Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Small Request
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The interior was remarkably spartan.
I let out a hollow chuckle as I looked at the kitchen and living room, which held only the bare minimum of furnishings. It felt like I had stepped into a model home or a condo. The space was wide open, but the lack of items made the air feel chilly.
A book with a bookmark tucked inside was the only sign that a person actually lived here.
Lee Seung-hyun served me some tea.
“No need for introductions.”
The man sat down across from me, his face utterly unchanged. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t recognized him right away.
Even among soldiers, he had always been on the quiet and rigid side.
He hated beating around the bush back then, too.
“You could at least tell me how my disciple’s been doing.”
“You didn’t even recognize me right away, and now you’re making empty talk.”
Busted...
When he put it like that, I had nothing to say. Colton had recognized me instantly, but I hadn’t with Lee Seung-hyun.
I gave an awkward laugh and averted my gaze.
“Sorry. But I’d even forgotten I wasn’t human.”
“I heard.”
“I still don’t remember everything.”
Lee Seung-hyun didn’t move.
His piercing gaze was sharp, unyielding as if he’d never been broken. As I met his eyes, I sank into my memories.
‘How about training them separately?’
A familiar voice echoed in my head, though I couldn’t quite recall the name. It was someone close to me making the suggestion. What if I trained this group of soldiers standing before me?
The soldiers lined up in front of me had been handpicked from various countries.
‘What else can you do right now?’
It hadn’t been Colton.
Who was it? Not Kyle or Ray. They never would have suggested something like that to me.
But not Eve, either.
Eve.
The scent of barley tea tickled my nose.
“Do you remember Eve?”
Lee Seung-hyun’s brow furrowed.
“I only recently started remembering her myself.”
She had said her signature hair color was blue.
That’s why she always dyed her roots blue, but she’d get bored and dye the underside a different color. Her favorite was purple.
She liked the subtle harmony with the blue.
Eve was a genius genetic engineer.
“You really have forgotten everything.”
The curt reply came back.
Lee Seung-hyun was glaring at me, arms crossed.
“I never met that scientist.”
“Is that so? Now that you say it, it feels like that’s true.”
“And sorry, but I can’t tell you much.”
My disciple’s voice was purely businesslike.
“I haven’t been authorized.”
“From Suhoi? They want me to regain my memories.”
“I haven’t been ordered to help you recover them.”
A soldier through and through.
I sipped my barley tea and stared sullenly at my disciple.
He had readily agreed to let me visit and even given me his home address, so I’d thought we might have a decent conversation. But as expected, things weren’t going to go smoothly without a hitch.
When I bluntly conveyed that if we were just going to talk like this, why had he called me over, Lee Seung-hyun uncrossed his arms.
“I have something to return to you.”
“The game?”
I answered reflexively, and Lee Seung-hyun gave me a look like I’d said something stupid.
“You’re still playing that?”
“...You guys really can’t stand seeing me play games.”
Old fogeys.
At this point, maybe I should compile papers on how games improve brain function into a book and distribute it to the elders. Not that they’d bother reading it—they’re the types who go to ballet or opera as a hobby.
Hm?
Wait a second.
“Then you didn’t buy Ye-hyeon a game?”
Lee Seung-hyun, who had been pushing his chair back to stand, froze.
He looked at me as if he’d heard something unpleasant.
“I don’t want to talk about personal matters.”
“You said you weren’t authorized for official talk.”
“Then I’ll say I don’t want to talk about family either.”
“Well, I’m not in a position to pry.”
Back then, I hadn’t shown even a shred of interest in his private life.
But I had no intention of backing down just because I lacked the right. I planned to get what I wanted and leave.
Of course, pushing the topic now would just backfire.
I waved my hand dismissively, telling him to get on with it.
“What is it you need to return?”
Lee Seung-hyun glanced at me and stood up.
He disappeared into the back of the house. Looked like the item was stored there.
I sipped the pleasantly cool tea and waited for him to return.
The house was astonishingly quiet.
Lee Seung-hyun soon returned with heavy footsteps.
His steps had grown as weighty as the sword he carried.
“Ah.”
A familiar dagger.
It wasn’t one I used, but my comrade had carried it. The black scabbard couldn’t hold the blade properly, so it was wrapped tightly in worn cloth.
I’d told him to repair the scabbard since it was a good blade and carry it properly. But the owner wasn’t a swordsman—he was an archer. So the dagger saw almost no use, and he never bothered fixing the scabbard.
Nol. That idiot bastard.
“I received it from one of your subordinates. Take it.”
Lee Seung-hyun set the dagger down in front of me.
“I’d been keeping it since I couldn’t find the right chance to return it.”
“Is Nol dead?”
Lee Seung-hyun didn’t avoid my gaze.
“Yes.”
The blunt, clear answer pierced a hole straight through my heart.
I slowly lifted the dagger, blinking. Every time I confronted something like this, the memories that surfaced were sharp.
He hadn’t listened much, but he’d followed me faithfully, which made it hurt even more...
“Did I betray him too?”
Lee Seung-hyun’s brow arched at my mutter.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lean down to peer at my face.
His rigid black eyes swirled with puzzlement.
“No.”
A faint trace of bewilderment colored Lee Seung-hyun’s voice too.
“Why would I keep an enemy’s sword?”
I looked up at him for a long while.
I tried to sort through the swirling memories. He had definitely been a Titan. I’d stood with him on the battlefield. He was a stubborn but skilled archer.
He was the one who had nodded, ready to plunge into pitch-black darkness like a madman alongside me.
But someone Lee Seung-hyun didn’t see as an enemy.
That meant...
I wanted to confirm the gut-wrenching hypothesis right away, but I didn’t have the courage to hear the answer yet.
So I asked a slightly off-topic question instead.
It was something I’d meant to ask anyway.
“My sword.”
“Yes.”
“Why’d you give it to Ye-hyeon?”
My disciple, who had been peering down at me with his head slightly bowed, straightened up.
He wrapped himself in his usual prickly, authoritative aura and crossed his arms again.
“Couldn’t Lee Ye-hyeon handle it properly?”
Oh god.
I caught the unmistakable displeasure in his voice when he pronounced Lee Ye-hyeon’s name and gaped.
“Hey, no.”
I hurriedly cleared up the misunderstanding.
“You saw the video too. His swordsmanship was perfect. You taught him well.”
“His draw is a bit slow.”
“The sword’s a little heavy for him! And it wasn’t slow enough to be a problem.”
This guy’s insane.
That video turned an unknown Ye-hyeon into a hero of the chaos, and here he was nitpicking it. I knew what Lee Seung-hyun meant, but it wasn’t an issue at all. The attack had succeeded perfectly in the end.
Because Ray hesitated when he saw my sword...
For a moment, my breath caught, but Lee Seung-hyun filled the silence.
“If someone whose face was known to me or my comrades—the Titans—had wielded that sword, it wouldn’t have worked.”
“...Yeah, high chance of that.”
“So we selected several candidates and trained them. He was just the best among them.”
“Ye-hyeon?”
“Yes.”
So Lee Seung-hyun hadn’t arbitrarily handed the sword to Ye-hyeon and thrown him into the fire. Ye-hyeon had simply been the one with the highest chance of success.
I stared blankly into space and apologized.
“Sorry.”
“What for?”
“For shoving your son into the jaws of death.”
Lee Seung-hyun didn’t answer right away.
The man looked down at me with an inscrutable expression until I rubbed my face and let out a sigh. Only then did he uncross his arms.
“Back then, we were all in the fire.”
Not wrong.
“In fact, taking your sword guaranteed he’d survive to the final battle.”
That wasn’t wrong either.
“Everyone was risking their lives. You were prepared to go down with Kyle, weren’t you?”
Ah?
Me?
“You headed out with that resolve, but your whereabouts became unknown afterward. Same with Kyle.”
His unwavering gaze, flying straight at me, stung.
In that wide space, we’d face off with wooden swords, sharp eyes locked.
If Lee Seung-hyun had been a resident of the old world, Kyle would surely have taken him under his wing. The one like a black lion favored those with brilliant talents like Lee Seung-hyun.
“If Kyle had joined the fight, we would have lost.”
I stayed still for a long time.
I tried to rein in the emotions bursting forth. Even after hearing that, my own actions still didn’t come to mind.
Instead, other memories surfaced. Training Lee Seung-hyun and the other soldiers. Colton showing me the soldiers. Jae-yeon standing beside Colton, mocking the soldiers.
Ah, Jae-yeon.
I’ll confirm the facts on the 26th.
I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them and looked up at Lee Seung-hyun.
“Disciple.”
“...What?”
“I have a small favor to ask.”
The man, who had scowled at the form of address, narrowed his eyes at my next words.
He scrutinized my face with suspicion.
The reply came late.
“Speak.”
I stated my request to him concisely.
And just as Yoon had warned, I nearly got my ass handed to me by my old disciple that day.
A barrage of fury-filled punches.
***
“Year-end party!”
Ami’s clear voice echoed down the hallway.
“Year-end party!”
Yeah.
I’m glad I survived to attend the year-end party.
I was walking down the chilly headquarters corridor.
The reason was simple. The year-end party was held on nearly the top floor of headquarters.
That’s right. Black Badgers didn’t hold their year-end party at some regular venue. They called in a catering buffet to a vast, empty floor, set everything up, then sent them away before starting.
The reason? Drunk Badgers are dangerous.
Tom and Hessi were drinking alcohol for the first time since getting their Enhanced Bodies.
“What if we break something?”
Tom asked worriedly.
Ami looked up at him with a face brimming with happiness.
“It’s fine! Everyone’s cute about rookies’ mistakes!”
Then she wiped the smile from her lips and added,
“The ones who aren’t are trash, so tell me.”
Surprisingly, Yoon was attending too.
He said he’d wrap up his research in the lab wing and come straight over. I was shocked he was joining such an event.
When I asked why, my master replied curtly.
‘Gotta pick up Choi Ami.’
I didn’t ask more.
Evening was approaching. I rode the elevator with Ami and the other recruits. Command Staff would arrive in 30 minutes. It was tradition for them to make rounds through all the cores before returning to headquarters last.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened.
Noise poured out.
“Ami!”
“Shorty!”
“Oh, the rookies are here.”
The heads of those already there turned all at once.
A dizzying number of people threw comments our way as they looked at us. The year-end party wasn’t mandatory. Some were on duty today, others couldn’t make it due to injuries, so non-mandatory made sense.
Even so, there were a ton of people.
So many unfamiliar faces it was disorienting.
“Hey! Even that rumored white-haired kid showed up!”