TG Ch 10(1) Part 2

[Special Examination Room]

Sijin headed to the special examination room where the promotion examiner was temporarily working.

And as soon as he arrived, he saw Kwon Jiwon buried under a mountain of reports. Due to the aftermath of Jeong Taeyul’s pre-berserk episode yesterday, there was a flood of reports to write and review.

“Jiwon, are you okay?”

“What are you doing here?”

Kwon Jiwon grumbled, but there was a hint of relief on his face. Sijin smiled apologetically and approached him.

“You have a lot to look at, right? Give them to me, I’ll review the kids’ examination results.”

“Ah, I really don’t want to ask for help…”

“No, it’s my job anyway.”

Sijin said with an apologetic smile.

The results showed the readings of Jeong Taeyul and Ham Geonwu, both affected by last night’s pre-berserk episode. As expected, they were both in bad shape.

[Guide Jeong Taeyul: -74%]

[Esper Ham Geonwu: +21%]

‘Why is Jeong Taeyul’s condition better after spending the night with me…? It’s too effective to be just psychological stability. At this rate, I can lift his field deployment ban the day after tomorrow… Geonwu’s recovery is slower. I should call him to the examination room right away.’

Ham Geonwu’s wave readings were at +21% in the morning, clearly indicating that he had been drained of energy by a Guide. He would need to rest for another two or three days to recover to his normal +40%.

Sijin immediately picked up his pad to call Ham Geonwu.

But then, he received a call.

[Call Recipient: Diagnostic Examiner Baek Sijin]

[Call Location: Director’s Office]

‘Huh…? A call from the director?’

Sijin’s hand froze in surprise. A call from the director…

He felt his heart pounding nervously.

Kwon Jiwon, noticing his surprise, handed him a warm cup of coffee and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing. I just got a call from the director…”

Sijin said glumly. He could guess why he was being summoned.

The center’s director was particularly sensitive to ability users’ berserk episodes. Each episode represented a significant loss of combat power. And a berserk episode from the center’s only A-rank Guide was a serious matter.

Kwon Jiwon, seemingly realizing the reason for the summons, frowned and said, “Hmm, they seem a bit on edge here. It was just a pre-berserk episode, and it was stopped.”

“…I’m going to get chewed out…”

“Cheer up. Things can’t always go smoothly.”

Kwon Jiwon patted Sijin’s back sympathetically. Sijin, his face crumpled, accepted the call. It was better to face the music sooner rather than later…

Then, Kwon Jiwon, looking at the reports, casually asked, “You look tired.”

“Uh, yeah. A little…”

Sijin answered, slightly embarrassed. The atmosphere in the examination room suddenly felt awkward.

As the silence settled, Kwon Jiwon asked bluntly, almost accusingly, “Did you sleep with him?”

“……”

Sijin’s eyes widened as he looked at the reports.

His friend’s question could only mean one thing. He had disappeared all night after saying he was going to diagnose Jeong Taeyul. Kwon Jiwon, who knew Sijin’s feelings, would have guessed what had happened.

Still, Sijin hadn’t expected him to be so direct. Flustered, Sijin stammered instead of answering, “Why are you… asking me that so casually…”

“So you did sleep with him.”

“……”

“Our Confucian man finally did it! Phew. I’m so relieved.”

Kwon Jiwon clapped his hands, looking genuinely relieved. Embarrassed, Sijin buried his face in the reports he was holding. He was grateful they were in a place where the other examiners couldn’t hear their conversation.

Kwon Jiwon chuckled, then glanced at Sijin with an amused look. His usually tired face seemed to have regained some of its color.

“So? Any progress?”

“Just… the atmosphere was… nice. But things were so hectic, we didn’t really talk much.”

“Why?”

“A trainee came in to report on a mission, and we were caught. My heart almost stopped…”

“Hmm, that sounds… awkward.”

Kwon Jiwon nodded in understanding, then continued reviewing the reports.

“Well, you can just talk things out now. I actually enjoy cleaning up after a mess.”

“You’re saying that because it’s not your problem… I’m never talking about my love life with you again.”

Sijin said irritably and closed his mouth. He was exhausted after being with Jeong Taeyul all night, and his unresolved feelings left him feeling restless. He couldn’t help but feel annoyed at his friend’s condescending remarks.

‘Thanks to Jiwon, I’m the one causing all the trouble…’

Sijin chuckled in disbelief. He never thought he would listen to his nosy friend’s advice.

‘Huh…?’

Just then, Sijin noticed something strange in the reports.

[Simulation Test Subject: Jeong Taeyul]

[Real-Time Physical Connection Record]

The document was filled with Jeong Taeyul’s brainwave and physical response data recorded during the promotion test. The graph showed his condition in 0.5-second intervals.

Sijin narrowed his eyes at a particular point on the graph.

Something was strange about Jeong Taeyul’s simulation test results.

‘Why was so much hallucinogen sprayed…? What about Geonwu?’

Sensing something was amiss, Sijin frantically searched for and reviewed Ham Geonwu’s reports.

And as expected. An excessive amount of hallucinogen had been sprayed during Ham Geonwu’s test as well.

“Jiwon. Did you see the kids’ test reports?”

“Huh? Yeah, briefly.”

“……”

Sijin looked at Kwon Jiwon quizzically. He was reviewing the promotion test results with a tired expression. He seemed to have missed the anomaly because he’d been too busy.

“Jiwon. What’s the appropriate dosage of hallucinogen for the simulation test?”

“Um, 0.07mg, once per hour.”

“……”

Sijin stared at the small number on the document with a serious expression.

“…2mg was sprayed during yesterday’s simulation test.”

“What?”

“2mg. Enough to induce seizures.”

“Let me see.”

Kwon Jiwon, his expression hardening, approached him. He took the document from Sijin’s hand and checked it himself.

“What the… Ham Geonwu, 0.8mg, and Jeong Taeyul… 2mg?”

Kwon Jiwon’s eyes widened in shock as he confirmed the numbers.

Moreover, the hallucinogen, which was supposed to be administered in 0.07mg doses every hour, had been dispensed erratically every 16 or 19 minutes.

“What the hell? This shouldn’t be possible unless someone tampered with it…”

Kwon Jiwon muttered, his face grim. Sijin looked at him incredulously and asked, “How could such an error occur?”

“Wait a minute. I’ll re-examine the testing equipment.”

Sijin put the document down. A Guide had almost had a berserk episode because of this error, and his heart had almost stopped. If it had been an Esper going berserk, they could have been torn apart. It wasn’t something he could easily overlook.

“Examiner Kwon. This is a critical error. How could this happen?”

“……”

Kwon Jiwon, who had been looking for other documents, froze.

He turned around and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He knew Sijin’s sharp temper when it came to these matters. Sijin was particularly sensitive to the well-being of the ability users under his care (even if they were grown adults).

Kwon Jiwon cleared his throat and spoke calmly, “Dr. Baek. This is the first time I’ve seen such an error since I started working as a promotion examiner. I swear.”

“……”

“I’ll take responsibility and contact the central center to confirm, and I’ll report to you first. Calm down for now.”

“…Okay.”

Sijin said, rubbing his tired brow. But he couldn’t help his anxiety and carefully reviewed Jeong Taeyul and Ham Geonwu’s readings one by one.

To think they’d been exposed to such a high dose of hallucinogen… It was a harmless drug in the correct dosage, but it meant that Jeong Taeyul had been experiencing multiple layers of hallucinations during the simulation test.

‘Hyung… Hyung.’

Who was the person Jeong Taeyul had called out so desperately in his hallucinations? The mere thought made Sijin’s heart ache.

Sijin took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. He was responsible for this.

With such a critical error, Yoo Seunghwa obviously couldn’t proceed with the test.

Then, Kwon Jiwon, observing Sijin’s expression, asked cautiously, “Um… Dr. Baek. You’re going to postpone Esper Yoo Seunghwa’s promotion test, right?”

“Yes, of course. …I’ll tell Esper Yoo Seunghwa.”

“No, I’ll tell her. You should check on the kids’ conditions.”

Kwon Jiwon said, rubbing his brow.

Sijin sighed softly. Even Jiwon, despite his meticulous nature when it came to work, probably hadn’t anticipated this. Sijin felt sorry for him.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’ll go to the director’s office now.”

“It’s late, so just go to the director’s office and come back tomorrow.”

“No, I have to check on Geonwu today.”

While Sijin was speaking, Kwon Jiwon was on his phone, seemingly contacting the central center. His expression was grim. Sijin understood how he felt, but since there was nothing he could do to help right now, he quietly turned to leave.

“Ah, um… Dr. Baek.”

“Yeah?”

Kwon Jiwon pulled the phone away from his ear and called out to Sijin.

“Esper Ham Geonwu seems… upset.”

“Why?”

“Well, last night he seemed to have rested well and reported his condition to the examiner without any issues…”

Kwon Jiwon handed Sijin a chart. It was Ham Geonwu’s data, meticulously recorded by Examiner Shin Dayoung overnight.

“He waited for you in the examination room until lunchtime, then suddenly disappeared. He hasn’t responded to any calls from the examination room since.”

“Ah… I see. Did Geonwu say anything?”

“Well, earlier today…”

Kwon Jiwon trailed off awkwardly. He seemed puzzled that Sijin didn’t know anything.

“He kept waiting, saying he was fine, even when we offered to call you. So we thought you would be here soon.”

“……”

While Sijin stood there, dumbfounded, Kwon Jiwon’s call connected.

Unable to ask anything further, Sijin nodded goodbye and left the room.

‘Geonwu must have been in pain all night after stopping that A-rank Guide’s berserk episode by himself…’

Sijin felt guilty hearing that Ham Geonwu had been waiting for him. He hadn’t been able to pay proper attention to him because Jeong Taeyul had been in worse shape. Sijin sighed, feeling both sorry for Ham Geonwu and disgusted with himself.

Then, Sijin stopped in the hallway and clutched his chest. His heart was pounding, as if he were under extreme stress.

‘What is this… Why do I feel so uneasy?’

Sijin couldn’t hide the anxiety in his expression. The anomaly during the test, Ham Geonwu’s sudden behavior, and the summons from the director all felt like bad omens.

‘I wish Jeong Taeyul was here…’

Sijin instinctively thought of him. He was surprised by his own thoughts, then quickened his pace. It was getting late.

***