The ambulance arrived quickly.

It pushed its front bumper through the wall Yun had brought down. The door slid open, and a familiar face jumped down.

Ska ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) strode in, carrying a stretcher.

“You look better than usual.”

That was the first thing he said upon seeing Yehyeon.

Yun nodded silently. After briefly checking the wound he had treated on me, my superior stood and walked toward Ska.

Ska sighed, turned his head, and looked at me.

He frowned at the sight of my injured shoulder.

“Damn, that’s gotta hurt.”

“Yeah. A bit.”

My honest answer made him let out a short laugh.

“Hang on. I’ll give you something for the pain.”

Yun and Ska moved fast.

Together they lifted Yehyeon onto the stretcher and carried him to the ambulance. I staggered up and followed after them. The vehicle stood among piles of debris, its tires half-buried in dust. Inside, medics were attaching IVs and pressing gauze to Yehyeon’s wounds.

When I stepped closer, Ska came over and helped me with my good arm.

Supported by him, I sat on a narrow seat inside. Ricardo and Ami were there too.

“Hey, you...”

Ricardo took one look at me and let out a weary smile.

“You couldn’t even come back from the assembly in one piece?”

“Apparently not. The world just refuses to leave me alone.”

Ska handed me a painkiller injection.

When I looked up to see who was driving, it was Ami behind the wheel. She and Ricardo must have stayed in the ambulance because meeting Jaeyeon would have been the worst possible idea. Seeing his face could never bring them anything good.

The ambulance pulled out soon after.

It sped through the city, veiled in bluish darkness. Exhausted, I leaned my head against the wall. There were too many new memories pressing into my mind; I needed time to think.

Thankfully, no one disturbed me for a while. Yun kept checking Yehyeon’s vitals, Ami focused on driving, and Ricardo and Ska sat with arms folded or legs crossed, eyes closed, waiting out the ride.

The silence broke when my phone rang.

The phone was vibrating inside my ruined jacket.

That bastard Colton.

Everyone’s attention turned to me as I picked it up with my uninjured hand.

“You son of a bitch.”

I started with a curse.

“Thanks a lot for your help, you goddamn bastard.”

[You’re very welcome.]

Colton’s smooth voice came from the receiver.

He sounded like he was already in a car, driving back. I could hear a low engine hum and the clink of a glass being set down.

I could picture him clearly — sitting in his luxury car, working and drinking whiskey. The image alone was enough to irritate me.

Ignoring everyone’s eyes, I snapped,

“Is that how you treat a friend you’ve known for decades?”

[Seems you’ve gone a bit rusty.]

I really wanted to kill him.

I closed my eyes and swallowed my anger.

“Remind me why we were friends again?”

[Do you really think you were ever a particularly loyal one?]

Papers rustled on the other end — he was probably reading reports while talking absentmindedly.

The scent of midnight closing in filled the air. Colton added, in his usual elegant tone,

[You’ve forgotten, I suppose, the time you drove a truck full of explosives into my car.]

...Did I?

I stayed silent for a moment, lips pressed tight, retracing the days when my past self had watched Colton and the others fight their power games. Back when things were peaceful enough for me to sit at an open-air café with Kyle, drinking Americano.

Ah, right. I did do that.

“Come to think of it, I did, didn’t I?”

[Still shameless as ever.]

He wasn’t even surprised.

He didn’t give me time to complain, either. Just when I was about to yell that he’d crossed the line, he cut me off sharply with a, [I’m busy, so I’ll hang up now.]

The call ended unilaterally.

What a dear friend.

I scowled and threw the phone onto the seat.

“...Was that Falcon just now?” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Ska’s stunned voice shattered the silence that followed.

I’d never seen him this shocked. The man who was always relaxed and cheerful now stared at me as if unable to believe what he’d just witnessed.

Yun also looked at me, his face a picture of disbelief. Ricardo narrowed his eyes, studying me.

Of course, they had all heard. It had been quiet enough for every word from Colton to come through loud and clear.

I forced an awkward smile.

“Yes. You all heard that, huh. Sorry about that.”

“Friends?”

Ska repeated, aghast.

“You’re friends with Falcon?”

“Well... not exactly in the usual sense. It’s more like... we saw each other often out of necessity... huh, that sounds even worse.”

“You seem to have remembered quite a bit.”

Yun, who hadn’t asked many questions during the assembly, now crossed his arms and looked at me.

He was leaning against the bed where Yehyeon lay.

“How old are you?” he asked.

That, even I didn’t know.

When I said so honestly, Yun looked displeased but didn’t press further. I gave another awkward smile under everyone’s stares.

Ska and Ricardo were still speechless, watching me like I was some absurd creature. Ami kept her eyes on the road. Yun checked Yehyeon’s vitals again, then turned his gaze back to me.

“You were injected with something, weren’t you?”

He must have noticed the syringe lying on the wrecked floor.

I nodded silently. Ricardo and Ska both frowned.

“How do you feel?”

“Other than feeling nauseous, fine.”

“Get tested as soon as we get back. I already ran a quick analysis on your blood, but a basic test won’t tell us everything.”

When did he take my blood?

As I blinked in surprise, Ska unfolded his arms and frowned.

“What do you mean, injected? Like, with drugs?”

“Yes. But I feel okay. Probably nothing serious.”

“You can’t tell that by yourself—only a doctor can.”

Ricardo, who had been quiet until now, muttered darkly,

“Do you have no sense of self-preservation?”

Scary.

I flinched and apologized at once. The air inside the ambulance froze solid. Thankfully, Ska and Ami each threw in a few words to lighten it, and the tension slowly melted.

Still, my heart stayed tight.

Better be careful... Ricardo really wasn’t someone easy to deal with.

Ami and Ska continued asking a few more questions about my condition. The brief Q&A about my health ended without much conclusion, and silence fell once more.

White noise filled my ears.

Ever since Jaeyeon had injected me with whatever that was, my senses had become painfully sharp. My heightened hearing picked up too much — the tires rolling over asphalt, the hum of the engine, the drip of medicine through the IV. None of it filtered out, and it quickly exhausted me.

But because of that, I noticed when the breathing changed.

Yehyeon was awake.

Ashamed, I kept my eyes down on the floor.

“I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess.”

Everyone turned to me, pulled from their own thoughts.

I hadn’t really expected an answer. Aside from Yun, no one else seemed to realize that Yehyeon was awake yet.

But he replied. The superior who had just opened his eyes let out a strained chuckle — Ricardo and Ska turned their heads sharply — and said,

“I was greedy. That’s why I kept you under me.”

“Keep it short,” Yun said bluntly, but the superior ignored him.

“And Jaeyeon’s always hated me. None of this is your fault.”

“You couldn’t fight back because I lost it and got tied up.”

“Less than usual.”

Yehyeon slowly opened his eyes.

Yun frowned but said nothing. I watched as Yehyeon stared blankly at the ambulance ceiling, then faintly smiled.

“For someone Falcon had his eye on, you got off lightly.”

There was satisfaction in his voice.

“Hilde, you must be incredibly stubborn.”

You’ll always end up as someone’s ace card.

Those words from an old friend echoed in my head. Colton’s voice at that meeting also came back: You’re my ace of victory.

He never said things lightly. He’d looked down at me during that meeting and said it for a reason.

He had realized I belonged to Yehyeon now.

Colton wasn’t the type to believe in stupid mottos like “Make the impossible possible.” He had a talent for distinguishing what could be done from what couldn’t. He knew me well enough to understand I would never come back under him. He must have realized that the moment we met again at the assembly.

That was why, furious, he had sent Jaeyeon after both of us.

But in the end, he had accepted reality. He knew that me being under Yehyeon wouldn’t threaten him — and that it was better than me joining another Elder.

I thought of the two Elders who’d shown interest in me and gave a faint smile.

“I might not turn out to be all that useful. I still don’t remember much.”

“That’s fine.”

Yehyeon’s voice was hoarse.

“You’re doing well enough.”

“Am I? That means a lot. Thank you.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry.”

“Enough talking,” Yun said calmly.

At his cue, conversation ceased.

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

Colton, my old friend.

Kyle, my even older comrade — now my enemy.

Yehyeon, who had officially registered me as a Black Badger while keeping my existence hidden.

Jaeyeon, who hated me for giving humans the Enhanced Body.

And the two Elders who’d taken an interest in me, along with their subordinates.

One of those subordinates had been Yehyeon’s father...

Ah.

I remembered.

His name was Lee Seunghyun.

A soldier recruited from Korea.

***

I must have blacked out in the ambulance.

I’d thought I was fine, but when I opened my eyes, I was staring at a hospital ceiling. Blinking several times, I waited for my vision to focus.

How many times has this pattern repeated now?

“Well, well, you’re awake.”

Dr. Samuel Han leaned over me.

Ever since that injection, my senses hadn’t dulled one bit — I could feel his presence beside the bed. Clicking his tongue, he looked down at me.

“Let’s stop meeting like this.”

“Sorry.”

I did come here too often.

Ignoring the stabbing headache, I took in the surroundings. No sound from outside — I must be in a hospital room. When had I passed out?

I really thought I was fine.

How’s Yehyeon?

Staring at the ceiling for a while, I sat up.

“Can’t even stay lying down, huh.”

Samuel clicked his tongue as I slowly lifted my upper body.

“Don’t use your right arm, kid. Not if you want to heal fast.”

“Yes, sir. By the way, did you ever get the pound cake?”

“Pound cake?”

He looked at me, puzzled.

“What pound cake?”

“I brought it for you last time... but things got hectic, and I never gave it to you.”

Right, I’d dropped it in the hallway while chasing Peter and completely forgotten about it.

It must be long gone. I’ll buy him a new one.

As I blinked drowsily and groped around for my phone, the doctor came over.

He picked up the phone from the table and shoved it toward me.

“Just stay put till you’re discharged, kid. And don’t bring me anything.”

“I’ll bring it right after I get discharged. What do you like?”

“I said don’t bring anything.”

“Raisins or green tea? If you don’t like sweets, I’ll get you something else. That way I can at least feel a little less guilty every time I—”

“God, I can’t even smack you properly with this tablet because of your head injury.”

Samuel looked like it genuinely pained him not to hit me with his tablet.

I smiled brightly up at him. He hadn’t changed — the patchy shave, the black hair, the tired but sharp blue eyes.

Sometimes he smelled faintly of cigarettes. Seeing my grin, he sighed.

“Call the others.”

He jerked his chin toward the phone in my hand.

“They’ve been trying to reach you nonstop. Since you can’t use your right hand, call them instead of texting.”

I obediently followed his advice.

Using my left hand, I checked the pile of unread messages — one from Ami, one from Ska, one from Ricardo. Oh! Hesh and Tom must be back. No message from Yun, and none from Yehyeon either.

And... what’s this?

Not a blocked number, just an unfamiliar one.

Curious, I opened it first.

The sender was completely unexpected.

[Hello, Taleb. It’s Shu Diamond. Once you’re discharged, how about coming with me and Senior Walker to the game shop in the slums?]