Black Badger

"I heard you got K from Jae-yeon."

"It seems I truly have no privacy with you."

I replied indifferently, not particularly surprised.

"I haven't played it yet."

"Then why ask when you already know?"

Thinking back, when we went to the game center, I'd run into the illegal augmentees this man had whimsically released.

Narrowing my eyes as I recalled that incident, which hadn't left a good impression, I continued.

"But do you find such whims enjoyable?"

Eric looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Letting out a small sigh, I recounted what had happened then.

The neatly dressed deviant quickly caught on to my words.

"Ah, I was just about to bring that up."

"I'd like to hear your explanation."

"Explanation? I don't think there's much to explain... I probably just let them go at the time, right?"

The elder wiggled his ankle and rolled his eyes upward.

Leaning my upper body against the hospital room wall, I listened to his explanation.

All the while, I noted the presence of Shashinsky, who stood in the hallway outside the room, and the blond retainer.

"Sometimes I get the impulse to do that. It's like offering a small salvation."

"You could save them in a more proper way."

"Well, I just felt like it then."

Eric said that and let out a long laugh.

"Sometimes I toss a fork to those left behind bars. Doesn't that seem more merciful than this?"

"Excuse me?"

I couldn't understand what he meant.

Eric chuckled softly as he watched me raise my eyebrows.

"It's better than leaving them in a cell with no weapon at all."

"...So you're saying you gave them a fork as a weapon?"

"It's giving them hope."

The man said it so amiably, then his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Anyway, that's not the important part."

I was too stunned to say much.

I just looked at him and let out a hollow laugh. Since his mindset was beyond normal comprehension anyway, I figured I'd at least hear him out.

Eric brought up the game shop where the From E game had been.

I nodded quietly, and the elder reached into his suit's inner pocket.

He pulled out his smartphone, and the screen showed the person we'd seen on the shop's CCTV footage. The one with the hood pulled up, shoulders hunched.

I'd completely forgotten about seeing this footage until now.

After blinking several times, Eric smiled faintly and pocketed the smartphone.

"Find this person for me."

I stared at the man sitting in the chair for a long moment.

Then, slowly, I asked.

"Who is this person?"

"You'll know once you find them."

"Excuse me?"

"What... No, how is finding some unknown person related to searching for my past?"

"You already know the shop owner put an enormous premium on From A, right?"

"Yes. Something about pricing it over ten times higher."

"It could've been even higher."

Eric wiggled his ankle, his voice full of delight.

"There's only one From A game left now, and it's with me."

"What?"

"That person destroyed all the rest."

Huh?

My jaw dropped.

I was at a loss for words at the completely unexpected answer.

No.

Why...

Who the hell is this guy?

"They bought up every one on the market and destroyed them."

"That person did?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know either."

The man narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"Find them and hear the answer straight from the source."

Then, wasn't the one I had destroyed too?

The elder quickly addressed my anxiety. He said the last piece hadn't been destroyed. I had no idea how he knew, but he'd confirmed that the final remaining piece was stored in a bank vault famous for its tight security.

A bank vault?

The story was getting stranger by the minute.

"Well, if you prefer, I could have you retrieve the game from the vault instead."

Eric said it so casually, as if it were no big deal.

"But wouldn't finding the person be more fun?"

The conversation wrapped up there.

It ended with him helping me track down someone I'd completely forgotten about and hadn't paid much attention to. I also got his promise not to use threats, violence, or any coercive methods in the process.

Honestly, I wanted to just ask him to retrieve the game from the vault, but I couldn't bring myself to suggest a bank heist.

So, for now, I settled for asking him to uncover the identity of that suspicious figure.

...Well, since he brought it up himself, he would probably handle it well.

Eric smiled elegantly and left.

*

Five days later, I was discharged.

It was around 9 p.m. when approval came through. I quietly prepared to leave. Since it was late, I planned to handle goodbyes the next day.

It was embarrassing to end up hospitalized every time I went out on a mission.

I also wanted more time to sort out my feelings. I'd steeled myself, but the heavy guilt hadn't lifted.

First, I needed to head back to the cabin...

The hallway was unusually quiet, perhaps because night had fallen.

As I slowly made my way through the pale space, I sensed the pouring malice and froze.

"Ah."

There was a familiar face.

I didn't know his name. Someone from the Choi Family I'd seen only once and never met again.

Back then, he'd smiled without any malice and given me a warning while standing beside Eric Airheart.

Now, he was glaring at me with eyes full of hatred.

Why?

As I widened my eyes, Shashinsky, who stood beside the malice-radiating man, let out a deep sigh.

Eric Airheart's retainers.

The vampire-pale redhead apologized to me.

"I'm sorry."

He still looked exhausted.

"I'll handle it properly."

"...Good to see you. You arrived sooner than expected."

I thought he'd show up much later.

I didn't expect him back so quickly.

After a light greeting to Shashinsky, I turned my gaze to their master. Eric was dressed in a bright suit again, with an indigo coat draped over it that suited him remarkably well.

Did this guy always dress so flashily?

I suddenly felt tired.

"You look like you've suddenly grown weary."

"You're perceptive."

If you know, then leave.

"Why are you here this time? It doesn't seem like you came to drag me off... And, um, did I do something wrong?"

The last part was directed at Eric's blond retainer.

As soon as I finished asking, Shashinsky sighed. Eric burst into laughter.

"No need to worry. It's just that you've become my recent interest."

"Excuse me?"

"That's how deep my affection runs."

His nonchalant response made it seem like he'd answered questions like this many times before.

"Affection is heavy by nature, after all."

I really hated this.

Did that mean I was the target of his jealousy now?

This elder and his retainers didn't seem to have a normal relationship either. I'd thought Jae-yeon's rollercoaster of love and hate for Colton, and Colton's refusal to let her go, was the strangest, but this place seemed different too.

It didn't look like the dry contractual bond between the guardian and Seung-hyeon.

After briefly failing to control my expression, I barely regained my composure and turned my head away.

He wouldn't come visiting like this every time, right?

"What is it?"

"I heard you were being discharged, so I came to give you some flowers."

"Oh, no need."

I refused reflexively.

"I'm grateful just for the visit."

"Haha. That's a face that really hates it."

Even though he knew, the man shamelessly waved his hand.

Then Shashinsky, who looked like he wanted to head home immediately, pulled out a small bouquet, and the blond offered a neatly wrapped box.

This was driving me crazy...

"What is this?"

Afraid the blond might slit my throat if I refused, I reluctantly accepted the box.

Eric smiled faintly and slipped his hands into his pants pockets.

"Open it when you get back."

"...Yes. Thank you. Then, as you said, I'll be going now..."

"Mr. Airheart."

A familiar voice interrupted.

Heads turned. I widened my eyes and took in the three approaching figures from behind Eric Airheart.

The mentor and Ami weren't surprising.

But what was the HR director doing here?

"Do you have business with my charge?"

And he was furious.

Stunned by the HR director's anger, which I'd never seen before, I fell silent. Kang Joo approached Eric with a smile, but the disgust and irritation in that smile were clear as day.

What surprised me more was Eric furrowing his brow upon turning to confirm the HR director.

The two men, who always seemed to be smiling, now looked at each other with undisguised loathing.

"Hilde, you're already tired enough. I'd appreciate it if you refrained from visiting."

"You're as dull a person as ever."

Irritation seeped into Eric's voice too.

"Why not get a brain scan sometime? I bet the results would be more fascinating than the man standing next to you."

"Why hit the one just standing here?"

Yoon replied indifferently.

He scanned Eric and his retainers with a sullen expression.

"What business does the cult leader have with my junior?"

"Cult leader? I'm just a regular foundation operator. And an atheist at that."

"I know plenty of people who keep your photo and pray to it."

Eric smiled faintly at Yoon.

He seemed back to his usual self. He didn't particularly like Yoon, but he didn't hate him as much as the HR director either.

"For you to come all the way to the hospital room alone for your junior's discharge. Say what you will, you must care for your deputy mentor quite a bit."

"I came with my sister."

"Your sister?"

Eric's eyes widened.

The elder's gray eyes filled with surprise as he asked back.

"Did you have a sister?"

...She was right there.

But it seemed Ami was invisible to the deviant elder.

And this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Ami showed no surprise, just staring at the floor with a sullen expression.

Yoon looked like he was tired of giving the same answer over and over.

"Yes."

"Amazing. You seem like the type with no siblings at all."

"How does that old man run the foundation with such a dumb head?"

Ami muttered sullenly.

"He's a really stupid person."

That was hilarious.

Ami was someone far removed from misfortune, so she didn't enter Eric's field of vision. Joo and Yoon seemed to bore him in a similar way. And with her short stature, she probably didn't catch his eye literally either.

Leaning against the wall, I suppressed a laugh.

I felt bad for Ami, but the situation was funny.

I was glad these people weren't on Eric's list of interests.

Now I understood why Ye-hyeon had been happy at the salon.

Eric and Joo exchanged words laced with loathing for a while. Until Shashinsky, standing like a shadow, thankfully cut in with, "It's time to go now."

Eric nodded and turned to me.

"Then, see you again."

"Take care."

I didn't respond to the "see you again" part.

The platinum-blond middle-aged man grinned and left, saying to contact him anytime if I wanted.

Shashinsky bowed silently and followed his master.

The blond retainer lingered longer, watching me.

"The target of his interest will shift soon enough."

When I grumbled sullenly, the youthful, refined blond raised one eyebrow.

Then, seeing me standing there grumpily, he smiled faintly.

"I'm not so sure about that."

I hoped you were right.

The deviant group vanished like shadows.

As soon as they were out of sight, I turned.

"By the way, what brings the HR director here?"

"Oh, I came to talk to you."

Joo smiled and threw a fastball.

"Your vibe lately has been off."