All of a sudden, Kim Wooju’s backstory came to mind.
The miserable story he went through before becoming a villain.
By age, he looked like he had just entered his twenties… so this must be the hardest period of his life, right?
If you looked deeper, Kim Wooju was actually a pretty pitiful human.
Used by the government until he was no longer useful, then discarded in the end….
'Hmph, can’t say that doesn’t sound familiar….'
For some reason, I couldn’t look away. His life felt too much like mine as a killer.
I’d been used by the organization ever since I was a kid too.
If I hadn’t transmigrated into this webtoon, I’d probably still be out there carrying out hits.
And my end would’ve been no different from his. In this line of work, once a dog has outlived its use, it gets abandoned—or put down.
'You and I are the same. Damn, look at those eyes. He’s gone. Way gone. Worse than me….'
When I read the webtoon, it didn’t really register. But seeing that dying look in someone so young… it gnawed at me. Not that I had any urge to go patch him up.
After all, I’d already seen every rotten thing he’d do in the story. Nothing would change the fact that he was a bastard.
But… he wasn’t going to die so easily anyway. Maybe if I just brought him some herbs for numbing pain and closing wounds, it’d be enough.
That should help a bit.
Feeling a little sympathetic, I figured a small bit of help wouldn’t hurt. I glanced around.
Luckily, I spotted some herbs not too far away.
The dragon’s memories were surprisingly useful.
I carefully plucked the herbs with my foreclaws.
My foreclaws were too thick, so it was a mess, but it would be good enough.
I slowly closed the distance toward Kim Wooju, who was still staring blankly at the sky.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
My whole body was in view now, but Kim Wooju didn’t move an inch.
I decided to be bolder.
'Weird… I’m pretty sure he saw me…'
The fact that he wasn’t budging made me tilt my head.
Was he unconscious with his eyes open? Or just too weak to move?
Maybe his wound was worse than I thought.
I waved myself around in front of him, then carefully climbed onto his outstretched leg.
Sure enough, he stayed frozen in place.
Not even a blink. I sighed, thinking he must’ve fainted with his eyes open.
Pathetic.
Well, if he’s out cold, then I don’t need to hesitate.
I grabbed his blood-soaked T-shirt with my mouth and lifted it up.
'Oof… that looks painful.'
The blood was still flowing. The wound seemed like it was slowly knitting shut, but the healing was sluggish.
Maybe his powers hadn’t fully bloomed yet?
In the webtoon, he’d healed instantly… though back then, he looked at least forty.
Now, he couldn’t be more than twenty, tops. His face still had traces of youth.
I didn’t want to be offering this kind of service, but the wound looked nasty enough that I softened. I shoved the herbs in my mouth and chewed them up.
Normally, I’d sear them on a rock first, but I couldn’t be bothered.
It’s dragon spit—should work even better.
I spat the pulp back onto his wound and spread it evenly. That should dull the pain.
Satisfied with my work, I nodded.
And then my whole vision flipped upside down.
“Graah? Graaahhh!?”
What the—?
I looked and saw that the supposedly unconscious Kim Wooju had grabbed my hind leg and hoisted me into the air.
Dangling upside down, I flailed and growled, when his eyes slowly shifted from the void to me.
'…Shit.'
I froze, my thrashing stopping on its own, and swallowed.
His face, pale to the point of white, was now flushed. His dazed eyes were swimming with a strange madness.
For some reason, Kim Wooju looked excited. He dragged his tongue across his red lips and stared straight into me.
'What the hell… why’s he looking at me like that?'
Tense, waiting for whatever would come out of his mouth, I watched his lips part.
“This is…”
This is?
“…a lizard.”
Lizard… lizard… LIZARD!?!?!
“Graahhh! Graaaahhh! GRAAAAHHH!”
Who are you calling a lizard! Where the hell do I look like a lizard! What kind of lizard is built like me!
I thrashed in outrage at the word I’d never heard in my life.
“Ah…!”
My wild struggling forced him to let go, and I fell to the ground.
Seizing the chance, I scrambled away, putting distance between us.
Thankfully, Wooju didn’t chase.
He just sat there, staring at me.
In his gaze, all I saw was curiosity—like, what is this thing?
'…So that look earlier, was it just my imagination?'
As if he’d ever look at me with lust. Yeah, I’d overthought it. But still, lizard…
That was a scratch straight to my dragon pride.
Even if I had shrunk myself down to puppy-size, a lizard?
Lizards don’t have these magnificent scales! Or wings! Or horns! How could anyone confuse a dragon with a lizard?
Tch. Whatever.
In the webtoon’s settings, Kim Wooju would eventually return to his world. Then he’d awaken as the villain.
The Corrupted Dragon and villain Kim Wooju had no connection.
This meeting itself was an anomaly—something that never happened in the story.
Now that I’d treated him, all that was left was for him to go back.
I turned my head sharply.
Time for me to return to my lair too.
“Ugh.”
The groan at my back made me stop and glance over my shoulder.
Kim Wooju was clutching his wounded stomach.
The pain etched in his furrowed brows made me hesitate.
I could’ve just walked away. But the sun was dipping low.
Once darkness fell, monsters would start hunting in earnest.
They feared me, sure—but they didn’t fear humans. They’d pounce on him the moment I left.
'…Will he be okay?'
If he looked the age he did in the webtoon, I’d leave him without a second thought. But right now, he looked much younger.
At that age, he couldn’t have become the villain yet. He had to still be weak.
In the end, I kept my distance and decided to watch over him.
Fortunately, Wooju seemed to lose interest in me and went back to staring blankly at the sky. Silence stretched between us.
'…Damn, he really is disgustingly handsome.'
Even just sitting here, my eyes were getting spoiled.
As a fellow man, it felt like admiring a finely crafted piece of art.
Couldn’t get sick of it.
In the original story, Kim Wooju had long hair tied back. But now, it was a messy, rough cut. Still, his face carried it effortlessly.
Time slipped by as I kept staring. Then—
Grrrgle.
I clutched my belly instinctively.
Not me. I’d filled up on pork before coming here.
Which meant…
I turned my gaze. Wooju, still staring at the sky, hadn’t moved.
'…It’s him, isn’t it?'
For someone who looked so dazed, his stomach was making a hell of a racket, begging for food.
And now that I thought about it, he hadn’t budged in hours.
Maybe he couldn’t move because of the pain?