Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Master (1)
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People didn’t give me a detailed explanation.
Having gotten hired in an instant, I ended up spending one more day crashing in the lounge.
“Sleep there just until today, and starting tomorrow, you’ll be under your master… you know, Yoon’s guidance, where your residence and all that will get sorted out.”
Joo grinned widely.
And then, with an innocent brightness, he added some ominous words.
“Enjoy your last day of leisure.”
My last day of leisure?
The color drained even further from my face, but Joo didn’t explain. Ska and Ami, Ricardo, even Ye-hyeon—they all just looked at me with pitying eyes.
Why is everyone making those faces? I’m just about to take my first step—give me some encouraging looks, at least.
Anyway, the interview was over.
And Ye-hyeon bought me a phone.
I waved my hands in refusal, but he ignored it. The Supreme Commander had dipped into his own pocket to get me a cell phone, which felt terribly burdensome.
“It’ll be delivered to the lounge around dinner time.”
That’s what he said, then added,
“I’ll give you my personal number.”
Ah. So the bad feeling continues, huh?
“If you’re worried about Yoon, don’t hesitate—just call me right away.”
At this point, I started rethinking scrapping the Enhanced Body.
Had I made a terribly wrong choice?
But it was too late to back out now. I hoped the spreading unease was just my imagination.
I barely pulled myself together and nodded.
As Ska gave Ye-hyeon a report about the media, I took that as my cue to leave the office.
I wandered back to my room in a bit of a daze. Ami came trotting after me as I staggered down the hallway.
“Hilde! You’ve got to snap out of it!”
She widened her eyes and clenched her fists.
“I’ll give you my number too, so if Oppa does anything wrong, tell me without holding back!”
Her clear voice only thickened my ominous premonition. The sprouting worries grew like bamboo shoots, making me forget to look around. Ricardo’s words, delivered with a grin, became fertilizer for those worry shoots.
“You lucky guy~… I don’t even have the Commander’s personal number…. Almost no one knows his second number~.”
Heh heh heh.
Ami made a strange point: “Rick, even if Ye-hyeon gave you his number, you’d say no.” I didn’t quite get what that meant. But one thing was clear—the Supreme Commander wouldn’t give out his personal number without reason….
No.
I desperately spun my hopeful thoughts.
Ami turned out fine, so her real brother couldn’t be completely insane. And from what I’d heard, they were on really close terms. Ye-hyeon was a good person by everyone’s account, so the Yoon he associated with probably wasn’t the worst.
My hopeful thoughts were on the verge of burning away.
Still, I slept peacefully. The bedding was soft and clean, as always. It was a shame I wouldn’t be sleeping here starting tomorrow.
But what about my house?
I drifted off into sleep with a small worry. I had no money yet. If they told me to leave right away, I’d have nowhere to go.
Could I get an advance on my salary? With those thoughts, I fell into dreamless sleep.
***
When I woke up, there was a message. From someone I didn’t know.
More precisely, from someone whose name I knew.
「Research Building 2nd floor, Cafe Senabi. 3 PM.」
That was it.
No unnecessary info. No long-winded greetings like “nice to meet you” or “this is who I am.” I could hear my fragile hopeful thoughts crumbling.
I stared at the text for a while, my mind in turmoil.
I’m going to lose it.
No, still…. The HR Director said he never misjudges people.
Anyway, I had nothing until 3. I fiddled with my phone until it was time to head out. I replied to Ye-hyeon’s text (It’s my number. Text me anytime you need, no need to hesitate.), and to the ones from Ricardo, Ska, and Ami.
They’d each sent messages fitting their personalities.
[Survive, rookie~. Hit me up when you’re hungry.]
[Take care, Hilde. Feel free to contact me anytime if anything tough comes up.]
[Hilde! Contact! (Flapping baby bird)]
I smiled faintly at the emoticon Ami had added.
Then, right on time, I headed to the Research Building.
Finding it wasn’t hard. Once I left the main building where I’d been staying, the view opened up wide. Walking right from there, the Research Building came into view.
The sky was high, cloudless weather.
I tried to memorize the unfamiliar grounds while facing the cool breeze.
People in various outfits brushed past me. The open grounds were so clean it was hard to believe creatures had appeared here just days ago.
It’ll take a while just to learn the layout.
I arrived at the Research Building around 2:45. Unlike the main building, there were hardly any people in suits.
The cafe was full of folks in casual clothes.
I ordered an iced Americano and grabbed a seat in the corner. The later it got, the faster my heart pounded.
Please, just let him be someone I can talk to.
Someone who’ll let it slide if I rub my hands together briskly!
Thud.
A plastic cup hit the table, and someone sat down across from me.
“Hildebert?”
I snapped my head up at the low, flat voice.
I faced a plainly handsome face.
“Hildebert Talib, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
He’s really handsome.
I stared blankly at the man across from me. Choi Yoon was a cold-looking beauty. A crisp sky-blue shirt and white lab coat. Black hair and dry eyes. He evoked something inorganic.
Leaning back in his chair, he met my eyes with a gaze devoid of warmth.
The coldest eyes of anyone I’d met so far.
It felt like I shouldn’t crawl all over him casually.
I instinctively shrank back.
“I’m Hildebert Talib, the new guy who just joined. Feel free to call me Hilde…. Please take care of me.”
“You don’t know my name?”
“Yes. Senior Yoon….”
“Just call me Yoon.”
A flat response came back.
I nodded, meeting his unblinking gaze.
“Got it.”
The talk about people here calling each other by name wasn’t an exaggeration.
Yoon reached out and picked up his coffee cup. Every movement was like a dry person’s.
The man took a lazy sip of his coffee and finally spoke.
“I heard the rough situation yesterday. You still don’t remember anything?”
“Yes. Sorry. No useful memories come up at all….”
“Useless ones do?”
I nodded politely.
“I do get fragments. Like madeleines and lemon juice on a windowsill. Or looking at the night view from a rooftop.”
“When do those come up?”
“Not sure, but…. They seem to surface in similar situations, like echoes of past experiences.”
“No trouble using stuff like phones?”
“No. Mostly not.”
I didn’t know why he was asking, but Yoon seemed satisfied with the answer. He nodded and shoved his hand into his lab coat pocket.
Then he fell silent, as if organizing his thoughts.
As silence settled over the table, the cafe’s noises wrapped around us. People chatting, plastic cups clinking on tables—it all flooded in.
I sat there tensely, waiting for him to break the silence.
The man lifted his lowered eyelids.
“Got the gist. Let’s handle the annoying stuff first, then. You’re broke right now, right? No place to stay either?”
“Yes.”
Truly nothing. Except what my kind seniors had given me.
“Let’s sort out your residence first. Normally, rookies get dorm rooms suited for adapting to the Enhanced Body and live there until they can control their strength. But you’re already adapted, so no need to stay there. We’ll record you as having stayed in the dorm for a bit to avoid issues during audits.”
Huh? If there’s a dorm, I’d like to live there.
Before I could voice it, he continued.
“So pick one. Black Badger company housing here, or the cabin in front of my place until you find your own house.”
“The cabin?”
My eyes widened.
A master’s front-yard cabin—what kind of option is that?
Does it mean live there? Is it better than company housing? Or live there and pay him rent?
As I sat confused, Yoon added an explanation.
“It’s mine, but I’ve got no use for it, so it’s been sitting empty. Wanted to demolish it but too lazy, kept putting it off. I find it more convenient the closer you are, so stay there till you get a place—it’ll make things easier all around. I occasionally have someone clean it, so it should be decent.”
“Ah.”
I didn’t fully get it yet, but roughly.
“Then, could I take that cabin?”
On installments…. Partial payments… salary advance…. I floated the idea cautiously.
I didn’t want to miss this chance. I was already anxious about having no place to live, and here was a perfectly timed unwanted empty house. No idea the price, but please don’t demolish it—sell it to me.
The dorm seemed okay too, but no guarantee I could stay forever.
At my words, Yoon’s eyebrow twitched subtly.
“…Sure. Could sell it. Or hell, take it if you want. But it’s not a house for a lifetime. Not dirty, but as a cabin, it’s not sturdy.”
“Did you just say I could have it?”
I must’ve misheard. Things don’t go this smoothly.
My eagerness must’ve shown, because Yoon crossed his arms and said coolly,
“Yeah. But I added something important after. Not for long-term living.”
“I’m desperate enough to live anywhere with a roof to keep out the rain and a toilet.”
“It’ll collapse in an earthquake or hurricane.”
“I’ll dodge somehow when it happens.”
“Heating won’t work well. Soundproofing’s crap too. Well…. Not my problem, anyway.”
“Exactly. That’s on me. I’ll figure it out.”
I agreed vigorously.
I couldn’t understand how an unused cabin was a headache.
But I pretended to agree fiercely. Senior, this is win-win! Dump your headache cabin on me, and let me enjoy whatever convenience you’re hinting at!
Yoon bounced off my desperate gaze without a flicker.
“You always this personality?”
What’s my personality like?
Wanted to ask, but I was the desperate one, so I held back.
I flashed a smile utterly free of malice.
“What’s my personality like? If you don’t like it, I’ll fix it. And as you know, I was in a state where I didn’t even remember my face….”
“Never mind. Oh, just thought of another downside to the cabin.”
What is it?
Frankly, extra downsides to such a sweet deal would be weirder.
Yoon ignored my gaze that said I’d overcome any flaw.
“I live with Ye-hyeon and Ami. So if you take the cabin, your top boss at work becomes your neighbor.”
Oh. Right.
Definitely a concern. Sure, Ye-hyeon’s a good guy. Short as our meeting was, I could tell.
But he was my top boss, so I couldn’t chat casually. Bumping into him out front after work wouldn’t be relaxing.
But if the cabin’s free?
Even paying big might bring those inconveniences, so if it’s free and I just endure that?
Amid the unbelievable luck rolling my way and realizing my master looked way more normal than expected, I smiled in relief.
“I’ll overcome that handicap somehow.”
Yoon watched me steadily, arms crossed.
The man maintained his blank expression as I grinned for a while, then finally let out a strange sigh.
“Fine, then. Cabin’s yours. Move in tonight or whatever.”
“Yes! Thank you so much! I’ll repay this kindness somehow!”
“I did warn you.”
As I debated jumping up and banging my head on the table in thanks, Yoon added firmly.
He stared blankly at me, barely containing my beaming face.
“Not a house for long-term. Don’t blame me later.”
Blame you? I’m on my knees thanking whatever gods for landing me a master like you.