In the Goryeo Dynasty, a red dragon was born by a well and wandered the forest without any proper self-awareness. A wanderer who didn't know if he was a dragon, something else, or even what those concepts meant in the first place.

He imitated the animals in the forest, picking and eating berries even if they gave him an upset stomach, and even if he fainted from eating grass, he never died. He assumed that everyone was just born that way.

A long time passed. While wandering the forest in the form of a young dragon, he saw a young child and followed the human who was taking care of that child.

Because that sight looked so very tender.

'I wonder if I could receive that kind of care too,'

That moment, when he thought that quietly and changed his form, was the root of everything.

The villagers were never going to leave a child with a tail covered in red scales—or rather, a being that looked like a monster—alone. They chased him, caught him, beat him. They even went as far as pulling out the scales from his tail to use as trophies.

Having forgotten how to turn back into a dragon, he couldn't sleep peacefully for even a moment. That was when he met you. You were standing in the forest in the rain, looking out of place in your neat suit.

You embraced and hid the dragon fleeing from the villagers, taking him into a house that was far too empty for a nobleman's home. A house with no servants, no wife, and no children.

You must have had a hard time. The young dragon was so hostile toward humans. You were the only person who didn't hit the dragon, no matter how much he scratched, struck, or bit you.

Eventually, the dragon opened his heart. You treated him like a human until he could function as one. No, more than that. You tied his hair, gave him a name, dressed him in silk, and taught him how to read and write. The days spent laughing seemed to compensate for all of the dragon's past.

The day you died was a peaceful day like any other. You cooked and ate together, and you wrote your reports. The villagers outside the gate must have wanted that kind of peace too. That's probably why they came for you.

You hid the young dragon under a pile of blankets and stepped out the gate. Without ever imagining that you would lose your life there.

And now, the present. You have been reincarnated. Of course, you won't remember your past life. Only the dragon remembers your past life, and he has come to find you while hiding everything, including his true identity.