DPGR 2

‘Uh…’

Jiho’s face turned pale as he spotted Baek Dojin amidst the crowd.

Baek Dojin’s condition looked far worse than Jiho had expected.

‘The blood…’

There was a gaping hole in the middle of Baek Dojin’s abdomen—larger than both of Jiho’s fists put together.

Thick gauze soaked in blood had been bunched up to fill the wound, but even that didn’t seem enough to stop the bleeding.

Not only his clothes and skin but even the navy-blue gem on the necklace he always wore was stained dark red.

‘Oh my god…’

And that wasn’t the end of it.

Aside from the wound on his abdomen, his entire body was covered in injuries.

One foot was bent at a grotesque angle, and both arms were tightly bandaged and immobilized.

Pads were attached all over his body, even where there were no visible injuries, all connected to guiding machines.

“Uh…”

Baek Dojin looked practically dead.

He didn’t seem like someone who was still alive.

He always came back injured from missions—but never this badly.

“…Ah…”

A groan slipped from between Jiho’s lips.

Finally, someone noticed him and lit up in relief.

“Guide Seo!”

It was one of Alpha Team’s members who had been anxiously pacing beside Baek Dojin.

Another team member, hearing the first call out, chimed in, “Did you come after getting the message? P-please come this way!”

Despite asking him to come, the team member rushed over to Jiho, grabbed his slender wrist, and dragged him to the bed.

In his urgency, he didn’t realize he was being rude.

“P-please, save our captain… Please…”

As Jiho arrived at the bedside, another team member nearby sobbed softly.

It didn’t match his large frame, but no one laughed or mocked him.

“Uuugh…”

Jiho’s eyes lost all confidence. Could wounds this severe really be healed with just a bit of guiding?

‘I can’t do this…’

Despite that thought, Jiho didn’t hesitate.

By sheer habit, he reached out and took Baek Dojin’s hand.

A hug, a kiss—or sex—would’ve been more effective, but in Baek Dojin’s condition, none of those were an option.

‘Please, please…’

Jiho didn’t dare hope for complete healing.

Just enough recovery so that modern medicine could take over from there—that was all he wished for.

‘Please…!’

Only a few fingers poked out from under the bandages.

But Jiho clung to those fingers desperately, as if even that was more than enough.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled every last bit of guiding energy from within himself.

Most of that energy, however, scattered into the air before it could even reach Baek Dojin.

Too much was being wasted, but Jiho didn’t have the capacity to control it all right now.

“G-Guiding levels are rising! 14%… 15%…!”

One of the medics monitoring the screen connected to Baek Dojin shouted in a trembling voice.

While Baek Dojin’s condition slowly improved, Jiho’s face grew paler by the second.

“…19%… 20%…”

It had been about thirty minutes when Baek Dojin’s guiding level finally crossed the 20% threshold.

By then, Jiho was drenched in cold sweat, his body suffering from severe energy depletion.

“Isn’t Guide Seo in danger?”

“S-Still, it’s the captain…”

Focused as he was, Jiho didn’t hear the whispers around him.

What broke his concentration was the sudden twitch of Baek Dojin’s fingers in his grasp.

“…!”

Jiho’s eyes flew open in shock—and met Baek Dojin’s.

Baek Dojin was staring up at Jiho, his breath ragged, eyes dazed but faintly conscious.

“Captain!”

“Captain Baek!”

His teammates and center staff rushed forward, trying to stabilize him.

Hope returned to their faces as they called his name.

‘T-Thank goodness…’

Jiho felt the same.

Relieved, color even returned slightly to his pale cheeks.

But only for a moment.

Beep— beep— beep— beep—

An alarm sounded.

Jiho thought it came from the guiding machine—but it was from a different device nearby.

“Vitals are unstable!”

“Damn it! Blood! More blood—hurry!”

“W-What about the healing Esper?”

“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet! Call more medical staff!”

“That’s dangerous—!”

Beep— beep— beep— beep— beep—

“Captain! Captain!”

“Captain Baek! Please stay with us!”

Beep— beep— beep— beep— beep— beep— beep—

It was loud. Deafening.

Jiho’s eyes turned red.

Baek Dojin was moving his lips, trying to say something.

“…Dan…ger…”

His eyes were fixed on Jiho, so it seemed the words were meant for him.

Jiho bent down and brought his ear to Baek Dojin’s lips.

Amid the chaos, Baek Dojin’s raspy voice rang strangely clear.

“…Reck…less… why… cough”

“Ugh…”

“G-go… gasp get a snack… and wait…”

Beep— beep— beeep—

The light in Baek Dojin’s eyes went out.

Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, which hadn’t even closed.

Jiho couldn’t say anything.

He couldn’t accept what had just happened.

What… what is this? Why did the machine stop? What happened to Baek Dojin? I… the guiding…

His head was spinning. His vision swayed violently.

“Guide Seo!”

When he came to, Jiho found himself collapsed at the foot of the bed.

“Ah…”

His palm, resting on the floor, felt slick.

He turned to look—blood had pooled thick on the ground.

“Ah…”

He immediately knew whose blood it was.

Baek Dojin’s.

“Ah… ugh…”

Maybe he had burned through too much guiding energy—

Jiho was feeling true energy depletion for the first time since escaping the illegal guiding facility.

His vision kept flickering black and returning.

A bitter, metallic taste surged from his throat, and his heart pounded wildly, out of rhythm.

Sniff—

Something tickled under his nose.

He wiped it with his sleeve—streaks of red blood.

“Guide! Guide Seo!”

He couldn’t go on.

As his vision blurred, he saw the medical team desperately doing something to Baek Dojin.

But even Jiho, with no medical knowledge, could tell—

Baek Dojin didn’t have a chance.

…He said he’d check if I ate all my snacks after the mission…

Thud!

Jiho’s body swayed and collapsed.

He should have listened to Baek Dojin.

Should’ve asked for help.

Should’ve stayed by his side.

Maybe then the outcome would have been different.

Regret pulled Jiho’s consciousness into the abyss.

Vrrr— Crack—!

A faint vibration and the sound of something shattering was the last thing he heard before his eyes shut.

⸻

—WEEE-OOO—!

—BRRRRRRRRRRRING—!

“Huhk…!”

Jiho opened his eyes again—

This time, in the middle of a long, blindingly white hallway.

—Emergency! Emergency! Please evacuate immediately!—

—WEEE-OOO—!

‘What… is this?’

His gown was torn open, the ties hanging loose.

His bare feet pale and trembling.

Pain throbbed in his left shoulder, and his right eye was so swollen he could barely open it.

The sirens were shrieking, splitting his ears.

‘Why…’

The situation was eerily familiar.

Jiho swallowed dryly.

He could never forget this day.

This was the day—

The day he first shoved away a “customer,” ran out of the room, and tried to escape the illegal guiding facility.

It was also the day—

He truly broke free of that hell.

“Ah… ah…”

His throat felt choked. No sound came out.

He cradled his bruised neck and cautiously began to walk.

His pace quickened—

Soon, he was running.

Tak tak tak!

“Haa—huff—hah—!”

Up ahead, the hallway turned a corner.

A swirl of emotions flickered across Jiho’s face.

That’s it. Just around that corner…

His sharpened hearing picked up voices in the distance.

“…Sir, where’s the necklace…”

“It suddenly broke…”

“…Wasn’t it an artifact? How could it…”

The murmurs were getting closer.

Jiho picked up speed and burst around the corner.

Thud!

He collided into something solid.

Expecting the impact, he squeezed his eyes shut and braced for it.

But before he could fall, an arm wrapped around his waist and steadied him.

“Are you okay…?”

“Uu… uhhh…”

Ah. It was him.

Baek Dojin.

“W-what’s going on? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“Uuu…”

“Captain? Why are you making a stranger cry?”

“Me?”

“Comfort him, now.”

“But I didn’t do anything—”

“Waaaah…”

Jiho grabbed a handful of Baek Dojin’s shirt and burst into sobs.

As he cried, he realized something.

‘Baek Dojin died… and now I’m dreaming.’

Maybe—

Maybe this was the last time he’d ever dream of him.

So Jiho clung to him for dear life.

‘I’m sorry. If I’d gotten there just a bit sooner, maybe you could have lived. If I’d agreed to be your Pair Guide… you might’ve been safe.’

Unlike Unpaired Guides who mostly wait in the guide rooms, Pair Guides accompany their assigned Espers into the gates.

Jiho now believed that if he’d gone into the gate with Dojin, he wouldn’t have died such a meaningless death.

“Uuuuu…”

“…Hah. Seriously…”

Baek Dojin’s sigh came from above, full of disbelief.

But he didn’t push Jiho away.

With his large, clumsy hands, he gently patted Jiho’s back.

That warmth—

It was so comforting, Jiho thought:

I never want to wake up from this dream.