Chapter 46: The Lunatic Who Declared War on a Pink Baby Dragon

Haejin turned to Lee Chae. Heart-shaped sparkles were literally exploding from his eyes as he stared at the dragon. This can’t go on. Haejin immediately stepped between them to cut the flow.

“You called your parents, so they won’t worry anymore.”

Finally, Lee Chae’s gaze shifted from the dragon to Haejin.

“Phew… thank goodness. Thank you.”

Perfect timing. Haejin planted himself firmly in the way.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Poof!

With a cute sound effect, the huge adult man turned into a tiny, cotton-candy-pink baby dragon.

…I’m screwed.

A life-saving benefactor who risked his life to bring back a blood-stained phone… was now a pink baby dragon. Lee Chae was weak to cute things; this was a disaster.

While Haejin panicked at the arrival of his strongest rival ever, the tiny dragon darted between his legs and leapt. Lee Chae caught him with a “WAAAH…” and honey practically dripped from his eyes.

“What the— Is this your real form? You’re still a baby?”

The baby dragon blinked his huge eyes and nodded.

I thought he was just innocent… turns out he’s a damn con artist.

Haejin was losing his mind. He remembered classified S-rank material: dragons grow insanely fast—from tiny hatchlings to ten times human size. They evolved to freely control their size to live among humans. Meaning this little shit could look however he wanted, whenever he wanted.

And right now, only Haejin and the dragon knew that.

“So cute… I didn’t know anything this cute existed…”

Lee Chae showered the dragon’s face with kisses, hugged him tight, and rubbed cheeks. Haejin couldn’t watch anymore. He grabbed the dragon by the scruff of the neck and lifted him.

Lee Chae flared up.

“You’re hurting him!”

“What? Dragon skin is tougher than steel—how is this hurting him? Hey dragon, does it hurt?”

The baby dragon blinked, gave Lee Chae the saddest puppy eyes, then—

“WAAAAH!”

Instant waterworks. Lee Chae snatched him back, cradled him, and glared murder at Haejin.

“He’s crying! How much did it hurt…?”

He gently stroked the dragon’s back.

“Ki-jun-ah, did it hurt a lot? It’s okay now.”

This manipulative little—!

Haejin finally realized: the more he fought the dragon, the worse he looked. He had no choice—he had to play the “newlywed couple raising a cute pet” card. Reluctantly, he glued himself to Lee Chae’s side and petted the dragon’s head.

“Haha… he was just too cute, that’s all. When you hold him like that, his little tummy sticks out all round.”

Lee Chae narrowed his eyes suspiciously, then looked at the dragon’s belly and nodded in agreement.

“It really is cute. I didn’t know anything in the world could be this adorable.”

“Right? Super cute.”

Empty words, but Lee Chae seemed to buy it. Then the dragon started rubbing his face on Lee Chae’s chest to wipe his tears. When their eyes met Haejin’s, he stuck out his tiny tongue—blep—and smirked. He even pretended to climb higher, paws groping Lee Chae’s chest like he was doing it on purpose for Haejin to see.

This bastard is straight-up provoking me now.

Haejin glanced at Lee Chae and casually said,

“Can I hold him too? He’s just so cute.”

He thought Lee Chae would refuse after what happened earlier, but instead Lee Chae beamed and handed him over.

“Sure, hold him. We have to bond.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t finish earlier… He was abused at headquarters, so we can’t take him there.”

Haejin stared in confusion while the dragon in his arms thrashed like crazy to escape.

“So… can I ask one favor?”

“What?”

“Ki-jun—no, this little guy… Could Legion take care of him? Luckily he learned from the humanoids—he can turn human, stay as a baby dragon, and fight when needed…”

Haejin was starting to feel like a third wheel in his own relationship.

“I want to say yes because it’s your request… but Legion isn’t just mine. What if the others say no?”

Lee Chae’s face fell.

“Then I’ll raise him myself.”

“What?”

“No choice. I can’t abandon the dragon who almost died saving me.”

“Since when are you this attached…?”

Haejin genuinely didn’t understand. The cold, rational Lee Chae was obsessed with a dragon—just because it was cute? Or because it saved his life?

While he was thinking, Lee Chae reached for the dragon.

“No helping it. If you don’t want him, give him back. I have to show my parents when I go home.”

The dragon stretched both tiny arms toward Lee Chae. Haejin hugged him tighter. No way was he letting these two stay together 24/7. They already looked at each other with such affection after barely knowing each other—what would happen if they lived together?

“Who said I don’t want him? We need consensus, but I’m saying yes.”

Jin-woo and Jae-hyung chimed in.

“I’m in favor. Loved dragons since I was a kid.”

“Me too! Baby dragon is too cute—I wanna bite him.”

Haejin forced a smile.

“Great. Jin-woo, get the others to agree and keep it secret from headquarters.”

“Easy. Everyone hates headquarters. Tell them a dragon abused by HQ is living here—they’ll love it.”

Lee Chae couldn’t take his eyes off the squirming baby dragon even while listening. He hadn’t properly thanked them yet, but thinking of Ki-jun’s proud face when he handed over the phone made emotions swell.

He was truly relieved the dragon could grow up in Legion instead of eating scraps in a cramped house. These espers acted cold and gruff, but they were loyal and warm—Lee Chae knew that better than anyone after rescuing kids and a dragon with them.

“Thank you, everyone. Our Ki-jun is going to live like a king here. No more starving.”

Haejin, who had been having a staring contest with the baby dragon, whipped his head around.

“They starved him?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t let him eat meat. He was always starving.”

“…Those motherf*ckers. Telling a dragon not to eat meat?”

“So treat him well. Please.”

Haejin’s eyes suddenly sparkled like he’d gotten an idea.

“For free?”

There it is. Of course Cha Haejin wouldn’t do anything for free…

But Lee Chae wasn’t going to fall for it anymore. He now knew exactly what made Haejin tick.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Nights have been lonely lately—I’ll just hug the dragon to sleep every night. He’s warm and nice.”

Haejin’s face froze in an instant.

“E-every night? Hugging?”

The dragon happily wagged his tail. Sensing danger, Haejin immediately backtracked.

“Can’t I even joke? I love dragons too. Jin-woo said yes, and Jae-hyung over there is already head over heels. Leave him here.”

Lee Chae smirked triumphantly and petted Ki-jun’s head.

“Well, if you insist that much, no choice.”

“…”

“Our Ki-jun, listen well to the captain, okay? I’ll go home and come back.”

chu He kissed the dragon’s cheek. Haejin’s shoulders shook with rage. Lee Chae barely held back laughter—watching the cute thing being held by another cute thing (who was seething) made giggles leak out between clenched teeth.

A few days later.

Jae-hyung rolled out of a cot in the Legion building, hair a mess. Ever since Ki-jun moved in, Jae-hyung slept at Legion more than at home.

“Didn’t go home again? When are you planning to?”

“You don’t go home either, hyung.”

“What would I do meeting Professor Kim? It’s more comfortable here. Your house doesn’t have headquarters people.”

Jae-hyung pouted at Haejin’s nagging and started rummaging through every office.

“Peek-a-boo~ Where’s our Ki-jun?”

Human-form Ki-jun appeared behind him, grabbed his nape, and growled,

“I told you I’m not a baby. What’s with the baby talk? I’m older than collateral!”

He only turned into the pink baby dragon because he wanted kind Lee Chae to find him cute. Back when headquarters abused him, they hurt him less when he was small and adorable. He knew humans were weak to tiny, cute things.

So the baby dragon form was exclusively for Lee Chae. But Jae-hyung, who fell in love the moment he saw it, kept treating him like a toddler despite multiple warnings.