Chapter 106 : The Morning After the Flower Bloomed

‘It really is my Lee Chae.’

Hae-jin stared at Lee Chae’s face for a long time by the faint moonlight trickling through the gap in the window. He stroked Lee Chae’s skin and pressed his lips to his forehead, but Lee Chae didn’t wake even once.

‘He must have been exhausted.’

Watching Lee Chae’s face felt hypnotic, and a strange emotion washed over him. He had always loved these moments because Lee Chae’s face was so beautiful there was always something to admire, but now, his chest felt tight with a dull ache and a sense of sorrow.

He realized for the first time that the face of a sleeping lover could actually look sad. He felt himself swinging wildly between smiles and tears; his emotions were completely out of his control.

Using Lee Chae’s rhythmic breathing as a lullaby, Hae-jin fell back asleep. When he woke up again a while later, the sun had already risen.

After rolling around in bed with Lee Chae for a bit longer, Hae-jin got up, headed straight to the bathroom for a thorough shower, and carefully picked out his clothes. He knew that Lee Chae, who was sensitive to appearances, secretly loved it when he dressed up, even if he pretended not to care. This was a hard-won opportunity; he couldn’t afford to miss even the smallest detail.

Hae-jin checked himself in the mirror, tidied his hair, sprayed a perfume that matched his style, and headed to the kitchen.

Jae-hyung was busy at the stove making something, and Lee Chae was sitting at the dining table looking refreshed. Even in a simple outfit—a neat shirt and beige trousers—he couldn’t hide how pretty he was. Hae-jin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad he’d woken up early to groom himself; otherwise, he might have looked like a haggard old man next to the lovely Lee Chae.

As Hae-jin took a seat next to him, Lee Chae turned and said with crescent-shaped eyes, “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. What about you, wifey?”

“I slept truly well for the first time in ages.”

Hae-jin was staring at those pretty lips that uttered the exact same thought he’d had, when Jae-hyung set a plate of fried eggs down in front of them with a loud thud.

“Aren’t you guys being a bit much?”

“What?”

Jae-hyung sighed.

“I get that you’re happy to be back together. But Jin-woo Hyung didn’t come home yesterday. Shouldn’t you at least try to contact him?”

Hae-jin answered, dumbfounded.

“Hey, of all people, you’re worrying about Gae-Jin-woo? Someone from the combat team probably ticked him off, so he’s likely out cold somewhere after drinking.”

“What if something actually happened? I feel uneasy.”

At those words, Hae-jin felt a sudden chill as he placed a fried egg on Lee Chae’s plate. It was definitely strange for Jin-woo not to show up or call on Lee Chae’s first day back. Hae-jin told Lee Chae to keep eating, then went to the living room to call Jin-woo. However, his phone was turned off.

“……What? Is he already at work?”

Hae-jin tilted his head, weighing the possibility that something had happened. But knowing that Jin-woo often turned off his phone while working, he dismissed it as nothing serious.

Lee Chae looked dubiously at Hae-jin as he naturally led him down to the parking lot. He felt it wasn’t a good look for a regular employee to commute with the CEO in full view of others.

“What are you doing? Get in.”

“Well…… the people at Legion don’t know about us yet.”

“Just get in. I’ll explain on the way.”

Hae-jin gently nudged Lee Chae’s shoulder to usher him into the passenger seat, then quickly got into the driver’s side. He reached over to fasten Lee Chae’s seatbelt, gave him a light kiss on the cheek, and took the wheel. Even though they had been apart for three years, it felt as natural as if they had met just yesterday—perhaps because he had missed these small gestures so much during their separation.

The car slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

The scenery around Legion came into view. In the spot where they had fought alongside the Legion members the day Lamia first appeared, the replanted trees had grown quite a bit. Lee Chae was smiling at the memory when he heard Hae-jin’s voice.

“Why exactly do you think I put you in the Operations Team instead of the Combat Team?”

It was a question Lee Chae had been curious about all day yesterday, but since Hae-jin ran the company fairly and transparently, he hadn’t said anything. After a moment of thought, Lee Chae spoke calmly.

“Because I’m D-rank? Business is business, and personal is personal. I understand.”

Hae-jin let out a hollow laugh.

“When will my wifey finally understand an Esper’s obsession?”

“What does obsession have to do with……”

“Think about it. If you go to the Combat Team, you’d have to guide other Espers. Did you really think I’d just sit back and watch that happen?”

Lee Chae, who had only ever thought it was because his guiding ability was lacking, stared at Hae-jin in shock at this entirely different reason.

“But Legion only has Awakeners who are A-rank or higher.”

“That’s for Espers. For Guides, rank doesn’t matter.”

When Lee Chae didn’t respond, Hae-jin glanced at him and continued his explanation.

“For a Guide, rank isn’t what’s important; the matching rate with the Espers at Legion is what matters more. As you know, rank and matching rate are different things. The Espers at Legion have temperamental personalities and specific tastes, so they pick and bring in their own Guides.”

“Then what about the Espers who don’t have a personal guide?”

“Of course, for those who haven’t found a guide yet, there are other guides on standby at all times.”

Lee Chae nodded. Hearing Hae-jin’s words, it felt like an operational style that suited Legion perfectly.

“But what does my being in the Operations Team have to do with people looking at us weirdly? I didn’t feel great yesterday when the Team Leader spoke to me like I was a ‘parachute’ hire. So just drop me off a bit further away, and I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

Screeech! Hae-jin suddenly pulled the car over to the curb.

‘Is he angry?’

Lee Chae had intended to be as good to him as possible now that they were back together, but he felt upset that they were already frictioning over something so minor. Intending to apologize first, he checked Hae-jin’s expression and spoke cautiously.

“Are you mad?”

“No. I’m not mad.”

Hae-jin’s face clearly showed that he was angry but was holding it in because he didn’t want to fight. It seemed Hae-jin was thinking the same thing as him.

Because their reunited relationship was so precious, they were suppressing their anger to accommodate each other. But…… was this really a healthy relationship? If they kept acting this way, they might just keep suppressing their emotions out of caution until everything exploded at once. He thought it would be better to speak up so there were no misunderstandings, even if they fought occasionally. So, Lee Chae summoned his courage.

“Hey, Hyung……”

“Lee Chae.”

The two, who had spoken at the same time, looked at each other and laughed.

“You go first.”

When Lee Chae gave him the chance, Hae-jin spoke first.

“Don’t you remember back in college? Even before we imprinted, I went around spreading rumors that Jung Lee Chae was my personal guide. Don’t you get it? We imprinted yesterday. So, what am I going to do today?”

Lee Chae fell silent, having nothing left to say, and just stared at Hae-jin.

“Naturally, I’m going to announce you as my personal guide. I’ll announce it to Legion first, and then I’ll call the reporters for a press conference tomorrow.”

Hae-jin laid out his plan very proudly, but Lee Chae couldn’t help but be horrified.

‘A press conference? Why on earth?’

Come to think of it, while they were apart, Hae-jin had appeared in the news quite often. Now that Cha Hae-jin was the CEO of Legion—the nation’s top guild—rather than just a college student under the Management Bureau, it made sense for him to hold a press conference. But unlike Hae-jin, he was just a D-rank Guide.

People watching the press conference would wonder why an S-rank Esper like Cha Hae-jin had formed a contract with a D-rank Guide, and their relationship would become a laughingstock, just as it had been when they first imprinted. At that thought, the future looked bleak.

However, he couldn’t just flatly say no to the clearly excited Hae-jin. So, Lee Chae placed his hand on the back of Hae-jin’s hand and focused his mind.

Hae-jin’s heart was full of joy and happiness. Since Lee Chae was about to put a damper on those feelings, Hae-jin was bound to be disappointed……

“I have to hold the press conference. I’m going to tell the whole world that Jung Lee Chae is mine.”

Hae-jin, who had been soaked in happiness, flinched when he saw Lee Chae’s face.

“Why? You hate it?”

“No…… It’s not that I hate it……”

As Lee Chae trailed off, Hae-jin placed his hands on Lee Chae’s cheeks, brought his face close, and said:

“Jung Lee Chae, I know what you’re worried about. You’re worried about what people will say because of your rank.”

Lee Chae’s eyes widened. It was amazing that Hae-jin had anticipated the feelings he never would have noticed in the past.

“You’re right. I am worried. You might be fine, but I’ve been through it before.”

“I knew you’d say that, so I’ve prepared something.”

“Prepared something?”

Hae-jin didn’t answer and just grinned with a confident expression. What could he have prepared? Lee Chae questioned him all the way to Legion, but Hae-jin only told him to wait until tomorrow to find out. What was the point of being able to feel the other person’s emotions through the imprint if he couldn’t tell what he was thinking?

Still, feeling the other person’s emotions was a good thing.

Because the warm, sunshine-like energy filling Hae-jin’s chest was transmitted to Lee Chae as well. Perhaps because of that, he didn’t feel as anxious as he used to.

After arriving at Legion, Lee Chae got into the elevator and naturally pressed the button for the 4th floor, where the Operations Team was located. However, Hae-jin kept cancelling the 4th floor and changing it to the 10th floor, where the CEO’s office was. Thinking he was just being playful, Lee Chae laughed it off once or twice, but when he repeated the action five times, Lee Chae got annoyed.

“What are you doing? You said I’m in the Operations Team.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Operations Team.”

“Then why do you keep clearing the 4th floor? Ah, sh*t, we passed it! If I’m late on my first day, are you going to take responsibility?”

Lee Chae was frustrated to death, but Hae-jin just kept smiling happily. Whenever he smiled like that, he usually ended up doing something unexpected, so Lee Chae felt a sudden surge of fear.

When they got off the elevator, Hae-jin pulled him by the hand. An Operations Team employee at the desk in front of the CEO’s office greeted them with a smile.

“Welcome, CEO. And Director.”

“Good morning. Is the office ready?”

“Yes, of course.”

‘Director? … Director?’