Chapter 18 - The Cabin (1)

We seemed to have come out in the opposite direction from the other Badgers. Despite having left the auditorium, we found hardly anyone in the corridor. In the distance, I could hear the footsteps of people streaming out, along with the low rumble of voices.

Were we heading straight home? If so, I would need another ride in Yun's car. I waited while he stood in the corridor looking at his phone. I was very happy with the cabin, but getting there without a car was a problem. I didn't have one, and I couldn't even remember whether I'd ever gotten a license.

Even I thought I was a strange guy. As that thought crossed my mind, Yun approached.

"Stay put and behave for a minute."

He looked around the corridor, then pointed to an alcove where unused chairs were stacked.

"Sit on a chair over there and wait."

"... Do I really have to hide in that corner?"

"There are plenty of people who'll corner you and talk your ear off."

He explained as he watched me obediently head toward the dusty chairs.

"It'll be a pain if they catch you."

"Yes, sir."

Whatever the reason, I intended to do as I was told. I tucked myself into the darkness and sat down. Yun left without any further explanation. Resting my head against the wall, I let out a long breath.

Could I do this? Had that introduction gone all right? I wasn't sure I'd answered the questions well. Yun hadn't offered any sort of assessment.

Couldn't he at least give me some feedback...?

While inwardly grumbling about my training officer's coldheartedness, I also considered what to have for dinner.

That was when I heard a voice.

"What's this about?"

There was a note of discontent in it.

"We haven't recruited anyone lately, have we?"

They were talking about me. My wandering attention snapped back. Tensing, I instinctively pressed myself against the wall.

Footsteps were approaching. Were they going to find me? Just as I had that thought, several sets of footsteps stopped right nearby. I quietly moved farther inside, then craned my neck out, keeping my body flat against the wall.

I caught a glimpse of the back of a blond head. He was the one who'd spoken. I was almost certain, since I could see his mouth opening and closing. Whoever stood across from him was out of sight. The men stood in the corridor and began talking.

"And what's with summoning the Badgers just to hear some recruit introduce himself?"

"Don't we usually do this, though? Not that there isn't definitely something odd about this recruit."

"The head of HR used to call us in as a formality. They never made this much of a fuss."

"True." The second voice murmured its agreement with the blond man's point.

The blond man continued irritably.

"The commander-in-chief orders us to attend this shit? That bastard has no idea what his position means."

"Exactly. It's beneath him... Is he bored these days? It's been almost five years since we reclaimed any land."

"Bored, my ass. How long has it been since creatures showed up at headquarters?"

"Anyway, why is Choi Yun that recruit's training officer?"

"That's suspicious to begin with."

The blond man's voice was full of malice. Hostility toward Yehyeon seeped into his tone.

What? I blinked as I held my breath and eavesdropped. I'd thought they had a problem with me, but from the sound of it, they disliked Yehyeon more. More precisely, I got the impression that the blond man hated Yehyeon with a passion.

Why? Because Yehyeon was the highest-ranking superior? Or did he dislike the way Yehyeon did things? Just as I tried to work out the reason for all that loathing, the blond man added sharply,

"Didn't that fucker get in because Yehyeon pulled some strings?"

Right on the money. To think I'd been seen through so easily. I looked up at the ceiling, feeling something like dismay, fear, and resignation. Of course. There was no way a little doctored paperwork could fool everyone so easily...

"That's ridiculous," a third voice countered.

"You know how rigorous the Black Badger selection process is. Recruiting someone to turn into a human weapon isn't a joke. If he really pulled strings to get him in, his head would roll the moment the press found out. However unqualified that bastard is, he's not stupid enough to do that."

"Then he was stupid enough."

"I hate the guy too, but he's not the type to act out of self-interest, is he?"

"He makes exceptions for Yun."

That objection came from the second voice, which had been agreeing with the blond man all along. The third man countered again.

"Accommodating Yun and sneaking in a recruit are on completely different levels. Besides, he has no reason to make that recruit a Badger."

The husky voice continued.

"I'm sure they recruited him for the reasons they gave, but there must be some other problem. Didn't they say something was wrong with his healing? We'll have to wait and see exactly what it is. And how capable he is."

"There's no way he's normal."

The blond man who'd started the gossip snorted.

"If he were, there'd be no reason for all this fuss."

As far as I could tell, the blond man hated Yehyeon and had decided to hate everything he did. Yet he kept stumbling backward into the right answers. Was he actually perceptive?

The malicious voice continued.

"Chances are, his abilities aren't the only thing wrong with him..."

Footsteps sounded.

The conversation went no further. More footsteps were drawing closer: one set measured and precise, the other unhurried and languid. I listened as the men, including the blond one, fell silent, and the footsteps stopped at the same time.

A familiar voice reached me.

"What?"

It was Yun's dry voice.

"What are you staring at?"

"Gentlemen..."

The languidly playful voice that followed belonged to Riccardo.

"It's been a while..."

What was Riccardo doing here? He seemed to have come with Yun, but I couldn't pursue the thought. The men who'd been standing around gossiping addressed the two I knew.

"Hey. What's with that guy?"

It was the blond man.

"A recruit? And you're his training officer?"

"He's a recruit, and I'm his training officer. What else do you want to know?"

I heard Yun's indifferent reply.

He really was consistently obnoxious. He wasn't just rude to me; he was an equal-opportunity asshole. Ami and perhaps a few people close to her seemed to be the only exceptions. The commander-in-chief, too.

"Why would you become a training officer now? And when did they hire this so-called recruit?"

"I told you it was the head of HR's decision."

Yun sounded bored as he shot back.

"I'd like to know more than you would, so go ask. Do I look like someone who keeps track of every recruitment date?"

"You don't even know when your own trainee was hired? His recruitment process seemed strange, too."

"Don't care."

Yun lied as easily as he breathed. But I doubted anyone would suspect him. His answer was as natural as air. The men who'd been so enthusiastically gossiping must have thought he was telling the truth, because they stopped pressing him.

Instead, the second voice, which had so eagerly agreed with the blond man, asked,

"Why are you wearing combat gear, though?"

"Going to kill a creature."

Yun still sounded indifferent.

"If you're done talking, get moving."

"A creature? What creature? You only deal with the ones near headquarters. There's nothing around right now."

"He's going to catch the butterfly, obviously."

The blond man cut in cynically.

"The typhoon's heading toward our esteemed commander's house. Naturally, that means killing a creature we'd normally leave alone. Even if it wouldn't do much damage, even if we have to use emergency personnel. Our dear commander might be in danger, after all."

"You really do adore Yehyeon."

Yun's reply was utterly devoid of emotion. My training officer really... had a natural gift for sounding like an asshole.

"No other Badger spends every day thinking about him the way you do."

BANG!

The blond man seemed to have stamped his dress shoe on the marble floor. The sound echoed off the walls, but no one reacted.

A brief silence passed. At last, around the time the echo of shoe striking marble had faded completely, I heard the three grumbling men leave. I listened to their retreating footsteps and the blond man forcing out one final remark through clenched teeth.

"We'll see what that trainee of yours is like."

Why was I getting caught in the crossfire?

"He'd better not be an asshole like you."

What did I ever do to you? There's no way I could be as rude as this man. Didn't you see how politely I introduced myself?

The protests forming in my head never became words. I just listened to the footsteps recede, until a smooth silence settled over the corridor and I could faintly hear the rain outside the windows.

They were gone. Even after I was sure they'd left, it didn't occur to me to step out of the shadowy recess. It felt as though I'd accidentally overheard something I shouldn't have. I'd just stay huddled in this corner until someone came looking for me.

Riccardo's head popped into view.

"Aah! What the hell!"

"What do you think...?"

I jumped at the sight of those gleaming green eyes, and Riccardo narrowed them. His characteristic sly smile played around his mouth.

"What are you doing in there?"

"I told him to stay there."

Yun walked over. He regarded me with cold, unreadable eyes and crooked his index finger.

"Come out."

"Yes, sir."

"Heard everything, did you?"

Riccardo smiled as I scrambled out.

I smiled awkwardly and rubbed my neck. The corridor was as empty as before. Only the two tall men stood looking at me. Riccardo wore the same pitch-black specialized suit he'd worn when we first met. Yun was dressed in the same outfit. Black suited him extraordinarily well.

"Let's go."

My training officer paid no attention to my wide-eyed reaction and said his piece.

"Before the eye of the storm reaches home."

"Yes. Uh... But why is Riccardo here?"

"Why... should I just leave?"

This man wasn't easy to deal with either. I gave him a warm smile ('Smile, Hildebert. Smile.') and cheerfully smoothed things over.

"Not seeing your face all this time has been agony, sir."

"Still quite the smooth talker."

"Hey. We'll have to floor it to make it in time, so let's just go."

Yun turned and started walking. As always, he strode off without explanation. I hurried after him. Riccardo drawled, "Yes, sir," and followed too.

We hurried silently down to the underground parking lot without running into anyone we knew, heading for the car I'd arrived in that morning. The black Lamborghini was as sleek and beautiful as ever. It pulled away the moment I shut the rear door.

* * *

I couldn't see a thing ahead. Sheets of rain engulfed the car. My mouth hung half open as I stared at the havoc outside the window. We weren't far from our destination, but I was starting to doubt we'd make it there.

Was this really safe? The windshield... We had zero visibility. And the wind battering the car didn't sound good either. Wasn't it going to blow the entire car away?

But despite my anxious grip on the seat belt, the car kept moving down the road. Its wheels began to slip and its speed gradually dropped, but it never stopped making headway.

As we pressed onward, I sensed we'd reached a familiar road. Having lost all my memories, I found the very sensation of familiarity unfamiliar. Yet even though I could barely see, our surroundings felt strangely familiar.

"Is that your cabin?"

Riccardo broke the silence. He'd had his eyes closed in the passenger seat until now. His green eyes were open a sliver. I silently followed his gaze.

A small silhouette showed through the pouring rain, sitting quaintly opposite an enormous one. Home sweet home.

An unfamiliar emotion surged up as soon as I saw the house. Was this what longing felt like? I let myself sink into the feeling of coming home at the end of a long day. My voice came out bright with pleasure.

"Yes! That's my..."

KRRR-BOOM!

With an earsplitting crash, something went flying through the sky. A black silhouette vanished into the wind and rain with a roar. Wide-eyed, I watched the shadow soar on a whirlwind. What was that?

"There goes your ceiling," Yun said, his hands on the wheel.

"I warned you."

"... Huh?"

"Oh dear."

What?

"You poor thing..."

"... Hmm?"

"Get out for now. Just don't get knocked unconscious by flying debris on the way out."

Sorry? What was that? Get out?

... And what did he say had blown away?

Was that the cabin's roof?