Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Return and Change (2)
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Jin Silver had gone missing.
People said they had combed through the subway like it was theirs to tear apart. Even after I was carted off to the hospital, they had returned to the subway multiple times.
They found everything I had seen. The tunnel Jin had dug. The lettuce, romaine, and chicks he had raised.
But there was no trace of Jin Silver.
Ami comforted me.
"It's not your fault."
Ricardo told me to quit with the self-indulgent thoughts.
"You think it's your fault~?"
But that's easier said than done. I tried not to show the sinking feeling in my gut or the wave of shame washing over me.
Strangely, it wasn't an unfamiliar emotion. The shame of brazenly surviving alone amid hardship.
My seniors probably knew this feeling all too well.
The worst part was the shame.
Ami and Lee Ho tried hard to console me before leaving. Even Richard Green said something reassuring before he went. That the situation wouldn't have changed much even without me. That he'd ask questions once I recovered.
So, he wasn't going to let it slide.
Anyway, the three of them left, leaving Ricardo and Yoon behind. I thought Ricardo would leave with them too.
The green-eyed man rested his chin on his hand and gazed down at me quietly.
Then he smiled.
...Why are you smiling so ominously?
"Hilde..."
"Yes?"
As I answered, Ricardo's smile widened.
It's ominous. I had a bad feeling about this.
The senior looked down at me trembling in fear and broke the silence.
"Your next mission mentor is me~..."
Pardon?
I blinked my eyes open and shut, and Ricardo's smile deepened.
He laughed at my dumbfounded expression.
"Get better soon.... I'm counting the days~..."
"...What exactly?"
"Hm~?"
"The mission? Or me."
Eyes narrowing into slits.
Ricardo spoke slowly, his eyes crinkling like crescent moons.
"It's been years since you started eating rice. You think missions excite you now?"
Oh god.
He elegantly announced he was going to work me like a dog. I watched, mouth agape in terror, as the man stood up like he had said his piece.
He left the room leisurely, still smiling.
How can you drop a bomb like that and leave so cheerfully?
Why am I doing my next mission with that guy? My master was standing right there beside me.
Yoon hadn't left.
Only after Ricardo exited the room did he turn his gaze to me.
"Hey."
"Yes."
"I've got a few things to tell you."
"Then I'll hear the bad news first."
Yoon looked at me expressionlessly.
"There's only bad news."
Why?
Jin Silver's disappearance was already more bad news than I could handle.
I stared at the man standing beside me with weary, sullen eyes.
The guy wearing a shirt ironed to obsessive perfection.
He stretched out his right leg and lazily dragged over a tripod stool to sit.
Then, true to form, he got straight to the point.
"First news: Jae-yeon knew right away that you returned to the Core. Know how many days you slept?"
"No. One day?"
"Two."
"How did he find out? It's only been two days."
"That's just how he is."
Yoon spoke calmly, his voice evenly laced with hatred.
I tried once more to recall Jae-yeon but failed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember him. With Kyle, his face came to mind the moment I heard the name.
Handsome features and hair black as ebony. Confident eyes. A voice that captivated the masses.
I needed to ask Ye-hyeon about so many things.
Yoon said,
"Do you know how I found out?"
"Pardon? No."
"A cabin is being built."
I didn't understand.
I silently stared at my master's neat features. His dry, cold eyes, which had been fixed on some point in space, rolled over.
"Your cabin."
"My cabin?"
"The one in front of our house."
"The one in front of the Commander's house?"
"Yeah."
"That one was destroyed, wasn't it?"
"Jae-yeon is building you a new one."
What?
I stayed silent in shock. There were too many questions; I didn't know where to start.
Yoon didn't speak until I broke the silence, as if he found it bothersome to start.
I barely gathered my thoughts.
"You're saying a new cabin is under construction right across from the Commander's house right now?"
"Yeah."
"How do you know it's Jae-yeon's doing?"
"He left a message himself."
Yoon pulled out his phone from his pocket and held it out to me.
I looked at the single photo on the screen. The site ravaged by the climate-shift creature. The place I had sadly gazed at from inside the Lamborghini.
Now it was filled with construction equipment and workers, and in the corner of the work site stood a wooden sign.
The sign bore a message.
In red, smeared like crushed lipstick.
[Hildebert Talib Return Celebration Gift♡]
What the hell.
A heart? Seriously?
"It's actually being built under your name."
"No, what the.... Is this even possible without my consent?"
"Aren't you perceptive? This guy's above most laws."
I became aware of the locator device implanted under the skin of my finger.
I recalled the conversation in the Command Staff's office. Ye-hyeon had said it in a heavy voice back then.
Once you leave this office, there are ears everywhere.
I was perceptive enough to grasp the implication. The ageless body and superior regeneration considered Black Badger's privilege. Who wouldn't want that?
I stared at the photo on Yoon's phone for a long time.
"What should I do when it's finished?"
"You'll have to discuss it with Ye-hyeon. I'll let you know once it's decided, so just keep it in mind."
"Yes. This isn't the end of the bad news, is it?"
"Nope."
My master, who seemed congenitally incapable of sympathy, answered flatly.
I quietly handed the phone back to its owner and braced myself for the next piece of news. I had grown somewhat accustomed to the world crashing down on me like this.
Until my memories returned, I'd keep getting swept along like this. Even if I'd learned a lot, there was still so much more to learn, and in the midst of it, my forgotten past was frighteningly chasing me down.
I steeled myself and asked for the next news.
"You've been invited to Porden's salon."
Who's Porden?
Yoon answered at my expression.
"The chairman of Cureus Company you rescued."
"Oh, that building owner?"
"Yeah."
My master frowned ever so slightly.
"I'm going, along with Choi Ami and Ye-hyeon."
"Do I have to go too?"
Why invite me there? I heard Yoon was the adopted son of some big corporation chairman. Ami was Yoon's blood sister, so probably adopted with him. Ye-hyeon was a famous figure who dominated a generation.
But unlike those three with their social prestige, I was just an ordinary badger. There was no reason to invite me.
Especially since he probably thought I abandoned him?
Yoon sighed.
"It's better for your personal safety if you go."
"Ah, that serious?"
"It's a salon for a select few. I'm not saying go network and succeed, but if you don't, Porden might get petty, and your life will get complicated. Got it?"
"Yes. What a dirty, petty jerk. Why invite me in the first place?"
"You'll know for sure once you go."
My master let out a second sigh.
Then he spat out a curse as naturally as breathing.
"Gonna have to see those dog-faced bastards again."
"...You don't like them?"
"Yeah. The whole family's coming."
Yoon rolled his cold, irritated eyes and grumbled.
"The Etak chairman's family will be out in full force. If it weren't for Ye-hyeon and Ami's request, I wouldn't go."
He didn't get along well with his adoptive family, it seemed.
I didn't have the guts to pry further. I listened carefully as Yoon relayed the salon date, location, and such afterward. Unfortunately, the salon was in two weeks. Since I expected to be discharged within the week, I couldn't use my injuries as an excuse to skip.
Beyond that, my master efficiently conveyed a lot of information. Dress code, where to buy clothes, keywords to search online.
And what I needed to do going forward.
Short-term, it was getting discharge approval from Samuel.
Yoon told me to contact him once I accomplished that. He wouldn't disturb me while I recovered.
My master, who had delivered the words dryly, slowly stood up.
Seeing him about to leave, I urgently leaned my upper body forward.
"Yoon."
"What?"
There was something I needed to tell him.
Medical staff bustling in the hallway.
Amid the now-familiar population density, even as we talked, fragments of memory kept surfacing unbidden. A cool breeze brushing my hair. The underground air seeping into my lungs.
The sound of a train on the tracks.
Someone who had abruptly stood up, sensing something. Striding away, then turning back with a smile. Words spoken with that smile.
The explosion.
I sifted through the memories and opened my mouth.
"Do you have the HR Director's number?"
Yoon's brow furrowed.
Why did my master dislike the HR Director so much?
Even as he gave me the number, Yoon's furrowed expression didn't relax. I thanked him and saved the number while stealing glances at his face.
Grumpy expression.
"Why do you hate the HR Director so much?"
I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked.
Yoon's brow furrowed even more.
"Why do you need the HR Director's number?"
"I have something to tell him."
He was dodging the answer, which was suspicious.
But my master ultimately didn't answer. He left the hospital after telling me not to do anything stupid.
Too bad. I'll find out someday.
As I texted the HR Director, I resolved to ask the right person.
Would Ami or Ye-hyeon answer if I asked?
I wasn't sure if I'd have the courage.
Anyway, I made an appointment to meet the HR Director.
***
Kang Joo visited the hospital room the next evening.
I had just been moved to a private room. I felt ready for discharge, but Samuel was throwing a fit (Are you the doctor? If you're gonna act like this, you do the surgery and checkups!), so I was killing time in the quiet room.
Heshy and Tom were out of the Core, and my seniors said they wouldn't disturb me and stayed away. I had been endlessly searching online about Porden and Etak on my phone.
That's when Joo arrived.
Still looking like flowers might bloom in the background.
"Hilde, good work."
He approached lightly and sat in the chair by the bed.
"How's your condition?"
"Very good. I think I could discharge now."
"Really? That's a relief."
Joo, smiling brightly in casual clothes.
I eyed his outfit curiously.
Gray crewneck?
Why wear a gray crewneck to the company?
As I puzzled over his attire for a moment, I remembered it was 7:30 PM.
Right, he gets off at 4.
Poor Commander....
I briefly offered a silent prayer for Ye-hyeon. After finishing, I met eyes with the beaming Joo.
A man with a soft, kind impression. In casual clothes, he really looked like a college student.
I once heard from a subordinate who never lost his pace around his boss.
"HR Director."
"Yeah, speak."
"Did you hear about Jin Silver?"
A trace of bitterness flickered in Joo's eyes.