TG Ch 2 Part 3

Once Ham Geonwu realized medical examinations weren’t scary, he warmed up to Sijin. The burden of his condition had plagued him throughout his life, so learning there might be a way to alleviate it brought him joy.

For Sijin as well, Ham Geonwu represented the end of his nightmares and trauma.

Knock knock.

Knock knock knock!

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. Sijin looked up from typing on his pad, startled to see two Ability Users standing in his lab. He hadn’t noticed their arrival.

“I’m Esper Ju Hayeong of Delta Team.”

“Guide Park Jaesung of Delta Team.”

“Hm, hello. Please have a seat.”

The first ones who arrived were two members of Delta Team. This team consisted of Ability Users with specialized skills such as piloting, communications, and emergency medical care, allowing them to reach the Center quickly.

Park Jaesung took a seat in front of Sijin first. He was tall and lean, with narrow eyes reminiscent of a snake’s gaze.

“How’s your body feeling? Did you use your ability extensively today?” Sijin asked kindly.

With a weary expression, Park Jaesung responded immediately:

“Give me the sedatives first.”

“I will examine you first. As previously discussed…”

“Sedatives.”

“…..”

Park Jaesung stared at Sijin with snake-like eyes. His breathing was rough, and there was cold sweat on his forehead, indicating he might be agitated. Consequently, he was quite irritable towards Sijin. However, it didn’t affect him. During his career as an examiner, he had become immune to dealing with prickly Ability Users. Instead, seeing Park Jaesung express his own thoughts led him to anticipate physical fatigue.

“You don’t need sedatives now, and you promised to quit them. It’s not allowed.”

“My body feels hot…”

“Please let me know if your body remains hot even after Guiding.”

Sijin responded with his usual calm voice. He examined Park Jaesung’s dilated pupils for the test and started wrapping a pad around his arm. No medication was needed as his agitated state was due to using his ability. Throughout the preparation, Park Jaesung glared at Sijin and muttered, “You’re just a mere civilian.”

“…..”

“What do you think you know about us?”

“Guide Park Jaesung,” called the diagnostic examiner, but Park Jaesung continued to glare without responding. Sijin finished wrapping the pad around his arm. Behind his transparent glasses, his eyes remained quietly composed.

During the measurement process, Sijin asked in a matter-of-fact tone, “What benefit is there in distinguishing opponents like that? Are you going to do the same even when faced with a monster right in front of you?”

“…..”

Soon, the examination was completed. Sijin detached the pad and checked the results: -66%. Compared to Jeong Taeyul, it was a good number.

“The wave value dropped suddenly, causing mild stress on your body. It seems like you have accumulated significant fatigue. Please undergo guidance for more than 30 minutes with an esper having a compatibility rate of at least 55%.”

“What about sedatives?”

“You don’t need any sedatives right now.”

“I feel like I need them.”

“No prescription. Go immediately to the Guiding room. This is an order.”

“…..”

Sijin spoke firmly. Then he proceeded to examine Esper Ju Hayeong, who had been observing his senior’s reaction nearby. Throughout the measurement, Park Jaesung’s sharp gaze remained fixed on Sijin. However, Sijin continued silently, accustomed to such situations. Fortunately, Ju Hayeong’s condition was stable, allowing the examination to conclude safely.

***

Before leaving, Park Jaesung spoke to Sijin, “This is not why Ability Users risk their lives fighting against monsters.”

Sijin quietly looked at him, noticing his snake-like eyes filled with hostility towards him.

‘Why does he show such animosity towards me?’

Despite being exhausted, Sijin didn’t expect this level of hostility from him. Park Jaesung was 25 years old, a B-rank Guide. To Sijin, he seemed quite young. Regardless of age, courtesy should always be maintained. With a calm demeanor, Sijin replied one last time:

“Please face reality. Our enemies are the monsters.”

In the end, Sijin did not administer any sedatives. Park Jaesung’s condition could sufficiently stabilize through proper Guiding alone. Considering the potential side effects of sedatives, it was a straightforward decision.

‘This damn discrimination against ordinary people…’

Sijin suddenly felt tired as he watched Park Jaesung’s unresponsive form. The most difficult cases for him were those Ability Users who believed they deserved special treatment. In fact, even examiners like Sijin were classified as Ability Users. Sijin sighed and spoke routinely:

“The examination is finished. Thank you for your cooperation today.”

“…..”

“Thank you for your time.”

Park Jaesung left without acknowledging his farewell. Instead, it was the quiet Delta Team esper who politely responded. This behavior caused a frown to appear on Sijin’s forehead as he continued filling out the chart. Although common among examiners, such discrimination stressed out Sijin, who personally disliked it.

“Hello.”

At that moment, Park Jaesung greeted someone, and naturally, Sijin’s gaze turned towards the door. Jeong Taeyul had entered the examination room with noticeable dark circles under his eyes. He appeared sensitive as he scanned the room sharply before speaking up.

“What’s going on here?”

“Ah… It’s nothing. I’ll be back later.” Park Jaesung hastily excused himself and left the room.

Sijin felt somewhat disillusioned by Park Jaesung’s courteous act, but then he met Jeong Taeyul’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… Thank you for your hard work today. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine now that I’m here.”

“….?” His gruff demeanor remained unchanged, making Sijin wonder if he was being sarcastic. For a moment, Sijin didn’t know what to say before deciding to ask about something that piqued his curiosity.

“What about Esper Ham Geonwu?”

“I killed him.”

“…What? Why?”

“He kept making annoying noises.”

At that moment, a tall figure appeared at the door of the examination room.

“Here comes cutie pie.”

As soon as Jeong Taeyul spoke, he forcefully kicked the door shut with his foot, startling Sijin with his intensity. However, Ham Geonwu casually opened the door again, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Doctor! I’m here.”

“Welcome back, you’ve been working hard,” Sijin replied warmly upon seeing Ham Geonwu enter. He was relieved to find him safe and sound. Although he looked tired, he seemed relatively unchanged from when he left for battle.

“You must be exhausted with those monsters not relenting, right? I’ve been continuously monitoring the situation.”

“You didn’t get much sleep because of us either, Doctor,” Ham Geonwu said as he took a seat across from him. Sijin wondered if he looked as tired as those who had been on-site today.

Sijin continuously monitored the records to assess injuries sustained during missions. Today, hundreds of C-rank monsters confronted Ability Users at sea. It was impossible to accurately count or completely eliminate aquatic monsters, so their goal was to keep them away from land. That’s why the Ability Users returned later than usual.

Ham Geonwu had particularly shone today, truly demonstrating his abilities. However, instead of discussing his achievements, he proudly presented Sijin with a gift, seemingly apologetic about the earlier incident involving his restraints.

“Ah, right. I brought you a gift to apologize for tying you up last time. Thank you for checking me out again.”

“Oh really? Now I’m curious.” Sijin responded kindly while swiftly examining him. He took his temperature and pulse rate. Since his right arm had shown concerning results during the previous checkup, Sijin gently examined it to ensure Ham Geonwu hadn’t overexerted himself. Despite feeling Jeong Taeyul’s intense gaze from behind, Sijin remained focused on his work.

Eager to reveal his gift, Ham Geonwu tried once more, “I went through a lot of trouble to get this for you.”

“What could it be?” Truthfully, as long as it wasn’t some inappropriate adult material, Sijin would appreciate it. A brief tearful thought crossed his mind.

“Here.” With pride, Ham Geonwu revealed what he had been hiding behind his back.

The gift was truly unimaginable.

“This is…”

Sijin’s sharp intellect momentarily froze at the sight of it. Inside the cylinder was a small and delicate sky-blue crab. However, its true identity was extraordinary—it was a living new monster, designated as SN2031.

Sijin recognized this monster well. It wasn’t for nothing that he read numerous papers every day. Although currently small due to being juvenile, once fully grown, it would become a mid-sized monster exceeding four meters in length. Moreover, when approached closely, it opens its body wide, emitting a deadly venom. This venom gradually paralyzes and kills an adult male within approximately ten hours.

After being stunned for about three seconds, Sijin looked up at Ham Geonwu with a slight smile, his black pupils tightly constricted.

“T-Thank you. It’s truly a special gift.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Yes, now kill me quickly.”

“….??”

Sijin’s firm request puzzled Ham Geonwu. As his reaction didn’t align with his expectations, he kept glancing between Sijin and the monster. Suddenly, Ham Geonwu turned to Jeong Taeyul.

Jeong Taeyul was shamelessly sitting on the sofa nearby, writing something on a tablet, likely drafting a mission report.

“Hey, Jeong Tae.”

“Yeah?”

“He says he wants to die?”

“So what?”

“You mentioned that doctors appreciate this kind of thing…”

What? Confused, Sijin also looked at Jeong Taeyul.

Casually stretching out on the sofa with his feet propped up on the table, Jeong Taeyul responded irresponsibly, “So what? Or not, whatever.”

“…..”

Sijin was rendered speechless by his audacity. He could easily guess what had transpired. The person responsible for commanding today’s mission from the Command Center sat right before his eyes. Ham Geonwu had been deceived by the captain.

Feeling sympathetic, Sijin asked him to give Ham Geonwu a pat on the back.

“You received your gift too soon… Please wait until I become a mad scientist due to stress.”

“Uh, so you’ll take care of it until then?”

“Just get rid of it quickly.” Sijin pointed towards the door. Reluctantly, Ham Geonwu glanced at the jar one last time. The sky-blue crab occasionally moved its pincers. Its shell color might be strikingly beautiful, but that beauty likely concealed deadliness. This characteristic often applied to beings with innate supernatural abilities, including humans.

“Let’s go, blue crab…” Ham Geonwu dejectedly stepped out into the hallway. He was likely going to deal with the baby monster. Sijin watched him apologetically. He hadn’t expected him to give the monster a name.

“Were you expecting some romantic gesture?”