How About I Guide Myself Right Into Your Heart? || Joongdok - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Dokja had to remind himself of why he was here.
It'll look great on your resume! —But that only matters if you're looking for another job, which he wasn't.
The pay is pretty good for overtime! —But how badly does Dokja need to save up for a vacation if he's dead before approval?
The chances of dying are quite low, but it's a thought he has to humour.
When Dokja had heard that the expedition team for the next dungeon raid was in need of a back-up guide, he weighed the pros and cons and ultimately applied before he could change his mind.
They really were paying well. He was getting doubletime on top of his already accumulated overtime. He hoped he would make it safely back to see the bank deposit. He could already picture himself tucked away, enjoying a staycation. Nodding at the thought, Dokja allowed himself a small satisfied smile.
There really wasn't anyone familiar on the team from the list he had seen (apart from the great Esper Yoo, of course), and since he was joining late, he was entering the dungeon alone.
"Ready?" The voice boomed from the makeshift supervisory lodge some distance away from the glowing portal.
Dokja nodded, looking around one last time at the isolated fields where this gaping portal had sprung up.
Why couldn't dungeons open up nearby? It had taken two hours to be driven here, and Dokja had forgotten to ask if transportation time counted in his work hours.
He could feel the swirling energy of the portal that loomed in front of him, as if air was being pulled inside, only to disappear within the dungeon. From what he had been told, the dungeon was a B-rank, and the expedition team was on the smaller side since Joonghyuk Yoo had been assigned. He was also told to expect to meet the expedition team as soon as he entered.
Dokja didn't have much experience with dungeons, often opting to stay within company walls and content with his pseudo-office lifestyle, so some of the details were new to him.
With a sigh, he bounced on his feet, clutching his one supply backpack by the straps, trying to hype himself up.
"Guide Kim?" The intercom buzzed with the voice once more, and Dokja had to admit, it did make him jump a bit, already antsy.
He waved with a flat expression, and took the step into the wavering light of the dungeon entry.
Not expecting the initial jolt of air, he stumbled a bit in his step through, and opened his eyes to the blinding light of the passage, not being able to catch himself as he tipped into the dungeon. As he tipped over, he managed to unclutch his backpack straps and extend his arms outwards to catch himself in the inevitable fall. Opening his eyes had been a mistake though, as his vision was overstimulated by bright, pulsing light. He now had to fall blindly and hope he wasn't falling into some horrible trap.
A million thoughts went through his head in the span of a second, and he hoped the supervisor was telling the truth about the others being camped near the portal. He didn't have it in him to fight off hordes of monsters.
With hands out, he made contact with a hard surface, feeling arms catch onto his jacket and hold him up.
Blinking widely and trying to adjust his vision to normal lighting, Dokja was sure he was not exactly making a good impression on his teammates. Maybe having the portal near the campsite was actually a bad thing, seeing the surprised face of one of the others looking down at him as he grabbed onto whatever he could find purchase on– which, in this case, happened to be the characteristic dark uniform of the Esper in front of him.
"Are you our guide?" The man asked, still sporting wide eyes at the spectacle of the guide tripping into the dungeon. Dokja looked around with his slowly adjusting eyes to see a tent set up to the side of the portal and no other teammates in sight. Trees surrounded them in every direction, but Dokja could make out large cliffs in the distance.
The supervisor had told him this was a cave dungeon, though?
Dokja nodded and the large man tugged him to rest on his feet more securely, patting Dokja's shoulders to straighten out the sleek jacket he was given to wear as a guide.
"Hello!" The man was cheery and Dokja felt a little better seeing it. "I'm Esper Hyunsung Lee, but you can just call me Hyunsung."
Were all MinoGuild employees this friendly? Dokja swore everyone he has met aside from Joonghyuk have been the most lovely people.
Ahem, "I'm Guide Dokja Kim." he extended his hand out, "Please call me Dokja, I'll be in your care." His hand was gripped tightly, and Dokja met the friendly man's smile with one of his own, his earlier worries being eased a bit seeing someone who looked quite dependable.
In the next second, Dokja's gripped hand was tugged along as the Esper brought him over to the tent. Dokja was not anticipating the brute strength, and hurried his feet to keep up with the unyielding strength.
Were all Espers not aware of their own strength? He grimaced, recalling all the too-tight handholds he had to deal with when guiding Esper Yoo.
"Here," Once at the tent, the broad-shouldered Esper pulled out a chair and ushered Dokja to sit down. "This is our camp for the time." Dokja looked around at the shelves within, full of supplies and weapons, and nodded. He took his own backpack off and handed it off to Hyunsung who had his arm outstretched.
A bit awkward, Dokja smiled politely and continued looking around.
"There isn't anyone to guide at the moment, but we requested a back-up guide since our other guide is out with the team." The man took out what looked to be a communication device, and Dokja noticed a light flashing on it. "Just in case, you know." He shrugged while he said this with a smile.
Dokja nodded. It never hurt to be careful, especially on dungeon raids.
"So, I'll just wait here until they return?"
"Yes, it shouldn't be too long now." Hyunsung looked up from the device at Dokja. "They should be dealing with the boss any second now."
"Oh, okay. Cool." Dokja didn't really know what to say. He wasn't exactly supposed to be scrolling on his phone like he could back in his office to pass the time waiting for the team to arrive. At least Esper Lee was here for company, that way Dokja wouldn't get bored–
"I've got to go." Esper Hyunsung leapt to his feet at the first sound of an alarm on his device. "They need backup in one of the caverns."
"I see–"
"Just stay nearby! We'll meet you back here for guiding!" The man was already yelling from some distance away.
"Okay. . ." Dokja's waving hand was left in the air. So much for company. . .
Twiddling his thumbs, Dokja remained seated in the chair brought out for him, taking a chance to look around the dungeon.
It looked like your everyday forest, ready to hike in. But the walls of rock that split the sky in half told Dokja that the caverns Esper Hyunsung was talking about put the caves back on Earth to shame.
It really was an entirely different world here, the landscape seeming to stretch on forever. It was actually unnerving the more Dokja thought about it, and he hoped the team would come back quickly.
For some reason, the thought of Joonghyuk being here eased his nerves. Dokja felt like he could rest assured knowing they had an S-rank Sentinel in the party, regardless of how disagreeable he was.
Dokja puffed his cheeks out, wondering how long it would take before the team made their way back.
A distinct beeping cut through the tent, pulling Dokja out of simply waiting in his chair.
Looking around, he realized the tone was similar to the one on Esper Lee's communication device. He tentatively rose from his seat, and followed the sound over to the foldable table in the corner of the tent. There, beeping red, was the same communication device, likely left there for tent use.
Dokja reached a hand to pick it up, recalling his brief training the day prior to joining the dungeon. With a click of the button, he brought it up to his face.
" –lost sight of Dungeon Boss. Everyone keep an eye out, notify team when spotted. Over." The voice was unfamiliar and Dokja could only guess this was another team member giving orders to the others.
Dokja wondered if the team had split up and that was why the speaker was announcing this over radio. How far could the dungeon boss even have gone for them to lose sight?
Dokja didn't like that thought.
He began pacing in the hut, holding the radio closer to him and waiting for the next announcement, but paused to listen when he heard a distant sound of twigs breaking.
Crouching low, Dokja slowly made his way to the window where he could see out into the treed area. All he saw was a scaled tail, brown and rough looking, before it flitted out of his field of sight and disappeared into another expanse of trees. His heart dropped.
He wasn't trained for this. What's the protocol if a guide is within close radius of a monster? What is the protocol for a guide left alone within close radius of the dungeon boss?
Dokja wasn't explained any of this, because they probably assumed that, as a B-rank guide, facing a B-rank dungeon wouldn't prove dangerous. But what they failed to consider was an instance of a dungeon boss going AWOL.
How does this even happen?
Dokja sighed as silently as he could, and slowly made his way to the other side of the tent, opposite to the direction he had seen the monster go, and lifted up the bottom of the camouflage material. He eyed the wall of weapons as he went, letting the tent fabric fall and grabbing a hefty looking dagger just in case, before lifting it up once more to escape.
Slipping out, Dokja made a plan to find a hiding spot away from where the boss was prowling.
Quietly, Dokja took steps towards a distant cliff, hoping he could put some distance between him and the monster before he could call for help. Calling for help now would only seal his fate, he needed somewhere out of hearing range.
He clutched onto his lifeline –the black device in his hand– and hoped the monster wouldn't catch sight of him as he ducked behind trees.
He had been briefed on the dungeon, fully expecting caves and fire-type monsters, but the plethora of trees and lizard-scaled beast scoping their tent area was not brought-up as a possibility.
Whatever. He just needed to bide his time until rescue. Vacation was waiting for him soon.
As he took careful steps, Dokja could see the mountainous range creep closer. It felt like forever before he was at the gaping entrance of what he could only presume was a cave. Did he take the risk and call for help at the cave entrance, or go in and hope there were no monsters left inside?
Both options left room for Dokja enjoying his vacation as a ghost, but he trusted that his teammates had cleared the dungeon thoroughly, as was assigned to all parties joining dungeons. Leaving even one monster could mean a dungeon breach since they couldn't be sure when exactly the dungeon would close after killing the boss.
Dokja stepped inside the cave. He took another step in when he heard a distinct crackle of leaves being stepped on somewhere outside.
Two steps turned into numerous steps as Dokja tried to find somewhere he could at least hide away, even if the monster entered the cave, but the distant clicking of what Dokja assumed were talons against the cave floor, made him increasingly more nervous to use the radio.
Why was this stupid lizard following him into the cave? Surely Dokja is not a filling meal, especially compared to the amount of protein an Esper carries around. His muscles were not nearly as impressive.
The click-clack of sharp nails getting closer made him take wider steps, trying to stay quiet despite the growing dampness of the cave as he ventured further in. His steps were definitely echoing in the large space.
Hurrying now, he came upon a fork in the cave, immediately opting for the smaller entrance at the side. He couldn't be sure how large the boss was from the brief glance of a tail he had seen, but he chose to hope it would be too large to fit.
His feet were pittering in the puddled ground of the dark cave, and Dokja decided to turn on his emergency light as the natural light diminished and left him struggling to see. No longer taking careful steps, Dokja was fully sprinting through the tunnels of the cave, not caring to remember whether he took a right or a left whenever prompted to make a decision.
With his light swinging as he ran, he barely noticed a divot in the slick rock of the floor, and barely registered when he fell. Paying little mind, he got up to grab the dagger that he dropped and continued running, adrenaline helping him block off the pain of his scraped skin and now damp uniform.
He didn't know how long he ran for, but eventually Dokja made it to a clearing, illuminated by an opening at the top of the cavern. The light shining in was a welcomed sight, but he was met by the futility of reaching that exit point. He didn't have the powers that would be necessary to escape.
Running further into the clearing, Dokja decided to use his radio, hoping the beast wouldn't be able to squeeze through the tunnel leading to this point.
Fumbling, Dokja pressed the buttons he was taught to press in case of an emergency, hearing the beeping bounce off the walls of the cavern, seeming to get amplified by the rounded edges of the space.
As Dokja clasped his hands together, waiting, he saw a ghoulish eye peek out from the dark tunnel passageway.
He was done for.
The snout of the lizard-like beast then came into view, glinting with moisture and pushing itself through the seemingly too-tight space.
Dokja noted that it was big, but not as big as Dokja had been hoping for.
He watched as the creature squeezed through the opening and trapped him in the cavernous space. Now looking at it, it really did just look like a big lizard.
What did the briefing say again? That this was a fire-type dungeo–
He barely avoided a stream of spewing hot flame as it shot out of the lizard's mouth, sizzling as it came in contact with the wet floors.
As he skid sideways on the rock of the cave floor, he was more aware of how tired he was of running and the scrapes on his hands and knees. He clutched his shoulder, bringing his hand down to see specks of blood, both dried and fresh, on his palm. The blade was still tight in his grip, but the radio was now out of reach between him and the lizard, having been thrown by the impact.
He looked up in time to avoid another blaze of heat as the lizard circled him from some distance away. Getting to his feet, Dokja was careful to make sure the boss was always in his line of sight, trying to hold his ground as the beast sized him up. The radio crackled to life in this moment, someone trying to get a hold of him it seemed, and Dokja hoped the tracking beacon of the device had survived the falls on his way here.
Adjusting the dagger in his hand, he noted the unfamiliar weight of it, not confident in his ability to slice at the beast if the moment arose. He would have to get close to it to even use the short-length weapon. He felt regret at not grabbing the bow on his way out of the tent.
Not that he knew how to use a bow and arrow, but it would have given him more solace to know he didn't have to get closer to the disgusting reptile to have a fighting chance.
Dokja furrowed his brows at the odd motions of the dungeon boss, seeing how it puffed its neck, the skin distending oddly at its throat, in short intervals, smoke escaping the scaled nostrils and leaving a trail of grey in the cave as it continued to move slowly on the other side of the cavern. Whatever this was, it was definitely not a good sign.
Its eyes glinted for a moment, and Dokja could guess that it was about to pull some ultimate combo move on him. Dokja half expected a right-right-left-jump sequence, but all he saw the next instance was the bright glow from inside the lizard's mouth as it opened.
Dokja reached an arm up to try and shield himself from an inevitable death as his legs gave out under him from all the strain.
Rather than feeling pain unlike any other, Dokja was only pelted by a wave of sweltering heat that quickly diffused in the air around him. His heart was pounding dangerously in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to lower his arm and take in the sight around him.
A large part of him was scared, he realized. He was terrified that he had already died and that there would be nothing when he opened his eyes.
The rational part of him realized he couldn't cover his eyes forever. But, when he heard a shuffle of unsteady feet ahead of him, he didn't hesitate to snap his focus to the dark figure of Joonghyuk Yoo with his arm clutched and singed by flame. The other appeared unbalanced and turned back to face Dokja with frenzied eyes.
It was shocking to know the other wasn't impervious to attack, and Dokja opened his mouth to say something obvious. Even before he got the words out, the look he got was filled with fury and Dokja let his eyes flit away so that he didn't have to face the terrifying expression.
"You fool! " The voice boomed and Dokja felt his chest squeeze by some imaginary impact. "Why are you here?" He gulped dryly, not wanting to anger the other further. He was certainly thankful to be saved from a fiery death, but seeing the Esper hurt because of him was much more upsetting than he had thought it would be. The reddened, headless body of the lizard twitched slightly from what Dokja could see behind him.
"So that we could be life and death companions?" Dokja realized he should have kept his mouth shut as soon as the joking words left. This was not the time nor the place.
"Why. Are. You. Here?" The ferocity in his tone was almost as palpable as the residual heat of the dungeon boss's breath.
Part of him wanted to argue back, that how was he supposed to know that this would happen, but he could feel an impending doom weighing him down if he chose that path.
Not wanting to antagonize, Dokja willed himself to his feet, still sore and scraped up. He didn't make it far towards the Esper before the looming figure all but materialized right in front of him, still seething and eyes blazing golden. Being this close allowed Dokja a better view of the injured arm, and he could see that parts of the others uniform had all but melted onto his skin, as well as the edge of an eyebrow now partly scorched.
"I. . ." I'm sorry, is what Dokja willed himself to say, that he didn't intend for the other to get hurt. The other's well-being had unknowingly begun to feel like Dokja's responsibility, but the words were getting stuck in his throat.
Dark eyes followed the uncertain, pursed lips and flitting eyes examining the Esper's condition, and Yoo Joonghyuk used the opportunity to note the hobble in Dokja's stance and the scrapped skin of his cheek. He felt anger bubble up at the sight.
"You...!" Joonghyuk couldn't get the words out either, but because of different reasons. He felt himself begin to slip, the involuntary energy overflowing and seeping dangerously into the air around him. He had the distinct awareness that he was on the brink of a rampage, triggered further by the fury he felt by the smears of red and unkempt state of the willowy guide in front of him.
He staggered back, clutching his head in pain.
Dokja was taken aback, but reached forward to try and stabilize the other, only to get a warning glare to stay away. He ignored it.
"What is it?" Dokja ran to place an arm around the other, encouraging the other to lean onto him. Surprisingly, the other tipped into his hold, startling Dokja with his weight. He was acutely aware that the other was likely too far-gone to be fighting the close proximity.
Looking around, Dokja located a clear spot where he could lay the large Esper down and ease the load off his own unsteady feet. With great difficulty, he managed to drag himself and the burly man towards the spot, dropping Joonghyuk Yoo a little too harshly onto the hard floor.
Oopsies. No time to worry about that now.
With the other on the ground, Dokja joined him and maneuvered the two of them to lean against the slanted, smooth walls. The residual heat was nearly gone by now and Dokja felt a slight chill enter his spine now that they were sat on the cool surface.
Looking over, Dokja could see a trail of sweat trickle down from thick hair and gold flashing behind closed eyelids. The grimace on the Esper's face told Dokja that this wasn't good news. What the other needed was guiding, or else neither of them would be leaving this place in one piece. The black device had long stopped beeping, likely destroyed by the heat of the dungeon boss's ability.
Peering into the other, Dokja could see a storm brewing under the surface, brought to near fruition by the sudden injury and overuse of his abilities in order to save the guide's life.
Dokja gulped.
Despite the slow progress, all those guiding sessions with the other had gotten Joonghyuk to a stable point where there was no longer an imminent risk of rampage. But looking at him now, with shaking eyelids and a pained expression, the Esper was obviously back to square one.
One thing had changed since the beginning, though: Dokja's tolerance of the other's volatile energy diffusion.
Even at this close proximity, the palpable waves were doing little to impact the guide, and Dokja took this as a win. Weeks of guiding sure had helped to build his endurance. And now, he needed to pay the other back for saving his life, no matter how much it took out of him. Being bedridden or comatose for a while was nothing in comparison to a life lost.
Dokja inched to be in front of the other, who was relying on the cave wall as back support. Cupping his cold hands around the other's face, he saw the Esper lean slightly into the touch. The skin was burning hot under Dokja's palm and fingers and he could almost make out a visible diffusion field emanating from the other.
With his legs folded underneath him, he leaned forward to press his lips against the feverish lips of Yoo Joonghyuk. It was a much quicker method of guiding, and Dokja was sure the other was in dire need of something urgent– despite the impending sexual harassment case. He would deal with the consequences of nonconsensual higher-contact guiding once he was certain the other was alright.
Importantly, his own chances of leaving this place in one peace would drastically go up if the Esper was okay.
He kissed the lips that were tightly pressed together again before licking the seam between the top and bottom lip, both stubbornly sealed. This was going to be difficult.
Dokja continued his attempt at opening Esper Yoo up before deciding to just open the flood gates further and ease the outpour of brooding energy from the tense man.
Once he did, however, he felt a surge of pulsing heat travel down his throat to his chest, where it stayed and buzzed around in his ribcage. Aside from the slight zapping pain, Dokja was beginning to feel embarrassed and equally worried by the lack of response from the Esper he had against the wall. He fully expected to be pushed off by now or else feel the outburst of power and a rampaging Esper loose in the dungeon.
However, neither had occurred yet and Dokja pulled back to risk a glance up at the other's face, pausing at the sight momentarily.
Two piercing golden eyes stared back at him.
The sharp gaze unsettled him, especially since the Esper's expression was mostly vacant– as if he wasn't truly there in this moment or space. Bright eyes continued to follow Dokja absently as he leaned in once again to provide closer guidance.
With a cold hand, Dokja cupped the other's burning cheek to tilt the others head towards him. The other was a bit more responsive this time, parting his lips as soon as Dokja locked lips. With more access, Dokja could feel his head begin to thrum. There wasn't a need to worry about this though; he planned to guide until he was no longer able.
With a nudge of pale hands, he coaxed the other's chin upwards to meet the angle of his own better. He allowed his tongue to enter, focusing largely on the act of guiding and trying his best to ignore the piercing stare of slanted golden eyes and the heat of the other's mouth.
After an embarrassing few moments of Dokja's attempts to guide –he had rarely ever had a need to guide through higher level contact before, so it was an embarrassing task indeed– a wave of nausea told him it was a good time to take a break and gather his bearings. Sure, he wouldn't lie and say guiding an Esper as good-looking as the one in front of him was a downside, but the unwavering glare was a bit awkward nonetheless.
When he tried to pull back, a firm hand that had, at one point, made its way to the nape of Dokja's neck, tightened its hold.
"Hey–!" His voice was quickly muffled by a more desperate press of lips against his own, his body hastily pulled forward until he was uncomfortably curved against the other's torso. With tense hands, Dokja tried to push against the hard chest, but was slowly losing strength against the rough hold. He tried to voice and ask about the Esper's condition, but he could barely get a sound out before it being swallowed by Joonghyuk Yoo's incessant ministrations. Dokja groaned as he felt a wave of unstable energy being pushed into his body by force. He was faintly reminded of why he didn't like to guide Espers when they were particularly far-gone.
Dokja's chest began to build up warmth, both from the zapping heat making its way in, and the way the broad Esper was molding their bodies to one another. The guide could barely breathe, Joonghyuk not allowing him a single intake of breath without chasing his lips to continue relieving his storm.
He could feel his mind slipping a bit, noting absently how his skin felt like it was rippling underneath the layers of uniform. This wasn't going to be good, and he prayed that the other would snap out of it soon and reach a level where they could both finally escape this place.
But, for now, he took a minuscule amount of pleasure from the heated tongue of the other pushing against the walls of his mouth, as if Joonghyuk Yoo was trying to drive as much of himself into Dokja as he could, chasing the relief a guidance provided.
Two rough hands eventually slid underneath the hem of Dokja's collared shirt and pressed onto the bare skin of his cold back, causing him to jolt in the hold that trapped him.
This was definitely beginning to be too much and Dokja lurched from another hit of fever.
Dokja sounded his displeasure through his mouth, biting down unsurely onto the lips stealing breath from him. He heard a huff of annoyance from the other before the other pulled back, but noted how the golden glow of the Sentinel's eyes had definitely dulled down.
Thank goodness.
However, Dokja next noted the trickle of blood leaving the Esper's nose and he brought a hand up to wipe the drip of red off, only managing to smear it along his skin.
Yikes. I don't think that's supposed to happen.
With the small distance Dokja had created, Joonghyuk used the separation to pull him in by the side of the jacket and mouth openly on the pale expanse of Dokja's neck, running his heated hands down his back and to the sides, where the grip hiked up the fabric again to tighten on smooth skin. The strong hands pulled him closer to the Esper with intent, grinding Dokja's member against the bulge straining Joonghyuk Yoo's crotch. As he did this, Dokja could feel a harsh bite break the skin at the junction of his shoulder and neck, accompanied by an unrelenting shove of energy. He couldn't help but yell out at the heat that rushed throughout him at the barrage of pain.
He tried to take in everything that was happening at once, but instead he felt his vision cloud darkly and hot tears trailed down his cheek.
As his head lolled back, he could see the now dark eyes of the Esper wide and flitting, before he let himself fall limp, finally free of all sensation around him.
He'd better be paid quadruple time for this.