Jin Silver had disappeared.

They said people had scoured the subway as if combing through every inch. Even after I was carried off to the hospital, they went back down there several times.

They found everything I had seen. The tunnels Jin had dug. The lettuce, the romaine, the chicks he had raised.

But there was no trace of Jin Silver.

Ami comforted me.

“It’s not your fault.”

Ricardo told me to drop my self-absorbed thoughts.

“How could that be your fault~?”

But saying it is easy. I tried not to let the sinking in my chest or the shame flooding me show.

Strangely, it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. The shame of being shamelessly the only one to survive through hardship.

The seniors must know this feeling well too.

The worst was the shame.

Ami and Leeho tried their best to console me before leaving. Even Richard Green said something meant to comfort me before he left. That things would not have been much different even if I had not been there. That he would ask his questions once I recovered.

So he means he won’t just let it slide.

Anyway, the three of them left, and Ricardo and Yun remained. I thought Ricardo would follow them out too, but he did not.

The green-eyed man propped his chin on his hand and looked down at me in silence.

Then he smiled.

...Why are you smiling so ominously?

“Hilde....”

“Yes?”

At my answer, Ricardo’s smile widened.

Ominous. I had a bad feeling.

The senior looked down at me trembling in fear and broke the silence.

“Your next mission supervisor is me~....”

What?

I blinked rapidly. Ricardo’s smile only deepened.

He looked at me in a daze and laughed.

“Get well soon.... I’m waiting eagerly....”

“...For what?”

“Hmm–?”

“For the mission? Or for me.”

His eyes curved into slits.

Ricardo, crescent-eyed, spoke slowly.

“After all these years, do you really think it’s the mission I’m looking forward °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° to?”

Good god.

He had just said, in the most elegant way, that he was going to work me like a dog. I stared, mouth open in dread, as the man stood, as if he had said all he needed to say.

He left the hospital room with a light laugh, as though he hadn’t just dropped a bomb.

How could he just walk away so breezily after throwing that at me?

Why am I doing the next mission with him? I already have a mentor standing right next to me.

Yun did not leave.

He only turned his gaze on me after Ricardo had gone.

“Hey.”

“Yes, sir.”

“There are a few things you need to hear.”

“Then I’ll hear the bad news first.”

Expressionless, Yun looked at me.

“There’s only bad news.”

Oh, why.

Jin Silver’s disappearance alone was already bad enough.

I stared at the man beside me with tired, sullen eyes.

He wore a compulsively crisp, pressed shirt.

He stretched his right leg out and lazily dragged a three-legged chair over to sit down.

And, true to himself, he got straight to the point.

“First news: Jaeyeon found out right away that you were back inside the Core. Do you know how long you were asleep?”

“No. A day?”

“Two.”

“How did he find out? It’s only been two days.”

“That’s just the kind of bastard he is.”

Yun’s voice was calm, but soaked in evenly spread hatred.

I tried again to recall Jaeyeon but failed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring him to mind. Kyle had come back instantly, face and all, the moment I heard his name.

Handsome features, hair black as ebony. Eyes brimming with confidence. A voice that commanded the crowd.

I needed to ask Yehyeon a lot.

Yun said:

“Do you know how I know this?”

“What? No.”

“A cabin is being built.”

I didn’t understand.

I stared silently at my mentor’s neat features. His eyes, dry and cold, had been fixed somewhere in the air until they rolled toward me.

“Your cabin.”

“My cabin?”

“The one in front of our house.”

“The one in front of Commander’s house?”

“Yeah.”

“But that one was destroyed, wasn’t it?”

“Jaeyeon is building you a new one.”

What did you say?

I stayed speechless, too many questions piling up to know where to start.

Yun didn’t bother to speak until I broke the silence.

I barely managed to gather my thoughts.

“So you’re saying right now, across from Commander’s house, a cabin is being rebuilt?”

“Mm.”

“And how do you know it’s Jaeyeon?”

“He left a message himself.”

Yun pulled out his phone and held it out to me.

On the screen was a photo. A place ravaged by climate-variant creatures. The same place I had looked out at mournfully from inside a Lamborghini.

Now it was filled with construction equipment and workers. And in a corner of the site stood a wooden signboard.

On it, a message was scrawled in red, like smeared lipstick.

[Welcome home gift for Hildebert Taleb♡]

What the hell.

What’s with the heart?

“There’s really a building going up under your name.”

“What the... can this even happen without my consent?”

“You’re not clueless, are you? That guy is above most of the law.”

I became conscious of the tracker implanted beneath the skin of my finger.

The words Yehyeon had spoken back in the executives’ office came back to me. That once you stepped out, there were ears everywhere.

I was sharp enough to understand the meaning underneath. Who wouldn’t want the Black Badgers’ supposed privileges — the ageless bodies and uncanny recovery?

I stared for a long time at the photo on Yun’s phone.

“What do I do once it’s finished?”

“You’ll have to think it over with Yehyeon. Once a decision is made, I’ll let you know. For now, just be aware.”

“Yes. That’s not the end of the bad news, is it?”

“Mm.”

My mentor, who was incapable of innate sympathy, answered flatly.

I quietly returned the phone to its owner and braced myself for the next update. I had become somewhat accustomed to the world rushing at me in waves.

Until my memories returned, I would keep being swept along like this. Even with all I’d learned, there was still so much more to learn, and in the meantime, the past I’d lost was chasing me down like a beast.

Steeling myself, I asked for the next news.

“You’ve been invited to Foden’s social gathering.”

Who is Foden?

I asked with my face, and Yun answered.

“The president of Cureus Corporation you rescued.”

“Oh, the building owner?”

“Yeah.”

Then my mentor’s brow furrowed slightly.

“I’m going, Choi Ami is going, and so is Yehyeon.”

“And I have to go too?”

Why invite me there? Yun was rumored to be the adopted son of some conglomerate chairman. Ami, being his sister, must have been adopted with him. Yehyeon was a celebrity, someone who had defined a generation.

But me? I was just an ordinary Badger. There was no reason at all to invite me.

Besides, the man must think I abandoned him.

Yun sighed.

“It’ll be better for you if you go.”

“Oh, that serious?”

“It’s an exclusive social club. Nobody’s saying you need to network and climb, but if you refuse and Foden takes it petty, your life will get troublesome. Understand?”

“Yes. This is filthy and pathetic. Why would he even call me in the first place?”

“That you’ll only know for sure if you go.”

Yun let out another sigh.

Then, as naturally as breathing, he cursed.

“Damn bastards’ faces again.”

“...Are there people you dislike there.”

“Yeah. The whole family will show up.”

With cold eyes clouded by annoyance, Yun grumbled.

“The Aitek family will be out in full force. If it weren’t for Yehyeon and Ami, I wouldn’t go.”

So things weren’t great with the family that adopted him.

I didn’t have the guts to press further. I just listened carefully as Yun gave me the date and location of the social gathering. Unfortunately, it was scheduled two weeks later. By then I’d be discharged, so I couldn’t even use my injuries as an excuse.

He efficiently passed along other details too — the dress code, where to buy clothes, what keywords to search online.

And what I had to do next.

In the short term, get Samuel’s permission to be discharged.

Yun told me to contact him after that was done. He wouldn’t disturb me while I recovered.

Delivering his words in a flat voice, my mentor slowly rose to his feet.

As he was about to leave, I leaned forward urgently.

“Yun.”

“What?”

There was something I had to say. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

In the hallway, medical staff bustled by.

In the crowded space that already felt familiar, fragments of memory surfaced as I spoke. Cool breezes that brushed through my hair. The smell of underground air that seeped into my lungs.

The sound of trains running the tracks.

Someone springing up unnaturally, as if sensing something. Striding forward, turning back with a smile. Words spoken through that smile.

The blast of an explosion.

I traced the memory and opened my mouth.

“Do you know the Personnel Director’s number?”

Yun’s brow furrowed.

Why does my mentor hate the Personnel Director so much?

Even as he gave me the number, Yun’s face didn’t smooth out. I saved it with a thanks, sneaking glances at his scowl.

That sour look.

“Why do you hate the Personnel Director so much?”

Unable to resist, I asked.

Yun’s frown deepened.

“Why do you need his number?”

“There’s something I need to tell him.”

Avoiding the answer looked suspicious.

But in the end, he didn’t explain. Just told me not to do anything unnecessary and left the hospital.

A pity. I guess I’ll find out someday.

Texting the Personnel Director, I resolved to ask the right questions to the right people.

Maybe Ami or Yehyeon would answer?

If I have the courage to ask.

Anyway, I made an appointment to meet the Personnel Director.

***

Kang Ju came to the hospital the next evening.

By then, I had been moved into a private room. I could have been discharged already, but Samuel threw a fit (Are you the doctor? If so, you do the surgery and checkups yourself!) so I was left bored in the quiet room.

Hesh and Tom were out beyond the Core, and the seniors stayed away, saying they wouldn’t disturb me. I spent the time glued to my phone, endlessly searching about Foden and Aitek.

That was when Ju arrived.

Looking as if flowers would bloom in the background.

“Hilde, you did well.”

He walked lightly over and sat in the chair by my bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Very good. I think I could be discharged right now.”

“Really? That’s good to hear.”

Ju, dressed casually, smiled brightly.

I stared at his clothes with a puzzled look.

A gray sweatshirt?

Why would he be in that for work?

Then I remembered it was already 7:30.

Right, he said he got off work at four.

You’ve been working hard, Commander....

I bowed my head briefly in silent tribute to Yehyeon. When I raised it, my eyes met Ju’s gentle, smiling face.

A man with a soft, kind impression. In casual clothes, he really did look like a college student.

Facing the boss who never lost his composure, I spoke.

“Personnel Director.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Did you hear about Jin Silver?”

A shadow of bitterness flickered in Ju’s eyes.