Chapter 105 : The Flower That Bloomed Again

“An Esper and… ah, no. I bet I’m the only guide in the entire world who has imprinted with the same S-rank Esper twice.”

“…….”

“Since it’s the second time, I think I’ll be better at it, don’t you?”

A long finger touched his lips. The sensation was vivid even from a slight pressure.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter if you’re not……”

The words were swallowed between their lips. Hae-jin’s hands wrapping around his waist were as hasty and clumsy as a middle schooler’s. The Hae-jin who had been coolly teasing Lee Chae in the office was gone; in his place was someone hot, tender, and desperate, pressing their bodies together.

As Hae-jin pulled his finger down, Lee Chae’s lips parted slightly. A hot breath poured into the gap.

“Ah……”

The touch of his hands, sucking his lips and wandering over his body, was so scorching that Lee Chae gripped Hae-jin’s waist to hold his ground. They had both just showered, and their hair wasn’t even dry yet.

Hae-jin acted as if he remembered exactly where Lee Chae was most sensitive—the boundary between teeth and lips, the tender flesh inside his cheek—and stimulated those spots relentlessly. Intense breaths escaped between them, and faces flushed a deep red.

“W-wait……”

When he pushed lightly against Hae-jin’s shoulders, Hae-jin finally pulled back his lips and cupped Lee Chae’s cheeks. His downward gaze flickered with deep intensity. Opening and closing his swollen lips, Lee Chae began to unbutton Hae-jin’s shirt one by one.

As Lee Chae placed his hands carefully over the chest covered in scars from scratches and stabs, Hae-jin suddenly scooped him up and threw him onto the bed.

“Nngh.”

His body jolted at the urgent touch. While struggling not to lose a single sensation—whether it was pleasure or pain—Hae-jin bit his ear and whispered, “I thought I was going to die.” That low, vibrating voice echoed in his head. Lee Chae stared at the veins on Hae-jin’s forehead and the bridge of his scrunched nose—features he had always loved.

“Hah!”

The moment their eyes met, the hands that had been moving without hesitation suddenly stopped, only to resume before the heat could even cool. At the feeling of being filled, Lee Chae tilted his head back and cried out.

His earlier resolve to be more proactive during contact guiding if he ever met Hae-jin again had vanished into thin air.

Between the crying, the squirming, and the moaning, he didn’t even have a chance to do anything for Hae-jin. Suddenly, he remembered that Hae-jin didn’t live alone; a dragon who was very interested in “flirting” lived here too. Lee Chae bit the back of his hand to stifle his moans. Seeing this, Hae-jin grabbed his wrist and whispered in a raw voice.

“Don’t cover your mouth.”

“I like hearing you, okay?” On the surface, it sounded like a plea, but it held a secret threat that he’d regret it if he didn’t listen. Lee Chae’s body shook violently at the suddenly accelerated pace.

“What if they hear outside?”

He groaned, rubbing his forehead against Hae-jin’s chest. But he was no match for Hae-jin’s strength.

“Then keep trying to block it. Let’s see if you can hold it in.”

His most sensitive spots were rubbed firmly. How did he remember everything so perfectly? No matter how much he tried to cover his mouth, he couldn’t hold back the moans.

“You feel it so well. My Lee Chae.”

“Because… I haven’t done it……”

Though he shook his head to deny Hae-jin’s words, Lee Chae thought back to the nights they were apart. Thinking of the mornings he woke up drenched after crying in his sleep while holding Hae-jin in a dream, swallowing his tears—the memory of that time suddenly felt so unfair.

Lee Chae pulled away the hand that had been covering his mouth and wrapped his arms tightly around Hae-jin’s back. When the union became so deep he couldn’t take it anymore, Lee Chae bit Hae-jin’s shoulder and begged him to come to him now. Gritting out a low curse, Hae-jin pulled Lee Chae into a deep embrace. He bit his chin and licked his lips, whispering.

“Lee Chae, relax.”

“Slowly.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. When his chest swelled as if his long-unmet desires were finally being fulfilled, he clung to Hae-jin’s shoulders.

“Ah, hhnng.”

“Thank you for saving me.”

Not knowing how to respond to such a weighted statement, Lee Chae simply nodded. He matched the rhythm of his movements, met his eyes whenever his mind cleared, and kissed him whenever it became hard to breathe.

“I don’t think I can stop.”

He didn’t specify what or why he couldn’t stop, but Hae-jin gave him the perfect answer.

“If the heart stops, you die.”

The sweetness of the words brought a surge of sorrow, and tears flowed.

“So I have no intention of stopping. If I were going to stop, I wouldn’t have started, right? Not our relationship, and not the imprint.”

Hae-jin’s breathing grew heavy as he picked up the pace. Lee Chae scratched his back, telling him to stop, yet simultaneously urged him to hold him tighter, wrapping his arms around him.

“Lee Chae, Jung Lee Chae.”

Hae-jin let out a rasping sound from deep in his throat and buried himself deep. As Lee Chae tilted his head back from the pressure, Hae-jin’s hand gripped a sensitive spot.

“H-haa, Hy… Hyung.”

His lips trembled and his toes curled. A sensation like he would explode at the slightest touch enveloped his entire body. At the point of deepest interlocking, Hae-jin stopped moving and exhaled slowly.

With every slow breath, his hair fluttered, and their pressed hearts beat in sync. His body went limp from the heat, which felt at least two degrees higher than Lee Chae’s own. It was Lee Chae’s favorite moment.

“I love you.”

At the carefully whispered confession, Hae-jin’s eyes crinkled beautifully. He kissed his forehead, nose, and lips, whispering back.

“I’m already going crazy, and when you do that……”

A moan broke out, though it was impossible to tell whose it was. As if proving it was hard to control himself, Hae-jin suddenly became so rough that further conversation was impossible.

The sheets crumpled into a mess, and his body was shaken mercilessly.

“Are you okay?”

“J-just… don’t stop.”

He wanted to engrave that mark onto his body even a second faster. He wanted to reclaim what was his, which had been forcibly taken away. Lee Chae, his eyes barely open, became soaked in sweat and tears. Even as the movements continued without mercy, he felt more anticipation than fear. Lee Chae, Jung Lee Chae, honey, my wifey…… All the titles he called him, and the desire soaked in that voice, were aimed solely at him.

“I wanted to take it slow, but I’m in a hurry too.”

The corners of his eyes grew hot. Hae-jin’s hand, which had been pressing against the sheet, pressed down on Lee Chae’s hand. Lips, hearts, and stomachs met in succession as their legs tangled. Deep inside his gut, something seemed to click into place. Hae-jin spoke in a voice filled with ecstasy.

“I found it.”

“Yes, yes…. Finally, we……”

Their fingers interlaced without a single gap. It was a perfect union where no part was left separate.

When the place that had been rattling out of alignment finally clicked shut, Hae-jin stopped moving.

“Aaah!”

With a feeling of his body falling back to earth after soaring to a great height, goosebumps broke out all over. Even though Hae-jin wasn’t moving, the pleasure continued as if it would last forever.

Rustle. The blanket fluttered, and a breeze blew. A hot wind filled his chest and leaked out from his lips. Silence fell as they gazed at each other.

“Lee Chae, I am nothing without you.”

Hae-jin moved powerfully. Lee Chae’s head was thrown back. A low laugh rolled into his ear and entered his mind, stopping all thought. Even then, moans broke out incessantly from the overflowing pleasure.

“Hm? If it’s not you, I’ll die. You know that?”

Without giving him a chance to answer, Hae-jin began to push at a terrifying speed. The intensity of the movements pushed his body up until the top of his head hit the headboard. It felt as if their touching bodies would melt away from the heat. Tears soaked the sheets.

“Ah, ah! The… the imprint is done……”

He didn’t stop, moving even faster. His soles tingled, and goosebumps rose. At the moment it felt like his body would burst from the heavy impact, Hae-jin stopped.

“Ugh!”

“Haaah!”

Their bodies, locked together, trembled violently. Then, energy began to surge from his toes to the top of his head. It was amazing how strength returned despite having exhausted so much vitality. They held each other for a long time before looking at one another and laughing.

“Like this……”

“It was such a simple thing.”

Hae-jin stroked Lee Chae’s cheek. While slowly calming his ragged breathing, Hae-jin suddenly remembered something and widened his eyes.

“What is it?”

“I have to check the mark.”

Like a child unwrapping a present, Hae-jin grinned broadly. Feeling mischievous, Lee Chae pulled the blanket up to cover himself. Despite the prank, Hae-jin just laughed gleefully, threatening that if he kept this up, they might have to start over from the beginning.

When Lee Chae let go of the blanket, Hae-jin swallowed hard, took Lee Chae’s chin, and turned it slightly to the right. His trembling pupils landed on the collarbone. During their time apart, it was a place that had never been without a wound, as he had scratched it with sharp nails whenever it itched.

Hae-jin fixed his gaze on the spot where the mark was. He pressed down on the newly formed imprint with trembling fingertips and kissed it. Lee Chae ran his hand through the back of Hae-jin’s hair. The soft strands flowed between his fingers.

“Has our flower… bloomed again?”

When Lee Chae asked, Hae-jin nodded silently.

“Is it pretty?”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful. But……”

“But?”

Terrified that the mark might not have been engraved properly, Lee Chae asked urgently. In response, Hae-jin grabbed his phone from the side table. He opened the camera app, click, took a photo, and handed it to Lee Chae.

As he took the phone and zoomed in on the screen, he saw a flower shape that was larger and more elaborate than before. Just as their separation had made their feelings deeper and more precious, the flower that had survived the winter had bloomed stronger and more beautifully. Lee Chae touched his collarbone while looking at the screen.

On top of the small scars created by repeatedly healing and wounding himself, a large, magnificent flower had bloomed.

This flower was the product of Cha Hae-jin’s obsession, which had never given up for a single moment.

Lee Chae buried his face in Hae-jin’s neck and took a deep breath. A deep, heavy scent—just like Hae-jin—filled his nose.

The night with Hae-jin that Lee Chae had wanted so badly grew deeper, leaving behind the mark of a new imprint.

When Hae-jin opened his eyes, he was startled by the clock. Three in the morning—too early to get up. Even though he hadn’t slept much, his body felt refreshed as if he’d slept for ages. It was a lightness he hadn’t felt in nearly three years.

Hae-jin reached out and pulled Lee Chae into his arms. He still couldn’t believe the familiar body wrapped perfectly in his embrace. He had seen so many hallucinations while they were apart that he worried the person he was holding now might be another fantasy of his own making.

Hae-jin kissed the mark and took a deep breath. A cozy feeling washed over him, and his anxiety slowly began to fade.