I was dragged into the infirmary before I could collect my thoughts.

The three who had been watching me followed behind the doctor. A wide room opened before us — white, bright, with a desk and several chairs set up for visitors.

The spotless air smelled faintly of cool wind.

The man who had burst out earlier walked quickly to the desk and sat down. He gestured for the rest of us to take seats.

“Samuel? Did something go wrong?”

The others settled into scattered chairs. The only one who didn’t sit was Ami; she stepped closer to me, asking the man in the white coat.

The man they called Samuel waved his hand.

“It’s tricky to explain. It’s not a health problem. Other than his stomach being completely empty right now.”

“If it’s not a health problem, what kind of problem could it be?”

Ami’s eyes widened as she shot back.

“He just had a medical checkup, right? If something came up on the checkup, that means there’s a health problem.”

Reasonable enough.

But strangely, the doctor shook his head.

“First get him something to eat.”

He spoke gruffly, eyes fixed on the screen.

“I’ll explain while showing you the images. Be ready to put a call in to Yehyeon.”

“To the Commander~?”

“You’ll be shocked when you see it too.”

What now.

What’s the problem now. Terrified, I listened to the exchange. It was already confusing enough waking up in an unknown place with my memories gone — now there was another problem?

Everyone except Ro had their faces harden.

My stomach dropped cold.

The rolling sound of a mouse wheel turning seemed deafening. The doctor told us to wait while he searched something on the computer.

I bit my lip, tense.

Whatever the problem was, if it was serious — what would happen to me?

Sweat dampened my clenched fist.

At the same time, Ami spoke.

“Hilde.”

I jumped and turned.

“Yes?”

“What do you like?”

Do you remember? What you liked? She looked at me with round eyes. In her hand was a phone screen full of food pictures.

I stared blankly between the screen and Ami.

“Ah... I don’t really remember. I’m sorry...”

“It’s fine.”

She answered lightly, tilting her head as she studied my face.

“You don’t look well.”

“Of course he doesn’t. If they’re saying there’s a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) serious health problem, how could he feel fine?”

“I told you, it’s not a health problem.”

The doctor sighed heavily at Ro’s nonsense.

Judging by Ami and Ricardo not reacting, it seemed Ro was often like this. I gave a strained smile watching him raise his eyebrows as if to say, You’re in a hospital and he’s a doctor, so what else could it mean?

Seriously. What did any of this mean?

“Then I’ll just order a hamburger,” Ami said casually. I nodded slowly, watching her tap away at her phone.

“Look at this.”

The doctor’s voice made me turn.

“You can read this graph, right?”

He pointed at a hologram screen.

What’s that supposed to be. I blinked stupidly at the new display. Clear charts and numbers with explanations I couldn’t understand.

I couldn’t read it.

But the others apparently could.

Their voices rose.

“Wait—this is Hilde’s?”

“Huh?”

“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Reactions split.

The hologram showed the image of an adult body, covered in graphs. Strange terms and figures I couldn’t decipher no matter how many times I blinked.

At least Ro looked as confused as me.

But Ricardo and Ami couldn’t hide their shock. They stared at the graphs in silence.

A heavy silence full of confusion fell over the infirmary.

The doctor explained.

“He’s an enhanced body holder like you.”

“I’ll go report to the Commander~.”

“What? Hey, don’t joke like that!”

Ricardo got up and walked out. Ro shouted.

“I’ve never seen a Badger like this! And the war’s been over for years, there’s no way an unregistered Black Badger exists! I might be dumb, but I know that much!”

“That’s exactly why this is a big deal. And lower your damn voice! This is a hospital!”

“Unbelievable.”

Ami muttered wide-eyed.

I turned to her, dumb and lost, as she stared at the hologram.

Ignoring Ro and the doctor’s bickering, she added clearly:

“Looks like the Personnel Director has to come back for overtime.”

Black Badger?

What was that supposed to be. And what did it mean that I had an enhanced body. I had barely woken up hours ago, and now another incomprehensible word.

And this time, it didn’t look like things would smooth over.

So I stayed quiet, keeping my head down among the excited voices.

In this place of strangers, silence was my only way to protect myself.

The white infirmary. Strangers, startled and shouting. Unfamiliar smells, unfamiliar space. Strange names and strange terms.

Suddenly, I was starving and exhausted.

I just wanted to forget it all and fall asleep.

***

Ricardo returned with hamburgers.

His green eyes softened, but tension leaked from him anyway. He opened the door holding a bag of burgers.

“Hilde,” he called warmly.

I looked back.

He was no longer in that ominous black combat uniform — yes, it must have been a combat uniform — but instead wore a clean shirt and trousers.

The glasses on his face suited him startlingly well.

He smiled faintly as he walked inside.

“Burgers.... Sorry for the wait~?”

“No, thank you so much.”

“Hey. He really is an enhanced body.”

I politely accepted the bag with my finally freed hands, while Ro swung his leg from the chair.

Ricardo peered down at him through the lenses.

“Yeah~?”

“Yeah. I arm-wrestled him myself.”

And lost decisively.

Ami had uncuffed me earlier and suggested a match with Ro. Of course I hadn’t expected to win — Ro’s sturdy, well-trained build made that obvious.

I lost completely.

But Ami and the doctor hadn’t cared about the outcome. They seemed focused instead on the fact that even after arm-wrestling Ro, my muscles weren’t damaged.

Ricardo seemed to think the same.

His green eyes swept over my arm.

“Well now. Things just keep getting stranger....”

“That peanut-head went off to report somewhere. No idea what he’s reporting, though.”

“Obviously~. It’s an unprecedented emergency.”

Ricardo’s voice carried a trace of humor.

I peeked up at him while unwrapping the burger. Was it okay to eat here? I was starving since coming into the infirmary.

Sensing my hesitation, Ricardo added smoothly:

“Eat here. That’s why I brought it.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“You don’t look well.”

He watched me unwrap the burger.

“Is it because everyone’s tense over the enhanced body thing, making calls left and right? Don’t worry too much~. Even if it becomes a problem, the ones in trouble will be our higher-ups, not you....”

“Uh... I’d really rather not cause problems for anyone.”

“Understandable. If the leadership covers it well, you won’t. And it’s not like the outside world knows you exist yet~.”

He smiled, pulling a wheeled chair closer with his foot.

Sitting, he waved for me to eat.

“Go on. You must be hungry.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head and bit in.

Juice, sauce, and crisp lettuce burst in my mouth. My eyes widened at the taste. Delicious. Odd — in the fragments of memory I had, hamburgers had never tasted like this.

The wrapper showed no brand I recognized.

Still, I would eat gratefully. I had already caused these people plenty of trouble by showing up, yet they still treated me kindly.

Ricardo’s smile deepened.

“How much did Samuel Han explain~?”

So his full name was Samuel Han.

I swallowed.

“Not much detail... only that the enhancement was perfectly integrated, and that I had no physical issues.”

“That sounds like him~. Always sticking to medical facts. If it’s outside his specialty, he won’t say a word~.”

“What’s the harm in telling him?”

Ro, gaming on his phone, cut in. He raised thick brows at us.

“Can’t you just explain Black Badger and enhanced bodies? Right?”

“Well... yes. Explaining it would probably help both Hilde and us~.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it.”

I asked politely, lifting a fry. New questions had only piled up as new situations kept hitting me.

I wanted to know about enhanced bodies and Black Badger.

Ricardo studied me, then chuckled.

“With those eyes, I can’t refuse~....”

Thank you.

“Simply put, you’re like a handgun with no serial number~.”

Clear enough.

“Enhanced body holders are treated like living weapons. That’s why, when someone receives an enhancement, their personal information gets entered into the database, and they stay under HQ’s constant control. But you — you’re not registered, and we didn’t even know you existed. That’s the problem~. Not to mention you suddenly popped out of a Portal Zone. Imagine a missile we didn’t even know existed suddenly appearing in restricted airspace — that’s the comparison~.”

“I see.”

I roughly understood.

My body didn’t feel any different, but now I could see why everyone panicked at my exam results. A handgun wouldn’t get reported straight to the Commander. More like a missile.

Anyway—

“Why would I have an enhanced body?”

The lack of memories gnawed at me.

My foolish question made Ricardo laugh softly.

“Who knows~. How did you end up with one? I can’t even guess....”

“Maybe you had some illegal surgery? And the aftereffects wiped your memories clean.”

“Ro... illegal surgery could never be this flawless~. If it were, he wouldn’t even be standing here talking right now....”

“Whoa!”

The conversation broke off.

Bang! The infirmary door slammed open. I jolted in my seat.

It was Ami — wide black eyes shining. She had just gone out saying she had to call someone named Yun.

What?

Ricardo and Ro both lifted their brows.

A sudden silence fell. We stared at each other, frozen, like someone had pressed pause.

Then Ami spoke.

“Mr. Ju came back for overtime.”

Thud!

Ro dropped his phone to the floor.

“He even got home, then turned back!”

“Holy shit!”

Ro shot up, knocking over his chair.

The mood shifted instantly. Even Ricardo, who was hard to rattle, asked, “The Personnel Director~?” Ami nodded furiously to both him and Ro’s “You serious? For real?”

Then she darted madly around the infirmary in excitement.

At last she turned back to me, still dumbfounded.

“It’s thanks to you, Hilde!” she exclaimed joyfully.

Ro whistled.

“Man, live long enough and you see everything.”

The curly-haired man clapped me hard on the back.

“Good job. Neither Yehyeon nor his predecessor could pull this off, but you did. You’re the only one who’s ever dragged Ju back after clocking out.”

His words brimmed with genuine delight.

Even Ricardo chuckled.

I only sat there, watching their reactions like an idiot. I didn’t really understand. Whoever this was, it was apparently urgent enough to make him come back from home — but was it really something to celebrate?

I didn’t say what came to mind.

Instead, hamburger still in hand, I sat quietly with an awkward smile, waiting for Ro and Ami to calm down.

And wondering — who exactly was this Personnel Director, Ju?

I wanted to meet him as soon as possible.