Black Badger

People didn't give me a detailed explanation.

Having gotten hired in an instant, I ended up freeloading in the lounge for one more day.

"Just sleep there until today, and starting tomorrow, you'll be under your mentor... so, under Yoon's guidance, where you live and all that will get sorted out."

Joo smiled brightly.

And then, with an innocent expression, she added some ominous words.

"Enjoy the last day of leisure you have left."

What was the last day of leisure?

The color drained from my face even more, but Joo didn't explain. Ska, Ami, Ricardo, and even Ye-hyeon just looked at me with pitying eyes.

Why did everyone make faces like that? I was just about to take my first step—give me some encouraging looks, at least.

Anyway, the interview was over.

And Ye-hyeon bought me a smartphone.

I waved my hands in refusal, but he ignored it. The Supreme Commander had gone so far as to use his own money to get me a phone, which felt burdensome.

"It'll be delivered to the lounge around evening."

That's what he said, and then he added,

"I'll give you my personal number."

Ah. So the bad feeling continued?

"If you're worried about Yoon, don't hesitate—just contact me right away."

At that point, I started rethinking my decision to get the augmented body.

Honestly, had I made a terribly wrong choice?

But it was too late to turn back now. I hoped the spreading unease was just my imagination.

I barely pulled myself together and nodded.

As Ska began reporting to Ye-hyeon about the media, I took that as my cue to leave the office.

I returned to my room in a bit of a daze. Ami followed me, toddling along as I staggered down the hallway.

"Hilde! You need to snap out of it!"

She widened her eyes and clenched her fists.

"I'll give you my number too, so if oppa does anything wrong, tell me without holding back!"

Her clear voice only deepened the ominous premonition. The worry that sprouted up grew like bamboo shoots, making me forget to look around. Ricardo's words, added with a grin, became fertilizer for those worry shoots.

"Lucky you~... I don't even know the Commander's personal number.... Almost no one knows his second number~."

Heh heh heh.

Ami made a strange point: "Rick, even if Ye-hyeon gave you his number, you'd say no." I didn't quite get what that meant. But one thing was clear—the Supreme Commander wouldn't give out his personal number without reason....

No.

I desperately tried to spin a hopeful circuit.

If Ami turned out fine like this, her actual brother probably wasn't completely insane. And from what I'd heard, Ye-hyeon and Yoon were close. Ye-hyeon was a good person acknowledged by everyone, so the Yoon he associated with probably wasn't a total disaster.

My hopeful circuit was on the verge of burning out.

Still, I slept peacefully. The blanket was soft and clean, just like always. It was a shame I wouldn't be able to sleep here starting tomorrow.

But what about my housing?

As I drifted off into sleep, a small worry nagged at me. I didn't have any money yet. If they told me to leave right away, I had nowhere to go.

Could I get an advance on my salary? With those thoughts, I fell into dreamless sleep.

*

When I woke up, there was a message from someone I didn't know.

More precisely, from someone whose name I only knew.

「Research Wing, second floor, Café Senavi. 3 p.m.」

That was it.

There was no unnecessary information. No lengthy greetings like "Nice to meet you" or "This is who I am." The sound of my arduously spun hopeful thoughts crumbling echoed in my ears.

I stared at the text in turmoil for a while.

I was going to lose my mind.

No, but... the HR Director said he never misjudged people.

Anyway, I had nothing scheduled until 3 p.m. I fiddled with the phone until it was time to head out. I replied to Ye-hyeon's message (It's my number. Don't hesitate to text if you need anything.), and also to the ones from Ricardo, Ska, and Ami.

They'd each sent messages fitting their personalities.

[Survive, newbie~. Text me if you're hungry.]

[Take care, Hilde. If anything tough comes up, feel free to contact me anytime.]

[Hilde! Contact flight! (Flapping baby bird)]

I smiled faintly at the emoticon Ami had attached.

Then, right on time, I headed to the Research Wing.

Finding it wasn't hard. As soon as I left the main building where I'd been staying, the view opened up wide. Walking right from there, the Research Wing came into sight.

The sky was high and cloudless.

I tried to familiarize myself with the unfamiliar base while facing the cool breeze.

People in various outfits passed by me. The open base was so clean that it was hard to believe a creature had emerged here just a few days ago.

It would take a while just to learn the layout.

I arrived at the Research Wing around 2:45 p.m. Unlike the main building, there were hardly any people in suits.

The café was full of people in casual clothes.

I ordered an iced Americano and took a seat in the corner. As time passed, my heart started pounding faster.

Please, just let him be someone I could talk to.

Someone who'd let it slide if I rubbed my hands together briskly and glossed over things!

Thud.

The sound of a plastic cup being placed on the table rang out, and someone sat down in front of me.

"Hildebert?"

I snapped my head up at the low, even voice.

I faced a plainly handsome face.

"You're Hildebert Talev, right?"

"Yes, yes."

He's really handsome.

I blankly stared at the man sitting across from me. Choi Yoon was a cool-looking beauty. A neat sky-blue shirt and a white lab coat. Black hair and dry eyes. He evoked something inorganic.

Leaning back in the opposite chair, he met my eyes with a gaze that lacked any warmth.

Colder eyes than anyone I'd met so far.

It felt like I shouldn't approach carelessly.

I instinctively shrank back.

"I'm Hildebert Talev, the new recruit this time. Please feel free to call me Hilde.... Looking forward to working with you."

"You don't know my name?"

"Yes. Senior Choi Yoon...."

"Just call me Yoon."

The flat response came back.

I nodded, meeting his unblinking gaze.

"Yes."

It seemed the rumor that people here called each other by name wasn't an exaggeration.

Yoon reached out and picked up his coffee cup. Every movement was like that of a dry person.

The man took a lazy sip of his coffee and then spoke.

"I heard the rough situation yesterday. You still don't remember anything?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. No useful memories come to mind at all...."

"Useless ones do?"

I politely nodded.

"I do have some fragmented memories that surface. Like madeleines on the windowsill and lemon juice. Or looking down at the night view from a rooftop."

"In what situations do those come up?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems like similar experiences in similar situations trigger them."

"No trouble using things like smartphones?"

"Yes. Mostly."

I didn't know why he was asking this, but Yoon seemed satisfied with the answer. He nodded and then slipped his hand into his lab coat pocket.

He fell silent, as if organizing his thoughts.

As silence settled over the table, the café's noises wrapped around me. The sounds of people talking and plastic cups being set down flooded in.

I sat there tensely, waiting for him to break the silence.

The man lifted his lowered eyelids.

"I get the gist. Then let's handle the annoying stuff quickly first. You're broke right now, right? No separate place to stay?"

"Yes."

Truly, I had nothing. Except for the things my kind seniors bought me.

"Let's sort out your housing first. Normally, new recruits get a dormitory room that's easy to adapt to the augmented body and live there until they can control their strength. But since you're already adapted to the augmented body, there's no need to stay there. To avoid issues during inspections, we'll record that you stayed in the dormitory for a certain period."

Huh? If there's a dormitory, I'd like to live there.

Before I could voice my inner thoughts, he continued.

"So, pick the one you want out of the two. Move into the staff quarters for badgers here, or stay in the cabin in front of my house until you find your own place."

"The cabin?"

My eyes widened.

A cabin in front of my mentor's house—what kind of option was that?

Did that mean I had to live there? Or that it was better than the staff quarters? Or maybe live there and pay him rent?

As I sat there confused, Yoon added an explanation.

"It's mine, but I have no use for it, so it's been sitting empty. I want to demolish it, but it's a hassle, so I've been putting it off. It's more convenient for me if you're close by, so if you stay there until you find a place, it'll be handy all around. I occasionally have someone clean it, so it should be pretty clean."

"Ah."

I didn't fully understand everything yet, but I got the rough idea.

"Then, could I live in that cabin?"

On installments.... Partial payments... and if I could get a salary advance.... I cautiously broached the subject.

I didn't want to miss this opportunity. I was already anxious about having no place to live, and now there was this conveniently troublesome empty house. I didn't know the price, but please don't demolish it—sell it to me instead.

The dormitory seemed fine too, but there was no guarantee I could stay there forever.

At my words, Yoon's eyebrow twitched subtly.

"...Well. I could sell it. Or, if you want, you can just have it. But it's not a house worth living in forever. It's not dirty, but being a cabin, it's not sturdy."

"Did you just say I could have it?"

I must have misheard. Things couldn't go this smoothly.

Perhaps sensing my inner excitement, Yoon crossed his arms and said coolly,

"Yeah. But I added something important after that. It's not a house for long-term living."

"I'm in such a desperate situation that as long as there's a roof to keep out the rain and a bathroom, anywhere would do."

"It'll collapse right away if there's an earthquake or a hurricane."

"I'll figure out how to avoid it then."

"Heating won't work well, soundproofing neither. Well.... None of that is my concern, though."

"You're right. That's my problem. I'll handle it somehow."

I agreed vigorously.

I couldn't understand how an unused cabin could be such a headache.

But I pretended to agree fiercely. Senior, this was a win-win! Dump that headache cabin on me, and let me enjoy the inexplicable convenience!

Yoon bounced off my desperate gaze without a hint of emotion.

"Is this your usual personality?"

What kind of personality was mine?

I wanted to ask, but since I was the one desperately in need, I held back.

I flashed a smile utterly devoid of malice.

"What about my personality makes you say that? If you don't like it, I'll try to fix it. And as you know, I was in a state where I couldn't even remember my own face...."

"Never mind. And I just thought of something. The cabin has one more drawback."

What was it?

Actually, if there were no additional drawbacks to such a good deal, that would have been stranger.

Yoon completely ignored the look in my eyes that said I'd overcome any drawback.

"I live with Ye-hyeon and Ami. So if you live in the cabin, you'll be neighbors with your top boss at work."

Oh. I saw.

That was definitely a concern. Of course, Ye-hyeon was a good person. Even in our brief meeting, I could tell.

But since Ye-hyeon was my top superior, I couldn't chat with him casually. It wouldn't be comfortable running into him in front of my house after work either.

But if the cabin was free?

Even if I paid a fortune, those inconveniences might come with it—so if I could get it for free and just endure those drawbacks?

Amid the unbelievable luck rolling toward me like a ball, and the fact that the mentor before me seemed far more normal than expected, I smiled in relief.

"I'll overcome that kind of handicap somehow."

Yoon looked at me impassively, arms still crossed.

The man, who maintained a blank expression in front of my beaming smile for a while, finally let out a strange sigh.

"Fine, then. The cabin's yours. Move in tonight or whatever."

"Yes! Thank you so much! I'll repay this favor somehow!"

"I did warn you."

As I agonized over whether to stand up and bow my head to the table, Yoon added firmly.

He looked at me, who was barely containing a blooming smile, with a straight face.

"It's not a house for long-term living. Don't blame me later."

No blame here. I was on my knees in gratitude for having a mentor like you.