Chapter 43: The Lunatic Who Realized His Guide Was Worried About a Dragon Instead of Him

“Lee Chae-ya… you’ve held on so well until now… just a little longer. If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do?”

Haejin gently stroked Lee Chae’s increasingly pale cheek. No matter how hard he tried not to, only ominous thoughts flooded in.

He was about to hug the half-conscious body in despair when—

—Hyung, sister-in-law’s condition is serious right now?

Jae-hyung’s voice came through the comm.

“Yeah. He won’t wake up. Keeps mumbling nonsense.”

—We haven’t imprinted yet, so I’m not sure it’ll work, but the compatibility is insanely high. Worth a try?

“What? You have a way?”

—I’m not 100% sure, but espers and guides affect each other. Better than doing nothing. Try kissing him. I think I read something like that in a book.

The moment he heard it, Haejin grabbed the lifeline and pulled Lee Chae close, pressing their lips together. He licked and sucked until the cold lips regained warmth, praying desperately inside. Please come back. If you don’t, I’ll go berserk.

“Hnngh…”

A moan leaked between their joined lips, and warmth slowly returned to Lee Chae’s body. When Haejin tilted his head and kissed deeper, he felt weak taps on his back.

He pulled away—Lee Chae blinked twice.

“Haa…”

He looked tired, but his eyes were clear again. Good job, my Lee Chae. Haejin almost cried from relief.

“You with me? Who am I?”

“Cha Haejin.”

“Just a little longer, okay?”

“…wor.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

With that, Lee Chae closed his eyes again, exhausted. But he was lucid—that was enough. Now it was time for bloody revenge.

Haejin handed Lee Chae to Jae-hyung and charged back into the fight, igniting flames and whipping up winds. Jin-woo, who had been pushed back, grinned when Haejin joined and doubled his attacks.

Haejin struck with perfect precision—sparks flew into every monster’s body. They rolled on the ground screaming before collapsing one by one, literally roasted alive.

The more power he used, the more strength surged through him. Jin-woo laughed playfully.

“Japchae woke up?”

“Yeah.”

“I can tell just by your face.”

“Of course. You think my Japchae would die from something like this? One kiss from me and he’s back.”

“Blech.”

Jin-woo pretended to vomit, but even he looked much brighter than before.

He had definitely regained consciousness earlier.

Yet Lee Chae still hadn’t opened his eyes. Haejin had stormed into the hospital yelling to save him immediately—now he felt embarrassed. There wasn’t a single wound on Lee Chae’s body. He asked the doctors several times if they were sure; all they said was “simple exhaustion.”

I should’ve stayed by his side longer. Who knows what those monster bastards did.

Pale face, bloodless lips, IV needle in the vein—he couldn’t look anymore and turned away.

They say nothing’s wrong—then why won’t he wake up?

Anxious, Haejin tremblingly checked Lee Chae’s breath under his nose. Shallow, but steady. Right—our Lee Chae wouldn’t die from something like this. Still, he was hurt. He must’ve been so scared. Anger surged again. His chest tightened; breathing was hard.

Who was he angry at? The humanoids who kidnapped him? Headquarters for not cooperating fully? No—the person he was angriest at was himself, for sensing something off about Yeo-jun and leaving Lee Chae anyway.

How much did my kid suffer? I wish I’d been the one hurt instead.

His father’s words when Haejin was little, lying in a hospital bed after slipping and hitting his head. He had pretended to sleep while feeling his father’s hand stroking his hair, so he hadn’t really listened.

But today, watching Lee Chae, he finally understood exactly what his father had meant.

Why was he suddenly remembering something he hadn’t thought of since his father died? Was he really feeling paternal love for a guy only a few years younger? Haejin gave a bitter smile and carefully stroked Lee Chae’s forehead. The slight fever under his palm, the angelic sleeping face—countless emotions crashed in at once.

Love, pity, pain, worry, regret.

“I wish I were the one hurting.”

He whispered it aloud, then let out a short breath. One touch and he’d wake up, right? He moved his hand from the forehead to cup the cheek and kissed him again.

He woke up from a kiss earlier. Even while thrashing in the illusion, he opened his eyes the moment I kissed him. He called my name, looked at me clearly.

It had only been a few hours ago, yet it felt like a distant dream.

Wanting him to wake up immediately was probably greedy. Haejin gently kissed different parts of Lee Chae’s face, then lifted his head.

A while later, Haejin reached the limit of his patience and started terrorizing the doctors. They ran more pointless tests and concluded everything was fine.

Hearing the report lightened his mood instantly. The doctor said he’d probably wake up today—Haejin returned to his usual self as if nothing had happened.

“Jin-woo-ya. Doesn’t our Lee Chae look thinner?”

Jin-woo ignored the nonsense and shooed the medical staff out. Better to prevent an S-rank’s crazy ramblings from spreading.

“Bullshit. We found him in less than a day because you went berserk. He didn’t have time to lose weight.”

Even though Jin-woo humored him, Haejin ignored it and kept talking.

“Our Lee Chae… he must’ve suffered so much he collapsed the moment he fell into my arms… Just escaping from there was heroic.”

“Yeah, I was pretty shocked when he broke through the barrier alone.”

“F*ck… as expected of my guide… I thought he was only good at guiding, but he’s a damn good fighter too. Has there ever been a guide who got dragged into a monster den and walked out on his own two feet?”

Jin-woo shook his head and left the room. No point talking more—he wouldn’t listen anyway.

Haejin didn’t even notice Jin-woo leave and kept bragging about how amazing Guide Jung Lee Chae was. Then he felt a tiny twitch in the hand he was holding.

“Gasp—Doctor!”

He was about to hit the call button when Lee Chae’s eyes snapped open.

“K-Ki-jun… Kang Ki-jun.”

“…What? Kang Ki-jun? Who the hell is that?”

At first Haejin thought he’d misheard. He went through hell to rescue him from monsters, and the first name out of his mouth upon waking was another guy?

Haejin frowned in disbelief. Lee Chae, eyes half-open, asked,

“Cha Haejin?”

He was annoyed that Lee Chae only now said his name, but he couldn’t yell at someone who’d just collapsed, so he answered calmly.

“You okay? They checked—no injuries. Thank goodness.”

“That’s not it! We don’t have time for this!”

Excited that Lee Chae was awake, Haejin hugged him—only for Lee Chae to struggle and try to get out of bed.

“What’s wrong? Are you crazy?”

“No—Cha Haejin, help me. This isn’t the time. Ki-jun is going to die!”

Haejin hugged the flailing Lee Chae tighter. He was annoyed about the other guy’s name, but Lee Chae clearly wasn’t in his right mind—he’d let it slide.

Did the humanoids brainwash him in the illusion? Did they plant a command to return?

Haejin patted his back, trying to calm him.

“Deep breaths. Being with humanoids for so long twisted your energy. Calm down and tell me slowly.”

“F*ck, I told you that’s not it!”

Lee Chae’s voice was sharp—angry and frantic. He’d just been saved, yet instead of thanking him, he was yelling… Classic Jung Lee Chae.

Lee Chae clutched his own face in anguish.

“Ki-jun—no, even that name was forced on him by the humanoids. Just call him dragon. A dragon was being abused there. Starved, forced to work, brainwashed to hate humans and be used as a war weapon…”

The words were jumbled, but the tone was dead serious. Haejin listened without dismissing him.

“A dragon? The dragons I know? The ones that went extinct?”

Only then did Lee Chae meet his eyes.

“You won’t believe me, but it’s true.”

“Okay. First, calm—”

“Cha Haejin, I’m perfectly sane right now. I passed out for a bit, but the dragon kept me from falling for the illusion. He warned me what tricks they’d use.”

“So a dragon helped you escape?”

“Exactly. How else could a weak guide like me get out of a monster lair?”

“Well, my baby is the ultimate—”

“No time for bullshit. The only reason I escaped is because that idiot dragon risked his life to save me. I wanted to escape together, but there were too many enemies.”

Haejin blinked, trying to process. Thinking it was rejection, Lee Chae suddenly grabbed Haejin’s arm desperately and begged.