Chapter 8
His face was purely innocent as he spoke words devoid of malice, characteristic of a young child. That made it even more frightening.
If Director Shin or the Center Director found out that Kang Juha was in this state, I might face salary cuts and disciplinary action. Maybe even lose the privilege of ordering delivery food… I had to resolve this situation somehow.
I asked with the most gentle doctor-like expression possible.
“By any chance, how old is Juha right now?”
“I’m seven years old.”
“Ah, seven years old…”
Am I screwed?
“Seven years old… What do I do if he’s seven years old. No, seven years old… Haah.”
“Why? Is it bad if I’m seven years old? Then I’ll be thirty-forty-five years old.”
“…That’s a bit too far, but I think that would be better. Please, could you become thirty-forty-five years old?”
“Then you have to use formal speech with me, teacher.”
“Could you tell me why that’s the case?”
“Um, because I’m older.”
Kang Juha’s face was so bright as he said this and smiled that I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Yes. Then from now on, I’ll help Esper Kang Juha-nim become thirty-forty-five years old. Would that be alright?”
“It’s fine. No, it’s fine.” [switching from polite to casual speech]
“Ha, thank you…”
After putting my hands together and offering a brief prayer to no one in particular, I read Kang Juha’s mind very lightly. I couldn’t penetrate into his memories. With a child’s mental strength, it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to endure it.
“I did wrong… It won’t hurt. I did wrong…”
The memories visible through his tear-stained, blurry vision were all hazily smeared. From what I could roughly see, the background was a hospital. The words about getting scolded by mom when he was sick seemed to be his actual memory.
Was he sickly when he was young?
His mother’s voice couldn’t be heard properly. Just a harsh voice like scolding that rang painfully loud in his ears. More than that, the sound of Kang Juha’s inner thoughts came through louder. A desperate cry begging her not to hate him.
I opened my eyes. Kang Juha had collapsed again, perhaps from an overload from even that brief stimulation, and I felt exhaustion for the first time in a while as I leaned back against the chair.
Perhaps because they were a child’s memories, unrefined emotions kept welling up inside me.
The fact that young Kang Juha had been sick, and that his mother was a heartless person, was completely useless information in the current situation.
“…Esper Kang Juha would really be upset if he knew.”
I still didn’t know how far I could dig for treatment purposes. Still, there was definitely less resistance than before, so I felt like I could try penetrating his brain if I waited a bit longer.
I left the special treatment room and looked for Juyeong first.
“Did Esper Kang Juha have a dedicated Guide? I don’t remember well if it was in his profile. It would be good to assign one if we’re going to start treatment in earnest. It doesn’t have to be dedicated, so someone appropriately tight-lipped and well-behaved…”
“A Guide? They probably won’t come. Esper Kang Juha has the worst Guiding compatibility.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. First of all, you should consider that there’s no Guide in this center with high compatibility with Esper Kang Juha. His Guiding rejection reaction is severe too, so all the Guides find it difficult to Guide him.”
“This is my first time hearing this.”
“Because you weren’t interested.”
“But the Center Director told me back then to recover him enough to receive Guiding.”
“He probably meant Guiding medication.”
I was completely dumbfounded by this unimaginable situation. A combat-type Esper working in the field doesn’t have a dedicated Guide? No, he has no Guide at all?
“Does it make sense for an S-class Esper to get by on medication?”
“It doesn’t make sense. But it works because it’s Kang Juha. I heard his ability control is incredible. He’s sensitive to his body condition too. While other Espers go overboard and rampage in the field, Kang Juha is so quiet you wouldn’t know if he’s there or not.”
Usually Espers instinctively feel favorable toward Guides, so I thought having a Guide for his treatment might be a great help. Actually, that was what I was counting on most right now… But that doesn’t exist? Then what should I believe in from now on?
“Well… Esper Kang Juha’s condition has improved a bit, you know? Now he can even speak like a person…”
Though that was a dad joke. Strictly speaking, I threw the first punch.
“Already? That’s really fast? It’s only been a week. Should I contact the Center Director right away and ask to move him to the general ward?”
Since my original goal was one week, the current treatment speed could actually be considered very slow.
“No…! No, no. It’s not that much. There’s a slight problem, but I think I can solve it quickly?”
“…Why do I feel anxious when Team Leader-nim says things like that?”
“Natural recovery would take about 20 years.”
“What? 20 years?”
“Forced recovery would take a month. No, two months? Three months if it doesn’t go well?”
“…How long is this going to extend?”
The first method was to leave Kang Juha’s mind to grow on its own to his original age, and the second method was to attempt penetration even at the risk of Kang Juha’s brain getting slightly, very slightly damaged.
“Could you just pretend you didn’t hear this? I don’t want to get involved in this matter.”
“We’re in the same boat.”
“I’ll get off.”
“You can’t get off. This is the open sea.”
“I’ll become shark food.”
“Don’t you trust me? I’m Seong Ihyeon.”
“…When you say it like that, how can I not trust you?”
“Then we’re going.”
Instead of answering, Juyeong let out a deep sigh.
At least this was reassuring. The journey wouldn’t be lonely.
“Tell the medical department to send plenty of the Guiding medication Kang Juha used.”
“Yes.”
* * *
I never thought I’d live to give another Esper a Guiding injection on their forearm. Especially to a twenty-eight-year-old robust man whose mental state is that of a seven-year-old kid.
With complicated feelings, I rubbed the disinfectant cotton and felt his massive forearm flinch. I really can’t get used to this…
“Please make it not hurt…”
His face, which looked like it might burst into tears at any moment, was unnecessarily beautiful in a pitiful way.
“Yes.”
I answered half-heartedly. Even if it hurt, wouldn’t the needle penetrating that steel-like skin hurt more than Kang Juha would?
“Oh… Wow, it doesn’t hurt at all.”
His tightly shut eyes widened in surprise. After pushing the piston all the way to finish injecting the medication, I pressed the area firmly with cotton again.
Normally, even this would be a luxury. Usually in combat situations, forget disinfection and all that—you just stick the needle in first. Kang Juha would be more familiar with that approach.
“Wow…”
Well, the current Kang Juha seemed greatly shocked by the fact that injections could be painless.
“Could you keep giving me injections from now on, teacher?”
“…Me?”
“Yes. When you do it, it doesn’t hurt at all, so it’s amazing.”
“Oh, I see.”
Amazing or not, right now he has the steel skin of an S-class Esper, not the fragile, soft skin from childhood. He couldn’t feel pain from a mere injection needle, but how should I explain this?
Actually, Kang Juha’s forearm had healed cleanly without a trace, as if the injection needle had never entered. Even if I cut his arm with a knife right now, it would recover perfectly in less than a minute.
But I couldn’t tell Kang Juha such things. There’s no method more violent than forcibly injecting reality into a patient who thinks he’s seven years old.
“Sure, I guess.”
It was a promise I had no intention of keeping. After treatment ended, I would delete all memories of the treatment process. To prevent embarrassment for both of us.
“Then promise me. Promise.”
“Yes, I promise.”
“That’s not how you make a promise.”
When he asked me to promise, I just repeated after him, but now he says that’s not right.
“Then how do you do it?”
“Hook fingers.”
“Fingers? Isn’t that too… cruel?”
Since he has the mental age of seven, does he just blurt out cruel things? Like if you break a promise, you have to cut off fingers…?
While I was seriously lost in thought, Kang Juha waved his pinky finger in front of my eyes, urging me.
“Hook it here quickly.”
“Huh?”
“Hook pinkies and promise. Haven’t you done it before?”
“I haven’t…”
Have I ever made a promise in my life? Well, I couldn’t remember clearly. Most truly important promises were made in the form of contracts, not by hooking fingers like this.
“Like this… is this right?”
When I awkwardly extended my pinky finger following him, Kang Juha intertwined his finger with mine. Then he shook it up and down a couple of times.
“Promise.”
I don’t know what legal effect this act has, but it felt indescribably strange.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
