By Zephyria 
Before Hae-jun, such illusions continued endlessly. Lee A-gon, the master of this world, was depicted as the most lowly, the most humble, always chasing after Hae-jun only to lose him.
He became a snake, trodden under Hae-jun’s heel; a beggar, pleading for pity; crying out from the collapsing thatched roof of a hut, then turning into a chicken.
In contrast, Hae-jun was far too noble. He was an angel, a celestial maiden, a king. A halo shone above his head, and when he moved, it was with radiance.
Hae-jun rode on colored clouds, flying through the sky, fluttering beautiful wings as he left Lee A-gon behind. Always, he was only ever leaving Lee A-gon.
“I won’t do that, A-gon.”
Hae-jun said. His voice was swept up by the howling wind, echoing across the wasteland.
Then the wasteland, Lee A-gon’s desolate inner self, answered Hae-jun. Hyung, you abandoned me once. You made me swear to only like you and only pair with you, then you disappeared. In the time without you, I slowly died.
“I won’t do that now.”
No. You will. Because I’m this pathetic… and stupid.
“You are not pathetic and stupid!”
Unable to bear it, Hae-jun shouted, but the only answer that returned to his cry was more tears falling like rain.
Hae-jun stretched his hand into the empty air. This was the wasteland where Lee A-gon’s soul resided. There was no need to search. Every breath of air, every handful of dirt in this world was Lee A-gon.
From where Hae-jun’s hand touched, Lee A-gon’s form began to emerge. Eyes, nose, lips surged forth as if breaking through sand, becoming Lee A-gon’s face.
“A-gon.”
Finally facing the completed face, Hae-jun thought. The soft, long eyes were beautiful. The high, prominent nose bridge was beautiful. He truly was a beautiful man.
“Ah…”
Lee A-gon let out a low moan and collapsed. Hae-jun quickly caught and held him. Along with him, the wasteland faded out like a film, replaced by a city back alley with a steady drizzle.
Before he knew it, Lee A-gon was in Hae-jun’s embrace, wearing a black turtleneck and a dark jacket. This was the final appearance of Kim Jae-hyun in Reaching Love.
“Hyung. They say when a person dies, there’s reincarnation. Then even if I’m reborn, I’ll find you and stay by your side until I die. Hyung, I…”
Lee A-gon smiled with bloodied lips.
“No matter what I’m reborn as, I’ll come to you. If I become a butterfly, I’ll flutter my wings and find you; if I become a bird, I’ll fly swiftly to you. Even if I’m reborn as a lowly creature with no eyes or feet, I’ll come to you.”
Hae-jun bit his lip and pulled Lee A-gon tightly into his embrace.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“I’ll come to you, so please wait for me.”
“No. I won’t wait. So you can’t die. Please.”
Hae-jun desperately clung to Lee A-gon, who kept threatening to slip away. Lee A-gon’s feet were crumbling. Both feet, as if melted by the carnivorous plant. The blood flowing down Lee A-gon’s forehead also grew increasingly heavy.
Hae-jun felt a violent pain. It was a pain as if someone was roughly tearing apart the stitches of his barely mended heart. Seeing this child suffer hurt him just that much.
“Let’s die together.”
Hae-jun brought his lips to Lee A-gon’s. After all, in the real world, once Lee A-gon died, he too was destined to die.
They kept their lips pressed together, swallowing each other’s tears. Once everything ended, this pain would disappear. This love too. Lee A-gon’s anxiety.
Even the wounds and lies I gave him.
“I can’t live in a world without you. Without you, I’ll die too. So I’ll come find you. This time, I’ll be the one to come to you.”
Hae-jun laughed while crying. The salty taste of tears felt like reality.
“Then I’ll really do well. I won’t tell you any lies. I won’t say bad things to you or belittle you, I’ll only love you… just as you are.”
The background screen, which had existed like a movie set, began to melt away with the rain. Lee A-gon’s physical body in the real world was reaching its limit. Hae-jun tightly held Lee A-gon’s hand and kissed his face, stained with tears and blood.
Suddenly, a single wing sprouted from Lee A-gon’s back. A wing also sprouted from Hae-jun’s back. The two fluttered their pair of wings, rising above the rain-drenched dawn city, parting the clouds and reaching the sky.
In the star-studded night sky, like grains of salt, they felt each other’s souls. Their souls were connected more deeply than ever before, allowing Hae-jun to use Lee A-gon’s hand as his own and see through Lee A-gon’s eyes as his own.
It was the same for Lee A-gon. He took the guiding energy from within Hae-jun’s body as if it were his own. The power of the Esper and the Guide completely merged into one force. It was as mysterious as a body being reassembled.
Hae-jun, who had been soaring as if it would never end, suddenly screamed in surprise as his body plummeted headlong. A-gon! He quickly grabbed Lee A-gon, trying to use his own body to disperse the impact of the fall.
But Lee A-gon was faster. He held Hae-jun to his chest and fell downward.
Tearing through the underside of the dome, Hae-jun and Lee A-gon first landed on the stem of the carnivorous plant before tumbling down to the ground. The impact was so great that even Hae-jun, who was completely protected by Lee A-gon, felt a pain as if his bones were breaking.
“A-gon!”
As the strength left Lee A-gon’s hands holding him, Hae-jun hurriedly got up. Lee A-gon lay collapsed, bleeding just as in the illusion. Hae-jun, trembling uncontrollably, placed his fingers under Lee A-gon’s nose.
“Hyung, convey…”
“What?”
Then Lee A-gon moved his lips slightly, trying to say something. Hae-jun quickly leaned in. Lee A-gon’s voice was faint, almost extinguished, and the surroundings were extremely noisy, so it took a considerable amount of time to understand his words. Only after a long while could Hae-jun comprehend what Lee A-gon was saying.
“You have to use your abilities!”
Finally understanding Lee A-gon’s words, Hae-jun shouted towards the Espers.
“Not guns! Use your Esper abilities! That’s the only way to kill that thing!”
No one heard him. Outside was still chaos. Gunfire still ran rampant, and Espers were being dragged away, screaming.
“Use your abilities! I said use your abilities! Use your…!”
He shouted desperately, but still, Hae-jun’s voice didn’t reach them. Hae-jun didn’t know what to do, only gasping for rough breaths.
Then, with a bang, the carnivorous plant’s stem approaching Hae-jun burst apart. Hae-jun stared wide-eyed at the dazzling petals of the carnivorous plant showering down upon him.
The commotion caught the attention of a few nearby Espers. As they approached him, Hae-jun spoke calmly.
“Use your abilities. Not guns. If you use your Esper abilities, you can defeat it.”
“Use our abilities?”
“Yes, like A-gon.”
At Hae-jun’s words, the Espers looked at Lee A-gon. Having squeezed out his last ounce of strength to use his ability, Lee A-gon’s legs had disappeared below the shins, and his entire body was covered in burn marks. He was barely breathing.
The Espers couldn’t move easily. Of course. They couldn’t believe their meager psychic powers would work against an entity that machine guns and grenades were useless against.
As the Espers hesitated, the carnivorous plant regained its momentum, extending its stems again.
Finally, one Esper moved. He stretched one hand forward and used his ability on the carnivorous plant. Then, with a smaller but definite explosion compared to Lee A-gon’s, the carnivorous plant’s stem broke off.
“What the.”
The severed stem of the carnivorous plant wriggled and crawled away. The carnivorous plant, having lost one stem, quickly retracted its stems and branches like a hand touching something hot.
“This works?”
Seeing this, another Esper also reached out towards the carnivorous plant. Soon after, a small flame erupted, burning the carnivorous plant’s petals. Though far inferior to a grenade, the carnivorous plant was clearly damaged.
“What. It does work?”
“Really?”
“So only our abilities work, not guns?”
The Espers were not accustomed to using their abilities. Their powers had been utterly insignificant until recently, and even those insignificant abilities were only to be used in the laboratory.
Espers with abilities to create flames or explosions hesitantly stepped forward.
Soon after, with popping sounds, the carnivorous plant’s stems burst apart. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t difficult either. Especially creating fire was the most effective.
As the flames ignited by the Espers burned its body, the carnivorous plant moved its roots, slowly fleeing.
Hae-jun plopped down. As the tension eased, a deathly fatigue washed over him. No more gunfire was heard. The carnivorous plant’s stems continued to extend, but the Espers, now knowing the method of defeat, no longer retreated.
“…Hyung.”
Then Lee A-gon called Hae-jun. Hae-jun leaned in to listen again.
“Yeah, A-gon. Speak.”
Lee A-gon’s voice was so small that Hae-jun had to almost press his ear to his lips. After doing so for a while, Hae-jun answered with tears welling up in his eyes.
“No, I won’t abandon you. It’s okay if you have no feet. I told you. Without you, I’ll die.”
“But…”
“But what but! I said! I’ll die without you!”