Chapter 38 — Oppa, I Miss You
Chapter 38 — Oppa, I Miss You
Translation: GodTL
Min-jun didn't know whether what he'd just produced counted as incomplete Dragon Words or whether Minos's illusion simply demanded more. The system still refused to acknowledge success.
The world itself disagreed. A fracture now ran across the sky. Soldiers flickered. Wyverns warped mid-flight. The battlefield that had seemed absolute only moments earlier was beginning to come apart at its seams.
It worked.
Not enough to clear the Gate. Enough to prove it was possible.
Min-jun drew breath into a throat that felt flayed raw and forced the command out again.
"Shatter without a trace!"
He struck. This time both Dragon Bone Swords broke.
For one suspended instant, there was no sound.
Then the sky answered with a deafening crack. The fracture split wider. Soldiers and wyverns collapsed into dark red smoke as the entire illusion buckled. Blackness rushed in from every direction, swallowing the broken battlefield.
Min-jun stood in the middle of it holding half a sword. He had done it. Somehow, impossibly, he had forced Dragon Words into existence far sooner than anyone had believed he could.
Then his eyes fell to the weapon in his hand.
The Dragon Bone Sword Sia had given him—the first gift tied to the power that had changed his life—had snapped cleanly in two. For some reason, that sight hit him harder than the collapsing world around him.
Can it be fixed?
The thought came almost immediately, followed by another: What am I going to tell Sia?
At last, a completion notification appeared. In the darkness, an exit back to Earth opened like a wound of white light.
"Ugh..."
Clearing the Gate did not erase the punishment his body had endured. Every breath scraped. His limbs felt leaden. Clutching the broken sword, Min-jun staggered toward the exit because walking was the only thing he could still make himself do.
I wonder what Minos thought when he saw that.
The dead emperor had waited an eternity to see a human succeed where he had failed. Min-jun had expected something—a laugh, a word, even a look. Instead, Minos had vanished with the world he created.
Only after Min-jun crossed the exit and felt Earth's air against his face did he believe the ordeal was truly over.
'But where is everyone else?'
If the Gate had been cleared, the others trapped inside should have come out too, but he couldn't see any of the other Hunters. Just as he began to worry that something had gone wrong, the Gate opened and the raid members who had entered the dungeon with him emerged in turn.
"Min-jun!"
Tae-seong spotted him the moment he came out of the Gate and approached, calling his name in relief. The other Hunters crowded in behind him.
"Are you all right?"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Thank goodness. What on earth happened?"
They gathered around Min-jun in small groups, saying they'd been worried something had happened to him. They asked how he was and what had happened after he'd fallen.
But Min-jun was in no condition to answer their questions in turn. He looked unscathed, without even a scratch, but the pain that had built up during the raid made it hard for him even to stand.
Seeing how pale he was, Tae-seong supported him and asked with concern, "Are you feeling all right? Should we go straight to a hospital?"
Getting to a hospital from here would take quite a while, though, and no doctor would know about the side effects of using Dragon Words. Rokan's Lair would be a better choice. Rokan would understand Min-jun's condition better than a doctor.
Barely able to muster the strength to speak, Min-jun said quietly, "... I'm sorry. I need to go ahead."
With that, he used his teleportation ring to go straight to Rokan's Lair.
'Ah...'
He wanted to call for Rokan and ask for help, but for some reason, he couldn't see him. Had he finally reached his limit? Min-jun collapsed where he stood and lost consciousness.
That morning, on the day Min-jun set out to raid the Garden of the Dragon Sword dungeon, Sia teleported to Yangpyeong, where Min-jun's parents lived, as soon as she finished talking to him on the phone.
She had originally planned to visit her future in-laws with Min-jun, but...
'If we're together too long, Oppa might collapse.'
So she decided to visit his parents on her own for now. Ordinarily, visiting your future in-laws without your boyfriend wasn't the usual thing to do, but Sia felt no discomfort about it at all.
When she was young, she'd lost her entire family in an accident. Min-jun's parents had loved her and treated her like a daughter.
Besides, though it was a separate matter, today's visit held another meaning for her. She had a secret purpose she couldn't tell anyone about.
"Mother, Father! I'm here!"
Sia greeted Min-jun's parents brightly as soon as she arrived. The moment they heard her, they hurried over to welcome her.
"Oh, Sia! It's been so long. Have you been well?"
They greeted her as if nothing had happened. Min-jun had told them that Sia, whom they'd believed had died a year ago, had miraculously come back to life. Of course, they didn't know she'd actually been reincarnated as a Dragon in another world and, after various twists and turns, returned to Earth. Perhaps they could tell them someday, when Min-jun had fully become a Dragon.
In any case, they had plenty they wanted to ask Sia. Like everyone else, they were curious about what had happened between the accident and her return to Earth.
But before she arrived, they'd agreed not to mention the accident in the Gate at all. Hadn't most of the few returnees who'd been trapped in Gates and made it back to Earth spoken in interviews about their terrible experiences? Neither of them wanted to bring up that time and stir up Sia's trauma.
"Yes. Have you both been well too?"
"Of course, of course."
For Sia, this was the first time she'd seen them since her reincarnation, making the reunion especially meaningful to her. After greeting them, she handed them the gifts she'd prepared.
"And I bought these because they made me think of you both."
"Oh, you shouldn't have brought us anything. You didn't need to. By the way, Sia, have you had breakfast?"
"No."
"The food's nearly ready, so wait just a little longer."
"I'm starving, actually. Thank you!"
A little later, they set out a feast so generous it seemed the table might buckle beneath it. Sia couldn't hide her surprise.
"Wow. Mother, you made so much!"
"I made a bit of everything since you were coming. If there isn't enough, just say so."
They began eating in a warm, cheerful atmosphere, catching up on everything they hadn't had a chance to talk about. With so much food and so many stories to share, the meal went on for a long time.
As the long meal finally drew to a close, Sia asked, "Mother, Father, do you have any photo albums?"
"You mean the ones with our old film photos?"
"Yes."
Sia took the photo scanner she'd bought yesterday out of her bag. "This is a photo scanner. It turns film photos into digital files. If we scan your photos with it, you can look at them easily anytime, anywhere."
"Oh my, there's a device for that? How fascinating."
Both parents seemed intrigued by the unfamiliar device.
"I can scan them for you. Would that be all right?"
"Of course. Since you've brought it, I suppose it's time we looked through the albums again."
Min-jun's father brought over several thick albums stored deep in a wardrobe and sat down. Sia hurried over and settled beside him.
"Sia, Min-jun hasn't shown you this album, has he?"
"No! I've been wanting to see it for ages. This is perfect."
Offering to scan the photos had been an excuse. Her real aim was to look at old pictures of Min-jun—and, while she was at it, turn them into digital files so she could secretly keep copies for herself. That was why she'd brought two USB drives today: one to give his parents the files, and the other to hold copies of the scans for her private collection.
"I wonder if Min-jun will complain later that we showed you his pictures without asking him," his father said.
"Father, if you and Mother keep it a secret, my lips are sealed too."
She smiled sweetly and put a finger to her lips.
"Of course."
Min-jun's mother opened a thick album, and Sia pressed close beside her to look at his old photos.
"This one was taken before Min-jun was even a week old."
The first picture that caught their eye showed baby Min-jun, stark naked without even a diaper, crying with his face all scrunched up.
"... It would have been embarrassing if Min-jun were here," his mother said. After all, it was a picture of him completely naked, even if he had been a newborn.
"Hehe. That's why I came without Oppa. I figured he wouldn't let me see it if he were here."
"Is that why you brought that thing? To see pictures of Min-jun?"
His father pointed at the scanner. Sia grinned and nodded playfully.
"Yep. You caught me."
"Oh, dear."
Naturally, his parents thought Sia was joking and laughed it off. Her tone certainly sounded like a joke. But did they know she wasn't joking at all?
"But Oppa was so cute even as a newborn!"
His parents looked a little taken aback.
"Well... Min-jun is handsome now, certainly, but honestly, he wasn't as a baby."
"Now that I think back, we were really worried when he first came into the world."
He'd looked like a lumpy potato at birth, and they'd worried what he'd look like when he grew up. Thankfully, as time passed, his features became more defined and he grew into his looks.
"You know how they say ugly babies grow up to be beautiful? That's what happened."
"I still think he's cute. Cute enough to nibble on."
They kept turning the album's pages slowly, forgetting all about scanning. Lost in memories, Min-jun's mother explained to Sia when and under what circumstances each photo had been taken. Sia was delighted to see pictures of a childhood of Min-jun's she'd never known.
Soon she'd have scanned copies of those pictures on her own USB drive, too. Her heart began to race at the thought. To her, the album was a priceless treasure.
As they turned the pages, they passed his infancy and reached pictures of Min-jun as a young child. There was one of him in a bright yellow hat and matching kindergarten uniform, awkwardly making a V sign. Another showed him beaming on a family trip.
And then there was a photo of him with Go Yu-na, who had worked alongside him as a child model. The smile Sia had worn until that moment stiffened slightly as soon as she spotted it.
Min-jun's mother didn't notice. She cheerfully explained the picture, unaware of Sia's expression. "Min-jun did some child modeling when he was little. Isn't he adorable? This girl is Yu-na. They modeled together when they were young."
Sia knew. Of course she knew. She'd even met Yu-na recently. Though they'd already met, she blithely pretended this was her first time seeing her.
As they continued through the album, pictures of Min-jun and Yu-na together appeared here and there. The problem was that in nine out of ten of them, Yu-na was clinging to Min-jun, pretending to kiss him, or otherwise being openly affectionate with him. Some might say she shouldn't read so much into children kissing, but Sia couldn't look on it kindly.
"It looks like she and Oppa were pretty close."
"Oh, they were. When they were little, Yu-na followed Min-jun around like a shadow."
"Our Oppa must have been popular even back then."
Sia tried to suppress the feelings welling up inside her and keep her expression calm.
"He was. And I'm not just saying that because he's my son, but girls were always trailing after him when he was little."
Sia had suspected as much, but hearing it directly from his parents was another matter.
'That woman really did like Oppa even back then.'
No wonder she'd had a bad feeling about her from the start. Sia was sure Go Yu-na's feelings for Min-jun had lasted until now. She didn't know when or how, but her instincts told her Yu-na would approach him and flirt with him.
In that case...
'I can't just sit back and do nothing.'
She decided she needed to come up with a plan, starting now.
After spending a long time looking through the albums, Sia scanned the pictures in turn and put the files on two USB drives. One was for Min-jun's parents; the other, of course, was for her to enjoy in secret. She discreetly tucked one drive into her Subspace, then handed the other to Min-jun's mother.
"Here you go! You can look at the files on a laptop or save them to your phone. If you're not sure how, just ask me anytime."
"Thank you, my dear daughter-in-law."
"Hehe."
They weren't married yet, but Min-jun's parents took it for granted that they would be someday, so calling Sia their daughter-in-law came naturally. Sia, of course, loved being called that.
Even after converting the photos to digital files, she enjoyed talking with Min-jun's parents and helping with chores, as comfortable as if she were visiting her own family home.
As time passed, it drew close to when Min-jun should have finished the raid and come out of the Gate. He'd told her that this Gate's clear condition was simply to survive inside for three hours, so the time of its completion was practically set from the moment he entered. The time Min-jun had given her was nearly up, and that morning, he'd said he would call as soon as the raid ended. He would call soon.
"Mother, Father, I should get going now!"
"All right. Come see us again soon. And let us know if you need any side dishes."
"I will, Mother! See you soon! I'll come back with Oppa next time!"
Cheerful to the last, Sia left Min-jun's parents and returned to her lair. She didn't even change clothes. His raid should have been ending soon, and he'd promised to call the moment he came out. She placed her phone beside her and waited with an easy smile.
Thirty minutes passed beyond the agreed time. The smile was gone.
...Why hasn't he called?
Normally, she would have assumed a raid had run long. Gates were unpredictable. But this one wasn't supposed to be. The clear condition had been simple: survive for three hours. The end time had been practically fixed from the moment Min-jun entered.
"Something didn't happen to him... right?"
His battery could have died. His phone could have broken. He could have gotten caught up talking to the raid leader. Sia listed possibilities one after another, each weaker than the last.
But none of them explained the silence.
He has the teleportation ring.
Even without a phone, Min-jun could have gone straight to Rokan's Lair. If he were free to leave the Gate, there was almost no situation in which he couldn't contact her. That left one possibility Sia had been refusing to name.
"No..."
She cast a tracking spell so quickly that the mana around her snapped into place. The moment she located the Gate, she teleported there.
"...!"
Her hand shook as she touched the Gate and forced its information open.
Rank: EX
Clear condition: Reach the lowest level of Minos's tomb and use Dragon Words — 0/1.
"H-he said it was D-rank..."
D-rank had become EX. Worse, the clear condition demanded Dragon Words. Sia read the line once. Twice. A third time, as if staring hard enough might change it.
Her knees gave way.
"Ah... aaah..."
Denial lasted only seconds. No matter how gifted Min-jun was, no matter how much Rokan had praised him, asking a human who had barely begun touching Dragon power to produce true Dragon Words was absurd. Cruel. Impossible.
If he couldn't do it, the Gate would never release him.
Sia called Rokan with hands that would not stop trembling. By the time he arrived, she was already struggling to speak through her sobs.
"Shasha, what's wrong?"
"Grandpa, sob, my Oppa... sob."
She explained everything between broken breaths, clinging to one last hope: Rokan had lived longer than almost any Dragon she knew. If anyone could break the rules of a Gate, it had to be him.
"...I'm sorry."
Two words. That was all it took to destroy the last hope she had been holding onto. Even Rokan could not force his way into a Gate that had sealed itself around a clear condition.
Sia stared at the EX-rank Gate for one more second. Then the world tilted, and she collapsed before Rokan could catch the fear in her face.