TG Ch 1 Part 13

After lunch, Sijin and Shin Dayoung went to the Center’s cafe. It was packed with people during the lunch hour. Other examiners were busy examining Ability Users who had scheduled their appointments at this time. In fact, examiners rarely ate together due to overlapping examinations.

“Have you ever seen an actual S-Rank guide, Doctor?”

“A few times.”

Wow! Shin Dayoung was amazed. There were only two known S-Rank guides in South Korea, both in their forties and fifties, with no new S-Rank guides emerging for quite some time. The situation was similar with the three existing S-rank espers; one had retired due to old age, and the others were over forty years old.

“You’ve met both S-Rank guides in our country? Wait, there really are just two of them, right?”

“Hmm, officially, that’s correct.”

“Ohhh… That sounds like quite a scoop. I should tell my nephews about this.” Shin Dayoung chuckled playfully. To Sijin, who considered Shin Dayoung more of a younger sister, she always knew how to lighten the mood with humor.

“How was working with the S-Rank guide?”

“The S-Rank guide…” After a brief pause, Sijin decided to be honest. “They were impressive, but… quite prickly.”

Hearing this, Shin Dayoung stifled a laugh and whispered quietly:

“…Guess arrogance among guides isn’t dependent on their rank…”

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Ahh, sorry!”

“It’s fine.” Shin Dayoung quickly apologized, aware that Sijin disliked discriminatory remarks. However, Sijin brushed it off lightly, understanding that such comments often stemmed from occupational stress for examiners.

Honestly, managing Ability Users was quite challenging. Espers were like uncontrollable retrievers with fire-breathing abilities, ignoring all warnings from examiners. While Guides believed they knew better than the examiners and wouldn’t listen to advice, convinced only they could handle these fiery retrievers. It was akin to dog owners trusting their instincts more than veterinarians’ diagnosis.

The two of them found seats at the cafe, each holding their coffees. They chose a table near the window offering beautiful views of the Center’s lake and surroundings. During lunchtime, it was peaceful watching the interactions among the Ability Users. Although seeing some hurling ice while others shooting lightning seemed surreal…

Sipping his coffee leisurely, Sijin observed, “Here, guides and espers don’t seem to have conflicts with each other.”

“Why’s that? Did they constantly fight at your previous research institute?”

“I was at a youth ability users research facility.”

“Ugh… It must have been like a war zone.” Shin Dayoung shook her head as if just thinking about it horrified her. Sijin chuckled quietly.

Among Ability Users, there were certain age groups known to be particularly challenging to manage: D-Rank < E-Rank < 14 years old, listed in order of increasing difficulty. 

Most individuals started off with either D or E ranks, and during this period when their abilities rapidly improved, they often acted heroically. Meanwhile, fourteen-year-olds, caught up in the delusion of being special, frequently leaned towards villainous behavior due to their ‘chuunibyou’ phase.

Shin Dayoung gazed out the window and remarked, “Here, people bond more closely because it’s dangerous. With their lives on the line fighting monsters, they can’t afford to bicker amongst themselves.”

“You’re right…”

Sijin silently agreed. Outside the window, Guides were now actively engaging with the Espers. Whenever someone shot lightning, the Guide would neutralize its energy and immobilize the Esper’s body. Espers manifested their abilities using positive energy, while Guides could nullify this power through negative energy. They acted as both spear and shield to each other.

Occasionally, chunks of ice crashed against the windows. However, all buildings at the Ability User Center utilized tempered glass, prepared for such incidents. As their playfulness escalated, even the Center’s guards nagging started to feel peaceful.

While leisurely sipping her coffee, Shin Dayoung asked curiously, “Doctor, I’m just wondering—how powerful is an S-Rank guide?”

“Well, I haven’t observed their abilities extensively… But they can disable monsters or espers without even touching them.”

“Wow… It’s different from what I imagined. I thought they could even create oceans.”

“Pardon?”

“Aren’t A-Rank guides supposed to make lakes?”

“…..?” 

Confusion clouded Sijin’s face. As he glanced sideways with curiosity, his eyes met Shin Dayoung, who was sipping her coffee.

“Oh, Doctor, you might not know this. The captain created that lake here.”

“The lake?”

“Yes, originally, it was quite small—just enough for ducks to play around in water.”

“Why… did he make something like that?”

Sijin almost blurted out, ‘Why did he create such a disaster?’ The lake within the center was as large as a football field. While it provided a scenic walking path, navigating around it had become inconvenient.

“The campus was built on reclaimed land from the sea. However, three years ago during a typhoon, seawater flooded all the way to the Center, and there was chaos when marine monsters entered,” Shin Dayoung shuddered as if recalling something terrifying. “It felt like a real-life disaster movie. At that time, Captain Shark created a sinkhole in the lake, draining away the water.”

“……”

“And there were actual monsters! I thought I would die of fear.”

“How did he create a sinkhole?” Sijin asked incredulously. He had heard of Guides with fire attributes extinguishing fires at fire scenes, but creating a sinkhole with their abilities was new to him. Compared to Espers, much less was known about a Guide’s attributes, making them harder to comprehend.

“They say he roughly eliminated the water from the lake down to the underground, causing some ground to collapse… Apart from that, I don’t understand it.”

“……”

Sijin was amazed. As he learned more about Espers, reality seemed stranger than fiction. Still, there were new insights gained. Jeong Taeyul was likely a water attribute Guide with extraordinary control over surrounding vibrations.

At this moment, Shin Dayoung jokingly remarked:

“So, there is a rumor of a monster living in our lake. Be careful, Doctor.”

“No need for caution… If my workload becomes too much, diving into the lake might be tempting.”

“Wow! I’ve had similar thoughts sometimes.” Shin Dayoung giggled at her own remark. As the weather warmed up, sea monsters became more active, causing increased hardships for the Ability Users and keeping the examiners extremely busy as well.

On top of that, they always had challenging tasks to tackle.

“Haa… We have a killer whale to examine this afternoon…”

“That’s right.”

Shin Dayoung sounded resigned, but Sijin spoke with anticipation. Finally, it was time to assess Ham Geonwu, which he considered his most important task.

“Doctor, I’ll do my utmost to assist you.”

“Thank you.”

Hearing her reassuring words brought a smile to Sijin.

***

“…Were you serious about that?”

“Would I lie to you?” Ham Geonwu proudly grinned and handed Sijin his tablet. The device provided by the government contained some unusual words.

“I thought you were joking…” Sijin couldn’t hide his surprise as he took the tablet from him.

Ham Geonwu had really brought a pornographic novel. Showing no embarrassment, he eagerly asked:

“You’ll read it while I’m getting examined, right?”

“Um… Esper Ham Geonwu. Even for me, reading a pornographic novel is…” Sijin struggled to find the words.

Ham Geonwu’s expression hardened at his hesitation. “We agreed on this. If not, I wouldn’t have come for the examination.”

His tone was firm, almost charismatic, but the content of his request—’Read me a pornographic novel’—made it seem strangely incongruous.

Sijin was gobsmacked. He’d heard rumors that this F12 Center attracted its fair share of oddballs due to its strict policies, but he hadn’t expected it to be true…

“Doctor. Did you lie to me?”

“No, not at all.”

It looked like Ham Geonwu might bolt from the lab at any moment. Sijin hastily grabbed his arm.

“I-I’ll read it for you. But first, let’s get ready for your examination.”

“Sure.”

“……” 

Ham Geonwu agreed as if it were obvious.

Initially stunned, Sijin quickly regained his composure. After all, how explicit could the book really be? Having rationalized the situation, he led him toward the examination area.

“Shall we head inside now?”

“Yes.”

Feeling nervous and uneasy, Ham Geonwu took a deep breath before entering the lab. His expression was tense, like someone with acrophobia standing at the edge of a cliff.

“Doctor.”

“Yes?”

Ham Geonwu spoke as he stared straight ahead. Specifically, his gaze was fixed on one wall of the lab where there appeared to be a large dent, as if it had been struck by a boulder.

“I might inadvertently manifest my ability anytime now.”

“I’m aware. It happens when you’re startled or anxious.”

“……”

“It’s okay. We’ll take this slowly together.”

Sijin’s reassuring words prompted Ham Geonwu to turn slightly and briefly make eye contact with him. Then, he shifted his gaze over Sijin’s shoulder.

When Sijin looked back at the other examiners, he could see their expressions. They seemed even more tense than Ham Geonwu. He quickly shook his head to stop them. It was unprofessional for the examiners to be more nervous than the Ability User being examined, as it would make the examination process uncomfortable.

Ham Geonwu impassively observed the examiners before looking down and smiling gently at Sijin. Sijin’s heart twinged slightly at his handsome smile.

‘Well, I suppose anyone would feel uneasy receiving such stares, especially if they didn’t intend to draw attention…’

Sijin empathized with him, thinking that gossip wasn’t a big deal. However, he underestimated how vast the world truly was. This ignorance turned out to be his only mistake.

***