The Silver-Haired Elf's Pillar Husband?
Siwoo opened his eyes to the dawn of the otherworld.
The twin moons’ light filtering through the window had already grown pale.
Liria was breathing quietly against his arm. Her silver hair spilled across his chest, and her white skin glowed faintly in the moonlight.
He carefully eased himself up. In her sleep she clutched at his clothes for a moment, then let go. Siwoo gathered his clothes, dressed, and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. He whispered into the space between her sleeping breaths.
“I’m heading out first. Lock the door properly.”
He followed the stone path back to the wall where the door stood. It was still open. Siwoo stepped across the threshold and returned to the convenience store’s storage room. Familiar fluorescent light and the cool breath of the air conditioner brushed his face. He shut the door, locked it, and pushed the shelf back into place.
The clock showed a little past four in the morning. Siwoo sat at the counter and let out a long breath. Liria’s warmth and scent still clung to his clothes. The moment he returned to reality, though, the work waiting for him rose clearly in his mind.
The gold coins and silver coins he had collected over time had piled up considerably. What he had hidden at home, plus what he had stashed in a corner of the store’s storage room, added up to a serious amount. Siwoo made his decision. Today he would exchange them again.
When afternoon came he pretended to run the convenience store alone without any part-timer, while in truth he sorted gold coins in the storage room. He took only as many as would fit in his pockets. Moving too much at once was dangerous.
Evening arrived and he sent a short text to the buyer.
Siwoo hurried through closing. He locked the glass door, double-checked the storage room door, and stepped out into the alley.
In front of the Nonhyeon-dong Motel, a man in black clothes waited under a dim streetlamp. When Siwoo approached, the man scanned the surroundings and slipped into the alley. The exchange of gold coins, the quick check with a loupe and a specific-gravity scale—everything moved fast. The man nodded.
“Purity’s good again this time. I’ve got the cash ready.”
A black envelope passed into Siwoo’s hands. He checked the contents quickly and tucked the envelope inside his clothes. The man spoke in a low voice.
“More people are taking an interest in these gold coins lately. Don’t move them too often.”
Siwoo answered briefly.
“Understood.”
He left the place and returned to the convenience store, sat at the counter, and opened the envelope. Thick stacks of cash caught the fluorescent light. Siwoo put the money back into the envelope and hesitated for a moment at the thought of hiding it under the bed. The more this money grew, the greater the reason to protect the door’s secret.
He looked out the window and muttered.
“Just a little more… carefully.”
The night of Gangnam’s entertainment district glittered the same as always.
Siwoo went home and opened the space under the bed. He pulled out every bit of cash he had exchanged and saved until now, plus today’s envelope, and spread it all across the mattress. Counting bill by bill, the total came to roughly 180 million won.
He sat staring blankly at the piles of cash. A man who had graduated from a third-rate university, bounced between construction work and part-time jobs, and barely managed to open a single convenience store now held this much cash in his hands.
Siwoo slowly put the money back into envelopes and hid them deep under the bed. Then he sat at his desk and took out the business card the building owner had given him long ago.
The building that housed the convenience store was an old, small commercial building tucked in an alley of Gangnam’s entertainment district. The first floor held the convenience store and a couple of tiny shops; the second and third floors were run as one-room studios.
Siwoo picked up his phone and texted the owner.
Siwoo stared at the screen and let out a long breath.
5.8 billion. With the 180 million he had now, even the deposit would be tight. But if the door kept working and gold coins kept coming in steadily… the number was not completely impossible. A picture formed in his head—raise the deposit, split the intermediate payments, finance the rest with a loan.
He looked out the window. Gangnam’s night stretched before him. He murmured low.
“It’s about time… to start moving properly.”
The next afternoon, Siwoo opened the convenience store and, during the quiet stretches, left the storage-room door unlocked. Whenever the door trembled he locked the glass entrance and went to greet whoever came through. Liria came. Seraphin showed her face briefly. Siwoo accepted gold coins and silver coins and ran the numbers in his head. As long as this door held, buying a 5.8-billion-won building could become reality.
When evening arrived he contacted the building owner again.
“Boss, could we meet this weekend and talk things over?”
The owner readily set a time. Siwoo hung up, sat at the counter, and gazed out the window. The neon of Gangnam’s entertainment district lit up one by one. His convenience store might no longer remain a simple rented shop.
Feeling the weight of the gold coins in his pocket, Siwoo smiled quietly.
“Now… it begins.”
The following day, during another quiet afternoon, Siwoo left the storage-room door open again. When it trembled he locked the glass door and stepped inside. He opened the door and found Liria standing there. Today, instead of gold and silver coins, she carried a small wooden box.
She opened the lid and spoke.
“Siwoo, today I brought something other than gold coins. These have value in my world… but I don’t know how they fare in yours.”
Inside the box lay a few small jewels, a strangely glowing stone, and things that looked like dried herbs. Liria explained them one by one.
“This is a crystal imbued with mana. In our world it’s used to craft magical tools, and nobles favor it. This is a rare herb especially effective for healing wounds. And this… is a tiny fragment of dragon scale. It’s genuine.”
Siwoo examined each item in turn. They took up less space than gold or silver coins, yet their potential value looked solid. The crystal and the scale, in particular, could fetch serious money in the real world if properly appraised.
He asked,
“I can take these too. I’ll just need to figure out how to turn them into cash.”
Liria smiled brightly.
“Then from now on I won’t have to insist only on gold coins. I hope they help you, Siwoo.”
She handed him the box and stepped closer.
“And… may I stay a little longer today?”
Siwoo confirmed the glass door was locked and nodded. Liria slipped naturally into his arms. Silver hair spilled over his sleeves. She buried her face against his chest and whispered,
“After sleeping at your place yesterday… I wanted to see you even more.”
When Siwoo wrapped his arms around her waist, Liria lifted her head and met his lips. As the kiss deepened, her hands slid under his clothes. The two of them moved slowly deeper into the storage room.
Liria untied the strings of her dress herself, revealing white skin. Siwoo lifted her onto a crate, encircled her waist, and drew her close. She freed him with her hand and stroked him slowly as she spoke.
“Siwoo… put it inside me again today.”
She parted her legs and guided him. When Siwoo entered her slowly, Liria let out a thin moan and clutched his shoulders.
“Haa… it feels good… Siwoo…”
They moved together slowly, yet deeply. Liria wrapped her arms around his back and matched the roll of his hips. Every time her insides tightened hotly around him, Siwoo’s breath grew heavier. She brought her lips to his ear and whispered,
“Siwoo… I love you… As long as this door exists… I want to stay by your side.”
Siwoo gripped her waist harder and quickened his pace; Liria’s moans rose. They held each other as they reached climax together. Liria buried her face against his neck and trembled finely. For a long while neither let go.
With her forehead resting on his chest she said softly,
“Next time I come… I’ll bring even more interesting things. Things that will help you.”
Siwoo stroked her back and answered,
“Don’t push yourself. Don’t bring anything dangerous.”
Liria nodded and gave his lips a short kiss. After straightening her clothes she walked toward the door.
“Siwoo… I’ll be waiting.”
Once Liria vanished and he locked the door, Siwoo sat at the counter and stared at the wooden box. Jewels, Magic Crystals, and dragon scale from the otherworld instead of gold and silver coins. How much they would be worth in reality, and how he could safely convert them to cash, had become a new problem.
He carefully stowed the box deep in the storage room and muttered,
“Gold coins alone might not be enough anymore.”
Outside the window, evening in Gangnam’s entertainment district deepened.
Siwoo brought the wooden box Liria had left home and examined it carefully. The Magic Crystal held a faint light; the dried herbs gave off a distinctive scent; the dragon-scale fragment was small, yet warm to the touch. He instinctively knew he could not show these things carelessly to outsiders. Gold coins could at least be cashed out as “gold,” but herbs, dragon scale, and Magic Crystals risked questions about their origin or strange rumors the moment a modern person saw them.
In the end Siwoo reached a conclusion. To turn these items into something usable in the modern world, he would need help from the otherworld side.
The next quiet afternoon, Siwoo left the storage-room door open and waited. When it trembled he locked the glass door and opened the portal. Liria was there. He immediately took out the wooden box and showed it to her.
“Liria. This… I don’t think I can handle it myself. Showing things like this in the modern world is more dangerous than helpful.”
Liria checked the box and nodded.
“I thought so… Even in our world we don’t show Magic Crystals or dragon scale to just anyone.”
Siwoo asked,
“Is there a way to change these into a form I can use in the modern world? Turn them into money, or into something modern people would value?”
Liria thought for a moment, then answered.
“It isn’t completely impossible. If we refine the Magic Crystal, we can make it into an extremely pure energy crystal. Analyzed with modern technology it would just look like a ‘special mineral.’ The dragon scale… if we grind it into powder or process it thin, it can pass as a rare metal alloy. The herbs I can extract and concentrate into a liquid for you. Packaged like modern medicine, they won’t draw as much attention.”
Siwoo’s eyes lit up.
“You can change them like that?”
Liria smiled faintly.
“I can’t do it myself. But I can ask someone I trust. Still… there will be a price. They might want something more precious than gold or silver coins.”
Siwoo considered, then nodded.
“Please ask. As long as it stays safe.”
Liria closed the box again and said,
“All right. I’ll bring the results next time. In return…”
She stepped closer and lightly caught the edge of his clothes.
“May I stay a little longer today?”
Siwoo confirmed the glass door was locked and wrapped his arms around her waist. Liria buried her face against his chest and laughed softly.
“Knowing you need me… makes me feel strangely happy.”
They kissed naturally. As the kiss deepened, Liria’s hands slipped inside his clothes. Siwoo led her deeper into the storage room. When she removed her dress herself, her body appeared white under fluorescent light rather than moonlight. Siwoo seated her on a crate and held her waist; she took hold of him and whispered,
“Siwoo… come inside me again today.”
When he entered her slowly, Liria moaned thinly and clutched his shoulders. They held each other and moved together slowly, yet deeply. Liria pressed her face to his back and matched the rhythm of his hips.
“Siwoo… it feels good… more…”
As climax neared she wrapped her arms around his neck and trembled. Siwoo came inside her as well. For a long while they did not let go of each other.
With her forehead against his chest Liria said quietly,
“Next time… I’ll bring them already changed into a form you can use.”
Siwoo stroked her silver hair and answered,
“Thank you. Don’t overdo it.”
Liria straightened her clothes and walked to the door. Before leaving she looked back and smiled.
“Siwoo… I’ll be waiting.”
Once the door closed and locked, Siwoo sat at the counter and let out a long breath. It was no longer only gold coins. The work of converting rare materials from the otherworld into forms usable in the modern world had begun. And at the center of it stood Liria.