Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Confession (1)
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Soon, Yoon's face came into view.
He wore the same expression as always. His neat features held no emotion.
But my legs were numb, and the moment our eyes met, I said,
"I'm sorry."
Seeing him raise one eyebrow, I added,
"Am I being charged with desertion?"
Instead of replying, he approached the bed.
Ye-hyeon, shrugging off his jacket, was the one who answered.
"Don't worry about it and rest. I told them I called you urgently."
"What?"
Surprised, I looked at Ye-hyeon. He smiled faintly.
"I made sure it won't be processed as desertion. That's how the military rolls."
No.
I opened my mouth, then closed it, blinking.
It wasn't wrong, but...
Hearing the top brass say it like that felt somehow off.
And sure, I was relieved to dodge the desertion punishment, but I still had to explain to the other seniors. They wouldn't buy the excuse that I'd bolted like a madman because the Supreme Commander summoned me.
Fortunately, Ye-hyeon gave me leeway to gloss over the facts. I could just say it was the power holders at the time instead of the elders.
But Yoon didn't ask why I'd bolted.
He simply narrowed his eyes and scanned Ye-hyeon's face.
"Did you cry?"
"A little."
Yoon's brow furrowed.
"Why?"
Ye-hyeon gave a bitter smile and slumped into a chair.
"Hilde remembered his entire past."
Dry eyes rolled toward me.
A look demanding explanation.
I smiled bitterly.
He definitely had the right to demand it. He'd known so much and seen so much.
I calmly explained the past I'd recalled and what I'd done after jumping out the window.
Having already explained it once to Ye-hyeon made it a little easier this time.
Yoon stood beside Ye-hyeon, listening silently.
The moment I finished, he spoke.
"Can you force inhalation?"
What a guy's question.
I smiled bitterly and rubbed my neck.
"I didn't know either, but it worked. Probably figured it out from rewinding footage of a... level 10 creature. If the technique goes berserk, absorption happens uncontrollably..."
"How'd you do it?"
"Brought the absorption nutrients right next to me and stimulated some nerve or whatever."
It hurt like dying.
More pain than when the seal seared me. That crazy bastard Colton.
*'If you stubbornly refuse continuous absorption, I'll have to get rough,'* he'd said, making me think he'd gut me without anesthesia. But he was a lunatic beyond imagination.
Well, he always had been.
Now just thinking his name made my stomach churn.
Lost in those pointless thoughts, I noticed the room had gone quiet.
"What's wrong?"
I saw the shock in Ye-hyeon's eyes and Yoon staring at me.
"Was something off in my explanation?"
"Were you tortured?"
"What? No. It hurt that bad, but it wasn't torture. He was trying to treat me."
"Do you remember exactly what they did?"
"I was too out of it to see clearly."
After answering Ye-hyeon's horrified question, I fielded Yoon's follow-up.
Ye-hyeon distressed, ran a hand over his face.
Yoon, lost in thought, cast his eyes downward.
"If we know the method, it could come in handy."
Yoon suited Ye-hyeon.
He'd protested, but every protest just earned more lashes. Even with the excruciating pain, instant healing from fatal wounds was a net positive, right? Better a short agony than death—Master's argument had backfired.
He'd only been freed after promising not to force it.
He dragged over another chair lying around on the second floor.
Wearing his uniform, he must've come straight from HQ.
"You can't cook for yourself out there."
That was the first thing he said upon sitting.
I glanced back and forth between the Lexic noodles and my master.
"My cooking's decent enough."
"Yeah, right."
"But how do you handle meals in B or A Zone?"
Forking the Lexic noodles, I asked.
The question dragged back to reality the past explanation had let me forget. The mission wasn't canceled—just postponed.
"And am I still squad leader?"
Before swallowing the noodles, I asked. Ye-hyeon blinked.
"Yeah."
"I'm not questioning my leadership skills or anything..."
"You pull that line every time you wanna push back on my decisions."
Busted?
"No one knows creatures like you do. You can handle it."
"But no Black Badger knows scouting less than me? For instance, I don't even know how to handle meals or sleep out there."
"You'll pick that up when you get your gear."
Ye-hyeon brushed off my polite counterargument.
Yoon, arms crossed as he watched me, chimed in.
"To answer your question: you take supplies stocked in C Zone for meals. If you run short, just hunt the animals outside."
Ah, modern camping...
Chewing the Lexic noodles, I recalled camping memories. It was grueling no matter when or where. You couldn't wash properly or sleep comfortably.
Still, maybe the tents were better quality.
Either way, I'd need to study up before heading out. To avoid any dumb mistakes.
I'd remembered my past, but I had no intention of looking back.
No—precisely because I'd remembered, I had even less intention of looking back.
"Heading out tomorrow?"
"Three days from now."
Huh?
"Takes that long to readjust the portal. Plus, you need time to recover and explain things to your squad."
His last words landed heavily.
I forced my lips into a smile and polished off the Lexic noodles.
As Ye-hyeon said, explaining before departure made sense. I planned to do it as soon as possible. But the thought of spilling my past tomorrow still sat uneasy.
Ye-hyeon snatched the empty plate from my hand.
"I..."
"Don't leave the bed today."
Before I could properly protest, he headed down to the first floor and returned.
Meanwhile, Yoon eyed me.
"Why the long face?"
I looked at my master, puzzled.
"What's so long about it?"
"Don't wanna explain? I can cover for you."
"Ah."
So that's what he meant.
I felt a small thrill that he'd offered to look out for me for the first time.
"It's fine. Just scared of the reactions, but spilling it itself isn't awkward."
"What's there to be scared of?"
Another Yoon-style question.
I let out a quiet chuckle.
"I'm scared of being hated by the people I care about."
Yoon blinked his pitch-black eyes.
"Why would they hate you?"
"If the elders hadn't gone hardline, I'd have sided with my kin... Aren't they justified in hating invaders who barged in uninvited and planned a war on a whim?"
"You said you'd have just blended in if they hadn't messed with you first."
"True, but still. Either way, I didn't choose the human side willingly."
"You did choose the human side willingly."
Yoon said dryly.
"So that makes it forced?"
I laughed again.
"They lost precious people in the war..."
Ricardo or Sophia.
Sophia already hated me, so that was whatever. What I dreaded was bringing it up with Ricardo.
Karl would probably take it in stride like last time. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. I didn't know Karl that well. No clue what he really thought of me deep down.
Ami was the only one I felt I could tell comfortably...
"If we're heading out in three days, can Ami join us?"
I asked desperately. A smile bloomed on Ye-hyeon's tense face.
"You want Ami along?"
"Yes. Wait—no, Choi Ami instead of Choi Yoon? Isn't the change a bit extreme?"
"This fucker's getting bolder... Nah. You're Ye-hyeon's godfather now."
Irritation vanished from Yoon's voice in an instant.
What was with this sudden shift?
I shot a frightened glance at my master, now sitting right next to me.
Yoon's voice turned silky.
"Please take care of me going forward, Father."
Ah.
"Sorry. I overstepped. Please, just stop."
"I'll take full responsibility and make Ye-hyeon happy."
?
I stared at Yoon.
What the hell was this guy on about?
Ye-hyeon grumbled for him to cut the dumb joke, but I didn't react.
I kept staring Yoon down and said,
"Better step on my corpse."
Yoon snickered. Ye-hyeon blinked.
When I made it clear I wanted to rest alone, they cleared out without a fuss.
***
I'd tell Ami first.
That was my first thought upon waking the next day.
No courage yet for Ricardo or Karl. I'd head to Ami's room and talk.
Ami was discharging tomorrow. Ye-hyeon had ordered the five of us—including her—to head to B Zone. Truth be told, danger spiked so much from B Zone on that even a handful of seasoned Black Badgers weren't enough.
Whatever the reason, I was thrilled that the light and salt of my life could join the mission.
I'd gotten permission to visit at 10 a.m., so I left the cabin.
After her discharge tomorrow, I'd buy her a frappuccino.
Lost in that thought, I reached the door to Ami's single room—just as someone else stopped in front of it.
"Ah..."
Fuck.
"Isn't that our squad leader~..."
Ricardo.
What kind of coincidence was this?
Or... was it really a coincidence?
I instinctively stepped back and glanced at the tall man beside me.
He wore casual clothes: white shirt, glasses, impeccably fitted black pants.
The sharp-featured man narrowed his eyes at me.
Trembling with fear, I met his gaze. His unreadable face terrified me in a way different from Yoon's.
"You handle the Commander's urgent summons from yesterday okay~?"
"I'm sorry."
Apologize first, see what happens.
"I'll... explain everything inside the room."
"Nah~. Nothing to be sorry for~. You bolted on urgent orders~."
"Really, I'm sorry. I just lost it at the time..."
The barbs were as sharp as ever.
Unsure how to reply, I trailed off. No way around it—this wouldn't fly without the full truth.
Glancing at my senior, I pointed to the room with my palm.
"For now... after you."
Ricardo turned the knob without breaking eye contact with me.
The door opened smoothly.
Ami's voice drifted out. The green-eyed senior shifted his gaze inside.
I hurried in right behind him.
The door clicked shut, muffling the corridor noise. With the windows closed, the room fell quiet in an instant. A calm silence wrapped around us.
Our footsteps shattered it as we approached Ami, sitting up in bed.
She greeted us brightly.
Setting aside her game console, she asked,
"The mission you tried to sneak off on without me got bumped to tomorrow?"
A puzzled look flew my way.
"What the hell happened?"