DPGR 158

Inside a spotless dressing room with not a single thing out of place, Jiho was busy getting ready to go out.

“Hm…”

He wore a navy sweatshirt and jeans, layered with a black coat. Out of habit, he reached for his scarf, but when he saw the sun shining outside the window, he set it down again.

‘If I wear that too, it’ll be too hot.’

It was already spring outside. The cold snap hadn’t entirely passed, but it wasn’t chilly enough to be bundled up in a scarf.

Jiho lightly patted the wrinkled scarf flat with his hand, then pulled out a bag and packed his wallet, phone, handkerchief, and other essentials.

After tousling his hair once, he ran out into the living room. The sound of the TV he’d left on filled the silence.

–It’s been a month since that day. As predicted, abilities are gradually disappearing. Experts say…

They’d said that abilities would fade after the Final Dungeon closed. And just as foretold, the moment the dungeon sealed shut, espers began to lose their powers, little by little.

Now, more than a month later, only S-class espers still retained even a faint trace of their powers. Even those were expected to disappear entirely within two weeks.

On the other hand, unlike the abilities that belonged to people, artifacts had not lost their innate powers. Because of that, artifact prices had skyrocketed. Especially those used in the medical field, they were now virtually priceless.

Not long ago, Jiho had used up his entire life compensation payment to buy two bottles of the most precious potions among those expensive items. Naturally, both bottles had been used for Dojin.

Even so, Dojin had yet to wake up.

“Sigh…”

Turning off the TV, Jiho hurried outside. As he stopped in front of the bus stop, he unconsciously sighed.

A faint puff of breath clouded his vision. Seeing it, Jiho realized he’d sighed. He pressed his lips together tightly.

They say sighing drives luck away.

As that thought passed through his mind, the bus approached from a distance. Jiho lightly tapped his cheek and stepped onto the bus.

Beep

After tapping his transit card, Jiho sat down in an empty seat. Spring sunlight poured down on his body, stinging slightly. Squinting, he turned his gaze to the window.

Outside, the scenery passed by, not too fast, not too slow.

A child pointed at fresh green sprouts growing in a flower bed by the roadside, chattering excitedly to guardians who looked just like them.

Behind them, a young couple strolled by, arms linked, smiling sweetly. At a flower shop, a middle-aged woman walked out cradling a pot of flowers, beaming.

Not long ago, all of these people had been overwhelmed with fear, unsure whether they’d live another day. But now, they had returned to their normal lives and were living ordinary days once more.

Hmm hmm-hmm, hmm…

Hearing the bus driver softly hum to himself, Jiho slowly closed his eyes. Everyone else seemed joyful, but he felt hollow inside, like something had gone missing from his chest.

***

“Hello, nurses!”

“Oh my! You’re here? It must be tiring to come all the way here every time.”

“I’m fine. Nothing happened to my hyung overnight, right?”

Jiho greeted the nurses at the hospital desk with a bright smile as he stepped into the Center Hospital.

Asking about Dojin’s condition each morning had long since become part of Jiho’s routine.

“It’s always the same. No change at all.”

Even though the answer was always the same, hearing it gave him peace of mind.

“Thank you. Oh, I picked these up on the way, please share them.”

“You really don’t have to bring anything!”

“Hehe, I’m just grateful you look after my hyung.”

The nurses smiled warmly at Jiho’s polite gesture. He nodded one last time and moved on.

“Sigh… Poor kid.”

“Yeah… Even that potion didn’t work, right?”

“Wasn’t it insanely expensive? I heard it’s hard to get even with money.”

“Practically priceless. He got two bottles just to try and bring Esper Baek Dojin back to consciousness… honestly…”

He could hear the nurses whispering with pity behind him, but Jiho’s face showed no reaction as he walked down the hall. His smile looked as if it had been drawn on.

Then, for just a moment, that smile froze awkwardly.

[Baek Dojin]

It was in front of the door with Dojin’s name written on it. Jiho paused, then rubbed his face roughly with both hands.

When he lowered them after a while, that same composed smile was back again.

Knock knock. Jiho knocked lightly. No answer came.

But as if he expected that, Jiho opened the door naturally and stepped inside.

Beep–beep–beep

The room was quiet. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor filled the space.

Jiho felt reassured that the sound was still steady. His tense shoulders relaxed slightly in relief.

“Hyung, I’m here.”

Speaking brightly, Jiho hurried over to the bed. Dojin, a bit thinner now, was still sound asleep.

Before the abilities of healing espers disappeared, they had treated Dojin. Thanks to them, his body was in perfect condition. Not a single wound remained. He really did look like someone in a deep sleep.

“Hyung, the sunlight today is amazing. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open on the way here. Oh, and while I was coming…”

Jiho took off his coat and set his bag down, chattering as he moved.

The weather today, the things he’d seen on the way, the news from outside, a funny story from the radio, he shared it all.

As he took Dojin’s hand, he noticed the fingernails had grown out.

“Oh. Your nails got long. Want me to trim them for you?”

“……”

“Okay, I’ll give it a shot. I’m not confident, but I’ll be careful. One sec.”

Jiho rolled up his sleeves and went to borrow a nail clipper from the desk. He carefully held Dojin’s large hand and began trimming each nail, one by one.

Even though it was his first time cutting someone else’s nails, he focused so intently that they came out quite well. Jiho’s face lit up.

“Hyung! Look! I did a good job, right?”

“……”

“Hmm… I really did my best… I’ll do it again next time, so you better praise me then.”

Pouting playfully, he cleaned up the nail clippings and tidied the room. Then, as if it were habit, he wet a towel in the bathroom and wiped Dojin’s face, hands, and feet.

A hired caregiver usually handled the main care, but Jiho often took care of the small things himself. He meticulously cleaned up, even washing and refilling the humidifier.

Just then, a knock came from outside. It was so familiar that Jiho answered calmly.

“Yes, come in.”

The door opened at his words. Team Leader Yoon from the Beta Team and his guide stepped in.

“We brought some fruit. I heard it’s not good to bring flowers to hospital rooms.”

With a warm smile, Team Leader Yoon and his guide held out a large fruit basket. It was filled with expensive fruits Jiho had never seen before.

“You didn’t have to bring anything…”

Jiho accepted it awkwardly, surprised. The two guests chuckled.

“We’re visiting the man who saved our lives. Of course we couldn’t come empty-handed.”

Their lighthearted joke eased the mood right away. Jiho invited them to sit and began slicing the fruit.

His knife skills were still clumsy, but the guests cheerfully ate the uneven pieces, saying they tasted just fine.

“How is Captain Baek these days? Any improvement…?”

“…No. He’s still the same.”

“Ah… I see. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. He’s still alive. I believe he’ll wake up soon. Hyung is strong.”

“Definitely. Captain Baek is the strongest person I know. He’ll recover and wake up soon.”

Starting with Dojin’s condition, they chatted lightly for a while. But Jiho’s focus remained on the sound of Dojin’s breathing and the beeping of the heart monitor.

He stayed alert, in case the smallest change occurred.

“Oh, we’ve been here too long. We should get going.”

“Stay a little longer.”

“No, Jiho, you should rest too. We’ll come again soon!”

About an hour later, the quick-witted Team Leader Yoon finished the fruit and stood up. Jiho got up with him and walked them to the door.

After seeing them out and closing the door, silence settled back into the room.

Beep–beep–beep

It was comforting that Dojin still lay with his eyes closed, his heartbeat steady.

“…Hyung. The guests left. You remember Team Leader Yoon from the Beta Team, right? He came because he was worried about you. Brought this huge fruit basket too. Must’ve been expensive. I guess you’re lucky to have people who care.”

Dojin’s room received many visitors. Every day, at least one or two groups came to see him.

The general public may have started to forget him and move on with their lives, but the espers and guides who had entered the dungeon with him hadn’t forgotten his sacrifice.

Most were Koreans, but sometimes, people even came from overseas.

“So many people want you to wake up. So please, open your eyes soon.”

Smiling, Jiho gently stroked Dojin’s cheek. Even though his voice must have reached Dojin’s ears, the older man’s expression remained peaceful.