“First of all.”
The next day, while I was out for my usual physical training, Yun said,
“Don’t be late for the test.”
“Isn’t that a bit obvious?”
It wasn’t like I was so scatterbrained I’d show up late to an exam. Did I really look that irresponsible to him?
But Yun never said things without reason. He was an efficient man — he didn’t waste words.
Meaning there were details hidden behind them.
“You have to reach the test site on your own. It’s not exactly an accessible place. And during the test, supervisors aren’t allowed to intervene in any way.”
“Yes, I assumed as much.”
“The location isn’t at Headquarters. You’ll be informed a week prior, and still, there are people who show up late.”
That... can’t be serious.
Seeing my dumbfounded face, Yun said coldly,
“For any reason whatsoever — if you’re late, you fail.”
“Yes.”
“Even if your parents die, don’t be late.”
“My parents are already dead, though.”
“You can swim, right?”
I nodded.
Though I was a bit worried — I hadn’t swum in nearly a year; my skills might’ve rusted.
Perhaps he had the same thought, because instead of picking up a gun, he dragged me straight to the swimming pool at Headquarters and threw me in.
I suddenly found myself flailing in the disinfected water.
“Loosened up yet?”
After about an hour monopolizing the pool, Yun — who hadn’t even taken off his windbreaker — approached.
I raised my head out of the water and blinked.
My body had been warmed up long before coming here.
I nodded curiously, and he tilted his head toward the exit.
“Then let’s go.”
“Sorry? Go where?”
“The sea.”
What?
“The swimming portion of the test takes place in the sea.”
Ah.
That part wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was that he meant to go there now. Could you even just decide that on a whim?
I hadn’t even known there was a sea inside the Center Core.
I’d always assumed it was landlocked.
“If you can swim this well in the ocean, you won’t need any extra training for that section.”
“We’re leaving right now?”
“It won’t take long if we fly.”
Ah, an inland flight, then.
Would the ticket go on the department budget?
Would lunch be the in-flight meal?
These were the pointless questions running through my head as I obediently followed his instructions.
By now, I’d learned that if I simply went along, things would sort themselves out.
So I trailed after him quietly.
And was reminded soon enough that my mentor had grown up in a chaebol household.
Yun... used a private jet.
“You chartered a jet just to see if I can swim in the sea—”
“If I’m not satisfied, we’ll stay near the coast until you are.”
His tone carried an unmistakable determination to get it over with in one go.
“You have swum in the sea before, haven’t you?”
I passed the test easily.
Satisfied with my swimming, my mentor took me back to Headquarters. By sunset we’d returned; he made me complete my shooting quota before finally letting me go.
He looked pleased — probably because it meant fewer things left for him to supervise.
“Now that swimming’s done, let’s clear climbing tomorrow. You know how to climb, right?”
“You mean rock climbing? I can manage that much. The place I used to live was full of cliffs.”
“Good. What about building climbing?”
“Building climbing?”
There was such a thing?
I blinked in confusion, and the next day Yun explained in detail. Civilian building climbing was illegal, but Badgers were required to know it.
Outside the Core, old buildings often had to be scaled manually.
He gave this logical explanation — then handed me safety gear out of nowhere.
And said, perfectly calmly,
“Climb Headquarters.”
“...You mean this building we’re in right now?”
“I’m too lazy to get permission for another.”
He was utterly shameless.
“I’ve got the clearance. Start after lunch.”
Was this even normal...?
But since he had authorization, I couldn’t protest.
A few extra days of practice wouldn’t change much anyway.
So after lunch with Tom, who’d just returned (he blinked and said, “Wait, are you climbing Headquarters? What does that even mean, Hilde?”), I strapped on the safety gear and started climbing in a spot shaded from the harsh sun.
I felt bad for the people working inside.
Still, once I began climbing, I had little time for other thoughts.
Half in a trance, I ascended the smooth glass façade.
Until someone suddenly flung open a window.
“You’re working hard, huh~.”
It was Ricardo.
“To think the thing stuck to my window would be you... For a second I thought the creature alarm was broken~.”
“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me.”
Ro was there too.
Hooking my arm on the window frame, I looked at Ricardo, who was watching me with amusement, and Ro, who was laughing and snapping pictures.
Their hair fluttered in the wind.
“Looks like you’re feeling better~?”
Ricardo’s long, narrow eyes curved in a grin.
I gave a crisp salute.
“Yes, sir. Thanks to you. Loyalty, loyalty.”
“Still as cheeky as ever....”
“So, what are you doing?”
Typical Ro — always the delayed question.
I held up a peace sign toward his flashing camera.
“Practicing for the climbing portion of the test.”
“Huh? Test? What test? Why are you taking one?”
“My promotion test.”
“Oh, that thing rookies take?”
Honestly, I was surprised he even knew it existed.
Ricardo made an amused little “oh~” noise.
Ro ignored all of it.
“So why the hell are you climbing this?”
“Because my mentor told me to.”
“Yeah?”
Guess he lost interest already.
“Then do your best.”
So I kept climbing.
Feeling Ricardo’s amused gaze, I moved upward.
Here and there, other people opened windows to watch.
Most were strangers — office workers leaning out to wave.
I paused occasionally to wave back.
God, this building’s high.
Now I understood why Yun had told me to start after his bathroom break — this building was annoyingly tall.
And the wind at this height was getting stronger.
Good thing I dressed warmly.
Back in a climbing trance, I suddenly found a window opening on one of the upper floors.
“Oh.”
I froze — face-to-face with the Commander.
“Commander.”
Yehyeon really did look shocked.
His already large eyes went even wider as he stared at me.
He stayed frozen there, still holding the window.
So surprised he seemed to forget how to speak.
Behind him, the brown-haired aide’s face peeked out.
“Uh... just preparing for my promotion test.”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly, explaining myself to the dumbstruck Yehyeon.
“I heard permission was granted....”
He didn’t take his eyes off me for a long while.
Then, at his aide’s quiet “Commander, the report just came in,” he finally turned his head.
After glancing inside the office, he looked back at me and said,
“Climbing test?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that a bit high?”
I tilted my head back and looked up.
Blue sky and endless glass.
The building stretched toward the heavens — but it didn’t seem that far now.
I’d climbed quite a lot. Just a little more and I’d reach the roof — the one with the helicopter mark. The same spot where I’d once drunkenly climbed up and got scolded by my seniors.
Brushing aside the white hair whipped by the wind, I nodded.
“I’ll be fine.”
Yehyeon studied me a moment longer.
Then, apparently satisfied, he slowly closed the window.
“Be careful.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“And don’t stress too much about the test.”
Through the narrowing gap, his husky voice slipped out.
“As long as you show up safely, you’ll pass.”
After that, I was greeted by three more people before reaching the roof.
Once there, Yun gave me a perfunctory round of applause.
And thus, the climbing section was complete.
***
“Next is airborne.”
Yun explained after my shooting practice.
“You’ll undergo parachute training through the military.”
Through... the army?
Could a Badger with an enhanced body even train with regular soldiers?
I gave him a puzzled look, expecting elaboration.
But Yun said nothing more.
“You’ll go with your rookie peers.”
Meaning Hesh and Tom.
“Three weeks at a military base.”
Three weeks?
We’d wrapped up swimming and climbing in a day each, but parachute training would take three whole weeks?
That made no sense. And why another base when we already had military facilities here?
Once again, no explanation. Yun simply gave me the start date, the location, and disappeared.
So I asked my peers instead.
Hesh, whose father was a soldier, explained in detail.
“Parachute training always takes three weeks.”
He’d already completed it years ago and had the badge to prove it.
But since all rookie Black Badgers had to take it regularly, he’d be joining again.
He said it’d actually be fun and started teaching Tom and me army songs.
“...Army songs...”
“You just have to jump four times.”
Watching Tom and me mumble the lyrics, Hesh’s eyes sparkled.
“Let’s hope we’re not the unlucky batch that has to jump from the balloon all four times! Usually it’s a mix — balloon, plane, helicopter. But if the weather’s bad, it’s all balloon, no mercy.”
And so, off to the army we went.
With Carl and Angela seeing us off, we departed for the military base.
Yun didn’t come. Typical of him.
Only after Hesh and Tom said it was kind of sad did I realize that being seen off was something normal.
If he had come, it would’ve been unnerving.
Anyway, that’s how I was drafted without resistance.
“Heels and knees must not separate!”
We worked ourselves to the bone at the base.
“Call it out while you hop like rabbits!”
“Heels, knees!”
“Heels, knees!”
I started missing Choi Yun.
“What kind of voice is that!”
“Heels! Knees!”
“Heels! Knees!”
I thought I was done with this kind of thing in my youth....
But there was no escape.
No contact with the outside world either. (They’d confiscated our phones.)
At least I had my peers with me.
After training, we could relax together in the container barracks.
Honestly, the time spent with Tom and Hesh was simple and fun.
Almost enough to forget my situation.
“Don’t walk, run!”
Even going to the outdoor restroom required moving in rows and columns.
And there were chants for everything.
“Aerial infiltration! Aerial infiltration!”
“Louder!”
Couldn’t they at least let us use the bathroom in peace....
But the endless three weeks passed quickly. On the final week, we woke before dawn and assembled on the parade ground.
With the faint blue air of morning in our lungs, we slung parachutes over our shoulders and headed for the drop zone.
We looked up at the sky, waiting endlessly for our turn — and then we jumped.
Four times in one week.
Three balloon jumps, one from a plane.
“Damn it, didn’t get to ride the Chinook again!”
Hesh bemoaned missing the helicopter.
“I wanted to jump from a «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» helicopter!”
I couldn’t deny it — that would’ve been cool.
Anyway, training ended safely.
Three weeks later, wearing fatigues, we trudged back to Headquarters — greeted by Carl, Angela, Leeho, and Shu.
They laughed when they saw how we automatically matched steps while walking.
And so we were officially told we’d “got the military stink on us.”
Parachute training: cleared.
All these training sessions, one after another —
and before I knew it, the week of the test had arrived.
***
Test day.
The day Tom, Hesh, and I had been waiting for with our necks stretched long.
The day before, after finishing my daily drills, I was walking to the grocery to buy dinner.
Hands tucked into the pockets of my windbreaker, I breathed in the cool evening air, mentally running through tomorrow’s plan — reviewing every correction Yun had given me during shooting practice.
Because of that, I didn’t notice.
That someone was approaching.
Fwump.
A handkerchief pressed over my nose and mouth.
The last thing I registered was a strange, pungent smell—
then everything went black.
