Black Badger

Going to a game shop was always welcome.

But why on earth had Senior Walker... He didn't seem like the type to play games.

I fell into brief confusion before I quickly regained my composure.

When I thought about it calmly, there was no rule that said Senior Walker couldn't enjoy games. Everyone was equal before games.

I should have thanked him for asking and said I'd go for sure. But since it wasn't urgent, I decided to reply later as I lifted my head.

No matter how I thought about it, pound cake was the wrong choice.

"How about some fruit? Shine Muscat? Or classically, an apple?"

"Ah, you bastard."

Samuel turned to me with a tsk.

"Look at you, not listening to a word I say. Who asked a broke newbie like you to buy anything?"

"You must not have heard. I made a fortune this time."

"Huh?"

I told him about finding Martin for the doctor and getting 30 million won.

Samuel, who had been listening with wide eyes, burst into laughter as soon as I finished.

"Hey, you're adapting well, aren't you?"

"Yes. Thanks to you."

"First weirdo to become a badger in such a bizarre way since the founding, but I'm glad you're doing okay."

What?

Since the founding?

"Were you here from the founding, by any chance?"

"Huh? You didn't know?"

As surprised as I was, Samuel soon snorted with an "of course" expression.

The doctor, who looked to be in his mid-40s at face value, shoved one hand into the pocket of his gown.

"Yoon must not have told you?"

"Yes. Not at all."

"That kid always says too little, even when he should."

Yoon as a kid?

It really didn't suit my mentor. I hadn't gotten the sense that Yoon was young even in the A-Tac Family. Even though he was actually the youngest among the A-Tac men.

Ah, I was supposed to hear about Yoon's past.

I'd made that promise to kill time at the salon. If I was curious, he'd tell me not just about being adopted at 12, but various other things.

Plus, Ye-hyeon had said he'd tell me everything. I felt a pang at all the missed stories.

If it weren't for Jae-yeon, everything could have gone peacefully. I frowned as I recalled what happened before I lost my memories.

But I didn't lose the thread of the conversation.

"Doctor, if I may ask, how old are you then?"

"What age? Just call me old man, you punk. I'm about nine years older than Yoon."

In the world.

"Are you a badger?"

"My body's like that. Think of it as similar to John Mullen's case. I stubbornly refused the Augmented Body implant during the First War, but ended up giving in during the Second War. I still don't get why they made me do it when I just wanted to be a doctor."

I stared blankly at the grumbling doctor.

That meant he was in his mid-30s when the war broke out. He must have clearly seen it start, and survived through the rapidly changing chaos.

I was definitely here before the war. But I didn't remember the war. I didn't even remember that it had ended.

What was I doing back then?

Lost in thought, I noticed the doctor, who had been tapping on the pad, turn his head to look down at me.

He kept a short silence before he asked.

"You came in with Ye-hyeon. Seems like you're tangled up with the guy who keeps turning him into rags periodically? I thought it had settled down the last few years."

"Has this kind of thing been going on for quite a while?"

Shocked, I asked back, and Samuel let out a sigh that was essentially an affirmative.

I was at a loss for words and couldn't respond for a long time. Even though I knew well how violent and cruel Jae-yeon could be. Yeah. Jae-yeon hated everything, including himself. But as far as I remembered, he didn't obsessively hate just one person like this.

If there had been someone, they would have met a quick end.

Ye-hyeon must have been fated for that too, but Colton's intervention probably prevented the kill. Something must have happened after Lee Ye-hyeon took the commander position.

Samuel sighed heavily as he looked at me in shock.

"I don't know who the guy is, but don't get too deeply involved. If you're already tangled, be careful."

"What about the commander?"

"He was discharged yesterday."

Fast?

Surprised, I widened my eyes, and Samuel snorted.

"You slept for two straight days. Didn't you know?"

"Whoa. That long? I felt totally fine."

In fact, they said I was healthy now, except for the trauma to the back of my head and right shoulder.

Samuel gave a brief explanation of my condition and diagnosed that I could be discharged in a few hours. It was the first time I'd heard I could leave right away, so a smile spread across my face. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He clicked his tongue at my obvious delight.

The stubborn doctor left the room without ever saying what he liked, after passing on that Yoon had come every day for two days and would come today too. With my back to the autumn sunlight that etched a warm square pattern on the bed.

*

Yoon found me at an uncanny timing.

He didn't seem particularly surprised to see me awake. Without unnecessary words, my mentor put me in the car and headed to his house. Since my right shoulder injury made proper training impossible, he planned to handle all the desk work.

I didn't ask what that meant. I'd find out when I got there.

Instead, I asked a different question in the car.

"Do you happen to know what Samuel likes?"

Yoon answered concisely.

"Alcohol."

"Ah. Does he like liquor like whiskey?"

"He drinks anything well."

He's a heavy drinker, huh.

Then I should get him whiskey or wine, I thought, fumbling for my phone with my left hand.

First, I slowly replied to people. I told Shu I'd definitely go, suggested dinner with Tom and Hesi after setting a date, and messaged the other seniors that I'd woken up fine. After finishing replies, I turned on the search engine to look for good liquor as gifts.

But before I could decide on the liquor, the car stopped.

We'd arrived at a familiar place.

Ah... The cabin's completed.

"Are we blowing that up?"

"I thought about it, but it might be better if you just live there."

Why!

Shocked, I whipped my head around, and Yoon said flatly.

"I inspected it thoroughly, and there's nothing special."

"Don't you think the fact that Jae-yeon built it is special in itself?"

"That's true, but there's no guarantee things will go smoothly if we demolish it."

It was a valid point.

It wouldn't be odd for that guy to throw a fit about daring to demolish the cabin I built for you. If we didn't, at least the cabin would remain until it collapsed.

I looked at my mentor in dismay and sighed, submitting to reality.

My mentor roughly patted my left shoulder as I mumbled agreement.

"Cheer up. Giving up quickly is much better."

"I'm depressed, so send me home."

"That's your home now, the cabin."

I didn't go to my house – the cabin Jae-yeon gave me – but entered Yoon's house.

Even then, I didn't know why Yoon had brought me back here. But I'd grown quite accustomed to my mentor's actions without explanations. I was familiar enough with this vast house that when Yoon sat me on the sofa and disappeared, I lounged comfortably on the soft cushions.

Until my mentor returned with a thick book.

"Here."

"...What's this?"

He thrust it out suddenly, so I reflexively took it.

Still no explanation, but since he'd handed it over, I flipped through the pages without hesitation.

As soon as I opened the purple hardcover, I realized it wasn't a book but an album. Neatly organized photos, as if Ami had arranged them, caught my eye.

Mouth agape, I looked up at Yoon.

"Can I look?"

"You said you were curious."

Lord!

I didn't know why he showed such tremendous kindness, but I accepted it for now.

Without refusing the unexpected kindness, I turned to the first page right away.

And as soon as I saw the first photo, I burst out laughing.

It was intense from the start. The front page showed Yoon, looking about 10 years old, holding a chubby little Ami with a sullen expression.

"Have you had that expression since you were 10?"

"What would be different back then."

Yoon replied indifferently, sprawling on the opposite sofa.

"He listened even less to people, though."

I happily browsed the photos.

Childhood photos of Yoon and Ami. As my mentor said, he had no expression in them. If any, it was either frowning or sullen.

He hasn't changed in being so still either...

Meanwhile, Ami appeared blurry in many shots, probably because she moved too much.

Most of the early photos were of Yoon chasing Ami. A 4-year-old Ami running off somewhere energetically. A 12-year-old Yoon pursuing her. A 5-year-old Ami falling. A 13-year-old Yoon sighing. A 6-year-old Ami with ice cream smeared all over her face. A 14-year-old Yoon giving her a pitiful glare.

Choi Hyun-young and Choi Hyun-jun appeared occasionally, but not often, and Choi Hyun-seok didn't show up at all. It seemed Choi Hyun-seok really hated his adopted siblings.

Choi Hyun-young clearly favored only Ami. Choi Hyun-jun kept a moderate distance.

For a while, the fun photos featured just those four.

Then suddenly, a familiar face popped up.

"Ye-hyeon!"

Ye-hyeon and Yoon wore the same school uniform.

"Did you go to the same high school?"

"Yeah."

My mentor said dryly.

I looked at Ye-hyeon, who seemed even more gentle and young than now, standing next to Yoon. It was taken in summer. A bleak playground with rusty pull-up bars and white short-sleeved summer uniforms. Yoon held a Capri Sun in one hand.

Ye-hyeon held an ice cream cone, his wrist badly bruised where he gripped it.

My pleased smile twisted into a frown reflexively.

"Did Lee Seung-hyun lay hands on him too?"

"How do you know Lee Seung-hyun?"

Yoon asked sharply.

Come to think of it, my mentor didn't know yet that I was acquainted with Lee Seung-hyun.

As I lifted my head with a caught-off-guard expression, a faint crease formed on Yoon's brow.

But he didn't press immediately.

The man looked at me dissatisfied and waved his hand dismissively.

"Never mind. I'll handle all that stuff later anyway. Keep looking."

I didn't know what he meant, but I went along.

Now the familiar faces numbered five. The photos continued chronologically, with people appearing and disappearing. Photos of Yoon, Ami, and Ye-hyeon together; Ami playing with peers; Yoon pointing at a PC screen explaining something to Choi Hyun-jun.

A photo of Yoon looking down at a tearfully wailing Ami with a smirk.

He was wearing a green military uniform.

"What's this?"

"When I was in the military."

"The military? Then when Ami was this young, the First War..."

"I did military service twice."

Why?

Puzzled, I stared, and Yoon's brow furrowed.

For some unknowable reason, suddenly in a bad mood, Yoon spat.

"I don't want to remember, so shut up."

"Yes. Sorry, whatever it is."

Next page.

I bowed my head and focused back on the photos. After that, there weren't many of Yoon. I watched Ami grow up with her round eyes, pleased.

Ami shopping hand-in-hand with Choi Hyun-young. Ami in gym clothes under her skirt uniform playing badminton with friends. Ami offering a birthday cake to Choi Hyun-jun, and running toward Yoon walking in his military uniform.

Looking at such photos, I soon reached the last page.

But I couldn't close the album.

As soon as I turned the final page, my body stiffened reflexively.

A printed photo inserted in the last page. Not a person, but a round portal – a pitch-black portal that seemed to devour all surrounding light.

Impossible to gauge what lay beyond.

"Now that you've seen mine, it's time for your story, Hildebert."

I remained frozen on the sofa until Yoon's lazy voice hit my ears.

"There's give and take in the world, after all."