Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Rumored Youngest (2)
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Ska chuckled lowly.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Instead of answering, Yoon raised one eyebrow.
The tall aide kindly elaborated.
“After seeing Hilde get cut open, has your curiosity been sated?”
“I didn’t get to confirm what I wanted to confirm.”
“He’ll leave a dying message before he kicks the bucket.”
I muttered while staring blankly at the ceiling.
“The culprit. Choi Yoon.”
“Yoon. Don’t cross the line.”
Ska pointed out.
I was utterly moved by his cool-headed instruction. He was truly a great boss…. He was the kind of person who needed to remain my master’s boss for a thousand years.
It was the kind of thing that could just be brushed off as a joke.
Of course, my master was an expert at letting nagging go in one ear and out the other.
“I’ll be careful.”
The lie flowed smoothly.
“It’s late. You should head in. The surgery went off without a hitch.”
The seniors didn’t go in right away.
After getting the full rundown from Yoon, they dumped all sorts of info on me before leaving. I appreciated the natural consideration. Thanks to them, I learned Barbie had already been discharged and gone home, and Asil would be out in two days.
But they didn’t need to observe my coughing so intently before going.
It got so bad I had to plead with them to leave because I was going to sleep now.
“I’m gonna get another painkiller hit and crash!”
“Yeah~. Sure~. Who said not to sleep~?”
“Senior, you go rest too…. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Don’t mash that painkiller button like a savage.”
My master nagged in his deadpan way.
“You’ll see hell tomorrow, kid.”
I was hospitalized for a week.
It was a painful time of forcing coughs to expand my shrunken lungs. Days were getting shorter, making it harder and harder to get up in the morning. I shuffled slowly through the hospital ward, hacking on purpose. Ironing out my lungs amid the agony and phlegm. Diligently swallowing the mountain of pills I had to take.
During that time, various people came and went with visits.
The recruits were the first to show up.
“You okay?”
“You good?”
Tom and Hesi came into the room with their eyes wide.
This setup was starting to feel a bit embarrassing now. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to pity their fellow recruit who ended up hospitalized after every mission.
Both of them were straight-up good eggs by nature.
Plus, they each had such strong personal values that they didn’t care much about others’ opinions.
“But you’ll be out soon, right?”
“Yeah. Even if it takes the full week, they say I should be discharged.”
“Can you drink at the year-end party?”
As I was answering Hesi’s question, Tom asked in a worried tone.
I blinked dumbly.
“Year-end party?”
“Oh. Guess you haven’t heard yet.”
Tom set down the apricot cream jam he’d brought as a get-well gift and explained.
The story wasn’t long. There was just a year-end banquet. A get-together for Black Badgers working near HQ.
A massive feast with the Command Staff attending too.
“End of December, when?”
“23rd this year.”
“I’ll be fully recovered by then.”
Hesi grinned brightly as she spoke bluntly.
“And trainees get the 24th and 25th off.”
Christmas, huh.
Meaning Ye-hyeon’s birthday wasn’t far off. Jaeyeon’s ominous text and thoughts of Lee Seung-hyun hit me at the same time. Was that talk of a grand party on the 26th still on?
And Lee Seung-hyun…. What was his number again?
Hesi snapped me out of my thoughts.
She called my name in a hesitant voice, my fellow recruit obsessed with collecting Jordan sneakers and half-mad about basketball.
In a way that didn’t suit her, she stammered before asking.
“But you, uh, what’re you doing for Christmas?”
I blinked at Hesi’s hazel eyes.
“Thinking of gaming.”
“…Solo?”
“Probably?”
What was the intent behind the question?
And why was she asking so awkwardly? Seeing Hesi Lyle—the runaway train with a “Justice” sign—stammer made me feel super weird. She was the type ready to throw a justice haymaker at 3rd-gen seniors or 20th-gen seniors alike if something seemed wrong.
Good thing the answer came quick.
“Then wanna come to my place on the 24th?”
It was funny how she rubbed her neck and avoided my eyes.
“Planning to crack open some yakju with Dad and my little bro. House isn’t far from HQ. Uh. Guest room’s free, neighborhood’s quiet, and dinner’ll be pretty good.”
A smile spread across her face.
She must’ve been worried about me spending Christmas alone without family.
A touching invite.
Truth be told, holing up in my cabin gaming all day wouldn’t feel lonely at all.
Still, I didn’t want to turn down the invite she’d mustered the courage to make. I was curious about her little bro anyway. Time to thank him properly for the cheap scooter.
I nodded, smile intact.
“Sounds good. If it’s not a bother.”
“Bother my ass! Awesome. I’ll go tell my bro right now.”
Hesi’s face lit up as she shot out of her seat.
Tom and I watched her bolt out of the room.
Thud! Silence descended as the poorly adjusted door nearly broke.
“Come to our place next time.”
Tom broke the quiet.
“Sunset views are killer.”
Sometimes Hesi and I couldn’t keep up with Tom’s vibes and got thrown off.
This time it was just me left behind, flustered, but I accepted that invite too.
So recruit-like. Spotting a fellow recruit with no family who’d be alone on Christmas, they took turns inviting me.
Young, cute, and grateful.
It stood out even more against the grizzled elder’s message.
***
[Heard you had a rough one.]
This bastard Colton had a knack for pissing people off in one sentence.
[Game center’s finally done.]
And a knack for making them happy in the next.
Thanks, old friends are the best, looking forward to more, I spammed back—and got ignored, naturally. Same with the follow-up: “Got all the latest games, right?”
But I didn’t mind.
If anything, it was great.
I didn’t wanna chit-chat with a psycho anyway. Nothing special to say. Sure, he bore some blame for the arena disaster, but on that front, his fault boiled down to just one thing: “Negligent oversight of Jaeyeon.”
He knew I knew, so that’s why the simple text.
A roundabout way of saying, “We’ll bury this one.”
No special word from Spitfire or Suhoi.
But Ye-hyeon messaged.
[Can you clear the 26th?]
Probably because of Jaeyeon’s text.
Of course I said yes. Then I pondered again how to get Lee Seung-hyun’s number.
Couldn’t ask Ye-hyeon directly….
Ami was in C Zone outside the Core, not back till December 20th.
Couldn’t easily ask Yekaterina either. Best not to owe the elders even a tiny debt.
So in the end, only one option left for me.
The one I’d been avoiding.
“Esteemed Master.”
The evening before discharge, I called to the man poring over my progress report.
Yoon rolled his eyes slowly.
“I need a favor.”
“What.”
The guy in the sky-blue shirt was as still as ever today.
“Spit it out quick. Whatever you fucked up.”
“…I didn’t fuck anything up.”
“Just a favor?”
Yoon turned to look me straight in the eye.
“You? What?”
I swallowed hard.
Then cautiously studied my master’s face.
I knew this wouldn’t fly easily. Truth was, I had no reason to need Lee Seung-hyun’s number right now. We weren’t tight back in the day. I hadn’t even remembered his name on sight.
Plus, my master despised Lee Seung-hyun.
So my voice lacked confidence.
“Gimme Lee Seung-hyun’s number.”
Yoon’s brow furrowed.
An uneasy silence hit instantly.
I plastered on a twitching smile and waited for his reply.
The answer came slow.
“Why.”
“Wanna contact him for a favor.”
“What kinda favor.”
Truth was, I didn’t wanna say.
It might not even work, and I had no clue how Yoon would take my plan.
Of course, knowing he hated waiting, I didn’t agonize long.
“Can you promise not to tell anyone?”
“Let’s hear it.”
“…At least not the Supreme Commander….”
“Isn’t he the one person you gotta tell if not others?”
Fair point.
But on this matter, it was different. I let out a short sigh.
My lungs were much better now, not hurting like before. Right after surgery, I’d mashed the pain button nonstop.
Anyway, sigh spent, I decided.
I…. told my master my plan.
“Huh?”
That was his reaction to my plan.
“You think that prick’ll go for it?”
“No harm in trying.”
No way he’d agree straight up, but I wanted to try. If not this time, then next.
It was worth it.
Yoon didn’t deny it, so I waited for his reaction again.
The first step of my plan.
The one guy who could help me take it. Yoon, hand jammed in his pocket mulling, finally answered low.
“Give it a shot.”
“Thanks!”
Knew he’d cave eventually!
I pumped my fist in joy, but his follow-up left me a bit dazed.
“What’s the price?”
“Huh?”
“Price for handing over Lee Seung-hyun’s number and keeping it from Ye-hyeon forever.”
Who demands payment for this shit?
I wanted to snap back, but lacked the guts or cash.
Of course, no way was I meekly saying the answer he wanted: “I’ll get on the lab table.”
“I’ll ask Asil Fischer tomorrow why he grabbed that guy by the collar back then.”
“Not curious about that crap.”
“Ah, then how ’bout we call it even for not telling me about the promotion exam?”
Still kinda pissed about that.
But Yoon blinking puzzled suggested he had zero self-awareness of wrongdoing.
Probably thought, “Why freak out? Still six months away.” Hesi and Tom knew way earlier, but since my entry was weird, no good timing to tell me….
He’d definitely say three months’ notice was plenty….
But no.
All my predictions were wrong, and Yoon spat out an answer I’d never imagined.
One I couldn’t process right away.
“You study for the exam or what?”
You bastard.