Three Ways to Run from an Esper

Part 7

When they walked into the restaurant the other members of the guild were already waiting at a long table.
"There they are." Heewon said as she waved them over.
"Hey Dokja, we saved you a seat!" Sooyoung said as she motioned to the empty chair between her and Sangah that was across from Heewon.
"Where's my seat?" Joonghyuk asked
"Espers sit at the other end of the table." Sooyoung replied.
"What about her?" Joonghyuk motioned to Sangah.
"She's Dokja's best friend, so she gets to sit next to him."
"Don't you think I should get to sit next to my guide?" Joonghyuk glared
"Nope!" Sooyoung responded with a smile
"Go sit over with the other espers, Hungsung saved you a seat."
Joonghyuk looked down the table at Hungsung who was waving at him merrily next to Lee Jihye. He sighed and slumped over to them gloomily.
Dokja watched in amusement as Hungsung offered him a chicken wing and Joonghyuk ignored him. It reminded Dokja of a golden retriever trying to play with a black cat.
He took his seat between Sangah and Sooyoung.
"I heard you started sword training with Heewon, how's that going for you?" Sangah asked curiously.
"Good. It's really fun. Thank you again Heewon."
"None of that now, I don't want to hear you thank me anymore. It's fun for me as well and you are quite good with a sword." She complimented
"This idiot?" Sooyoung asked in surprise, "that's surprising, he struck me as an awkward bookworm more than a sword fighter. I bet he had zero natural talent for anything physical." She said with a laugh as she poked Dokja in the ribs.
Dokja just huffed, "Why don't you take lessons if you think it's so easy?" Dokja squabbled back.
"I'm good, Sangah got me a magical item that can create clones of me. It's very useful to escape dangerous situations, I prefer being quick and clever over direct combat." She smirked as she showed off the fancy ring.
Sangah smiled happily beside them as Dokja and Sooyoung continued to squabble like siblings.
"You could be brother and sister. You even look slightly similar." Sangah said happily as she drank.
"If I had a brother like him, I would deny any kind of family relation out of embarrassment." Sooyoung denied as she elbowed Dokja in the ribs again.
"Well I saw the story you were writing during class the other day. It was a complete generic ripoff of TWSA. I wouldn't want to be related to a plagiarist!" Dokja retorted as the bickering continued.
Sangah just giggled at their petty fighting.
"I'm glad to see you're doing alright Dokja, we haven't seen each other much in the last few days."
Dokja stopped poking back at Sooyoung and turned to Sangah.
"Yeah, how have things been with this plagiarist over here as your guide?" He asked
"It's actually been really great. To be honest, I actually felt guilty about having a fun time with my childhood friend while you were stuck with Joonghyuk, but it seems things aren't as bad as I feared." She said with relief in her voice.
"You don't have to worry Sangah, I promise I'm doing fine and I'm glad you and Sooyoung got to reconnect with each other." He smiled sincerely.
"Let me know if you ever need help or just want to talk. Me and Sooyoung now live in a partner suite on floor 15, our suite number is 524. Please come by anytime." She welcomed.
Dokja nodded and they continued to talk, drink, and eat merrily as the night went on.

Joonghyuk watched Dokja laugh with his friends from the other end of the table. He was still upset about getting sat away from him, but he was glad to see him smiling and enjoying himself so much.
"Looks like our cold captain finally grew a heart." Jihye said as she watched her guild leader.
"The old Joonghyuk would have forced his way over there, actually, the old Joonghyuk wouldn't have come to this kind of social event at all." She said as she drank and ate with the gusto of a sailor that hadn't had a proper meal in months.
Joonghyuk ignored her as he continued to simply sit and watch his guide.
"It's sweet that you are changing for him, but I hate to inform you that silently watching him from across the room all evening like an obsessed stalker probably isn't healthy." She said only half-jokingly.
"I want to keep track of how much he's drinking. What if he has a weak alcohol tolerance and gets sick, or worse, if one of these trashy espers tries to put their hands on him." He said without looking away.
"Umm Captain, I hate to break it to you, but all the espers here are from YOUR guild. So you just basically called your teammates trashy." Jihye deadpanned, "but even if we had those types of espers in our guild, which we don't, only a complete suicidal maniac would go after your guide. So please try to relax a little. Dokja seems like a tough one. I think he deserves a night out drinking and having fun with his friends."
Joonghyuk sighed, "I know." He said simply in response.
He picked up a chicken wing and took a bite, then had a small sip of water before going back to staring at Dokja. Which is probably the most relaxed Jihye has ever seen her Captain.
"You know it's funny. Dokja's always standing next to you, so he kinda comes off as a squid, but when he's not right next to you he could actually be considered somewhat attractive." Jihye said casually.
Joonghyuk suddenly laughed, the first laugh Jihye had ever heard from the guild leader.
"Sorry," Joonghyuk chuckled, "I was just imagining his angry face if he heard you call him a squid. He looks like an angry hamster when he get's mad. I kinda want to call him a squid now just to see him get angry." Joonghyuk said with a genuine smile.
Jihye smiled at the normally gloomy esper. This Dokja Kim character really was a miracle worker. The guild leader used to do nothing but work and she had never seen him smile and laugh. To think he could have this positive of an effect in such a short amount of time.
They spent the rest of the time quietly enjoying the food and drinks. Joonghyuk perfectly content in watching his guide interact in the guild. At this point, they may have to consider renaming the guild from Skybreaker to the Dokja Kim Company.