DPGR 179

The next day, around noon, the intercom at Dojin’s house rang.

“Big Uncle! Little Uncle!”

When the door opened, a small girl hopped into the entryway. Right after, her father and Dojin’s brother-in-law, Hanseok, appeared.

“Ihyun, I told you not to run like that.”

“I didn’t run. I jumped.”

“That’s the same thing….”

“Brother-in-law, you’re here?”

“Yeah, yeah, brother-in-law. Thanks. Our Ihyun was really happy because she was going to see her uncles today.”

“We were looking forward to Ihyun coming over too. Ah, please come in.”

“No, it’s fine. I need to go right away. If I’m late, I’ll get scolded.”

Hanseok said that, then spotted Jiho behind Dojin and greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Jiho-ssi.”

“Hello.”

The first time the two met was when Dojin was lying unconscious in the hospital. Back then, Dohee worried about Jiho being left alone and often took care of him, so he got to know Hanseok too.

After that, once Dojin woke up, there was no particular reason to meet. For two years, they only heard news of each other. Meeting Hanseok after so long felt both welcome and awkward, and Jiho fidgeted.

But then.

“Uh…? Wait. Hm….”

“W-what is it?”

Hanseok, who had just greeted him warmly, suddenly stiffened his expression when looking at Jiho. He stroked his chin and made strange noises like, “Oh-ho? Mhmm?”

“Brother-in-law?”

Unable to watch, Dojin called him, but Hanseok seemed lost in his own thoughts and didn’t move.

“Jiho-ssi, how tall are you?”

“Uh, ah, maybe about 177 cm…?”

“You look taller than last time. Right?”

“Yes. Probably.”

“And your weight filled out nicely too… hm, hm.”

Now Hanseok openly looked Jiho up and down. Only when Jiho hunched his shoulders and looked uneasy did he finally speak up.

“Have you ever thought about being a model?”

“What? A model…?”

Jiho was caught off guard by the unexpected words and blankly asked back. Dojin was just as surprised. Only Hanseok continued explaining with a serious face.

“No, it’s exactly the type of look Dohee has been talking about for ages. Did you hear? Our brand is planning a casual line.”

“Yes, hyung told me.”

Hanseok was the photographer and planner for the fashion brand Dohee ran. He took out his phone from his pocket to show pictures of the new line’s clothes.

“It’s this kind of sporty design. I think it would look great on you, Jiho-ssi. What do you think? Hm? Any interest?”

“No, um, it’s just too sudden….”

“I’ll take good photos of you. Hm? Just think about it.”

Hanseok’s eyes looked half-crazed. Being a born photographer and having an artistic streak, he was the type to jump in headfirst when something caught his eye.

Seeing Jiho fluster and unable to respond, Dojin stepped in.

“Brother-in-law, didn’t you say you had to go right away?”

“Ah, right. What time is it? Oh no! I’ll be in trouble…!”

After checking the time, Hanseok quickly handed Ihyun’s bag to Dojin.

“Wow, when did it get so late? Alright then, brother-in-law, Jiho-ssi. I’ll be going. And I really meant what I said, so please think about it positively, okay?”

“Y-yeah….”

Just then, Hanseok’s phone rang loudly. He hurriedly answered as he left Dojin’s house.

“Ah, ah! Dohee! No, I’m leaving now. No, it’s just that I was just….”

Only when Hanseok’s voice faded did Dojin close the door. He turned to Jiho with an apologetic expression.

“My brother-in-law isn’t usually like that. Sorry, don’t mind what he said earlier.”

“I’m fine.”

Not wanting to make Dojin worry, Jiho shrugged and laughed it off lightly. Thinking about it, it wasn’t much of a rude comment. Saying he had grown enough in two years to even be a model sounded more like a compliment, and it even made him feel good.

“Big Uncle! Little Uncle! What are you doing? Hurry and come! Play with me!”

“Yeah, Ihyun. We’re coming.”

From the living room, Ihyun called the two in her lisping voice with her front teeth missing. It made both Dojin and Jiho smile.

***

“Wow…!”

Even though it was a weekday, the aquarium was crowded with people. In the middle of them, Ihyun’s mouth hung open and her eyes sparkled.

“Ihyun, don’t run here. Okay?”

“Okay, Uncle. I want to see that.”

Worried that Ihyun might get hurt or lost, Dojin stayed on alert. He held her hand tightly and turned to Jiho.

“Jiho-ya, over there…”

But Jiho wasn’t there. Dojin looked around in a panic, and Ihyun shook the hand he was holding.

“Uncle, Little Uncle is over there.”

When Dojin turned his head in the direction she pointed, he saw Jiho standing in front of a tank, watching the fish.

Bathed in the bluish water light, he had his mouth slightly open as he looked at the school of fish through the glass.

‘I thought I only had to worry about Ihyun….’

Dojin gave a small helpless laugh. It reminded him of Jiho back when he had just come out of the illegal facility, showing curiosity about everything in the world.

“Shall we go to Little Uncle?”

“Let’s do that.”

Holding hands, Ihyun and Dojin walked toward Jiho. In the meantime, Jiho had taken out his camera and was photographing the fish.

“Jiho-ya.”

“Ah!”

Because he was so focused, Jiho hadn’t even noticed their approach. He flinched at Dojin suddenly calling him. Then he realized they had come looking for him and looked embarrassed.

“Sorry. The fish were so pretty….”

“It’s fine. Since we came, let’s see everything you want. But be careful, there are a lot of people. Okay?”

“Yes.”

Jiho’s expression brightened. Nodding so innocently made him look like a well-behaved child.

For a moment, Dojin thought about holding Jiho’s hand like he did with Ihyun, but he shook his head. He was an adult, he could be careful on his own.

“Little Uncle! Come with me! They said there are otters over there!”

“Really? Where?”

“There! Over there!”

While Dojin hesitated, Ihyun let go of his hand and pulled Jiho’s hand instead. It only took an instant. Before Dojin could stop them, the two had already rushed off into the crowd.

Left alone, Dojin looked down at his empty hand that Ihyun had shaken free from and let out a helpless laugh.

“I should have just held on….”

His mutter was drowned out by the noise of the aquarium visitors.

***

I just saw Baek Dojin.

I came out for my son’s birthday today and spotted him. Isn’t the person next to him his pair guide? I heard they live together, looks like they came here together too. They seemed close. There was a little girl with them, I don’t know who she is. Anyway, attaching photos.

(Photo of Dojin, the child, and Jiho holding hands together)

(Photo of Dojin putting his hand on Jiho’s shoulder in front of the aquarium)

(Photo of Jiho turning to Dojin with a bright smile)

(Photo of Dojin carrying the child on his shoulders and walking side by side with Jiho)

└It’s been quiet with sightings lately. But seeing he’s out with his guide again, they must be really close.

└└Exactly, every time he’s spotted, he’s with his guide.

└└└At this point, it wouldn’t be strange if they were dating… actually it’s weirder if they aren’t and still stick together like that lol.

└Who’s the kid? Did Baek Dojin have a daughter?

└└Yeah. He and Jiho the guide had a daughter together.

└└└As if lololol.

└└└└Not sure because the face is blurred, but it’s probably Baek Dohee the designer’s daughter. She was in a kids’ line photoshoot recently, looks like her.

└Am I the only one getting weird thoughts here…? haha In the first and fourth photos, I get married-couple vibes.

└└The second and third photos are literally newlyweds. The Baek Sharks (Dojin’s fandom) support this couple ><

└They suit each other so well. Back when Baek Dojin was active as an esper, he rarely smiled like that…

└└In recent sighting photos, he’s always smiling like a fool. He looks happy, it’s a relief.

└└└Ah, I just became a tragic woman on the bus…!ㅠㅠ

***

While Dojin, Jiho, and Ihyun happily looked around the aquarium, their sighting spread online and heated up the internet.

There were people speculating about Dojin and Jiho’s relationship, and people trying to shut them down.

But as always, those trying to stir things up in the hero’s daily life were a small minority. On most communities, the majority of fans felt relieved to see Dojin looking happy.

By the time the sun set, the three who had no idea they had made such a stir online spent the whole day having fun and went home.

Since they had eaten lunch out, they returned in time for dinner because of Dojin’s reasoning that they should eat home-cooked food.

“Jiho-ya, can you play with Ihyun while I make dinner?”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

“Sorry, you must be tired.”

“It’s fine. Making dinner is work too.”

As soon as they came home, Dojin washed his hands and went into the kitchen. Since he had already bought groceries and prepared ingredients the day before, his movements had no waste.

He quickly stir-fried rice with vegetables and cooked a thin omelet. He added neatly sliced tofu to the miso soup that had started to boil, and took out the sausages from the air fryer, arranging them nicely.

‘This should be enough.’

Dinner prep went quickly. The menu was sausage omurice, which both Ihyun and Jiho liked.

He tasted the soup one last time, served it into bowls, and set it on the table.

“Jiho-ya, Ihyun-ah. Let’s eat.”

Dojin finally finished cooking and called the two as he stepped out into the living room. But no reply came. The living room where he thought Jiho and Ihyun were was empty.