Black Badger

Chapter 2

I stared at Ami in a daze.

Ro, who sat next to her, tilted his head and broke the silence.

"Peanut, were you seventy?"

"Yeah."

"I'm about that age too."

What?

I blankly looked at the people across from me.

They all still looked wonderfully young. Ami's voice even sounded youthful. Ro appeared to be in his early or mid-twenties. The green-eyed man who had been speaking seemed the oldest, but even he looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties.

So how could they be that old?

It didn't seem like a joke. I decided not to think too deeply about it for now. I'd forgotten everything except my name and woken up in a completely unfamiliar place—what was to stop something even more astonishing from happening?

I chose to simply accept life as it came. Otherwise, I felt like I might break down somewhere.

Ami glanced at the curly-haired man and said,

"Ro, you're seventy-two."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Huh?"

A reflexive, bewildered voice escaped me.

I widened my eyes and stared back and forth between Ro and Ami.

"So the two of you are only two years apart?"

"Hey, your point of surprise is weird."

Ro raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be shocked about the ages? Why are you surprised that I'm only two years older than her?"

"No, I didn't mean... um...."

The man with green eyes burst into laughter.

He bowed his head, shaking his shoulders in silent chuckles. He must have found my reaction amusing.

Ami kept blinking, and one of Ro's eyebrows shot up almost to the ceiling.

As I flailed my hands in embarrassment, the chains on my wrists clinked loudly through the room.

"I didn't mean it in a negative way. Ami just looks so young."

"Ah."

Ro nodded right away.

He tapped the leg resting on his thigh and flashed a sly grin.

"Yeah, that's true. She acts like a kid and looks like one too. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's older than Ricardo."

Who was Ricardo?

"Ricardo's me~."

The man with green eyes waved one hand with a smile.

I was so shocked my eyes nearly popped out.

What? Ami was older than this green-eyed man?

"Do I really seem that childish?"

I glanced back and forth between Ami, who mumbled to herself, and the green-eyed man, who wore a relaxed smile. It was still hard to believe.

My emotions must have shown on my face, because Ricardo, the green-eyed man, chuckled.

"I'm sixty-eight~. Name's Ricardo Sordi."

"Ah.... I'm sorry for the trouble, Mr. Sordi."

"Just call me Ricardo."

Ricardo waved his hand dismissively and winked.

I nodded obediently. Of course, I wasn't bold enough to use his name right away. I racked my brain, trying not to upset the people who watched me. They didn't seem intent on harming me for now, but who knew when that might change.

Let's think. Ro was seventy-two, Choi Ami was seventy. Ricardo Sordi was sixty-eight.

And they said their ages were on the higher side. It was indeed no small number.

Also, while the concept of nationality had vanished, these three had once had one. Ricardo and Ro were from Italy. Ami was from Korea.

So...

"Does that mean the borders disappeared while the three of you were living your lives?"

My offhand question brought a sudden silence.

I panicked under their sharp gazes.

What now?

I really didn't remember. I knew it was frustrating, but I had no choice but to ask obvious, stupid questions.

An awkward silence stretched on. The three, whose appearances didn't match their ages, seemed unsure how to respond.

The clean conference room fell into a chilly quiet.

Ricardo was the one who finally answered.

"There was a war~.... A big one, twice."

It was all news to me.

"The borders vanished after the first war.... You really don't remember any of this~?"

"Yes. Nothing at all.... It's all new to me."

"You might not even be from here to begin with. Hell, I don't even know if you're human. Where did you come from? Where the hell did you pop out from all of a sudden!"

Ro waved his hands in the air in frustration as he grilled me. He seemed irritated by the absurdity of the situation.

But I was in the same boat, wondering the exact same thing.

I apologized and glanced nervously at Ro.

Ami thwacked Ro on the head with her round fist.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't get mad. Think about how ridiculous this must be for him."

Ami widened her round eyes at Ro.

"Put yourself in his shoes. He wakes up with no memories left. He's in a total stranger's place, gets yelled at about where he came from the moment he opens his eyes, and ends up handcuffed before he knows it. Surrounded by complete strangers."

Her gentle words stirred a surge of gratitude and emotion in me. With nowhere to turn, her small kindness touched me deeply.

"And the strangers right in front of him are you guys!"

"You're too much, Ami.... I've been nice to him the whole time~?"

"Huh? What did I do?"

Ro replied curtly while digging in his ear with his pinky.

Ami stared blankly at his attitude, then clicked her tongue in disapproval. Ro stuck out his tongue teasingly in response.

What kind of people were they?

Earlier, I'd overheard something about being comrades for forty years. The guns, the uniforms—it all pointed to them being military. Or maybe police, or private security.

And I'd suddenly appeared among them.

Five of them (the two in the back were eerily silent) had me surrounded, and I sat in the middle, defenseless in handcuffs.

I was a mouse in the cat's paws.

I had to tread carefully.

Just as I resolved to do so, Ami's phone rang.

"It's Ska!"

She started to dash out but stopped and answered right there.

Her clear voice rang through the room.

"Yes, Aide!"

Ami listened briefly, then responded formally.

"Yes. The portal management team is all over it, investigating right now."

She fell silent again, listening, then said,

"Yes. We've reported it to the hospital and HR department too. Yes, yes.... No. The HR Director says he's not coming. Yes. Me too."

She responded with a string of yeses to something faint, then hung up soon after.

She pocketed her phone and turned around with a smile to face the group.

"What'd he say~?"

"Head to Hilde's hospital first."

The round-eyed woman approached me.

"They want fingerprints, DNA tests, and a polygraph. Since you appeared in a Portal Zone, of all places."

Would fingerprints and DNA reveal something about me?

A glimmer of hope straightened my back. I took in Ricardo, who lazily got up from his seat, and Ro, who seemed glued to his phone and had no intention of moving.

The green-eyed man stretched languidly and said,

"Should we send the two juniors in the back home~? No reason to keep them here...."

"Yeah. I think just the three of us will do. Hilde doesn't seem like the type to suddenly go berserk."

Of course. I would behave.

I nodded faintly, and Ricardo smirked.

"You two, head out~."

The tall man glanced at the people behind me.

"We'll handle the rest...."

"Good work, both of you! Go get some rest!"

"Thank you. We'll be off."

"We'll be off."

"What? We can go home?"

I heard a pair of men and women behind me bow and leave, while Ro looked up from his phone with raised eyebrows.

Ami sighed at him.

"You're not."

Then she approached me and smiled warmly.

"Hilde, shall we go to the hospital?"

"Yes."

I stood from the chair without hesitation.

The clear clink of chains sounded. With my hands bound, my posture was awkward even standing, but no one seemed inclined to remove them.

Still, their kindness so far was appreciated.

Having two fewer people around eased my mind a bit. It felt like they were less on guard against me now. As long as I didn't act out, they probably wouldn't harm me first.

For now, that was enough.

Once I was completely safe, I'd try to recover my memories.

I gave a faint smile and followed Ami.

*

There were no injuries.

After all the various checks while waiting, I didn't think much. The doctor would relay the health exam results, and the DNA and fingerprint scans would go straight to the aide's phone. Probably the one Ami had spoken to earlier.

So I wouldn't get the DNA or fingerprint results right away.

With that in mind, I sat on the purple chair with the others, waiting.

I sat quietly, eavesdropping on the two men and one woman chatting.

Ami, to my right, swung her legs as she said,

"Yoon got the call while taking off his shoes at the entrance and got dragged back. He just arrived at the Science Department and is getting chewed out."

"That's too bad~."

Ricardo, standing in front of Ami, replied in a voice that sounded anything but sympathetic.

"But we're pulling an all-nighter too, so whatever.... When an emergency hits, it's the same for everyone~."

"Aren't you hungry?"

Ro, sitting to my left and playing a phone game, muttered.

"Peanut, got anything to eat?"

"Nope. And we ate dinner outside before coming back."

"Oh, that tasteless preserved stuff! Doesn't even touch the stomach."

"You mean liver, not stomach."

Ami corrected him matter-of-factly, but Ro ignored her.

Instead, he flung his phone aside as "Game Over!" flashed on the screen and turned to me.

"You got anything?"

I blinked.

Ami and Ricardo gave Ro incredulous looks, but he didn't care. I stared at the curly-haired man, then rummaged in my pocket with my bound hands.

It was empty.

"Sorry. Nothing here."

"You not hungry~?"

Ricardo suddenly addressed me.

I looked up at him in surprise.

Long, narrow eyes.

"Yes. I'm fine."

I replied with a faint smile.

"Thank you for your concern."

One of his eyebrows arched.

But just as Ricardo was about to respond, someone burst from the door at the end of the hall.

"Hey! What the hell is this!"

A man in a white doctor's coat shouted at us.

Blue eyes and black hair. Unshaven stubble and a face that looked mid-to-late forties.

He was the picture of an exhausted doctor, and he glared straight at me as he yelled.

"Bring him in right now!"