Chapter 48

[48] Oppa, What’s That Photo?

How had I known the jewelry was made from her bones?

Sia had once carved one of her own bones into a sword for me, so I’d figured there was a chance she’d done the same thing again.

Even as I said it, I’d thought, surely it couldn’t be true. Unfortunately, my instincts were right.

I stared at the silvery-white ring on my finger, carved from Sia’s bone.

“...Ugh.”

I felt goosebumps all over.

At least the sword she’d given me had a handle, and I didn’t need to carry it around all the time, so I hadn’t felt too uncomfortable about it. But this time, the jewelry was in direct contact with my body.

Keep a straight face. Just keep a straight face.

I did my best to hide my feelings and turned to Sia.

She proudly held out her hand, wearing the ring made from her own bone.

“Since we’re doing this, should I make a few more matching rings?”

“...Huh?”

“I could make enough for all ten fingers, and then you could wear a different set depending on your mood. What do you think?”

Sia smiled innocently, but somehow that made it even more unsettling.

Just imagining wearing rings made from Sia’s bones on all ten fingers was enough to make me—

Ugh.

“I really appreciate the thought, Sia, but this is more than enough for me.”

“Come on, Oppa. Are you saying that because you think it’ll be hard for me? It’s no trouble at all.”

Completely misunderstanding me, Sia told me to hold out my hand. Then she took a photo of her ringed hand next to mine.

After that, she gently stroked the ring on my finger.

“And Oppa, try to wear the ring and necklace as much as you can. They contain a little of a dragon’s power, so they should help you, even if only a bit.”

I’d been planning to take them off whenever I wasn’t seeing Sia. The thought of wearing something made from her bones all the time made me uneasy.

But after hearing that, I couldn’t very well take them off.

I desperately wanted to make an excuse and say it would be difficult, but I couldn’t think of a good one.

All I could do was nod.

“I will. Thank you.”

I gave up and decided to do as Sia asked.

“Sia, hang on a second. I need to use the bathroom.”

“Okay!”

I escaped to the bathroom for a moment to get my thoughts back in order after the jewelry had thrown me off balance.

In the mirror, the striking silvery-white ring and necklace glittered conspicuously.

Maybe I’d get used to them someday, like I had with the Dragon Bone Sword.

I was so worried she might hear me sigh that I couldn’t even let myself sigh freely.

I gave my cheeks a light pat and tried to compose myself.

‘They’re just accessories. Accessories that are good for me. They feel a little strange, but I’ll get used to them soon.’

After giving myself a pep talk in the mirror, I left the bathroom.

But just as I thought I’d pulled myself together—

“Oppa.”

Another problem came up.

Sia held out a film photo to me.

It was the four-shot photo we’d taken the other day, when I’d met Yuna. We’d taken it right before saying goodbye.

I’d taken the photo with me back then, but hadn’t known what to do with it, so I’d just left it alone.

If it had been a photo of just me and Yuna, I wouldn’t have hesitated to throw it away.

Actually, we probably wouldn’t have taken a photo together in the first place.

But both our mothers were in the picture, too, so it felt awkward to just toss it.

‘Why did I forget about this?’

I’d known Sia might come over today.

I’d thought she probably wouldn’t like seeing the photo, but I’d forgotten to put it away somewhere.

“What’s this photo?”

One problem after another.

Sia’s chilly gaze sent a shiver down my spine.

“Uh… that…”

My mind went blank.

How could I answer and get through this?

Would it be best to be honest again?

Or was there some better way?

The weather was fairly cool, but for some reason, I felt sweat trickling down my back.

After thinking it over, I decided that telling the truth was probably my best option again.

Yuna had suggested taking the photo, and the situation had made it hard to refuse.

Besides, Yuna wasn’t the only person in it, so it felt awkward to throw it away.

But being honest might not be enough.

What I did next was important.

I rummaged through a drawer, found a permanent marker, and started blacking out Yuna’s face in the photo.

Sia looked startled by my sudden move, but she didn’t try to stop me.

It might’ve looked a little odd, but as far as I could tell, this was the best thing to do.

The more of Yuna’s face I covered, the more Sia’s stern expression softened into a smile. Once she seemed to have calmed down, I finally felt relieved.

After carefully blacking out Yuna’s face, I wondered what to do with the photo. Then I handed it to Sia.

“I probably won’t look at this much, and it’ll just make me feel uncomfortable having it around. Do you want it?”

“Sure, I’ll take it.”

At my offer, Sia put the photo in her pocket without hesitation.

Only after everything was over could I finally relax.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but ever since I’d run into Yuna again, these sorts of things seemed to keep happening.

‘What did I do to deserve this?’

This was exhausting. So exhausting.

How had things gone so wrong?

We’d had a few little—“little”—incidents, but we still made the most of our longer date and brought it to a sweet close.

The day after our date, I had lunch plans with Rokan.

Ever since he’d reunited with his granddaughter in this unfamiliar world, Rokan had often invited either Sia or me over for lunch. Perhaps he found it lonely to eat by himself.

There was still some time before our appointment, so I browsed the internet to pass the time.

As expected, the news about yesterday’s Gate Break was all over the web.

‘Well, of course.’

An S-rank, nearly catastrophic Gate Break in the middle of Seoul was headline news on its own.

Add in the fact that one person had stopped it alone, without a single casualty, and there was no question it would make the news.

I scanned the headlines one by one.

S-Rank Monsters Appear in Central Seoul, Yet ‘Zero Casualties’? Unknown Hunter’s ‘Heroic Effort’

Who Stopped the Gate Break? Authorities ‘Investigating’

[Video] Wyvern Massacre: Another Rising Hunter Appears in Korea?

Countless more articles were pouring in, each with an explosive number of views.

After reading through them, I figured that if people discovered Sia was at the center of it all, it would cause her a lot of trouble.

I went to YouTube and watched the videos of Sia’s battle from the day before.

The limits of the recording equipment meant none of the footage showed her clearly, but you could still see her fighting in vivid detail.

After replaying the videos several times, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

If I learned to use Dragon Speech and control a dragon’s power freely, could I show that kind of strength, too?

I couldn’t imagine it.

Me wielding such overwhelming power.

‘But it’s not impossible.’

I was growing stronger all the time, and the Dragon Lord himself had acknowledged me.

I looked through the comments, too.

Plenty of people wanted to know who Sia was.

They wondered where such a rising star had come from. Some said she could become one of Korea’s leading Hunters. Others commented that even the poor image quality couldn’t hide how beautiful she was.

They weren’t talking about me, but seeing all those positive comments about my girlfriend made me feel proud.

It almost felt like I was the one being praised.

I wondered how things would unfold from here.

No one was likely to discover Sia’s identity, but I was still curious about what might happen next.

I wondered if Rokan had seen the news, too.

The time for our lunch appointment had arrived, so I teleported to Rokan’s lair, my mind full of random thoughts.

As soon as I arrived, I saw a lavish lunch spread out before me.

“Thank you for inviting me, Lord Rokan.”

“I should be thanking you. My son-in-law has come to keep an old man company.”

After greeting each other warmly, we started eating.

Naturally, we began talking about what had happened the day before.

“Lord Rokan, did you see the news?”

“You mean the Gate Break? The one Shasha stopped yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Of course he knew. It was news about his granddaughter, after all.

“At first, I wondered if she’d gotten involved in something she didn’t need to. But then Shasha told me she’d been on a date with you nearby.”

“Yes.”

Sia had already told him the basics, but I explained what had happened in more detail.

Rokan nodded as though he understood.

“So that’s why she did it. Our kind doesn’t usually interfere in human affairs.”

“I have a question. If you’re a dragon, couldn’t you stop all the Gate Breaks around the world?”

“I could, but there’s no reason I should. Gates are your humans’ concern.”

“Even if you could save so many lives…?”

If I had as much power as Rokan, what would I do?

I thought I’d try to use it to help the world, even a little.

But Rokan saw it differently.

“That’s your concern. To be blunt, I’m not very interested in human lives.”

“Well…”

I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.

“I wouldn’t care if a disease spread through this world or a Gate broke open. My only concerns are experiencing new worlds and making sure Shasha is safe.”

Maybe I’d gotten too comfortable around him because he usually seemed like such a kind grandfather.

From a dragon’s perspective, perhaps we were just curious little creatures.

Just as we wouldn’t care much if a few ants died, dragons might not care much about humans dying, either.

Thinking about it, I still didn’t understand dragons very well.

If I wanted to fully wield a dragon’s power someday, perhaps I’d need to understand and accept their values to some extent.

I sat silently, lost in thought. Maybe Rokan thought I was upset, because he added,

“Of course, I care about your safety, too. You’re the person our Shasha loves. If you’re happy, she’ll be happy. If you get hurt, she’ll be sad.”

He added that I shouldn’t take his words too much to heart.

It seemed he had a cute side to him, too.

Anyway, we talked about Sia and all sorts of other things, and before long, we’d finished eating.

I’d had lunch and come all the way to Rokan’s lair.

There was only one thing left for me to do.

“Lord Rokan, if you have time, I’d like to ask you for a spar.”

Of course I wanted to spar.

But Rokan declined, saying he couldn’t today.

“I’m sorry. I have something to take care of today.”

“Ah… I understand. Then please spar with me another time, whenever you’re free.”

After all, he’d already been generous with his time. It wasn’t as though Rokan was a person—or a dragon—who had to set aside time to spar with me every day. I’d been taking it for granted that he’d always be available.

In any case, that left me with an awkward stretch of free time.

Should I train by myself in the lair? Or should I look for a Gate I could clear?

As I tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the afternoon, Rokan made an unexpected suggestion.

“Min-jun, would you be interested in going in for another Hunter rank assessment?”