Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Center Core (1)
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It was too clean and pristine.
And it seemed to be two stories tall. It looked like a spotless wooden villa.
Something felt off. They were giving this to me for free?
I was flustered by the mismatch when the car came to a stop.
“Get out.”
Yoon said it without any intention of getting out himself.
“I’ll park the car and grab the paperwork.”
I quickly hopped out of the passenger seat.
The sleek car took off the moment I stepped out. I lifted my head and took in the scene unfolding before me.
It was a beautiful street.
A street devoid of any signs of life. Wide, immaculate roads flanked by massive houses on either side. In front of them stretched dazzlingly manicured lawns. I regretted not being able to describe the scent of wealth wafting from the street.
No wonder even this cabin would be expensive.
What was this?
What the hell?
It was so good it felt suspicious instead.
I slowly approached the cabin. The unexpected luxury made me hesitant, moving with caution.
So I didn’t even notice someone approaching.
A familiar husky voice.
“Hilde.”
I jolted in surprise.
“Gah! You scared me!”
“Sorry.”
The other person widened their eyes in equal surprise.
The moment I recognized Supreme Commander Lee Ye-hyeon’s face, I straightened up like I’d been splashed with water.
I didn’t forget to bow my head quickly.
“Commander. Uh, I’m truly sorry.”
“No.”
Ye-hyeon’s expression softened, and he narrowed his eyes in amusement at my flustered apology.
“Don’t worry about it. Sorry for startling you. I saw you coming as I was about to head inside…. How was your first day?”
“Ah, yes. Thanks to Senior Yoon…. I had a good dinner too.”
“You got a proper expensive meal, right?”
“Yes. It was really delicious.”
“Good. Glad to hear it. You feeling okay?”
“Fit as a fiddle.”
He smiled at my quick reply, hands stuffed in his suit pants pockets.
Just standing there, he exuded presence. Yet unlike the authority in his posture, his gentle smile created a strangely approachable aura.
Even his kind smile didn’t put my mind at ease, though.
“I heard you accepted the cabin.”
I nodded at his calm voice.
“Yes. I’m worried about how to repay such a huge favor.”
“No need to think that way. Yoon was planning to demolish the cabin recently at great expense. If you live here, it’s convenient for him since his deputy handler is nearby, and he won’t have to spend money tearing it down. It works out for everyone.”
So why was he planning to demolish a cabin that looked this pristine?
I was curious but didn’t ask, and Ye-hyeon didn’t offer any more explanation. He just stood there watching me.
A cool evening breeze blew.
“Did Yoon brief you on the administrative details?”
I nodded.
“I memorized it all.”
“Good. Don’t mention it unless someone asks.”
“Yes.”
After my prompt reply, I looked at him.
“Commander.”
“Trying to apologize?”
His gentle question stopped me cold.
Caught off guard and speechless, I saw Ye-hyeon smile faintly. Unlike the gentle smile from moments ago, this one carried sadness and the weight of experience.
I stared blankly at my superior and said.
“If you don’t want an apology, at least accept my thanks.”
Ye-hyeon’s wry smile lingered.
“Hilde. Don’t take it too hard. Even if you occasionally forget your fabricated past or slip up, there’ll always be ways to smooth it over. Memories are unreliable things, after all.”
“Still, you could’ve avoided creating opportunities for problems in the first place.”
At my words, Ye-hyeon’s inscrutable wry smile deepened. Seeing that expression made it hard to hold back.
“Like scrapping the Enhanced Body project. Or just letting me die when I was being chased by a creature.”
“That wouldn’t be human.”
“It might look that way short-term…. But I was someone who couldn’t even remember what I looked like. No clue what kind of guy I was, so treating me as a risk factor and eliminating me wouldn’t be irrational, right?”
“You’re a good kid.”
The Supreme Commander’s voice was soft but firm.
“Even if your memories return, that kind nature won’t disappear.”
His final words eased the turmoil inside me for a moment.
The feeling of owing him a massive debt didn’t fade. He was Black Badger’s highest authority, and he’d made the final decision to make me an official Black Badger.
I must never forget this true favor.
The moment I resolved that, a low, cold voice came.
“Supreme Commander.”
Ye-hyeon turned his head.
“Yoon.”
“Heading home?”
My master approached slowly, carrying the stack of documents he’d mentioned grabbing.
The Supreme Commander nodded and smiled faintly.
“Just now. Speak casually.”
“You said you’d head in after checking on the rookie.”
Yoon switched from formal to casual speech in an instant.
I saw Ye-hyeon raise an eyebrow. His hands were still in his pockets.
“Why not call him by name instead of ‘rookie’?”
“He won’t care.”
“Still, it’s not courteous to him.”
“I’m really fine with it.”
I hesitated but jumped into the conversation. Their gazes settled on me.
“Call me whatever. From your positions, I am a green rookie. I even struggled with that mushroom.”
“Mushroom.”
Ye-hyeon uttered the word as if recalling something he’d forgotten, then sighed.
“Yeah, the mushroom…. What were you thinking?”
“Ami must’ve told you? But he focused well for three hours and killed it in the end. No major shock. I got a sense of what to teach him roughly.”
“Three hours?”
Ye-hyeon asked in a voice that didn’t hide his shock.
“He let the tentacles hit him for three hours straight?”
“I told him he could quit anytime if he wanted, but he didn’t. HR Director Kang Joo assigned me as his master.”
“He’s really okay?”
At the Supreme Commander’s question as he turned to me, I nodded hurriedly.
“Yes. Totally fine. And he really did say I could quit anytime.”
“If it’s not okay, don’t hold back—speak up right away. To anyone. If Yoon’s hard to talk to, then Ami or Ro. Not just today, but from now on too.”
“I’m a huge whiner. Don’t worry.”
My quick reply smoothed out Ye-hyeon’s troubled expression. His furrowed brow relaxed, and the gentle smile returned.
The handsome superior chuckled.
“You probably won’t even remember if you whined or not.”
“Hm…. Sharp observation. But somehow, I feel like I’m the type who whines well.”
“He’s fine, I tell you. You can see if someone’s holding back. Hey, take this.”
Yoon said gruffly, handing me the documents.
I snatched them up. I quickly scanned what they were, reaffirming my exploding affection for my stoic master.
These were the cabin transfer papers. The ownership had been transferred to me.
“I love you, Master.”
“Your feelings are leaking out.”
“No need to hide them.”
Ye-hyeon laughed out loud.
Every time he laughed, the intimidating presence born of experience and sorrow faded.
After that, the three of us checked the cabin. Its condition was astonishingly good.
Pushing open the door let in a wave of wood scent. A small shoe rack and entryway. After taking off my shoes, a short hallway led to the living room at the end. There was a worn beanbag and a frayed but round, cute carpet. Turning right revealed the kitchen; left showed stairs to the second floor. It was a loft.
“Cozy and perfect.”
I expressed my sincere gratitude, but my senior and boss looked at me awkwardly.
They soon left. Saying it was their house the moment you opened the door, and after a long day, rest well, they vanished.
Of course, the “rest well” came from Ye-hyeon.
Finally alone after so long.
An immense fatigue suddenly pressed down on my entire body.
I staggered to the bathroom, and fell asleep without even remembering how I washed up.
***
I woke from a dead sleep at 7:30 a.m.
I bolted up and showered quickly. Bursting out of the bathroom, I checked the fridge. Just as Master said, it was stocked with basics.
Milk, eggs, cheese, bottled water, several retort meals. Bread and cereal.
I scarfed down some cereal and threw on suitable clothes from what I had.
There was still time before I had to head out to meet Yoon.
Not knowing what to do, I stood blankly and grabbed my phone. Plopping down on the old beanbag, I turned it on.
After hesitating, I opened the internet.
I typed “Lee Ye-hyeon” into the search bar. No special reason. Just thought something might come up for him….
No.
He was insanely famous.
I took in the prominently displayed photo and bio in the search results. He seemed to be a news regular. Tons of articles, and seeing the person I met last night online felt weird.
Maybe read through these slowly after my schedule clears.
As I scrolled down slowly, a specific title caught my eye.
[Black Badger’s leader not changing when it’s not even a private corp? Makes no sense?]
Seemed like a community post.
I clicked it steadily. It was like a thread with comments piling up.
[Stale, more like rotten.]
[Yeah, how long is that guy staying in that seat? No term limits?]
[This world is ruled by invisible Big Brothers! Don’t fall for the puppet president!]
[Until he dies.]
[Abnormal]
[He’s good at it, so he stays. Don’t you remember they tried changing once as an example and got burned?]
[That was cuz the new guy was historically trash]
[Having no fixed term is definitely a problem.]
[Absolute power corrupts inevitably!]
[Wasn’t there a successor to Ye-hyeon? Not the current pretty Blaze-head.]
[Saul? Died a few years ago.]
I didn’t understand everything, but it was plenty provocative.
I decided to ask Yoon about the parts I didn’t get later and hit back.
Scanning more posts, another title grabbed me.
[Did you see the creature that showed up at Badger HQ this time?]
I clicked.
[Rumor is it escaped from the lab under HQ]
[Intrusion path was fully disclosed. No weird conspiracy theories plz]
[First breach in Zone 1, and it hits HQ of all places? Suspicious]
[Must’ve had a big brain or something]
[Didn’t look like it]
[Why no official statement from Supreme Commander?]
[One minor injury, and it’s an HQ staffer. Why bother?]
Was that about me?
My heart pounded. The comments continued below.
[Rumor is he got hurt saving a kid]
[Badger? Civilian?]
[Think civilian employee. Or visitor. Badgers were carrying him bleeding.]
[What were the Badgers doing?]
[Badgers crawling all over HQ and a civilian gets hurt? Ridiculous.]
[Wasn’t a big injury.]
[LOL at HQ level response]
They did their jobs.
Light comments from internet strangers, but knowing the truth twisted my gut.
No way to post rebuttals, so I just scrolled and read. Inaccurate info and speculative comments. Black Badger critics and defenders.
Unfiltered talk online.
The further I scrolled, the more vitriolic they got.
[How long we gonna treat Ye-hyeon like a hero of chaos?]
[But seriously why no change? Why? Why? Why?]
[Dictator]
[Decades of dictatorship, time to step down]
[Honestly, he’s the biggest beneficiary, right? Nobody to fame overnight]
[Agreed, you’re all being fooled. Who profits most from creatures honestly?]
[Oh, conspiracy theories again.]
[Sure, humans never landed on the moon, teachers.]
[Ye-hyeon is a creature]
What was that last one?
I let out a snort and read on.
[But where’d that pretty boy come from? Why no family info?]
[No AMP.]
[Who’s the pretty one]
[┗Ye-hyeon]
[Creatures are a means, we’re under dictatorship now]
[But no hometown at all is weird]
[Didn’t he die in the war?]
[Nah, his pre-war school etc. all listed, just no parents.]
[Sudden appearance with that rank is too fishy]
[He killed a Rank 10 creature by hand. Video exists, what’s to doubt]
[That justify giving him the rank?]
There’s video?
Gotta find it later.
[What if human experimented into creature?]
[Wtf]
[We’re all fooled. Ye-hyeon’s just the face, rulers keep changing]
[Honestly seen him too long… that face is tiresome… doesn’t age…]
[He’s actually CGI lol]
[He’s hot tho lol]
[IRL he’s the adopted chaebol heir banging homos]
[┗Ye-hyeon gay?]
[┗Dunno, he’s pretty]
I furrowed my brow and scrolled down. It dragged on.
[He involved in previous commander’s death?]
[Prev commander died of old age]
[That’s the official line.]
[Just hate looking at him. Pretends democratic and noble lol]
[But this creature outbreak timing is too sus. I link it to Airheart congressman]
[Creature outbreaks tied to political scandals how many times?]
[It started in Badger research building right?]
[Stop baseless conspiracies; you’re derailing from Ye-hyeon dictatorship talk]
[Honestly, Black Badger created right after outbreak is sus. Timing too perfect?]
[Handled it well and y’all bitch]
[US/China probably researched Enhanced Bodies abroad too. Don’t derail. What’s it matter now.]
[These types wish humanity went extinct huh]
Thud thud thud!
A knock at the cabin door made me jump up.
“Yes!”
“Come out.”
My master’s cool voice came through.
“Gotta make you battle-ready ASAP.”