TG Ch 2 Part 1

Chapter 2

The inspection of Jeong Taeyul occurred at lunchtime the next day. With his shirt removed, Jeong Taeyul’s body displayed impressive muscles honed by actual combat experiences, and they were evenly distributed throughout his frame. As Shin Dayoung had mentioned, Shark was truly cooperative during the examination… except for his consistently sour gaze directed towards Sijin.

‘Why is there such turbulence around his heart?’

Sijin now understood why Jeong Taeyul had postponed the examination. His physical condition was genuinely poor, evidenced by excessive turbulence surrounding his heart. The stress wave value stood at -69%, indicating that despite presumably resting, it had decreased by 6% within a single day. Carefully examining the schematic diagram of Jeong Taeyul’s body, Sijin asked:

“Guide Jeong Taeyul. Why is your condition so poor? Did you suddenly use your ability yesterday? Or did something stressful happen?”

“I’m not sure.”

‘What do you mean by “I’m not sure”…?’

Sighing softly, Sijin glanced at his chart and said, “Please don’t hide any symptoms from me.”

“I understand… I just couldn’t sleep well due to stress last night.” Jeong Taeyul looked at him with tired eyes.

Sijin felt uneasy, wondering if he had been caught reading erotic stories to Ham Geonwu. Trying to maintain composure, he calmly responded: 

“Considering both your wave levels and overall condition, I’ll prohibit you from entering combat today. No training either. And as for guiding, you should…”

Sijin’s calm voice trailed off as he hesitated to continue. Initially, he had restricted him from going on missions due to his high wave reading. However, since it wasn’t excessively high, he could still provide guidance support within the center or handle administrative tasks. As a captain, he could even issue orders remotely from the Command Center.

What Sijin was now suggesting was guidance counseling. When an Ability User experienced fluctuations primarily affecting their heart, the most critical organ, they were advised to undergo guidance with someone having the highest compatibility rating. This would help dissipate the fluctuations smoothly.

Unfortunately, Ham Geonwu was the ideal match for Jeong Taeyul.

“As much as possible?” Jeong Taeyul repeated his suggestion. He leaned casually against the examination table while watching Sijin.

Sijin hesitated momentarily and felt foolish for doing so. He quickly tried to smooth things over with him.

“As much as possible… please guide an esper with a high compatibility rating within three days.”

“…Sure.” Jeong Taeyul sounded unusually compliant, perhaps due to his condition. Sijin found this side of him unfamiliar, but he quietly wrapped up the examination.

“Well then… the checkup is complete. Thank you for your cooperation.”

As if he had been waiting for him to finish, Jeong Taeyul held out his palm toward Sijin.

“…..?” 

Perplexed, Sijin glanced between his hand and his face. The dark circles visible under his chocolate-colored hair gave him a strangely predatory look, like he was ready to devour him whole.

“…What?”

“Why won’t you give me one?”

“What do you mean?” Despite feeling embarrassed, Jeong Taeyul shamelessly asked again.

“Candy.”

“…..”

“You’re not giving it only to Ham Geonwu, right? Why?”

“N-No, that’s not true. I-I give them to everyone.” Sijin hastily replied, but it was just an excuse. He had indeed given candy exclusively to Ham Geonwu.

Nevertheless, fearing criticism from Jeong Taeyul, especially when he wasn’t feeling well, Sijin quickly searched his pocket. Thankfully, Sijin found another piece of candy. It had become a habit for him to carry sweets ever since working at the Youth Ability Users Research Institute.

“H-Here you go… Hmm, your examination went smoothly today. Please get dressed now.”

As Sijin handed over the candy, Jeong Taeyul emotionlessly folded his hands and, instead of eating it, put the candy in his pocket. Sijin felt like he’d been taken advantage of.

“It’s because Ham Geonwu bragged so much about getting one.”

Jeong Taeyul grinned. Fortunately, Ham Geonwu had only bragged about receiving candy.

‘They aren’t even elementary school kids…’

Sijin recalled experiencing similar situations at the Youth Ability Users Research Institute. However, he hadn’t expected adults in their late twenties to act this way, just like those younger kids.

‘I bet he did it on purpose.’

Sijin discreetly glared at Jeong Taeyul as he headed towards the changing room. He found him slightly annoying now. From now on, he would have to distribute candies every time he underwent examinations. It would have been better if he could’ve simply asked him not to treat Ham Geonwu differently…

Suddenly, Jeong Taeyul stopped walking. Sijin’s gaze faltered momentarily. His back muscles subtly tensed and relaxed with his breathing before he spoke without turning around.

“What are you staring at me for?”

“…W-What?”

“You’re staring at my back.”

“…..”

Sijin got goosebumps from these words. Did this person have eyes on the back of his head…?

However, Jeong Taeyul chuckled without turning around. Sijin slightly turned his head and realized what had happened. Their gazes met through the tinted tempered glass. Flustered, he quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed as his face flushed. Indeed, this place was several levels above the Youth Ability Users Research Institute.

***

Sijin had finished his examination late today and was eating lunch alone. The F12 Center provided buffet-style meals. Although the menu was consistent, Sijin didn’t mind as it tasted decent enough.

After finishing his meal satisfactorily, Sijin went to the cafe. With some time left and being by himself, he planned to read a new research paper. It was then that he spotted Ham Geonwu and Jeong Taeyul at the cafe.

‘Huh?’

Holding his travel mug, Sijin watched the two tall men as if they were from another world. They looked picture-perfect together, each wearing their black Center uniforms with their own unique style. Ham Geonwu and Jeong Taeyul sat side by side, engrossed in conversation while sharing a glance at a pad on the table. Mostly, Jeong Taeyul spoke earnestly while Ham Geonwu nodded occasionally, sometimes breaking into laughter. Surprisingly, in front of Jeong Taeyul was a whipped cream-topped drink, whereas Ham Geonwu had an iced Americano.

‘They truly have such a warm relationship…’

Sijin took a sip of his coffee as he observed them, feeling somewhat bitter inside.

‘I mean… They’ve known each other for ten years.’

Moreover, they were an esper and guide with a compatibility rating of 70%, who risked their lives together on missions. How close must they be?

Instead of jealousy, Sijin felt admiration, unable to gauge what Jeong Taeyul meant to Ham Geonwu. As he aged, he increasingly realized the value of deep human connections.

With a wistful smile, Sijin searched for a suitable spot to read his research paper. Conveniently, there were several good seats near Ham Geonwu and Jeong Taeyul, so he headed that way. The pair was engrossed in their conversation and didn’t even notice him passing by.

Sijin inadvertently overheard their conversation. Ham Geonwu sounded disgruntled.

“Why are we changing machines again?”

“It’s just an update to the latest model.”

“Ah, but I finally got used to the previous one. This is annoying.”

In response to his complaint, Jeong Taeyul let out an exhausted sigh. He took a sip of his cold drink as if trying to calm himself down before holding up a pad and launching into an explanation with intensity.

“I’ll explain this only once, so listen carefully. You will also be tested.”

“Am I a trainee now? Why do I need to take a test?”

“Your poor handling led to the mission name being leaked, forcing us to change it. You fucking idiot…”

Sijin shuddered at the way Jeong Taeyul was gritting his teeth in anger. Unconsciously, he felt like he was silently hiding in the shadows. It was too frightening to even think about provoking Jeong Taeyul right now…

‘No wonder the name Killer Whale spread like wildfire….’

Nevertheless, Sijin understood why Ham Geonwu’s mission details had leaked. It was somewhat novel. Due to the damage caused by Ham Geonwu’s mishandling of machinery, Jeong Taeyul seemed cautious about educating him properly. Moreover, with such mission details spreading, various reports needed to be refiled. However, they couldn’t exactly write on the explanation form, “Confidential information leaked due to an Ability User’s incompetence with machinery…” Clearly, it was a sensitive issue.

Now, Jeong Taeyul gritted his teeth and said firmly:

“I’m tired, so let’s finish this once and for all. We’ve been at this bullshit for ten years now, damn it…”

“Ah, explain it again. I think I’m finally starting to understand.”

There were plenty of empty seats nearby for a reason. Sijin felt restless, as if sitting on pins and needles. In contrast, Ham Geonwu remained completely unperturbed.

Soon, two burly men leaned closer to each other and earnestly studied together. However, after merely two minutes, Jeong Taeyul asked sharply:

“…Hey, Ham. You don’t get it, do you?”

“No? I think I do.”

“Then tell me what I just explained.”

“The app has a selfie feature.”

“This fucking… It requires facial recognition, but you…” Jeong Taeyul clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging as if unable to control his anger.

Concerned that Jung Taeyul might explode in anger towards the esper, Sijin intervened before things got out of hand.

“Um, about learning new features for the app? Is everything okay?”

“Doctor!” Ham Geonwu greeted him with a warm smile. Sijin managed a strained grin while cautiously observing Jeong Taeyul’s furious expression. Then, he gently addressed Ham Geonwu:

“It must be challenging with the sudden addition of security features, right? Would you like me to explain them?”

“Sure, I’m tired of learning from this bastard.”

“Haa…” Jeong Taeyul sighed as if even cursing was too much effort. He then handed the pad over to Sijin, indicating he should handle it himself. Since Sijin already knew about the new feature, he calmly explained:

“There aren’t many changes. Just some additional security functions were added.”

“What kind of functions?”

“You’re familiar with facial recognition, right? So, when the smartwatch on your left wrist and the pad get too far apart, like this…”

Sijin deliberately separated Ham Geonwu’s smartwatch and the pad by a significant distance.

“If they become excessively distant or detect unusual circumstances, the pad will prompt for facial recognition to verify its owner.”

“Ah~! I understand now.”

Ham Geonwu nodded as if he understood it all. Then, with a friendly smile, he nudged Jeong Taeyul’s arm.

“Why do you make things so complicated?”

“Is your wish to die early?”

Despite the threat, Ham Geonwu continued grinning proudly, pleased that he had grasped the concept. He then clung to Sijin, asking him to explain various other gadgets.