BLB Chapter 9

People didn’t give me a detailed explanation.

I, who had suddenly gotten a job, had to stay in the break room for one more day.

“Just sleep there until today, and from tomorrow, your residence and other things will be decided under the guidance of your instructor… in other words, Mr. Yoon.”

Joo grinned.

And he brightly added an ominous remark.

“Enjoy the remaining day of leisure.”

Remaining day of leisure?

The color drained from my face even more, but Joo didn’t explain. Ska, Amy, Ricardo, and even Ye-hyeon just looked at me with pitiful eyes.

Why are you all making such expressions? I’m about to take my first steps, so please make a good expression.

Anyway, the meeting was over.

And Ye-hyeon bought me a cell phone.

I waved my hand in refusal, but I was ignored. The Commander-in-Chief, quite burdensomely, dug into his personal funds to provide me with a cell phone.

“It will be delivered to the break room around evening.”

Then he said this to me.

“I’ll give you my personal number.”

Ah. The feeling keeps getting worse, right?

“If you’re troubled because of Yoon, contact me right away without hesitation.”

At this point, I reconsidered disposing of my Enhanced Body.

Could it be that I’ve made a terribly wrong choice?

But it’s something that can’t be undone now. I hoped the spreading sense of foreboding was just my imagination.

I barely pulled myself together and nodded.

I left the office as Ska began reporting about the media to Ye-hyeon.

I returned to my room in a somewhat dazed state. Amy followed me closely as I walked unsteadily down the corridor.

“Hilde! You need to get a grip!”

She widened her eyes and clenched her fists.

“I’ll give you my number too, so if oppa does something wrong, let me know without filtering!”

At her clear voice, the ominous premonition only deepened. The worries that popped up grew like bamboo shoots, making me forget to look around. Ricardo’s words, spoken with a grin, became fertilizer for the bamboo shoots of worry.

“Lucky you… I don’t even know the Commander’s personal number… There are very few people who know his second number.”

Oh my.

Amy made a strange point, saying, “Rick, even if Ye-hyeon offered to give you his number, you would refuse.”

I’m not sure exactly what this means, but. Anyway, one thing is for sure, the Commander-in-Chief wouldn’t have given out his personal number without reason…

No.

I desperately turned on the hopeful circuit.

Since Amy is so normal, her older brother can’t be completely crazy either. And from what I’ve heard, he’s on close terms with Ye-hyeon. Since Commander Ye-hyeon is a good person acknowledged by everyone, the person named Yoon who associates with him might not be a total mess.

The hopeful circuit was burning out.

Still, I slept comfortably. The blanket was fluffy and clean today as well. I felt a bit sad that I wouldn’t be able to sleep here starting tomorrow.

But what will happen to my house?

I have a small worry as I drift off to sleep. I still don’t have money. If they tell me to leave here right away, I have nowhere to go.

Can I receive my salary in advance? With such thoughts, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

When I woke up, there was a message. From someone I didn’t know.

To be precise, a message had arrived from someone whose name I only knew.

“Senabi Cafe, 2nd floor of the Research Building. 3 PM.”

That was it.

No unnecessary information was written. There were no verbose words like a greeting or identifying who they were. I heard the sound of the hopeful thoughts I had tried hard to turn collapsing.

For a while, I stared at the message, feeling uneasy.

This is driving me crazy.

No, but still… The HR Director said he never misjudges a person.

Anyway, I had no schedule until 3 PM. I fiddled with my cell phone until it was time to leave. I replied to Ye-hyeon’s message. (This is my number. Don’t hesitate to text me when you need to.) I also replied to the messages sent by Ricardo, Ska, and Amy.

They sent messages that matched their individual personalities.

[Survive, rookie~. Contact me when you’re hungry.]

[Nice to meet you, Hilde. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any difficulties.]

[Hilde! Let’s keep in touch! (flapping sparrow)]

I chuckled at the emoticon Amy attached.

Then I went to find the Research Building at the appointed time.

Finding the location wasn’t difficult. When I exited the main building where I was staying, the view opened up. From there, if I walked to the right, I reached the Research Building.

The sky was high and cloudless.

I tried to familiarize myself with the unfamiliar grounds while feeling the cool breeze.

People in various attire brushed past me. The spaciously open grounds were so clean that it was hard to believe a creature had appeared here a few days ago.

It would take a while just to get used to the layout.

I arrived at the Research Building around 2:45 PM. Unlike the main building, there were hardly any people wearing suits.

The cafe was also full of people in comfortable clothes.

I ordered an iced Americano and took a seat in the corner. As time passed, my heart began to beat faster.

Please, let it be someone I can communicate with.

Please let it be someone who will let things slide if I earnestly rub my hands together!

Tap.

I heard the sound of a plastic cup being placed on the table, and someone sat in front of me.

“Hildebert?”

At the low, monotonous voice, I abruptly raised my head.

I faced a plainly handsome face.

“Are you Hildebert Talev?”

“Yes, yes.”

He’s really handsome.

I blankly looked at the man sitting across from me. Yoon Choi was a cold-looking handsome man. A neat sky-blue shirt and a white lab coat. Black hair and dry eyes. They reminded me of inorganic matter.

Leaning back in the chair across from me, he met my eyes with eyes that were hard to find warmth in.

Eyes colder than anyone I had faced so far.

I shouldn’t thoughtlessly approach him.

I reflexively shrank back.

“I’m Hildebert Talev, who just joined. Please call me Hilde for short. …I look forward to working with you.”

“You don’t know my name?”

“Yes. Senior Yoon Choi…”

“Just call me Yoon.”

A flat answer came back.

I met his unblinking gaze and nodded.

“Okay.”

It seems it wasn’t an exaggeration that people here call each other by their first names.

Yoon reached out and grabbed the coffee cup. All his actions were dry.

The man took a sip of coffee with a lazy gesture and opened his mouth.

“I heard a rough overview of the situation yesterday. You still don’t remember anything?”

“No. I’m sorry. No useful memories come to mind at all…”

“But useless memories do?”

I politely nodded.

“There are memories that come back in bits and pieces. Things like madeleines and lemonade on the windowsill. Memories of looking down at the night view from the rooftop.”

“In what situations do those things come to mind?”

“I’m not certain, but. Similar experiences I had in similar situations seem to come back.”

“You have no difficulty using things like cell phones?”

“Yes. Generally.”

I don’t know why he’s asking this, but. Yoon seemed satisfied with the answer. He nodded and stuck his hands in his lab coat pockets.

Then he fell silent as if organizing his thoughts.

As silence descended on the table, the noise of the cafe enveloped me. The sound of people talking, the sound of plastic cups being placed on tables rush in.

I sat tensely in my seat until he broke the silence.

The man raised his lowered eyelids.

“I roughly get it. Then let’s quickly deal with the bothersome matters first. You have no money at all right now? And no separate place to stay?”

“Yes.”

I really have nothing at all. Except for the things my generous seniors bought me.

“Let’s handle the housing issue first. In principle, new recruits receive a dormitory room that makes it easy to adapt to the Enhanced Body and live there until they gain control of their strength. But you have already adapted to the Enhanced Body, so there’s no need for you to reside there. We’ll record that you stayed in the dormitory for a certain period in case it becomes an issue during audits.”

Huh? I want to live in the dormitory if there is one.

Before I could reveal my thoughts, he continued.

“So choose one of the two options you prefer. Either move into a company housing for Badgers here, or live in the cottage in front of my house until you find a place.”

“Cottage?”

My eyes widened.

What kind of option is a cottage in front of the instructor’s house?

Does it mean I have to live there, that it’s better than company housing? Or is he telling me to live there and pay him rent?

As I sat there not understanding, Yoon added an explanation.

“I’m saying it’s mine but I’ve neglected it because I have no use for it. I want to demolish it, but I’ve been procrastinating because it’s a hassle. It would be convenient in many ways if you lived there until you found a house since it’s easier for me the closer the distance is to you. It should be clean since I occasionally called someone to tidy it up.”

“Ah.”

I still didn’t fully understand, but I had a rough idea.

“Then can I buy that cottage?”

Installment payments… and salary advance, if possible... I cautiously brought it up.

I didn’t want to miss the opportunity that had come. I was already troubled by not having a place to live, and now there was a vacant house that was hard to deal with at such a perfect timing. I don’t know how much it is, but I hope he doesn’t demolish it and sells it to me instead.

The dormitory seemed nice too, but there was no guarantee that I could stay there forever.

At my words, Yoon subtly arched his eyebrows.

“…Well. I can sell it, but. No, if you want, I can even give it to you. But it’s not a house suitable for living in long-term. It’s not dirty, but being a cottage, it’s not sturdy.”

“Did you just say I can have it?”

I must have misheard. Things can’t go this smoothly.

Perhaps my thoughts showed, because Yoon crossed his arms and said coldly.

“Yeah. But I added an important point afterward. It’s not a house suitable for long-term living.”

“I’m in a desperate situation where I’m willing to go anywhere as long as there’s a roof to shelter from the rain and a bathroom.”

“It would collapse immediately if there was an earthquake or hurricane.”

“I’ll figure out a way to escape then.”

“The heating probably won’t work well either. And it won’t be soundproof. Well… None of that is my concern, though.”

“You’re right. That’s my problem. I’ll do my best to resolve it.”

I vehemently agreed.

I can’t understand how an unused cottage is a headache, but.

However, I pretended to agree fervently. Senior, this is a win-win game! Dump the cottage that’s a headache to you on me, and I’ll enjoy the convenience that I can’t even imagine!

Yoon deflected my desperate gaze with no emotion.

“Is this how you normally are?”

What’s my personality like?

I wanted to ask, but I held back because I was the one in dire need.

I showed a smile devoid of any ill intent.

“What’s my personality like that you say that? If you don’t like it, I’ll try to fix it. And as you know, I was in a state where I couldn’t even remember my own face…”

“Forget it. And I just remembered. There’s one more disadvantage to the cottage.”

What is it?

In fact, it would be strange if there were no additional disadvantages in such good conditions.

Yoon completely ignored my gaze that seemed to say I would overcome any disadvantage.

“I’m currently living with Ye-hyeon and Amy. In other words, if you live in the cottage, you’ll be living next door to your highest superior at work.”

Oh. I see.

It was definitely a concerning point. Of course, Ye-hyeon is a good person. Even in the short time I met him, I could tell he was a good person.

But Ye-hyeon was my highest superior, so there was no way I could have a comfortable conversation with him. It wouldn’t be comfortable to run into him in front of my house after work either.

But if the cottage is free?

Even if I pay a large sum, I might have to endure the above inconveniences, but if I can move in for free and only have to put up with those disadvantages…

I smiled with relief that an unbelievable stroke of luck was rolling my way and that my instructor seemed much more normal than expected.

“I’ll somehow overcome that level of handicap.”

Yoon looked at me indifferently with his arms crossed.

After maintaining a poker face in front of me grinning for a while, the man eventually let out a strange sigh.

“Fine then. The cottage is yours. Move in there tonight or something.”

“Yes! Thank you so much! I will repay this favor somehow!”

“I clearly warned you.”

As I pondered whether I should get up from my seat and bow my head on the table, Yoon firmly added.

He expressionlessly looked at me, barely controlling my face that was about to bloom.

“It’s not a house suitable for long-term living. Don’t complain or anything later.”

Complain? I feel like getting down on my knees and expressing gratitude for meeting an instructor like you.