Black Badger

Chapter 206: Kairos (1)

The winner’s name fluttered across the screen.

「Jack Black」

Jack Black?

Why suddenly Jack Black?

Isn’t it supposed to be Kairos?

For a moment I completely blanked out, but then I saw the red-haired man standing on the podium smiling brightly as he held up two fingers, and I erased my doubt.

Not index and middle finger, but thumb and index finger raised — his habit.

Even the angle of that arm and that smile. It could not be anyone else.

His alias is Jack Black?

Jack?

Jack??

“Do you watch F1?”

Chen’s voice snapped me out of it.

I blinked and lowered my head, and there were the seniors staring straight at me.

I cleared my tightened throat and spoke.

“Do you know that driver?”

“Who? The one who won?”

“Yes.”

“You don't know Jack Black?”

The curly-haired man silently eating curry, commonly called ‘Samjini,’ suddenly spoke.

I was a bit flustered by the sudden comment.

What am I supposed to say. Should I say I know him, or that I don’t.

I hesitated, but I didn’t need to.

Because the senior who had spoken just kept explaining on his own.

“You don’t know Jack Black, the rumored rookie who hasn’t stepped down from the F1 champion seat for nearly four years? Even when he first appeared six years ago, he left remarkable results. A year later he shot up, and from then on he’s never missed a win. His nickname is Black Jack. He prefers smooth driving, but if needed, he drives very aggressively. Some say his driving style suddenly changes like he becomes a different person. He’s got an enormous fandom, so whenever he appears at the circuit....”

“All right, all right.”

Jason Trevain waved his hand, cutting Samjini off.

Guess he often accelerates like this.

Samjini didn’t look particularly pleased, but he closed his mouth readily. At that moment, I understood why Jason Trevain was called a delinquent.

Trevain is the highest in rank among these three.

He must have lived like that all his life. Anyone could tell he was the type to have joined a rugby team in high school.

So he probably can’t bear the resentment of Yehyeon taking the credit and getting promoted.

A man far from likeable, but not childish enough to show his true feelings openly.

“Hearing he’s that famous, I’m thinking of looking up one of his race videos.”

I turned my head and coughed twice before speaking.

“The race must be over by now, right?”

They snapped back with, can’t you tell by the awards ceremony?

Then they returned to their own conversation. I was satisfied that the three of them had turned their attention away from me and looked back at the screen.

Ah. Look at that.

That skillful handling and smooth fan-service.

Even though he had cut his hair short, there was no way he could be someone else.

***

My head was throbbing, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t endure it.

Even on the drive back I’d wanted so badly to check my phone.

I parked the car carelessly and came in to turn on the computer.

After a quick wash, I threw myself into searching as if forgetting everything.

Jack Black.

A man with striking star quality who commanded a massive fandom, the highest paid among all drivers.

Someone who skillfully fulfilled sponsorship demands, and every product he endorsed saw increased sales — a so-called Midas touch in the industry.

The more I searched, the more hollow laughter escaped me. He had changed so little from the one I knew.

Even here, he hadn’t yielded the winner’s seat.

A body honed through exercise and impeccable manners.

Even his personal details matched. His parents were listed as having passed away in a car accident. He had taken school courses online. Afterwards he’d done various menial jobs before grabbing a steering wheel....

His official age now was twenty-nine, on the verge of thirty.

So he washed his identity once.

I checked the photos from the four years of consecutive victories, then searched all of his interview videos.

When I pressed the play button, a familiar voice came out.

Hearing it again, it was overwhelmingly nostalgic.

[Thank you. Thanks to your support, I achieved a good result.]

The flashy racing suit and the cap pressed down — he pulled both off perfectly.

[All the team members performed extremely well....]

I numbly rewatched interview videos.

After that, half out of my mind, I accessed a fan site.

Naturally, there was much more information here. I read every post organizing eyewitness accounts, photos, anecdotes, trivial details.

He never skips workouts. His fan-service is excellent, and he looks even more dazzling in person. His eyes are very pretty. He has four sports cars at home. He’s single. For now he’s so absorbed in racing he says he doesn’t have the mental energy to focus on anything else....

Is that why he never came?

I stared blankly at Kairos’s retouched photo.

Because he’s too happy now?

Because he has no room to look around, and doesn’t want to think about anything else?

He really did look happy. Even before, every time he stepped onto the track, he’d make that expression.

I sank into a delicate feeling.

I’m glad he’s happy.

That was the very first thought. I genuinely felt glad he was living a happy life.

But to say there wasn’t a small sting of disappointment in a corner of my heart would be a lie.

If I hadn’t made the game, I wouldn’t have felt disappointed at all.

I leaned back with my arms crossed and let out a hollow laugh.

Well, thinking about it, there was never a single message saying he’d come find me first. All he said was that he’d wait somewhere easy to find.

Good grief.

“Is he telling me to come, or does he just want to forget my existence?”

The latter seemed more likely.

“I still can’t figure him out.”

At any rate, I should go.

Even if Kairos feels awkward about it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand it without going to see the fellow kin living inside the Core. Even if we can’t talk, I want to at least see his face.

I lifted myself from the backrest and attached myself to the computer again.

The race was over, but—

[Jack Black Official Schedule]

Someone this famous — if I follow him around I should be able to see his face at least once.

Coughing, I scrolled the wheel.

Oh.

There’s a fan signing. And a sponsor event too.

The signing was in two days, and the sponsor event on the track was three days later. Naturally, all reservations were sold out.

But of course there would be scalped tickets.

I’m absolutely getting one.

Blue Disease?

Kairos must have antibodies.

If he doesn’t, he can deal with it himself.

Throwing away all conscience, I dove into searching for scalped and canceled tickets.

***

“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone catch this.”

Samuel clicked his tongue.

“It used to be rampant. You didn’t get the vaccine, right? These days infants get vaccinated, so nobody catches it anymore.”

I stared hollow-eyed at the doctor.

Yesterday I barely ate and clung to the computer, and finally managed to secure a canceled ticket for the sponsor event. I had been staring at the screen all night, so I was short on sleep.

I’ll sleep as soon as I get back.

I put on the mask I’d taken off for the exam.

Coughing, I nodded.

My throat hurt terribly.

“How long will it last?”

“A week. Don’t come into work. I’ll process your sick leave. I’ll prescribe medication — take it and stay quietly at home. It’s not severe enough to need hospitalization.”

“Thank you.”

“Your voice is completely gone.”

Even I could hear that.

“Hurry home and rest, kid. How is it that you’re never in one piece?”

I bowed my head and left the hospital.

I somehow got home, but I don’t remember how. I shoveled down cafeteria lunch and medication before returning home.

After arriving, I crawled under the blanket and slept without awareness.

Maybe because of the medicine, sleep kept washing over me.

This illness was truly vicious. I’d never been sick like this without injuries, so I’d never known.

I should have treated people who had the Blue Disease better back then.

I slept on, drowning in useless regrets.

Still, the fact I had a week of sick leave made me happy....

***

“Hilde.”

Someone shook me gently.

“Hilde. Get up and eat dinner.”

“Mmh?”

I want to sleep more.

Mumbling with my face buried in the pillow, I pulled ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the blanket closer.

The other person gently lowered the blanket and tried waking me again.

“Get up for a bit, eat, then go back to sleep.”

I don’t want to leave this warmth.

“You need to take your medicine. Just eat some chicken soup and sleep.”

Should I?

My eyelids were so heavy from sleeping so long.

I pressed my eyes and lifted my feverish body.

And saw Yehyeon.

“Huh?”

A cracked voice leaked out.

“Why?”

“I heard you were sick.”

Yehyeon was in comfortable clothes.

I stared blankly at my superior in just a T-shirt, then turned my head. The glowing wall clock. The current time was 9:30 p.m.

I slept for a long time.

Blinking, I tried to crawl out of the bed.

But Yehyeon pushed me right back down.

“Stay lying. I’ll bring it to you.”

“You must be busy—why did you come to such a shabby place.... Ah. Did you come because of Baek Byungyeong?”

“I came to see my sick godfather.”

Yehyeon said gently with a soft smile.

“I could just picture you suffering alone.”

He brought the chicken soup. He said Ami made it. He himself is awful at cooking. When he gets gastritis, Ami cooks this for him, and it’s easy on the throat.

“...I can’t taste anything....”

How sad.

But I cleaned the bowl gratefully because he brought food.

After finishing it, I swallowed the medicine and was pushed back under the blanket.

“You never sleep well normally, so go rest.”

Buried in the blanket, I murmured in my hazy state.

My eyes were half-closed, so I couldn’t even see Yehyeon properly.

“You can’t even sleep five straight hours. Go home already. I even went to the hospital today....”

“It feels miserable being sick and alone.”

Yehyeon murmured quietly as he moved around beside me.

“I’ll tidy up a bit before I go. Don’t mind me and rest.”

Lee Seunghyun must have left you alone.

So you learned the sadness of being left alone when sick. It stung. Words I’d read in a deceased Elder’s study suddenly came to mind.

Clear traces of violence, written with emotions stripped away to submit to court.

I wanted to comfort him, but I had no strength.

My head hurt too much, and I was too sleepy....

I drifted into sleep.

When I woke, someone else was there.

“I knew it’d be like this~.”

It was the first time hearing his voice in the cabin.

“Get up~. Eat breakfast and then go back to sleep....”

Morning already?

I staggered up and blankly looked at the green eyes.

Then a thought struck me and I jolted upright. Ricardo, wearing a striped shirt and glasses, blinked down at me.

“Why?”

“It’s not Friday yet, right?”

When I spoke, a cough burst out, so I hurriedly lowered my head.

Only after I stifled the cough did the senior answer.

“Wednesday~.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

“What’s happening on Friday~?”

He wouldn’t believe me if I said nothing.

I gave a faint smile and offered an answer that wasn’t a lie but also wasn’t the whole truth.

“There’s a race I’m interested in, so I want to make sure I watch it.”

Ricardo made a face like, suddenly a race?, but didn’t pry.

Instead, he suddenly handed me a plate.

“...I still can’t taste anything.”

I said in a despondent voice as I chewed the gnocchi.

It had to be incredibly delicious.

But I couldn’t taste anything. I felt like I was suffering a huge loss.

When I weakly asked if he could make it again later, Ricardo snorted.

After taking medicine, I was pushed back into bed.

“Sleep~.”

I wanted to thank him for coming from far away....

“Stay quiet all day....”

And so two days passed like that.

People came and went one by one. After Ricardo came Ami, after Ami came Yun, and after Yun came, surprisingly, Kudo.

After Kudo, even more surprisingly, the Personnel Director came.

“Why is the Personnel Director here?”

“I came because you’re sick. And to reassure you a bit.”

The Personnel Director told me not to worry, he’d leave soon, and smiled as he handed me egg soup.

Warm but tasteless clear soup.

“He’s doing fine.”

He meant Baek Byungyeong.

“He can’t be released into society yet, but I’m keeping him with me, so don’t worry too much.”

But he asked for time. Said Baek Byungyeong needed time. No one could say how long — but it would not be short.

I wiped the cold sweat clinging to my eyelashes and slowly nodded.

Ju smiled and stepped out immediately.

And so, drifting in a haze, time passed until Friday approached quickly.

The day of the sponsor event.

***

“Achoo!”

Friday.

Wearing a mask and bundled up, I stood at the circuit track.

Today’s friendly circuit race.

Not an official competition, but many famous drivers appeared, and people had fought bloodily for tickets. I, too, dragged my heavy body out here to see the face of one of those famous drivers.

Jack Black,

to see the face of Formula 1 champion Kairos.

Ah, but it’s so cold.

Even bundled up, it was too cold.

Hunched over, I walked toward my seat.

Anyway, today I absolutely have to see his face with my own eyes.