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In Minho's defense, he wasn't expecting a dragon.
Not that it was a particularly large one, mind you, but a dragon's still a dragon.
It took two days of traveling with the group before he even thought to ask Chan about what they were going after, and even then, he didn't get a clear answer. According to the contract, the client didn't really know exactly what was eating all of his cows and just put out a general call for assistance. Chan believed that their group could handle whatever it was, and if for some reason they couldn't, they could always flee and get backup. Minho had to assume Chan knew what he was talking about; he clearly knew more about what everyone was capable of than Minho did.
He was learning, though--not just their skills, but remembering their names, too. He overheard Hyunjin and Felix talking about their preferences for spells, and just a glance could tell him that Chan and Changbin would get up close and personal in a fight. He hadn't fully clocked the others' combat abilities yet, but there was time for that. He had a funny feeling that Jisung's squirrel was involved, somehow.
And now here they were, at the moment of truth, facing down a mass of white scales and sharp teeth. As expected, Chan and Changbin hadn't hesitated to rush forward, weapons drawn. They didn't even seem fazed at the fact that they were facing a fucking dragon. Hyunjin seemed to vanish, only for spells to flash into existence from the opposite side of the room. Felix kept himself positioned far enough away to be outside of immediate danger, but well within sightlines of everyone. Jeongin stayed close by, as if to protect him. Seungmin and Jisung kept darting in and out of the fray, and Minho could have sworn he saw that stupid squirrel make a leap at one of the dragon's eyes.
The party moved like a well-oiled machine. For a moment, Minho only stared as the dragon roared and swiped at them ineffectually. He'd never even seen a dragon this close before, and they were making short work of it. Did they really even need him there? What good were his fists going to be against dragon scales, anyway?
A blast of ice flew in his direction and he rolled out of the way. The movement brought him close by to Jisung, who did a double take.
"Get your head in the game!" Jisung yelled, before he called out Acorn's name and rushed back in towards one of the dragon's legs.
He was right, of course. There was no point in just standing around being useless. Even if his attacks did little to no damage, he could, at the very least, help be a distraction.
What would be the best target? Minho weighed his options and decided that if he was going to be distracting, he might as well go for the gold.
He waited for a moment when the dragon's tail stopped thrashing and leapt up onto it with light feet, running up and along its back, dodging the beating wings. He was pretty sure he heard someone yell out, "What the fuck is he doing?!" There was a gash on the side of the dragon's neck--from Chan's sword, most likely--and Minho dashed forward to jab his fingers into it as hard as he could. The dragon shrieked and tried to shake him off. He barely managed to keep his footing.
And then he noticed a little brown streak get flung from the dragon's head and start plummeting towards the ground.
He didn't think, just reacted. He threw himself forward, fingers reaching out and closing around the little bundle of fur in the air. The problem was, Minho now found himself coming up quickly towards the ground. Well, at least he'd probably survive the fall a lot easier. This group had a healer, right?
He did a tuck and roll to save himself from the worst of it. His hands still curled up close to his chest, and nestled inside, chittering away as if he didn't have a care in the world, was Acorn.
Minho noted that the squirrel was safe for the moment, then looked up to see Felix throwing a ball of fire directly down the dragon's throat. Between that and a massive blow from Changbin's hammer, the dragon slumped to the ground, defeated.
Minho blinked and suddenly Jisung was there; he had no idea how the other had run up to him so quickly.
"Is Acorn ok?!" Jisung was saying, seemingly on the verge of tears. Minho opened his hands. Acorn made a sort of squeaking noise, climbed up onto Minho's shoulder, and nibbled on his ear affectionately.
Jisung blushed. "Uh, he says thank you." He held up a hand for the squirrel to climb into and then transferred it to his own shoulder. "And me too. Thank you, I mean. You didn't have to do that. I thought you hated him."
Minho shrugged. "A little fall won't hurt me as much as it'll hurt him." Or you, he thought, if something bad happened to him.
"We all good here?" Chan asked, coming up to them. Minho and Jisung both nodded. Chan patted Minho on the shoulder and Minho could feel healing magic settle into his bones; he hadn't been very hurt in the fight at all, but what little damage had been done was now undone.
"Come on, let's get our proof and head back, then," Chan continued, then walked off, presumably to find some piece of the dragon to cart back to the guild hall.
Jisung was still standing there, staring at Minho.
"What?" Minho said. "Stunned by my beauty?"
Jisung didn't answer immediately. Then he said, "You're not so bad, actually." And then, like he was making himself do it before he lost the nerve, he quickly leaned forward and kissed Minho on the cheek.
Somehow, that made Minho feel more warm than the healing had.
"Don't read too much into that," Jisung hurried to say, clearly embarrassed. "That's just to thank you for saving Acorn. And nothing else. Nothing else at all." He ran off, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste to get away.
Minho watched him go and thought, Well, shit. I'm in trouble.