DPGR 69

Guides usually got regular checkups at the Center. Jiho had done the same in his previous life.

From age twenty to twenty-three, he’d gone in for a yearly health check—but not once had he grown taller.

Always the same: 168 cm.

Though his weight kept changing.

Every time he stepped on a scale, his weight had dropped again, but his height never increased or decreased.

And it wasn’t like going back in time would suddenly change that.

“They say guys can keep growing until they’re old enough for the army, right? You are twenty, Guide Jiho?”

“Y-yes…”

“Then you’re still growing. I have a good eye for this kind of thing. You should get your height checked.”

Whatever Jiho’s hesitation meant, Geonwoo took it as encouragement and suggested it again.

Jiho gave a sheepish smile and nodded.

Well, it’s not like getting measured is a big deal or anything.

He probably hadn’t grown, but there was no harm in going along with what Geonwoo said.

“Make sure to go with Captain Baek. It’s almost the end of the year, so it’s a good excuse to get a health checkup too.”

“A… health checkup?”

“Captain Baek’s been pretty worried lately, hasn’t he? I thought it might be good to show him you’re healthy while you’re at it.”

That was definitely true. Lately, Baek Dojin had been acting like Jiho might blow away with a gust of wind or shatter if someone squeezed too hard.

Jiho himself was totally fine, but being on the receiving end of all that overprotectiveness was embarrassing.

“…Dojin, idiot…”

Muttering with a sigh, Jiho grumbled under his breath as the image of Dojin’s over-the-top concern flashed through his mind.

Geonwoo, who’d caught the mutter, let out a laugh and asked,

“By the way, you’ve been calling Captain Baek just ‘Dojin.’”

“……?”

“Hmm? Doesn’t he say anything about that?”

“……?”

“Well, if he doesn’t say anything, I guess it’s fine.”

Wait, is calling him Baek Dojin… wrong somehow?

Jiho tilted his head repeatedly, confused.

Then Sena, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly pouted and chimed in.

“He’s kind of an old-fashioned boomer.”

“Boom…?”

“Boomer. You don’t know? Maybe it’s ‘cause he’s ex-military or whatever. He’s nice to his juniors, but he absolutely can’t stand anything he sees as insubordination.”

Insubordination?

Jiho blinked wide-eyed and glanced at Geonwoo, who was smiling awkwardly as if to say, She’s not wrong, even if it’s rude.

“Uh…”

“There’s a pretty big age gap between you and Captain Baek, right? Calling him by name is fine, but maybe you should think about using a different title too.”

Jiho stuck out his bottom lip and fell into thought at Geonwoo’s suggestion.

In his memory, Dojin had seemed happy when Jiho called his name.

But maybe it wasn’t such a pleasant thing to be called by name by someone over ten years younger.

“Geonwoo, your esper…?”

“Oh, me and Jihye? Haha.”

Geonwoo let out a slightly embarrassed chuckle.

“I just call her by her name… Jihye sometimes calls me ‘Geonoo Geonoo,’ or every now and then, ‘oppa.’”

“O…ppa.”

“Yeah. I’m an only child, so I always thought the title was a bit cheesy… but once I heard it, I actually really liked it.”

Oppa… huh. Why would that feel good to hear?

Jiho tilted his head in confusion, still not quite getting it. Sena clicked her tongue.

“They say all guys love being called oppa.”

“Haha. What about you, Sena? Do you and Yulchan have any nicknames for each other?”

“He and I are the same age. We just use each other’s names.”

“Ah, right.”

“Yeah. But even if he were older, I’d still just call him by name.”

Sena shrugged, muttering with a bored expression.

Jiho only half-listened, continuing to mull over the idea of titles in his head.

Geonwoo, watching him, made a suggestion.

“How about calling him hyung?”

“Hyuuung…?”

“Yeah. I think Captain Baek would like it. Maybe he’d like hyung-ah even more.”

“Hyung… hyung-ah…”

Really? Would he like that?

Jiho mumbled the words over and over, still unsure.

They were short, simple words—but since he’d never said them before, they didn’t roll off the tongue easily.

“Let me know how it goes afterward, yeah? I’m really curious what kind of title Captain Baek would like best.”

There was a playful gleam in Geonwoo’s eye as he spoke casually.

Though he was the same age as Baek Dojin, he clearly found it amusing that the normally uptight man turned into a hopeless softie in front of Jiho.

Jiho, totally unaware of that, just nodded enthusiastically.

He kept practicing—hyung, hyung-ah—under his breath.

Baek Dojin hyung-ah…

‘Would he like it? I hope he does.’

Before he even realized it, a gentle smile had spread across Jiho’s face.

“Anyway, Sena—how have you been lately?”

The cheerful mood shifted subtly not long after.

“What do you mean.”

“I dunno, you just haven’t seemed like you’ve been in a good mood lately.”

Really?

Jiho tilted his head and glanced at her face.

But to Jiho, Sena looked the same as always—she had that slightly sullen expression nine times out of ten.

Still, Geonwoo, who’d known her longer and better, must’ve noticed something different.

“Did something happen with Yulchan? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him around much lately.”

“……”

Sena flinched like he’d hit the mark.

Geonwoo gently coaxed her, and eventually, Sena let out a soft sigh and opened up.

It started with a small exhale. Her shoulders, which had been stiff with tension, finally dropped.

Whether she was more upset or angry wasn’t clear, but she began talking about Yulchan with a heavy face.

“He’s been acting kinda weird lately.”

“He’s acting weird? How so?”

“Lately, he’s been down. Looks depressed or something… I don’t know, just weird.”

They bickered constantly.

But in reality, the two of them weren’t all that different from any other pair—always thinking about and worrying over each other.

Jiho realized that Sena was more worried about Yulchan than she let on.

“He’s always had a bit of an inferiority complex. Lacks confidence, too.”

“Mhm.”

“And then at the Incheon dungeon last time, and again at the Gangwon dungeon—we went there recently—he kept blaming himself for not fulfilling his role.”

“Really? But none of that was Yulchan’s fault.”

“Exactly! Beating himself up like that day after day—how long is he planning to keep that up?!”

Sena, who had been grumbling, suddenly exploded.

Her voice rose, and Jiho flinched at the unexpected outburst, but Sena didn’t even notice and began grinding her teeth in frustration.

“That idiot suddenly decided to extend his training hours so he can ‘get stronger,’ can you believe that? But training isn’t gonna change anything! It’s not like he’s an attack-type! What is he even trying to train for? All he ever does is wear himself out!”

“Really? Is that why you fought?”

“Yes!”

Sena was practically fuming.

With Yulchan increasing his training, guiding sessions became more frequent as well—and apparently Sena had been scolding him during those times.

From her point of view, it was only natural to be concerned about Yulchan pushing himself too hard with inefficient training, but…

Yulchan must’ve misunderstood, huh. Thought Sena was just annoyed about having to guide him…

Geonwoo let out a dry chuckle. He could see exactly how the situation had gone wrong.

Yulchan probably assumed she was irritated about having to guide him and lashed out internally.

They were both upset, of course—but up until this point, it was still just a typical spat.

The real problem came next.

“You know what that jerk did? He didn’t even tell me! Kept training like nothing was wrong, and started taking guiding suppressants! I’m his Pair Guide!”

“…Yikes.”

Sena clenched her fist tight and waved it furiously, visibly shaking with rage.

Her right hand looked especially red.

“Sena… don’t tell me…”

“What!”

“Did… did you hit Yulchan?”

“……”

“……”

The training room fell into complete silence.

Sena, who had been yelling nonstop, bit her lip and suddenly avoided their eyes.

Neither Geonwoo nor Jiho were dense enough to not catch what that meant.

She hit him…!

She punched him…

Their expressions paled slightly.

They knew all too well how devastating Sena’s tiny fists could be.

“No wonder. Yulchan’s been missing lately… He must’ve been hospitalized.”

“No!”

“Hospital…? Hospita—”

“I said no!”

As Jiho’s face blurred in concern, Sena’s expression grew even sharper.

What nonsense was this? A guide beating their esper—with bare hands, no less—and putting them in the hospital?

“What the hell! I’m a delicate guide, okay?!”

“Then what about Yulchan? He’s not hurt, right?”

“W-well…”

“Well?”

“It’s just a bump. A little one! On the head!”

A bump? On his head?

Jiho’s eyes widened like they might pop out.

Geonwoo, unfazed, sighed like he’d seen this before.

“You two seriously don’t communicate enough.”

He muttered under his breath.

“You were worried about him, right? Then instead of getting mad, you should’ve told him how you felt.”

“……”

“And he was wrong to hide the suppressants from you.”

“Exactly. That was his fault.”

“Sena… still, no matter what, hitting him was too much.”

Geonwoo couldn’t even finish his sentence before sighing.

Jiho instinctively swallowed hard, reminded of the times he’d lightly smacked Dojin’s shoulder.

Geonwoo, oblivious to Jiho’s guilt, continued gently coaxing Sena.

“You were in the wrong for hitting him. So you need to apologize.”

“……”

“You don’t want to keep your distance from Yulchan forever, do you?”

“……”

Sena’s lips jutted out in a pout.

She didn’t argue, though—clearly, she knew she’d gone too far.

Geonwoo reached out to pat her head just as—