DPGR 40

After that, Jiho became the one in charge of feeding the monster.

Maybe it was because he looked smaller and more delicate than the others—or maybe it was simply because he’d been the first to offer it food.

Whatever the reason, the monster was noticeably gentler with Jiho.

Dojin clearly wasn’t comfortable with how close Jiho had gotten to the monster, but the creature rejected everyone else, and Jiho was stubborn about it. In the end, Dojin had no choice but to allow it.

“Just don’t stick your hand too far in. It’d be bad if you got hurt.”

Nod!

And so, whenever Jiho interacted with the monster, Dojin would always be right beside him, watching like a hawk.

He was constantly worried Jiho might get bitten or scratched.

Jiho thought Dojin was being overly dramatic—but he never showed it.

He knew Dojin was only acting that way out of concern.

‘Eats meat just fine, but won’t touch vegetables. Picky eating isn’t good for your health…’

Jiho watched the monster eat as he half-listened to Dojin’s familiar stream of nagging.

Time passed like that, and about a week later, they finally got in touch with an A-rank Taming Esper from overseas.

The Esper asked for a fairly steep fee to come out, but Dojin accepted the offer without much hesitation.

By then, the monster’s guard had dropped considerably.

It even flopped over to expose its belly and tried to act cute around Jiho.

It was still filthy and smelled awful, but thanks to Jiho’s careful feeding, it had visibly grown in size.

In just a week, it had gone from the size of a small dog to that of a medium one, and the cage was starting to look cramped.

“We should really move it to a bigger cage. Maybe give it a proper wash too.”

“It’s so dirty, we can’t even tell what species it is.”

“Judging by how fast it grew, it’s probably not a small-type monster.”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

Everyone was tossing out guesses about what kind of monster it could be.

They wouldn’t know for sure until the Taming Esper arrived, but the guessing game itself had become a fun pastime.

“Mmhm.”

Jiho eagerly joined in.

He couldn’t speak, and he didn’t know much about monsters, but lately, he’d been carrying around a monster encyclopedia that Geonwoo had gifted him.

Whenever they started speculating, Jiho would flip through the book and point to whichever monster he thought it might be.

“Red-maned Raccoon?”

Shake shake!

Jiho shook his head and pointed to the opposite page. Kijoon went, “Oh,” and read the name aloud.

“Gumiho?”

Nod!

At Jiho’s nod, the other teammates leaned in to take a look. Yulchan tilted his head and read part of the description aloud.

“Hmm, says here: ‘A fox-type monster with white fur, red eyes, and nine tails.’ The eye color’s already different, though…”

“Yeah, and this one only has three tails.”

“But hey, who knows? It could still be a baby. Monsters with three tails are rare.”

“Think so?”

Vigorous nod!

Jiho nodded again, then pointed back and forth between the picture of the Gumiho and the monster in the cage. He raised both hands above his head and mimicked pointy ears.

He was trying hard to explain that the monster had big, sharp ears like the one in the illustration.

To him, it was a serious theory—but to everyone else, he just looked ridiculously cute.

“A bunny?”

“Definitely a bunny.”

“Total bunny.”

“Mm-mm!”

“Not a bunny? But it looks like one.”

Shake shake!

Jiho clamped his mouth shut and jabbed his finger back and forth between the encyclopedia and the cage. The team just laughed and kept teasing him.

“Nope. Bunny.”

“Actually, doesn’t Jiho kind of look like a bunny too?”

“Totally. Those big, round eyes? Bunny for sure.”

“Mm-mm!”

They were clearly teasing him because his reactions were fun, but Jiho, not realizing it, kept humming furiously, trying to explain his theory.

Dojin had been quietly observing beside him. He recognized that Jiho was just about to start pouting and decided to intervene.

“Alright, stop teasing Guide Jiho.”

“Aw, come on, Captain! You’re just defending him because he’s your guide.”

“Be honest—you thought he looked like a bunny too, didn’t you?”

“We saw you smiling earlier. You totally did!”

The teasing quickly turned toward Dojin instead.

He chuckled and shook his head.

“Don’t put words in my mouth. Anyway—time check.”

He glanced at his watch and stood up. Then he reached out a hand to Jiho, who was looking up at him.

“Time to head to the shooting range. Our reservation’s almost up.”

“……!”

Jiho’s sulky face instantly lit up.

Today was the day he’d finally worn Dojin down and gotten him to agree to start firearms training.

Jiho stood up with ease, naturally taking Dojin’s hand.

The rest of the team let out disappointed sighs. Their fun was over—for now. With the two most entertaining targets for teasing gone, boredom was sure to settle in again.

“Haven’t heard of any dungeons opening lately. It’s peaceful… but kinda boring.”

“Yeah… Wanna play something?”

“Sure. What, Halli Galli?”

“Go.”

As peaceful days continued, so did the pile of board games in the team captain’s office.

Kijoon grabbed a box and waved at Dojin and Jiho.

“Have fun!”

Nod nod!

Jiho nodded eagerly and waved back.

He looked absolutely thrilled about starting firearms training.

Dojin glanced at Jiho, who was grinning in excitement, and followed beside him with a concerned gaze.

From inside the cage, the monster watched Jiho’s retreating figure with a forlorn expression.

“If you mess this up, you could get seriously hurt, so be extra careful. Got it?”

Nod!

Dojin’s string of warnings had started on the way to the shooting range and continued even after they arrived.

Given the matter of safety, he was visibly more tense than usual.

Jiho wasn’t entirely relaxed either.

After all of Dojin’s fear-mongering, he was just as on edge and hyper-aware of his movements.

When Dojin noticed Jiho’s slightly stiff expression, he gently patted his head.

Then, he handed Jiho an unloaded gun and began reviewing what he’d already explained countless times.

“This is the safety. You load the bullets here, like this. Let’s try getting into position.”

Even without bullets, the gun had a heavy weight to it.

Jiho gripped it the way he’d learned over the past week of theory and practice.

Dojin stood close behind him, adjusting his stance.

“Straighten your back and shoulders. Eyes front. Don’t let the barrel wobble.”

“Ungh…”

Despite trying to hold steady, Jiho’s arms trembled from the weight.

Should’ve done strength training before this instead of diving straight into shooting…

As he regretted his decision, Dojin moved in closer, pressing his chest lightly against Jiho’s back so he could lean on him, then wrapped his hands around Jiho’s to stabilize the grip.

“Eyes on the target. Look as far ahead as you can.”

He leaned in, bringing his cheek close to Jiho’s to align with his line of sight.

Jiho tried to follow the instruction, looking out into the distance—but he wasn’t sure what counted as far enough. He opened his mouth to ask but quickly realized Dojin wouldn’t be able to read his lips from where he was standing.

So, Jiho turned his head sharply to face him—

—and his lips brushed against Dojin’s cheek.

Startled, Dojin flinched and jumped back a step.

“W-what was that just now?!”

“……?”

Jiho tilted his head, confused by Dojin’s suddenly flushed face.

What’s wrong with him?

To Jiho, a little accidental contact like that wasn’t a big deal.

Dojin’s reaction seemed overly dramatic.

Jiho tapped his frozen shoulder to draw his attention back.

Whatever’s going on, focus, please.

“Uh. I, uh, what…?”

—I’m not sure how far I’m supposed to be looking.

Jiho pointed to his eyes and then to the barrel of the gun, then gestured as if there should be a target downrange.

It was a simple request: having a target would make it easier to practice his stance.

Normally, Dojin would’ve picked up on it instantly, but something had clearly rattled him. His response came a beat too late.

“Ah. R-right. Your line of sight. Yes. Um… I’ll set up a target…”

He spoke like a malfunctioning robot, stiff and awkward.

Jiho narrowed his eyes.

What is wrong with him?

Meanwhile, the red creeping up Dojin’s face showed no signs of fading.

Jiho started to worry—maybe he really was sick.

***

That evening, after returning home, Jiho sat on the couch, freshly showered, waiting for Dojin to come out of the bathroom.

It had been a long day, and he was exhausted—but he didn’t want to go to bed just yet.

Dojin had been acting weird ever since the shooting range, and Jiho couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Probably just needs guiding…

Between everything going on and Dojin always dodging the topic, they hadn’t done a single guiding session in a week.

It was time.

Jiho pulled himself together, ignoring how his body wanted to sink into the cushions.

Tonight, for sure. No matter what. I’m doing it.

He thought of Sena and Geonwoo’s advice: Push him. He’ll get used to it faster that way.

Jiho clenched his fist in determination.

A moment later—

“…Guide Jiho?”

The bathroom door opened, and Dojin stepped out, towel-drying his damp hair.