DPGR 29

“You dumb idiot! What the hell are those hands for? You should’ve punched those jerks in the mouth!”

“Sena!”

As Jiho recalled that memory from the past, he suddenly let out a small laugh.

A laugh, in the middle of being yelled at.

None of the teammates could understand why Jiho was laughing right now.

Sena, who had been fuming just a moment ago, was no exception.

What’s with that laugh? Wait… he’s not seriously crazy, is he?

Sena flinched, confused, and asked, “You seriously feel like laughing right now?”

But Jiho didn’t even blink.

Instead, he reached into the small bag he was carrying and pulled out a notepad and pencil.

He quickly scribbled something and held it out.

[Thank you.]

[For taking my side.]

[And… for worrying about me.]

At his unexpected message, Sena’s face turned bright red in an instant.

She immediately began yelling again, even louder than before.

“Hey! H-Hey! When did I ever say I was worried about you?!”

She looked like a flustered kitten hissing with puffed cheeks.

The teammates, startled by her voice at first, quickly realized she was just embarrassed and relaxed.

Jiho giggled again.

Sena shouted a few more times before breaking free from Yulchan’s hold and storming out of the room.

“S-Sena! Wait, I’ll go with you!”

Yulchan ran after her, leaving the atmosphere in the team leader’s office to immediately loosen up.

In the midst of it, Kijoon shook his head with a teasing glint in his eyes and asked playfully,

“Guide Jiho, do you know what Guide Sena’s nickname is?”

Jiho tilted his head.

Kijoon chuckled as he answered, “Honey badger.”

Honey… badger? What’s that?

Jiho tilted his head again, clearly puzzled.

“I’ll show you a video later,” Kijoon said, struggling to hold back his laughter and making a weird face.

“Enough joking around,” Dojin said, sighing as he brought the teasing to an end.

He knelt in front of Jiho on one knee.

Jiho flusteredly tried to pull him up, but Dojin paid no mind and took out a wet wipe.

“Lower your head, please. That’s it.”

At the cold, damp touch, Jiho’s shoulders twitched.

Dojin’s hand grew even gentler, more careful.

“Just hang in there a little.”

The once-white tissue quickly turned red with blood.

With the blood wiped away, his reddened nose, bruised cheekbones, and shallow cuts became more visible.

Dojin examined them with a solemn gaze, then took ointment from the first-aid kit and carefully dabbed it on.

“May I check your nose?”

Jiho nodded.

Holding his breath, Dojin gently pressed and examined the bridge of Jiho’s nose.

There was some pain, but Jiho didn’t show it—because Dojin looked even more worried than he felt hurt.

“…Phew. Looks like nothing’s broken or cracked, thankfully.”

Jiho nodded again.

“How about the rest? Looked like you got knocked down pretty hard. Is your wrist or tailbone okay?”

Dojin gently took Jiho’s hand and pressed lightly on his wrist, then moved his hand naturally down Jiho’s spine.

His fingers pressed carefully at Jiho’s lower back.

Jiho bit his lip, trying not to react to the ticklish sensation at such a sensitive spot.

“Hmm… No major injuries, it seems. But let’s go to the hospital just in case.”

Jiho shook his head, saying it wasn’t necessary. But Dojin was firm.

“There could be hairline fractures—we need to get it checked.”

“He’s right! While we’re at it, why not get admitted and make sure there’s a medical record?”

“Ooh, good idea.”

And the other teammates joined in enthusiastically.

“Make the bastards pay for the hospital bill!”

“Get a private room! No, a VIP room!”

“Yes! I second that!” Kijoon cheered.

—No, really… I’m fine…

Jiho mouthed the words desperately and scribbled frantically on paper, but no one was paying attention.

He pouted in secret.

Thankfully, before Jihye and Kijoon could drag Jiho to the hospital, Sehun cut in and steered the conversation elsewhere.

“By the way… what are you actually planning to do about all this?”

“……”

“There’s no recording, right? Not even CCTV footage…?”

“No. The CCTVs don’t record audio. So it’d only show the actions—and with Guide Sena involved, well…”

“Ah…”

Everyone fell into silence.

They didn’t even need to see it to know—Sena definitely would’ve been the first to throw a punch or a kick.

Dojin turned to look at Jiho, who was still pouting and rolling his eyes.

He reached out and gently ran his hand through Jiho’s hair, tangled and messy from the scuffle.

“First, we’ll need to go speak with the Esper Director.”

“Huh? The Esper Director?”

“I don’t have the rank to go directly to the Guide Director.”

In terms of ability, it wouldn’t have been difficult to stir up a mutiny.

Taking down the Guide Director wouldn’t require much effort or time.

That’s how insignificant the Guide Director was, in Dojin’s eyes.

But Dojin was a soldier to his very bones.

He could never bring himself to start a mutiny personally.

So instead, he planned to move the Esper Director, someone on the same level.

“Do you think the he will actually take action?”

The issue was that it was unclear whether the person Dojin had in mind would actually take action.

While that person generally had a favorable opinion of Dojin, they disliked office politics and avoided getting tangled up with the Guide Director.

Espers were well aware that defeating a Guide was difficult unless they used physical force.

Dojin rubbed the edge of his eyebrow and muttered softly.

“It’s better if they don’t have to do it themselves.”

He then pulled out his phone.

The team watched him, looking as though he had some solution, as he dialed someone’s number.

After a while, when it seemed like Dojin had finally gotten through, he spoke.

“Hello, Master. How have you been?”

Like a predator about to pounce, Dojin’s dark eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.

“Would it be alright if I visited you tomorrow?”

***

That night, Jiho, who had appeared perfectly fine throughout the day, suddenly fell ill again.

The hospital had only found minor bruises and said that hospitalization wasn’t necessary.

“Ugh,….”

“Guide Jiho, are you alright?”

“Ha, ugh… hhh…”

His fever had already climbed over 38 degrees.

Dojin called the center hospital, and following the doctor’s instructions, he gathered lukewarm water, towels, and fever medicine, approaching Jiho with a grim expression.

They said that if it was just a fever, the only thing the hospital could do was administer fever medicine.

Forcing Jiho, who was losing consciousness, to go to the hospital might cause more stress than good.

‘First, I need to cool his fever. Wipe his body with lukewarm towels. If he’s under blankets, take them off. The clothes should be as light as possible, or even remove them entirely.’

Dojin recalled the instructions and cautiously unbuttoned Jiho’s shirt.

Click, click—the buttons came undone, revealing Jiho’s body underneath.

His body was thin, with ribs faintly showing, a body still lacking in muscle.

Nothing too provocative, just a plain stomach and chest.

But Dojin had to force his eyes shut, unable to ignore the strange feeling stirring within him.

He’d never thought like this about another person’s body before.

It wasn’t just sexual desire—something about Jiho’s body, as his Guide, triggered something in Dojin’s instincts that clouded his rationality.

This is treatment. His body is just a patient’s body.

Repeating those two thoughts to himself, Dojin took a deep breath and opened his eyes again.

Below him, Jiho lay with his face flushed, tears silently trickling down his face.

“Ha…”

Dojin’s chest rose and fell in quick succession. He couldn’t afford to waste time like this.

I have to hurry…

Like when hunting a monster, his black eyes glinted sharply, his face now bearing a sense of grim determination.

Dojin quickly removed the rest of Jiho’s clothes and used the towel to gently wipe his feverish body.

“Ugh…”

“Ha… please, be quiet…”

“Aah, ngh…”

Every time the towel touched Jiho’s skin, a soft groan slipped from his lips, making Dojin grit his teeth repeatedly.

After struggling for some time, Jiho’s breathing finally began to stabilize.

‘This should be enough for now.’

When Dojin checked his temperature again, it had gone down just a little.

The next step was to administer the fever medicine.

“Guide Jiho, please sit up for a moment. The fever medicine…”

Dojin gently moved the wet towel away and stroked Jiho’s cheek. But Jiho still didn’t regain consciousness.

“Ugh…”

Whether it was due to a nightmare or delirium from the fever, tears continued to spill from his closed eyelids, soaking the pillowcase.

Dojin carefully wiped away the tears with his thumb and tried to wake him again.

He shook his body gently, tapping his cheek. Yet, Jiho remained unresponsive.

‘I need to get him to take the fever medicine…’

Dojin’s gaze settled on the small brown bottle of liquid fever medicine.

It was the same one prescribed by the hospital.

For a long time, Dojin just stared at the bottle, but then he seemed to make a decision. He gently supported Jiho’s upper body, propping him up.

Then, with his other hand, he uncapped the medicine and began dripping it into Jiho’s mouth.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Naturally, Jiho, still unconscious, couldn’t swallow it. Instead, he moved his tongue, pushing everything that had entered his mouth right back out.

Dojin felt the heat returning to Jiho’s body, his own frustration mounting as his eyes grew more anxious.

‘What should I do…’

In that moment, a certain idea flashed through Dojin’s mind—the way to get the fever medicine into Jiho, despite his unconsciousness.

Dojin’s eyes involuntarily flickered over Jiho’s unusually plump, red lips.

His face flushed with a sudden heat.