Black Badger

The ambulance arrived quickly.

It pushed through the wall that Yoon had broken down, easing its way in. A familiar face hopped out of the stopped ambulance.

Ska strode in carrying a stretcher.

"You look better than usual."

That was the first thing he said when he saw Ye-hyeon.

Yoon nodded silently. The mentor glanced over my treated wound and stood up, walking over to Ska.

Meanwhile, Ska let out a sigh, turned his head, and looked at me.

He frowned at the wound on my shoulder.

"Hey, that must really hurt."

"Yeah, a bit."

I answered honestly.

My straightforward response must have been amusing because Ska let out a chuckle.

"Just wait a moment. I'll give you some painkillers right away."

Yoon and Ska moved very quickly.

The two of them swiftly loaded Ye-hyeon onto the stretcher and carried him to the ambulance. I staggered to my feet and walked to the ambulance as well. The vehicle stood amid the dusty debris, and I could see the seniors finishing up emergency treatment—inserting an IV into Ye-hyeon and applying gauze.

As I stepped forward, Ska hopped over and supported my good arm.

With his help, I sat down on the narrow seat. Ricardo and Ami were inside the ambulance too.

"Hey, you..."

Ricardo gave me a wry smile at my state.

"Can't even go to the salon without coming back in one piece?"

"Tell me about it. The world just won't leave me alone."

I received the painkiller from Ska.

I wondered who was driving, and sure enough, Ami was in the driver's seat. Ami and Ricardo must have stayed inside the ambulance because meeting Jae-yeon wouldn't do them any good. Just seeing Jae-yeon's face wouldn't benefit them at all.

The ambulance departed right away.

It sped through the city shrouded in bluish darkness. Exhausted, I leaned against the ambulance wall. There were too many newly recalled facts, and I needed time to mull them over.

Fortunately, no one disturbed me as I sat there dazed. Yoon steadily checked Ye-hyeon's vital signs, Ami drove, and Ricardo and Ska sat with legs crossed or arms folded, eyes closed, passing the time.

The silence was broken when my phone rang.

The vibration came from inside my tattered jacket.

That bastard Colton.

With everyone's attention focused on me, I answered the call with my good hand.

"You bastard."

I started right off with the curse.

"Thanks a lot for the help, you bastard."

[Don't mention it.]

Colton responded smoothly from the other end of the line.

He seemed to be in a car heading back. I could hear a low engine hum and the clink of a glass being set down through the receiver.

The irritation surged as I pictured him working inside a luxury sedan while sipping fine liquor.

Ignoring the others' gazes, I vented my frustration.

"Is this how you treat a friend you've known for decades, right from the start?"

[Your skills seem a bit rusty.]

I really wanted to kill him.

I closed my eyes and swallowed my anger.

"Why were we friends again?"

[Do you think you were some loyal friend?]

I heard the rustle of turning pages from the receiver. It was obvious he was skimming through documents and responding half-heartedly.

The air carried the scent of approaching midnight. Colton added in his characteristic elegant tone.

[You seem to have forgotten the time you rammed a truck of silence into my car.]

...Did I do that?

I fell silent for a moment. With my mouth set in a straight line, I recalled watching Colton and others in their power struggles back then. Back when Kyle and I weren't on bad terms, when I could leisurely sip an Americano at an open-air café.

Ah, I remembered now.

"Come to think of it, I did do that."

[Your shamelessness is as strong as ever.]

Colton wasn't surprised.

He didn't even give me time to get more annoyed or protest. Just as I was about to complain that this crossed the line, he sharply cut me off with, "I'm busy, so let's end this here."

And then the call dropped unilaterally.

What a precious friend.

I tossed the phone onto the seat in irritation.

"...Was that Falcon just now?"

The silence that returned to the ambulance after the call ended was broken by Ska's stunned voice.

I'd never seen Ska this shocked. The usually laid-back and confident man stared at me with an expression of disbelief at what had just happened.

Yoon looked at me with a similarly incredulous face. Ricardo narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing me.

Come to think of it, they must have all heard. It was so quiet that everything Colton said on the other end probably came through clearly.

I gave an awkward smile.

"Yes. You all heard, I suppose. Sorry about that."

"Friends?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Ska asked in astonishment.

"With Falcon?"

"Well, sort of... Not your typical friends, though. More like people I saw often out of necessity... Ah, that sounds weird when I explain it like this."

"Looks like some memories are coming back."

Yoon, who hadn't asked much at the salon, crossed his arms and looked at me.

The mentor, leaning against the bed where Ye-hyeon lay, asked.

"How old are you?"

Even I didn't remember that.

When I answered honestly, Yoon made a sullen face but didn't press further. I gave another awkward smile, enduring the others' stares.

Ska and Ricardo stared at me with expressions of utter disbelief, at a loss for words. Ami focused on driving, and Yoon checked Ye-hyeon's vital signs before turning his gaze back to me.

"You got injected with something, didn't you?"

He must have seen the syringe rolling around on the messy floor.

I nodded silently, and Ricardo and Ska both frowned.

"How's your condition?"

"Fine except for the nausea."

"Still, get checked out as soon as we arrive. We ran a quick liver test on your blood just now, but a simple test won't catch everything."

When did they take my blood?

Ska, seeing my stunned expression, unfolded his arms with a frown.

"What do you mean injected? Like some drug?"

"Yes. But I'm okay. It doesn't seem like a big deal."

"Whether you're okay or not is for the doctor to decide..."

Ricardo, who had been keeping quiet until then, muttered menacingly.

"Don't you have any sense of self-preservation?"

Scary.

Terrified, I apologized first. The air inside the ambulance froze in an instant. But Ska and Ami, who was driving, each threw in a comment, and the tense atmosphere eased up quickly.

It had eased, but my heart was still clenched.

I needed to be careful... Just like the first impression, Ricardo wasn't an easy guy.

Ami and Ska asked follow-up questions about my condition. A brief Q&A on my health ensued. Once that fruitless conversation ended, silence returned to the vehicle.

White noise pounded my ears.

Ever since getting injected with something from Jae-yeon, my senses had become overly acute. My sharpened hearing picked up a lot. The sound of tires on the road, the engine hum, the drip of medication from the IV. All those noises flooded in unfiltered and quickly wore me out.

But thanks to that, I caught the change in breathing.

Ye-hyeon had woken up.

Lacking the nerve to look at him, I dropped my gaze to the ambulance floor.

"I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten caught up in this mess."

The people, lost in their own thoughts, turned to look at me as I broke the silence.

I hadn't said it expecting a reply. Except for Yoon, no one seemed to realize Ye-hyeon had woken up.

But Ye-hyeon responded. The superior, who had just awakened, let out a choked laugh—Ricardo and Ska whipped their heads around—and said.

"It was my greed that put you under me."

"Keep it short."

Yoon grumbled bluntly, but the superior brushed off his words.

"And Jae-yeon already hates me. It's not your fault."

"I was out of it and tied up, so you couldn't resist."

"Less than usual."

Ye-hyeon slowly opened his eyes.

Yoon furrowed his brow but didn't add anything. I watched as Ye-hyeon stared blankly at the ambulance ceiling, then formed a faint smile on his lips.

"For bringing in someone Falcon had his eye on, the price was pretty light."

Satisfaction colored the superior's voice.

"Hilde, you really are stubborn."

I would probably end up as someone's Ace Pair from now on too.

Akwoo's words came to mind. His old words echoed in my ears too. You're my Ace Pair for victory. Colton wasn't one to speak carelessly. There was a reason he said that while looking down at me during the meeting.

It meant he knew I was now Ye-hyeon's man.

He wasn't the type to hold idiotic beliefs like "make the impossible possible." Colton had a talent for distinguishing the impossible from the possible. Knowing me well, he must have realized I would never come under him. He probably figured it out the moment we reunited at the salon.

He got angry about it and sent Jae-yeon after both Ye-hyeon and me side by side.

In any case, he ultimately acknowledged reality. Even under Ye-hyeon, I wouldn't be a threat to him, and it was better for me to be under Ye-hyeon than under another elder.

I thought of the two elders who had shown interest in me and smiled faintly.

"I might not be as useful as you think. I still can't remember a lot right now."

"It's fine."

Ye-hyeon said in a hoarse voice.

"You're doing plenty well enough."

"Is that so? Thank you just for saying that."

"Yeah. Don't worry."

"Stop talking now."

Yoon instructed flatly.

With that as the cue, the conversation ended.

In the ensuing quiet, I sank into my thoughts.

Colton, my long-time frenemy. Kyle, an even longer connection who had now become an enemy. Ye-hyeon, who had hidden my identity and officially registered me as Black Badger. Jae-yeon, who hated me for giving augmented bodies to humans. And the two elders who had shown interest in me, along with their retainers.

One of those retainers was Ye-hyeon's father...

Ah.

I remembered.

His name was Lee Seung-hyun.

A soldier scouted from Korea.

*

I must have zoned out while sitting in the ambulance.

I thought I was fine, but when I opened my eyes, the hospital room ceiling came into view. Feeling my vision sharpening, I blinked several times.

How many times had this pattern happened?

"Hey, you're awake?"

Dr. Samuel Han craned his neck forward.

My senses, which showed no sign of dulling after the injection, registered the person standing by the bed. The doctor peered at me and clicked his tongue.

"Let's not see each other like this anymore."

"Sorry."

I came here too often.

Ignoring the stabbing headache, I took in my surroundings. With no major noises, I figured I was admitted in a hospital room. When did I pass out?

I really thought I was fine.

I wondered if Ye-hyeon was okay.

I stared blankly at the ceiling and then sat up.

"Look at you, can't even lie still."

Samuel clicked his tongue as he watched me slowly raise my upper body.

"Don't strain your right arm, you idiot. If you want to heal fast."

"Yes. But did you get the pound cake from last time?"

"Pound cake?"

The doctor looked like he'd never heard of it.

"What pound cake?"

"I brought one to give you last time... But with everything going on, I couldn't deliver it."

I had left it in the hallway while rushing to catch Peter and completely forgotten about it.

It must have been thrown out by now. I would buy something better and bring it.

As I groggily fumbled for my phone, the doctor who had been at the foot of the bed strode over.

He picked up the phone from the table and thrust it toward me.

"Just behave and get discharged already, kid. Don't bring anything."

"I'll bring something right after discharge. What do you like?"

"I said don't bring anything."

"Do you prefer raisins or green tea? If you don't like sweets, I'll get something other than dessert. That way, I can be a bit more confident every time I have to impose on you..."

"You little punk, I can't even whack you because of that head injury."

Samuel made a face like it was the greatest regret of his life that he couldn't hit me with the tablet.

I smiled at the doctor holding the tablet. This doctor was the same as ever. His stubbly shaved face, jet-black hair, tired but sharp blue eyes that hid his intelligence.

The doctor, who sometimes carried a faint cigarette scent, sighed as he looked at my grinning face.

"Contact the others."

He nodded toward the phone in my hand.

"They've been calling nonstop. Since you can't use your right hand, text later and call them now."

I obediently followed his advice.

I turned on the phone with my left hand and checked the backlog of messages. Messages from Ami, from Ska and Ricardo. Oh! Hesi and Tom must have been back. No contact from Yoon, and nothing from Ye-hyeon either.

And who was this?

The message wasn't from a restricted caller ID but an unfamiliar number.

I opened that one first before the others.

And I read the message from someone I never expected.

[Hi, Talev. It's Shu Diamond. Want to check out the game center in the slums with me and Senior Walker after you get discharged?]