DPGR 53

“Gasp—! Yulchan!”

“So Yulchan!”

The team scrambled to tear the monster off Yulchan’s back, its jaws still clamped onto his nape.

Jiho rushed over in a panic to check on Yulchan’s condition.

“Ugh… hhhk…”

“Chan! Are you okay?!”

“Lay him down flat on his stomach—don’t move him!”

“P-Potion! Who brought potions?!”

“Stop the bleeding first!”

Dojin ran up and ripped Yulchan’s shirt open. Meanwhile, Sehun was squeezing out the last of his mana to create a translucent ice barrier around the group.

Thanks to the shield, the others could focus solely on Yulchan’s injuries without interference.

“…Gasp…”

Someone let out a quiet breath. The wound was that gruesome.

Yulchan groaned and panted a few times before going limp.

“Y-Yulchan…!”

“He passed out.”

“This is… pretty bad…”

As they exchanged anxious words, Jiho clenched his shaking fingers and squeezed his eyes shut.

This is worse than before the regression…

Before returning, Yulchan had only injured his legs. Nothing life-threatening.

But now?

“There’s too much blood…”

“W-What do we do? We can’t stop the bleeding!”

“Wasn’t that golem the boss monster? Why is the dungeon still active?”

The bite had landed right near a vital spot at the base of the neck. Maybe it had nicked a major blood vessel—he was bleeding far too much.

At this rate, his life was in danger. The team, fully aware of that, stood frozen, pale and frantic.

“But I destroyed the golem’s core…”

Dojin, no less stunned, glanced at the fallen golem.

His final strike had been aimed dead center at what looked like the monster’s core in its chest.

He’d confirmed the core had shattered when the golem collapsed—but the gate remained.

What the hell is this…

Where had things gone wrong? Maybe the moment he saw the rainforest terrain, like in his dream, he should’ve warned the others more seriously.

Dojin’s expression twisted in guilt.

That was when Jiho stepped forward.

“…!”

“Guide Jiho!”

He looked like he could collapse any second, yet still pushed his way through the cluster of teammates.

Afraid of accidentally hurting him, no one tried to stop him as he knelt beside Yulchan.

“Guide Jiho..”

The only one who could stop Jiho now was Dojin. Jiho looked up at him, lips forming silent words.

—I need to guide him.

“What are you saying—”

There’s no time.

They had no idea how closely Jiho’s wave pattern aligned with Yulchan’s. An uncalculated, forceful attempt at guiding could make things even worse.

Jiho knew that. He’d been trained extensively in guiding.

“…”

And yet, Dojin’s grip on Jiho’s wrist slackened. Jiho’s eyes were filled with unwavering certainty.

The certainty that he could guide Yulchan.

How…?

But he couldn’t think further.

Jiho was already kneeling in front of Yulchan, placing a hand on his bare shoulder.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his guiding wavelength to match the resonance within Yulchan’s body—and poured it in.

“Gasp!”

“I-Is it… working?!”

Yulchan’s pallor began to fade. The horrifying wound slowly started to close.

Esper regeneration, at its peak under active guiding, had kicked in.

“Guiding level is at 86%!”

Jihye checked Yulchan’s wristwatch and shouted with relief.

Jiho, equally relieved, pushed more energy into the flow between them.

And finally—when the bleeding stopped, and the wound healed without a trace—

Rrrumble—

The monsters that had been mindlessly battering Sehun’s ice shield suddenly rolled their eyes back and collapsed en masse.

As if they’d only just now registered the boss monster’s death.

“…Ha.”

The team let out a collective breath of relief.

Ffffwip—

A refreshing breeze blew through, rustling the leaves. Golden sunlight streamed between the swaying canopy.

Amid that light, the air shimmered—and a glowing exit opened in the sky.

“…Dungeon clear.”

Sehun murmured, face drained, eyes locked on the glowing rift.

It was the end of the nightmare that was the tropical dungeon.

The raid had been a success.

It had taken a grueling five hours to clear it.

As soon as they exited the gate, Yulchan was rushed to the hospital. His wounds had all healed, but given the severity of his injuries, further examinations were necessary.

Thankfully, though he showed signs of mild anemia, they were told it wasn’t serious—he was an esper, after all.

Still, Dojin arranged for Yulchan to be hospitalized for a day or two and contacted both his guardian and his Pair Guide, Sena.

“Waaaah! So Yulchan!”

Moments later, Dojin and Jiho quickly stepped aside as Sena came barreling down the corridor, sobbing with terrifying intensity.

“S-Sena—ack!”

“You—! What the hell, why’d you go and get hurt without telling me?! I told you, if you’re going to get hurt, at least warn me first! Do you want to die?! Huh?!”

“That doesn’t even make sense—”

“Waaah! Do it again and I swear I’ll kill you, So Yulchan…!”

Jiho suppressed a quiet laugh, grateful the room was a private one.

Dojin, looking thoroughly drained, gave the team a discreet nod.

“We should probably head out now.”

“Oh—yes! We were about to leave, too. Please, go ahead.”

Now that the crisis had passed, the team saw them off with relieved smiles.

Dojin cast one last glance toward Yulchan, who was now being thoroughly scolded by a distraught Sena and the others, then finally turned to go.

His expression as he stepped out of the hospital room was darker than ever.

On the way home, Dojin turned on the radio—something he rarely did.

The news was still reporting on the Incheon gate.

—“Three small fishing vessels were caught in the early signs of dungeon formation…”

The stiff voice of the announcer quietly filled the stillness of the car.

Dojin remained silent the entire drive. Every now and then, he glanced sideways at Jiho, dozing off in the passenger seat, his expression unreadable.

The researcher’s voice replayed again and again in his head.

“This is the temporary compatibility report between Esper So Yulchan and Guide Jiho.”

The researcher had seemed like a rookie—probably someone who’d just started at the Center.

Which explained why they’d run a compatibility test on their own, pulling residual guiding energy from Yulchan’s body without even asking for permission.

“…Ha.”

Dojin let out a low sigh.

The young researcher had practically beamed with pride as they held out the report—like they’d just discovered something amazing.

And despite his confusion, Dojin had accepted the paper and read the numbers.

99.99%.

“Seeing how high Esper Yulchan’s match rate is… it looks like his wave pattern is identical to yours, Esper Dojin!”

The researcher’s cheerful voice had left Dojin speechless.

He’d stood frozen for a long while, staring at the report again and again before finally telling them to keep the results confidential.

And now, that report was crumpled in his pocket.

Just a single sheet of paper—and yet it felt like a sandbag dragging him down.

Dojin’s hand drifted toward his pocket unconsciously, brushing the paper, before returning to grip the steering wheel.

Identical wave patterns… me and Yulchan?

The thought was absurd.

If Yulchan’s pattern had really been the same as his, then Yulchan should’ve also struggled to find a compatible guide, just like him.

But Yulchan’s wave pattern wasn’t that difficult. Even aside from Sena, there were three unpaired guides who matched him at over 60%.

And yet, the fact that Jiho had matched with Yulchan at the same level as Dojin—

Either the test was wrong, or…

The car slowed to a stop at a red light. Dojin’s eyes turned toward Jiho, who was fast asleep with his head resting against the window.

Some color had finally returned to Jiho’s face. His quiet breaths sounded deeply exhausted.

‘Who even are you?’

Dojin superimposed the Jiho he’d seen in the dungeon over this peaceful figure.

Jiho, watching Yulchan with anxious eyes just before the golem appeared.

Jiho, running to him without hesitation even though he was clearly terrified.

Jiho, who had stepped forward with unwavering certainty, convinced he could guide Yulchan as if he knew their patterns would align.

All of it—deeply suspicious.

‘What are you hiding from me?’

Thump—thump—thump—

Dojin’s heart began to pound with growing unease.

He wanted to know what Jiho knew. He wanted to uncover the secret he was hiding—the truth about his guiding ability.

His nerves were on edge. He couldn’t keep his face composed.

Maybe it was for the best that Jiho was asleep.

“Mm…”

Jiho stirred, mumbling faintly as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Dojin started the car again.

The entire way home, every light on the road turned green before them.