Chapter 40

[40] Oppa, I Heard About Your “Thing”

‘How long was I asleep?’

I let out a huge yawn, then turned on the phone beside my bed to check the time.

It was already past eleven.

I’d gone to bed around ten last night, which meant I’d slept for thirteen hours.

Even after sleeping that long, I was still exhausted. The side effects of overusing the Dragon Tongue seemed to be worse than I’d expected.

After checking the time, I looked at my phone.

As expected, I had a lot of missed calls.

I’d been unconscious for hours, after all.

Yesterday, I hadn’t had the energy to contact anyone, and my phone had run out of battery, so I hadn’t been able to receive any calls either.

Normally, I’d start the day with a sweet phone call with Xia, but…

I thought it would be better to take care of a few things first, so I could focus on talking to her without any distractions.

So I called Taeseong, the leader of the raid team for the Garden of the Dragon Sword.

The call connected almost as soon as I tapped the button.

“Minjun! Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

We’d only met for the first time that day, but I’d disappeared without a word after acting strangely. Of course he’d been worried.

His voice sounded angry, but I could hear the relief beneath it.

I apologized and explained why I’d had no choice.

I couldn’t tell him about Rokan, of course, so I mixed the truth with a few lies.

I told him that I’d figured it would be more effective to get treatment from a healer I knew than to go to a hospital, and that I’d been unconscious and unable to contact anyone.

When I finished explaining, Taeseong seemed to accept it.

“…I see. Are you feeling any better now?”

“Yes. I think I just need to rest for a few days.”

“That’s a relief.”

Even though what happened wasn’t my fault, I still felt bad.

By the way, how was everyone else?

I’d been so out of it when I came out of the Gate that I hadn’t properly checked on them.

“Are you and the others all right, Taeseong?”

“We’re fine…”

When I asked about the raid team, Taeseong said that most of them had only suffered from exhaustion or minor injuries.

Considering the scale of what had happened in the Gate, the casualties were low. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

That was enough asking after everyone.

There were a few things I wanted to know, so I got straight to the point.

“By the way, Taeseong, what happened while I was gone?”

“…It was hell.”

The memory alone seemed to make him uneasy. He swallowed, then told me what had happened.

After the sudden accident separated me from the rest of the raid team and trapped us in different spaces, ghost-type monsters began pouring in from the other side.

They looked similar to the sword spirits we’d seen outside the tomb, but, like the other monsters inside, they glowed with a gloomy light. There were a lot of them, too.

The raid team was at a severe disadvantage in both strength and matchup. Taeseong and the others had realized it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out.

“But just as we were gritting our teeth and trying to hold on, an exit suddenly opened. We had no idea why, but does that really matter? What mattered was that we could get out alive.”

After that, they somehow escaped from the Gate. As soon as they came out, they ran into me, who had exited first. That was everything that had happened.

But as I listened, I noticed something strange.

“So the clear condition was never discovered?”

“No. It’s still a mystery. It’s not exactly normal for a dungeon Gate to be cleared when nobody knows what the conditions are.”

“Right.”

I was puzzled by the situation, but at the same time, I felt relieved.

It seemed that the others hadn’t found out about the Dragon Tongue.

But then—

“Do you happen to know what the clear condition was?”

“Huh?”

As if he’d read my mind, Taeseong asked a question that hit the mark.

“I was wondering if the clear condition had something to do with you, Minjun.”

Well, I had been at the center of most of the strange things that happened.

Anyone would have suspected me.

If we’d been talking face to face, he might have read the answer on my face.

“I… don’t really know either. I actually thought everyone else knew what the clear condition was and I was the only one who didn’t.”

In a situation like this, I had to pretend I didn’t know.

There was nothing to gain from letting other people find out about the Dragon Tongue.

Xia was one thing, but Rokan probably wouldn’t want the Dragon Tongue’s existence to become public knowledge.

“Could you tell me what happened to you during that hour?”

Wait.

One hour?

I’d been trapped in there for at least half a day.

And even that was a conservative estimate. It wouldn’t have surprised me if, from my perspective, even more time had passed.

There was no way all of that had happened in just one hour.

‘That makes no sense.’

I’d have to talk to Rokan about it later.

“…Minjun?”

I’d gotten caught up in my thoughts and forgotten to answer.

“Oh, sorry.”

Just like before, I’d have to lie to Taeseong again…

What could I say that he’d believe?

After thinking it through in an instant, I finally spoke.

“To be honest… I came to my senses outside the Gate. I’m sure something happened, but I don’t remember it clearly. I don’t know what went on, but by the time I got outside, I was on the verge of collapse.”

Even as I said it, I didn’t think he’d buy it.

If I were Taeseong, I’d be suspicious too.

My memory had suddenly cut off? It sounded like something a criminal would make up to deny everything.

“Well, I suppose that could’ve happened.”

But surprisingly, Taeseong accepted it without arguing.

Maybe he’d decided to let it go for now, whether I’d genuinely lost my memory or was hiding something.

Or maybe he figured it was possible, since so many unbelievable things had happened in that Gate.

Either way, I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“In any case, I’ll get in touch again soon. And if you feel worse before then, be sure to contact us.”

“Will do.”

I’d taken care of the urgent matter. Now it was time to call Xia.

I called Xia using the phone Rokan had set aside for me.

There was only one reason I used the phone Rokan had given me instead of my own.

This phone was connected to the screen.

The call had barely started ringing when Xia’s face appeared on the monitor.

“Good morning, Oppa! How are you today? Are you feeling any better?”

Since I’d called late, Xia wasn’t wearing her usual pajamas. She had on a hoodie and sweatpants instead.

Now that I thought about it, that hoodie looked like the one I’d given her before.

She must’ve found it comfortable, because she seemed to be getting a lot of use out of it.

“Yeah. Thanks to you. I think I’ll be fine after a little more rest.”

“Get better soon, Oppa. Hmph. I already miss you. I’m going to get tired of waiting.”

Maybe seeing me stuck in bed upset her, because Xia pouted cutely.

And no wonder. We used to be able to meet in person, even if it was only once a week.

But Rokan had said we needed to be cautious just in case, so he’d forbidden us from meeting this week.

Of course Xia and I were both even more disappointed that we couldn’t see each other.

“What were you doing, Xia?”

It didn’t look like she was dressed to go out.

“Oh, I was making something.”

“What?”

Xia held her index finger to her lips and gave me a lovely wink.

For some reason, I had a feeling she was making me a present.

If she weren’t, she wouldn’t have kept it a secret. That wasn’t like her.

So I decided not to ask any more questions.

“I was making abalone porridge for you, Oppa!”

Xia disappeared from the screen for a moment, then came back with a sealed container full of porridge.

“I’ll send it over now!”

“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”

The moment she finished speaking, the container that had been in her hands appeared right in front of me.

Magic really was convenient.

She could send something from distant Jeju Island to Taebaek, where Rokan’s lair was, in less than a second.

I set a small folding table on my bed and started eating the porridge Xia had made. Xia said she was just about to have lunch, too, so she brought her food over.

As expected, Xia’s lunch was tteokbokki.

We watched each other through the monitor and chatted as we ate.

We talked about everyday things, then about what had happened in the Garden of the Dragon Sword—the same story I’d already told Rokan.

While I was telling her about the dungeon, something occurred to me.

“This just came to mind, Xia. Was there ever an emperor in your world named Minos?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Just a second.”

Xia tilted her head at my question.

“I don’t know much about the continent’s history from three thousand years ago, but if we narrow it down to around the last three thousand years, there were a few. Still, I don’t think any of them was the person you’re talking about.”

She thought it over, then said she didn’t think there had been one.

Maybe Minos had lived in a different dimension from Xia, or perhaps he’d lived in the distant past.

I’d hoped she might know something that could shed light on the mystery of the Gate, so that was disappointing.

“What about emperors who wielded the Dragon Tongue? Were there any?”

“A few. Why? Are you curious?”

“Yeah. I thought it might help to hear about them.”

Like Minos, their stories might help me learn to handle dragon power in the future.

Xia told me about the lives of the emperors who had wielded dragon power.

Their stories were all different, but there was a strange similarity in the course of their lives.

After awakening to a new power, they became incomparably stronger and made their names as some of the continent’s greatest warriors.

Just like Minos.

“Were there any who went further than wielding dragon power and… wanted to become dragons themselves?”

“Hm? I don’t think so. If there had been someone like that…”

Xia trailed off and glanced at me.

Her expression made it obvious she was hiding something.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“What do you think would’ve happened if there had been someone like that?”

Xia rolled her eyes as she thought it over, then answered.

“No, I just think they wouldn’t have lived out their natural lifespan. You have a gift the others didn’t, Oppa. And Grandpa and I are helping you. Those people didn’t have that. They wouldn’t have known what they were doing, so they might’ve gone down the wrong path and damaged their health.”

It sounded similar to what had happened to Minos when his mana went into reverse.

In other words, if Minos had trained with the help of other dragons, his body might not have been damaged by mana backlash.

That meant I was safe from that particular danger, unlike the others.

Still, I didn’t think Xia would have hesitated so much just to tell me that…

Something about it bothered me, but I continued with what we’d been discussing.

I told her about my plans for training, more about the Gate, and even about our next date.

Of course, I deliberately avoided telling her anything that might upset her—like the fact that the Dragon Bone Sword was broken.

I could think about what to do after I heard from Rokan, one way or another.

Anyway, we were nearly done eating and still chatting when my mother called.

“Xia, hold on a moment. I’m going to answer my mother’s call.”

“Okay.”

After asking Xia to wait, I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Minjun, it’s Mom. How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Xia stopped by the house a few days ago. Bring her along next time you visit.”

Had she just wanted to hear her son’s voice after so long?

From the way she spoke, it sounded like she hadn’t heard what had happened in the dungeon.

Well, there was no good reason to tell her. I’d only lost consciousness; my life hadn’t been in danger. Xia probably hadn’t mentioned it to my parents.

We chatted for a while about Xia’s visit and a few other everyday things before Mom brought up something else.

“By the way, Minjun, do you remember Yuna from when you were little? The girl who used to work as a child model with you. Go Yuna.”

“Yes. I remember her…”

Why was she bringing up that older girl all of a sudden?

I hadn’t contacted Yuna even once since she gave me her number.

In fact, neither of us had the other’s number, so how could we have been in touch?

“Yuna’s mom called me for the first time in years. Yuna’s working in Korea now, and her mom came to visit her. It was nice to hear from her after so long.”

Something about the conversation felt off.

I tried to keep my voice casual and continued.

“Oh, really? I thought they’d settled down in the States.”

“Yuna’s family is still there, but she came back to Korea on her own to start a business. Her mom said you ran into each other recently?”

“Yes.”

“So Yuna’s mom suggested the four of us get together for a meal—you, me, her, and Yuna. What do you think?”

“Well…”

Before I could find a way to say no, Mom kept talking.

“Yuna’s mom really wants to see you. Do you remember how much she adored you? Now that she’s mentioned it, I’m curious to see how Yuna’s grown up, too. So, Minjun, when are you free?”

I wanted to turn it down because of Yuna and Xia, but I was in a difficult position.

If I went along with Mom’s suggestion, Xia would obviously get jealous. But if I refused, I’d feel bad about disappointing Mom.

I also remembered how much Yuna’s mother had doted on me when I was little, so I’d feel bad turning her down, too.

Should I just say I’d think about it and get back to her?

By the way, had I muted the phone connected to Xia’s screen?

‘…I didn’t?’

I’d meant to mute it so the call with my mother wouldn’t interrupt my conversation with Xia.

I wasn’t used to talking to one person through one phone while making a call on another, so I’d forgotten for a moment.

‘Still, she couldn’t have heard what Mom said.’

I wasn’t on speakerphone. There was no way Xia could have heard that much.

Or so I thought—until I looked at the screen.

Xia was staring at me with a very serious expression.

I mouthed, “Did you hear that?” She nodded without changing her expression.

Father—

If you’re watching me, tell me the right answer.