WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Black Badger ◈

Chapter 71: A New Turn (1)

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The ambulance arrived quickly.

It pushed its nose through the wall Yoon had brought down. A familiar face jumped out of the stopped ambulance.

Ska strode inside carrying an emergency stretcher.

“You look better than usual.”

That was the first thing he said when he saw Ye-hyeon.

Yoon nodded silently. My senior partner glanced over my treated wound, then rose and walked over to Ska.

Ska sighed, turned, and looked at me.

Seeing the wound on my shoulder, he frowned.

“Hey, that must really hurt.”

“Yes. A little.”

I answered honestly.

Maybe my lack of hesitation amused him, because Ska gave a small laugh.

“Wait a bit. I’ll give you a painkiller soon.”

Yoon and Ska moved very quickly.

The two of them loaded Ye-hyeon onto the stretcher and carried him to the ambulance. I shakily got to my feet and walked over as well. The vehicle stood amid dusty debris. I could see the seniors finishing Ye-hyeon’s emergency treatment, putting in an IV and applying gauze.

As I stepped forward, Ska hurried over and took my uninjured arm to support me.

I sat in a narrow seat with his help. Ricardo and Ami were inside the ambulance too.

“Hey, you....”

Ricardo let out an empty smile at the sight of me.

“Can’t you even come back from a social gathering in one piece?”

“I know, right? The world just won’t leave me alone.”

I accepted the painkiller from Ska.

I had wondered who would drive, but Ami was in the driver’s seat. It seemed Ami and Ricardo had stayed in the ambulance because nothing good would come from meeting Jaeyeon. Seeing Jaeyeon’s face could not possibly be good for either of them.

The ambulance set off at once.

It sped through the city under bluish darkness. Exhausted, I leaned against the ambulance wall. I needed time to think through all the things I had just remembered.

Thankfully, no one disturbed me as I sat there blankly for a while. Yoon steadily checked Ye-hyeon’s vital signs, Ami drove, and Ricardo and Ska spent the time with their legs crossed or arms folded, eyes closed.

The silence broke when my phone rang.

My phone vibrated inside my ruined jacket.

That bastard Colton.

With everyone looking at me, I answered with my good hand.

“You bastard.”

I started by swearing at him.

“Thanks so much for helping me, you bastard.”

[You’re welcome.]

Colton replied smoothly through the phone.

It sounded as though Colton was riding back in a car. I could hear the low hum of an engine and the sound of a glass being set down.

The thought of Colton drinking expensive liquor while working in a luxury car irritated me.

Ignoring everyone’s stares, I snapped at him.

“Is that any way to treat a friend you’ve had for decades the moment you see him?”

[Your skills appear to have dulled.]

I really wanted to kill him.

I closed my eyes and swallowed my anger.

“Why was I friends with you again?”

[Do you think you were such a devoted friend?]

I heard paper rustling through the phone. Colton was obviously reading documents and answering me absentmindedly.

The air carried the scent of approaching midnight. In Colton’s usual elegant tone, Colton added,

[You seem to have forgotten the time you rammed a rival’s truck into the car I was riding in.]

...Did I do that?

I fell silent for a moment. With my lips pressed into a line, I thought back to a time when my past self watched Colton and the others struggle for influence. Back when I had not fallen out with Kyle and could leisurely drink an Americano at a peaceful outdoor cafe.

Ah, I remembered.

“Now that you mention it, I did do that.”

[You’re as shameless as ever.]

Colton was not even surprised.

Colton did not give me time to get more irritated or protest. Just as I was about to complain that this crossed the line no matter what, Colton cut me off sharply with, [I’m busy, so I’ll hang up now.]

Then Colton hung up on me.

What a precious friend.

I threw my phone onto the seat in annoyance.

“...Was that Falcon just now?”

Ska’s stunned voice broke the silence that returned to the ambulance.

I had never seen Ska this surprised. The man who was always relaxed and bold looked at me as though he could not believe what had just happened.

Yoon was also staring at me with an incredulous expression. Ricardo narrowed his eyes and examined me.

Come to think of it, they must have heard everything. It was so quiet that they had probably heard everything Colton said through the phone too.

I smiled awkwardly.

“Yes. You all heard that, didn’t you? Sorry.”

“Friends?”

Ska asked again in disbelief.

“You’re friends with Falcon?”

“Well.... Not ordinary friends, exactly. Strictly speaking, we were more like people who saw each other often out of necessity.... That sounds strange when I put it that way.”

“It looks like you remembered a few things.”

Yoon had not asked many questions at the social gathering, but now he looked at me with his arms folded.

Leaning against the bed where Ye-hyeon lay, my senior partner asked,

“How old are you?”

I did not remember that either.

When I answered honestly, Yoon looked displeased but said nothing else. I gave another awkward smile as I endured everyone’s stares.

Ska and Ricardo stared at me, speechless and dumbfounded. Ami focused on driving, while Yoon checked Ye-hyeon’s vital signs before turning his attention back to me.

“You got injected with something, didn’t you?”

It seemed he had seen the syringe lying on the ruined floor.

When I nodded silently, Ricardo and Ska frowned.

“How do you feel?”

“Other than nausea, I’m fine.”

“Still, get examined as soon as we arrive. We ran a basic test using your blood just now, but a basic test can’t tell us everything.”

When did they take my blood?

Ska frowned at my stunned expression and unfolded his arms.

“What do you mean, injected? You mean someone gave you some kind of drug?”

“Yes. But I’m fine. I don’t think it was anything serious.”

“A doctor has to decide whether you’re fine or not....”

Ricardo, who had remained silent until now, muttered fiercely.

“Do you have no concept of taking care of your own body?”

Scary.

Frightened, I apologized first. The air in the ambulance froze in an instant. But Ska and Ami, who was driving, immediately threw in a remark each, and the tense mood quickly eased.

It had eased, but my heart had already shrunk.

I needed to be careful.... Just as I had thought at first, Ricardo was not someone easy to deal with.

Ami and Ska asked more questions about my condition. A brief exchange about my health followed. When that unproductive conversation ended, silence returned to the ambulance.

White noise pounded at my ears.

Ever since Jaeyeon had injected me with something, my five senses had become excessively sharp. My sensitive ears picked up everything. The wheels running over the road, the engine, medicine dripping from the IV. None of it was filtered out, and I quickly grew tired.

Still, it let me notice the change in someone’s breathing.

Ye-hyeon had woken up.

Too ashamed to look at him, I lowered my gaze to the ambulance floor.

“I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten caught up in this trouble.”

Everyone lost in their own thoughts looked at me as I broke the silence.

I had not said it expecting an answer. Other than Yoon, no one seemed to know Ye-hyeon had woken up.

But Ye-hyeon answered. My superior, who had just woken up, let out a stifled laugh. Ricardo and Ska sharply turned their heads.

“I was greedy, so I took you under my command.”

“Keep it short.”

Yoon gruffly scolded him, but my superior ignored him.

“And Jaeyeon has always hated me. It’s not your fault.”

“I was out of it and tied up, so you probably couldn’t resist.”

“Less than usual.”

Ye-hyeon slowly opened his eyes.

Yoon furrowed his brow but added nothing. I watched Ye-hyeon stare blankly at the ambulance ceiling, a faint smile on his lips.

“For the price of taking in someone Falcon had his eye on, this is very light.”

Satisfaction colored my superior’s voice.

“Hilde, you must be really stubborn.”

You will keep becoming someone’s ace card.

What my old frenemy had said came back to me. Another thing Colton had once said rang in my ears as well. You are the ace card of my victory. Colton was not someone who spoke carelessly. There had been a reason he had looked down at me in the meeting and said that.

It meant Colton had learned that I belonged to Ye-hyeon now.

Colton was not the sort of person with a foolish belief like, If it can’t be done, make it happen. Colton had a talent for distinguishing the impossible from the possible. Since Colton knew me well, Colton must have known that I would never go under him. Colton must have realized it the moment we reunited at the social gathering.

That was why Colton had angrily sent Jaeyeon after Ye-hyeon and me.

In any case, Colton had ultimately accepted reality. Perhaps Colton had calculated that I would not pose a threat to him even under Ye-hyeon, and that being under Ye-hyeon would be better than going under another Elder.

Thinking of the two Elders who had shown interest in me, I smiled faintly.

“I might not turn out to be such a useful talent. I still don’t remember a lot, after all.”

“It’s fine.”

Ye-hyeon spoke in a hoarse voice.

“You’re doing well enough already.”

“Am I? Thank you, even if it’s only words.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry.”

“Stop talking now.”

Yoon gave the order calmly.

That was the signal for the conversation to end.

In the silence that followed, I sank into my thoughts.

Colton, my longtime frenemy. Kyle, an even older connection who had now become an enemy. Ye-hyeon, who had hidden my existence before officially registering me with Black Badger. Jaeyeon, who hated me because I had given enhanced bodies to humans. The two Elders who had shown interest in me, and their right-hand operatives.

Ye-hyeon’s father, who had been one of those right-hand operatives....

Ah.

I remembered.

His name was Lee Seung-hyeon.

A soldier selected from Korea.

* * *

It seemed I had blacked out while sitting in the ambulance.

I had thought I was fine, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a hospital room ceiling. As my vision sharpened, I blinked several times.

How many times had this happened now?

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Doctor Samuel Han leaned his head in.

The senses that had shown no sign of dulling since I was injected made me aware of someone standing beside the bed. The doctor looked down at me and clicked his tongue.

“Let’s stop seeing each other so often.”

“Sorry.”

I really did come here too often.

Ignoring the stabbing headache, I took in my surroundings. Since I could not hear much noise, it seemed I had been admitted to a hospital room. When had I passed out?

I really thought I was fine.

Was Ye-hyeon all right?

After staring blankly at the ceiling, I sat up.

“Look at you, unable to stay lying down.”

Samuel clicked his tongue as he watched me slowly raise my upper body.

“Don’t put strength into your right arm, you punk. Not if you want to heal quickly.”

“Yes. But did you get the pound cake last time?”

“Pound cake?”

The doctor looked like he had never heard of it.

“What pound cake?”

“I brought it to give you last time.... So much happened that I couldn’t give it to you.”

I had thrown it aside in the corridor while running after Peter, then forgotten all about it.

It had probably been thrown away already. I should buy him something better.

I opened my eyes halfway and felt around for my phone. The doctor, standing at the foot of the bed, strode over.

He picked up the phone from the table and held it out to me.

“Forget it. Just stay put and get discharged, brat. Don’t bring me anything.”

“I’ll bring something as soon as I’m discharged. What do you like?”

“I said don’t bring anything.”

“Do you prefer raisins or green tea? If you don’t like sweets, I’ll bring something other than dessert. That way, whenever I need to rely on you in the future, I can at least feel a little more confident...”

“Damn it, this kid hurt his head, so I can’t even smack him.”

Samuel looked like being unable to hit me over the head with his tablet was his greatest regret.

I smiled as I looked at the doctor holding the tablet. He had not changed. His patchily shaved face, black hair, blue eyes where exhaustion showed but intelligence could not be hidden.

The doctor, who sometimes smelled faintly of sharp tobacco, sighed at my cheerful smile.

“Contact people already.”

He tilted his chin toward the phone in my hand.

“You kept getting messages. You can’t use your right hand, so call them instead of texting.”

I obediently did as he said.

I turned on my phone with my left hand and checked the messages that had piled up. Messages from Ami, Ska, and Ricardo. Oh! It looked like Hessi and Tom had returned. There was nothing from Yoon, nor from Ye-hyeon.

And who was this?

A message from an unfamiliar number, not a blocked caller ID.

Before opening any of the other messages, I opened that one first.

Then I read a message from someone I had never expected.

[Hi, Taleb. It’s Shu Diamond. Once you’re discharged, would you like to visit the game shop in the slums with me and Senior Walker?]

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