Chapter 13 - Center Core (1)

It was far too clean and well maintained. And it looked like it had two floors—a neat wooden vacation home.

Something was off. He was giving me that for free?

The car stopped while I was still puzzling over this situation that made no sense.

“Get out,” Yun said, making no move to do so himself. “I’ll park and bring out the paperwork.”

I hurried out of the passenger seat. The sleek car pulled away the moment I stepped out. I raised my head and surveyed the view before me.

It was a beautiful street. A street with no sign of people, either. Huge houses lined both sides of the broad, immaculate road, with dazzlingly well-kept lawns spread out in front. I regretted not having the words to describe the scent of wealth wafting from the street.

In a place like this, even that cabin had to be expensive.

What was this? What was going on? It was so good that it felt wrong.

I slowly walked over to the cabin. Intimidated by this completely unexpected luxury, I was cautious even about moving. That was why I failed to notice someone approaching.

A familiar husky voice spoke. “Hilde.”

I jumped. “Aah! You scared me!”

“Sorry.” His eyes went round, startled in turn.

The moment I recognized Commander-in-Chief Lee Yehyeon, I straightened as though someone had splashed water on me. I remembered to bow quickly, too.

“Commander. Uh, I’m terribly sorry.”

“No.” He smiled, eyes narrowing, apparently amused by my sudden change of expression and contrition. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I startled you. I was about to go inside when I saw you coming... Did your first day go well?”

“Oh, yes. Thanks to Yun... And he treated me to a lovely dinner.”

“You made sure to get something expensive out of him, right?”

“Yes. It was delicious.”

“Good. I’m glad. And you’re feeling all right?”

“Fit as a fiddle.”

At my quick answer, the man standing with his hands in his pockets smiled. He had a presence even when he was simply standing still. Yet the utterly gentle smile contrasted with the authority in his bearing, creating a peculiar air about him.

Not that his kind smile put me at ease.

“I hear you agreed to take the cabin.”

I nodded at his calm words. “Yes. It’s such an enormous kindness. I’m wondering how I can ever repay it.”

“You don’t need to think of it that way. Yun had been considering paying to have the cabin demolished lately. If you move in, it’ll be convenient to have his trainee nearby, and he won’t have to pay to knock it down. It works out for him in several ways.”

But why had he wanted to demolish a perfectly good cabin?

I wondered, but didn’t ask, and Yehyeon offered no further explanation. He stood watching me. A cool evening breeze blew.

“Has Yun told you about the administrative details?”

I nodded. “I’ve memorized everything.”

“Good. Don’t bring it up unless someone asks.”

“Yes, sir.” I answered dutifully, then looked at him. “Commander.”

“Are you about to apologize?”

His gentle question stopped me short. As I stood speechless, caught off guard, he gave a faint smile. Unlike his gentle smile a moment ago, this one carried sorrow and the weight of years.

I stared blankly at my superior before speaking. “If you don’t want an apology, at least let me thank you.”

His rueful smile lingered. “Hilde. Don’t feel so burdened. Even if you occasionally forget or get your fabricated past wrong, there will always be opportunities to smooth things over. Memory is such an unreliable thing.”

“But you could have avoided creating a potential problem in the first place.”

His inscrutable, bitter smile deepened at my words. Seeing that expression made it difficult to stop talking.

“You could have removed my enhanced body. Or just let me die when the creature was chasing me.”

“That wouldn’t have been the humane thing to do, would it?”

“In the short term, perhaps... But I couldn’t even remember what I looked like. With no idea what sort of person I was, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to eliminate me as a potential threat, would it?”

“You’re a good kid.” The commander-in-chief’s voice was gentle but firm. “Even if your memories return, that kind nature of yours won’t disappear.”

At those last words, the directionless turmoil inside me suddenly settled. But the feeling that I owed him a great debt remained. He was the Black Badgers’ highest authority, and he had made the final decision to turn me into a legitimate Black Badger.

I must never forget his kindness.

Just as I made that resolve, a low, cold voice reached us. “Commander-in-Chief.”

Yehyeon turned. “Yun.”

“Have you finished work, sir?” My training officer approached at a leisurely pace, holding the stack of papers he had said he would bring.

The commander-in-chief nodded, then smiled faintly. “Just now. No need to be formal.”

“You said you’d go in after seeing the rookie.” Yun dropped the formalities in an instant.

I saw Yehyeon raise an eyebrow. Both hands remained tucked into his suit-trouser pockets. “Why don’t you call him by his name instead of ‘rookie’?”

“He wouldn’t even care.”

“It’s still disrespectful.”

“I really don’t mind.” I hesitantly joined the conversation. Both men turned their eyes on me. “I don’t mind what you call me. From your perspective, I really am a green rookie. I even struggled against a mushroom.”

“The mushroom.” Yehyeon repeated the word as though recalling something he had forgotten, and sighed. “Right. The mushroom... What were you thinking?”

“Ami told you, I take it? But he stayed focused for three hours and killed it in the end. Without any particular trauma. Meanwhile, I got a rough idea of what I needed to teach him.”

“Three hours?” Yehyeon asked, making no effort to hide his horror. “You let the kid get hit by tentacles for three hours straight?”

“I told him he could quit whenever he wanted. He’s the one who chose not to. And Kang Zhu, head of HR, is the one who made me his training officer.”

“You’re sure you’re all right?”

The commander-in-chief turned to me with the question, and I hastily nodded. “Yes. I really am perfectly fine. And he really did tell me I could stop whenever I wanted.”

“If you’re not all right, don’t endure it in silence. Tell someone immediately. Anyone. If you’re uncomfortable telling Yun, tell Ami or Ro. Not just today, but from now on, too.”

“I’m a terrible whiner, sir. Don’t worry.”

At my prompt reply, Yehyeon’s troubled expression eased. The furrow between his brows smoothed away, and his gentle smile returned. My handsome superior chuckled.

“You probably don’t even remember whether you used to whine.”

“Hmm... An astute observation. But somehow, I feel like I’d be a terrible whiner.”

“I told you he’s fine. I can tell when someone’s holding it in. Hey, take this.” Yun brusquely held the papers out to me.

I promptly accepted them and skimmed through to see what they were. As I did, I once again felt my affection for my dry-mannered training officer explode. These were the cabin’s transfer papers. It was in my name now.

“I love you, sir.”

“Your thoughts are leaking out.”

“I saw no reason to hide them.”

Yehyeon laughed aloud. Whenever he laughed, that peculiar aura of intimidation born of experience and sorrow vanished.

Afterward, I inspected the cabin with the two of them. It was in astonishingly good condition.

The scent of wood washed over me as I pushed the door open. There was a small shoe cabinet and an entryway. Taking my shoes off and stepping inside, I saw a living room at the end of a short hallway. It held an old beanbag chair and a worn but cute round rug. Turning right revealed the kitchen; turning left, the stairs to the upper floor. It had a loft.

“It’s so cozy. I love it.”

At my heartfelt thanks, my senior and my superior gave me dubious looks. Soon they took their leave, saying the house visible right outside the door was theirs. They disappeared after telling me to get some rest, since it must have been a long day.

Naturally, Yehyeon was the one who told me to get some rest.

I was alone for the first time in a while. Suddenly, overwhelming exhaustion weighed down my entire body. I staggered into the bathroom and fell asleep without even remembering how I had washed.

* * *

When I woke from my dead sleep, it was seven thirty in the morning.

I sprang up and took a quick shower. After rushing out of the bathroom, I opened the refrigerator. Just as my training officer had said, it was stocked with basic food. Milk, eggs, cheese, bottled water, and several ready-to-eat meals. Bread and cereal, too.

I quickly ate some cereal and put on something suitable from the clothes I had. There was still a little time before I needed to go outside to meet Yun.

I stood around blankly, unsure what to do, then fetched my phone. Sinking into the old beanbag chair, I turned it on. After a moment’s hesitation, I opened the browser.

I typed “Lee Yehyeon” into the search bar. There was no particular reason. I just thought he, at least, might turn up something in a search...

Wait. He was incredibly famous.

I took in the prominently displayed photograph and biography in the search results. He seemed to be a regular in the news. There were loads of articles, too. It felt strange seeing someone I had met just last night on the internet.

Maybe I could take my time reading these once I was done for the day.

As I slowly scrolled, a particular title caught my eye.

[The BBs aren’t a private company. How does it make sense that their leader never changes?]

It looked like a post on a forum. I obligingly clicked the title to open it. It was something like a thread, with comments piling up.

[Way past stagnant. It’s rotten.]

[Seriously, how long is that guy going to stay in office? Are there no term limits?]

[This world is ruled by unseen Big Brothers! Don’t be fooled by a figurehead president!]

[His term ends when he dies.]

[Dysfunctional.]

[Isn’t he still in the job because he’s good at it? Don’t you know they tried replacing him once and got burned?]

[That was because the replacement was a historically useless piece of shit.]

[Not having a clearly defined term is definitely a problem.]

[Absolute power inevitably corrupts!]

[Didn’t Yehyeon have a successor? Not the handsome guy with the braids he has now.]

[Saul? He died a few years ago.]

I didn’t understand everything they were talking about, but it was certainly provocative. I hit Back, thinking I would ask Yun about the parts I didn’t understand over time. As I browsed through the posts, another title caught my attention.

[Did you see the creatures that showed up at Badger headquarters?]

I clicked.

[I heard a rumor they escaped from a lab underneath headquarters.]

[They even disclosed exactly how they got in. Enough with the weird conspiracy theories.]

[It’s the first intrusion into Sector 1, and they just happen to attack headquarters of all places? Weird.]

[Maybe the creatures had brains.]

[Didn’t look like it.]

[Why hasn’t the commander-in-chief issued an official statement?]

[Would he bother with just one injury? They said it was minor, and the person works there, too.]

Were they talking about me? My heart thumped. The comments kept going.

[Word is they were injured trying to save a kid.]

[A Badger? A civilian?]

[Sounds like a civilian employee. Or a visitor. Apparently the Badgers ran off carrying them on someone’s back while they were bleeding.]

[What the hell were the Badgers doing?]

[Headquarters must be crawling with Badgers. It’s absurd that a civilian got hurt.]

[They said it wasn’t serious.]

[So that’s the standard at headquarters lol.]

They had done everything they should have.

These were just comments people casually tossed out online, but knowing the truth, I couldn’t help feeling my stomach twist. It wasn’t as though I could post a rebuttal, so I just kept scrolling and reading. Inexact information and comments trying to guess what had happened. People criticizing the Black Badgers, and people defending them.

Being the internet, there was plenty of unfiltered talk. The farther I scrolled, the nastier the comments became.

[How long are we going to keep treating that Yehyeon guy like a hero of troubled times?]

[No, seriously, why is he never replaced? Why is he never replaced? Why is he never replaced?]

[Because he’s a dictator.]

[He’s been a dictator for decades. Time he stepped down.]

[Honestly, hasn’t he benefited the most? He was a nobody, then landed that job overnight.]

[Facts. You’re all being duped. Who really benefits the most from the creatures?]

[Oh, here come the conspiracy theories again.]

[Of course. Humanity never actually landed on the moon either, gentlemen.]

[Yehyeon is a creature.]

What was that last comment supposed to be? I snorted and read on.

[But where did Pretty Boy come from? Why is there no info about his family?]

[No mommy or daddy.]

[Who’s Pretty Boy?]

[┗Yeh lol yeon.]

[The creatures are just a tool. We’re living under a dictatorship.]

[But seriously, it’s kind of weird that he has no connections at all.]

[Didn’t they die in the war?]

[No, you can find everything about the school he went to before the war and stuff. It’s just his parents there’s nothing on.]

[It’s so weird that he came out of nowhere and got that title in the first place.]

[That’s because he killed a level-ten creature with his hands. There’s even a video of him killing it. What’s there to doubt?]

[Does that justify giving him that title?]

There was a video? I’d have to look it up later.

[What if creatures are humans who’ve been experimented on?]

[What are you on about?]

[We’re all being fooled. Yehyeon is just an identity. The person in power has been changing all along.]

[Honestly, we’ve seen him for way too long... I’m sick of that face... He doesn’t even age...]

[He’s actually CGI lol.]

[He is handsome though haha.]

[In reality he’s a homo bastard screwing some adoptee from a tycoon’s family.]

[┗Yehyeon’s a homo?]

[┗Dunno. He’s pretty.]

I frowned and scrolled down. The comments went on and on.

[Wasn’t he involved in the previous commander’s death?]

[The previous commander died of old age.]

[That’s what they announced.]

[I just can’t stand the sight of him. Acting all democratic and noble lol.]

[But the timing of this creature appearance is really weird. I think it’s connected to Representative Earhart.]

[Like it’s the first time a creature outbreak has coincided with a political scandal?]

[I heard the creatures originated in the Badger research building anyway.]

[Enough with the baseless conspiracy theories; we’re talking about Yehyeon’s dictatorship. Why derail the discussion?]

[Honestly, it is kind of weird that the Badgers were established as soon as the creatures appeared. Isn’t the timing a little too perfect?]

[They handled it well and you’re still bitching.]

[The US or China or somewhere was probably researching enhanced bodies. Stop derailing the discussion. What does that matter now?]

[Do these people think humanity should’ve just gone extinct or what?]

BANG BANG BANG!

At the pounding on the cabin door, I sprang out of my seat. “Yes!”

“Come out.” My training officer’s cold voice came through the door. “We need to make you useful as quickly as possible.”