Black Badger

The one who slapped him seemed to be the Personnel Director’s current lover.

“Hey!”

A shrill voice carried through the open window.

“You said everything was already settled!”

Was the current lover also a Black Badger staffer?

Mae narrowed her eyes, trying to properly make out the other person’s face.

But after checking carefully, she realized it was someone she didn’t know, and she couldn’t tell whether the person was ordinary staff, special-duty, or medical personnel.

Just as Hildebert had said, the distance was too great to clearly hear what they were saying.

“I can’t hear anything.”

“Same.”

When she muttered it almost to herself, Hildebert answered her.

“But did the Personnel Director really cheat?”

Yun let out a derisive snort.

“He’s more than capable of it.”

“No, is he really that much of a trash human being? It’s honestly a huge relief Ami turned him down back then.”

“There’s a little blood at the corner of his mouth.”

Jack Black said.

“Did he come out after taking Green Dream?”

Mae’s eyes widened in shock as she turned to look at the red-haired driver.

How could he possibly see the blood gathered at the corner of the Personnel Director’s lips from this distance? Mae had undergone vision correction surgery and didn’t have bad eyesight, but there was no way she could make out something that fine around the Personnel Director’s mouth.

Perhaps sensing her stare, Jack Black, who had been standing with his arms crossed and looking down below, rolled his eyes toward her.

The driver smiled pleasantly.

“My eyesight is rather good.”

Mae was so stunned by the fact that Jack Black had spoken directly to her that she couldn’t answer for a moment.

SLAP!

The second sharp sound of a blow brought her back to herself.

“Get lost!”

The current lover slapped away the hand Ju had reached out.

“You filthy bastard!”

“Ah~. I remember now.... That one’s special-duty~.”

Ricardo’s lazy voice dropped into the air.

“I thought they looked familiar....”

“A senior?”

Hildebert asked in surprise.

Mae blinked, her gaze moving back and forth between Ricardo and the person three floors below.

The second-generation Badger answered lazily.

“Yeah~. I remember going out on a supply assignment together once....”

“You should hit him harder.”

Yun added dryly.

When Mae turned her head slightly, she caught a glimpse of the scientist, who for some reason looked pleased.

She couldn’t bring herself to stare at the perfectly shaped smile lingering around his mouth for long. He was genuinely terrifying, and she didn’t even dare watch him too closely.

Better to focus on the drama in front of her.

Mae turned back to the workplace senior she recognized but wasn’t close to. The moment she realized Marlowe’s rival was special-duty, she suddenly felt sorry for the other person.

Though she had no idea who had dumped whom.

“That person’s ordinary staff, right?”

Hildebert asked Mae.

Mae watched Marlowe walk toward Ju, who was trying to soothe the furious special-duty current lover.

“Yes. Completely.”

“Looks like he’s about to grab him by the collar.”

Jack Black murmured.

“That would be dangerous, approaching an agitated special-duty officer like that.”

“Oh.”

Just as Jack said, Marlowe grabbed Ju by the collar.

The white shirt stretched long beneath the force.

There was no way he could physically drag him anywhere, yet Ju let himself be pulled along obediently exactly as Marlowe yanked.

Yun clicked his tongue.

“He’s getting in the way.”

“How is that getting in the way?”

Hildebert sounded incredulous.

“He was the one who got called out here in the first place.”

“What’s an ordinary civilian body supposed to accomplish?”

Oh. A special-duty officer dismissing civilians.

If it had come from anyone else, Mae probably would have found it irritating. She genuinely hated it when enhanced-body special-duty officers got arrogant.

But this was Choi Yun, and for some reason she had the feeling he would dismiss special-duty officers and ordinary civilians equally, so it didn’t bother her much.

And in fact, Yun continued:

“I’m saying he should hit him harder.”

“Yun....”

Hildebert muttered in a voice laced with weary resignation.

“Oh!”

But Mae never got to see how Yun reacted.

“He’s on his knees!”

Kang Ju was.

In front of Marlowe.

One knee bent, he looked up at Marlowe with desperate eyes. Then he gently wrapped both hands around the other man’s rigid, unmoving hand and began saying something.

“Wow.”

Everyone pressed to the window let out a small breath of amazement.

“That’s nauseating.”

That was Yun’s review.

“Why did he create this situation in the first place?”

The voice layered with pity and more complicated feelings belonged to Hildebert.

“When he absolutely could have avoided creating something like this.”

“He’d probably just say he followed his heart~.”

Ricardo tossed out a cynical judgment.

“This kind of thing happened every so often~. Though it’s been a while since I watched one live....”

“I feel awful for both of them.”

Hildebert muttered.

“This is honestly disrespectful to both people.”

“The Personnel Director’s dating style really is famous.”

“He reads people with ghostlike precision, so why in the world does he act like this?”

“Maybe in fields outside his own, he just does whatever he wants.”

“No, but even you don’t toy with people’s feelings like this!”

“Now that’s spirit.”

Yun’s satisfied voice suddenly cut in.

“Yes. If they’re special-duty, that’s exactly the level of spirit they should have.”

By now Mae had begun to understand Yun’s way of speaking.

So she immediately realized he wasn’t referring to the Personnel Director, but to the special-duty officer who had slapped the Personnel Director.

Honestly, there was no way to misunderstand.

The Personnel Director’s current lover was charging straight at the kneeling man.

THUD!

A much more vicious sound rang out this time.

BAM! THUD!

“Ah!”

Mae was no longer having fun. Now she was honestly getting scared.

“Is it really okay not to stop them...?”

“Senior!”

Hildebert shouted as he leaned halfway out the window frame.

“Please calm down! There’s a civilian right beside you!”

“Why stop them? They’re avoiding the civilian just fine while beating him.”

Yun said.

“Just leave it. By your own logic, isn’t that Badger the victim?”

“That /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ may be true~.... But there’s no guarantee that ordinary staffer won’t interfere....”

“I’ll go down and stop it.”

Jack spoke before Ricardo could even fully turn.

Mae was deeply impressed by Jack Black’s perfect sense.

When Hildebert moved as if to follow, Jack stopped him with a single hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll handle it.”

His tone was surprisingly firm.

“There’s no need for two.”

“You don’t really need to go down either~.”

The senior added lazily.

Just as Ricardo said, Jack Black never ended up going to the first floor.

Mae gasped at the sudden turn of events.

A new figure had entered the scene.

Someone had emerged from the New Wing.

A person walking toward the special-duty officer currently beating Ju, toward Ju who was taking the blows without resistance, and toward the ordinary staffer who looked like they were trying to judge the right moment to intervene.

Advisor Yehyeon.

Without making a sound, Mae watched Yehyeon smoothly bring the situation under control.

Though honestly, there wasn’t much skill needed.

The moment he approached, the employee hitting Ju snapped back to their senses.

Marlowe also looked startled when he saw Yehyeon.

Of course he would be startled!

For a split second, Mae herself debated whether she should run back to her seat or stay and watch how this ended.

But this was the third floor, so it should be fine, right?

After hesitating, Mae watched Marlowe bow his head and quickly withdraw, while Ju stood up and said something to Yehyeon.

The Badger who had been hitting Ju stood beside Yehyeon, still breathing hard with lingering anger.

But she too soon greeted Yehyeon and left. Apparently she complied with whatever he said. She nodded, greeted him, and turned away without hesitation.

Beside Mae, Hildebert let out a sigh of relief.

When Ju also smiled and left the scene, Mae felt relieved too.

The violence had escalated far beyond what she expected, and it had started to make her uneasy. But thanks to a superior stepping in, it had ended at just the right point, which meant she could now happily tell her coworkers everything she’d witnessed.

Thank goodness....

“Yehyeon.”

At Yun’s voice, Mae nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Why’d you stop that?”

Yehyeon lifted his head and looked up at them.

Aah!

The moment Mae saw the superior shooting them an incredulous look, she screamed inwardly.

Don’t call him!

Please don’t call the Advisor!

Of course, she was still sane enough not to let Yun see her inner panic.

Yun leaned a little farther out the window.

“We were right in the middle of appreciating the show.”

Instead of replying, Yehyeon simply stared up at them with a sullen expression, one hand tucked into his pocket.

Why does it feel like he’s scanning every single person stuck to this window?

Thankfully, he didn’t say anything to them.

Instead, he pulled his hand from his pocket and walked back into the New Wing.

The superior disappeared from sight.

Mae let out a breath of relief.

The special-duty officers straightened away from the window.

“Um.”

With one incident finally concluded, Mae gathered her courage.

Looking up at Jack Black as he returned to his seat, she spoke.

“Yes?”

“One of my coworkers is an enormous fan.”

Jack Black smiled warmly.

“I don’t have a pen on me right now. Do you happen to have something to write with?”

Mae didn’t either.

Realizing only now how foolish she’d been not to think of that, she froze with her mouth slightly open and began searching for something to write with.

At that moment, Ricardo, who had been pulling out his chair, turned toward the café entrance.

“Advisor.”

Mae nearly fainted.

“Welcome.”

Didn’t he leave?!

Wasn’t he supposed to have gone back to work? Wasn’t he busy?

Mae hurriedly bowed among the others who stood to greet Yehyeon, desperately hoping her smaller figure would vanish behind the tall men around her. In that moment, she deeply regretted choosing to stay in the café.

I want to go back to the office.

Of course, it was too late now.

No chance. If she packed up her laptop and left now, it would be far too obvious she was fleeing, and she’d definitely be remembered for it.

Giving up, Mae silently moved to the wall like a signboard.

“Well, look who it is. Isn’t this the one who lost to the sixty-second class?”

Yun greeted Yehyeon.

Mae was internally horrified by his sheer audacity, but Yehyeon answered flatly.

“Instead of stopping it, you were encouraging it from up here.”

“That’s his own karma.”

“I’m sorry. I should have gone down and stopped it sooner.”

“It’s fine. No one got hurt.”

Yehyeon replied to Jack’s slight bow.

No one... got hurt?

Mae fell into a brief moment of confusion.

But she had no time to dwell on it.

Because after ignoring Hildebert’s timid, “Is your body alright?” and Yun’s complaint of “Why are you only harsh with me?”, Yehyeon turned his gaze toward her.

He looked at her indifferently and said:

“Aren’t you an assistant manager from the Economic and Social Affairs Division?”

Mae sucked in a sharp breath.

“Yes. Mae Wong, Resources Department.”

How do you know me?!

She answered politely while screaming internally.

Why? Why do you know who I am?

“Under Hendricks.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Didn’t you give me an in-person report once before?”

Right.

She had.

Which was exactly why she had never wanted to face him again.

But she had never imagined Yehyeon would still remember that. Especially since Hendricks had been the primary presenter that day. Mae herself had simply sat quietly in the corner.

“You’re still there?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been there a while. No plans to transfer?”

By this point, half her mind had already gone blank.

So she just answered honestly.

“I received an offer from HR this time and thought about it, but I’m satisfied with my current department, so I turned it down in the end.”

“Ju really does sniff out talent like a ghost. Still, you made the right decision. Well-written reports are a huge help.”

After that, the superior turned and said something to the special-duty officers.

Mae didn’t clearly remember what happened after that.

The fact that she had been praised by the former Supreme Commander, the fact that he remembered her, and the relationship scandal she had just witnessed all blended together until her mind simply drifted away.

One way or another, when she finally came back to herself, she was already back in the office.

She must have hurriedly gathered up her laptop and left the café afterward.

She vaguely remembered Jack Black asking for her office number.

Something about being sorry he couldn’t sign right now and that he’d stop by later if he had time?

Maybe Yehyeon had said something that sounded like he was apologizing for chasing her out?

Maybe Hildebert, while carefully watching the former Supreme Commander’s mood, had offered café cookies to both Yehyeon and Mae?

Maybe the cookie currently sitting on top of her laptop was that exact one?

It also felt like the special-duty officers had started talking loudly again about Hildebert’s reinstatement.

But unable to clearly remember any of it, Mae somehow escaped Café Banana Soda.

Now she sat blankly in the safety of her office.

Then, munching on the cookie, she thought that she really needed to let her coworkers know that Banana Soda was apparently also a leadership hotspot.

The Advisor seems to work in the New Wing....

The matcha latte and cookie had been delicious, but she firmly resolved to avoid going there whenever possible.

And with that thought, she remained seated blankly in the office for a long, long time.