Chapter 38

[38] Oppa, I Miss You

Was it because Minjun’s Dragon Tongue was still incomplete?

Or was the imaginary space Minos had created simply that sensitive to how perfectly the Dragon Tongue was wielded?

Even though he had felt it—that he was close—the notification that he had met the dungeon’s clear conditions still hadn’t appeared.

And yet—

The boundless sky was splitting apart, and the soldiers and wyverns were twisting in grotesque ways.

Unlike before, this time he seemed unmistakably close to mastering the Dragon Tongue.

‘It worked…!’

Although the completion notification hadn’t appeared, if he kept this up, he’d soon be able to wield the Dragon Tongue perfectly.

Minjun screamed and shouted the words again and again.

“[Shatter into pieces without a trace!!!]”

At last, as the Dragon Tongue rang out once more, both Minos’s sword, planted in the ground, and Minjun’s sword shattered at the same time.

Clang!

A deafening crack rang out from the fractured sky.

The soldiers and wyverns, no longer able to hold their shapes, turned back into crimson-black smoke and scattered in every direction.

As if trying to conceal the cracks, the sky quickly began to turn black.

Clutching the broken Dragon Bone Sword, Minjun stared blankly up at the sky.

He must have had an extraordinary stroke of luck. Still, how could he have managed to wield the Dragon Tongue so quickly?

“Still, this thing’s broken.”

Minjun’s gaze shifted from the split sky to the Dragon Bone Sword.

This was where it had all begun: the Dragon Bone Sword Xia had given him as a gift.

It had seemed like the kind of sword that wouldn’t break under any ordinary impact. And yet it had snapped so easily.

‘I wonder if it can be fixed.’

What if Xia felt sad that the gift she’d given him was broken in two?

Now that the tension had eased, all sorts of thoughts were coming to him.

And finally—

A notification announcing the dungeon’s completion appeared before Minjun’s eyes.

Then, in the space now swallowed by darkness, an exit leading back to Earth appeared.

“Ugh…”

He had cleared the Gate, but the pain throughout his body still hadn’t gone away.

Perhaps he had used up too much strength. His breathing grew ragged, and his mind began to fade.

Exhausted, Minjun trudged toward the exit, carrying the broken sword in one hand.

‘What was Minos thinking when he saw me manage to use the Dragon Tongue?’

No, wait.

He could have congratulated him. Or at least acted surprised out of courtesy, since he probably hadn’t expected Minjun to succeed.

In any case, once he passed through the exit, the scenery he’d seen before entering the Gate came into view.

Only then did Minjun finally realize he had cleared it.

‘What about the others?’

If the Gate had been cleared, the other people trapped inside should have come out too. But there was no sign of the other Hunters.

Just as he began to worry that something might have gone wrong, the Gate opened, and the members of the raid team who had entered the dungeon with him began to emerge one by one.

“Minjun!”

As soon as he came out of the Gate, Taeseong spotted him and hurried over, calling his name with relief.

The other Hunters crowded around behind him.

“Are you okay?”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Thank goodness. What happened?”

The Hunters gathered around Minjun in small groups, asking if he was all right and what had happened after he fell. They said they’d been worried something might have gone wrong.

But Minjun wasn’t in any condition to answer their questions one by one.

He looked perfectly fine, without a single scratch, but the pain that had built up during the Gate’s challenge made it hard even to stand.

Seeing how pale Minjun looked, Taeseong helped support him and asked with concern,

“Are you feeling unwell? Should we go to the hospital right now?”

But it would take quite a while to get to a hospital, and no doctor there would know anything about the side effects of wielding the Dragon Tongue.

Going to Rokan’s lair would be a better choice.

Rokan would know more about Minjun’s condition than any doctor.

He barely had the strength to answer. Forcing out what little energy he had left, Minjun spoke in a faint voice.

“…I’m sorry. I need to head back first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Minjun used his teleportation ring to teleport to Rokan’s lair.

“Ah…”

He wanted to call for Rokan and ask for help, but for some reason, Rokan was nowhere to be seen.

Had Minjun finally reached his limit?

He lost consciousness and collapsed where he stood.

The morning of the day Minjun set out to clear the dungeon called the “Garden of the Dragon Sword”—

As soon as Xia finished her call with Minjun, she teleported to Yangpyeong, where his parents lived.

She had originally planned to visit her future in-laws with Minjun.

‘If we’re together too long, Oppa might collapse.’

So she decided to visit his parents on her own first.

Normally, going to meet your future in-laws without your boyfriend wouldn’t be the usual thing to do.

But she didn’t feel uncomfortable about it at all.

When she was young, she had lost her entire family in an accident.

Minjun’s parents had treated her like their own daughter and given her so much love.

And although this was a little different, visiting Minjun’s parents today meant something else to her, too.

She had a secret purpose she couldn’t tell anyone.

“Mom! Dad! I’m here!”

As soon as she arrived, Xia cheerfully greeted Minjun’s parents.

The moment they heard her, they hurried over to welcome her.

“Oh, Xia! It’s been so long! How have you been?”

They welcomed her as though nothing had happened.

Minjun had told them that Xia, whom they’d believed had died a year ago, had miraculously returned to life recently.

Of course, they didn’t know that she had been reincarnated as a dragon in another world and had somehow made her way back to Earth.

Well, perhaps Minjun would be able to tell them someday, if he ever became a full-fledged dragon.

In any case, they had so much they wanted to ask Xia.

Like anyone else, they were curious about what had happened from the time of the accident until she returned to Earth.

But before Xia arrived, they had agreed not to bring up the accident in the Gate.

Most of the few people who had returned to Earth after being trapped in Gates, like Xia, had spoken in interviews about the terrible experiences they’d endured.

Neither of them wanted to mention it and risk bringing back her trauma.

“Yes. Have you both been well, too?”

“Of course!”

For Minjun’s parents, seeing Xia again was surely special. But for Xia, this was her first time seeing them since her reincarnation, so the reunion meant even more.

After greeting them, she handed over the gifts she had brought.

“And I bought these because they made me think of you both.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to bring anything. You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble. By the way, Xia, have you had breakfast?”

“No.”

“The food’s almost ready, so just wait a little.”

“I was really hungry, too. Thank you!”

A little while later, they laid out a feast so generous it nearly broke the table.

As soon as the food was served, Xia couldn’t hide her amazement.

“Wow. How do you manage to make so much, Mom?”

“I made all this because you were coming. If it isn’t enough, just say so.”

They began their meal in a warm, cheerful atmosphere.

As they ate, the three of them chatted about all the things they hadn’t had a chance to talk about.

There was plenty of food, and they had a lot of catching up to do, so the meal went on for a long time.

As the long meal finally began to wind down, Xia asked,

“Mom, Dad, do you have any photo albums at home?”

“You mean the ones with old film photographs?”

“Yes.”

Xia took a photo scanner she had bought the day before out of her bag.

“This is called a photo scanner. It turns film photos into digital files. If we scan the pictures, you’ll be able to look at them whenever and wherever you want.”

“Oh, they make things like this now? That’s amazing.”

They both seemed fascinated by the unfamiliar device.

“I can scan them for you. Is that all right?”

“Of course. Since you’re here, we may as well look through the albums for the first time in ages.”

Minjun’s father went to the back of the wardrobe and brought out several thick photo albums. Xia hurried over and sat beside him.

“Xia, Minjun hasn’t shown you these albums, has he?”

“No! I’ve been wanting to see them for ages. This is perfect.”

Offering to scan the photos was just an excuse. This was her real purpose: looking through Minjun’s old pictures.

And, while she was at it, converting them into digital files so she could secretly keep copies for herself.

That was why she had brought two USB drives with her.

One was for the files she’d give to Minjun’s parents.

The other was for secretly copying the scanned photos so she could keep them for herself.

“I wonder if Minjun will get upset later when he finds out we showed you these without telling him.”

“If you both keep it a secret, I’ll keep my mouth shut, too.”

With a playful smile, she placed her index finger against her lips.

“Of course. We can do that.”

Minjun’s mother opened one of the thick photo albums, and Xia snuggled up beside her to look through Minjun’s old pictures.

“This was taken when Minjun was less than a week old.”

The first photo that caught their eyes showed baby Minjun, without so much as a diaper, crying with his face scrunched up.

“…It would’ve been embarrassing if Minjun were here.”

Even if he’d been a newborn, he was completely naked in the picture.

“Hehe. That’s why I came by myself, without Oppa. I thought he wouldn’t let me see them if he were here.”

“Then is that why you brought the scanner? So you could look at Minjun’s pictures?”

Minjun’s father pointed at the photo scanner. Xia beamed and gave a playful nod.

“Yep. You caught me.”

“Oh, my.”

Minjun’s parents naturally assumed she was joking, so they laughed it off.

Besides, anyone could tell from her tone that she was teasing.

But did they know?

That she wasn’t joking at all?

“Still, our Oppa was so cute even as a newborn!”

At Xia’s comment, the two of them looked a little flustered.

“Well… Minjun is handsome now, sure, but honestly, he wasn’t especially cute as a baby.”

“Looking back, I was really worried when he was first born.”

They told her that at first, he had looked like an ugly little potato, and they’d worried about what he would look like when he grew up. Fortunately, as time passed, his features had become more defined, and he’d grown into his looks.

“You know what they say: the ugly babies grow up to be beautiful or handsome. That was Minjun.”

“He’s still cute to me. Cute enough to bite.”

After that, they kept turning the pages of the album, forgetting all about scanning the photos.

Minjun’s mother reminisced as she explained each picture to Xia, telling her when and where it had been taken.

Xia was overjoyed to see pictures of Minjun’s childhood that she’d never seen before.

And before long, she’d have scanned copies of them saved on her own USB drive.

Her heart began to flutter at the thought.

To her, the album was a precious treasure, worth more than anything.

As they turned the pages, the pictures moved on from Minjun’s baby days to his toddler years.

There was Minjun in a bright yellow hat and a kindergarten uniform to match, awkwardly making a V sign.

There was Minjun smiling brightly on a family trip.

And then—

“When Minjun was little, he worked as a child model. Isn’t he adorable? This girl here is Yuna. She used to model with Minjun.”

Xia knew. She already knew.

She’d even met Yuna not long ago.

Though they were already acquainted, Xia played along smoothly, pretending she’d never seen her before.

As they continued turning the pages, she spotted pictures of Minjun and Yuna together now and then.

The problem was that in most of those pictures, Yuna was all over Minjun—hugging him, pretending to kiss him, or posing with her arms around him.

Some people might say there was no need to read anything into a little kids’ kiss, but Xia couldn’t look at those pictures without feeling a little put out.

There was even a photo of Minjun and Go Yuna from their days as child models.

The moment Xia spotted it, the smile on her face began to fade.

Minjun’s mother, unaware of Xia’s expression, excitedly explained the photo.

“You and this girl must’ve been pretty close, Oppa.”

“Of course. When they were little, Yuna followed Minjun around everywhere like a little shadow.”

“Oppa must’ve been popular with girls even back then.”

Xia did her best to suppress the feeling rising in her chest and answered with a calm expression.

“He sure was. I’m not just saying that because he’s my son. Girls used to follow him around all the time.”

She’d suspected as much, but hearing it directly from Minjun’s parents was another matter.

‘That woman really did like Oppa even when they were kids.’

No wonder.

She’d had a bad feeling from the moment they first met.

Go Yuna’s feelings for Minjun had surely lasted to this day.

Xia didn’t know when or how, but her instincts told her that Go Yuna would approach Minjun and try to charm him like a fox.

If so—

‘I can’t just sit back and do nothing.’

She decided she needed to come up with a plan, starting now.

After looking through the album for a long while, Xia scanned the pictures one by one and saved copies to two separate USB drives.

One was for Minjun’s parents. The other, of course, was for her to look through in secret.

She casually slipped one of the USB drives into her subspace, then handed the other to Minjun’s mother.

“Here you go! You can view the files on a laptop or save them on your phone. If you have any trouble, just ask me anytime.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“Hehe.”

They weren’t married yet, but Minjun’s parents knew it was only a matter of time before the two of them tied the knot. So they naturally called Xia their daughter-in-law.

And Xia loved being called that.

Even after converting the film photos into digital files, she spent a lovely time chatting with Minjun’s parents and helping with chores, as if she were visiting her own family home.

Then time passed.

Before she knew it, the time had come for Minjun to finish clearing the Gate and come out.

According to Minjun, all he had to do to clear the Gate he’d entered was survive inside for three hours.

That meant the time it would take to clear this particular “dungeon” was practically set from the moment they entered.

The time Minjun had mentioned was drawing near. He’d said on the phone that morning he would call her as soon as he finished.

He should be calling soon.

“Mom, Dad, I should get going.”

“All right. Come visit again soon. And let me know if you need any side dishes.”

“Yes, Mom! I’ll be off now. I’ll come visit again with Oppa soon!”

Still cheerful to the end, she left the house and returned to her lair, her heart full of anticipation.

As soon as she got back, she waited for Minjun’s call, clutching her phone without even changing her clothes.

But—

More than thirty minutes passed after the time they’d agreed on, and no call came.

‘…Why hasn’t he called?’

Normally, she would’ve assumed that the Gate challenge had taken longer than expected and that he couldn’t call that day.

Gates were full of all sorts of unpredictable variables, so the time needed to clear one could vary greatly depending on the circumstances.

But the place Minjun had gone today was a dungeon with a clear, fixed condition: survive for three hours.

“What if… something happened?”

No. That couldn’t be.

Maybe his phone battery had died and he was charging it.

Or he might have dropped or broken his phone during a battle.

Xia tried to calm her heart by coming up with reasonable explanations.

But—

‘…Still, he should’ve contacted me by now.’

Even if all those things had happened, Minjun had the teleportation ring Rokan had given him.

He could have used it to get to Rokan’s lair and contacted her through him.

If he still hadn’t called—

Something had definitely happened.

She didn’t want to believe it, but there was only one possibility left.

“No. That can’t be…”

With a blank expression, she immediately used a mana-tracking spell to locate the Gate Minjun had entered.

As soon as she found the Gate he’d gone to clear, she teleported straight to it.

The Gate had not yet been cleared.

Her hand trembling, she reached toward it and checked its information.

Then—

[Rank: EX
Clear condition: Reach the lowest level of Minos’s Tomb and wield the Dragon Tongue (0/1)]

“I-I thought they said it was a D-rank Gate…”

It was uncommon for a Gate’s rank to change suddenly, and it was extremely rare for one to become EX-rank.

And why was the clear condition “wield the Dragon Tongue,” of all things?

That meant Minjun couldn’t leave the Gate until he managed to wield it.

The moment she understood that—

She dropped to the ground, her face vacant.

“Ah… Ahhh…”

Unable to accept the reality before her, she covered her face with both hands and wailed.

It couldn’t be.

No matter how talented Minjun was—talented enough to earn Rokan’s praise—there was no way he could already wield the Dragon Tongue.

So—

She had no choice but to accept it.

Even if Minjun somehow managed the miracle of clearing this Gate one day, he would only come out… after a very, very long time.

Her legs gave way. Sobbing, she contacted Rokan.

When he received her call, he rushed over to her.

“Shasha, what’s wrong?”

“Grandpa, hic… Oppa… Hic…”

Through her tears, Xia explained what had happened to Rokan.

She clung to the faint hope that her grandfather, an ancient dragon, might know what to do.

But even Rokan, an ancient dragon, had no solution. He lowered his head heavily.

“…I’m sorry.”

No matter how powerful Rokan was, and no matter that Xia had managed to create a spell for traveling between dimensions—

Some things were impossible.

The Gate was a mysterious entity that even dragons had never fully understood.

When even that faint hope disappeared—

Overcome by the shock, Xia fainted where she stood.