Black Badger

When my cohort mates asked what was going on, I brushed them off with a vague "something came up" and changed into my uniform with them.

I quickly swapped clothes to hide the brand on my abdomen and ruffled my hair.

The exam would last the whole day.

In the morning, airborne training and climbing. In the afternoon, shooting and basic fitness assessment, followed by ocean swimming at the end. They said bad weather often postponed the airborne part, but luckily, that day we could launch the helicopters without issue.

It really was a relief. I didn't have the confidence to hold out for two straight days.

I stepped out of the tent with my cohort mates.

The open view made me lift my head.

And that's when I spotted the object floating in the sky.

"What's that?"

"Hmm?"

When I pointed, my cohort mates looked up too.

Tom was the one who answered in a puzzled tone.

"A broadcast drone. The promotion exam gets live-streamed to headquarters, right?"

"What?"

"Some interested seniors are probably watching."

"What did you say?"

What the hell was this?

I stared at my cohort mates with my mouth hanging open like an idiot. But Hesi and Tom seemed to have known about this already.

Choi Yoon. You hadn't told me about this either, huh.

If I confronted him, he'd probably just say it wouldn't change anything. He had taught efficiently, which made him a good mentor, but that efficiency could also make him a bad one.

I wondered what that guy was doing right then.

Anyway, I wanted to hear more details about where it was being broadcast and who was watching.

But my cohort mates didn't elaborate.

Instead, they scrutinized me closely.

"Why do you look so out of it?"

It was Hesi, furrowing his brows as he spoke.

I gave an awkward smile.

"I'm nervous."

"You?"

"I didn't know it was being live-streamed to headquarters."

"Don't you usually not get tense about stuff like this?"

Tom asked, sounding puzzled too.

"You don't even know what tension is to begin with."

I did too.

Especially in front of my mentor, I was tense every day. I had no idea why I had this image. My small protest fell on deaf ears. Hesi nodded in agreement with Tom.

My two cohort mates narrowed their eyes and glared at me.

I turned my head away and changed the subject.

"I see some people with red hats over there in the distance."

I swallowed the pain and started walking.

"Let's go. Let's all pass safely."

"Your walk looks weird too."

"There are a bunch of drones."

I kept my eyes fixed on the drones, pretending not to notice my cohort mates' stares.

The sea breeze tickled my nose. Even though the exam was about to start, getting out of that gloomy place lifted my spirits.

I needed to keep my head straight until the exam was over.

I muttered to myself, ignoring the piercing stares from my cohort mates.

"Who's even watching this stuff?"

*

Shu happily entered the media room.

The media room buzzed with people that day. A place that was usually empty was now packed. The prime seats were all taken, so she scanned for a spot while holding her salt and vinegar chips and zero cola.

Badgers gathered in groups of three or five, waiting for the exam to start.

She spotted Ami peeking out from among them.

Shu walked over to Ami.

"Senior. You came to watch after all."

"Yeah."

Ami grinned.

"Watching the chicks on video is fun."

"But is it always this crowded? I was relieved thinking no one watched my footage live."

"Nah. This time's unusually packed."

Ami tilted her head at the throng of badgers.

"Last year and the year before, hardly anyone was here."

Shu sat in the aisle seat next to Ami and opened her chip bag.

The tangy scent of the chips wafted up. As she pulled out the foldable side table from the armrest, she rolled her blue eyes around.

"Senior Richard brought a whole bunch of his favorite juniors again."

"Yeah. Richard never misses this stuff."

The two badgers glanced toward Richard and his dutiful followers.

They had claimed the front row. Richard and his group—people quietly called them the "Richard line." Mostly burly guys who were serious about gym training and mentoring new recruits.

They always took over a corner of the headquarters gym and held frequent gatherings to build camaraderie.

Someone had even complained that it was like a private club.

The supreme commander, Ye-hyeon, didn't seem to mind, though.

"Even if they pass the promotion exam, if it's not up to his standards, what do you think Senior Richard will say?"

"No one ever meets Richard's standards."

Ami burst out laughing.

She crunched on the potato chip Shu offered her.

"Don't worry, it wasn't just you he was hard on."

"Poor juniors."

Ami laughed again, even harder.

For a while, they silently watched the footage of the new recruits the drones were capturing. The three guys heading to the proctor after changing.

Ami stared blankly at their heads, then widened her eyes at someone passing in the aisle.

"Ric!"

Ricardo stopped walking.

The tall man turned his head. He looked down, spotted the small badgers, and broke into a wide smile. His deep green eyes curved into crescent moons.

The man approached with his usual laid-back stride.

"Ami~..."

"First time seeing you come watch this, Ric."

Ami blinked at the man draping his arm over the back of Shu's seat.

"You never watch stuff like this. You always say what's fun about watching chicks flounder."

"Ah~... I had some free time today~..."

"Hello, Senior."

Shu greeted him politely.

Ricardo waved his hand dismissively, accepting the junior's greeting.

"Hi~. Here to watch your first batch of juniors' footage, huh?"

"Yes."

"Your name was... Diamond, right~?"

"Yes. Shu Diamond."

"Sit next to me, Ric."

Ami patted the seat beside her.

Then she made an "oh" face and craned her neck to check the crowd.

"You didn't promise to sit with someone else, did you? Kudo probably won't show."

"That guy's not coming to a place like this."

Ricardo snorted and, with Shu's permission, slid into the seat next to Ami.

The man leaned back lazily against the headrest.

His green gaze shot to the screen. The new recruits were now listening to the proctor explain the airborne training procedure. They all stood at attention in their military uniforms, reflected on the screen.

The seniors watched the new recruits and shared cheerful commentary.

"They'll all pass, probably."

"You never know. But the weather's calm today, at least."

"Hey, this exam's a breeze! Back in my day, the wind was so bad they couldn't even launch the balloon, let alone the helicopter!"

"That white-haired guy's really standing out."

"Yeah. He's tall and handsome. Dyed it?"

"Surprisingly, it's natural."

"Huh? What, gray hair?"

"Ami."

Ami whipped her head around at the voice from behind.

It wasn't hard to spot the owner. The one who'd called her name stood right behind her seat.

Ami's eyes widened for the second time since entering the media room.

"Silvia!"

She was even more surprised than when she'd seen Ricardo.

"You came to watch the promotion exam?"

"Yes."

The pale woman bowed her head, and cool silver hair cascaded forward.

Her blue eyes, under the neat see-through bangs, gleamed strangely.

"Hildebert's taking the exam today, right?"

"Yeah. That's right."

"Hello, Senior."

"You actually remember your juniors' names~?"

Ricardo glanced coolly at the chilly woman.

"I thought you barely remembered seniors'..."

Silvia didn't respond.

Instead, she thanked Ami and calmly took the seat behind her. Ignoring the senior Ricardo and the junior Shu's greeting, the pale woman's blue eyes fixed on the screen.

Her gaze locked unblinkingly on the white-haired recruit.

Ami observed Silvia intently before turning back.

"Why does Hildebert attract all these unique people?"

It was the kind of mutter that would have made Hildebert bury his face in his hands and sulk if he had heard it.

"Is the crowd here because of Hildebert's rumors?"

"I heard quite a few came for Tom and Hesi too."

Shu said to Ricardo, showing him the opening of her blue chip bag.

As Ricardo smiled and waved it off, Ami cracked open her second soda.

"Tom apparently defied Senior Dawson's order to let a puppy die. Rumor has it he's got a tough side despite looking so mild. Hesi was already famous from the start because his dad's a general, and he got even more attention after that big fight with Jowad. Unfortunately, unlike Tom, it's the bad kind of fame."

"Ah. I was worried Hesi might get a bad rep. He's hot-tempered, sure, but the kid's actually really nice."

"Yeah. He really is."

Shu agreed readily and looked down at her blue chip bag.

The noise died down. Most people were seated now. The exam was about to start. The recruits were warming up to the proctor's commands. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep beep—the whistle echoed through the media room.

The seniors watched them with delight.

As the murmurs of conversation filled the air, Shu looked at her chips and said casually.

"They'll all do well, right?"

Her voice held a faint worry.

"I want them all to promote safely so we can hang out on a relaxed day off."

"Yeah. They'll be fine—they're all good!"

Ami grinned back.

She tilted her head, giving Shu a fond, sisterly look.

"You hang out with the new recruits a lot? What do you do?"

Shu looked up.

Ami smiled with affection, while Ricardo tossed a perfunctory glance of interest.

Looking at their faces, she answered without much thought.

"Last time, we went to buy an indie game featuring a protagonist named Hildebert Talev."

Curiosity clouded the eyes of both seniors.

Neither Ricardo nor Ami understood what Shu meant.

Just as Ami was about to ask what that meant, someone shouted loudly.

"The mentors are here!"

The media room door opened.

Yoon, Kal, and Angela entered one after another.

Applause erupted in an instant.

People whistled at the mentors entering with stern expressions.

"Good work!"

"You've done enough!"

"Now that you've handed them off, relax and watch the exam!"

"Weird."

Ami tilted her head as they took the center seat in the third row, the best spot for viewing the screen.

"Why does my brother look so pissed?"

The three mentors sat down quickly.

The three badgers stared at the screen with unwavering gazes. People approached them from all sides to talk. But none of them spoke. They just sat in their chairs, faces set, eyes fixed on the screen.

More precisely, Angela and Kal's eyes held worry, trust, and affection.

Yoon's held anger, irritation, and possessiveness.

Something that could never be called affection.

But an emotion far from indifference.

The moment Choi Yoon glared at the screen with that irritating feeling, the exam began.