DPGR 32

Changwook’s voice turned grim. Jiheon, wiping cold sweat from his brow, tried to coax him gently.

“Ah, come on. I heard that guy’s a mess at his job. Why don’t you use this chance to step in, huh?”

—Hyung. Just ‘cause it comes out of your mouth doesn’t make it reasonable. Huh? What kind of power do I have to kick that bastard out?

“You’ve got skills. Everyone knows that, man.”

—What do you know? You’ve been retired and haven’t shown your face at the Center even once.

“Changwook. I’m serious.”

—So am I.

At this rate, the conversation was going nowhere. Jiheon decided to play his final card.

“…How many times have I saved your ass in a dungeon?”

—……

“Be honest, you already finished digging up dirt on that Guide Director, didn’t you? Just leak a couple things—this’ll all be over. Don’t you think?”

—……

This guy… Did he coat his tongue in oil after turning fifty or what? And how the hell did he even know I’d looked into the Guide Director?

Changwook grumbled under his breath. Jiheon let out a small laugh and pressed on, appealing to sentiment.

“You were really worried when Dojin didn’t have a Guide, weren’t you? He’s finally found one who fits perfectly. What if something happens to that Guide? You think Baek Dojin would just sit there quietly?”

—…That’s..

“Just once. Let’s give the kid what he wants just once. Ah, you’re an Esper too—you get it. Espers lose it when it comes to their Guides. If it were anyone else, there’d already be blood on the walls. It’s because it’s Baek Dojin that he came to me and asked for help.”

He wasn’t wrong. If it had been another Esper, they would’ve snapped long ago and torn the Guide Director to pieces with their own hands.

And it wouldn’t have ended with just the Guide Director, either.

The Guides who insulted their partner? Gone. The ones who stood by and watched, doing nothing? They’d have been next.

Eventually, with a long groan, Changwook exhaled.

—…Fine. Alright.

“Yeah? Thanks. You made the right call, hmm?”

—..Ha… So, hyung, what have you been up to these days? Still no plans to come back to the Center?”

“At my age? What would I do there? The only thing I’m good at now is goofing off.”

“Goofing off, my ass. You were a beast back when you were active. Don’t you remember? Back when we were on Alpha Team…”

Once the conversation shifted to old memories, it went on and on. A broad smile spread across Jiheon’s face.

He lost track of time, savoring every story from the past one by one.

A quiet longing for the field rose in his chest, but it was soon drowned by the wave of loss that followed, and a wistful look crept onto his face.

From afar, a cold wind rustled through the barren tree branches.

***

Jiho and Dojin had dinner with Jiheon. The atmosphere was surprisingly warm and pleasant.

At first, Jiho had been intimidated by Jiheon, but by the end of the meal, he had grown used to the man’s booming voice and sharp, intimidating features.

“Hey, kiddo. Wanna look around the house with this old man?”

After the meal, with a teacup in hand, Jiheon asked in a mock-gentle tone.

Jiho’s eyes sparkled. He’d only gotten a brief glimpse of the house earlier and had been curious ever since.

“Come on, I’ll show you something cool.”

As Jiheon got up from the table, Dojin moved to follow. But Jiheon waved him off, focused only on Jiho.

“I’ve got a few things to say to the kid alone. Go take a walk or get some dessert or something.”

“Huh…? Wait, I want to—”

“Psh! An Esper who clings like that isn’t attractive. Right, kiddo?”

Jiho looked between the two men. He didn’t mind clingy Dojin, actually. But he could tell this wasn’t a real question.

When he stayed quiet, Dojin looked utterly betrayed.

“Let’s go.”

With a hearty laugh, Jiheon left the dining room with only Jiho in tow.

Jiho kept glancing back at Dojin but ultimately let himself be lured away by Jiheon’s promise of stories about the past.

***

It turned out to be the right choice.

“These days, Dojin’s competent and calm, sure. But when he first Awakened? Totally different story. All that power, and he couldn’t handle a lick of it. A total mess.”

“……”

“And on top of that, he didn’t even know why he became an Esper. Said he was pissed off about the whole thing. From what I heard, his dad’s in the military? His dream was to follow in his old man’s footsteps.”

This Dojin from his early thirties was a far cry from the man Jiho knew.

He listened, wide-eyed, as Jiheon told him about Dojin’s old dream, his family, and the chaos of his early days as an Esper.

“One time, I was training him, and he goes, ‘Why the hell do I need to learn this crap?’ No one had ever back-talked me like that. Kid was so rebellious. Thought maybe he needed a little wake-up call.”

“……”

“You wanna know what I did?”

Jiho shook his head.

Jiheon chuckled and gave Jiho’s head a rough pat.

“I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and tossed him into a dungeon.”

“…?”

“It was just a small, B-rank dungeon, nothing too dangerous. Still, he had a rough time. But he managed to crawl back out.”

Jiho found himself more and more drawn in. His original goal of touring the house had completely vanished.

He was fully focused on Jiheon’s stories from the past when—

“Go on, step inside this room.”

Jiheon pointed to a door. Jiho hesitated before opening it, revealing a neatly arranged room beyond.

Not a speck of dust could be seen in any corner. Even so, Jiho could tell this room had been long unoccupied, its owner absent for quite some time.

“……”

Jiho’s feet carried him toward the bookshelf that covered one wall. Among the tightly packed books, something small caught his eye—a photo, about the size of a palm.

In the photo stood a younger-looking Jiheon and a young man who resembled him greatly.

The two stood stiffly side by side, smiling at the camera with a hint of awkwardness.

“That’s my son.”

Jihyeon had followed quietly behind and now spoke in a low voice. Jiho looked at him, then back at the young man in the photo.

“That was ten years ago. I was still the Esper Director when it was taken.”

He had a son.

Jiho gave a small nod, though his eyes were still full of curiosity. Catching the look, Jiheon gave a faint, bitter smile.

“My wife died in childbirth, so my son was all I had. But I was always too busy with work… never spent enough time with him.”

“……”

“He respected me… but he was also afraid of me. Can you blame him? I spent more time away than at home.”

Jiheon reached out and picked up the photo. With his other hand, he gently brushed the cheek of the young man in the picture.

There was deep longing and regret in that simple gesture.

“I used to tell myself, just a bit longer—once I retire, I’ll make more time for him. I swore it to myself every day. But life… it never goes the way you plan.”

One day, while his son was traveling, a monster break occurred in the area.

It was a small C-rank dungeon, but it happened in a remote countryside village—no Espers lived nearby.

His son, who had no powers, hadn’t even awakened. He died helping evacuate the villagers.

“…Why did he even try to help, what was he thinking…”

Jiheon muttered in a low, sorrowful voice.

There was nothing he could do when the news came. And soon after, unable to bear the loss, he retired early.

He lived in seclusion after that, quietly. Until one day, he heard of a thirty-year-old who had manifested as a multi-ability Esper.

Changwook, now the Esper Director, had practically begged him to meet with the guy.

“You know what that kid’s eyes were like? Steady. You could tell—he’d rather die than betray his convictions. And those eyes… were exactly the same as my son’s. I couldn’t turn him away.”

So he took Dojin under his wing, became his teacher. And that bond had lasted until now.

“We’re not just teacher and student. It goes beyond that. That’s how much I care about my Dojin.”

As he said this, Jiheon turned to look at Jiho.

Jiho, who knew the pain of losing someone dear, was now blinking back tears as he listened to the story of Jiheon’s lost son.

Jiheon smiled faintly and reached out to ruffle Jiho’s hair.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’ll get scolded by Dojin for making you tear up.”

At that, Jiho quickly wiped at his eyes. And into his ear, Jihyeon’s voice dropped gently.

“Dojin is like a son to me now. So please, kiddo… take good care of him.”

In that moment, Jiheon looked no different from any other father entrusting his child to someone.

Jiho sniffled and nodded. In his heart, he made a firm vow: Don’t worry. I’ll make him happy. I promise.

After the conversation with Jiheon, Jiho stopped by the kitchen with him to pick up a bag of traditional sweets. Then he stepped out into the yard.

There, in front of a small pond, stood Dojin’s back.

He must have noticed their presence, because he paused mid-motion as he fed the koi and turned around.

His expressionless eyes softened the instant they landed on Jiho. But only for a moment.

“…What…”

Suddenly, something on Jiho’s face caught Dojin’s attention, and his face hardened.

In a few long strides, he crossed the yard and stopped in front of Jiho. His large hand gently cupped Jiho’s cheek.

“…Have you been crying?”