Chapter 46 — Just Wait a Little Longer, Oppa
Chapter 46 — Just Wait a Little Longer, Oppa
Translation: GodTL
Some couples might be fine seeing each other just once a week for a short while, but at least for Sia and me, that wasn't the case.
After our miraculous reunion, we wanted to stay together wherever and whenever possible without being apart.
But as if fate was playing tricks on us, until recently we could only meet for a mere three hours a week due to our conflicting energy compatibility.
Now, they say the time we can spend together will increase.
"Really? How much longer?"
I asked Rokan again in an excited voice.
I wonder how Sia would have reacted if she'd been here.
She probably would have hugged me tight, jumped up and down, and expressed her joy with all her might.
Seemingly pleased with my reaction, Rokan smiled gently and answered.
"Roughly about four to five hours a week, I'd say. This is all thanks to your rapid spiritual growth. Congratulations."
"What about Sia? Does Sia know this news by any chance?"
"Of course not. I only realized it during our spar earlier. Though the exact time will need to be confirmed later."
At Rokan's words, I clenched my fists in joy.
To some, an extra hour or two per week might seem insignificant, but for Sia and me, every single hour was precious now.
"And tomorrow was already the day I was supposed to meet Sia!"
"I can see you're itching to tell her. Go ahead and deliver the news."
True to Rokan's words, I immediately picked up my phone and called Sia.
[Yeah, Oppa! I was just about to call you before bed. We must be on the same wavelength.]
"Right? It's amazing. Oh, Sia, I have some good news."
[What is it, what is it?]
Hearing it was good news, Sia's voice perked up excitedly too.
And so, before diving into the good news properly,
To set the mood, I told her about today's sparring session and the stories Rokan had shared about dungeons.
And after that story ended,
Finally, I delivered the news to Sia that the time we could spend together had increased.
That from now on, we could see each other for about four to five hours a week.
The moment I finished speaking, an ear-splitting, happy shriek came through the receiver.
[Kyaaaaaa! That's amazing! So we can spend more than three hours together tomorrow, right? Right?]
"Of course. I don't know the exact time yet, but at least an hour more than before."
[Kyaaaaaa!]
Seeing Sia so happy made me feel good too, but her deafening shriek through the phone forced me to lower the volume a bit.
"So, besides the café we originally planned to go to, we should think of one more place to visit casually."
[Yeah, yeah! I'll think about it too!]
"Since you're at your grandfather's place now, we can't talk for long. Let's call again tomorrow morning."
[Got it, Oppa. Dream of me!]
Throughout the call, Sia remained hyper-excited, unable to contain her joy.
Now, let's see—what would be good to do with an extra hour or two?
It's nice to think about, but first, I should train a bit more.
"I think I've caught my breath enough now. Let's start right away."
"You should rest a little longer."
"I have a date tomorrow, so I want to go early and sleep early. Can't be tired when meeting Sia."
At my answer, Rokan burst into a hearty laugh.
"Ah, youth. The energy of youth."
The next day, the day of my date with Sia.
It had been a full two weeks since we last met, and with the increased time we could spend together, I found myself humming without realizing it the whole time I was getting ready.
Near the café we planned to visit, there was a trendy old-school snack bar-style tteokbokki place that had recently gained popularity. I was sure Sia would love it if we went together.
After finishing the tteokbokki, we could go to the café, and then maybe take a walk in the nearby park at the end.
Ah—or maybe visiting a coin karaoke for the first time in a while wouldn't be bad either.
Or, since we could just use Teleport anyway, we could sneak in some cuddly time at Sia's place or mine between outings.
Lost in these happy thoughts while preparing for the date,
A KaTalk notification popped up.
Since the date was approaching, I assumed it was Sia and opened my phone,
But the sender was none other than Yu-na noona.
["What are you up to, Min-jun?"]
The moment I saw the message, I realized my mistake—but there was nothing to be done about it now.
Though unintentional, I had ended up giving Yu-na noona my number during our last meeting.
As I agonized over how to respond to her, I ultimately decided to leave it on read.
Normally, I never ignored messages from anyone, no matter who they were or what they said—but this time was an exception.
It was the kind of thing that might upset Sia.
Besides, I needed time to think about how to handle this situation properly, so it was better to reply later anyway.
After muting Yu-na noona's Kakao notifications, I finished getting ready.
Once everything was set, I headed straight to our meeting spot.
Just as expected, Sia had arrived before me again today.
"Oppa!"
The moment she spotted me, Sia rushed over in quick strides and threw herself into my arms.
I gently patted her back and hugged her tightly.
"It's been two weeks. You doing okay?"
"Not really. Too much happened in those two weeks."
As Sia said, it had been an eventful—no, downright tumultuous—two weeks.
Saying I was "doing okay" would've been a lie.
Even putting everything else aside, Sia must've gone through hell while I was unconscious for those few days.
"When I first found out you were trapped in the Gate, I thought my heart was going to drop out of my chest."
"Yeah, I bet. Must've been a shock. Sorry for making you worry like that."
"No, it wasn't your fault. Besides, today we get to spend even more time together than usual."
This morning, I'd learned from Rokan that Sia and I had exactly four and a half hours together today—and Sia had found out around the same time, also from Rokan.
The fact that our time together had suddenly increased by 1.5 times had Sia in high spirits already.
"But still, time's precious, so let's hurry. We can't waste it just standing around here."
With an adorable insistence, Sia nudged me forward, and we stepped into our first destination—the snack bar.
The place looked like the kind of old, modest snack shop you'd find near any elementary school gate across the country.
But the signed photos laminated on the walls and the crowd of twenty- and thirty-somethings packed inside made it clear—this was a hidden gem.
After barely managing to snag a seat and place our order, we immediately launched into small talk.
"Wow, how'd you even find a place like this? You really hit the jackpot."
"I was looking for a café nearby and checked if there were any good food spots. The menu and vibe seemed right up your alley, so I looked into it—turns out this place is famous for being delicious."
"Hehe, I'm excited. You're the best, Oppa."
With a satisfied smile, Sia closed her eyes and breathed in the spicy aroma of tteokbokki wafting through the shop.
Seeing her like that, so unbearably cute, I suddenly felt the urge to tease her.
Taking advantage of her closed eyes, I swiftly leaned in and pressed a light kiss to her lips.
The moment our lips touched, Sia's eyes flew open wide, and her cheeks immediately flushed bright red.
"Mmh—Oppa! People are watching!"
"It's a corner seat—pretty sure no one saw."
Though she squirmed in embarrassment, I could tell she was secretly thrilled by my surprise kiss.
Between sweet, affectionate moments and idle chatter, our food arrived before we knew it—tteokbokki, sundae, odeng, and even kimbap.
"Enjoy, Sia."
"You too, Oppa!"
And so, our delightful meal began.
True to her reputation as a tteokbokki fanatic, Sia wore an unshakable smile the entire time she ate.
That radiant grin made me understand why people say love alone can fill you up.
"So, Sia, how is it?"
"You found the perfect place, Oppa! You know how there's modern tteokbokki and old-school snack bar tteokbokki? These days, it's so hard to find places that do the old-school style—but this is exactly that nostalgic taste. And it's so good!"
Whether genuinely moved by the flavor or just caught up in the moment, Sia enthusiastically described every detail of the taste like a mukbang YouTuber.
And, just as I'd predicted, she immediately ordered another round of tteokbokki.
"I think I'll just grab a few extra servings to take home when we leave."
...She must really love it.
At this rate, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just camp out here instead of going to the café.
Just as we were finishing up more than half of the food we'd ordered—
"Oppa, have you thought about what we'll do after the café?"
The topic of our next date course came up.
"Well, I have a few ideas. Do you have anything in mind?"
"I'm happy with anything as long as it's with you, but yeah, I do have a couple of things I was thinking about—"
Before Sia could even finish her sentence—
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
The entire restaurant suddenly began shaking violently.
"Kyaaah!"
"Wh-what the—?!"
"An earthquake?!"
"No, it's not an earthquake—"
The ordinary customers couldn't tell what was causing the tremors, but as a Hunter, I knew.
Judging by the unstable flow of mana in the air, this was unmistakably—
"Gate Break!"
As if sensing the same thing, Sia and I shouted the same word in unison.
Gate Break.
A phenomenon that occurred occasionally—either when a Gate wasn't cleared before its deadline or, more rarely, when one appeared out of nowhere without any warning.
Things had been quiet lately, so why did this have to happen now, like a bolt from the blue?
And judging by the density and flow of mana I could sense, this was definitely a high-rank Gate undergoing a Break.
A high-rank Gate Break. In Seoul.
This was going to cause massive casualties.
Even I felt a chill in moments like this, but first, I had to follow protocol—
Wait.
Amid the chaos of my thoughts, I accidentally locked eyes with Sia.
She looked... deeply displeased with this situation.
Not anxious.
Displeased.
It was easy to forget sometimes, but Sia was a Dragon.
A being whose power surpassed even that of SSS-rank Hunters—beyond national-level, on the scale of global influence.
Frowning, Sia muttered under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear:
"Where do these lizard bastards get off interrupting my long-awaited date with Oppa?"
Lizards—if she meant Lizardmen, the mana flow I was sensing was far too dense for that.
"Oppa. Stay right here, just for a little bit."
With that, Sia slipped quietly out of the restaurant, taking advantage of the panicked crowd.
She was probably going to deal with the Gate Break.
I wanted to go with her—but something told me that if I did, I'd only get in her way.
So for now, I had to do what I could.
"It looks like a Gate Break."
I announced it loudly to the crowd while flashing my Hunter ID to confirm my credentials.
"G-Gate Break?!"
"Aaah! What do we do?!"
The moment the words left my mouth, everyone panicked—some even collapsing or fainting from sheer terror.
"Right now, staying here is the safest option. I'll assess the situation, and if it looks like this will drag on, we'll need to evacuate to a shelter."
With Sia stepping in, it probably wouldn't drag on, but I still had to follow protocol.
I instructed everyone to stay hidden in the corners for now while I kept watch outside—ready to signal an evacuation or engage if monsters headed this way.
'Honestly, I'm not sure I could hold them off.'
Judging by the mana flow, these were high-tier monsters—beyond what I could handle alone.
Calming the frightened crowd, I cautiously peeked outside to check the monsters emerging from the open Gate.
They were too far away to see clearly, but based on their silhouettes and size—
'Wyverns.'
I'd need a closer look to tell if they were A-rank mini-Wyverns or full S-rank Wyverns, but one thing was certain: with that many monsters of that caliber, this whole area would be reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye.
Unless Sia was here.
Her Polymorph made her hard to spot, so I quickly pulled out a Hunter-grade telescope from my Subspace to find her.
Perhaps to avoid drawing attention, she had taken on the same red-haired goddess form I'd seen when we first reunited.
And with an expression that screamed fury at having her precious time interrupted—
She was mercilessly bombarding the Wyverns with Meteors of wrath.