DPGR 46

Even Dojin had to admit he’d gone overboard.

But how could he not, when it was the bathroom of all places?

If he collapses in there, he could get seriously hurt.

Bathrooms were dangerous—at least for someone as weak as Jiho was right now.

Dojin had resolved to stay in this overprotective mode until the marks on Jiho’s body disappeared.

Still, sticking to Jiho’s side 24/7 wasn’t exactly realistic.

“Um, Captain Baek.”

“Yes?”

“It’s Jiho Guide’s training day today.”

Geonwoo, who had stayed quiet all morning like he’d been holding back, finally approached Dojin’s desk and spoke politely.

Dojin let out a soft “Ah,” then gently helped Jiho off his lap and stood up.

“Right. Let’s go. To the training room.”

“No, no. You should stay here, Captain.”

“…….”

“Only Guide Jiho needs to go. Isn’t that right, Jiho?”

Vigorous nodding!

Clearly fed up, Jiho nodded with exaggerated energy and shoved Dojin down into his chair.

It wasn’t much strength, but Dojin let himself be pushed and sat down, giving in.

Jiho beamed proudly and flashed a smile as he trotted over to Geonwoo.

Meanwhile, Dojin’s lips drooped.

“Guide Jiho…”

“Hmm!”

Dojin called out to him in a pitiful voice, but Jiho glared at him as if to say stay put and walked off with Geonwoo.

He was fiercely firm about it.

If sweet, gentle Jiho was this fed up, then maybe he really had gone too far.

Dojin let out a sigh and reflected on himself—just a little.

Even so, his anxiety over Jiho’s well-being left him fidgeting like a dog with severe separation anxiety.

Though, judging by his size, he was more like a wild beast than a puppy.

“Captain, you’re gonna lose all your charm if you keep this up.”

“Haa…”

Dojin sighed deeply, brushing off Kijoon’s teasing.

He’d gotten a full guiding session and felt physically better than ever—but emotionally, he was stuck in a slump.

With his face buried in his hands, he agonized over everything that had happened the night before.

***

At that same moment—

A Taming Esper of American nationality, Liam, set foot on Korean soil.

By chance, he’d been staying in China for work, so once terms with Dojin had been finalized, he’d been able to fly over right away.

Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here.

Liam pushed up his sunglasses and hailed a cab.

The entire ride to the Center, a faint, excited smile lingered on his face.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Baek.”

“Likewise. Thank you for coming all this way. Is it alright if I just call you Liam?”

“Oh, absolutely! Let’s keep it casual, like friends.”

Liam responded in fluent Korean.

But from the mismatch between his mouth and the words, it was clear he was using some sort of language-related artifact.

After a brief handshake, Dojin was about to introduce the team members, but Liam beat him to it, eager to see the monster.

“The monster you mentioned—where is it? I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I heard the story.”

“Ah, the monster.”

“Yes. A young monster that ranks anywhere from B to A class is a rare find.”

A high rank from a young age usually meant its parents were high-class monsters.

To think such a creature had been captured by traffickers, without even its parents around—of course Liam was intrigued.

“Have you figured out its species yet?”

His eyes sparkled behind his sunglasses as he asked. Dojin smiled faintly and shook his head.

“Not yet, no.”

“Hm. Let’s take a look then. Who knows, it might be one I’m familiar with.”

“This way.”

Dojin led him to a corner of the captain’s office. Liam let out a sharp inhale the moment he saw the monster inside the cage, staring back warily.

“What… what is this condition?”

“Like I said, it seems to have gone through something traumatic at the facility. Thankfully, it doesn’t have any visible injuries, so we’ve just been keeping watch.”

“Keeping watch? This is neglect—no, abuse! Just look at the poor thing. You didn’t even bother to bathe it?”

“Liam, please calm down. This monster is B to A class. Without taming, we can’t let it out of the cage.”

“Unbelievable…”

Liam’s expression turned sorrowful.

Dojin did his best to soothe him, but inwardly, he felt the same—

Monster or not, it was still a child. And it looked terrible.

Still, thank god a Taming Esper got here before it was too late.

Dojin looked at Liam with trust.

According to all available records, Liam had the highest rank among all registered Taming Espers in the world.

Though he was ranked A, his skills were exceptional—he’d even successfully tamed other A-class monsters before.

Surely, he could handle this poor creature too.

“Let’s begin taming right away. Don’t worry, little one. I’ll make everything better soon.”

Liam reached his hand toward the cage to take the monster out—but Dojin stopped him.

“Wait. Wouldn’t it be better to proceed with the taming in its current state?”

“You’re telling me to use my ability while that poor thing is still trapped in a cramped, filthy cage?”

“But letting it out without taming it first could be dangerous.”

“I’m an A-rank. Even if the little one lashes out, I can handle it just fine. What, are you not confident in your own control?”

Liam lifted his chin and shot back sharply.

Dojin didn’t respond.

He was offended by the rudeness, but that didn’t mean he could afford to respond in kind.

Behind him, the team members didn’t bother hiding their clear discomfort.

Let’s not create unnecessary trouble.

In the end, Dojin swallowed his sigh and released Liam’s arm.

“Alright. Do as you see fit.”

“Hmph.”

Liam snorted at Dojin, then turned to the monster with a gentle expression.

“Come now, little one. Come out, hmm?”

As he reached in, the monster bared its teeth and recoiled. It was a threatening gesture, but Liam seemed to find even that endearing.

Clack—

At last, Liam opened the cage door, and the monster darted out, evading his hand like it had been waiting for this moment.

“Oh dear.”

Liam’s eyes widened as he reached to catch it—but the monster was faster.

Despite having been cramped in a cage all this time, it moved with startling agility, weaving through the office and bounding around the room.

Thud-thud-thud—

Every time it jumped, potted plants shattered, and documents went flying.

Dojin closed his eyes tightly at the sight of his office descending into chaos.

Just as he was about to step in and subdue it himself—

Click—

The door, which had remained firmly shut, suddenly swung open.

Through it stepped Jiho, his face a little pale.

“Guide Jiho!”

Dojin called out in alarm—and at that very moment, the monster lunged toward Jiho.

Dojin’s face turned deathly white.

He thought the monster was attacking.

“Seo Jiho!”

But contrary to the urgency in Dojin’s voice, the monster didn’t strike—it threw itself into Jiho’s arms.

Jiho, caught completely off guard, stumbled backward under its weight. The monster had grown to the size of a large dog and was too heavy for Jiho to keep his footing.

“Ugh…!”

With a small cry, Jiho fell flat on his rear, the monster clinging to him.

Fortunately, Geonwoo and Sena had followed behind and managed to catch him before he hit his head.

Still, the fall itself couldn’t be prevented, and not only Dojin but the rest of the team ran toward Jiho in a panic.

“Guide Jiho!”

“Are you okay?”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

The monster, startled by the fuss, buried its face in Jiho’s chest and began trembling violently.

It kept making strange little sounds—kurung, wuuuung.

—I’m fine.

Though his lips barely moved, Jiho mouthed the words as he gently patted the monster’s back.

His tailbone ached from the fall, but it didn’t feel like anything was broken.

“Let’s get you up. We should head to the hospital—just in case—”

But Jiho waved a hand at Dojin, who had rushed over, anxiously reaching out.

He was really fine.

What concerned him more was the ragged, filthy little monster clinging to him.

Why was it let out of the cage?

Jiho had pestered Dojin several times in the past about letting the monster out.

Every time, Dojin told him it was too dangerous, and Jiho had reluctantly agreed since it was a matter of safety.

Ah… could it be that person?

While absentmindedly stroking the monster’s back, Jiho’s gaze shifted to a stranger in the room.

So the Taming Esper was scheduled to visit this week—looks like today was the day.

“…Oh my god…”

Just as Jiho looked at him with curious eyes, Liam was also staring in amazement, watching Jiho and the monster closely.

He muttered something under his breath in a language no one understood, clearly fascinated by how the monster clung to Jiho.

“There were definitely no signs of taming…”