Chapter 108 - Year-End Party (1)

So there you have it.

"Heshy, how does it feel to have your first drink?"

"I haven't had one yet!"

"Redheaded kid, don't look so intimidated. Come in and sit down."

Remarks poured in from every direction.

I smiled awkwardly, giving appropriate answers to seniors I hadn't even exchanged names with as they said things like, "Finally having a drink!" "Surviving all right under Yun?" and "Is that your natural eye color?"

There were so many seniors. And since most of them were people I'd never met, it was overwhelming.

A crowd of seniors who looked as though they'd formed a Badger basketball club came swarming over.

"We've been waiting for you, our newbie!"

They dragged Heshy off. He had no idea what was going on as the towering seniors hauled him away.

Ami shouted after the departing Badgers.

"Don't you bully him!"

Then she looked up at Tom and me.

"How much can you two drink?"

I had no idea.

I stood there blankly beside Tom as he admitted he wasn't much of a drinker. It wasn't that I disliked alcohol. I'd even enjoyed brewing my own from things like apples.

But I couldn't remember how much I could handle.

Ami took in my silent state, then quietly led Tom and me away. We sat at a round table.

"The food at this table looks pretty good."

It was set with paella, empanadas, fries with jamón, shrimp salad topped with avocado, and more. Every table had a different spread.

There was dim sum at one table, scallops and sashimi at the table opposite it. I could also see neatly stacked cases of alcohol.

The variety was dizzying.

"If you want something else, tell me. I'll steal it for you," Ami said, pouring a trickle of water into a cup.

"If you want to drink with the other seniors, feel free to go. And if you want to escape, send me an SOS on your phone. I'll come rescue you."

"I'm the most senior one here, after all!" she declared, lifting her chin proudly.

Tom and I chuckled at the same time.

"Thank you."

"Thank you. I'm going to say hello to Angela when she gets here."

Tom looked at Ami as though she were his own little sister.

I understood the feeling. To me, too, Ami seemed like a much younger sister.

In my case, she really was much younger than me.

I was resisting the urge to pat her round head when a group approached our table. The person in front reached out and patted Ami's head.

"Don't pat me!"

"Gah!"

Ami whipped her head around in anger.

The culprit took his hand away, snickering. He was an Asian man in a loose black sweatshirt and joggers.

"Planning to keep all the rookies to yourself, squirt?"

That voice sounded familiar.

"There's a limit to how greedy you should be."

"That's not what I'm doing."

Ami looked up at him sulkily.

"Tvein's over there, so go over there, Chen."

Following her finger, I spotted Tvein sitting with his legs propped on a round table. Beside him sat a man with his curly hair tied back.

Oh!

This Chen was the person who'd been talking to Tvein right after my self-introduction!

A memory from several months ago resurfaced: the conversation I'd overheard while tucked away in a corner on Yun's orders. There had been three people there, and one voice had kept chiming in to agree with Jason Tvein.

That voice belonged to this man.

He probably didn't like me...

"Go to your friends. Shoo."

"I will. But hang on. Is that your natural hair color?"

Or perhaps not.

There was no malice in his question. I turned toward him.

"Yes. It's natural."

"That's really unusual. Premature graying?"

Hard to say.

Naturally white hair had been common in the world I'd lived in. But I knew perfectly well that on Earth, white hair meant aging.

"I'm not sure."

"What? Haven't you seen a doctor?"

"A doctor?"

"Chen! Don't be rude!" Ami snapped.

Chen looked as though he had no idea why that was rude. There was no malice in the way his eyes widened as he looked down at Ami in confusion.

"You look so much like my dog!"

Someone else cut off Ami before she could continue her lecture. A woman standing next to Chen, who had been studying me intently, craned her neck forward.

Her voice, too, held not a trace of malice.

"Your white hair is so pretty."

"Oh, does your dog have white fur?"

"That's right! Its name is Sugar!"

"Hey, isn't that even ruder?"

Chen grinned at the woman with her curly hair twisted into a tight bun. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged with utter nonchalance.

"You're saying he looks like a dog, aren't you?"

"Chen, get lost."

An alluring voice interrupted him.

New people kept popping up, and it was hard to keep up. I blinked at the woman who strolled over and took Chen by the shoulder.

Dark brown skin and black hair that flowed like silk.

She was the senior who'd propped her chin on her hand and asked me a question during my self-introduction. Beautiful enough to turn every head on the street, she smiled at a blinking Chen.

"We haven't even poured the drinks yet. Do you have to spoil the fun already?"

Her name, apparently, was Lia.

She chased off Chen and the others who'd crowded around us. Slipping an arm around his shoulders, she walked him over to Tvein's table.

On her way, she patted Ami's head and gave us a warm smile as we watched blankly.

We silently watched them go. Chen sat down beside Tvein and the curly-haired man.

Ami gulped down some water before explaining.

"Those three are always together. You've both met Jason Tvein, right?"

"Yes."

"Yes. At the Library of Beginnings."

"My brother and I call those three Thug One, Thug Two, and Thug Three."

What?

Ami gestured in turn at Jason Tvein, Chen, and the curly-haired man.

"Jason's the leader, so he's Thug One. Chen's the one who laughs along beside him, so he's Thug Two. And Thug Three lives in his own little world. The Thug Trio for short."

"... Huh."

"The curly-haired gentleman lives in his own little world?" Tom asked cautiously.

Ami nodded emphatically. The sight of her round head bobbing up and down was funny. She lowered her voice meaningfully.

"Whatever happens tonight, don't go to Thug Three's table."

"... Does he have bad drinking habits?"

"He keeps repeating the highlights of his own achievements on an endless loop."

She leaned forward and whispered with absolute sincerity.

"Thug Three's table is guaranteed to be a total mood killer."

The tables began to fill up.

I kept having to get up to greet familiar faces and strangers who'd come over to get a look at the new recruits. Apparently, one of the highlights of the year-end party was the drinking initiation for that year's recruits. The party would officially begin once the senior leadership arrived, and it was customary for Yehyeon to pour the newcomers a drink.

That was how the new recruits had their first drink since receiving their enhanced bodies: in front of their seniors.

Riccardo told me this with an arm slung around my shoulders while I was standing to greet Richard.

"You didn't get impatient and start drinking already, did you?"

"Of course not."

I answered my grinning, green-eyed senior, then bowed to the man standing expressionlessly beside him.

"Hello, sir."

Jonathan Kudo didn't answer. He merely nodded, looking at me as though wondering who on earth I was.

In a way, he was more impressive than Yun.

At least Choi Yun remembered the names of people he'd met. This neat-looking senior reminded me of the gray-haired genius scientist in the lab.

A luminary of the scientific world and the lab's resident NPC.

No doubt he was still rooted in the lab like a plant today, doing his research...

"Aaargh!"

I recoiled at the sight of John Mühlen stepping out of the elevator with Ro.

"What the hell!"

"Ahh."

Riccardo laughed, pressing down on my shoulder. His green eyes curved into narrow crescents as he looked at John and Ro.

"Looks like Ro dragged him here."

John Mühlen walked out of the elevator like a robot. I stared, dumbfounded, at the tall man following Giacomo Ro. The scientist made his way through the hall as stiff as an old tree.

Judging by how the Badgers turned to stare at him, his attendance really was a rare occurrence.

I'd have to avoid that table at all costs, too.

Riccardo enjoyed my terrified reaction for a while before leaving, settling me back in my chair and patting my shoulder.

"Ask the commander-in-chief to pour you the most expensive drink later."

Apparently, we could choose whatever we wanted.

"It's polite to down it in one go, so pick a strength you can handle."

The seats filled quickly.

Between greeting Bobby, who was excited about the year-end party (thankfully, she said her prosthetic leg wasn't uncomfortable at all), and listening to Shu talk about last year's party, it was soon time for the senior leadership to arrive.

By then, most of the people who'd been wandering the hall had taken their seats. Conversation had dwindled to whispers.

Yun was among the last to arrive. Just as he pulled out the chair beside me and sat down, the elevator stopped with a chime.

"Hello."

Yehyeon stepped into the room, and even the whispers ceased.

"Everyone's here."

The aides and head of HR followed him in. The Badgers rose from their seats en masse.

The year-end party had begun.

* * *

Yehyeon wasn't one for long speeches.

His greeting was succinct and polished. Seated at the head table, the commander-in-chief held a microphone and delivered his year-end address. He neatly recited the year's accomplishments, then expressed his hope that everyone would keep up the good work next year.

A stir ran through the hall at the news that there were plans to reclaim territory in the new year.

It didn't last long, however. When the senior leadership stood and bowed together, applause filled the hall.

Then their gazes swung toward us.

"Time for the new recruits to get their drinks."

Kang Zhu, the head of HR, beamed at us.

"Heshy, Tom, Hilde. Come here."

Wow.

So we were getting our drinks with every single senior watching.

Of course, we couldn't complain. We jumped up and hurried to the head table. Yehyeon watched us with a faint smile, Ska with a grin, and the brown-haired aide with a gentle smile.

We lined up in the order we'd been called, and Yehyeon looked at Heshy.

"What would you like to drink?"

"I'll have a dark beer, sir!"

Heshy answered at full volume, standing ramrod straight.

I could hear the seniors chuckling and whispering about his choice. "Haven't had anyone choose dark beer in a while." "It's more fun to watch when they pick something stronger than beer." "They bought a new dark beer this time. Maybe he wanted to try it."

Yehyeon nodded and asked for the most expensive dark beer. Our highest-ranking superior opened the bottle with his pale hands and poured it out.

Then he poured the same beer into his own glass and raised it.

"Well, you've worked hard adjusting to your enhanced body."

"Thank you, sir!"

CLINK!

The glasses met with a bright sound. Heshy downed his dark beer in one go.

"Looking forward to serving with you, sir!"

Applause and cheers poured out. The seniors burst into laughter and whistled as Heshy gave a crisp salute.

Always so full of enthusiasm, that one.

Their delighted cheers grew even louder when Heshy failed to control his strength as he set down his beer glass.

CRASH!

"Ack."

"That's the spirit!"

For some reason, the seniors were utterly delighted by the shattered glass.

"One drink for every glass you break tonight, rookie!"

This sort of flashy debut wouldn't suit Tom.

Sure enough, he looked a little intimidated by Heshy's boisterous drinking initiation. Seeing that, Yehyeon silenced the room with a single gesture.

"What would you like?"

"Uh, I'll have wine."

"Red? White? Sparkling?"

"I like all of them."

"Then have the most expensive one."

A bottle of wine was passed to Yehyeon.

Flustered, Tom said, "It doesn't have to be an expensive one," but Yehyeon waved both hands as if to say it was fine.

"This is all we've got. A reserve red, seven hundred thousand won."

"Whoo!"

People clapped at Yehyeon's announcement. They enjoyed watching Tom fidget beside him as he pulled out the cork.

"Seven hundred thousand this year, huh!"

"Wine really is expensive, eh?"

"A wise choice, rookie!"

"I was going to drink that!"

"All right, don't tease him too much."

Wearing a faint smile, Yehyeon poured wine into Tom's glass. Despite his embarrassment, Tom accepted it steadily, without the slightest tremor in his hands.

"You've worked hard this year."

CLINK!

Down in one.

Another round of applause erupted. Even though Tom set his wineglass down safely, the seniors were still delighted. Comments flew about how it felt to drink wine that cost seven hundred thousand won a bottle, and whether he was disappointed because last year's had cost a million.

Everyone was certainly having fun.

Tom bowed politely to the applauding seniors and stepped back. Yehyeon's gaze turned to me.

"Hilde. What do you like to drink?"

Oh.

Luckily, though I couldn't remember my alcohol tolerance, I did remember my favorite drink. And it was a perfectly ordinary one, so I was sure they'd have it now, too.

I smiled faintly, pleased that my missing memories hadn't left me fumbling for an answer, and broke the silence that had settled over the hall.

"I'll have vodka."

COUGH!

Someone choked.

That set off an explosion of reactions from the seniors.

"There it is! Voooodkaaa!"

"Hey! Don't try to show off! You have to down the whole thing!"

"The first time in six years! Hard liquor in one go!"

"Vodka! Whoo! Vodka! Whoo!"

What had suddenly gotten into them?

Had the word vodka instantly knocked their intelligence down a few notches? All this explosive shouting was a little bewildering.

Unable to hide my bafflement, I looked at the seniors. They were carrying on as though they meant to smash the tables to pieces...

Familiar faces stood out clearly. Seeing Riccardo's incredulous laugh, Yun's raised eyebrows, and Ami's wide eyes made me wonder whether I'd done something wrong...

Should I change my choice? As I stood there stupidly pondering that question, I heard Yehyeon opening the bottle.

I hastily turned back and held out my glass.

"I'll be counting on you from now on, too."

His words were a little different from those he'd offered my fellow recruits.

"Though there will be plenty of difficulties ahead."

CLINK!

Down in one!

I drained the clear liquid from the clear glass. The sound of my gulping echoed through the suddenly silent hall. Warm liquid flowed down my throat. It had no smell. No taste.

Marvelous alcohol, colorless, tasteless, and odorless.

Wow. After so long, it was wonderful.

"Ahh."

Unable to suppress my smile, I lowered the empty glass.

"Thank you."

THUNK.

The glass landed intact.

"Woooo!"

Cheers erupted.

The year-end party had begun.