TG Ch 5 Part 4

Confined to the Center, Sijin found himself with nothing to do on his day off. It felt like house arrest, albeit a comfortable one. On weekends, he usually wandered around the Center’s various facilities.

Having eaten lunch a little late, Sijin strolled by the Center’s lake, lost in thought. 

‘Jeong Taeyul’s been dispatched to the neighboring Center… Geonwu’s busy as the main A-rank on duty. And I’m stuck here…’

As the designated A-rank Esper on standby, Ham Geonwu would be occupied with various tasks throughout the day. At the F12 Center, one of the A-ranks always remained on call every weekend.

Today, Sijin was utterly alone. 

Perhaps it was being stuck at work, but the weekend felt anything but. It was a little stifling, being unable to leave even on his day off. 

‘Should I grab some coffee?’

Sijin settled for a compromise. It was 3:00 PM, and the Center, bathed in the weekend tranquility, felt like a peaceful college campus. Staring blankly at the scenery, he picked up his pace. Yes, a change of scenery was needed. Sijin stopped by his dorm to grab his laptop and a book, then headed towards the café.

However, the café on a weekend was a dangerous place – a potential breeding ground for Ability Users encounters.

“Dr. Baek!”

“What are you doing here?”

“We’re back!” 

“Oh, hey guys.” 

A group of trainees suddenly descended upon Sijin, claiming the seats around him. 

Though caught off guard, Sijin greeted them with a smile. With three bulky figures crowding around him, the four-seater table felt cramped.

Having always received Sijin’s kindness during examinations, the trainees adored him, perhaps a little excessively. The three who’d practically tackled him – Seo Gyuho, Kim Seungwon, and the youngest Guide on the Ability User Division, Jang Hoseong – were all, in Sijin’s mind, walking disasters, despite being official members of the Ability User Division.

As expected, he was bombarded with questions from both sides. 

“Did you eat? What did you have? Want some spicy chicken?” 

“Dr. Baek! You’ve lost so much weight!”

“Why are you alone? It’s the weekend, aren’t you going out?” 

“Guys, give him some space, he can’t breathe – oof!”

Sijin struggled to handle their enthusiastic greetings. Despite being trainees, they were all special agents with upbringings vastly different from his. Squeezed between them, subjected to Seo Gyuho’s relentless shoulder and arm massages, Sijin felt like he could barely breathe. At this rate, he’d be known as the doctor who was loved to death by Ability Users. 

He gasped, “H-Hey kids, didn’t you just get back from patrol? Aren’t you tired?” 

“Nah, we’re good. We’re not being a bother, are we?”

“N-No, of course not.” 

Despite the sudden commotion, Sijin was happy to see them. Their days were filled with patrols and strenuous training; he was glad they felt comfortable enough around him to be so at ease.

Then, something occurred to him. 

‘Wait, they just came back from patrol, so why do they have so much food?’

Strangely, they were laden with bags full of snacks and drinks. Curious, Sijin asked the excited group, “Why did you buy so much stuff?” 

“We went downtown for a bit!”

“Downtown? How? You were on patrol…”

“Well…” 

Their eyes darted around nervously. 

However, with his years of experience handling kids, Sijin could easily connect the dots. 

‘They must have sneaked off on their way back from patrol.’

It was the weekend, and there were few senior officers around to supervise the trainees. And with the most fearsome of them all, Captain Shark, away, the boys must have taken their chance to paint the town red.

Ham Geonwu, the senior officer in charge of the trainees today, was relatively lenient as long as they didn’t cross the line. The definition of ‘the line’ varied depending on the situation, but compared to the strict Shark, the Killer Whale was an angel.

“We only bought the spicy chicken for you, Dr. Baek!”

“We were only gone for a little bit, really.” 

They pleaded with exaggerated sincerity, their eyes wide with feigned innocence. Sijin, despite knowing they were lying, couldn’t bring himself to scold them.

After all, these boys were probably ecstatic to be free from the clutches of Captain Shark, let alone being able to go out. It was practically a free pass to do whatever they wanted. Hence, the mountain of snacks and treats surrounding them – all the things they’d been craving.

Seo Gyuho, without warning, shoved a piece of chicken into Sijin’s mouth. Caught off guard, Sijin took a bite. 

“Dr. Baek, you’re not going to tell Captain Shark, are you…?”

“Please don’t rat us out…”

“Kids, calm down. I won’t tell.”

As soon as Sijin spoke, Seo Gyuho’s eyes lit up with mischief.

“…Then, by any chance, do you know when Captain Shark is coming back?”

Before Sijin could even react, Seo Gyuho was met with a chorus of smacks on the back of his head from his fellow trainees.

As expected, their intentions were purely informational. Sijin chuckled and pulled a pouting Seo Gyuho closer, shielding him from further abuse. Seo Gyuho’s ears turned crimson. That had to hurt.

“Why are you hitting your friend?” Sijin chided gently, running his hand through Seo Gyuho’s hair consolingly. 

“I don’t know when Shark will be back… Are you going out again?” 

“We wanted to go to the Black Container…”

They exchanged hesitant glances. It seemed their patrol had whetted their appetite, and now they were craving something stronger.

Sijin’s heart softened. They were young; of course they wanted to have some fun.

“Go ahead. I’ll tell him I gave you permission. And I won’t tell anyone about you going downtown.” 

“Really?!” 

“Yes. But… it’s already 4:00 PM, so promise me you’ll be back by 9:00 PM.”

“Why don’t you just let us drink all night…” 

Kim Seungwon’s suggestion was met with another round of elbowing. Sijin felt like he was stuck in a game of Mafia, where any wrong word could mean elimination.

He tried reasoning with them, his voice soothing, “You have patrol again tomorrow. You need to be well-rested. Don’t drink too much either.” 

“Okaaay…”

“We understand…”

They readily agreed, albeit with a hint of reluctance. Despite their disappointment, they knew better than to disobey the doctor. Sijin might be lenient with other things, but their health was non-negotiable. 

The trainees continued chatting excitedly around Sijin. Their youthful energy was infectious, and Sijin found himself relaxing and enjoying their company.

“Did you hear they’re changing all the Administrator-level protection protocols?” 

“You know, Dr. Baek, you’re the first one to share a dorm building with Ability Users, right?”

“They’ve tightened security at the entrance, too. They were checking every single snack we bought.”

“Really?”

Sijin was a little concerned by the increasingly strict regulations. But then again, given the recent kidnapping incident, it wasn’t exactly surprising.

“At this rate, our Dr. Baek will turn into Rapunzel.”

“Baekpunzel. Baekpunzel.”

“Trapped in the Center’s tower, the Baekmille Bell^[1]!”

Sijin had trouble keeping up with their conversation. He was exhausted. He decided to just laugh along and enjoy the snacks they kept offering him. He felt like a grandpa being doted on by his grandchildren.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, they presented him with a gift.

“That’s right, Dr. Baek! We got you this. It looks just like you!”

“What have you done now…”

Sijin asked apprehensively. Seo Gyuho pulled out a large, plush toy from a bag. 

“They had it at the shooting range. You know how good we are; we cleared it in no time to win this for you!”

“We had to get it. It looks exactly like Dr. Baek.”

“The shooting range…? What is it?” 

It was a sky-blue dolphin plush toy. It was wearing a graduation cap and glasses, a gentle smile on its face. The perfect size to hug, it had a tag that read, ‘Children’s Marine Safety Education Mascot’… 

It must have been a discarded toy that somehow ended up at the shooting range.

Though he felt a pang of sympathy for the poor dolphin, Sijin couldn’t understand how it resembled him. 

He chuckled and asked, “Kids, what part of this dolphin reminds you of me?” 

The trainees chimed in, one by one. 

“The way it smiles with its cat mouth – exactly the same!”

“And it’s wearing glasses, just like you.” 

“Kids, why are your wave readings like this? Did you eat something you shouldn’t have~?”

Seo Gyuho mimicked Sijin’s gentle tone, waving the dolphin in the air. The others burst into laughter. Sijin chuckled, shaking his head.

“Oh, come on…. It doesn’t look like me.”

“You’re right… Now that you mention it, it doesn’t look like you at all.”

“Want some more chicken?” 

They asked, offering the dolphin some food.

Sijin had no choice but to accept his fate as the dolphin’s doppelganger. He had to admit, the gentle smile did remind him of himself.

As it got late, Sijin sent the trainees on their way. He enjoyed their company, but he was exhausted.

“Don’t drink too much, okay? And be back by 9:00 PM sharp.”

“Yes, sir!” 

They might be a handful, but they knew how to listen. After a final round of goodbyes, Sijin was finally alone.

He looked at the dolphin plush toy in his hands.

‘This is quite big… But what part of it is supposed to look like me?’

It was just a regular dolphin plush toy with a graduation cap and glasses. Still, it was the perfect size for hugging, so Sijin settled back in his seat and started watching a nature documentary, enjoying the peace and quiet. 

However, leaving the café with the dolphin was a different story. Its size drew stares from everyone around him. It was too big to fit in his laptop bag, so he had no choice but to carry it in his arms as he headed back to his dorm.

And to his dismay, he was stopped by a guard. 

“One moment, please. Is this item registered?” 

“Oh, no. This was a gift from the trainees…”

“Then you need to register it.” 

Sijin was embarrassed. He’d forgotten to tell the trainees about the registration process.

‘Does this dolphin look that suspicious?’

Sijin was baffled. Security had been tightened recently, so any unusual item had to be inspected, but he hadn’t expected that to apply to a plush toy. He couldn’t refuse, so he followed the guard to the nearest inspection station. 

“Please place it on the scanner.”

“This…? Alright.”

The F12 Center guard, his expression stoic, spoke as he put on a pair of latex gloves. Sijin carefully placed the sky-blue dolphin onto the scanner. After being scanned and thoroughly inspected by the guard, the dolphin earned its place on a registration form.

[Sky-blue dolphin plush toy (approx. 40cm) – Cleared] 

Trying to contain his amusement, Sijin tucked the dolphin under his arm. He had to admit, the absurdity of the situation was rather funny.

Sijin strolled through the Center. It was a beautiful evening, the setting sun casting a warm glow over the F12 Center. The presence of guards stationed at regular intervals gave him a sense of security. He hadn’t been able to enjoy a peaceful walk in a long time.

“Now you’re carrying a stuffed animal.” 

And then he ran into Jeong Taeyul.