Black Badger

Chapter 58

The veterans came over and asked me a ton of questions.

Even Aki knew about Jin Silver. They rushed up from the subway and bombarded me with questions before quickly heading off.

Iho and Walker, who didn't know Jin Silver, stayed by my side. The other four—Richard Green, Jason Tvain, Aki, and Ami—disappeared into the subway to conduct the search.

That left three of us on the empty road.

Iho tore his gaze away from the seniors vanishing from view and looked at me.

"Hilde."

"Yes."

What was up?

I lifted my head and met Iho's eyes as he approached. He walked over with a grim expression and plopped down beside me.

The man casually let his arms dangle and looked me over from head to toe. "Sorry."

"Yes?"

Why the sudden apology?

Oh, was this about the same thing as with Ami?

I scrutinized his face, trying to grasp the exact intent behind his words.

The man, looking as tired as ever, didn't avoid my eyes.

"I snapped at you before."

"...Did you?"

"Yeah, when your secret got revealed."

Ah, he was talking about what happened inside the safe point.

It felt like ancient history. No, I'd even forgotten it happened. I shook my head, barely lifting my heavy eyelids that were about to close.

"That was a natural reaction."

"It wasn't your fault."

"You were mad that I kept it hidden, right? I would've been angry too if I were in your shoes."

"What, you think you just didn't wanna talk about it?"

Iho sighed and rubbed his neck.

"You couldn't, right?"

I had no idea how to respond, so I shut my mouth.

Walker, who had sidled up next to Iho at some point, stood there with his arms crossed, silently listening to our conversation. As I stared at the seniors, I recalled what had gone down at the safe point.

The swarm of creatures that attacked the military vehicle. The safe point that got surrounded. That massive, two-story-tall creature that doggedly followed me.

I would've been pissed too.

These people didn't know my situation. It wasn't some trivial secret. It was a matter of life and death. Not something you could just brush off.

I was about to say it was a natural reaction when Iho waved his hand dismissively.

"It was my fault, so just accept the apology. And that whole thing—you were the one who brought it up to Ami first, right? Insisting we reveal it."

"Not saying anything at all would've made me a hopeless screw-up, wouldn't it?"

"See? I was narrow-minded all around."

Iho said that and let out a long breath.

No more sounds came from the cratered ground. Was it the wind whipping against my skin? I felt an odd chill. It was cold, and I was sleepy. Curling up under the blankets in the dormitory inside the Core sounded like heaven.

My eyes blinked heavily, but Iho spoke again.

"And hey."

"Yeah."

"Don't do it again."

"Yes?"

What did he mean?

I widened my eyes a bit, and Iho's brow furrowed.

"You fell instead of me."

Ah.

Right, that happened. I'd forgotten about that too. What went down on the cliff felt as distant as my spar with Yoon.

Besides, it wasn't like I fell in Iho's place. The creature was targeting me, not him.

I didn't have the energy to explain all that, so I was about to say, "It was my fault it happened, so of course," but I swallowed the words at the look in his eyes.

I met Iho's troubled gaze and nodded.

"I'll try."

"Yeah. Please do try. I hear you do this kind of thing a lot."

"Huh?"

When did I?

I looked confused, and Iho let out a heavy sigh.

What was with that reaction, like he had a lot to say but was holding back?

Even Walker, who'd been quietly listening, let out a small snort.

Why?

I wasn't the type of junior who charged into danger without thinking, was I? Ever since leaving the Core, I'd been pretty obedient, following orders with my tail between my legs.

Feeling wronged, I protested.

"I really love myself, sir."

"Oh, come on."

"...I'm serious."

"Did you cut down that pillar in the subway?"

Walker, who'd been listening silently, suddenly jumped into the conversation.

I barely lifted my drooping eyelids and looked at the crumbling road. Then I slowly nodded. I didn't want to sleep until the seniors returned from the subway. I was grateful they kept talking to me. If we hadn't been chatting like this, I'd have passed out already.

My whole body reeked of blood, it seemed.

I replied slowly.

"Yes. I messed up the force control."

"Who taught you the sword?"

"My mentor."

"I doubt it."

I couldn't understand his definitive tone.

I rolled my eyes, and they met Walker's, who looked down at me. His eyes always gleamed sharply, belying his sturdy build.

The man, whose mere presence was overwhelming, pointed out.

"Yoon doesn't use a heavy sword like yours. He prefers practical stuff. He could handle your sword and give feedback, but you didn't learn your entire swordsmanship from him."

"...That's a very valid point."

"Who did you learn from? If you did it alone, how?"

I didn't remember.

Because even though I'd encountered that creature screaming about betrayal, recalled the name and face of someone called Kyle, and realized I wasn't human, not all my memories had returned. The holes in my past couldn't be filled with any lie. It was an inexplicable void.

Lying was getting hard now too.

I gazed at the open horizon and silently apologized to Ye-hyeon in my mind.

"I don't remember."

"What?"

"I have almost no memories from before becoming a Badger."

I could feel Iho and Walker staring at me intently.

Without meeting their eyes, I muttered to myself.

"I only remember my name."

"...What? For real? What's wrong? You must've gone to the hospital."

"Yes. They didn't find anything special wrong with my brain."

"So it's not that you didn't get your license—you just can't remember if you did or not."

Walker pointed out sharply.

He was smart in all sorts of ways. He didn't talk much, but every word hit the nail on the head. No wonder he used to be a fixer in the underworld.

I nodded in response.

Commander. How was I supposed to keep an unbreakable secret when you'd stuck me with someone this sharp? I had no right to complain after spilling some of it already.

Man, it was cold. It was getting colder by the minute.

While the seniors mulled over what I'd said, I shivered and curled up into a ball.

Iho's voice came.

"What's wrong?"

I hugged my knees and turned to look at him.

"It's cold."

"Cold?"

Iho's eyes widened.

"You're cold? Right now?"

"Yeah."

Was I the only one?

It looked like it. Iho and Walker suddenly paled and rushed over. I dazedly watched as they checked my pulse out of nowhere and poked at the body Ami had healed.

They said something to me, but I couldn't make it out.

No, I was just so sleepy. Maybe from all the tension.

It was hard to keep my eyes open. I couldn't understand what they were saying at all.

I really needed to sleep a bit.

Just five minutes.

*

A white ceiling came into view.

"Hilde~...."

A hand pressed down on me as I tried to sit up.

"You gotta pay a hospital visit after every mission to feel satisfied, huh~?"

"You awake?"

Low, dry voices reached my ears.

"You're still hanging on. Good work."

"Oppa! How can you talk to Hilde like that!"

"I was complimenting her. What's the problem?"

"Your way of speaking hasn't changed in decades~."

"Samuel! The patient's awake!"

It was chaotic.

Sensations flooded in all at once. The onslaught made me dizzy for a while. The light pouring over my eyelids was sharp. Blurry shapes in my hazy vision—dark figures with indistinct outlines. Shadows bustled back and forth.

I blinked several times to make them out clearly.

Murmuring conversations buzzed in my ears. The rumble of IV stand wheels rolled along. The sharp, antiseptic smell unique to hospitals hung in the air.

Only after taking in the barrage of my surroundings did I register the people around me.

They surrounded the bed, peering down at me.

Richard Green, Ami, Lee Ho-chang. The three familiar faces I'd seen before blacking out stood at the foot of the bed, looking at me. I squinted, narrowing my eyes, and their faces sharpened into focus.

And there were two more familiar faces. Ricardo grinned fiercely with his sharp green eyes. Choi Yoon watched me with cold, reptilian eyes.

Their piercing gazes bore down relentlessly.

Overwhelmed by the intense scene, I drew in a sharp breath.

As I inhaled, I said.

"It's a bit overwhelming."

"Get used to it."

Iho replied in an exhausted voice.

"At least the high command and the HR director aren't here."

That was a scary thing to say.

I pushed up on my elbows to raise my upper body.

My view widened. I took in my surroundings. It was the hospital inside headquarters. The Badger headquarters where I'd been forcibly expelled because of Jae-yeon. The place where my memories began, filled with tough superiors and eccentric scientists.

Finally.

Back where I could buy food made by others.

I looked at the modern conveniences scattered around and let out a sigh.

"Back to civilization...."

"Ah~.... Did you hit your head?"

"Get it together. You haven't been discharged yet."

Ricardo doubted my intelligence, but Yoon beside him made a point.

The ever-cold, expressionless man added.

"There's no set discharge date anyway. Just give up on the hope of getting out."

"Thanks for the blood-and-guts advice today too, mentor."

"Sure."

Yoon shamelessly accepted it.

"Good to see you haven't gotten any dumber than we feared."

"I'm touched you think I had any brain to lose."

People laughed.

I blinked, staring at the seniors' smiles. Iho showed neat teeth in his grin, and Ricardo flashed his signature fierce yet sly smile. I wasn't sure exactly why these two were smiling, but they smiled often anyway.

Even Richard Green chuckling was a surprise.

The man's smile, said to be as hard as steel, didn't last long.

He quickly composed himself and looked straight at me.

"Hildebert."

"Yes."

When I met his gaze without flinching, the white-haired man looked at me with burning eyes.

"Good work."

Thank you.

I had no idea what I did, though. All I remembered was causing trouble and barely surviving thanks to the seniors.

Still, I bowed my head slightly at the encouragement from my strict senior. It felt good to be acknowledged. Returning to headquarters was great, no matter what. I'd passed out on the way back, so the return trip had been comfortable in that sense.

Some memories had returned, and I'd recalled a lot of the swordsmanship I'd forgotten.

I didn't know why I'd fainted, but nothing hurt badly at the moment. I'd caused a huge hassle, sure, but

It wasn't the absolute worst outcome.

Ah.

Wait.

"Senior."

I looked up and called to Ami.

The senior met my eyes quietly.

After staring into her firm gaze for a moment, I whispered.

"Jin Silver...?"