DPGR 13

“Just sit up for a moment. You’ve got a fever, so let me give you some medi—”

“Uugh!”

Smack!

As Jiho exhaled harshly, he slapped Dojin’s hand away, terror etched on his face. The cup Dojin had been holding slipped from his grasp, shattering with a loud crash against the floor.

Startled, Dojin looked back and forth between the broken shards and Jiho. Jiho blinked dazedly in the dark bedroom, then turned his gaze to Dojin.

He flinched at the shadow wrapped so deeply around Dojin in the darkness. His breathing turned unsteady.

“Ugh, uuuh…”

A groan like a wounded beast slipped from his lips.

As if desperate to get away from Dojin, Jiho began crawling backwards on hands and knees, retreating toward the head of the bed.

Then, he dug his nails into his own arm and scratched hard.

Alarmed, Dojin reached toward him.

“Guide Jiho!”

“Aaah!”

The moment Dojin’s hand touched him, Jiho shrieked in panic. He thrashed harder.

In the struggle, Jiho’s thin nails scraped across the back of Dojin’s hand, leaving a scratch.

Drops of blood welled up, but Dojin didn’t even feel the pain.

“Please, stop. It’s okay.”

Climbing up onto the bed, Dojin crawled on his knees toward Jiho and seized both of his wrists, pinning them down.

As Jiho struggled even harder, Dojin clicked his tongue and pulled him into a firm embrace.

It was clear now—this wasn’t just from a fever.

“Shhh. You’re okay. It’s just a dream.”

He must’ve been having a nightmare. Dojin gently soothed Jiho, who was still trapped in it.

His low, steady voice reached Jiho’s ears. The frantic thrashing began to quiet.

“Ugh… uuh…”

At some point, his screams turned to sobs. Jiho clutched tightly at Dojin’s shirt.

Whether it was to push him away or pull him closer, it was impossible to tell.

Dojin chose the interpretation he preferred.

“You’re safe here. You’ll continue to be safe. It’s okay.”

He kept repeating the words, “It’s okay,” as he adjusted Jiho’s position in his arms.

He pulled the burning-hot body onto his lap, settling him down comfortably.

Leaning against the bed’s headboard, Dojin drew Jiho’s head against his chest.

Thump—thump—thump—

A low, steady heartbeat, loud enough to be heard.

“Ugh… mm…”

Jiho’s eyelids trembled before closing. A tear slipped out from beneath his wet lashes, gliding down his cheek.

Dojin gently patted Jiho’s thin back, just as he used to do when calming his young nephew.

He should’ve given him medicine for the fever, but calming Jiho came first.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Jiho shifted weakly in his arms, breathing in ragged gasps.

Then, like a koala, he wrapped his arms around Dojin’s waist.

Their bodies pressed closer together, and a faint guiding energy seeped out.

It didn’t seem intentional.

Dojin worried about the side effects but didn’t want to interrupt Jiho when he’d only just started to calm down.

Fortunately, it gradually faded as Jiho drifted off to sleep.

Dojin didn’t move a muscle, simply stroking Jiho’s back until he fell into a deep sleep.

The restless dawn slowly passed.

“Nnngh…”

Jiho’s eyes slowly fluttered open. Whether from long sleep or something else, his swollen eyelids wouldn’t fully lift.

…Baek Dojin’s house. Baek Dojin’s bed.

His foggy mind began to clear. He vaguely remembered some chaos at dawn, but the details were gone.

Maybe seeing Baek Dojin’s face would jog his memory.

With his puffed-up face, Jiho looked around the bedroom.

Where did he go?

The room was empty. His heart skipped in anxiety. Maybe it was the aftereffect of the bad dream.

Did he leave me behind? Because I’m useless and a burden?

His thoughts spiraled into negativity, and anxiety fed on itself.

Just as Jiho quickly got up and stepped down from the bed—

“…Ten days? Yeah. That much should be fine…”

Still wearing a tearful pout like a lost child, Jiho heard a voice drift in through the small crack in the bedroom door.

It was Dojin’s voice.

…!

Ah. He’s out there. He didn’t abandon me.

Jiho pulled up his half-slipped underwear, gripped the waistband, and crept toward the bedroom door.

When he opened it and peeked out, Dojin—who was on the phone—noticed the movement and turned his head.

“Yeah. Yeah. Right. That bastard…”

With his phone still to his ear, he mumbled—clearly in the middle of a call.

When Jiho hesitated, Dojin beckoned him over while continuing the call.

“Even unregistered, a Guide is still a Guide. Assaulting a Guide is a serious offense.”

Unregistered Guide? Guide assault?

Jiho didn’t understand what was going on, but Dojin didn’t look happy.

As Jiho hesitantly approached, Dojin reached out toward his face.

Startled, Jiho flinched and instinctively shut his eyes, pulling his neck back.

Dojin sheepishly withdrew his hand.

You’ve got eye gunk.

He mouthed the words while pointing at his own eye.

He must’ve been about to wipe it off for him.

Jiho, face red, touched around his eyes himself. Dojin gave a soft chuckle and wrapped up his call.

“Right. I’ll explain it to the Chief Esper myself. Thanks for your help.”

Dojin ended the call and looked at Jiho.

“Did you sleep well?”

Jiho nodded. His fine, curly hair bounced with the movement.

It reminded Dojin of dandelion fluff, and he let out a soft chuckle.

“Not hungry?”

Hungry?

Jiho placed a hand on his flat stomach. As soon as he thought of food, his stomach let out a loud growl.

“Let’s order something. The fridge is empty, so I can’t cook anything.”

Nod, nod.

“Anything you feel like eating?”

Shake, shake.

“Hmm… What do kids these days like…”

Muttering to himself, Dojin tapped on his phone. Jiho could see he was opening a food delivery app.

As Jiho stared curiously at the screen, Dojin let out a small “Hm?” and tilted the phone slightly to show him.

“First time seeing this? You can order food with it.”

Apparently assuming Jiho didn’t know, Dojin started explaining the app.

Of course, Jiho knew all about it. Even though he’d only lived in a guiding room since being rescued from the facility, it didn’t mean he was clueless about the world.

Unaware of that, Dojin kept explaining as he tapped through the buttons.

It wasn’t particularly interesting since Jiho already knew everything, but he liked the calm tone of Dojin’s voice and listened without showing any reaction.

But the explanation didn’t last long—Jiho’s stomach grumbled loudly again.

“I’ll pick a place that delivers as fast as possible.”

Mumbling that, Dojin tapped through the options. After placing the order, he gently guided the still-standing Jiho over to sit on the sofa.

“Like I said, the fridge is completely empty.”

Nod.

“We can’t keep ordering food, so I guess we’ll need to go grocery shopping…”

Dojin trailed off.

Delivery food wasn’t healthy. It didn’t matter for him, but Jiho, whose body was weak, needed proper home-cooked meals.

Jiho, unaware of that concern, simply thought, Yeah, delivery food is expensive, and nodded.

“…How about we eat first, then go grocery shopping?”

It wasn’t like shopping was a big deal, but Dojin asked the question carefully, looking a bit guilty.

Jiho raised an eyebrow, not understanding where that caution was coming from.

It’s not like grocery shopping is dangerous. You’d think he was asking to walk into a dungeon unarmed.

He was about to say Sure, when he looked around.

Notebook? he mouthed.

Dojin told him to wait a moment, then went into the bedroom. He soon returned with a pink notebook and a yellow pencil.

Just telling him where it was would’ve been enough.

Jiho had known for years how kind Dojin was, but he still wasn’t used to it.

His chest tickled with a strange feeling, and he bit his lip as he wrote on a blank page:

[I’d like to go grocery shopping.]

When he showed it, Dojin smiled faintly. But even with the gentle curve of his lips, his eyes still held a trace of caution and guilt.

“Let’s make it a quick trip.”

[Okay.]

Jiho didn’t understand the reason behind that look, but he didn’t ask. He just nodded.

After they finished eating, Dojin went back to the dressing room to find something for Jiho to wear.

But he didn’t have much luck, so he ended up washing and drying a thick, soft knit sweater and a pair of sweatpants.

It was a bit of a brute-force method, but it worked—the oversized clothes shrank down to a more manageable size.

They still weren’t a perfect fit for Jiho, but they looked wearable if he didn’t mind a bit of discomfort.

Apparently, Jiho liked the shrunken clothes—he was absentmindedly fiddling with the sleeves Dojin had folded for him.

Relieved, Dojin helped him into a coat. Even though it was the shortest one he had, it still reached down to Jiho’s shins.

Dojin stifled a laugh at how Jiho looked like he was being swallowed by the oversized clothes.

With his hair tied up in a little apple ponytail using a pink band, he looked downright cute. Thankfully, Jiho didn’t seem to notice or care.

…It’s still too early to take him to a salon, huh.

This outing would be as brief as possible. Dojin didn’t know how Jiho would react to being exposed to a new environment.

Still, while we’re out, I should at least pick up some underwear and a few changes of clothes.

He ran through a mental shopping list as he pulled out a neatly stored scarf from the wardrobe and wrapped it gently around Jiho’s neck.