Chapter 9 - Training Officer (1)

No one gave me a detailed explanation.

Employed in the blink of an eye, I found myself relying on the rest room for another day.

"Sleep there for tonight. Starting tomorrow, your training officer... Mr. Yun, that is, will help you sort out your housing and everything else."

Zhu smiled broadly, then cheerfully added something ominous.

"Enjoy your last day of freedom."

My last day of freedom?

More color drained from my face, but Zhu offered no explanation. Ska, Ami, Riccardo, and even Yehyeon merely looked at me with pity.

Why were they all making those faces? I was just about to take my first step. Couldn't they at least try to look pleased?

In any case, the interview ended.

And Yehyeon bought me a phone.

I waved my hands in protest, but he ignored me. Much to my discomfort, the commander-in-chief paid for it out of his own pocket.

"It'll be delivered to your room this evening."

Then he said,

"I'll give you my private number."

Ah. This just kept sounding worse, didn't it?

"If Yun gives you any trouble, don't hesitate to contact me right away."

At this point, I reconsidered having my enhanced body removed.

Had I actually made a terrible mistake?

But it was too late to take it back. I hoped my growing sense of foreboding was unfounded.

Barely managing to collect myself, I nodded.

When Ska began briefing Yehyeon about the press, I took it as my cue to leave the office.

I headed back to my room in something of a daze. Ami trailed close behind as I staggered down the hallway.

"Hilde! You need to pull yourself together!"

Her eyes wide, she clenched her fists.

"I'll give you my number too, so if my brother does anything wrong, tell me everything. Don't hold back!"

Her clear voice only deepened my foreboding. My worries sprouted and shot up like bamboo shoots, making me forget to look around. Riccardo's smiling addition provided those shoots with more nourishment.

"Lucky you... Even I don't know the commander's private number... Hardly anyone has his second number."

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Ami made the curious observation, "Rick, you'd turn Yehyeon down even if he offered you his number." I wasn't sure exactly what she meant. But one thing was certain: the commander-in-chief wouldn't have given me his private number for no reason...

No.

I forced my optimism into gear.

Ami was so normal. Surely her own older brother couldn't be completely insane. Besides, I'd heard he and Yehyeon were very close. Everyone agreed that Commander-in-Chief Yehyeon was a good man. Would someone he spent time with really be a complete disaster?

I was pushing my capacity for optimism to the point of burnout.

Still, I slept comfortably. The bedding was soft and clean again tonight. I was deeply sorry I wouldn't get to sleep here starting tomorrow.

But what would happen about my housing?

I worried a little as I nodded off. I still had no money. If they told me to leave right away, I had nowhere to go.

Could I get an advance on my salary? With that thought, I drifted into dreamless sleep.

* * *

When I woke, I had a message. From a stranger.

More precisely, from someone I knew only by name.

「Café Senabi, second floor of the research building. 3 p.m.」

That was all.

There was no unnecessary information. None of the lengthy pleasantries about being glad to meet me or introducing himself. I could hear the hopeful thoughts I'd worked so hard to summon crumbling.

I stared down at the message for a while, troubled.

This was going to drive me mad.

No, but still... They'd said the head of HR never misjudged people.

In any case, I had nothing scheduled until three. I fiddled with my phone until it was time to leave. I replied to Yehyeon's message (This is my number. Don't be shy about texting when you need anything.) and to the messages from Riccardo, Ska, and Ami.

Each had sent a message that suited their personality.

[Stay alive, rookie. Call me when you're hungry.]

[Looking forward to working with you, Hilde. If you're having a hard time, feel free to contact me anytime.]

[Hilde! Text meee! (A fluttering parrotbill)]

I chuckled at the sticker Ami had attached.

Then I headed to the research building in time for the meeting.

It wasn't hard to find. Once I stepped outside the main building where I'd been staying, the view opened up. Walking to the right from there brought me to the research building.

The sky was high and cloudless.

With a cool breeze on my face, I tried to familiarize myself with the unfamiliar grounds.

People in all kinds of clothing passed me. The wide-open grounds were so immaculate that it was hard to believe creatures had appeared here just days ago.

Even learning the layout would take a while.

I reached the research building around 2:45. Unlike in the main building, hardly anyone was dressed smartly in a suit.

The café, too, was full of people in casual clothes.

I ordered an iced Americano and took a seat in a corner. My heart began beating faster with each passing minute.

Please, at least let him be someone I could reason with.

Someone willing to let things slide if I buttered him up and begged!

TAP

I heard a plastic cup being set on the table, and someone sat down across from me.

"Hildebert?"

I looked up sharply at the low, flat voice.

Before me was a face handsome in an understated way.

"You're Hildebert Taleb?"

"Yes, yes."

He really was handsome.

I stared blankly at the man opposite me. Choi Yun was a handsome man with a cold air about him. A crisp sky-blue shirt and a white lab coat. Black hair and dry eyes. He brought something inorganic to mind.

Leaning back in his chair, he met my gaze with eyes almost devoid of warmth.

Colder eyes than anyone I'd met so far.

I had a feeling I'd better not get cheeky with him.

I shrank back instinctively.

"I'm Hildebert Taleb, the new recruit. Please feel free to call me Hilde. ... I look forward to learning from you."

"Do you know my name?"

"Yes. Mr. Choi Yun..."

"Just call me Yun."

His reply was impassive.

Meeting his unblinking gaze, I nodded.

"Yes."

Apparently, they hadn't been exaggerating when they said everyone here called one another by name.

Yun reached for his coffee. There was something dry about his every movement.

He took a lazy drink before speaking.

"I got the gist of your situation yesterday. You still don't remember anything?"

"No. I'm sorry. I haven't recalled anything useful at all..."

"But you do recall useless things?"

I nodded respectfully.

"I do get fragments. A madeleine and lemon juice on a windowsill. Looking down at the city lights from a rooftop. Things like that."

"Under what circumstances do they come back?"

"I'm not certain. But I think being in similar situations brings back memories of similar experiences."

"And you have no trouble using things like a phone?"

"No. Not generally."

I had no idea why he was asking, but Yun seemed satisfied with my answers. He nodded, then thrust his hands into his lab coat pockets.

Then he fell silent, as though organizing his thoughts.

As silence settled over our table, the café's noise enveloped me. The sounds of conversation and plastic cups being set on tables washed in.

I sat there tensely, waiting for him to break the silence.

He lifted his lowered eyes.

"I think I understand. Let's get the annoying stuff out of the way first. You're completely broke right now, aren't you? And you don't have a place of your own to sleep?"

"That's right."

I really had nothing. Apart from what my benevolent seniors had bought me.

"Let's sort out your housing first. As a rule, recruits are assigned dorm rooms designed to help them adjust to their enhanced bodies. They stay there until they can control their strength. But you've already adjusted, so there's no particular need for you to live there. I'll put down that you spent a certain amount of time in the dorms, though, in case it becomes an issue during an audit."

Huh? If there were dorms, I'd like to live in one.

Before I could say so, he continued.

"So pick whichever of these two options you prefer. Move into the staff housing for Badgers here, or live in the cabin in front of my house until you find a place."

"A cabin?"

My eyes widened.

What kind of option was a cabin in front of my training officer's house?

Was he saying I had to live there, or that it was better than the staff housing? Or did he mean I should live there and pay him rent?

As I sat there uncomprehendingly, Yun explained.

"I own it, but it's been sitting unused because I have no use for it. I've been meaning to demolish it, but it's a hassle, so I keep putting it off. Having you nearby would make things easier for me, so it'd be convenient in several ways if you stayed there until you found a place. I've had someone come clean it now and then, so it should be clean."

"Oh."

I still didn't understand everything, but I thought I had the gist.

"Then could I buy the cabin?"

On an installment plan... If I could pay in installments... and get an advance on my salary... I broached the subject cautiously.

I didn't want to miss this opportunity. I'd already been worrying about having nowhere to live, and here was an unwanted empty house at just the right moment. I didn't know how much it cost, but I hoped he'd sell it to me rather than tear it down.

The dorms had sounded fine, too, but there didn't seem to be any guarantee that I could stay there indefinitely.

Yun arched an eyebrow slightly at my request.

"... Well. I could sell it. Actually, you can just have it if you want. But it's not a house you could live in for the rest of your life. It's not dirty, but it's only a cabin. It isn't sturdy."

"Did you just say I could have it?"

I must have misheard. Things couldn't possibly go this well.

Perhaps that thought showed on my face, because Yun folded his arms and said coolly,

"Yes. But I added something important afterward. It's not a house you can live in for long."

"I'm desperate enough to take anywhere with a roof to keep off the rain and a bathroom."

"It'll collapse the moment an earthquake or a hurricane hits."

"I'll find some way to get out of danger when that happens."

"The heating probably won't be very good. Neither will the soundproofing. Well... None of that's my problem, though."

"Exactly. That's my problem. I'll find a way to sort it out myself."

I agreed fervently.

I couldn't understand how owning an unused cabin could be a headache.

But I pretended to agree wholeheartedly. Sir, this was a win-win! Please dump that troublesome cabin on me and enjoy whatever convenience it gave you—something I couldn't even begin to imagine!

Yun remained unmoved by my desperate gaze.

"Are you always like this?"

Like what?

I wanted to ask, but I was the one who needed the favor, so I held back.

I gave him a smile without a trace of ill will.

"What am I like? If there's something you don't like, I'll try to change it. And as you know, I couldn't even remember my own face..."

"Never mind. And I just remembered. The cabin has one more drawback."

What was it?

Honestly, with an offer this good, it would be stranger if there weren't another drawback.

Yun utterly ignored my look of determination to overcome any disadvantage.

"I live with Yehyeon and Ami. In other words, if you move into the cabin, you'll be living next door to your highest-ranking boss."

Oh. I see.

That certainly gave me pause. Yehyeon was a good person, of course. We'd only met briefly, but even that had been enough to tell.

Still, he was my highest-ranking superior. There was no way I could feel at ease talking to him. Running into him outside my house after work wouldn't exactly be relaxing, either.

But if the cabin was free?

I might end up with those same inconveniences even after spending a fortune. What if I thought of it as getting a place for free in exchange for putting up with those drawbacks?

I smiled in relief at the unbelievable good fortune rolling my way, and at the fact that the training officer in front of me seemed far more normal than I'd expected.

"I'll find a way to deal with a drawback like that."

Yun watched me impassively, his arms folded.

He maintained a blank expression for a long time as I kept beaming at him, before finally letting out an odd sigh.

"Fine, then. The cabin's yours. Move in tonight or whatever."

"Yes! Thank you so much! I'll repay you somehow!"

"I did warn you."

As I considered leaping to my feet and bowing low enough to hit my head on the table, Yun added firmly.

He stared expressionlessly at me as I struggled to keep an enormous grin off my face.

"It's not a house you can live in for long. Don't resent me for it later."

Resent him? I wanted to get on my knees and give thanks for finding a training officer like him.