WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Black Badger ◈
Chapter 15: Center Core (3)
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A week passed quickly.
It was a week marked by sore muscles and getting used to my new home. Other than the tearing muscle pain and training sessions that brought tears to my eyes, nothing much happened.
The workday ended right at six, but by then I had no energy left to do anything. I staggered through dinner, then buried myself in the beanbag and spent my time looking at my phone.
While I was on my phone, I searched for and read articles about Black Badger.
Sleep kept crashing over me, so I could not read for long. Still, I learned a little about the commander-in-chief next door and the organization at his feet.
Commander-in-Chief Lee Ye-hyeon.
Actual age: seventy-eight. Physical age: twenty-five. A war hero who survived two wars. The person who killed a Level 10 creature during the First War.
He rose through the ranks for that achievement and had remained in the position he seized then ever since. Some criticized his unusually long tenure and called him a dictator, but he was said to lead the organization without any major scandals or incidents. Society saw him as something like the face of Black Badger.
Even on a screen, Ye-hyeon looked remarkably fair and elegant. Online, people called him by all kinds of nicknames. A hero in troubled times. Pretty Boy. Vampire.
No matter how much I searched, more articles kept pouring out. Columns saying Badger had taken away ordinary people's right to die peacefully. Criticism that no matter how capable he was, Ye-hyeon was still just a dictator. Urban legends claiming he secretly held the power of Center Core.
Maybe because he was such a controversial figure, private information about him did not turn up easily.
My senior partner had said I could ask if I was curious about anything, but this seemed too sensitive to bring up casually. More than anything, my senior partner seemed personally close with the commander-in-chief, so I could not bring myself to ask.
‘Maybe I should ask Ricardo later?’
It was not like Ricardo seemed likely to give me a warmer answer.
[Black Badger reclaims land after five years. Rare earth supply expected to increase....]
[Ye-hyeon retains Commander-in-Chief position as expected]
[The ageless, immortal Black Badger. Are they truly a necessary evil?]
[Illegal anti-aging procedures on the rise. What is Black Badger's stance?]
[Creature appears in Zone 3, subdued without casualties]
[Black Badger who gave their life to save a three-year-old child dies at age forty-two]
‘That must be exhausting.’
That was the conclusion I reached after six days of monotonous living. Black Badger drew criticism and condemnation, but also people's admiration. As the head of an organization in such a complicated position, Ye-hyeon's life had to be exhausting.
Yoon had not been exaggerating when he said Black Badger's influence was enormous.
My improper hiring.... Maybe calling it an appointment handed down through connections would be more accurate? Either way, I had become a Black Badger employee through an abnormal route, and I was certain no one could find out. I did not think I could handle the fallout if they did.
‘Ye-hyeon would obviously get torn apart by the media. I really need to be careful.’
That was how I spent my time. Day after day, I trained, looked at my phone for a while, and went to sleep.
* * *
It rained.
It had been raining for the last two days.
The sound of rain seeped faintly into the cabin. The air smelled cool and wet.
Nervous about tomorrow's self-introductions, I lay in my beanbag and listened to the rain. How was I supposed to introduce myself when I could not remember anything? I had complained to my senior partner after training today, but Yoon did not look even slightly interested in helping.
It would not suddenly get postponed or anything....
Bang!
A tremendous noise came from the door.
Something had struck the wooden door hard. Startled, I opened it, and rain and wind came pouring in.
Then I saw Ami standing some distance away.
“Ami!”
Rain hit me square in the face as I raised my voice.
“What are you doing?”
“My umbrella flew away!”
Ami shouted as she ran toward the cabin.
Apparently, it had been Ami's umbrella that flew over and struck the cabin door. When I leaned out, I saw the umbrella stuck to the opened door like a suction cup. The wind had plastered it against the other side.
The petite Badger hurried over to the green umbrella.
“My umbrella!”
“I've got it. Come inside! This rain is....”
“Ahh!”
Ami covered her head with both hands and ran into the entryway.
Bang! I pulled the umbrella free and shut the cabin door. The rain, wind, and chill suddenly felt far away. The sound of the rain dropped sharply.
Cool silence returned to the cabin.
Ami clutched her seaweed-like hair in both hands and looked up at me.
“Thanks.”
“You're soaked. Just a second. I'll get you a towel.”
“You're really good at controlling your strength.”
She said something I could not quite understand.
Her round eyes looked straight up at me. Rather than ask a question, I chose to get a dry towel from the bathroom. Ami stretched both arms out and accepted the fluffy towel.
Standing at the front door, she rubbed her hair dry.
“Come inside.”
“No. I'm all wet.”
“That is exactly why you should come in. I'll lend you some clothes.”
“My house is right there, so it's fine.”
That was true, too.
Ye-hyeon, Choi Yoon, and Choi Ami lived in the house across from the cabin. While I had been staying here, Ami had stopped by now and then to ask whether I needed any help.
She really was a kind person.
I brought Ami a jacket.
Ami grinned and looked up at me. When she smiled, she looked incredibly mischievous.
She rubbed the ends of her hair with the towel.
“They say a typhoon is coming.”
“Yes. It has kept raining, and it seems to be getting worse....”
“It isn't a natural typhoon.”
What?
Ami saw my blank face and laughed with a clear, childlike sound.
“It is a climate-altering creature. We were not sure when the typhoon first formed, but headquarters' scientists confirmed it this time. They say it is coming this way.”
“...Creatures like that exist?”
And why was it coming here?
The small kitchen window rattled in the wind. The sound of rain and the shaking window filled the bluish cabin.
“Yeah. There are all kinds of creatures. We use creature as a blanket term for every strange thing that pours out of portals, so they are not very consistent. You remember the ones we ran into before, right? Some look as strange as those, and some look like the butterfly in the eye of this typhoon.”
“A butterfly?”
“Yeah. It looks like a huge butterfly.”
“...How do you catch it?”
“We usually don't. They're difficult to catch, and they don't cause that much damage.”
Next week, I should search for information on creatures. Listening to Ami, I thought about it in the back of my mind. I had planned to research the First War and the Second War, but studying creatures first seemed more important.
Ami folded the towel in half.
“But I think we need to catch this one.”
“Because it's coming here?”
“Yeah.”
Well, the commander-in-chief lived right across the street. They could not just leave a creature heading this way alone.
I took the folded towel from Ami. I refused when she said she would wash and return it.
Ami stared at me as I placed the wet towel on top of the shoe cabinet.
“Have you ever accidentally broken something in your house?”
What kind of question was that?
Startled, I looked down at my senior.
“Um.... No.”
“That is impressive. Controlling your strength is really not easy.”
Ami pointed at the door I had just shut with a Bang!
“People often fail to control their strength when they're in a hurry, like you were just now. Not only new recruits. Even Badgers with five years of experience do it sometimes. It takes ten years after receiving an Enhanced Body transplant before you almost never make mistakes.”
“Really? I've never made a point of thinking about it....”
“Right. My brother said so.”
Yoon?
I felt my eyes widen. They had to. During the past week, Yoon had not given me any other evaluation.
Other than scolding me endlessly about shooting.
Ami smiled.
“He said you definitely have a properly enhanced body, but you don't make mistakes controlling your strength. He said you handle it as naturally as if you had lived in that body for twenty years.”
“Thank you. That is a compliment, right?”
“It is a good thing! Though Yoon probably just stated an objective fact.”
True. He was not the sort of person to offer praise.
As I reflected on the week I had spent with my senior partner, Ami's voice rose from below me.
“Isn't that really strange?”
What was? Me?
Rattle, rattle, rattle! A loud noise stole our attention. The window shook violently. Beneath the fierce rain, I could faintly hear an engine.
Ami's face brightened.
“Ye-hyeon is back!”
The commander-in-chief?
“Maybe he came back from his business trip! He said he would attend your self-introduction if he could.”
Please kill me.
Why would the highest-ranking person in the organization want to watch its lowest-ranked rookie introduce himself? Someone this famous? Someone who, according to Ami, was so busy that even the people living with him rarely got to see his face?
Ami took hold of the doorknob and looked up at me.
“Thank you for catching my umbrella and giving me a towel. I should go now.”
“Ah, yes! Get home safely. It's raining, too....”
“It is right in front of us. When you open the door, rain will blow in again, so go farther inside.”
“No, I should greet the commander-in-chief, too.”
I reached past Ami's shoulder and took hold of the knob.
Ami thanked me and gripped her green umbrella. I opened the door as she spread it open.
The outside air rushed in. Rain poured into the entryway. The smell of wind, and visibility outside the cabin restricted by the pouring rain.
A luxurious black car stood in front of the house across from mine.
“Ye-hyeon!”
Ami ran toward the man in the black suit getting out of the car.
“Is your business trip over?”
Ye-hyeon opened a black umbrella.
The fair-skinned man smiled when he saw Ami running toward him. Still smiling gently, he said something to her. I missed my chance to greet him and simply watched the two of them.
He looks exactly like he did on the screen.
It was good that I had learned so much about him, but the more I learned, the more uncomfortable I felt....
Ye-hyeon met my eyes.
He smiled at me as well. His long, large eyes creased. I dipped my head in a hurried greeting. The rain was too loud for him to hear me anyway.
Ye-hyeon gestured for me to close the door.
As I nodded and shut it, I understood the words Ye-hyeon mouthed.
‘See you tomorrow.’
Wow. I felt like the pressure was going to make dinner come right back up.
* * *
After watching Hilde enter the cabin, Ye-hyeon and Ami turned away.
Once the front door closed, the rain sounded distant.
Ye-hyeon folded his umbrella, leaned it beside the shoe cabinet, and took off his shoes. Ami folded her green umbrella as well, then removed her soaking wet shoes.
As the two lingered at the entrance, Yoon came walking out from inside.
“You're back.”
“Yeah.”
Ye-hyeon answered easily and smiled at Yoon.
Then he rested a hand lightly on Ami's shoulder.
“Ami, go wash up first.”
“I'll use the bathroom on the second floor, so it's fine!”
“Why are you so wet?”
“My umbrella flew away in the typhoon.”
At Ami's calm answer, Yoon gave an incredulous snort.
Ami casually ignored her older brother's blunt attitude. She took off her rain-soaked socks and stepped barefoot into the living room. Looking at her wet socks, she furrowed her brow and made a small Ugh sound.
Beside her, Ye-hyeon shook raindrops from his shoulders.
Yoon's gaze shifted to Ye-hyeon.
“Weren't you supposed to be back tomorrow?”
“I was. But tomorrow is the day Hilde is formally introduced, so I came back a day early.”
“For that?”
Yoon raised one eyebrow.
Ye-hyeon took off his black jacket and smiled faintly.
“Among other reasons. The business trip ended early, too.... How is Hilde? Your first junior partner.”
“The first human to come out of a portal.”
Yoon's answer was cold.
Ami looked up at Yoon, holding her wet socks. Her round black eyes followed her blood relative's dry gaze.
Ye-hyeon watched Yoon with an unreadable expression before speaking.
“That is not wrong. But before that, I would like to hear your objective assessment.”
“If properly trained, he definitely has the potential to become better than the average Badger. He clearly has talent for physical activity. His focus is useful, and he is not easily frightened. He has perseverance, too.”
“That is nothing but praise.”
Ami, who had been looking at her brother without expression, relaxed her face.
She beamed as if she had received the praise herself.
“That is great! I was worried that such a kind kid might not be able to adjust!”
“How do you know he's kind? How long have you even known him?”
“He is kind.”
When Yoon pointed that out dryly, Ye-hyeon declared it softly but firmly.
With a long, pale hand, he loosened his navy tie.
“Yoon. Hilde is kind by nature, so be good to him even if he doesn't suit your tastes. You do like kind people well enough, after all.”
“We need to know what he's like first. Just look at this typhoon.”
Yoon shoved one hand into his pocket and rolled his eyes. His dry gaze flickered to the window for a moment before returning.
Natural silence settled over the room before Yoon spoke.
“He is drawing creatures in.”
The man's low voice echoed through the calm, spacious house.
“It is strange that you know all this and still act as if it's nothing.”
Ye-hyeon met Yoon's gaze without a word.
Rain struck the windows. It showed no sign of letting up. Silence settled in the sleek house, filled with a bleak chill. A silence born while waiting for a superior's answer.
Ye-hyeon, who had watched Yoon with an unreadable face, lowered his eyelids.
The commander-in-chief broke the silence in a husky voice.
“I may regret my choice later.”
The siblings remained silent at the murmur that was almost a monologue.
After staring at the floor with a thoughtful expression, Ye-hyeon looked up.
The man closed his eyes, wearing a gentler expression than when he sat in public office.
“I'm sleepy. I only slept three hours yesterday.”
“Go wash up and sleep. Give me your clothes and tie. Ami, you go wash up, too.”
“Okay.”
The three dispersed. The two who had come in from outside headed for the bathrooms, while Yoon entered a room with Ye-hyeon's clothes draped over his arm.
Having lived with Ye-hyeon for so long, they knew that ignorance could sometimes be a blessing. They also knew that Ye-hyeon had his own reasons for not explaining things. If they pushed to hear it, they would not get the answer they wanted. They might learn the truth and get dragged into troublesome matters.
The siblings swallowed their rising doubts.
* * *
D-Day.
I came to the auditorium for my self-introduction.
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