Black Badger

Chapter 28

As soon as I zoomed in on the video for a closer look, I realized one side wasn't human.

Two bright yellow eyes gleamed with a chilling light. The whites of the eyes were scorched black. A dark, wavy aura enveloped its body and rippled faintly, while red blood dripped from the spear tip embedded in its back.

Its skin seemed to burn black. In its charred hand, which ended in blackened tips, it gripped a long spear with sharp blades attached.

On the opposite side stood Ye-hyeon, holding nothing.

He had pulled up the black hood of his combat uniform. His face, half-shadowed, looked pale and exhausted.

But didn't they say he used a sword?

Narrowing my eyes and peering at the screen, I spotted a large sword strapped to his waist.

But he didn't draw it.

Instead, an earring glinted from inside his hood.

"No." The earring changed shape, just like Ricardo's snake-shaped ring.

The silver earring melted and dripped onto the ruins below. The fallen silver liquid transformed into sharp thorns that spread out around him. Some of it flowed down his arm and formed a silver gun.

I muttered in astonishment as I watched Ye-hyeon grip the gun.

"Didn't you say he used a sword?"

"Actually, Ye-hyeon oppa uses a shape-shifting weapon like Rick does."

Ami looked up at me with wide eyes and explained.

"Among the badgers, Ye-hyeon oppa is the best at using shape-shifting weapons. He only carried a sword back then."

My eyes widened.

In the blink of an eye, the battle began.

The silver thorns raced across the blood-soaked ruins toward the creature. The creature swung its thorned spear widely.

Kwa-gwang!

Shockwaves erupted along the spear's path.

The ground was gouged, debris flying backward. Anything in the spear's trajectory was obliterated.

At the same time, the silver thorn-shaped weapon morphed into a sturdy wall. But even the silver wall shattered under the impact.

Tang, taang!

Bullets flew through the crumbling silver wall. I couldn't even track them with my eyes, but the two-eyed creature swung its spear and deflected the shots.

Another heavy shock sliced through the air.

The impact struck Ye-hyeon as he charged forward. Blood sprayed in a line. I gasped involuntarily, but Ye-hyeon didn't stop. He closed the distance.

A small opening created by the spear swing.

The man slipped into that gap and halted.

Ye-hyeon drew his sword in a flawless stance.

[Got it!]

I jumped at Tvain's sudden voice bursting out.

[Hey, stab it!]

The large blade reflected the sunlight and gleamed.

In that moment, I saw the creature's body freeze. It had spotted the human in its blind spot, lowered its gaze to thrust the spear down, then abruptly halted its arm. In a position where swinging the spear could pierce Ye-hyeon's head.

A split-second hesitation.

Ye-hyeon's sword exploited that hesitation.

Puk.

The blade plunged into the creature's chest.

The creature's spear pierced Ye-hyeon's back a moment later. Red blood gushed from Ye-hyeon's body.

Meanwhile, the creature's body turned black and crumbled with a crunch. The wind chipped away at the disintegrating form.

The sword embedded in its body clattered to the ground.

Ye-hyeon, leaning on the sword, collapsed as well.

Thud. His body hit the floor.

The video ended there.

I stared blankly at my phone screen.

Standing in the quiet hallway, I forgot how to move. The images clung to the back of my eyelids and refused to fade. The flawless draw. That brief moment of hesitation before the stab.

If the creature hadn't hesitated, the outcome might have been different.

"Whoa."

Ami, who had pulled the phone toward her, gaped.

"Hilde, are you crying?"

"Ah...."

I touched my damp face.

Even through my blurry vision, I could see Ami's eyes widening. I slowly wiped away the tears streaming down.

Ami rushed over in a panic.

"Why are you crying! Hilde! What's wrong!"

Yeah, why?

I kept wiping, but the tears wouldn't stop. I couldn't identify the emotion surging up.

It was definitely sadness, but which part was sad? Why was it so unbearably heartbreaking?

I tried to think of the reason, but failed again.

I gave up resisting the emotion.

Surrendering to the rising sorrow, I stood there for a long time and forgot to wipe my tears.

*

I lifted my heavy eyelids.

My swollen eyes stung as room 304 came into view. The room looked no different from this morning. Ami sat in the chair by my bed.

I blinked and slowly sat up.

Ami, who had been looking at her phone, snapped her head up.

"Hilde!"

Ami looked at me with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

I awkwardly rubbed my neck and looked at my wide-eyed senior.

"Sorry. I suddenly lost it...."

"No."

Ami replied firmly, then tilted her head to peer at me.

Her dark eyes, filled with concern, scanned my face intently.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah."

"Your eyes are all puffy."

She said it with eyes that seemed to hold the world's sorrows.

"Do you remember crying yourself to sleep?"

"No. Honestly, I don't remember much after a certain point."

"Do you know why you cried?"

I closed my heavy eyes and opened them.

The video's contents came back vividly, along with the stabbing sorrow in my chest. But I still couldn't figure out why the sadness had welled up.

I shook my head, trying not to shed more tears.

Ami furrowed her brows and studied my face closely.

Silence settled. Sunlight poured into the room in the early afternoon. Not much time had passed, it seemed. It was still bright outside.

Ami, who had been standing quietly by the bed, patted my shoulder.

I meekly accepted the warm comfort.

Until someone knocked and opened the door.

"What are you doing?"

A low, raspy voice broke the silence.

"Choi Ami?"

Yoon strode into the room. Ami whipped her head around to look up at her own brother. Yoon stopped beside her, raised one eyebrow, and met her gaze.

Yoon shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Why are you in her room?"

"Hilde kept crying, so I dragged her here and put her to sleep."

Ami said it clearly.

"She watched the video and bawled like crazy."

"What video?"

Instead of answering, Ami held out her phone.

The mentor bent down to look and blinked slowly. From his expression, he seemed puzzled. Well, it was a video with no reason to cry.

The man stared at the screen and slowly lifted his head.

"Why cry over this?"

"That's what I'm wondering too."

"The one who cried doesn't know why?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"She cried so hard without a sound. There must be a reason, but she can't remember. Don't treat her like that just because her memory's gone, oppa."

"No matter how much her memory's gone, it doesn't make sense."

Yoon made a reasonable point.

Was the faint irritation in his pointing voice just my imagination?

No. Seeing him glance around the room and reach for a sharp pen, it wasn't.

"Why get emotional over Ye-hyeon's video?"

"Oppa!"

The mentor was the type who could wield even a simple pen like a weapon.

My sadness vanished in an instant, replaced by a sense of crisis. Fortunately, Ami smacked the arm pointing the pen at me.

"Don't!"

"Ah."

"I'm telling Ye-hyeon oppa!"

She snatched the pen from Yoon's hand.

Then she started smacking his hand with it.

"I'm telling Ye-hyeon oppa that you're bullying your mentee for no good reason!"

Smack smack smack smack smack! The pen sped up.

Yoon sighed.

With a resigned sigh, the situation ended as he pressed down on Ami's head. I, who had watched the whole thing in fear, let out a sigh of relief. Ami left only after making sure Yoon wouldn't bother me. She left an apology: "Sorry. Yoon oppa gets extra sensitive about Ye-hyeon oppa stuff. Please understand."

The room fell quiet again.

Yoon gestured for me to get up from the bed.

I jumped out without delay.

"We're going to the medical wing."

I nodded obediently at the announcement.

*

The hospital was connected to the research wing.

Yoon said he had to stop by the research wing briefly and took me there first. There was still some time before my scheduled appointment anyway.

The research wing was crowded that day as well.

People in lab coats. People in shabby hoods. A few neatly dressed staff in shirts. Yoon walked through them without hesitation.

I watched as people parted for Yoon, then nearly bumped into the mentor who had stopped abruptly.

Yoon glanced back at me.

"My desk."

He stood in front of an automatic door with a fingerprint scanner and said it coolly.

"Stay inside. If you need me for anything in the future, come here."

"Whoa."

I let out a genuine surprised sound. I hadn't expected him to tell me his desk location.

Yoon ignored my reaction easily, as always.

"I need to grab something, so wait in front of my desk."

"Ah, yes."

"And don't touch anything."

Yoon pressed his finger to the scanner.

"If possible, don't even sit in the chair."

I wouldn't sit even if he told me to.

Ding! The fingerprint registered. Whirr. The door opened.

My view cleared instantly.

"Don't interrupt! Don't interrupt!"

"Don't pull that cord there. My computer's crashing!"

"What's that cord got to do with my computer?"

"That's the hub!"

"Where can I find that report from last time? It was excellent."

Sounds poured in.

As the door opened, a flood of sensations hit me. I gaped at the scene before me. I'd assumed the mentor's desk area would be obsessively neat and quiet, but it was nothing like that.

A vast space. Desks adorned with bizarre plants. Liquids in strange colors and machines of unknown shapes. Researchers in various outfits sat at chaotic desks.

It was chaos.

Yoon walked into the grand chaos with a calm face.

"Wait here in front."

He walked through the lab and stopped in front of the desk that looked the most obsessively neat (though not empty).

"Don't touch anything."

"Ah, yes."

I nodded and looked down at the sleek silver-gray desk.

"This is your spot. I'll wait quietly. Take your time."

Yoon left without a word.

He strode into the depths of the chaotic lab and disappeared. I watched him vanish from sight, then turned my head.

Did he work here? In this mad place?

It didn't suit him.

He seemed like the type to have a private office. The kind who'd frown if it wasn't made of smooth marble.

I scanned the surroundings in bewilderment.

Large monitor. Binders. Keyboard. Ashtray. A desk larger than others'. To the right of his desk was another person's, attached.

The neighboring desk was as big as Yoon's. Unlike his pristine one, it was half-buried under a massive pile of documents.

And a gray-haired man like a withered tree stood reading a document.

He was incredibly skinny. Skinny, enormously tall, and pale from lack of sunlight....

Thud.

Suddenly, the man toppled backward.

I watched in astonishment as the gray-haired man fell straight back like a felled tree.

"What."

What.

"Wh-what is this all of a sudden."