Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Year-End Party (1)
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That's what I heard.
"Heshy, what's your impression of drinking alcohol for the first time?"
"I haven't drunk any yet!"
"Red-haired kid, don't look so down. Come in and sit down."
Words came pouring in.
I gave appropriate responses to the remarks tossed by seniors I hadn't even introduced myself to—things like, "Finally drinking alcohol!" or "You surviving well under Senior Yoon?" or "Are your eyes natural?"—while smiling awkwardly.
There were just too many seniors. And most of them were total strangers, so it was overwhelming.
A group of seniors who seemed to have formed something like a Black Badger basketball club came swarming toward us.
"We've been waiting for you, our newbie!"
They dragged Heshy away.
Heshy, clueless about what was happening, was pulled along by the tall seniors.
Ami shouted at the backs of the receding Black Badgers.
"Don't bully him!"
After shouting, she looked up at me and Tom.
"How much alcohol can you two handle?"
No idea.
I stood there blankly next to Tom, who confessed he wasn't much of a drinker. I didn't hate alcohol. I used to enjoy drinking stuff brewed from apples or the like.
But I couldn't remember my tolerance.
Ami noticed me standing there silently and quietly led me and Tom away.
We sat down at a round table.
"The food on this table looks pretty good."
Paella, empanadas, jamón fries, shrimp salad topped with avocado, and more were set out. Each table had different food.
Over there was dim sum. On the opposite table, scallops and sashimi.
There were also boxes stacked with all sorts of alcohol.
The varieties were so diverse it made your eyes spin.
"If you want something else, just say so. I'll steal some for you."
Ami said this while pouring water steadily into glasses.
"If you want to drink with other seniors, feel free to go. And if you want to escape, send an SOS on your phone. I'll come rescue you."
I'm the most senior one here! Ami declared proudly, lifting her chin.
Tom and I chuckled at the same time.
"Thank you."
"Thank you. I'm planning to go say hi to Angela when she arrives."
Tom looked at Ami with eyes like he was seeing a little sister.
I understood his attitude. In my eyes, too, Ami looked like a much younger little sister.
In my case, she actually was a much younger little sister.
I held back the urge to pat her round head when a group of people approached our table.
The one in front patted Ami's head.
"Don't pat me!"
Snap!
Ami whipped her head around in anger.
The person who patted her pulled his hand away from her head and chuckled.
He was an Asian man wearing a loose black long-sleeve tee and jogger pants.
"You planning to hog all the rookies, kid?"
His voice sounded familiar.
"You gotta show some restraint with your greed."
"Nope."
Ami glared up at the man with a sulky expression.
"Tvein's over there, so go there, Chen."
Following the tip of Ami's finger, I saw Tvein sitting with his legs up on a round table. Next to him was a man with his curly hair tied back in a single ponytail.
Ah!
This Chen guy—he's the one who was talking to Tvein right after my self-introduction!
Memories from a few months ago resurfaced. The conversation I'd overheard while stuck in the corner on Yoon's orders. There had been three people there, and one voice kept chiming in agreement with Jason Tvein's words back then.
The owner of that voice was this guy.
Guess he doesn't like me....
"Go to your friends. Hurry."
"Fine. But wait. Is your hair color natural?"
Not malice.
There was no malice in the question he tossed out.
I turned toward him.
"Yes. It's natural."
"Wild. Gray hair?"
Who knows.
In the world I lived in, natural white hair was common. But I knew well that on Earth, white hair meant aging.
"Not sure."
"What? You never been to a hospital?"
"A hospital?"
"Chen! Don't say rude things!"
Ami snapped in annoyance.
Chen looked utterly baffled, as if he had no idea why that was rude. Widening his eyes and peering down at Ami, there was no malice.
"You really look like our house dog!"
Ami's impending scolding was cut off by someone else.
The woman standing next to Chen, who had been staring hard at me, stuck her head forward.
There was no malice in her voice either.
"Your white hair is so pretty."
"Ah, so the dog has white fur?"
"Right! Her name's Sugar!"
"Hey, isn't that even ruder?"
Chen grinned at the woman with her curly hair tightly tied back.
Shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging with infinite nonchalance.
"Calling her dog-like?"
"Chen, get lost."
A seductive voice interrupted.
New people kept popping up, and it was disorienting. I blinked at the woman who sauntered over leisurely and grabbed Chen's shoulder.
Tan skin and black hair flowing like silk.
She was the senior who had rested her chin on her hand and asked a question during my self-introduction.
The senior, with beauty that would make everyone turn as she passed by, smiled sweetly at the blinking Chen.
"Not even pouring drinks yet and you're being no fun?"
Her name was Lia, apparently.
She chased off Chen and his group for us. The senior draped her arm over Chen's shoulder and headed to Tvein's table.
On the way, she patted Ami's head and gave a gentle smile to us watching the scene blankly.
We silently watched their retreating backs.
Chen taking a seat next to Tvein and the curly-haired man.
Ami, gulping down water, explained.
"Those three are always together. You've met Jason Tvein, right?"
"Yes."
"Yeah. At the Library of Beginnings."
"Oppa and I call those three the First Thug, Second Thug, and Third Thug."
Pardon?
Ami pointed sequentially at Jason Tvein, Chen, and the curly-haired man with her palm.
"Jason's the leader type, so First Thug. Chen's the one who laughs along, so Second Thug. And Third Thug lives in his own world. Short for Thugz."
"...Huh."
"The curly-haired one lives in his own world?"
Tom asked cautiously.
Ami nodded vigorously. Her round head bobbed up and down, which was funny.
She lowered her voice meaningfully and added.
"No matter what happens today, do not go to Third Thug's table."
"...Bad drinker?"
"He endlessly repeats his personal highlight reel."
Her whispering while leaning forward was full of sincerity.
"Third Thug's table is guaranteed mood killer."
The tables began to fill up.
I had to stand up frequently from my seat to greet familiar faces and strangers who came to check out the rookies. Apparently, one of the fun points of the year-end party was the rookies' drinking ceremony for those who joined that year. Once the Command Staff arrived, the party would officially start, and it was tradition for Ye-hyeon to pour drinks for that year's rookies.
That's how the rookies took their first drink after the Enhanced Body implant in front of the seniors.
That was the story Ricardo passed on while draping his arm over my shoulder as I stood to greet Richard.
"You didn't sneak a drink already, right~?"
"As if."
I replied to the green-eyed senior grinning slyly.
Then I bowed my head to the man standing expressionlessly beside him.
"Senior. Hello."
Jonathan Kudo didn't reply.
He just nodded at me with a face like he had no idea who I was.
He's someone even more impressive than Yoon, in some way.
At least Choi Yoon remembered the names of people he'd met once. Looking at this neat senior made me think of the gray-haired genius scientist in the lab.
The shining star of the scientific world and the lab's NPC.
He's probably still holed up in the lab today, researching like a plant....
"Eek!"
I yelped in shock at John Mullen getting off the elevator with Ro.
"What!"
"Ah~."
Ricardo pressed down on my shoulder laughing.
His green eyes curved like crescent moons as he looked at John and Ro.
"Ro must've dragged him here~."
John Mullen walked out of the elevator like a robot.
I stared in astonishment at the tall man following behind Giacomo Ro. The scientist strode through the hall stiffly like an old tree.
Seeing the Black Badgers turning to gawk at him, it seemed his attendance was indeed rare.
Gotta avoid that table at all costs.
Ricardo, delighted at my terrified expression, left the seat.
After seating me back down and patting my shoulder.
"Tell the Supreme Commander later to pour you the most expensive drink~."
You get to pick your own bottle, apparently.
"One-shot's the etiquette, so pick something with tolerable proof~."
The seats filled up quickly.
I greeted the excited Barbie at the year-end party (thank goodness her prosthetic leg wasn't bothering her at all), and while listening to Sue about last year, it was almost time for the Command Staff to arrive.
By then, most of the people milling around the hall had taken their seats.
The chatter had died down to whispers.
As Yoon, one of the last to enter, pulled out the chair next to me and sat, the elevator dinged to a stop.
"Hello."
Ye-hyeon entered the now utterly silent space.
"Everyone's gathered."
The aides and HR Director Kang Joo followed behind.
The Black Badgers rose from their seats in a wave.
The year-end party had begun.
***
Ye-hyeon wasn't one for long speeches.
There was a neat, short greeting. The Supreme Commander at the head table picked up the mic and delivered the year-end address. The boss recited this year's achievements crisply and conveyed hopes for everyone to keep pushing next year.
Murmurs rippled through the hall at the mention of plans for land reclamation next year.
But the stir didn't last. As the Command Staff stood and bowed in unison, applause filled the hall.
Then, gazes flew toward us.
"Time for the rookies to get their drinks."
HR Director Kang Joo beamed at us.
"Heshy, Tom, Hilde. Come here."
Whoa.
Receiving drinks under the attention of all these seniors like this.
Of course, we couldn't voice any complaints. We scrambled up and hurried to the head table. Ye-hyeon smiling faintly at us, Ska grinning widely, the brown-haired aide giving a soft smile.
We lined up in the order called.
Ye-hyeon looked at Heshy and asked.
"What alcohol you want?"
"I'll have a dark beer!"
Heshy answered loudly and properly.
I heard seniors whispering and chuckling about his choice. "Been a while since someone picked dark beer," or "Gotta pick stronger than beer for the show," or "They stocked a new dark beer this time—maybe that's what he wanted?"
Ye-hyeon nodded and requested the most expensive dark beer.
The top boss uncapped the bottle with his pale hand and poured the beer.
He poured the same into his own glass and raised it.
"Come on, you've worked hard adapting to the Enhanced Body."
"Thank you!"
Clink!
The glasses met crisply.
Heshy downed the dark beer in one go.
"Please take care of me going forward!"
Applause poured in. Cheers too. The seniors burst into laughter at Heshy's crisp salute, whistling.
Always the hyper one.
The seniors' joyful cheers grew even louder when Heshy failed to control his strength while setting down the glass.
Crash!
"Ugh."
"That's it!"
For some reason, the seniors were purely delighted at the shattered beer glass.
"You gotta drink one for each broken glass today, rookie!"
Tom probably didn't suit such a flashy debut.
Indeed, Tom looked a bit deflated after Heshy's boisterous drinking ceremony.
Ye-hyeon spotted it and silenced everyone with a single gesture.
"What'll you have?"
"Uh, I'll take wine."
"Red? White? Sparkling?"
"I like them all."
"Then drink the most expensive one."
Wine was brought over to Ye-hyeon.
Tom stammered that the expensive one wasn't necessary, but Ye-hyeon waved it off casually.
"This is all we got. Red wine reserve, 700,000 won a bottle."
"Whoa!"
People clapped wildly at Ye-hyeon's words.
They delighted at fidgety Tom beside Ye-hyeon uncorking the bottle.
"700,000 won this year!"
"Wine really is the priciest. Huh?"
"Smart choice, rookie!"
"That's the wine I wanted!"
"Come on, stop teasing."
Ye-hyeon, with a faint smile, poured the wine into Tom's glass.
"You worked hard this year."
Clink!
One-shot.
Applause poured again. Even after Tom safely set down the glass, the seniors were thrilled. Comments flooded about his thoughts on the 700,000-won-per-bottle wine, or how last year there was a 1-million-won one so he must be disappointed, and so on.
Everyone's hyped.
Tom politely bowed to the clapping seniors and stepped back.
Ye-hyeon's gaze turned to me.
"Hilde. What alcohol you like?"
Oh.
Good thing I couldn't remember my tolerance, but I did remember my favorite drink.
And it was super safe—definitely available now.
Satisfied that my missing memories didn't make me hesitate, I smiled faintly.
Then I broke the silence that had settled over the hall.
"I'll have vodka."
*Cough*
Someone choked.
That sparked it—the seniors exploded.
"It's here! Vodkaaa!"
"Brat! Don't show off! You gotta one-shot that!"
"First in 6 years! High-proof one-shot!"
"Vodka! Woo! Vodka! Woo!"
What the hell suddenly.
Did they all regress in intelligence the moment they heard vodka? It was disconcerting how they screamed like they were about to explode.
I looked at the seniors, unable to hide my baffled expression.
They were going wild, slamming tables like they might break them....
Familiar faces stood out clearly. Ricardo smirking, Yoon raising a brow, Ami with eyes wide—I almost felt like I'd done something wrong....
Should I change my choice? As I pondered dumbly, I heard Ye-hyeon opening the bottle.
I hurriedly turned and received the drink.
"Take care of me going forward."
A slightly different greeting from the others.
"It'll be tough, but."
Clink!
One-shot!
I gulped down the clear liquid in the clear glass. In the instantly quiet hall, the sound of it sliding down my throat echoed. The warm liquid went down my throat. No smell from the liquid. No taste either.
Colorless, tasteless, odorless miracle alcohol.
Wow. Feels so good after so long.
"Kh."
Unable to hold back the smile bubbling up, I set down the empty glass.
"Thank you."
Clunk.
The glass landed perfectly.
Woooah!
Explosive cheers erupted.
The year-end party had begun.