Chapter 9
Whether it was because I was the only person he met, Kang Juha’s dependence on me grew day by day. He would count the hours waiting for me to come, and later asked if I could give him a watch as a gift. He said he could read time, so he wanted to look at it while waiting for me.
I told him he didn’t need to wait, but he was stubborn. In the end, I got him a wristwatch.
“He’s been like that all day. He won’t even eat.”
The problem was that after that, Kang Juha just kept alternately looking at the watch on his wrist and the door. I knew that the stifling environment of the special treatment room restricted his behavior, but still, seeing a person sit still like a doll to that extent, this really seemed like…
“Torture.”
Kang Juha wasn’t a criminal, and now even the iron bars that had confined him were all gone, but he still looked like he was trapped in prison.
Juyeong nodded as if agreeing with my muttering.
“For someone who’s supposedly the Center’s top S-class Esper, the treatment really doesn’t make sense. But they say we can’t move him to a VIP room either.”
“Because of the risk of going berserk?”
“Yes.”
Kang Juha’s guiding levels had stabilized considerably. Compared to when he first came here, it could be called miraculous.
At first, he was scared when he saw injections. Now, whether he really believes that the shots I give him are special and don’t hurt, he rolls up his sleeves just by seeing my face.
The problem was that his ability wavelength wasn’t returning.
Ability wavelengths don’t recover naturally – it’s something the person has to consciously control. There was no way Kang Juha, who was currently stuck with the memories of a seven-year-old, could do such a thing.
“Come to think of it, when did Esper Kang Juha first manifest?”
“Uh… I heard it was really early. Was it eight years old?”
“Eight? That’s really young. He probably didn’t know anything.”
So that meant exactly one year after Kang Juha’s current state. I thought there might be a good reason why Kang Juha chose the ego of a seven-year-old.
* * *
“Why did you order so many packages? You’re not someone with material desires.”
Juyeong appeared with an armful of packages that had arrived at my office, looking puzzled.
“Ugh, it’s so hard to receive even one item at the Center. Just getting approval took forever.”
“You should have asked me to do it. There’s a trick to ordering external supplies. I can make it go through right away.”
“…What? There’s such a thing?”
“Yes. Most secretaries know about it.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“So what’s all this stuff?”
“Tools for patient psychological treatment.”
“It says ’30 Selected Fairy Tales for Children to Read Before Bed.'”
“Exactly.”
I never thought I’d end up playing kindergarten teacher, but watching Kang Juha alternately looking at his watch and the door on CCTV made me worried and I couldn’t help it.
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen you do something like this, Team Leader.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen myself do this too. Can you put all the delivered packages in front of the special treatment room? I need to get import permission for those too.”
“I’ll submit the import request form.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“Yes.”
Watching Juyeong disappear with the package boxes, I checked Kang Juha’s personal documents again. I had requested additional documents recently, and among them was a family relations certificate.
“Both parents are deceased.”
Next to Kang Juha’s parents’ names was the notation ‘(deceased)’. And on the page after that were adoption documents, with an unexpected person listed as the guardian.
“…The Center Director?”
* * *
“Why are you late today? You said you’d come at three.”
Kang Juha said with his lips pouting. I really can’t get used to it when he acts like that with that face. I swallowed a sigh inwardly and first did my introduction.
“I’m Seong Ihyeon, Information Team Leader of the Information Security Division, National Security Bureau, Center.”
“Teacher, come quickly.”
Then Kang Juha urged me, and I smiled awkwardly while taking out a chocolate bar I had kept in my pocket.
“Do you want to eat this?”
“Don’t try to smooth things over with chocolate.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Promise you won’t do it again.”
“I won’t do it again…”
As I was speaking, a deep sense of doubt washed over me. What the hell am I doing?
But it was somewhat unexpected. Even though Kang Juha had aspects of being somewhat bothersome and persistently clinging to people, he didn’t seem to have problems forming relationships with others…
I didn’t major in child psychology, but in the current situation, it was actually natural for him to form an emotional bond with me, the only adult and interactive partner.
What was puzzling was that the current Kang Juha was engaging in words and actions far removed from violence. I couldn’t see any of the behaviors that children his mental age would typically do, like throwing tantrums or crying.
When I stopped speaking mid-sentence, he looked at me with pitiful eyes, and that face strangely affected my feelings.
“…I won’t do it.”
When I muttered quietly, only then did a faint smile appear on Kang Juha’s face.
“But teacher, when will I be discharged?”
“When you’re all better.”
I knew it was an irresponsible answer, but there was nothing more I could say.
Before Kang Juha could ask another difficult question, I brought in the large package box that was placed outside the door. On top of the box was an “import approval” sticker that Juyeong had obtained.
“What’s all that?”
Kang Juha also seemed curious about the appearance of unfamiliar objects. At that moment, facing the overly robust adult male face, I felt awkward thinking it might be too much, but since it was a method for his psychological stability, I decided to just push through.
“Fairy tale books.”
“I know that too.”
“You get bored when you’re alone. If you read books, you’ll be less bored.”
“Instead of these things, couldn’t you just stay with me all the time, teacher?”
This kid is pretty smart.
“I have too much work and I’m too busy…”
I brushed it off vaguely. Actually, I’m not a teacher but just an Information Team Leader belonging to the Information Security Division, and explaining that I ended up taking care of you because I was urgently deployed to work that wasn’t originally my job wouldn’t be understood anyway.
And even if he understood, it would just completely destroy the rapport we’d built up. To access his brain, it was much easier to reduce psychological resistance, so for now I had to accommodate Kang Juha’s pace as much as possible.
“Are you busy meeting other kids besides me?”
“Hm?”
“Is that why you can’t come to me? Because you have to go to other kids besides me?”
Oh, this is a perspective I’ve never thought of.
“I’ve never met other kids.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Originally I should have, but since I’m currently focused on Kang Juha, I actually haven’t had much contact with other people. When I nodded my head with the meaning of innocence, Kang Juha narrowed his eyes and said coolly:
“Liar.”
“…”
“Then who are you talking to outside the door every time?”
Wow, shit. Wait. This isn’t right.
He can hear that? Through that menacing-looking special alloy door that looked like it couldn’t be penetrated by anything, he heard everything I talked about with Park Juyeong?
I couldn’t even fathom how far the physical abilities of the human called Kang Juha had developed.
“…Since when have you been hearing? No, could you hear?”
“Not long ago. Since a few days ago.”
His physical abilities had definitely recovered 100% now. Even during the regular checkup a few days ago, he showed such amazing recovery that all the Medical Bureau people were amazed, and he’d already surpassed that.
“Then do you remember anything? How old are you now? Are you still seven years old?”
At the barrage of questions, Kang Juha closed his mouth and stared intently at me. I felt awkward, wondering if I had gotten too excited by that persistent gaze.
Did my desire to hurry up and finish this and wash my hands of it show too obviously?
“Huh? I’m not seven years old.”
“You’re not? Then how old are you now?”
I looked at him with expectant eyes, and Kang Juha looked at me like I was pathetic and said:
“I’m thirty-four or thirty-five years old.”
“Ah.”
“Teacher, you seem to have bad memory.”
And you’re saying that as a seven-year-old? I desperately wanted to question him, but I barely held back.
“…I’ll read you a fairy tale.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
