TG Ch 6 Part 2

Sijin sighed, then poked Jeong Taeyul’s back resentfully. It was safe to wake him now.

“Jeong Taeyul, Guide Jeong Taeyul?”

“Ah…”

Sijin called him softly. Jeong Taeyul groaned, his voice deep and husky. Sijin rolled him onto his back, revealing the unmistakable bulge in his pants. Shin Dayoung gasped, and Sijin quickly covered him with the blanket. It was a common sight for agitated Ability Users.

“Wake up. You… you little punk…!”

Sijin was overwhelmed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. The feeling of Jeong Taeyul’s hardness pressed against him was still fresh in his mind.

‘Ha. I can’t even be mad at him when he’s like this…’

Pushing aside his resentment, he checked on Jeong Taeyul. He might be annoying, but he was still a patient. He adjusted the wave regulator and untangled the wires.

Jeong Taeyul’s brow furrowed, a sign he was regaining consciousness. Sijin swallowed his anger and asked, “Guide Jeong Taeyul, do you want me to call for an Esper? Or send you to the guiding room?”

“…Dr. Baek?”

“Yes, it’s me. You pu–”

Sijin couldn’t bring himself to finish the insult. Jeong Taeyul was too intimidating.

He swallowed his pathetic excuse for an insult and focused on the task at hand.

“I’ll just call an Esper here, okay? Geonwu’s been dispatched.” 

“Here…”

“What? You want me to call someone?”

Jeong Taeyul opened his eyes halfway, his gaze unfocused. He struggled to speak, the tranquilizer making it difficult for him to form words.

Sijin picked up his tablet, intending to call for an Esper with high compatibility.

Jeong Taeyul, with a weak hand, reached out and grabbed Sijin’s wrist. He spoke, his voice hoarse, “Hyung… stay with me…”

“…What?”

Sijin stared at him, puzzled by the unfamiliar term of address. Jeong Taeyul, his eyes still closed, his brow furrowed in pain, blinked slowly, then drifted back to sleep. But his grip on Sijin’s wrist remained firm.

His desperate plea made Sijin forget his anger. He lowered the tablet.

‘This won’t do… I need to let him sleep, then make sure he does guiding.’ 

Sijin sighed. He was in no state to even consider guiding. And forcing a Guide to make an unwanted guiding could be detrimental.

He warned Shin Dayoung, “He’s in a delicate state, so make sure another examiner is present when you check on him. So… huh?” 

He froze, his gaze falling on Jeong Taeyul’s readings. 

[-59%] 

‘How…? It only went down by 3% all day, but it’s dropped another 3% in just a few minutes?’

All Jeong Taeyul had done was bite and grope him for a few minutes. And his readings were finally within the normal range.

Sijin was baffled. This was unheard of in his years as an examiner.

‘What is going on?’

His brow furrowed in confusion. Perhaps it was the tranquilizer, but that couldn’t explain such a drastic drop in such a short time. 

He had to investigate. He told Shin Dayoung, “Dayoung-ssi, I’ll take care of him.”

“Are you going to be fine…?”

“Yes, I’ll stay with him.” 

Sijin couldn’t tear his eyes away from the readings. Shin Dayoung, after a worried glance, carefully logged the readings and left. Sijin, however, was lost in thought.

One thing was certain.

‘I’m taking back what I said about feeling safe around Jeong Taeyul…’

Having been thoroughly manhandled by the Shark, he had revised his opinion.

Sijin rubbed his sore neck, glaring at the sleeping Jeong Taeyul. 

***

‘What is going on? Why did his readings suddenly drop?’

Three hours had passed, and Sijin was still observing the sleeping Jeong Taeyul, lost in thought.

He was sitting a safe distance away, about two meters, to avoid another unexpected encounter. The memory of being pinned beneath Jeong Taeyul’s body still made his cheeks burn. He had to figure out what was happening.

‘How did his readings drop by 3%?’

He had spent the entire day resting with the wave regulator on, yet his readings had only improved by 3%. But a few minutes of biting and groping had resulted in another 3% drop…

The only effect an ordinary human like him could have on a Guide was psychological. A 3% change was significant.

‘Guides are sensitive to emotional stress, but… a 3% drop in five minutes is strange.’

It was more like the effect of guiding with an Esper with extremely low compatibility.

However, one thing to keep in mind was that Guides, with their negative wave energy, were easily influenced by their emotional state. That’s why they often showed high compatibility with Espers they were close to or sought out situations that brought them satisfaction. Some Guides, finding stability in work, would even work themselves to exhaustion.

So, what about the earlier situation could have brought Jeong Taeyul satisfaction?

‘…Don’t tell me he enjoys biting people?’

It was a disturbing thought, but plausible. Sijin decided to keep it in mind. Ability Users were full of surprises; there could be other reasons.

‘Ha, I’ll have to schedule a counseling session and some tests when he wakes up.’

Sijin sighed, massaging his temples. Jeong Taeyul really knew how to make his life complicated.

[Urgent call: Supply Team]

‘What…?’

Sijin received an unexpected call. He glanced at his tablet, then quietly stepped out of the recovery room to answer it.

“Hello, this is Baek Sijin from the Examination Team.”

[Hello, Dr. Baek. This is the Supply Team. We apologize for calling you so late.]

“It’s alright. How can I help you?” 

It was the Supply Team. Sijin had never received a call from them before, so he asked for clarification.

And what they asked surprised him. 

[Have you been in the Research and Examination building all day?]

“Ah… no. I’ve been walking around the Center.”

Their response was a mixture of urgency and relief. 

[It seems there’s a problem with your smartwatch, Dr. Baek. We’re not getting any location data.]

“What? Hold on.”

Sijin checked his smartwatch. As he suspected, the screen was frozen, unresponsive to his touch.

[We’ll issue you a replacement. Can you come to the Supply Team office now?]

“Right now…?” 

Sijin hesitated. Was it okay to leave? He was under protection.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. 

‘I walk around the Center alone all the time.’

The Supply Team office was within the Center grounds anyway. He might as well stop by the convenience store and grab some juice while he was at it. He replied, “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Sijin gathered his things and stood up. Before leaving, he checked on Jeong Taeyul, who was fast asleep, completely oblivious to the world around him. It had been about four hours since he’d received the tranquilizer, so he’d probably sleep for another three hours. Sijin quietly closed the door, not wanting to disturb him.

***

The F12 Center was quiet after 9:00 PM. Most employees had gone home. The only people he saw were Center guards.

‘Today’s really not my day…’ 

Stepping outside, Sijin couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off.

He’d lost his father’s ring, and now his smartwatch was malfunctioning.

But malfunctions were common. Ham Geonwu constantly complained about his equipment breaking down. Jeong Taeyul would always blame him for being careless, but with so many functions, it was bound to happen. Though it was Sijin’s first time.

‘I need to be more careful.’

He sighed. He’d been too caught up in his work lately. There was so much he’d neglected. He should have replaced his necklace cord; it wouldn’t have snapped if he had. Regret washed over him. 

Sijin had walked halfway around the lake. Looking back at the Research and Examination building, lit up in the distance, he thought, ‘The Supply office is quite far.’

It was located on the outskirts of the Center for quick access to dispatched Ability Users. Looking at the building, now far away, he quickened his pace. He wanted to get his replacement smartwatch and go back.

But it seemed luck wasn’t on his side today.

Sijin believed there was no such thing as hitting rock bottom when it came to misfortune. Things could always get worse.

Like being attacked while alone at the F12 Center, for instance. 

Growl… 

“…..”

A strange sound came from behind him. Sijin stopped in his tracks.

A wave of fear, colder than any premonition, washed over him. The sound had been like black soot.

The only creature that made a sound like that was a beast. No, a monster.

Sijin bit his lip, his hand trembling as he raised his malfunctioning smartwatch. The dark figure behind him loomed large on the screen.

It was grotesque, its red eyes glowing menacingly. Its sheer size, larger than a truck, was intimidating. A foul, sewer-like stench filled the air.

There was no mistaking it for anything other than a monster. And it was approaching him, its gaze fixed on him like a predator stalking its prey.

Nausea rose in his throat, his heart pounding in his chest. 

Sijin knew he couldn’t run. 

Monsters had excellent dynamic vision. They’d chase down a fleeing prey and tear it to shreds.

‘Calm down. …Calm down… This is a scenario I’d anticipated.’ 

Sijin struggled to think rationally, his mind racing. The possibility of a monster intrusion within the Center was always there. An average of six times a year. He remembered the protocol clearly. That’s why he always carried his taser gun.

But the situation was dire.

‘Geonwu’s… on patrol with the Alpha Team. Jeong Taeyul’s asleep because of the tranquilizer. No guards nearby… Tracker… malfunctioning.’

Sijin had to survive on his own until help arrived. He bit his lip, his hand trembling.

His only hope was the taser gun. He slowly reached behind him, his fingers closing around the cold metal. His hand shook. He wasn’t sure if it would be effective against the massive creature, but it might startle it, giving him a chance to escape. 

‘The nearest shelter… is the secondary communication center…’ 

Sijin scanned his surroundings, looking for an escape route. The secondary communication center was about fifty meters away. If he could get there, he could contact the officers on duty… No, there wouldn’t be anyone there at this hour. A wave of despair washed over him, his breath catching in his throat. Fear and anxiety made his head spin.

But he had only one option.

‘Fire the taser, then run to the secondary communication center. One chance.’ 

He prayed for the guards to arrive soon. His heart was pounding so hard he felt like he was going to be sick, but he couldn’t hesitate any longer. 

Sijin could feel the monster’s presence looming closer. He gripped the taser gun tighter, counting to three in his head. One, two.

Crack! 

He spun around and fired. The blue electric current struck the monster in the face. It roared in pain, its head crashing into a nearby tree. It gasped, its teeth bared.

It had become even more agitated.

Sijin realized two things in that instant: the monster was already in a frenzied state, and his taser gun was useless.