Chapter 45: The Lunatic Who Was Losing His Mind Because a Dragon Kept Acting Cuter Than Him

“Kid? When did you secretly get pregnant and give birth behind my back?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get out of here fast. More will come if we stay.”

Haejin leaped lightly, landed behind Ki-jun, and yanked the unruly dragon away from Lee Chae with one arm. Ki-jun let out a pitiful “Kyuuu!” and flailed cutely, but it was useless. Haejin would rather keep this thing next to him than let it stay near Lee Chae, who had a weakness for cute things.

“Dragon, stick right to me. That’s how you survive when humanoids swarm.”

“N-no… Collateral, I don’t like this mister…”

Lee Chae, watching the whole thing, spoke firmly.

“You don’t have a choice. It’s for your safety. Do what the captain says.”

“Captain? What’s that?”

“It means boss.”

“Oh… but I still don’t like it…”

Lee Chae secretly admired how Haejin effortlessly manhandled a 190+ cm dragon. Only after the dragon was secured did gratitude and guilt finally hit him. He had resented Haejin for not coming sooner, then begged him to rescue the dragon—both made him feel terrible. So he poked Haejin’s arm awkwardly and said the opposite of what he felt.

“Don’t bully the dragon too much. He’s pitiful.”

“Got it. Nag nag.”

Ki-jun pouted sulkily.

“I-I can walk! Let go!”

“You shut up and follow the captain nicely. One more rebellion and I leave you behind!”

Ki-jun clamped his mouth shut. Lee Chae hurried forward. Jae-hyung turned back with a smile.

“Really, what a relief.”

“Thank you. You worked hard. And…”

Lee Chae turned to Jin-woo. They had barely spoken, and Jin-woo had always been cold, yet he came without question. Lee Chae cautiously called,

“Jin-woo hyung.”

“Hyung? Gross. Call me Jin-woo sunbae. Haejin will lose his mind if he hears.”

“Yes. Sunbae. Thank you.”

“Whatever. I just really wanted to meet a dragon.”

Lee Chae bowed and was about to step back when Jin-woo suddenly grabbed his arm.

“I’m the one who should thank you.”

“Huh?”

“Dealing with Cha Haejin’s crazy ass must be exhausting.”

“…”

“I thought you had zero feelings for him. Isn’t it annoying?”

The sudden question left Lee Chae speechless. Of course it was tiring and annoying. But when he didn’t see Haejin, he missed him. When he heard Haejin was hurt, his heart dropped. Today, imagining Haejin in danger because of him made the world go black.

Some internet quiz said that was love, so it wasn’t like he had zero feelings.

Worried Haejin might overhear, Lee Chae glanced over. Haejin was busy wrestling the naughty dragon—he wouldn’t hear. Relieved, Lee Chae lowered his voice.

“I don’t think I have zero feelings.”

“Romantic ones?”

“…A little.”

“Good. Japchae—no, Lee Chae-ya. You might not believe me, but you’re his first. Do you know what a true first love means to an esper?”

“First, second—does the order matter? Isn’t depth what counts?”

“You’re right… but for Cha Haejin, who’s never liked anyone in his entire life, it’s special. I’m already scared of what’ll happen if you ever leave him. I tried to stop it, but it was already too late.”

Lee Chae listened silently. His own feelings weren’t light either—if they were, he never would’ve accepted Haejin even under “conditional terms.” But he couldn’t agree that he was so special that Haejin would go insane if abandoned.

Our specs and conditions are worlds apart… who would abandon whom?

Only time would tell.

“Ugh, heavy.”

The moment they returned to Legion, Haejin dropped Ki-jun on the floor. Ki-jun shot straight to Lee Chae like a bullet.

“C-collateral! I had something to tell you earlier, but that mister wouldn’t let me!”

“Later. This isn’t the time.”

“N-no… I’m not asking for anything…”

Lee Chae wanted to strangle the clueless dragon. Back in the basement it was fine—he’d promised to take Ki-jun home to ease his fear. But reality wasn’t that easy.

Their tiny house was already bursting with family. Adding a starving, weakened dragon would be uncomfortable for everyone, dragon included. Panic set in late.

This tone-deaf dragon… please just stay quiet…!

Lee Chae grabbed Ki-jun’s wrist and dragged him to Jae-hyung.

“Please hold him here so he can’t enter the meeting room.”

Ki-jun started throwing a fit.

“No! I want to stay with collateral! I really have something to say!”

Jae-hyung obediently hugged the dragon tight. Lee Chae shook his head and pulled Haejin and Jin-woo into the meeting room.

He had to be sharp to convince dragon-hating Haejin.

Jin-woo sat. Haejin, already in a bad mood because of the dragon, crossed his arms and glared at Lee Chae.

“Why the meeting room?”

“Well… there’s something I couldn’t finish saying earlier.”

“Don’t tell me there’s another creature we have to save.”

“No. It’s… Ki-jun can’t go to headquarters. They’ll experiment on him and torture him again. I can’t let my lifesaver…”

BANG! BOOM! ROAAAR!

Strange noises from outside cut him off.

“What was that?”

“Shadows attacking again?”

Lee Chae jumped, looking around—then locked eyes with Ki-jun, who was plastered to the glass door crying.

Haejin sneered.

“Are dragons normally like this?”

Jin-woo added,

“Not all of them, probably.”

Lee Chae just sighed. He needed the dragon to look good so they could stay in Legion, but at this rate they’d be lucky not to get kicked out.

He stepped out to calm the hysterical dragon.

“C-collateral! Listen—”

Ki-jun beamed like he’d reunited with his mom, but Lee Chae yelled,

“Can’t you wait five minutes without interrupting?! I told you to be quiet!”

“B-but that’s not—”

“I said later! If you keep acting like this, I really can’t help you anymore.”

Ki-jun stomped and slapped his own chest in frustration. Worried the spoiled dragon would get worse if indulged, Lee Chae tried to force the door shut.

That’s when Ki-jun grabbed his wrist and blurted,

“M-mom! Dad! Your parents—phone!”

“…”

Everyone froze and stared. Ki-jun clutched Lee Chae’s arm tighter.

“You said earlier—your parents will worry, you need your phone…”

Ah… the phone.

He still remembered that?

Lee Chae hadn’t even thought to contact his family in all the chaos, yet the dragon did. The realization hit like a truck. Family had always come first for him—this was a shock.

Jung Lee Chae, you’ve really lost it.

He cursed himself and hung his head. The adrenaline from escaping the humanoid lair and rescuing the dragon suddenly drained away.

Then a phone covered in red bloodstains appeared in front of him. He looked up—Ki-jun was grinning proudly.

“This is it, right? They kept hitting me and it hurt, but I found it! Because you said your mom and dad would worry!”

“…”

“I wanted to give it sooner, but they kept stopping me! You said wait, but I was scared you couldn’t call without it. Sorry. I’ll be good from now on!”

“…”

Lee Chae’s lips wouldn’t move.

It was just a phone… He had only told him to escape alive, yet even while being beaten, Ki-jun remembered and brought it.

And Lee Chae had yelled at him, thinking he was just whining.

Jung Lee Chae… what happened to you? You have no right to criticize Cha Haejin’s personality.

While Lee Chae spiraled, Haejin stared at the dragon in disbelief.

“What the… are dragons supposed to be like this?”

Jin-woo chuckled.

“Textbooks say they’re the only race that genuinely wanted to protect humans… that’s why the kind, pitiful ones went extinct.”

Jae-hyung sniffled.

“Damn it… I’m crying. Even as a guide I couldn’t do that much. Saving sister-in-law’s life in a crisis wasn’t enough—he even brought the phone…”

Jae-hyung’s tears made Lee Chae’s eyes well up too.

“Thank you. Really… thank you. I’ll never forget this.”

Everyone showered the dragon with praise—except Haejin, whose mood hit rock bottom.

Just what the hell is this dragon…

Even Haejin, who was far from cute, bright, or beautiful, could see the dragon’s actions were insanely adorable. Thinking how it must look in Lee Chae’s eyes gave him a headache.