Chapter 102 : Because It’s You, Jung Lee Chae

“Why would you……”

“Quiet. Listen to me first.”

Hae-jin, who had been staring with a furrowed brow as if angry, fell silent at Lee Chae’s firm attitude.

Lee Chae kept his head bowed and continued speaking with difficulty.

“I can’t save your life, Hyung. I can’t give you back your abilities, either.”

“F*ck, who asked you for that kind of thing?”

“I said listen! Listen to me before I change my mind.”

Lee Chae glared at him for constantly interrupting and raining on his parade just when he had finally made up his mind.

At that, Hae-jin subtly turned his head away and shut his mouth.

Lee Chae sighed and spoke.

“I can’t do anything for you, but I’ll promise you this one thing. I will do my absolute best to make sure you don’t end up in dangerous situations.”

Hae-jin’s distressed face began to brighten little by little.

Seeing Hae-jin place his large hand over his chest, lower his tense shoulders, and let out a long breath, Lee Chae felt a surge of pity. He paused for a moment before slowly continuing.

“If a dangerous situation does arise, I’ll save you by any means necessary. And if I fail even then, I’ll follow you……”

The rest of his words were swallowed by Hae-jin’s lips.

This was the thought he had carried for the past three years.

Instead of telling him to stay healthy and that I love him, if I had told him I would protect him until the end, wouldn’t the kind-hearted Cha Hae-jin have stayed by my side even knowing it was impossible?

Because of that lingering regret, Lee Chae had to endure time with a massive boulder weighing down his chest.

The moment he finally spat out the words that had been bottled up, he felt a sense of relief as if a path had been cleared.

He deeply pulled in Hae-jin’s lips, which were pecking at his own, and grabbed the back of Hae-jin’s head to draw him closer.

Hae-jin sucked in a sharp breath and wrapped his arms around Lee Chae’s waist.

The face that used to appear in the darkness whenever he closed his eyes was now right in front of Lee Chae.

The moment the two pulled apart briefly to catch their breath, Hae-jin’s eyelids slowly opened.

Looking into the dark pupils staring at him, Lee Chae poured his heart out.

“I love you.”

“……”

“I haven’t forgotten you for even a single second.”

Hae-jin cupped Lee Chae’s cheeks and gazed at him.

Lee Chae was biting his lip hard as if determined not to cry, but his eyes were already glistening.

Hae-jin had vowed that once he brought Lee Chae back, he wouldn’t let him cry no matter what, but seeing Lee Chae crying while saying he loved him made Hae-jin have the wicked thought that maybe it was okay to make him cry sometimes.

Hae-jin smirked and spoke.

“I believe you said you’d do your best as a guide if I didn’t let you go.”

At the teasing remark, the corners of Lee Chae’s eyes sharpened.

His puffed-up cheeks were adorable.

As expected, he preferred seeing Lee Chae get temperamental over seeing him cry.

“It was a test.”

“A teeeeest?”

As Hae-jin drew out the word, Lee Chae flinched and avoided his gaze.

“It felt more like the truth than a test, though?”

“You could have found me if you wanted to, but you never showed up even once!”

To think he was scolding him for not finding him after he was the one who ran away.

It was a classic case of the thief calling the victim a thief, but since he had just heard ‘I love you,’ Hae-jin could tolerate any nonsense Jung Lee Chae threw at him.

“Fine, you’re absolutely right. It was my fault, so I deserve to be tested.”

Seeing Hae-jin’s sly expression and realizing he was letting him win on purpose, Lee Chae’s eyes turned cold and sharp.

“And yet you told me I smelled weird in the Representative’s office and asked who I’d been sleeping with!”

He wondered when that would come up.

Finally, Hae-jin had the chance to explain and confess.

Hae-jin took Lee Chae’s chin and turned his head.

Those round eyes met his face.

“Are you done saying everything you wanted to say now?”

Lee Chae nodded, his eyes filled with curiosity.

Hae-jin took a moment to catch his breath and organize his thoughts before speaking calmly.

“Why do you think we broke up? Neither of us ever lost our feelings for even a second, so why did this happen?”

“That’s because……”

“Don’t give me that f*cking excuse about regeneration abilities; have you ever thought about the real reason, even once?”

At Hae-jin’s question, Lee Chae’s pupils wavered restlessly.

Hae-jin waited patiently for him to find the answer.

After his lips trembled and closed several times, Lee Chae slowly spoke.

“A prank of fate?”

To think the answer he came up with after all that thinking was a prank of fate…….

Lee Chae’s expression was so incredibly serious that Hae-jin had to cover his mouth to suppress his laughter.

“Why are you laughing!”

“It’s not a joke, I laughed because you’re so lovely. It’s just so like Jung Lee Chae.”

“I know it’s cheesy, but what else am I supposed to do? I don’t know any answer other than the regeneration ability……”

Hae-jin took Lee Chae’s hand and rubbed it.

It was an action Lee Chae liked.

Whenever he held and rubbed his hand like this, Lee Chae would lean in and half-close his eyes like a cat offering its chin.

Responding to the calculated move, Lee Chae unconsciously leaned toward Hae-jin.

Hae-jin smiled triumphantly, interlaced their fingers, and spoke.

“It’s not because your ability was lacking; it’s because I didn’t have power.”

“What do you mean, no power…… You’ll get stoned if an S-rank says that.”

“The power I’m talking about isn’t that kind of power; I’m talking about authority. The power to fight the Headquarters and win.”

“I know that. Who says they don’t know? But there was nothing we could do.”

“You asked why I didn’t look for you, right?”

Lee Chae frowned slightly and tried to brush it off, saying, “That was just……”

Hae-jin quickly continued.

“It’s not that I didn’t look. I was waiting for the right time because I was afraid you’d be taken away again. You have no idea how many times a day I wanted to bring you back by force. But if I did that, you……”

Hae-jin paused to catch his breath.

The hardships of the past flashed through his mind.

In his heart, he wanted to whine to Lee Chae about how hard it had been and how much he had struggled just to bring him back, seeking comfort, but he grit his teeth.

Now was the time to act mature and serious.

“I tried to build up as much power as possible so I could bring you back when no one could touch us.”

Lee Chae’s chest rose and fell heavily.

He tightly gripped Hae-jin’s hands, which had begun to tremble slightly.

“I’m sorry. I made you wait way too long.”

“…….”

“I’m also sorry for the nonsense I said in the office earlier.”

Lee Chae started to well up again.

Hae-jin was debating whether he should say something perverted to make him laugh before he cried, but Lee Chae spoke first.

“Why did you act all mature, unlike the real Cha Hae-jin? If you had just come and taken me by force like in the old days, I would have let myself be dragged away reluctantly……”

Again, he was acting tough and shifting the blame.

If he had actually done that, Lee Chae would have been disappointed and run away again, or at least wouldn’t have been this affectionate.

Hae-jin stayed quiet, curious to see how far he would go.

Lee Chae continued without giving him a chance to speak.

“I clearly told you to fight with me……. If you had taken me, I could have guided you by your side, cursed out the Headquarters with you, and lent you my ideas……. Why did you do all that hard work alone! You really are a fool.”

Tears began to stream down Lee Chae’s cheeks as he huffed in anger.

Soon his shoulders began to shake, and eventually, his falling tears began to soak his clothes.

After a while, when his crying turned into sobs, he spoke again.

“I know. I know what I’m saying right now makes no sense.”

When you love someone for a long time, there are things you understand without being told.

The reason Lee Chae, who was usually quiet, couldn’t stop talking even while crying was because he felt so sorry.

So, Hae-jin hugged Lee Chae silently.

Acting mature wasn’t as hard as he thought.

Lee Chae, tucked into his arms, rubbed his cheek against the suit and muttered in a barely audible voice.

“Ah, sht, this is so fcking embarrassing. It’s even more embarrassing because you’re acting like this, Hyung.”

“Why is it embarrassing? Everything you said is right.”

“I was a coward. I had made up my mind. I told myself I’d never give in even if the Headquarters threatened me. But then out of the blue, they said you were going to die, so I didn’t know what to do……. Ah, f*ck.”

“Your mouth got quite rough while I was gone. I heard civil servants have it rough with heavy workloads, and I guess it’s true.”

Lee Chae looked up, clenched his fist, and punched Hae-jin’s shoulder.

It was a blow so strong it made him gasp.

Hae-jin liked the strength behind Lee Chae’s fist, so he offered the other shoulder.

Lee Chae cursed again and crashed his lips against Hae-jin’s.

‘Jung Lee Chae is still as unpredictable as ever! Throwing a punch and then suddenly launching into a kiss……. Though that is his charm.’

Hae-jin had thought for a long time about why he couldn’t help but be obsessed with Lee Chae.

When they first met, he concluded it was because they had a high matching rate and because Lee Chae’s behavior was different from other guides.

However, since his obsession was always abnormal, he had to find another reason.

It was only after meeting Lee Chae and experiencing moments of blindness, breathlessness, and a tearing heart that he realized.

There was no reason for loving Lee Chae……. He just loved everything he did because he was Jung Lee Chae.

Hae-jin slowly pulled his lips away, gave him another short kiss, and whispered.

“It’s okay to be a coward, it’s okay to run away—as long as it’s Jung Lee Chae, I love everything.”

“You’re a fool. No, wait, if I had actually betrayed you, would you still be able to say the same thing?”

Hae-jin answered firmly.

“Yeah. Of course.”

Lee Chae wiped his tears with his sleeve and looked straight at Hae-jin.

“Why?”

“Because you’re Jung Lee Chae.”

“What does that even mean? That sounds weird.”

“When I couldn’t solve the puzzle, I thought you had betrayed me and run away, right? Even then, I couldn’t hate you. Just because it’s Jung Lee Chae, I like everything you do. I think I had a belief that if our Lee Chae did something bad, he must have had a good reason for it……”

Lee Chae stared at Hae-jin with wide eyes and placed his hand on Hae-jin’s forehead.

Seeing that he didn’t have a fever, he wasn’t sick, and it didn’t seem like he was possessed by a humanoid either, but Hae-jin had shown a different side of himself so often today that it was shocking.

“Thank you for telling me it wasn’t my fault. But that doesn’t mean what happened didn’t happen. It’s not like the regeneration ability I don’t have is suddenly going to appear.”

He knew Hae-jin would hate it if he kept saying things like this, but it was after he had experienced firsthand what happens when you leave a troubling issue unaddressed.

So, Lee Chae decided that from now on, he wouldn’t hide the things that weighed on his mind.