WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Black Badger ◈
Chapter 41: Expulsion Order (1)
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An article?
An article? A newspaper article? A news report? My jaw dropped as I stared blankly at the doctor.
Why was there an article about me?
Because of that chairman? He did say he was famous.
It felt as though my organs had dropped straight down.
My meeting with Ye-hyeon and my first encounter with Yoon flashed through my mind. What would happen if they found out I was a nepotism hire? It would not end with Ye-hyeon resigning.
How much had the article revealed?
Perhaps Samuel Han pitied me for trembling so badly, because he clicked his tongue repeatedly.
With his rough hands, he held out a tablet. It did not look like a work-issued one. It seemed to be his personal tablet.
My eyes widened as I looked down at the article filling the screen.
An article with two familiar people splashed across it in huge letters.
[“Big bro never let go of us, not even for a moment.”]
I wanted to die.
Luke, what the hell did you do?
I trembled as I read the article, which was so full of praise it made my limbs go cold.
It was nothing but praise. It said that despite being with the chairman of Cureus Corporation, I had put the two children’s lives first. That I had run out with them, then gone back down to save the chairman. That I had ultimately gotten everyone out safely.
The final paragraph said that I “appeared to be a rookie Black Badger agent.”
There was a huge photograph of me accepting an oxygen mask from a firefighter.
There was even a picture of me unconscious.
I stared at the tablet for a long time, speechless.
“Fortunately, the article itself is favorable, but it was published this prominently, so it’ll become a nuisance for you too.”
Samuel scratched the back of his head.
“You’re a new face to the public, there’s a feel-good story they love attached to you, and you’re good-looking. Things will be noisy for a while.”
“It’ll die down after some time, right?”
“I don’t know. You also...”
The doctor looked at me uneasily.
I waited for him to continue, one hand tucked into my gown pocket.
He only spoke after a nurse called to him from across the room.
“Anyway, I’m leaving. Hit the nurse call if anything happens.”
Judging by his reaction, not everyone had responded positively.
The comments were probably the problem. There were no filters there, no matter the topic. After hesitating, I scrolled down to the comments.
I deliberately sought out the bad ones.
Right, it was a bit much when I had only done my job as a Badger. It would have been best if I could have saved all three at once.... They were all perfectly reasonable criticisms....
Ah.
The moment I read one comment, my finger stopped scrolling.
「Where did this one come from?」
When did Black Badger recruit someone new? When did he join? Where is he from? Why is there no record of him receiving compulsory education, never mind attending university?
My heart tightened at the pointed questions. As I rapidly scrolled down, I found several more comments raising similar points.
Thankfully, those comments had not drawn much attention. Replies even asked why people were digging into someone else’s private life.
What would happen if this became a bigger issue?
In a panic, I searched the internet. I went through all sorts of sites and communities, checking the responses to the article.
Fortunately, where I had come from was not a major topic. A few people were curious, but everyone was more interested in the collapsed tower, the sudden increase in creature appearances, the Cureus chairman evacuating late, my face, and so on.
A silver lining.
But would things really quiet down here?
Uneasy over a question with no answer, I took out my phone.
It was full of unread messages. Two worried classmates. Ami, telling me to contact her when I woke up. Ro, sharing the article and cackling. A caller with a restricted number, who had sent, “You’ve debuted, huh?”
And Commander-in-Chief Lee Ye-hyeon.
Lee Ye-hyeon?
His personal number?
It had to be his personal number.
It was not.
I stared for a long time at the terrifying message from the official number I had only saved as Commander-in-Chief.
Then, summoning tremendous courage, I opened the message.
[We will watch how things develop before deciding, but if anyone unknown approaches you, report it immediately. No assignments inside the Core for the time being.]
The message from my superior was dry. Even so, my heart sank.
I needed to go to Yoon.
I shoved my phone into the pocket of my hospital gown and got up.
I needed to report to my senior partner.
“Hey! Where are you going?!”
Samuel, who had returned, shouted when he saw me carefully pulling out the IV needle.
“Sit still!”
“I’m sorry, Doctor.”
I jumped down from the bed and apologized to the furious doctor.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Hey!”
What do you mean, right back, and what are you sorry for? If you’re leaving like that, don’t bother coming back! The doctor looked ready to throw the tablet at me.
Feeling sorry, I rushed out of the hospital room.
* * *
Yoon was at his desk.
A man seated neatly amid the bustling space. Keeping my eyes fixed on him, I quickly crossed the crowded room.
As I passed through the lab, people spoke to me from all directions.
“Oh, it’s Taleb.”
The curious researchers poked their heads out to look at me.
“Looks like you’re awake.”
“I’m glad you seem healthy.”
“Huh? You’re in a hospital gown?”
“Taleb! I saw the article! You worked hard!”
“Big bro never let go of us! Not for even one moment!”
“How’s the Cureus Corporation chairman? Is he really as rude as the rumors say?”
I could not respond to everything, so I only raised my voice to greet them.
“Thank you for your concern! Ah, the Cureus Corporation chairman is exactly like the rumors say!”
“Wow!”
“What are you doing?”
A low voice cut through the researchers’ cheers for some reason.
I stopped in front of my senior partner, whose gaze was utterly dry as he stared at me.
Only then did all five senses fully awaken. My vision became clearer. The sounds of the lab came through distinctly. The sound of the AI Martin moving along the ceiling tickled my ears.
Taking in the flood of sensations, I abruptly reported to the expressionless man.
“I checked the article as soon as I woke up.”
“So it seems. What do you need?”
“The Commander-in-Chief sent me a message, so I came here.”
As expected, Yoon straightened up.
Before he could say anything, I immediately pulled my phone from my pocket and held it out.
“Here it is.”
Without a word, Yoon took my phone.
He looked down at the screen with an unreadable expression. Whenever I stood before Yoon, I felt an inexplicable pressure, and I waited for his reaction.
While waiting, I looked around the lab. It was always such a strange place that it was worth looking at.
Wait, there was someone familiar sitting beside Yoon.
I noticed John Mueln, who was staring intently at a laptop at the desk. His clear blue eyes were fixed on the screen.
Just seeing his profile brought back my old nightmares.
Still, he had helped me inside the tower. If we had not run into each other, I might have pretended to forget, but with him right in front of me, I could not simply avoid greeting him.
After hesitating, I walked over and stood beside Mueln’s chair.
Then I bowed to the man concentrating so intensely.
“Hello, sir. Thank you for helping me back then.”
“....”
No response.
He did not even turn to look at me.
Was he upset because I had said what I needed to say and left that time?
“Sir.”
“....”
“Sir?”
“No use.”
I turned my head and met Yoon’s gaze.
Yoon tilted his chin toward the colleague using the desk beside him.
“He probably can’t even hear your voice right now.”
“What?”
“When he gets absorbed in something, he can’t see anything else. He’s focused on the new research topic I gave him last time, so he’s probably forgotten you even exist.”
Was he really a lunatic?
He was crazier than I had thought. I stared in disbelief at the researcher who seemed unaware that I was even beside him.
Was that why he had asked who I was back then?
“I’m not upset or anything,” I muttered, “but he saved me in his phone as Test Subject 0.”
Yoon let out a small laugh. He stretched out his hand and took John Mueln’s phone, which had been sitting neatly on the desk.
Yoon casually operated Mueln’s phone.
“He saved you as Test Subject 0?”
“Yes. Apparently.”
“That’s fucking hilarious. He must like you a lot. Anyway, you’re being expelled from the Core for the time being. Got it. Anything else? Probably not.”
“I do have something else.”
Yoon, who had been smirking as he fiddled with Mueln’s phone, raised his head.
His eyes widened as he looked at me.
“You do?”
“Yes. The Commander-in-Chief told me to report it immediately if anyone unknown approached me, so I wanted to tell you.”
“Has someone approached you? Who? A reporter?”
“No, strictly speaking, I don’t even know who it is. But they keep sending me messages that make no sense.”
I took my phone back from Yoon’s desk and showed him the strange messages I had received so far. Starting with the messages from the unknown number, up to the one from today saying, “You’ve debuted, huh?”
I was looking at the screen as I explained, so I did not see my senior partner’s reaction.
I only realized how serious it was after Yoon shot to his feet.
“We’re going upstairs.”
Yoon gave the order in a cold voice.
“Bring your phone and follow me.”
I obediently did as he said.
* * *
The top brass did not return to the office until after ten at night.
Yoon and I, who had been waiting in the small reception room beside the office, stood up at the same time.
The people we had waited over four hours for stepped out of the open elevator. Ye-hyeon. Ska Owen. And a man I had never seen before.
All three men widened their eyes when they saw me.
“Yoon. You made Hilde wait in a hospital gown?”
At Ye-hyeon’s surprised voice, I understood why the top brass had all widened their eyes.
I became terribly embarrassed. I should have changed first instead of losing my head.
Of course, the man standing beside me was shameless, since he was not the one wearing a hospital gown.
“The outfit isn’t important.”
“You should have given him time to get changed. He’s a patient who hasn’t even fully recovered yet.”
“Tate, prepare some clothes for Hilde to change into.”
Ska leaned out and spoke to the secretary.
While I awkwardly thanked them, Ye-hyeon and the unfamiliar man went into the office. They passed us, taking off their coats. Yoon and I quietly waited for them to finish getting ready.
The night air marked the end of a long day.
Only after I changed into the clothes the secretary had prepared did the conversation begin.
“Hilde.”
Ye-hyeon called my name in a neutral voice.
“Have you ever replied to this person’s messages?”
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