TG Ch 1 Part 15

The measurement results for Ham Geonwu appeared on a translucent screen. It displayed a detailed schematic of his muscular, 188cm frame with energy channels flowing like blood vessels throughout his body.

Barefoot, Ham Geonwu walked over and stood behind Sijin, looking slightly awkward. Sijin pointed at various graphs accompanying the human diagram. All the graph lines remained within the average range.

“It seems you’ve been consistently guiding. Your wave frequency is stable at +52%, and your circulation rate has improved compared to last month’s examination. Looks like you’ve managed stress well and trained diligently. Excellent job!”

“…..”

Despite his praise, Ham Geonwu only managed to give a subtle nod without saying anything. He seemed uncomfortable with this situation. Sijin continued explaining, undeterred by his reaction. He first pointed at the unusually red area on the right arm depicted on the screen.

“As you can see, there’s a lot of energy concentrated in your right arm. That’s because you primarily use your ability with your right hand. Utilizing your ability puts significant strain on your body, so it would be best to develop a habit of distributing the load evenly between both arms. For now, focus your training on using your left hand.”

“Yes.”

“And… the amount of energy flowing through your body has increased significantly. It definitely surpasses the average for an A-Rank now. Hmm… Esper Ham Geonwu.”

“……”

When Sijin glanced over, he noticed how visibly tense he was. It appeared as though Ham Geonwu hadn’t fully trusted him yet. To ease his concerns, Sijin decided not to prolong the conversation.

“Your wave value looks good, but if your energy amplifies too quickly, it could strain your body. To manage this properly, I recommend getting a full-body examination every three days… What do you think?”

“……”

“You’ve experienced side effects from the drugs as well, right? If you continue with regular checkups, you should be able to stop using the stimulant starting today. In exchange, though, I’ll need daily feedback from you. Is that okay?”

“……”

Ham Geonwu remained silent, staring intensely at Sijin. Despite feeling intimidated, Sijim held his gaze firmly. He needed only one answer: YES. And that was what had to happen.

After a moment, Ham Geonwu seemed puzzled by something and opened his mouth.

“…Is that it?”

“Pardon me?”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“…Yes, that’s it.”

Sijin was taken aback by his question. He couldn’t initially fathom what Ham Geonwu was thinking until he realized where he was coming from.

Ham Geonwu’s trauma from the experiment.

“I’m healthy, so aren’t you going to give me some injections to get data?”

Hearing this, Sijin felt conflicted. There were fewer than one hundred A-Rank Ability Users in South Korea, so the Center tried their best to extract as much information as possible from them. This was because they needed tangible results to present to the government.

“Don’t worry about any of that. Just complete your examination properly. We want you to stay healthy while reaching S-Rank.”

“…This is quite refreshing.”

Sijin gave him a gentle smile and took something out of his white lab coat pocket. He then grabbed Ham Geonwu’s large hand to place it there.

“Here you go.”

“…What kind of medicine is this?”

“Put on some clothes first. You might catch a cold.” Instead of answering his question, Sijin patted his well-toned arm. Then he started tidying up the examination equipment by himself.

Meanwhile, Ham Geonwu discreetly opened his palm to inspect what he held. It was merely… a piece of candy. His hardened expression crumbled, feeling somewhat deflated. He turned back to Sijin.

“A candy…? Why did you give me this?”

“It’s a reward for completing your examination flawlessly.”

“I didn’t even get this when I was eight years old.” Ham Geonwu chuckled as if he found something amusing.

Sijin felt conflicted hearing his words. If he could, he would erase the traumatic memories of his experiments immediately. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he hastily added:

“Oh right, you should abstain from alcohol for the next week starting today.”

“What? What do you mean? Why?” Ham Geonwu’s reaction was more intense than ever before, clearly taken aback by what he perceived as an unreasonable request.

Sijin wondered why he was being so sensitive about such a minor thing. He explained, “We don’t have any data due to irregular examinations until now. To estimate whether your wave levels amplify at specific intervals over days, it’s crucial that you refrain from drinking.”

“You’re telling me to die.”

“No, you won’t die. Just abstain for one week.”

“Haa.” Ham Geonwu sighed as if all hope was lost.

Was he really that fond of alcohol? Sijin smiled softly while noting down the examination results.

Suddenly, Ham Geonwu approached him closely. His towering height startled Sijin, but his plea sounded desperate.

“Doctor… Not even one drink of alcohol? Absolutely not?”

“Yes, absolutely not.”

“Really? Even just a sip of beer?”

“Nope.”

“Then…”

“Whatever question you were about to ask, the answer is still no.”

“…Ah, well then…”

“You aren’t thinking of sneaking a drink, are you? I trust Esper Ham Geonwu.”

“……”

Sijin’s unwavering stance left Ham Geonwu unusually crestfallen. As Sijin turned to glance at another monitor, he felt someone tug on his white lab coat, causing him to pause.

Sijin looked back and saw Ham Geonwu pitifully clutching onto his white gown. He even utilized his handsome face to the fullest with silent determination. Sijin smiled gently.

“Absolutely not.”

Defeated, Ham Geonwu despondently sat down on the examination table.

“What was the point of getting this examination…” He muttered while running his fingers through his jet-black hair.

Sijin found Ham Geonwu’s sulking endearing yet amusing. However, regardless of who he was, certain boundaries couldn’t be crossed.

After a moment, Ham Geonwu started munching on the candy before proposing:

“How about this?”

“What?”

“Let’s have a drink together one week from now.”

“…With me?”

“Yes.”

Sijin paused at his request. A drinking promise with Ham Geonwu could naturally lead to discussing compensation for the examinations and provide an opportunity to chat casually. It might also be easier to bring up their shared past over drinks, giving Sijin a chance to express his gratitude. Although Sijin wasn’t much of a drinker, it didn’t matter this time.

Filled with anticipation, Sijin smiled warmly and replied, “Sure. If you abstain until then, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“For real? Awesome!” Ham Geonwu laughed enthusiastically. Despite his assertiveness, Sijin found him quite cute—no easy feat for someone standing at 188cm tall.

“Oh, and I’ll get examined if you keep reading me the pornographic novel.”

Sijin rescinded his earlier thought about him being cute.

“…Esper Ham Geonwu.”

“You said you’d read me anything.”

Ham Geonwu was being stubborn again. It seemed that he hadn’t earned the nickname ‘Killer Whale’ for nothing. For an ordinary person like Sijin, he was too formidable to handle.

“But honestly, a pornographic novel is—”

“No examination unless you do as I say.”

Sijin wondered why Ham Geonwu was being so stubborn. However, he soon realized the reason behind his insistence.

“As I’ve mentioned before, no one knows my body better than myself. And I’m aware that my ability keeps growing.”

“If you know about it, then regular examination and management should be fine.”

“Yes, but I don’t want to accidentally get nervous during an examination and destroy the lab with my ability.”

“……”

“And afterward, examiners tend to look at me warily, which makes me uncomfortable. And if Doctor also…” Ham Geonwu trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

He was doing his best according to his own standards. After some hesitation, Sijin finally agreed.

“All right. If you continue getting regular examinations, I’ll read for you.”

“Deal.” Ham Geonwu smiled brightly, as if he had never been stubborn before.

Sijin initially wanted to scold him but held back when he remembered how genuinely anxious he’d been earlier. It seemed better to use this approach until his trauma gradually improved. Not conducting regular examinations on an S-Rank Esper could lead to unforeseen disasters akin to sitting on a ticking time bomb.

However, Sijin set one condition for him.

“In exchange, no more unethical literature from now on. Reading such provocative material constantly isn’t good for your mental or physical health.”

“But why? It says here I’m super healthy.” Ham Geonwu pointed at his schematic diagram showing excellent health results. Indeed, today’s examinations indicated he was remarkably fit. But feeling suddenly exhausted, Sijin momentarily closed his eyes as if trying to regain composure.

Noticing his fatigue, Ham Geonwu quickly responded, “I’ll bring something ethical and less explicit next time.”

“…That’s good.”

Ham Geonwu wasn’t giving up easily, but Sijin appreciated that he was willing to find alternatives.

***

After finishing up with some minor tests, Sijin patted Ham Geonwu on the back as they exited the lab together. Unlike when he first entered, his face now looked completely relaxed.

“So, what exactly is an ethical pornographic novel? Does such a thing even exist?”

“Well, there’s also se… between lovers, right?”

“What? That heresy.”

“In any case, nothing like that married man today.” Sijin’s voice trembled slightly as he added softly, “He has a family, after all…”

This made Ham Geonwu struggle to suppress another laugh. Ever since Sijin started reading the pornographic novel earlier, he had been unable to contain himself. Each time, Sijin’s neck would turn increasingly red, seemingly without end.

“G-Great job with your examination!”

Outside the lab, Shin Dayoung’s voice rang out loudly as she greeted Sijin with wide-eyed surprise at seeing him emerge unscathed. The other examiners were looking at him like he was a hero. Determined, Sijin resolved to retrain his team members first thing tomorrow.

Ham Geonwu stood quietly, seemingly uncomfortable under their gazes. Noticing this, Sijin gently patted the Killer Whale on his back and said, “We’ll know in three days, right? Please come back for your examination anytime during the day or evening.”

“If you read me a book then, too.”

“……”

“Book.”

“F-Fine… You’ve had a long day today.”

As Sijin reluctantly agreed, Ham Geonwu grinned contentedly, nodded farewell, and left. Interestingly, it seemed that Ham Geonwu appeared prouder of completing the examination successfully than anyone from the diagnostic examination team.

The diagnostic team finally breathed a sigh of relief once the troublesome Killer Whale had left completely.

“Doctor… you’re amazing. The best. I truly admire you.” Shin Dayoung spoke with heartfelt admiration. However, Sijin gave her a bittersweet smile filled with regret.

“If you knew what I exchanged for this examination, you wouldn’t say that…”

“No way! How did you manage to examine the Killer Whale just by reading a book? Incredible! Absolutely incredible!”

‘It’s a pornographic novel, though. And about a married teacher being raped…’

Sijin chuckled as if he might cry and requested Shin Dayoung to record the examination results. With weary steps, he headed towards the diagnostic room.

“Haa…” As soon as he sat down, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. It felt like he had just endured a war. Managing Jeong Taeyul in the morning and Ham Geonwu in the afternoon was understandably draining.

Despite Sijin’s exhaustion, he felt fulfilled after safely examining Ham Geonwu. He was relieved that he seemed cooperative for any future examinations as well.

It was already 6 PM when Sijin checked the time. After enduring a strenuous day, he removed his glasses and applied artificial tears to his dry eyes.

Just then, a notification arrived, seemingly mocking his fatigue. Frowning, Sijin read the message:

[Call Rejected]

[Reason: Accumulated Mental Fatigue]

Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?

Overwhelmed by weariness, Sijin slammed his head onto the desk. Earlier, he had been so cooperative during the examination, promising not to skip any appointments and praising his professionalism…

‘Jeong Taeyul…!’

Seeing the caller ID, Sijin clenched his fists tightly on the table, trembling slightly. Managing both the Killer Whale and Shark was proving incredibly taxing.