DPGR 94

He anxiously stared at the hand that had held Jiho’s. Then, as if making up his mind, he turned on the computer, logged into the Center’s site, and printed out a Pair Contract.

Dojin could only watch in disbelief.

No matter how long he’d suffered without a guide, he never imagined the bastard would make such a rash and idiotic decision.

‘Is he insane…?’

By now, Dojin truly regarded the bastard as someone completely separate from himself.

It was understandable. The same guy who had pushed Jiho away and run out of the room was now bringing a Pair Contract and returning to him.

“Let’s sign a contract.”

“……”

“This is a Pair Contract. You’re the only one who can guide me.”

“……”

“Please… think of it as saving a life, just this once…”

The bastard was desperate to tie Jiho to his side, even if it meant provoking his guilt. There was no denying it was selfish.

For the first time, Dojin felt the urge to punch him in the head.

What made it worse was that instead of rejecting him, Jiho naively accepted.

“Mm…!”

Jiho nodded without hesitation and picked up the cobtract. Just like that, the two of them became a pair—almost absurdly easily.

He accepted that? Just like that? Seriously?

‘Am I… the weird one here?’

Dojin was starting to question whether his own sense of reason was broken.

***

Thankfully, the guy at least treated Jiho with relative kindness and respect.

He remained sharp and curt with other espers, but when he was with Jiho, he’d smile gently.

Despite everyone thinking Jiho was unable to speak, he could form simple, babbling words in a halting voice.

‘That’s not what I expected.’

Dojin followed Jiho with eyes full of longing.

The way he babbled clumsily reminded him so much of the precious guide he knew.

‘When did he learn to speak? How?’

People gossiped about whether Jiho had just been pretending to be mute all this time. If that was the case, then maybe he truly couldn’t speak before.

“Guide Jiho. If anyone ever bothers you, you have to tell me, okay? Promise me. No matter what.”

“Okaay. But, um, no. No one, bothering.”

The guy clearly didn’t like others picking on Jiho.

But the “bullying” was minimal—just people whispering behind his back—and Jiho himself didn’t even seem to realize he was being targeted.

As a result, the bastard kept hesitating and missed chances to take any bold action.

Still, on the surface, things remained peaceful.

Thanks to Jiho’s guiding, the bastard’s condition gradually stabilized. As his mind calmed, he even started cooperating with other espers again.

Now he sometimes even smiled in front of others. His nerves hadn’t disappeared, but his mood didn’t always look foul anymore.

It was a significant improvement.

On the other hand, Dojin’s mood steadily worsened as he was forced to witness everything.

Every time that guy held Jiho’s hand, embraced him, or kissed him, frustration bubbled up.

He knew this Jiho was different from his guide—but it felt like watching his own guide being toyed with by someone else.

‘I need to wake up from this damned illusion, and fast.’

But even though he told himself that, he couldn’t escape this situation.

There simply was no way out.

Time passed quickly in the illusion. The bastard was now a few years older than present-day Dojin.

It was around the time dual dungeons had started appearing, and people were beginning to talk about the Final Dungeon.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t leave the Safe Zone—it might be dangerous out there.”

“Okay.”

A fairly large A-rank dungeon had appeared in Seoul. Since it might be a dual dungeon, three teams had been dispatched.

That included the bastard and Jiho.

The bastard lingered outside the Safe Zone, repeatedly warning Jiho to stay safe.

In response, Jiho hugged him, stood on tiptoe, and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips.

Dojin clenched his fists without even realizing it.

The bastard cupped Jiho’s cheeks and kissed him back, deeper this time, before reluctantly pulling away.

“Come back safe.”

“Yeah. I’ll be quick.”

“Mm. You have to stay safe.”

Jiho’s pronunciation was clearer now, his farewell sounding a bit different than usual, but the guy didn’t think much of it and let it go.

“You have to stay safe too, Guide Jiho, so promise you’ll stay inside the Safe Zone.”

“Yes.”

And just like that, the bastard left. Dojin, bound to him, followed whether he wanted to or not.

But even as he walked alongside him, Dojin kept glancing back toward Jiho.

He had a bad feeling.

***

Unlike the current Dojin, who used a spear under the influence of Kwak Jiheon, that bastard mainly used firearms imbued with mana.

Dojin watched him weaving between monsters with dispassionate eyes.

Bang— bang—!

That bastard rolled and dodged busily as he fought, but to Dojin, all he could see was skill unworthy of his stats.

‘He could’ve gotten in more easily if he used the shadows from there.’

The only silver lining was that the battle ended without any major injuries.

After checking his weapon, that guy took a deep breath and headed back to the safe zone.

It was finally time to see Jiho, who had been left behind in the safe zone.

Dojin also felt irritated thinking about the guiding that would happen, but just the thought of finally seeing Jiho’s face again lightened his heart a little.

However, what awaited Dojin and that guy wasn’t Jiho—

It was the news of his disappearance.

“…What did you say?”

“I-I don’t really know where he is…”

No one inside the safe zone knew where Jiho had gone.

“I think I saw him step out for a bit, but…”

Someone said that, but they didn’t know when he left, where he went, or why.

“Hey, hey! Baek Dojin!”

“Wait! Where are you going!”

That bastard turned pale and bolted out of the safe zone. Outside, in the snowfield gate, a blizzard was raging.

“Guide Jiho! Guide Jiho…!”

He shouted Jiho’s name at the top of his lungs, running through the snow.

Dojin also looked around frantically, biting his lip in anxiety as he tried to find any trace of Jiho.

Then—

“Hey, over here! I found shoes and an outer coat!”

One of the espers who had followed that bastard out shouted after spotting something.

That bastard and Dojin hurried toward the voice.

“…Jiho….”

What the esper had found were indeed Jiho’s belongings—a single shoe and a coat.

That bastard received them with trembling hands.

Dojin shouted angrily, saying there was no time for this and that they had to search the area thoroughly to find Jiho.

‘Get up already! We need to find Guide Jiho!’

But no one could hear Dojin’s voice.

His cries echoed in the silence—until his vision suddenly began to blur and whiten.

***

That was a symptom that appeared when the scene changed.

‘I haven’t even found Guide Jiho yet…!’

Dojin widened his eyes, trying desperately to remain in the present, but it was no use.

The scene in front of him inevitably changed.

In the end, Jiho was never found.

That bastard sat in a dim, lightless room, drowning in alcohol as he stared at news articles related to Jiho’s disappearance.

This time, even Dojin couldn’t bring himself to mock or scold him.

Though Jiho was a different person from his own precious Jiho, the fact of his disappearance struck Dojin hard too.

“Jiho… Jiho…”

How could an esper remain sane after losing their paired guide?

That guy was red-faced and tearful, drunk, clinging to the coat they’d recovered from the gate like it was Jiho himself.

Dojin buried his face in his hands in helplessness.

He kept telling himself this was just a hallucination, that his real guide was alive somewhere.

But even so, his heart pounded with dread.

And then—

Rustle—

‘…?’

At the unfamiliar sound, Dojin raised his head and looked at that bastard, who seemed surprised as he pulled something out of the coat’s pocket.

It was a small note, barely the size of a palm.

“This is…”

He unfolded the note.

Dojin leaned in beside him to read it.

On the white paper, in handwriting Dojin immediately recognized, were the following words:

To Esper Baek Dojin,

This is Jiho. I’m okay. It’s all thanks to you, Esper Baek Dojin. I was happy all this time. I’m going to find even greater happiness. I hope you’ll be happy too.

We’ll meet again. Next time we meet, please call me by my name only. I’ll be waiting. Until then, live happily. Stay healthy for a long, long time. Goodbye.

Dojin couldn’t make sense of it.

Until now, he had believed Jiho had gone outside by accident and suffered some misfortune.

But judging by the contents of the note…

‘Was it an intentional disappearance…?’

The note felt like a farewell letter.

Saying he was going in search of greater happiness seemed to imply he hadn’t been truly happy here.

Could Jiho have known about the bullying, even if he pretended he didn’t?

Was the harassment worse than they realized?

Had Jiho endured and endured, only to finally give up and choose peace?

That line, too—

It sounded like he was saying they’d meet again in the afterlife.

And Dojin wasn’t the only one who interpreted it that way.

“Ah… Ahhh…”

That bastard collapsed to the floor in despair and sobbed.

He beat the ground with his fists, pounded on his chest, buried his face in Jiho’s coat, and wept.

Even then, he gently laid the note beside him so it wouldn’t get crumpled, as if it were Jiho’s last trace.

A tear dropped from Dojin’s eye too as he watched.