DPGR 57

The more they ate, the more the atmosphere from earlier fizzled out.

To make matters worse, the menu wasn’t exactly mood-setting—it was gukbap.

“You go shower first.”

After finishing the meal in an awkward silence, Dojin nudged Jiho’s back while tidying up the table.

His face looked calm and relaxed, just like usual, which left Jiho a little confused as he stepped into the bathroom.

‘Is he still planning to do the guiding?’

Pushing him to shower first seemed like a sign he wanted to go ahead with it—but if that were the case, his attitude was way too nonchalant.

‘Or is he just telling me to wash up because it’s bedtime?’

Still uncertain, Jiho rinsed off the bubbles with warm water.

As he scrubbed until his body squeaked clean, the conclusion he reached was: If we don’t do it, then oh well.

‘Still, he seemed to believe my lie. I’ll get another chance.’

He was a little annoyed about it somewhere deep inside, but he genuinely tried to let it go.

Had he not discovered that in the bedroom, he probably would’ve just gone to sleep quietly.

“Ah, Guide Jiho.”

Feeling lighter after his shower, Jiho stepped out of the bathroom. Dojin had just emerged from the bedroom—likely after tidying the bed—and smiled softly when he spotted Jiho.

There was a flicker of restlessness on Dojin’s otherwise composed face.

“I’ll go wash off too—start drying your hair first, okay? Don’t want you catching a cold.”

He led Jiho to sit in front of the vanity in the dressing room, then turned and left.

It was the first time Dojin hadn’t dried Jiho’s hair himself.

…?

Left alone and blinking, Jiho soon heard the sound of the shower running from the bathroom.

What’s going on?

Still puzzled, he pulled out a hairdryer, dried his hair, and moved back to the bedroom.

“Haaahm—”

He’d worried he might be too restless to sleep after napping all day, but the warm shower had relaxed him.

He felt like he’d fall asleep the moment he lay down.

But just as he was about to sit on the bed, something caught his eye.

The bottom drawer of the nightstand was slightly open.

Tilting his head, Jiho crouched in front of it.

Did Baek Dojin take something out and forget to close it?

When he pulled the drawer open, he found a small box sitting alone inside.

What’s this?

It looked strangely familiar—Jiho could’ve sworn he’d seen this kind of box before.

He picked it up curiously, and the moment he realized what it was, his eyes widened.

Clatter—

He flipped the box over, and just as expected, there was tiny text printed on the back:

This product is a kit designed to assist with smooth Level 3 guiding for Espers and Guides.

Contents: Lubricant, finger condoms, emergency contraceptives, oral contraceptives, etc.

Jiho blinked as he read the print.

Clack—

The door opened.

“Guide Jiho, I’m ba—”

Dojin stepped in with damp hair, his face slightly tense.

Their eyes met mid-air.

He glanced at Jiho crouched beside the bed in a suspicious posture—

—and then his eyes dropped to the box in Jiho’s hands.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence fell over the bedroom.

Plop—

Dojin’s face flushed bright red in an instant. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Like all Espers, Dojin had regularly received the “Level 3 Guiding Kit.”

“This is a guiding kit. It contains lube, finger condoms, birth control pills—use the pills for female guides, and the lube is for male guides…”

He’d first gotten that explanation as a rookie Esper, along with his first kit.

At the time, he’d thought he’d never, ever need to use it.

“Even if it’s for guiding, this is just too much…”

It was because Dojin couldn’t sleep with someone he didn’t love.

So he often just tossed the kits somewhere random, and when he ran out of space, he handed them off to Espers who actually needed them.

But today, years later—

‘Do I… need the kit…?’

Jiho had thought Dojin seemed cool and collected during dinner, but the truth was, Dojin had been thinking about guiding the entire time.

He hadn’t even known if he was eating or breathing.

Up until now, he’d always hesitated when it came to receiving guiding from Jiho because of their age difference. But this time, something was different.

‘I don’t think I can back down anymore.’

Just like the future version of himself he didn’t remember, he wanted to be someone meaningful to Jiho—someone who’d leave a lasting impression.

Maybe it was just a convenient excuse. But at that moment, he didn’t have the luxury of overthinking.

Once he’d made up his mind, the desire he’d been suppressing came flooding out like a broken dam.

‘Still… it’s Jiho’s first time. I shouldn’t rush him.’

So he’d shoved Jiho into the bathroom, then dashed into the tiny storage room.

What he found was a beginner’s guidebook for Level 3 guiding, written for rookie Espers and Guides.

…The kit’s nowhere to be seen.

So Dojin shoved Jiho into the bathroom and hurriedly rummaged through the small room he used as a storage space.

What he managed to find was the Guiding Manual (Adult Edition) for New Espers and Guides.

“No sign of the kit…”

Dojin flipped through the dust-covered booklet.

Section: Level 3 Guiding Between Male Espers and Male Guides

His eyes scanned the text quickly. Dojin had never slept with anyone—man or woman—but he at least knew the theory. He didn’t need to read every word.

Besides, there wasn’t much time.

“Where’s the kit…”

He set the manual aside and got back to work. When he finally found the kit in the bedroom, it had been so long since it was issued that everything inside was expired.

“Ha…”

Running a hand through his hair in dismay, Dojin sighed. The manual clearly stated that lubricant was essential when performing Level 3 Guiding with a male Guide.

“Of all times…”

He’d never thought lube would have an expiration date.

As he wracked his brain, trying to remember what he’d done with the more recent kits, Dojin realized the sound of running water from the bathroom had stopped.

“Well, whatever…”

Clicking his tongue, he shoved the kit back in the drawer and left the bedroom. He figured he could think more clearly after a shower.

And it was only after he’d decided not to go through with Level 3 tonight that it happened.

As he stepped back into the bedroom, he spotted Jiho holding the kit.

“……”

Why is that there…?

His thoughts froze. The guilt hit him like a wave as Jiho looked up at him with wide, unguarded eyes. Shame followed right after.

“Th-That, that’s…”

And then Jiho said the clincher.

—Sex?

“……”

—This is a sex kit, isn’t it?

“N-No, that’s not what I—”

Tilt.

Jiho cocked his head. Dojin rushed over, snatched the kit from his hands, and chucked it into a corner.

“That’s not it.”

“…?”

“I mean, yes, technically it is a prep kit, but that’s not the point.”

“…?”

“Haa…”

Jiho blinked up at him with long lashes, eyes sparkling like he was asking, So you’re not gonna do it with me?

Of course, Jiho didn’t actually mean anything by it. But Dojin, already flustered, was too far gone to think straight.

After a brief silence and a hundred excuses in his head, Dojin gave up and confessed.

“I—I do want Guiding, but I wasn’t planning to go all the way to Level 3.”

—Why not? No sex?

“It’s just… that’s the only kit I have, and everything in it is expired…”

Expired?

Do those even expire?

Jiho glanced at the kit, then back at Dojin. His face didn’t look like he was lying.

‘I guess they do expire…’

Dojin, flustered, rambled on as Jiho nodded slowly with an unreadable expression.

“So… like last time. Just kissing…”

But Jiho’s hand clamped over his mouth before he could finish.

“Why?”

“…?”

—Just do it. We don’t need that stuff.

Originally, Jiho had intended to just sleep.

But watching Dojin turn beet red and flail in embarrassment made him change his mind.

Since things had come this far, he figured it might be better to go through with a Sex Guiding and get it over with—less mental weight that way.

Plus, tomorrow was the weekend anyway.

“W-Wait…!”

The mood flipped in an instant. Jiho stood up and pulled Dojin by the hand toward the bed.

Flop—

If it was a crime not to shake Jiho off, then Dojin was guilty. In a blink, he was flat on his back.

Jiho straddled Dojin’s waist and started taking off his top.

“…!”

Seeing Jiho’s bare chest, Dojin froze in shock, lips parting dumbly.

Whisk—

Tossing his pajama top aside, Jiho gave him a sidelong glance and reached down.

He was trying to take off his pants and underwear too.

“W-Wait, hold on!”

Snapping out of it, Dojin grabbed Jiho’s wrist. He might not have experience, but he knew exactly what Jiho was about to do.

“Are you seriously going to do this right now?”

nod.

“Without any lube?”

nod nod.

Jiho looked at him like, What’s the problem? and nodded again.

“No! Without that, you could get hurt—it’s dangerous.”

The manual had stressed the importance of caution in male-male Guiding.

After all, that hole wasn’t the same as a woman’s.

If you tried to force penetration into a dry, tight space, it could cause serious injury. Hence, the absolute necessity of lubricant, emphasized in painfully detailed language that took up an entire page.

—It’s fine.

But this was Jiho.

He’d already gotten hurt that way many times before. He’d gotten used to it.

—Even if I do get hurt, I heal quickly. So don’t worry.

“……”

Dojin’s face hardened as he read Jiho’s lips.

Did he really just say that?

Jiho, seeing no reaction, thought maybe Dojin hadn’t understood and repeated himself.

—I don’t care if I get hurt. Let’s do it—sex.

Dojin’s stomach turned.

How could a Guide, barely twenty, say something like that without so much as a twitch of emotion?

From those few words, Dojin could guess what Jiho’s past Guidings had been like.

Painful, miserable, agonizing.

So much so, he’d gotten used to it—and could now say something like it’s fine with a straight face.

“…Haa.”

Dojin inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Then he sat up and flipped their positions in one fluid motion.

“…!”

Thud—!

Now on top of Jiho, Dojin leaned in and kissed his soft, round cheek. He growled under his breath.

“I’ll do it. But I’ll be the one in control. I won’t let you get hurt.”

He lowered his head.

Their lips met slowly, softly, with a sticky sound.