Black Badger

When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital room.

The low whispers of people tickled my ears. All I could see was a white ceiling. I turned my head slightly and caught sight of the backs of the people around me.

My injured arm and leg felt numb, without any pain. They must have given me some medication.

As I blinked, someone approached my bedside.

"You're awake?"

At the doctor's voice, the people surrounding me turned toward me all at once.

The flood of gazes made me feel awkward.

"Yes. Oh, did I sleep?"

"You didn't sleep; you just passed out briefly. You lost quite a bit of blood."

"Are you okay? How do you feel?"

The doctor replied, and Ami leaned forward to ask.

I pushed myself up using my elbow against the bed.

A familiar room came into view. A spacious white room filled with unfamiliar medical equipment. People sat in round chairs, and a bed was attached to the wall.

It was Doctor Samuel Han's infirmary. The same place I'd visited yesterday.

Large gauze covered my forearm and ankle. It was hard to see clearly because of it, but the wounds didn't look shallow. Yet they didn't hurt at all. Had they given me painkillers?

In any case, facing that thing and ending up with only these injuries was a miracle.

I checked the people surrounding the bed. Ricardo and Ami sat on chairs. A handsome man with braided hair stood there with a troubled expression.

Samuel looked at his pad.

I nodded and rubbed my neck with my uninjured hand.

"It doesn't hurt at all. Thank you for saving me.... I've been nothing but trouble since yesterday. I'm really sorry."

"What did you do wrong~?"

"Ric, don't be sarcastic. It's a bad habit."

"Don't walk around too much for a week."

I turned my head at the doctor's words.

The doctor called Samuel Han set the pad down on the desk. He looked at me with his hands in the pockets of his white coat.

His clear blue eyes held a firm confidence and seasoned expertise in his work.

"I'll try."

I had no idea how I was supposed to live for the next week, though.

As if reading my inner thoughts, Ricardo let out a long laugh. He flashed a sly smile and poked the braided-haired man's side with his elbow.

The man quietly glared at Ricardo and pushed his elbow away firmly.

Then he took a step closer to me.

"Mr. Hilde."

"Yes. Hildebert Talev."

"My greetings are late. I'm Aide Ska Owen."

What?

This man was the aide? I widened my eyes and observed the man standing before me.

The man who had just rushed out and saved my life.

He looked handsome even from that angle, but straight on, he was even more striking. Smooth bronze skin, braided hair reaching his shoulders. A well-fitted suit and several silver piercings in his ears. A faint scent of cologne.

Ska Owen was a handsome man in his mid to late twenties.

The aide, whom I'd unexpectedly met like this, spoke.

"First, I must apologize."

Apologize for what?

"I noticed the bleeding too late. Since you have an augmented body, I assumed it would have healed on its own.... It was my oversight."

"No, not at all. If you hadn't saved me, I wouldn't be in this world right now."

"Rescuing civilians from those things is my job."

As expected, these people weren't ordinary workers. But whatever they were, the fact that he was my lifesaver didn't change.

Before I could respond, Ska continued.

"And the meeting with the Supreme Commander will be delayed quite a bit. It's the first time creatures have appeared near headquarters, and two at once. There were no fatalities, and you're the only injured, Mr. Hilde, but the media is in an uproar. It might take a week to sort things out."

"Ah. That's fine. Right now, I.... As you know, I have no foundation in life or memories about it.... I don't know what I need to do or have to do."

I was originally supposed to go for brunch with Ami and Ricardo.

But because of the sudden monsters, I hadn't eaten. Thinking about food made my stomach growl unbearably.

What time was it now?

"It's...."

"12:10!"

Ami said, blinking.

"You must be hungry."

I nodded awkwardly and glanced around.

Sunlight poured through the window, bathing the hospital room. The sounds of busy people leaked in through the door. The lively midday scene filled my view.

It was hard to believe I'd almost died to that grotesque creature just moments ago.

The doctor suddenly held out a chocolate bar.

"Have this at least."

"Thank you."

"Tell me where you'll be staying for the week. We'll take you there in a wheelchair. We can check for any anomalies once your body recovers."

"Are there more strange things about me...."

I wondered if there was anything normal about me.

I muttered in a weary voice, and Ricardo's smile widened.

The doctor picked up the pad and explained.

"Yeah. Normally, recovery enhancement, including aging suspension, should precede the augmented body transplant for it to take safely. But you have the augmented body transplanted, yet your recovery isn't exceptionally enhanced."

Well.

"It's not at a regular person's level, though. Aging suspension seems properly in place. Anyway, your recovery is lower than standard badgers, so let's do another check in a week."

The doctor said it casually while tapping the pad.

I let out a hollow laugh as I watched him record something. I was so baffled by myself that words failed me. I had no idea why these oddities kept popping up.

The doctor looked up after noting something on the pad and said firmly.

"Go rest for now. The check isn't urgent."

I nodded while chewing the chocolate.

But I wasn't sure what to do. It didn't hurt, but my limbs felt heavy. Since he mentioned a wheelchair, I probably couldn't walk normally yet....

With one leg and one arm intact, maybe I could move if I got a wheelchair?

As I twisted to get off the bed, the people around me reacted.

"Mr. Hilde, wait a moment. Ric, wheelchair."

"Hey, don't move around so much!"

"Yes? Oh, yes. Sorry...."

"Wait~ I'll get something to take you in...."

Ska the aide reached out to stop me as I tried to plant my good leg on the floor. Surprised by my sudden movement, the doctor raised his voice. Ricardo stood and went to fetch a wheelchair.

I awkwardly nodded as Ami hurried over and grabbed my arm.

"Thank you."

Ami looked up at me.

"How's your condition?"

"Everything's fine except I'm hungry."

"Good. You have the room you slept in yesterday, right? I'll take you there. I already ordered brunch to eat together once you woke up."

"Thank you so much. And please speak comfortably."

I didn't know my age, but I doubted I was over 70.

Ricardo brought a wheelchair from somewhere in the hospital room.

I put strength into my uninjured foot. Ami firmly supported my arm.

Her grip was incredibly strong.

"Okay. I'll speak comfortably then."

Ami practically lifted me and sat me in the wheelchair in an instant.

"Let's go eat brunch!"

Ricardo and Ami pushed the wheelchair and took me along.

I was soon guided to the room next to the one I'd stayed in. The brunch that Ami had brought, the clothes that Ricardo had delivered, and clothing items gifted by Joo awaited me there.

Ricardo said he had work and left the room.

Only Ami and I remained in the new room.

"You have to rest here for a week."

Ami walked over and unwrapped the brunch.

"I'll visit often during the week. Let's get close while you're recuperating here."

I realized I had to stay quietly confined here for a week. It must have been related to the augmented body transplanted in me. And to the fact that I'd suddenly appeared in the portal zone.

Plus the incomplete recovery.... And the two bizarre creatures that unusually appeared at headquarters.

But pondering it now wouldn't yield answers.

I looked at the fidgeting young woman and slowly nodded.

Then, pushing aside my complicated thoughts, I had brunch with the person I'd met for the first time yesterday.

*

The week I couldn't leave the room was more peaceful than expected.

I couldn't go around much anyway because of my leg injury. I decided to enjoy the situation as it was.

It was an environment worth enjoying. Ami and Ricardo took turns bringing food, and I just had to eat.

I spent the days eating, reading books they brought, or chatting lightly.

"Thanks to you, I'm living luxuriously~."

On the evening of the third day holed up, Ricardo said with a grin.

"Watching over an unregistered augmented body holder who appeared in the portal zone. It's so relaxing, I can't tell if I'm on leave or on duty...."

I felt a bit relieved. The fact that I was being a burden had been troubling me. Even while laughing and talking with Ricardo and Ami, guilt made my stomach churn....

Even if it wasn't entirely true, I was grateful he said it.

Familiar foods from my memories, along with new ones, passed the time. They were all surprisingly delicious.

Immersed in an environment as languid as the drowsy midday air, I spent seven days.

A week in which I gained no particular information.

There was no TV or computer.

"This is a place for the high command to rest."

When I asked if this world had no TV, Ami answered.

"It's designed with almost no external stimuli so you can completely disconnect and relax."

I nodded and didn't ask more.

It probably wasn't a lie. But I could guess it also meant I wasn't allowed to watch TV.

Sometimes, it was wiser to stay silent than to ask questions. I'd unravel the backlog once my leg healed. After gaining more trust from Ami and Ricardo.

And after the organization's top decision-maker, the Supreme Commander, decided my fate.

During the week, the Supreme Commander wasn't mentioned at all. While holed up, Aide Ska visited once, and HR Director Joo showed his face, but they didn't say a word about the Supreme Commander. So I'd almost forgotten his existence.

I spent days lost in the languid routine, not thinking about the future.

After that week, I finally met the Supreme Commander.

*

"Mr. Hilde."

The Supreme Commander called my name in a husky voice and turned his head.

"I'm truly sorry the meeting is so late."

The man turned from the window to look at me.

As I walked into the office, I stopped in place.

I stared blankly at the man standing by the window. His features were sharply etched in the pouring sunlight.

Pale skin as if devoid of pigment. Jet-black hair. The man's large eyes curved gently, and his facial lines were refined. If not for his tall stature, lean build, and fitted black suit, I might have mistaken him for a woman at a glance.

This was the top decision-maker here.

"Hello."

An indescribable pressure made words stick in my throat.

"I'm Hildebert Talev."

After greeting, I didn't move from my spot.

It wasn't tension from his authoritative gaze. He seemed to have the softest demeanor of anyone I'd met so far.

But those eyes.

Despite his clearly twenties appearance, they made it impossible to doubt he'd lived through long years. Facing the Supreme Commander's large eyes, filled with accumulated sorrow and resignation—and the seasoned insight born from them—I lost my words.

The pressure he exuded came from there.

Eyes that only one who had pierced through a life marked by pain could possess.

"I'm Lee Ye-hyeon."

The man spoke softly and lightly scanned my leg and arm.

"Pleased to meet you. How are your injuries?"

"Yes. Thanks to you.... I just got diagnosed as fully healed, and the gauze and bandages are all off."

"That's fortunate. Please sit comfortably in that chair. We have much to discuss."

"...Yes."

I walked to the chair in front of the large desk.

As I sat in the soft chair, the man who had been watching me moved slowly. He walked over leisurely, pulled out the desk chair, and sat down. Then he dismissed the holographic windows floating above the desk.

The man looked up at me.

"Shall we begin?"

Ye-hyeon said humbly with an unreadable expression.

I nodded slowly.

"Yes."

The meeting with Supreme Commander Lee Ye-hyeon began.