Chapter 28 — Oppa, Thanks for the Gift!
Chapter 28 — Oppa, Thanks for the Gift!
Translation: GodTL
Sia watched through the camera while I trained with the suppressor locked around my wrist. I drew power from the Dragon Bone Sword and pushed my will into my mana, feeling for the same impossible threshold I'd touched before. Every attempt carried the same quiet tension: too little, and nothing happened; too much, and the suppressor tightened around the power like a chain.
This time I wasn't blindly forcing energy out of the sword. I chased the memory of that aurora-colored light—its pressure, its exhilaration, the terrifying certainty that for a few seconds I could cut through anything in front of me. Dangerous or not, I would have to learn to call it deliberately someday.
"As you train like that, the power will naturally accumulate in the suppressor."
Rokan had also explained that the suppressor did more than restrain the power. It stored what it held back. For something that looked like an ordinary bracelet, it was absurdly sophisticated.
But one thing bothered me. "Wouldn't that make it even more dangerous?"
Rokan had already warned me that the power inside the sword could overwhelm me. Naturally, the idea of letting that same power accumulate inside a bracelet made me uneasy. If it all escaped at once, the result could be catastrophic. Fortunately, Rokan had anticipated exactly that concern.
"Normally, yes. That's why it took so long to make the suppressor safe. It was quite a tricky job."
So that was why it had taken longer than I expected, and why Rokan, an ancient Dragon, had looked so exhausted.
"In any case, you'll be able to use the power stored in the suppressor in an emergency."
He showed me how: feed a tiny amount of mana into the bracelet, then take it off. That was all.
"I don't know how much power that suppressor will eventually hold," Rokan had warned me, "but in theory, releasing it all at once could produce force even I would not want to take head-on."
"...Even you?" The answer turned the bracelet on my wrist from a safety device into something much more frightening.
"Then I should never use it unless I absolutely have to."
"Exactly. You use it only when the alternative is immediate death. The release itself is dangerous, and the backlash afterward will be worse."
Coming from an ancient Dragon, that warning carried more weight than any threat I'd heard from a human. I found myself staring at the bracelet as though it might explode if I breathed on it wrong.
"I hope I never have to use it."
"Indeed. Once the danger has passed, it would be best to put yourself to sleep."
"Me? Put myself to sleep?"
"Yes. You can't even use magic properly yet, let alone Dragon Words, so I'll give you an artifact that can cast Sleep."
I didn't understand why I'd need to put myself to sleep, but Rokan's explanation made it clear. According to him, the pain wasn't the only problem. Using the stored power might cause me to lose control as a side effect.
So this wasn't an emergency button. It was a last resort—the kind of thing you reached for only after accepting that the safer choices were already gone.
"Anyway, that's enough about the suppressor."
Once he'd finished explaining, I resumed training. But Sia had been strangely quiet for some time now...
She's not usually like this.
I turned toward the screen, sensing something was off.
"Ta-da!"
There she was, holding up a silver bracelet.
"Does it look about the same now?"
"Sia, did you...?"
Had she been quiet because she'd been making that bracelet without me knowing?
"Yours looked so pretty on you, I wanted one too. What do you think? Does it suit me?"
Looking pleased with herself, Sia turned her bracelet-clad wrist this way and that.
"It's pretty. Your grandfather did a good job with the design."
I glanced at Rokan. He was chuckling at his granddaughter's antics.
"Every time I see you two, I think the same thing. In all my years, I've never seen a couple so devoted to each other."
As soon as Min-jun's training ended and they hung up, Sia began trying on outfit after outfit in her dressing room, forgetting all about dinner.
Tomorrow was a date with Min-jun, but it was also the day they would have a meal with Junhwi, whose life Min-jun had saved, and Junhwi's older sister.
If I don't make an effort for a day like this, when will I?
She didn't know how pretty Kim Junhwi's sister was, or whether she had the kind of charm that captivated men. Better to be prepared for anything.
"Not this one either."
That was her tenth outfit.
"No, not this one."
Her twentieth.
"Maybe... this one?"
Her thirtieth. Only after changing her outfit a full thirty times did she finally find one she liked.
Then Sia began testing makeup for tomorrow. What look would bring out her best features while making any other woman think twice about setting her sights on Min-jun? She considered changing her appearance entirely with Polymorph, but she didn't think that was what Min-jun wanted. The best approach would be to keep her current face and somehow make herself breathtakingly beautiful. If only she could think of a way.
While she was busy applying and removing makeup with magic, Rokan came to her lair.
"Oh, Grandpa!"
As soon as he entered, he noticed the cosmetics scattered across the vanity and Sia's clothes strewn over the floor, still waiting to be put away.
"Didn't you say your date was tomorrow, Shasha?"
"Yes! That's why I need to decide today what I'm wearing tomorrow!"
"... I see."
He didn't really understand, but decided to accept it.
"Anyway, Grandpa, what brings you here at this hour?"
"Min-jun asked me to give you this."
"Oppa did?"
The moment she heard Min-jun's name, Sia's face lit up with excitement.
"Here you go. He was going to give it to you himself tomorrow, but then he said sooner would be better and asked me to bring it."
He handed her a mystery item wrapped as a gift.
"Well, I'll see you soon. You're busy with your date tomorrow, but how about we have a meal together sometime soon?"
"I'd like that! Thanks, Grandpa!"
Their brief visit over, Rokan returned to his own lair.
The moment he left, Sia stroked Min-jun's gift with the care she'd give a sacred treasure.
"What has my Oppa given me this time?"
Humming, she carefully unwrapped the box. Inside was a pair of white pajamas decorated with a cute Dragon character.
"Pajamas?"
Thinking about it, she'd worn Min-jun's old clothes instead of her usual pajamas during their video call earlier. Did it bother him?
Maybe seeing her use his old clothes as pajamas had made him a little uncomfortable. That must be why he'd bought her these. In truth, she found those old clothes, steeped in Min-jun's scent, softer and more comforting than any pajamas.
"But Oppa gave them to me."
She had to try them on.
She could picture Min-jun picking out matching pajamas on his own, then asking her grandfather to deliver her pair. The image kept a smile on her face the whole time she changed. Once she had Min-jun's gift on, she took a selfie and sent it straight to him.
〈Oppa, thanks for the gift!!!〉
〈These pajamas are so cute...〉
She clutched her phone, waiting for his reply. It wasn't long before he sent a message with a photo.
〈I'm glad you like them.〉
〈I thought it'd be nice to have matching pajamas.〉
The photo was a selfie of Min-jun wearing his new pair. Apart from being black instead of white, they were identical to Sia's.
... He's so cute!
Min-jun was usually sexy, but seeing him in pajamas with a cartoon character on them brought out a different, adorable side of him. She immediately set the photo as her phone wallpaper and continued their chat.
〈Can't wait for our date tomorrow hahaha〉
Having other people join them was a little awkward, but it might make this date special in its own way. How often did she get to see other people treat the man she loved as someone precious?
Less than a minute later, Min-jun replied.
〈Sia,〉
〈We're wearing the matching T-shirts you gave me tomorrow, right?〉
She'd been so focused on looking her prettiest that she'd forgotten the most important thing.
〈Of course!〉
After all, what could be prettier than wearing matching shirts with the person you loved? She took off the outfit she'd planned for tomorrow, pulled out the matching T-shirt she'd bought with Min-jun, and put it on.
"Wow."
They'd worn matching shirts a few times when they first dated, but to Sia, now reincarnated as a Dragon, that felt like ages ago. She couldn't help looking forward to tomorrow. And, as an added bonus, she resolved to make sure Junhwi's older sister wouldn't even think of setting her sights on Min-jun.
The day of the date arrived.
Min-jun had been on a double date once or twice early in their relationship, but he'd never been on a date quite like this. It might look like a double date, except the other two were siblings, not a couple.
What was Sia thinking when she suggested this?
Sia had insisted on meeting them together, and Junhwi and his sister had agreed, so they'd made plans. But Min-jun still couldn't work out what she had in mind.
"Oppa, what are you thinking about?"
"Wondering when those two will get here. Are we a little early?"
"That just means we get more time together."
Sia pressed herself against Min-jun's arm.
"By the way, Sia. Your perfume today—"
"I know! It's the one you use a lot! I liked the smell, so I tried it too. Did you wear the same one today?"
A unisex perfume would have been one thing, but the one Sia had sprayed on was unmistakably marketed to men. Min-jun considered telling her so. But she was smiling happily as she breathed in the perfume on her own clothes and the scent of his, so he swallowed his words with a quiet chuckle.
Well, whether it's men's perfume or women's perfume, all that matters is that the person wearing it likes it.
Just as Sia was checking which perfume Min-jun had put on—
"Hyung!"
Junhwi and his older sister arrived. Sia, who'd been sniffing Min-jun's clothes, turned toward them without pulling away. Junhwi looked aside in embarrassment, but Sia greeted them as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
"I'm Jung Sia, Min-jun's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you!"
"I'm Kim Junhwi."
Junhwi bowed politely, and his sister offered a warm greeting too. Sia quickly looked them both over. Junhwi looked just as he had in the video, and his sister was quite pretty, having apparently put some thought into her appearance.
"I'm Kim Jiyun, Junhwi's older sister! I'd actually wanted the four of us to have a meal together, including you, Ms. Sia, so I'm really glad you came."
"You wanted to meet... Sia too?" Min-jun asked, surprised. He hadn't thought Junhwi's sister would have any particular reason to meet her.
"Yes. I heard Sia provided your equipment, Mr. Min-jun. So in a way, she's Junhwi's benefactor too. After all, you protected him using the equipment she gave you."
She explained that she'd wanted to treat Sia to a meal as well, but had worried Sia might feel uncomfortable joining them. So she'd planned to prepare a separate gift for Sia and have Min-jun pass it along. She'd been delighted when Sia suggested joining them for dinner instead.
"Oh, we can finish talking inside."
With a friendly smile, Jiyun opened the restaurant door and ushered Min-jun and Sia in. Sia gave nothing away, but she watched Jiyun's every move. Everything seemed fine so far, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared.
Making sure they could both see, Sia laced her fingers tightly through Min-jun's and walked into the restaurant.