed the vibration alert Pink gave me and sat across from Luche at a table.

“What are you doing? Advertising suspicious activities?!”

“You’re the one who trails off in strange situations!”

We started whispering and fighting, knowing I would inevitably lose. So I raised a white flag.

“If you stop doing it next time, it will be fine. Who knows if there will be a next time.”

“Why do you always say such unlucky things?”

“Do you know how much your heart races when you’re being watched? You never know when you might get caught and lose your head.”

“But killing is forbidden!”

Reading the tense atmosphere, I raised a white flag again.

As Luche said, killing is prohibited by rule, so we mustn’t kill each other. But it’s equally terrifying.

Though we’ve become like Red now, who knows what would happen if we had a single misstep somewhere.

“Enough. Since we’ve confirmed everything, I’ll handle the surveillance from now on, right?”

“Yes. Any ideas?”

Just as Luche asked, the vibration alert rang. Standing up, I headed to the counter to get the drinks. In front of me was Pink, and unable to meet her eyes, I tried to avoid them as much as possible.

“Thank you.”

Avoiding her gaze, I picked up the tray with the drinks, only to notice something. Below the counter, an A4-printed sign read, “Weekend kitchen part-time job recruitment ongoing.”

I memorized it and returned to Luche’s seat with the tray.

“How does it look? Do you think we were spotted?”

“If we had been spotted, would I be like this now?!”

I spoke quietly, feeling agitated, and after a moment’s thought, realizing Luche was right there, I decided to ask directly.

“Luche. Can I take a second job?”

“Huh?”

Luche probably thinks this is nonsense. Of course, she’d think it’s nonsense, given I cut straight to the chase about taking a second job without any context.

“I want to work here.”

I don’t have a groundbreaking method, but there’s a saying in Korea: “If you want to catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger’s den.” To properly surveil the target, you must enter their workplace. It may be reckless, but I realized something after meeting Yubin.

Talking to someone is more informative than watching them for a hundred days.

Of course, I couldn’t gather substantial information while surveilling Yubin, but I understood that the relationship changes drastically what I can do.

Thus, I contacted them, went through an interview, got accepted, and was told to start work the next day…

And that’s how we arrived at the current situation.

“On the way to work this morning, I felt like I was being watched again.”

Pink’s personality was unlike anyone I’ve met before. Her sociability was unusually good, and watching her talk excitedly reminded me of a hyperactive puppy dyed pink. Of course, it was meant in a positive sense.

Her excessive sociability was evident when she talked non-stop about events from yesterday night to this morning to someone she barely knew.

‘This seems wrong somehow.’