TG Ch 8 Part 4

The next day, Sijin was loitering around the main gate of the center from lunchtime. It wasn’t because he wanted to go out, but because he was waiting for someone.

1:22 PM. Sijin, anxiously checking his wristwatch, spotted someone outside the main gate and waved them in with a smile.

The other person smirked at Sijin as if he found him amusing, then went through a thorough entry inspection at the main gate. Sijin followed him in and called out his name cheerfully.

“Jiwon!”

“Oh~ Baek Sijin. You seem to have a lot of free time? Even waiting outside.”

“Yeah, I have a lot of time.”

Sijin simply agreed with a smile. He felt like he was going to die cooped up inside the center, so he felt a sense of relief with his friend’s arrival. Although his friend was only on a three-day business trip, it was enough to make Sijin, who had been confined, happy. He now understood why dogs kept at home bark excitedly whenever they see someone.

Sijin started walking through the center with his friend. Kwon Jiwon was half a handspan taller than Sijin, and his characteristic droopy eyes looked even more tired than usual today. 

Sijin handed him the coffee he had bought beforehand and said, “It must have been a long trip. You look tired.”

“No, ha. I couldn’t sleep much because of the baby… But what’s this, your escort?”

Kwon Jiwon, taking a sip of his coffee, looked back in surprise. It was because of the ability users openly following Sijin. He’d thought they were just ability users stationed at the main gate, but looking closer, he saw one Alpha Team member up close and two guards following at a distance.

Sijin, who had become accustomed to this, smiled awkwardly and said, “The situation is a bit tense these days. It’ll be like this for another two weeks.”

“Well, I know, but… What, it’s the Alpha Team? Wow… You’re working hard. Baek Sijin must be running around a lot, huh?”

Jiwon asked, offering a handshake to the Alpha Team member. Embarrassed by his nosiness, Sijin slapped his friend’s back with a wry smile. He felt even more awkward when Ryu Seonyeong from the Alpha Team smiled and agreed.

“What the heck. You’d probably survive even if you got bitten by a monster. Oh, there’s a lake here too? The center is like a campus.”

“Jiwon, stop acting like a country bumpkin…”

Despite Sijin’s protests, Kwon Jiwon continued to look around curiously. He looked like he was visiting the ability center for the first time. He was here as an S-rank promotion examiner… Sijin suddenly felt embarrassed for him.

Then, Kwon Jiwon looked at the blue lake with a sentimental gaze and said, “I am a country bumpkin… This is the first time I’ve been outside of Seoul since the baby was born.”

“…Do you want to look around the center more?”

Sijin’s heart softened, and he showed his friend around the center some more. He felt bad that his friend had come all the way here for work, but the person himself seemed quite excited. Sijin reassured him, boasting about how nice the people here were and how good the cafeteria food was. Kwon Jiwon seriously suggested they switch jobs.

***

[(C) Alpha Team – Jeong Taeyul]

[A-rank Guide – Unbonded]

[191cm 87kg 28y]

“This is him? The one who jumped you?”

“No, I said it wasn’t like that. He didn’t jump me.”

Sijin answered, his face flushed. Next to him, Kwon Jiwon was carefully reviewing Jeong Taeyul’s profile. Seeing his nosiness, Sijin regretted confiding in his friend about his relationship troubles.

Meanwhile, Kwon Jiwon scrutinized Jeong Taeyul’s physical characteristics. He observed his languid, almond-shaped eyes, sharp pupils, and distinct features, then offered his assessment.

“He’s handsome, but he looks kind of… rude.”

“N-No. He’s actually… nice.”

“Nice? Nice, huh… Okay. I’ll have to see for myself if he’s good enough for our Baek Sijin.”

“Jiwon. You shouldn’t judge people so easily… You punk.”

Sijin chided his friend. But Kwon Jiwon remained unfazed by the reprimand.

“I’m just doing this because I’m worried you’ll end up with another jerk.”

“I said it wasn’t like that…”

“Not like that, my ass. You’re so scared of relationships after being burned by that asshole.”

“Hmm, let’s stop talking about that… Anyway, I’ve called the two from the Alpha Team. They’ll be here soon.”

Sijin forcibly changed the subject. Kwon Jiwon chuckled as if he found it amusing but let it go. He didn’t want to nag him after seeing him for the first time in a while.

“But what about Yoo Seunghwa? Why hasn’t she returned to the center yet?”

“She’ll be back tomorrow. She’s in the intelligence team, so it’s hard to see her often.”

Sijin said, looking at the promotion test schedule. Yoo Seunghwa hadn’t returned to the center for three days due to a mission. She was scheduled to return tomorrow, so her promotion test would be postponed as well.

“Then let’s just do the basic promotion examination today~. It’s too late for the promotion test.”

“Okay. But keep in mind that our kids are deployed a lot.”

“Well, that’s to be expected at the F12 Center.”

Kwon Jiwon nodded and carefully reviewed the profiles of the other A-ranks, his gaze sharp as he assessed their recent physical conditions as a promotion examiner. Beside him, Sijin boasted, “Our guys are handsome, right? They all have good personalities too.”

“They are. This morning’s wave readings… Ham Geonwu, 55%, normal. Jeong Taeyul, -60%… well, borderline, but normal. Judging by their readings, they seem nice.”

As an examiner, Kwon Jiwon judged the Ability Users solely based on their wave readings. They needed to be in good health for the promotion test.

Kwon Jiwon then reviewed the other profiles.

[(C) Oscar Team – Yoo Seunghwa]

[A-rank Esper – Bonded]

[177cm 67kg 35y]

[Alpha Team – Ham Geonwu]

[A-rank Esper – Unbonded]

[188cm 87kg 28y]

Kwon Jiwon paused when he saw Ham Geonwu’s profile. Sijin watched his friend attentively, wondering if he was going to say something.

But Kwon Jiwon said something completely unexpected.

“…I miss my princess.”

“Here he goes again…”

Sijin said, exasperated.

The ‘princess’ Kwon Jiwon referred to wasn’t his daughter, but his wife. To think of his wife while looking at a picture of the handsome Ham Geonwu… He was truly something else.

“What happened to our tiger examiner?”

Sijin lamented, feeling exasperated. Back at the Youth Ability Users Research Institute, Sijin was the angel teacher, while Kwon Jiwon was the tiger teacher. Every week, there were ability user children who would run crying to Sijin after being scolded by him.

With a gloomy face, Kwon Jiwon asked, “Can you make video calls here? Are they blocked for security reasons?”

“…You can use my pad. But it’ll all be recorded, is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

Sighing at his friend’s pleading look, Sijin turned on his pad. It had been three years since the so-called Tiger Teacher had become a doting husband, but Sijin still couldn’t get used to his friend’s transformation. Kwon Jiwon had originally been a very cynical person.

Sijin connected the video call. As soon as Kwon Jiwon saw his wife’s face, his gloomy expression brightened, and he started chattering away.

“Honey, honey? I arrived safely. Why would I contact you otherwise? Of course, it’s because I missed you and wanted to call. This place? Oh, it’s not dangerous at all. Baek Sijin keeps saying how nice the kids are.”

Kwon Jiwon chatted with his wife with a cheerful smile. Sijin watched him from the side, feeling slightly awkward. He didn’t understand why he felt a pang of loneliness seeing his friend’s settled life. He should be celebrating and happy for him.

Sijin watched awkwardly from the side, then briefly greeted Kwon Jiwon’s wife and exchanged pleasantries.

“Sijin, do you want to see our daughter?”

“Oh? Sure, sure.”

Then, Kwon Jiwon showed off his daughter, whom he always bragged about. Sijin, who loved children, leaned closer to Kwon Jiwon excitedly.

Soon, the face of a child playing with toys appeared on the screen. It was Kwon Jiwon’s daughter, who had just turned one and a half. A bright smile spread across Sijin’s face as soon as he saw her.

“Aw, she’s so cute, she looks like Jiwon, but how can she be so cute? Yeseo, this is Uncle Sijin. Hello, hello? Hello?”

[Hello~.]

His daughter shyly greeted him. At that single word, Sijin beamed. His voice naturally became more cheerful. Then, Kwon Jiwon chimed in from the side.

“She can say ‘I love you’ now too.”

“Really? Yeseo, I love you. I love you.”

Sijin spoke kindly to the child. Instead of replying, the child pressed her face closer to the camera. She seemed more interested in the neat Baek Sijin himself than in what he was saying. Then, as if shy, she moved away from the camera.

“I love you? I love you. Why? You won’t say it?”

“Or ask her for a kiss.”

“A kiss? Then give me a kiss, just one. Hmm? A kiss. Chu~.”

Now Sijin spoke softly, almost pleading. The child didn’t seem to understand him well, but her bright smile was so cute that he couldn’t help but smile.

Just then, a heavy knock echoed.

Bang, bang, bang!

Sijin was startled and turned towards the door. The mood shifted abruptly at the single, forceful knock.

“Oh, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

Kwon Jiwon also seemed to sense something and ended the video call.

“H-Huh? Come in.”

As Sijin called out, Jeong Taeyul and Ham Geonwu entered. They looked like they had rushed over, their expressions as fierce as predators.