Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Black Badger (2)
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I stared at Ami in a daze.
The man named Ro next to her tilted his head, breaking the silence.
"Peanut, were you 70?"
"Yeah."
"I'm about that age too."
What?
I dumbly looked at the people across from me.
They all still looked wonderfully young. Ami's voice was even youthful. Ro looked like he was in his early or mid-twenties. The green-eyed man who had been speaking seemed the oldest, but even he appeared to be late twenties or early thirties.
So how could they be that old?
It didn't seem like a joke....
I decided not to think too deeply about it for now. I'd forgotten everything except my name and woken up in a completely unfamiliar place—what was to stop something even more astonishing from happening?
I chose to simply accept life as it came. Otherwise, I felt like I'd break somewhere.
Ami glanced at the curly-haired man and said,
"Ro, you're 72."
"Yeah, something like that."
"Huh?"
A reflexive, startled voice escaped me.
I widened my eyes and stared back and forth between Ro and Ami.
"So the two of you are only two years apart?"
"Hey. Your point of surprise is weird."
Ro raised an eyebrow.
"Shouldn't you be surprised by the ages? Why are you surprised that she's only two years older than me?"
"No, no. It's just...."
The green-eyed man burst into laughter.
He bent his head, shoulders shaking as he laughed silently. He must have found my reaction funny.
Ami kept blinking, and one of Ro's eyebrows shot up almost to the ceiling.
As I flailed my hands in embarrassment, the chains rattled loudly through the room.
"I didn't mean it negatively. Ms. Ami just looks quite young."
"Ah."
Ro immediately understood.
He tapped the leg resting on his thigh and let out a grin.
"Yeah, that's true. She acts like a kid and looks like one too. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's older than Riccardo."
Who was Riccardo?
"Riccardo's me~."
The green-eyed man waved one hand with a laugh.
I was so shocked my eyes nearly popped out.
What? Ami was older than this green-eyed guy?
"Do I really seem that childish?"
I glanced back and forth between Ami, who muttered like she was talking to herself, and the green-eyed man with his relaxed smile. It was still hard to believe.
My emotions must have shown on my face, because the green-eyed man—Riccardo—chuckled.
"I'm 68~. Name's Riccardo Sordi."
"Ah.... Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Sordi."
"Just call me Riccardo."
Riccardo waved his hand and winked.
I nodded obediently. Of course, I wasn't bold enough to use his name right away. I racked my brains, trying not to upset the people watching me. They didn't seem intent on harming me for now, but who knew when that might change.
Let's think. Ro is 72, Choi Ami is 70. Riccardo Sordi is 68.
And they said their ages were on the older side. They really weren't young.
On top of that, the concept of nationality had vanished now, but these three had original nationalities. Riccardo and Ro were Italian. Ami was Korean.
So....
"Did the borders disappear while the three of you were living your lives?"
My offhand question brought silence.
I panicked under their sharp gazes.
What now?
I really don't remember. I know it's frustrating, but I have no choice but to ask obvious, stupid questions.
An awkward silence stretched on. The three people, whose appearances didn't match their ages, seemed unsure how to respond.
The clean conference room fell into a chilly quiet.
Riccardo was the one who answered.
"There was a war.... A big one, twice."
News to me.
"Borders vanished after the first war.... You really don't remember any of this~?"
"Yes. Nothing.... It's all new to me."
"You're not even from here, are you? Hell, I don't even know if you're human. No, where did you come from? Where the hell did you pop out from all of a sudden!"
Ro waved his hands in the air in frustration as he demanded answers. He seemed annoyed by the absurd situation.
But I was in the same boat, wondering the exact same thing....
I apologized profusely while glancing nervously at Ro.
Ami smacked Ro on the head with her round fist.
"Ow! What?"
"Don't get mad. Think how ridiculous this must be for him."
Ami fixed her round eyes on Ro.
"Imagine waking up with no memories left. You open your eyes in a total stranger's place, and the first thing you hear is them yelling about where you came from. Then they cuff you on impulse. All by people you don't know."
Her gentle words filled me with gratitude and emotion. Maybe because I had nowhere to turn, but her small kindness touched me deeply.
"And the strangers in front of you are you guys!"
"That's too much, Ami.... I've been treating you great the whole time~?"
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean."
Ro replied curtly while digging in his ear with his pinky.
Ami stared blankly at his attitude, then clicked her tongue in disapproval. Ro stuck out his tongue teasingly in response.
What kind of people are they?
Earlier, I'd overheard something about being comrades for 40 years. The guns, the clothes—they seemed likely to be military. Or maybe police, or private security.
And I'd suddenly appeared among them....
Five of them (the two in the back were eerily silent) had me surrounded, and I sat in the middle, defenseless in handcuffs.
I was a mouse in the cat's paw.
I had to watch myself.
The moment I resolved to do so, Ami's phone rang.
"It's Ska on the phone!"
She started to dash out but stopped and took the call right there.
Her clear voice rang through the room.
"Yes, Aide!"
Ami listened briefly, then responded formally.
"Yes. All the portal management members are on it investigating right now."
She fell silent again, listening,
"Yes. We've reported to the hospital and HR too. Yes, yes.... No. HR Director says he's not coming. Yes. Me too."
She responded yes, yes to the faint words on the other end, then hung up soon after.
She pocketed her phone and spun around to face the group.
Everyone except Ro looked at Ami.
"What'd he say~?"
"Send Mr. Hilde to the hospital first."
The round-eyed woman approached me.
"Fingerprints, DNA test, lie detector too, he said. Since you appeared in the portal zone of all places."
If they took my fingerprints and DNA, maybe they'd learn something about me?
A ray of hope straightened my back. I took in Riccardo rising lazily from his seat and Ro, who seemed glued to his phone and had no intention of standing.
The green-eyed man stretched slowly and said,
"Should we send the two rookies home~? No reason to keep them here...."
"Yeah. Just the three of us should be fine. Mr. Hilde doesn't seem like the type to suddenly go berserk."
Of course. I'll behave.
I nodded faintly, and Riccardo smirked.
"You two, head out~."
The tall man glanced at the people behind me.
"We'll handle the rest...."
"Good work, both of you! Go get some rest!"
"Thank you. We'll head out."
"We'll head out."
"What? We get to go home?"
I heard a pair of man and woman bow and leave from behind me, while Ro looked up from his phone with raised eyebrows.
Ami sighed at him.
"You're not."
Then she approached me and smiled brightly.
"Mr. Hilde, shall we go to the hospital?"
"Yes."
I answered readily and stood from the chair.
The clear jingle of chains sounded. With my hands bound, my posture was awkward even standing, but no one seemed inclined to remove them.
Still, thanks for treating me kindly so far.
Having two people leave eased my mind a bit. It felt like they were less wary of me now. As long as I didn't act out, they probably wouldn't harm me first.
That was enough for now.
Once I was fully safe, I'd try to recover my memories.
I gave a faint smile and followed Ami.
***
There were no injuries.
After all sorts of tests while waiting, I didn't think much. The doctor would relay the health check results, and the DNA and fingerprints would go straight to the Aide's phone—the one Ami had spoken to earlier.
So I wouldn't get the DNA or fingerprint results right away.
With that thought, I sat on the purple chair with the others, waiting.
I sat quietly, eavesdropping on the two men and one woman.
Ami to my right swung her legs as she said,
"Yoon Oppa got the call while taking off his shoes at the door and got dragged back. He just arrived at the science division and is getting chewed out."
"Too bad~."
Riccardo, standing in front of Ami, replied in a voice that sounded not sorry at all.
"But we're on overtime too, so.... When an emergency hits, we're all the same~."
"Aren't you hungry?"
Ro to my left muttered while playing a game on his phone.
"Peanut, got anything?"
"Nope. And we ate dinner outside before coming back."
"Oh, that tasteless preserved crap! Doesn't even reach your gut."
"Gut or liver?"
Ami corrected him matter-of-factly, but Ro ignored her.
Instead, he flung his phone aside as "GAME OVER!" flashed and looked at me.
"You got anything?"
I blinked.
Ami and Riccardo gave Ro looks of disbelief. But Ro was unfazed. I stared at the curly-haired man, then rummaged in my pocket with my bound hands.
Empty.
"Sorry. Nothing."
"You not hungry~?"
Riccardo suddenly addressed me.
I looked up at him in surprise.
Long eyes.
"Yes. I'm fine."
I smiled faintly in reply.
"Thanks for asking."
One of his eyebrows arched.
But just as Riccardo was about to respond, someone burst from the door at the end of the hall.
"Hey! What the hell is this!"
A man in a white doctor's coat yelled at us.
Blue eyes, black hair. Unshaven beard, face in his mid-to-late forties.
He looked every bit the exhausted doctor as he glared straight at me and shouted.
"Bring him in right now!"