Chapter 16 - Self-Introduction (1)

Apparently, I wouldn't actually have to say much. Zhu would do most of the explaining. After hearing a few words from me, he would take the microphone again and wrap things up. It wouldn't take long, and they definitely wouldn't make me sing or anything. Yun would be standing beside me, too...

That calmed me down a little. Not that it untied the knot in my stomach.

"Shall we go in?"

Zhu smiled gently at me.

Now that I was officially a Black Badger (by unofficial means), he was my superior, too. Ever since that day, he had been speaking to me informally.

"It's not time yet, but you'll get to see our people coming into the auditorium. Let's go wait inside."

"... Should we?"

"Of course! Come on, come on."

Zhu pushed me forward by the back. A dimly lit stage and a vast expanse of seats lay before me. With a heavy heart, I stepped onto the stage.

A murmur filled the auditorium, mingling with the sounds of seats folding down, people settling into them, and footsteps.

Zhu spoke from behind me in a clear voice.

"See anyone you know?"

I stood in the shadow of the curtain at the corner of the stage and looked out at the seats. All sorts of people were filing in, varying widely in race, hair color, eye color, and height. The senior Black Badgers glanced at me on the stage as they sat down.

I tried my hardest to pretend I didn't notice their piercing looks, scanning the seats for familiar faces. There weren't many I knew, though...

"Riccardo."

"Oh, right. Riccardo was the one watching you."

I nodded without taking my eyes off Riccardo as he entered the auditorium. Once again, he was wearing glasses that suited him ridiculously well. An immaculately cut black coat and suit. A smile that seemed a permanent fixture on his lips.

He was coming in while talking to a man in a purple coat. The man was tall and handsome like Riccardo, but I didn't recognize him. I did recognize the person coming in after them, though.

Curly-haired Ro came bustling in with a group of people, right in their midst. I couldn't tell what they were talking about, but they were laughing uproariously as they made their noisy way toward the stage.

As I watched him approach in a daze, our eyes met. The senior who had asked me if I had anything to eat when we first met threw one hand into the air.

"Hey! New guy!"

Everyone's attention swung toward us.

"Long time no see! How've you been?"

"Oh, good, sir. Thanks to you..."

"Heard you live across from Yehyeon?"

Ro snickered up at me on the stage. The Badgers around him went wide-eyed. Well-built men who looked as though they'd forgotten to shave for a few days stared at me with round, button-like eyes.

I wasn't sure exactly what had surprised them, but surprised they certainly were. Before I could offer an awkward reply, Ro cut in.

"You poor bastard! How the hell did your life take a turn like that?"

It's not all that unfortunate, sir. I'm very happy with my cabin.

"Anyway, good luck with your introduction!"

Ro didn't wait for an answer. Having said his piece, he waved a hand and turned away.

The Badgers around him reluctantly tore their eyes off me. One by one, they sat down beside Ro.

They were all people I'd never met. I wanted to know their names, too, but there were too many to ask Zhu to identify each one. I'd have a chance to exchange names with them later...

A tired voice came from just below the stage.

"New guy."

I flinched at the hoarse voice.

"Heard you're introducing yourself today?"

It was Iho Chang, the senior I'd briefly spoken to after killing the mushroom. He looked tired today, too. The dark circles under his eyes hadn't gone anywhere, though he'd traded his gray anorak for a navy windbreaker.

He really did always give off the air of an office worker worn down by his job. Still, there was something strangely reassuring about him. And I'd only met him once.

I smiled warmly in greeting.

"Yes. It's been a while, sir."

"Just call me Iho. No need for 'sir.'"

"Oh, yes. Of course."

"Good luck," Iho said casually. "It's nothing much, so don't be nervous."

Having said his piece, he trudged toward the seats. People tossed him casual greetings. He wearily returned them, then perched on a seat at the end of a row. Even the way he sat down looked exhausted.

He made me want to brew him a restorative tonic.

"You've already exchanged names with Iho?"

The head of HR leaned his head forward. I met his eyes and nodded.

"Yes. I met him briefly after killing the mushroom. Riccardo introduced us."

"That's good. He's a nice fellow. Came in through open recruitment about ten years ago, and he's been consistently good. He's always tired, but that's just because he's a little less energetic than most people."

He certainly looked it. He'd been like that last time, too. I took my eyes off Iho, who now had his eyes closed, and scanned the auditorium.

The vast seating area was almost full. I could hear people whispering as they glanced at me. All this attention was making my head spin. Thank goodness I'd skipped lunch.

I tried not to listen to their whispers, but it wasn't that easy. Snatches of conversation reached my ears.

A murmur of, "Weren't we not recruiting this time?"

A reply of, "They said this one's a special case. The commander-in-chief called us all here himself."

Whispers of, "He's good-looking, though," and, "Think that white hair's dyed?"

The Badgers kept scrutinizing me while pretending not to. Plenty of them made no attempt to hide their outright stares.

"Hilde!"

I turned toward the ringing voice, my face brightening at once.

"Ami!"

She waved as she approached the front row. I was so glad to see her. My face relaxed at the sight of my beaming senior.

"You came!"

"Of course!"

Ami stopped in front of the stage and grinned.

"It's really no big deal, so don't be nervous!"

After offering that encouragement, she looked around for a seat. People called out to her from all sides as she turned her head this way and that.

She answered their greetings as she ambled along looking for an empty seat. Then, announcing that she wanted to sit right up front, she plopped down in the front row. Even after she'd sat down, people kept greeting her.

She was popular. Understandably so.

As I was thinking that, Zhu spoke.

"Five minutes until we start."

My stomach knotted even tighter.

"You've met Shu, too, haven't you?"

Shu?

I turned toward him in confusion. Smiling, he tipped his chin. I followed his gaze and spotted a familiar face: the woman with the yellow bob dyed pink at the ends.

She'd been there when I first opened my eyes, but we'd never exchanged a word. She was entering with something like a skateboard tucked under her arm.

When I nodded, Zhu readily explained.

"Shu Diamond. She's almost directly above you in seniority."

Oh... I'd heard that the person who joined right before you was the scariest.

"Introduce yourselves later. Here comes Yehyeon."

So he'd come after all. Who was I to warrant someone so busy coming all the way here?

Yehyeon was entering the auditorium with Ska. The sight of Ska's neat braids brought back the moment he'd rushed out barefoot to save me. The dazzling light behind him, outlining his figure.

Everyone's eyes swung toward them at once, then scattered. The Badgers who'd been talking boisterously fell quiet.

Yehyeon sat in the very back row with Ska and another man. I saw the blonde woman seated directly in front of him stiffen. She was probably regretting her choice of seat.

Riccardo, meanwhile, was sitting in that same row with his legs crossed. He hooked an elbow over his seat back and turned toward the senior leadership. Yehyeon answered his playful remark gently, while Ska seemed to offer a gruff retort.

The person beside Riccardo merely turned slightly and gave the senior leadership a silent bow of the head. I saw Yehyeon smile faintly and nod back.

"I hear he came back a day early?"

I heard Zhu ask as he turned to Yun.

"Cut his business trip short by a day, at that. Did you ask him to, Yun?"

Yun, who'd been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, narrowed his eyes. He stared flatly at the head of HR. Of everyone here, Yun was the person I'd spent the most time with since arriving, and yet it was still hard to tell what he was thinking.

The windows rattled in the wind and rain.

Yun replied in a dry voice.

"Would he listen just because I asked?"

"True. You always give in to Yehyeon, after all."

"He doesn't compromise on official business to begin with. Barring exceptional cases like you."

"Me?" Zhu asked in an innocent voice. "Why me?"

His eyes were guileless. Yet I had a strong feeling he understood exactly what Yun meant and was deliberately playing dumb. In other words, my instincts told me I was witnessing the ultimate act of false innocence.

Yun must have thought so, too, because he stared at the head of HR in disbelief.

"It's time."

He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward.

"Let's begin."

"I suppose we should."

Zhu turned with a smile. My heart, which had been settling down, started racing again. He gave me an amiable smile and patted my shoulder as if to tell me not to worry. Then he turned and walked to center stage.

A microphone had been set up there. One lectern, with one microphone on it.

"Ah."

Zhu's voice rang through the auditorium. People straightened up and turned their attention to him.

"Ah, ah. You can all hear me, right? Thank you for coming all this way in such awful weather."

The head of HR smiled so brightly that flower petals might have fluttered around him.

Silence fell over the auditorium. Only the rain audible through the small windows and the creak of seats as people adjusted their posture filled the space.

At some point, the house lights had gone out. A spotlight shone on the stage. On the three people standing there: the head of HR, Yun, and me.

A hush as everyone waited for it to begin. Zhu's clear voice broke the expectant silence.

"Let's introduce our new recruit, then. Hildebert Taleb. Come stand beside the lectern."

I let out a deep breath and walked to the front of the stage.

"Why don't we start with just your name and a quick hello?"

Zhu handed me the microphone. All eyes turned to me.

I tried to stay calm. According to what the head of HR had told me before we entered the auditorium, other recruits had to introduce themselves, too. Though this was the first time everyone had been assembled on Yehyeon's orders for one...

I turned my gaze toward the stage. Then I offered a polite greeting.

"Hello. My name is Hildebert Taleb."