Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Promotion Exam (2)
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To the recruits' questions about what happened, I brushed it off saying there was some business, then changed clothes with them.
I quickly changed to avoid them noticing the brand on my abdomen, then shook out my hair.
The exam lasts one full day.
Airborne and climbing in the morning. Shooting and basic fitness tests in the afternoon, followed by sea swimming last. They said airborne often gets postponed if the weather's bad, but fortunately, they could launch the helicopters without issue today.
It really was fortunate. I had no confidence in enduring for two straight days.
I exited the tent with the recruits.
I raised my head at the expansive view.
And spotted an object floating in the sky.
“What’s that?”
“Hm?”
When I pointed, the recruits looked up too.
Tom answered in a puzzled voice.
“Broadcast drone. The promotion exam’s live-streamed to HQ.”
“What?”
“Interested seniors are probably watching.”
“What?”
What the hell was this?
I stupidly turned to the recruits with my mouth agape. But Hessi and Tom seemed to already know about it.
Choi Yoon. You didn’t tell me about this either.
If I confronted him, he’d just say it wouldn’t change anything. He taught efficiently and made a good master, but that efficiency could also make him a bad master.
I wonder what he’s doing right now.
Anyway, I wanted more details on where it was being broadcast and who was watching.
But the recruits didn’t explain in detail.
Instead, they scrutinized me.
“Why do you look so out of it?”
Hessi said, furrowing her brows.
I gave an awkward smile.
“Nerves.”
“You?”
“I didn’t know it was being live-streamed to HQ.”
“You don’t get nervous about stuff like this.”
Tom asked, puzzled too.
“You don’t even know tension to begin with.”
I do too.
Especially in front of my master, I’m tense every day. No idea why I have that image. My small protest didn’t land. Hessi nodded in agreement with Tom.
The two recruits narrowed their eyes and glared at me.
I turned my head and changed the subject.
“I see some people with red hats way over there.”
I swallowed the pain and started walking.
“Let’s go. Let’s all pass safely.”
“Your walk looks weird too.”
“There’s a bunch of drones.”
I kept my eyes fixed on the drones, pretending not to notice the recruits’ stares.
The sea breeze tickled my nose. The exam was soon, but leaving that gloomy place lifted my mood.
I had to keep my head straight until the exam ended.
Ignoring the recruits’ piercing stares, I muttered.
“Who’s watching this stuff anyway?”
***
Shu happily entered the media room.
The media room was packed with people today. A place where you’d be lucky to spot even one person normally was swarming. The prime seats were all taken, so she scanned for a spot while holding salt-and-vinegar chips and zero cola.
Black Badgers gathered in groups of three or five, waiting for the exam to start.
She spotted Ami peeking out from among them.
Shu walked over to Ami.
“Senior. You came to watch after all.”
“Yeah.”
Ami grinned.
“Watching the chicks’ footage is fun.”
“But is it always this crowded? I’ve been relaxing since hardly anyone watched my footage live.”
“Nah. This time’s weirdly packed.”
Ami tilted her head at the bustling Black Badgers.
“Last year and the year before, almost no one was here.”
Shu sat in the aisle seat next to Ami and opened her chip bag.
The tangy chip scent wafted up. She pulled out the foldable tray from the armrest and rolled her blue eyes around.
“Senior Richard brought a ton of his favorite juniors again.”
“Yeah. Richard never misses this.”
The two Black Badgers glanced toward Richard and his dutiful followers.
They’d claimed the front row. Richard and his crew—people quietly called it the “Richard Line.” Mostly huge-muscled guys, they were serious about gym training and raising rookies.
They always occupied a corner of the HQ gym, held frequent gatherings to bond.
Someone even protested it was like a private club.
The Supreme Commander Ye-hyeon didn’t care, though.
“Even if they pass the promotion exam, if it’s not up to his standards, Senior Richard will have something to say, right?”
“No one meets Richard’s standards.”
Ami giggled.
She crunched on the potato chip Shu offered.
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t just you.”
“The juniors are pitiful.”
Ami laughed again, clear and bright.
They quietly watched the rookies on the drone feed for a while. The three guys, changed and heading to the instructors.
Ami blankly stared at their heads, then spotted someone passing in the aisle and widened her eyes.
“Rick!”
Ricardo halted.
The tall man turned his head. He spotted the small Black Badgers below and stretched his mouth into a grin. His deep green eyes curved like crescent moons.
The man approached with his usual lazy stride.
“Ami~…”
“First time seeing you here, Rick.”
Ami blinked at the man draping an arm over the seatback in front of Shu.
“You never watch this stuff. You said watching chicks flail around isn’t fun.”
“Ah~. Time was free today~…”
“Hello, Senior.”
Shu bowed politely.
Ricardo waved it off as he accepted the junior’s greeting.
“Hi~. Here for your first rookies’ footage~?”
“Yes.”
“Name was… Diamond, right~?”
“Yes. Shu Diamond.”
“Sit next to me, Rick.”
Ami patted the seat beside her.
Then she peeked around with an “oh” face to check the crowd.
“Didn’t promise to sit with someone? Kudo probably won’t show.”
“That jerk wouldn’t come to a place like this.”
Ricardo snorted, got Shu’s okay, and slid into the seat next to Ami.
The man lazily leaned back against the headrest.
His green gaze shot to the screen. The rookies were now listening to the airborne exam procedures from the instructors. All in uniforms, standing at attention—reflected on screen.
The seniors watched the rookies and shared cheerful commentary.
“They’ll all pass.”
“Who knows. Weather’s calm today, though.”
“Hey, this exam’s a breeze! Back in my day, the wind was so bad they couldn’t even launch the chopper, let alone the gear!”
“That white-hair guy really stands out.”
“Right? Tall and handsome. Dyed it?”
“Surprisingly natural.”
“Huh? What, premature gray?”
“Ami.”
Ami whipped her head around at the voice from behind.
Spotting the owner was easy. The caller stood right behind her seatback.
Ami’s eyes widened for the second time since entering the media room.
“Sylvia!”
She was even more shocked than when she saw Ricardo.
“You here for the promotion exam?”
“Yes.”
The pale woman bowed her head, silver hair spilling forward.
Her blue eyes gleamed strangely under the neat see-through bangs.
“Hildebert’s taking the exam today, right?”
“Yeah. Correct.”
“Hello, Senior.”
“You memorize juniors’ names too~?”
Ricardo glanced back coolly at the chilly woman.
“I thought you barely remembered seniors’…”
Sylvia didn’t reply.
Instead, she thanked Ami and calmly sat in the seat behind her. Ignoring Senior Ricardo’s words, ignoring Junior Shu’s greeting—her pale blue eyes fixed on the screen.
Nailed to the white-haired rookie, unmoving.
Ami stared openly at Sylvia, then turned.
“Why does Hilde attract all these unique people?”
It was a mutter that would make Hilde bury his face in his hands if he heard.
“Is it because of Hilde’s rumors that there’s so many people?”
“I heard quite a few came for Tom and Hessi too.”
Shu said to Ricardo, showing the blue chip bag opening.
As Ricardo grinned and waved it off, Ami cracked open her second soda.
“Tom apparently defied Senior Dawson’s order to let a dog die. Rumor spread he’s got a sharp edge unlike his mild looks. Hessi was famous from the start with her dad being a general, and she got even more famous after that huge fight with Zhouard. Unfortunately, her rumors turned kinda bad, unlike Tom’s.”
“Ah. I was worried Hessi’d get a bad rep. She’s hot-tempered, but she’s really sweet deep down.”
“Yeah. She really is.”
Shu agreed readily, then looked down at her blue chip bag.
The clamor died down. Most people were seated now. The exam was about to start. The rookies stretched to the instructors’ commands. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep beep—the whistle echoed in the media room.
Seniors happily spectating them.
Shu looked at her chips amid the murmurs and said casually.
“They’ll all do great, right?”
Her voice held faint worry.
“I want them all to promote safely so we can hang out relaxed on days off.”
“Yeah. They’ll all do fine!”
Ami grinned at her.
She tilted her head, eyes doting on her cute little sister.
“You hang with rookies a lot? What do you do?”
Shu looked up.
Ami smiling with affection, Ricardo tossing a perfunctory glance.
She replied without much thought, looking at their faces.
“Last time, we went buy an indie game with a protagonist named Hildebert Talib.”
Puzzlement clouded the two seniors’ eyes.
Neither Ricardo nor Ami got what Shu meant.
Just as Ami was about to ask what that meant, someone shouted loudly.
“The masters are here!”
The media room door opened.
Yoon, Karl, and Angela entered one after another.
Applause erupted instantly.
People whistled at the masters entering with stern faces.
“Good work!”
“You’ve worked hard!”
“Now that they’re off your hands, watch the exam easy!”
“Weird.”
Ami tilted her head at the three taking the prime center seat in the third row, best screen view.
“Why’s Oppa so pissed?”
The three masters sat quickly.
The three Black Badgers stared at the screen unblinkingly. People came up to talk to them. But none spoke. They just sat with hard expressions, eyes locked on the screen.
More precisely, Angela and Karl’s eyes held worry, trust, affection.
Yoon’s held anger, irritation, possessiveness.
Something that could never be called affection.
But an emotion worlds away from indifference.
The moment Choi Yoon glared at the screen with that irritating emotion, the exam began.