DPGR 56

Dojin’s eyebrows twitched.

Just an Esper. In other words, they hadn’t been anything.

Apparently, his future self hadn’t been very close to Jiho at that time. Dojin silently scoffed at his future self again.

It was because he believed he was in a better position now than that pathetic version of himself.

Without realizing it, Dojin had clearly drawn a line between his future self and who he was now—as if the future him was an entirely different person.

“I see. Then I suppose the guiding didn’t go very deep either.”

It wasn’t a question or an attempt to test him. Just a casual comment spoken aloud.

But Jiho flinched and quickly averted his gaze.

The reaction was incredibly suspicious.

“…Guide Jiho?”

Dojin’s voice wavered. No way. It couldn’t be.

Oblivious to the turmoil eating away at Dojin, Jiho’s mind raced.

‘Lying is bad. But… maybe it’ll help with future guiding?’

After a long internal debate, Jiho finally scribbled something in his notebook.

[We usually did mucosal-contact guiding.]

He ended up lying.

He figured if he said they’d always done high-level guiding, maybe Dojin would be more open to continuing it in the future.

After all, Baek Dojin didn’t remember any of it.

But when Dojin read Jiho’s note, his face froze. Jiho, wondering if mucosal contact wasn’t enough, hastily added another line.

[We did level 3 guiding too.]

Level 3 guiding—commonly understood as sex-guiding.

Dojin’s jaw dropped. Jiho, watching his reaction carefully, picked up his pencil again.

[About once a week?]

So basically, the thirty-seven-year-old Baek Dojin used to roll around in bed once a week with a twenty-three-year-old guide.

Dojin was in shock.

There was no reason to believe Jiho would lie, so he didn’t question it for a second.

‘That insane bastard…’

He couldn’t believe his future self had done something so disgraceful.

And alongside that disbelief, a hint of jealousy crept in.

Jiho hadn’t clung to him or tried to guide him because of who he was now.

If they’d been doing sex-guiding once a week, it wouldn’t be strange if some feelings developed.

Dojin’s emotions boiled.

And that bastard even died right in front of Guide Jiho. That’s more than enough reason for Jiho to see him as someone special.

Now, Dojin was referring to his future self as that bastard.

The more he drew a line between them, the more the bitter feelings festered and grew.

‘Was Jiho clinging to me… because he was projecting that bastard onto me?’

His thoughts spiraled endlessly.

What kind of feelings had that bastard shared with Jiho?

What kind of memories had they built together?

There was no way for the current Dojin to know. Even if he did, there was no catching up.

“…Ha.”

A heavy sigh escaped his lips before he could hold it back. A sense of defeat—one he’d never felt during his military service or even as an active Esper—rose from his feet and crawled up.

Seeing the darkening expression on his face, Jiho snuck a glance at him.

What’s with him?

Jiho couldn’t understand Dojin’s sudden mood swings.

It was like watching a teenage boy hit puberty—he was going up and down so rapidly it was almost fascinating.

‘I’ve never seen him make this many different expressions before.’

But that intrigue didn’t last long. As Dojin fell silent, lost in thought, Jiho began to worry.

‘Did he catch my lie?’

He knew he wasn’t a good liar.

Back when he’d been at the illegal facility, even his smallest fibs had always been exposed, leading to all kinds of trouble with clients and the owners.

Unaware that Dojin had been completely fooled, Jiho racked his brain, trying to find a way out.

‘He hasn’t hit me, so maybe he’s not totally sure yet.’

Probably still unsure, wavering. And because Dojin was a kind person, he was likely hesitant to accuse Jiho outright.

‘I have to make him believe my lie is the truth.’

With that thought, Jiho impulsively wrapped his arms around Dojin’s neck. Dojin jolted and pulled back.

“Why all of a sudden…?”

—Let’s guide.

“…What?”

—Like we used to.

Still seated on Dojin’s lap, Jiho lifted his hips slightly. And the thing beneath him began to stir, revealing its presence.

Jiho saw Dojin’s face flush red in an instant and became even more provocative.

—We used to do this all the time. You liked my guiding….

Jiho didn’t finish his sentence.

Dojin’s eyes had gone frighteningly cold.

‘Wh-what…?’

He had only spoken and acted to sell the lie as truth.

But he had ended up pressing the wrong switch—Dojin’s jealousy.

Inside Dojin, two opposing voices clashed.

Guide Jiho is too young. Think about your age, Baek Dojin.

No. That bastard in the future didn’t hesitate to have him. Why shouldn’t I?

Dojin parted his lips. His rational mind shouted that he shouldn’t, while instinct screamed back for it to shut up.

Silence dragged as he struggled to choose.

And the final spark that tipped the scales was Jiho’s next move.

‘He must’ve noticed my lie and gotten mad…!’

Mistaking Dojin’s intense glare for anger, Jiho panicked and grabbed Dojin’s hand.

Trying to soothe his anger even a little, Jiho immediately attempted to guide him—just as Dojin had once instructed him to—cautiously, and with the flow carefully adjusted.

“Ugh…!”

But the ticklish guiding only ended up further arousing Dojin.

In the end, he gritted his teeth to suppress the urge—but couldn’t hold back any longer. He wrapped his arms around Jiho’s waist and pulled him in.

“Let’s guide.”

“Mmh.”

“Did you really do sex-guiding with that bastard?”

That bastard?

Jiho tilted his head in confusion but then realized a beat later what Dojin meant and quickly nodded.

He didn’t understand why Dojin referred to his own future self that way, but he felt relieved that Dojin seemed to be falling for his lie.

“Mmh.”

Dojin’s lips curled into a crooked smirk. As much as he resented that bastard, he also felt like an idiot for holding himself back all this time.

It wasn’t that he was thinking something dumb like If he did it, then I should too.

He just… wanted to be someone just as meaningful to Jiho.

In some way, any way, he wanted to surpass that bastard.

“Keep guiding.”

Dojin whispered through clenched teeth, fighting to hold on as Jiho’s guiding began to weaken. Then he slowly moved, brushing kisses along Jiho’s ear.

“Ah… mmh…”

When Dojin’s lips reached that hollow just under Jiho’s earlobe and gently rubbed against it, Jiho shivered and let out a soft moan.

The guiding energy between them deepened.

Smack—smack—

Dojin slowly moved his lips, letting himself feel the guiding energy wrapping and caressing his whole body.

Jiho’s jawline, his cheek, back to the jaw, then down to the nape of his neck.

Then he slowly came back up, lips just about to touch Jiho’s—

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang. Someone had pressed the intercom.

Startled, Dojin jerked back from Jiho’s lips. At that exact moment, his phone buzzed.

[Your food has been left at the front door…]

The message preview popped up, and Dojin let out a groan.

It was the food he had ordered.

“…Our meal has arrived.”

Looking like someone who’d been punched in the gut, he stammered as he helped Jiho to his feet. Then he stood up himself, glancing between the door and Jiho.

Jiho figured the mood had been broken and assumed Dojin would probably turn down the guiding now.

Still, he wasn’t all that disappointed. What mattered was that Dojin had clearly fallen for his lie.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen Baek Dojin be so forward about guiding.’

There would be another chance.

It wasn’t like the guiding was urgently needed right this moment anyway, so there was no need to feel let down.

“…Guide Jiho.”

But Jiho was the only one not feeling disappointed.

Dojin called out to him in a low, hoarse voice, gently brushing Jiho’s earlobe with his fingers.

The gesture overflowed with barely restrained longing.

“…?!”

To Jiho, it was a shocking moment.

Baek Dojin, being the one to show regret over stopping the guiding first? Was he seeing things?

But the next words from Dojin made Jiho realize it wasn’t a hallucination.

“After the meal…”

“…?”

“May I ask you to guide me again?”

His eyes still held the heat from earlier. Jiho’s eyes widened.

The guiding wasn’t urgent, but there was no reason to refuse a willing Dojin.

Jiho rolled his eyes, then gave a small, awkward nod.

“…Then, let’s eat first.”

Dojin leaned in and placed a light kiss on Jiho’s cheek.

Jiho’s face turned bright red.