Ch.66Thump-Thump! (3)

#066

“Ah….”

Himena’s low sigh.

Her flustered expression illuminated by moonlight, her hot breath touching my face and neck.

But that moment was brief.

“S-sorry.”

Himena covered her face with both hands as she raised her upper body.

Seeing her like this, Dexter also sat up carefully and spoke.

“Are you alright?”

“Just a bit… a bit flustered…”

The only living creature that had ever touched Himena’s lips was her family’s Malamute, ‘Balto.’

‘It was warm…’

Himena quietly recalled the warmth of Dexter’s lips against hers.

Seeing her like this, Dexter, who was momentarily dazed, chose to respond with a gentle smile rather than saying anything.

“If you cover your face like that, you won’t be able to see the moon. Let’s look at it until we’re tired of it.”

“Y-yes, let’s do that.”

Himena, whose face felt like it might burst at any moment, barely accepted Dexter’s suggestion and leaned back against the truck’s rear window.

Seeing her like this, Dexter also leaned back beside her and spoke softly.

“Was that your first?”

“…Yes, it was.”

“Hmm.”

Seeing Dexter’s head nodding quietly in the moonlight, Himena also spoke softly.

“You’re not teasing me?”

“Whether you liked it or not, I’m the one who took your first. It wouldn’t be right to joke about that.”

Dexter has his principles.

At the very least, he had no intention of trampling on Himena’s feelings as a joke.

Perhaps sensing this, Himena carefully said:

“But… today wasn’t a date, was it?”

What kind of nonsense was this?

“If it were a date, would you have wanted me to kiss you?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant… I mean, Dexter, you were just trying to give me some time to rest, right?”

“That was the original plan, yes.”

“But it turned into something like a date, so I was worried you might be disappointed…”

“Ah, so that’s what you meant?”

Dexter, now understanding what Himena was trying to say, explained more clearly.

“So, the purpose of today’s meeting was to let you rest properly, but ‘kissing’ doesn’t align with that purpose. And because you kissed me, you think I might be disappointed?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

“Pfft.”

Unable to hold back his laughter, Dexter chuckled while trying to stifle it.

“Why, why are you laughing?!”

“No, over something so trivial? Puhehe…!”

After laughing for a few more seconds, Dexter wiped away the tears that had unconsciously formed and spoke.

As question marks filled Himena’s head, unable to understand Dexter’s hearty laughter, he opened his mouth again.

“Hehehe… Ah, this is really funny. No, of course what you said about my intentions is correct. But that’s not something to be disappointed about.”

“You’re not… disappointed?”

“Why would I be disappointed? You’re not someone to be looked down upon, and isn’t your self-esteem a bit too low?”

Seeing her still flustered face illuminated by moonlight, Dexter chose to answer with actions rather than words.

Dexter placed his hand on Himena’s right shoulder and pulled her close, then as her face came within close proximity, he placed his hand on the back of her head and kissed her.

“Ah!”

Hesitating at Dexter’s sudden kiss, Himena didn’t reject him but accepted it.

Unlike the experienced Dexter, Himena’s response was almost wooden, but seeing her trying her best in her own way, Dexter smiled slightly and went along with it.

Though her tongue and lip movements were clumsy, Dexter was satisfied, and Himena was so satisfied that her ears burned hot.

After about 5 minutes…

“Haah…”

Even though they had only kissed, Himena’s expression was dreamy.

Seeing her like this, Dexter held her hand tightly and said:

“Let’s wipe off the saliva, Himena.”

“What? Oh… yes.”

Flustered by Dexter’s words, Himena wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Let’s stop here for today and go home.”

“Oh, home…?”

“Why, don’t you want to go?”

Seeing Dexter smiling in the moonlight, Himena shook her head vigorously and said:

“No! We should go home!”

“Then get in quickly. I’ll take you straight home.”

After saying this, Dexter stood up and placed his hands under Himena’s back and knees, lifting her up.

“W-why so suddenly?”

“You seemed to have lost your strength?”

Dexter playfully answered Himena, who was surprised at being lifted.

He carried her down from the truck bed in that state. Then, with the hand that was holding her legs, he opened the passenger door and seated her inside.

“Y-you’re really strong.”

“Not at all. Let’s go now.”

Dexter immediately got into the driver’s seat and headed towards Himena’s house.

* * *

Henderson, located in the southern part of the Strip, though at quite a distance.

Like Summerlin, it’s known as a wealthy area and is quieter than other parts of Las Vegas.

“Isn’t it a bit big for living alone?”

“Is it?”

Standing in front of Himena’s condominium complex, Dexter was overwhelmed by the obviously luxurious atmosphere.

All the women Dexter considered close friends lived in luxurious homes that were incomparable to his own.

‘It’s a bit intimidating.’

But when he realized that there was a spaceship worth more than twice the price of real estate parked at the Air Force base in front of his house, Dexter felt much more at ease.

“Why that expression?”

“Huh?”

“You’re making a twisted smile.”

As soon as Dexter heard Himena’s observation, he covered his mouth with one hand and calmly changed his expression.

“Ahem. It’s nothing.”

“…? Alright, come in.”

Entering Himena’s home, Dexter could tell that despite being the same gender, the atmosphere was completely different from Judy’s.

“I thought it would be messy like your car, but it’s not.”

“That’s quite rude, you know?”

Himena pouted as she spoke.

From what Dexter observed, there was only one commonality with Judy’s place: it was large for someone living alone.

“There’s only one bedroom, but it’s spacious. You could play baseball in here.”

“What baseball? It’s not that big.”

“Still, it’s too big for one person to live in.”

The overall clean white tone was complemented by some orange-tinted lights that created a warm feeling.

Dexter looked around and ran his hand over a frame on the wall to check for dust.

It was clean without any dust sticking to his hand.

“Living alone in a big house must make it hard to clean every day, but there’s not a speck of dust… Do you have a housekeeper?”

“…Am I a suspect? Are you investigating?”

“So, about the housekeeper?”

“…Yes. There’s Mrs. Renata.”

“I knew it.”

“What do you mean ‘I knew it’?”

As Himena pouted again, Dexter pointed at her lips and said:

“What’s this? Are you asking for another kiss?”

“……”

At Dexter’s remark, Himena pulled in her lips and closed her mouth.

“This is why I tease you.”

“Ugh.”

Realizing she’d been teased again, Himena slapped Dexter’s arm with a smack.

“Would you like some tea before you go?”

“Should I have some? Or should I just leave?”

“You’ve come all the way here, it would be strange to just leave. Have at least a cup of tea.”

Himena said, fidgeting a bit.

“And, thank you for today… I’m grateful.”

“Well, look at this scene.”

Dexter chuckled at the sight.

Soon, Himena told Dexter to sit on the sofa while she brewed tea, and a small voice could be heard.

“Yes, Mrs. Renata, it’s me… Where’s the tea? No, like black tea or something… Oh, the left cabinet. And the mugs? Ah, here… Yes, sorry for the late hour. See you tomorrow…”

Though she tried to lower her voice as much as possible, Dexter could hear the conversation with the housekeeper clearly, and he suppressed a laugh.

‘She’s asking where her own tea is in her own house.’

Soon, Himena brought two cups of tea, and Dexter looked at her and said:

“Have you ever brewed tea before?”

“Come on, do you think I can’t even brew tea?”

“No, I believe in you. Surely you can brew tea.”

Dexter took a sip of the tea in the mug and rolled his eyes around before saying:

“Hmm, it’s ordinary.”

“Tea is supposed to be ordinary.”

Himena was about to pout again but stopped as she remembered Dexter’s earlier remark.

“Tea aside, how was today? Was it okay?”

“Today?”

Himena thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Yes, I was satisfied. Very much so.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Dexter leaned back against the sofa in relief, and Himena, caressing her mug with both hands, said:

“Then, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Did you… like me?”

A direct question suddenly thrown at Dexter, despite her earlier shyness.

But Dexter wasn’t surprised by this fastball.

Instead, he nodded as if he had expected it and said:

“However, I have one thing to tell you.”

“…What is it?”

“You’ve seen what I’ve been through.”

“Yes, I have…”

“I’m sorry to put this decision on you, but you might end up worrying about me even more than you have so far.”

Dexter took a sip of tea and opened his mouth.

“I want to be with you, Himena. What about you?”

To Dexter, Himena was the first woman he had seen on Earth in 15 years.

Although the first button might have been fastened a bit wrong, that doesn’t mean the rest have to be.

That’s why Dexter hoped Himena wouldn’t be hurt by his actions.

The actions Dexter had taken over the past 15 years, and many of his actions on Earth, don’t always lead to good results.

Himena also knew what Dexter was talking about, and although Dexter hadn’t told her all about his past yet, she could sufficiently imagine what kind of past he had experienced, so she carefully opened her mouth.

“…Yes, I would like you to continue being with me.”

At that answer, Dexter raised the corners of his mouth and said:

“It could be really tough. Your life might even be in danger.”

“I know that. But I can’t let you bear that burden alone.”

Himena placed her hand on the coffee table and said:

“You’ve been carrying that burden alone for 15 years. Now I want us to carry it together.”

“…Thank you.”

“No, I’m the one who should be thankful.”

As Himena took a sip of her slightly cooled tea, Dexter got up from his seat and moved closer to her.

“This is my thanks.”

With those words, Dexter lightly kissed Himena’s lips.

“Me too.”

Himena also kissed Dexter’s lips in return.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

Dexter was humming a tune without realizing it as he drove his pickup truck.

Although he hadn’t enjoyed any bedroom content with Himena, he had spent enough time to fill the warmth between two people.

“The dog next door’s name is Bingo…”

Though it was a roundabout route, Dexter, who was planning to pass through Summerlin and check the crime scene once, saw a familiar van in front of him.

‘That looks like the van the gang used to drive.’

The black van in front of Dexter had the same emblem that Hector’s gang used.

‘It doesn’t seem like they’re attacking again, so why are they moving?’

Dexter started tailing the gang’s van from a distance.

As if unaware of being followed, the van drove recklessly and stopped near Summerlin.

‘This is close to the empty house where the ionized gaborium tank was.’

With his headlights off, Dexter watched closely until people got out of the van.

Soon, two people got out of the van, but they were clearly not gang members; they were wearing jumpsuit-style work clothes like those worn in repair shops.

‘That’s definitely the van from Hector’s gang.’

Dexter had vaguely heard from another agent that Hector’s gang was on the verge of collapse because Hector had been taken to OSA, but that doesn’t mean just anyone could freely use the gang’s vehicle.

The two men took out a metal folding ladder from the van, placed it against a nearby streetlight, and started climbing.

Then, they manually removed a fist-sized object attached to the middle of the streetlight and started climbing back down the ladder.

‘That’s it.’

Though he didn’t know what it was, he felt he needed to find out.

Dexter got out of his car and carefully ran towards the two men.

Hearing footsteps suddenly approaching them, the two men in work clothes couldn’t respond and just looked at Dexter.

Seeing this, Dexter grinned, raised his right hand, and looked at the man on the ground, saying:

“It’s me!”

“W-who are you?”

“It’s me!”

“Who is ‘me’?”

With a furrowed brow, not understanding, the man stood close to Dexter, who raised his right hand into a fist and said:

“The one who’s going to catch you.”

And with that, he swung his fist at the man’s right jaw.

-Thwack.

With Dexter’s single blow, the man on the ground collapsed, and the man still on the ladder looked at Dexter and said:

“D-don’t come!”

“Why?”

“Don’t come, I said!”

The man halfway up the ladder trembled as he spoke.

Seeing this, Dexter pretended to kick the bottom of the ladder and said:

“Hand over what you’re holding before I kick this.”

“No!”

“Well, if you refuse, I can just kick it.”

As Dexter took two steps back and pretended to pull his foot back, the man said in a trembling voice:

“I’ll give it to you, I will!”

Under Dexter’s threat, the man threw the object he was holding to Dexter.

‘This….’

Dexter’s face turned serious as he caught the object.

This white plastic lamp-like object that attaches to walls was something that shouldn’t be on Earth.

‘A remote hologram projector.’

As soon as Dexter confirmed that the object thrown by the man was a hologram projector, he kicked the ladder, contradicting what he had said earlier.

“Aaaah!”

Fortunately, the man who fell from the ladder landed on his buttocks rather than his head, and while clutching his backside, he pointed accusingly at Dexter.

“Ugh… You bastard. You clearly said you wouldn’t kick the ladder…!”

“Who ordered you?”

“What?”

“Who told you to retrieve this?”

Ignoring the flustered man, Dexter, with a sinking feeling, mentioned a word that had been present at every incident he had participated in.

“Are you also part of some project?”