WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Black Badger ◈
Chapter 28: Stage 10 (2)
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I zoomed in on the video, and the moment I saw it clearly, I knew one of them was not human.
Two bright yellow pupils gave off an eerie glow. Their whites were burned black. Something like dark waves rippled around its body, and blood flowed from the spearhead lodged in its back.
Its skin seemed to be burning black. In its blackened hand, it held a long spear fitted with sharp blades.
Ye-hyeon stood opposite it, empty-handed.
He wore the black hood of his combat suit pulled low. His face, half-hidden in shadow, looked pale and exhausted.
Hadn’t they said he used a sword?
Narrowing my eyes as I stared at the screen, I spotted a huge sword hanging at his waist.
But he did not draw it.
Instead, an earring glowed beneath his hood.
“No.”
The earring changed shape, like Ricardo’s snake-shaped ring.
The silver earring melted and dripped over the ruins. The fallen silver liquid became sharp spikes that covered the area. Some flowed down Ye-hyeon’s arm and became a silver gun.
Watching Ye-hyeon grip the gun, I muttered in stunned confusion.
“Didn’t he use a sword?”
“Actually, Ye-hyeon uses form-changing weapons, like Rick.”
Ami explained while looking up at me with round eyes.
“Ye-hyeon is the best Badger at using form-changing weapons. That was the only time he wore a sword.”
My eyes widened.
The battle began in the blink of an eye.
Silver spikes raced over the blood-soaked ruins toward the creature. The creature swung its bladed spear wide.
Kwoooom!
A shockwave erupted along the spear’s path.
The ground was gouged away, and debris flew backward. The debris caught in the spear’s path crumbled away without a trace.
At the same time, the silver spiked weapon changed into a solid wall. But even the silver wall shattered under the shockwave.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets flew through the collapsing silver wall. I could not even see them, but the creature with two eyes swung its spear and deflected every shot.
Another heavy impact tore through the air.
It struck Ye-hyeon as he ran forward. Blood sprayed in a straight line. A sound escaped me, but Ye-hyeon did not stop. He closed the distance.
A small opening created by the swing of the spear.
The man slipped into that opening and stopped.
Ye-hyeon drew his sword in a flawless stance.
[Got it!]
I jumped at Tvein’s voice suddenly bursting out.
[Hey, stab it!]
The huge blade reflected the sunlight.
At that moment, I saw the creature freeze. Having noticed the human who had slipped inside its reach, the creature lowered its gaze to drive its spear into him, then abruptly stopped its arm.
It was in the perfect position to kill Ye-hyeon by piercing his head with the spear.
A moment of hesitation.
Ye-hyeon’s sword pierced that hesitation.
Thunk.
The sword plunged into the creature’s chest.
Too late, the creature’s spear pierced Ye-hyeon’s back. Red blood burst from his body.
Meanwhile, the creature’s body turned black and crumbled apart. The wind wore away the disintegrating being.
The sword lodged in its body fell to the ground.
Ye-hyeon, who had been leaning on the sword, collapsed too.
Thud.
His body hit the ground.
The video ended there.
I stared blankly at the phone screen.
Standing in the quiet hallway, I had forgotten how to move. The video clung to the backs of my eyelids and would not disappear. That flawless draw. That brief moment of hesitation before the sword pierced through.
If the creature had not hesitated, the outcome might have been different.
“Whoa.”
Ami pulled the phone close to herself and opened her mouth wide.
“Hilde, are you crying?”
“Ah....”
I touched my damp face.
Even through my blurred vision, I could see Ami’s eyes widening. I slowly wiped away the tears streaming down my face.
Ami rushed toward me in alarm.
“Why are you crying, Hilde? What’s wrong?”
I wondered that too.
I kept wiping away my tears, but they would not stop. I did not know what this rush of emotion was.
It was definitely sadness, but what part of it was sad? Why was it so unbearably sad?
I tried to remember the reason, but once again, I failed.
After struggling for a while, I gave up resisting the emotion.
Overcome by the rising sadness, I forgot to wipe away my tears and stood there for a long time.
* * *
I lifted my heavy eyelids.
When I opened my swollen eyes, I saw Room 304. Nothing in the room had changed since that morning. Ami sat in the chair beside my bed.
I blinked, then slowly raised my upper body.
Ami, who had been looking down at her phone, suddenly lifted her head.
“Hilde!”
Ami looked at me with wide eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Looking at my senior’s wide eyes, I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck.
“I’m sorry. I suddenly lost it....”
“No.”
Ami answered firmly, then tilted her head as she looked at me.
Her dark eyes, filled with worry, carefully scanned my face.
“Have you calmed down a little now?”
“Yeah.”
“Your eyes are so puffy.”
She spoke with eyes that seemed to hold all the worries in the world.
“Do you remember falling asleep while crying?”
“No. I honestly don’t remember much after a certain point.”
“Do you know why you cried?”
I closed and opened my heavy eyes.
The contents of the video came back vividly. At the same time, the sadness piercing my chest returned. But I still did not know why that sadness had risen up.
Trying not to burst into tears again, I shook my head.
Ami furrowed her brows and silently studied my face.
Silence settled over us. Sunlight poured into the room in the early afternoon. It seemed not much time had passed. It was still light outside.
Ami, who had been standing quietly beside the bed, patted my shoulder.
I quietly accepted the warmth of that touch.
Until someone opened the door after knocking.
“What are you doing?”
A low, rough voice broke the silence.
“Choi Ami?”
Yoon strode into the room. Ami quickly turned her head and looked up at her older brother. Yoon stopped beside her, raised one eyebrow, and met his younger sister’s eyes.
Yoon shoved both hands into his pockets.
“Why are you in Hilde’s room?”
“Hilde kept crying, so I brought him here and put him to bed.”
Ami spoke clearly.
“He cried like crazy after watching that video.”
“What video?”
Instead of answering, Ami held out her phone.
Yoon bent his head to look at the screen, then blinked slowly once. Judging from his expression, he was puzzled. It was not a video with anything in it worth crying over.
The man stared at the screen for a moment, then slowly raised his head.
“Why did you cry after watching this?”
“I’d like to know that too.”
“You don’t know why you cried?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“He really cried his eyes out without making a sound. There must be a reason, but he probably can’t remember it. Don’t act like that toward a kid with amnesia, Oppa.”
“No, even if his memories are gone, it still doesn’t make any sense.”
Yoon made a reasonable point.
Was it my imagination, or was there a trace of irritation in his voice?
No. It was not my imagination. He scanned the room, then reached out and picked up a sharp pen.
“Why would he bawl over Ye-hyeon’s video?”
“Oppa!”
My senior partner was the sort of person who could turn even an ordinary pen into a weapon.
My sadness vanished in an instant, replaced by a sense of danger. Fortunately, Ami smacked Yoon’s arm, which was pointing the pen at me.
Smack!
“Don’t!”
“Ah.”
“I’m telling Ye-hyeon!”
She swiftly took the pen from Yoon’s hand.
Then she began tapping Yoon’s hand with the confiscated pen.
Tap tap.
“I’m telling Ye-hyeon that you’re harassing your mentee for absolutely no reason!”
Tap tap tap tap tap tap!
The pen sped up.
Yoon sighed.
The situation ended when the man let out a resigned sigh and pressed down on the top of Ami’s head. Having watched the entire exchange in fear, I let out a sigh of relief too. Only after she was sure Yoon would not harass me did Ami leave. She apologized to me before going.
“Sorry. My brother gets especially sensitive when it comes to Ye-hyeon. Please understand.”
The room became quiet again.
Yoon gestured for me to get out of bed.
I immediately sprang up.
“We’re going to the Medical wing.”
He informed me of this next.
I obediently nodded.
* * *
The hospital was connected to the Research wing.
Yoon said he had to stop by the Research wing briefly, so he took me there first. There was still time before my appointment, anyway.
The Research wing was crowded today too.
People in research gowns. People in shabby hoodies. A few employees dressed neatly in shirts. Yoon walked among them without hesitation.
I watched people quickly clear a path for Yoon, then almost ran into my senior partner when he suddenly stopped.
Yoon turned his head slightly and looked at me.
“My desk.”
Standing before an automatic door with a fingerprint scanner, he spoke in a cool voice.
“It’s in here. If you need me in the future, come here.”
“Whoa.”
I let out a genuinely surprised sound because I had not expected him to tell me where his desk was.
As always, Yoon lightly ignored my reaction.
“I have something to get, so wait in front of my desk for a moment.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Don’t touch anything.”
Yoon placed his finger on the scanner.
“If possible, don’t even sit in the chair.”
I would not want to sit even if you told me to.
Ding!
The fingerprint was recognized.
Whirr.
The automatic door opened.
My view immediately widened.
“Don’t interrupt! Don’t interrupt!”
“Don’t pull that cord. My computer will crash!”
“What does this cord have to do with your computer?”
“It’s the hub!”
“Where can I find that report from last time? It was excellent.”
Sound poured out.
The moment the door opened, all kinds of sensations flooded over me. My mouth fell open at the sight before me. Since this was where my senior partner’s desk was, I had naturally expected it to be obsessively neat and quiet. But what I saw was nothing like I imagined.
A wide space. Countless desks decorated with bizarre plants. Oddly colored liquids and machines of unknown design. Researchers in all kinds of clothing seated before chaotic desks.
It was chaos.
Yoon calmly walked into that magnificent chaos.
“Wait out here.”
He walked through the laboratory, then stopped before the most obsessively tidy-looking desk. It was not empty, though.
“Don’t touch anything.”
“Ah, yes.”
I nodded as I looked down at the sleek silver-gray desk.
“So this is your desk. I’ll wait quietly. See you shortly.”
Yoon left without a word.
He strode deep into the chaotic laboratory and disappeared from sight. I watched him vanish, then turned my head.
Yoon worked here? In a place this hectic?
It did not suit him.
He seemed like the sort of person who would work in a private room. The sort who would furrow his brows if even that room was not made of smooth marble.
I looked around in disbelief.
A large monitor. Binders. A keyboard. An ashtray. A desk that looked noticeably wider than the others. Another desk was attached to the right side of his.
The desk beside his was as large as Yoon’s. Unlike Yoon’s neat desk, though, it was half-covered by an enormous amount of paperwork.
And a gray-haired man like an old tree stood at the desk, reading documents.
He was incredibly thin. Thin, incredibly tall, and pale from never seeing sunlight....
Thud.
The man suddenly fell backward.
I stared in stunned disbelief as the gray-haired man fell straight back like an old tree.
“What the....”
What was that?
“Wh, why all of a sudden....”
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