Chapter 2 - The Dragon's Memories

“All healed. Your body’s fine now.”

All I did was make a pinky promise. And now, my body, which had been on the brink of death, was back to normal. In fact, I felt healthier than ever. Dazed, I pushed myself to my feet and faced the dragon.

“Hmm.”

From head to toe, this being was entirely white. If it weren’t for their otherworldly appearance, they could easily be mistaken for a very handsome or beautiful human.

“You really look just like a person.”

“That’s because I’ve taken the form of one. It’s a given that I’d look like a human.”

Right, that was obvious. If they had horns and a tail, they wouldn’t be trying to pass as human. The dragon, seemingly reading my thoughts, smirked and turned around.

“Follow me, human. There are things I need to tell you before you die.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Hah.”

The dragon chuckled, perhaps amused by my casual tone.

“…You’re the first human to speak so informally after seeing my true form. It’s not bad.”

Not bad?

‘Most people would call me rude, but I guess dragons have different standards.’

Since they could read my thoughts, I figured the dragon had picked up on that too. I followed behind, glancing around the Dragon’s Nest.

‘Hmm.’

Naturally, I had questions.

“When people talk about a dragon’s nest, you imagine lots of shiny treasure… but most of this stuff looks pretty useless. Why do you keep all this?”

The dragon stopped walking and turned to face me.

“Useless, huh? What’s your definition of ‘useful,’ human?”

“Well... things you can use or sell for money, I guess? I mean, it’s not like you’re using a comb or cuddling dolls when you sleep.”

“You’re not wrong. But...”

The dragon looked at me with a serious expression.

“That’s a very human way of thinking. Unlike you, dragons don’t collect objects for their usefulness. We collect them for their memories.”

“Memories?”

“Yes, memories. Everything in this nest is tied to some memory of mine.”

So, for their amusement?

“Dragons enjoy brief periods of amusement by mimicking human lives. When the game ends, we bring the most memorable item from that life back to the nest. For example…”

The dragon picked up the genderless doll I had touched earlier.

“This doll was the first one I ever made in another dimension. It’s so old I can’t even remember when exactly, and I gave it to my daughter. The quality is terrible, but she looked like an angel when she slept with it as a child.”

The dragon smiled softly, lost in the memory—for just a moment.

“But eventually, I had to end that game. I pretended to die from a disease. If I stayed too long, someone would’ve noticed that I wasn’t aging. I had no choice but to leave. This was what I brought with me when I left.”

“...”

“I don’t remember her name anymore, but through this doll, I can recall the fun I had during that time. That’s how dragons live.”

With a wistful expression, the dragon tossed the doll carelessly into a pile of soft furniture. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed.

“In the end, you lied to your daughter, didn’t you? You faked your death even though you weren’t dying.”

“From a human perspective, yes, you could call it a lie. But dragons simply enjoy their amusements as best they can. We live forever, so we need to play these games.”

Living among humans and pretending to be one of them...

“Dragons must find ways to entertain themselves. Our lives are too long and monotonous to endure without some form of amusement. That’s just the kind of beings we are.”

The dragon gave a self-deprecating laugh. I was beginning to understand why they were ready to end it all. Not that I could fully grasp it—it was too far different from my own experience.

“You’re right, human. You could never truly understand me. And no matter how many human lives I’ve lived, I will never fully understand you, either.”

Humans and dragons could never truly comprehend each other. I knew where this conversation was headed. But then—

“Could you stop calling me ‘human’? It’s kind of annoying. My name is Lee Ha-jun, you know?”

“I know your name, human.”

“Then call me by it—”

“I know it, but it's not necessary for our relationship.”

Whoosh— 

The dragon turned away, signaling the end of the conversation, and resumed walking.

“…”

For a moment, all kinds of insults flashed through my mind. But I filtered them out, trying to think of something more polite. This dragon was aggravating, but they weren’t doing it out of malice. They just had a knack for being irritating. Besides, they saved my life.

‘Though, I’m not sure if there was no malice at all.’

Anyway, as the awkward silence stretched on, the dragon broke it.

“You’re more human than the last ones, human. At least you consider me your savior.”

“You did save my life, so I guess that makes you my savior.”

However…

“Did anyone else come besides me?”

“About three others. In fact, saying I was waiting for them would be more accurate. I’m the one who spread the information online about the Dragon’s Nest.”

“…”

So they had been deliberately leaking the information, waiting for people to come.

‘Tsk.’

That left a bitter taste in my mouth. Knowing I had been manipulated wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling.

“…Wait, so what happened to the other three?”

“I erased their memories and kicked them out.”

“Why? You could have told them to raise the eggs.”

“They weren’t fit to raise a dragon.”

So, does that mean I’m qualified to raise them? What’s the criteria? A good person? A bad person?

‘Does that mean I’m a good person?’

I didn’t exactly think of myself that way. To be honest, my conscience felt a bit uneasy. I’m broke, buried in debt, and don’t even have a stable job. Plus—

“It doesn’t matter what you think of yourself. The important thing is that I gave you an opportunity, and you made a choice.”

It was as if the dragon could sense my internal thoughts and quickly interrupted me with an explanation. In the end, we both stood before the massive eggs, ready to fulfill the promise I’d made. I decided to ask a sincere question.

“…Alright, if you say so. But, let me ask you one last thing.”

“Go ahead.”

Maybe I did it to ease my conscience.

“It’s a simple question: can you really trust me with your eggs just based on a pinky promise?”

The dragon responded immediately.

“Yes.”

There wasn’t even a second of hesitation. However, I didn’t feel any trust in me from that response. It felt more like the dragon trusted itself for choosing me, rather than trusting me directly.

The dragon placed a hand on one of the large eggs and said:

“Alright, it’s time to begin. You can sit on that sofa and rest if you like.”

“Begin what?”

“The transfer. Dragons don’t just pass on DNA like humans do. We also pass on knowledge. You just need to watch.”

Hoo—

The dragon took a deep breath, and as it exhaled, a white light poured from its hand, enveloping the entire egg. That light began to fill the entire nest, illuminating the once dark space.

‘So that’s how dragons transfer knowledge. I guess I’d be more impressed if I cared about dragons.’

I had come here for treasure, not dragons. So, I just sat back on the old, antique sofa and watched the scene unfold. I didn’t feel much of anything. But for some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight of that knowledge being passed on.

‘…It’s beautiful.’

The mystical scene seemed like something I would remember for the rest of my life. I was sure of it.

“Hoo… It’s done, human.”

The dragon seemed exhausted from the transfer and walked over to me with slow, heavy steps, slumping down beside me. Its head drooped, as if it had no strength left. I asked, a bit worried.

“Did you transfer all of your knowledge?”

“No, I’ve lived for 20,000 years. There’s no way I could transfer everything. Just the basics about dragons and their nature. I didn’t want to rob my children of the joy of discovering things for themselves.”

“So they really are your children. Are you… their father? Or mother... Uh, what should I call you?”

“Are you thinking I could hand them off to their other parent, huh? Is thar what you wanted to ask?”

I nodded, and the dragon, still weary, lifted its head slightly to explain.

“There is no other parent. I’m both their father and mother. These eggs were born when I gave up my immortality. When I die, there’s no one else. Someone has to watch over my children until they reach adulthood. Once they’re fully grown, they’ll leave to find their own nest.”

"…"

As much as I hate to say this to someone who just saved my life, that’s some serious lack of responsibility. What’s going to happen to the dragons that hatch? Were they going to grow up without parents? I decided not to voice these harsh thoughts, seeing how drained the dragon looked. Still, this irresponsible attitude was something I really disliked—

“…Oh, you can hear me. Sorry.”

“You’re not wrong, human. From a human’s perspective, I must seem irresponsible. It’s a natural reaction. But.”

The dragon fixed me with a sharp gaze, its voice growing firmer, almost indignant.

“Don’t try to judge dragons by human standards. You’ll never understand us.”

Humans are humans, and dragons are dragons.

“No matter what you do, the gap between our species is insurmountable. So don’t bother trying to understand. Don’t think, even for a second, that you can.”

The dragon’s tone was fierce, but its eyes betrayed a deep sadness, like the regrets of someone who had lived too long. I responded calmly.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“I’m telling you this so you won’t hurt yourself trying… Consider it a warning.”

The dragon sighed heavily, its body seeming to lose strength. I instinctively reached out to catch it as it started to collapse forward, but—

“What the…?”

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t grab hold of the dragon. Its body had begun to dissolve into white light, scattering into the air. It was becoming transparent before my eyes.

I looked at the dragon in shock and asked.

“Is this… you dying?”

The dragon looked amused by my panicked expression and smiled weakly.

“I told you… I’m dying… You knew… So why the sad face…? Is it because I saved you…? Because I’m your savior…?”

“…”

“There’s no need for that… I got something from you too… I didn’t make that promise for nothing….”

I didn’t say a word. In fact, there was nothing I could say. No matter what I said, the dragon wouldn’t understand me, and I wouldn’t understand its response either. The dragon murmured softly while looking at me.

“My body will dissolve into light and be reborn somewhere else… A dragon tired of immortality simply enters the cycle… So, there’s no need to be sad…”

What a strange concept.

“Humans… are so hard to understand…”

With those final words, the dragon’s entire body turned into light and drifted into the nest, mingling with the other glowing memories that filled the space. Surrounded by relics from its long life, the dragon ended its existence. Or maybe it simply started anew.

“…I only came here for treasure.”

Whether it was a human, animal, or a dragon, witnessing someone die before your eyes would bring up complex emotions.

“I feel like the weight on my back isn’t from my backpack, but from all this emotional baggage.”

With a heavy sigh, I glanced around at the scattered items in the nest. Even though they looked worthless, they were relics of the dragon’s memories. Judging by their age, they might fetch a good price as antiques. However, I turned away without taking a second look.

“I’m not a total piece of trash. Selling this stuff would make me a monster.”

Ugh— 

I sighed again, feeling a mix of regret. I turned my attention to the three massive eggs. The children of the dragon who had left this world. One was red, the other blue, and the last green.

“After seeing all that… The least I can do is keep my promise.”

But...

“…How am I supposed to carry these things? They’re bigger than I am.”

I decided to try lifting one, starting with the red egg.

“One, two…!”

I didn’t even get to three. Just trying to lift it made me realize it was impossible. I’d probably drop it and break it even if I managed to lift it.

“How am I supposed to move these?”

While I was thinking about my options, I noticed a small piece of paper lying beneath the eggs. I picked it up and read the message aloud.

“Touch the eggs with the paper and place your hand on them. They’ll shrink until you reach your home…”

I followed the instructions, placing my hand on the eggs. As promised, they shrank to the size of regular eggs.

“…They look like they’ll break if I even bump into something.”

I carefully wrapped the eggs in a cloth and tucked them into my backpack. Then, I made my way toward the dimensional portal. I briefly remembered the werewolf that had chased me here, but somehow, I wasn’t too worried. I figured the dragon had probably taken care of it.

“…”

Before stepping through the portal, I took one last look around the Dragon’s Nest, the place where the dragon had been just moments ago. Now, it was nothing but a memory. The dragon had become part of that memory as well.

“…Goodbye, dragon.”

The nest that had once held a dragon was now a place where no one remained. It was as if the dragon had never been there at all. And from that place, I took its eggs.

‘…But what about my money? I didn’t even find any treasure.’

That part worried me a lot.