Chapter 51 — How Did You Find This Place?
Chapter 51 — How Did You Find This Place?
Translation: GodTL
"...Originally, in my past life, I was human."
Just when I thought there could be no greater shock.
Her bombshell revelation left every Dragon present—except Rokan—stunned beyond measure.
In a way, this provoked an even more intense reaction than when she'd announced her intention to form an Eternal Covenant with a human man.
"I was... an ordinary human who lived... just over twenty years... in that world."
Her voice trembled, her words fractured mid-sentence.
She recalled the first time she'd revealed her identity as a Reincarnator to her family.
Back then, because her audience had consisted solely of close family members, they'd understood and embraced her warmly.
But the Dragons gathered here were not her family.
Most of those to whom she was now baring her secret harbored ill will toward her.
Even then, her heart had pounded so violently she thought it might burst—how much worse must it be now?
"In my past life, I loved a man. And that..."
The hostile stares burning into her made each breath shallower than the last.
With Rokan supporting her, Sia steadied herself before continuing.
"...I couldn't forget him, so I returned here. And—"
"So you intended to rekindle your unfinished love affair—is that it?"
Evan cut her off mid-sentence.
Clicking his tongue as though dismissing some trite romance novel cliché, he began rallying the other Dragons.
"With that flimsy excuse, she's now trying to justify her foolish actions."
"Evan!"
Rokan roared at Evan, who kept tormenting his granddaughter with increasingly cutting remarks.
Yet even under Rokan's rebuke, Evan refused to yield.
"Lord Rokan! Wrong is wrong, no matter what!"
"How dare you."
Rokan bared his teeth with a growl.
It was only by clinging to reason that he held back—had he lost control, the unleashed Dragon Fear would have sparked a battle beyond any of their capacities to contain.
"Perhaps eliminating the root cause would be preferable. Killing that human might be one solution."
"Shut your mouth!"
At the mere suggestion of killing Min-jun, Sia's scream shook the entire Lair—so powerfully it erased any trace of her earlier trembling.
"Just try killing my oppa, huh? Then it's all or nothing—whether you die or I do."
"Whoa, whoa. I didn't actually mean we'd kill him. Even if we don't, we could still break his will."
Evan's lips curled into a vicious smirk.
That this Dragon had once been human was irrelevant.
He had no intention of dismissing her for it—if anything, encountering a Reincarnator for the first time intrigued him.
But having become a Dragon, she ought to abandon her past life and live as one of their kind. Why cling to human existence?
And why did that human Min-jun have the audacity to court her despite knowing she was a Dragon?
Dragons typically avoided interfering in each other's affairs.
Yet Evan felt compelled to intervene this time.
And he wasn't alone—plenty of Dragons shared his stance.
'As long as we don't kill him.'
His threat to break Min-jun's will was deadly serious.
Whether through sweet inducements or agonizing lashings—
By any means necessary, this love between human and Dragon had to be severed.
And what of his becoming a Dragon?
Though he knew the idea was preposterous, should even a glimmer of it seem achievable—
Wouldn't drastic measures become necessary?
The once-unshakable unity of their gathering began to fracture, crack by crack.
Immediately after the brief, nightmare-like meeting ended—
Rokan, worried for his granddaughter, remained in her Lair as Sia wept uncontrollably.
"Sob... hic... huuu..."
"Shasha."
What could he say? What comfort would suffice?
Perhaps silent embrace, holding her warmly as she poured out her grief, was the only answer.
Rokan cradled her until her tears subsided, and Sia never once resisted his touch.
Like a child regressed, she cried endlessly in his arms.
Just as she had after first revealing herself as a Reincarnator to her present-life family.
Only much later did her weeping finally ebb.
Once slightly calmer, she clutched her phone with trembling hands and texted Min-jun:
[Oppa.]
She longed to hear his comforting voice immediately—yet paradoxically, lacked the courage to call him in this state.
She couldn't trust herself not to completely break down the moment she heard his voice.
She had intended to keep it brief with just a text message, but the moment she sent it, Min-jun immediately called her on video.
She didn't want him to see her in this shattered state, so she didn't answer.
Instead—
After a brief hesitation, she mustered her courage and called him back on voice-only.
"...Oppa."
[What's wrong? Hmm? Tell me everything, step by step.]
The moment Min-jun's warm voice flowed through the receiver—
Even though they weren't on video, it didn't matter. She crumbled all the same.
"What are we supposed to do now...?"
She was frustrated.
Because she couldn't bring herself to tell Min-jun anything about what had happened that day.
Without mentioning a single thing that had occurred, she broke into sobs again.
And Min-jun, silent and steadfast, listened to her weeping until she finally hung up, sharing in her sorrow.
The next day, after that incident.
The moment he woke up, Min-jun called Sia, his heart heavy with worry.
He wanted to ask what had happened yesterday, if there was anything he could do to help—but for some reason, Sia didn't pick up.
'Does she need time to sort through her thoughts?'
Even Min-jun had never seen her cry so bitterly before.
He didn't know what had happened yesterday, but she hadn't said a word about it—just wept endlessly.
He briefly considered asking Rokan if he knew the reason, but—
In the end, Min-jun decided to do nothing.
Because he thought what Sia needed most right now was time.
Leaving a text saying she could call him whenever she felt better, Min-jun started his day with a restless heart.
As he ate a simple breakfast, he began planning his day.
Now that he was B-rank, he could look into joining a new B-rank Gate raid team. Or maybe, once the raid was over, he could buy Sia a gift to cheer her up and send it through Rokan.
Alternatively, it might be more reasonable to keep his schedule completely open today so he could answer Sia's call whenever it came.
Just as Min-jun was lost in thought—
Knock knock knock—
Someone was at his front door.
'Who is it?'
Puzzled, Min-jun opened the door—
"Hi!"
Standing there, completely oblivious to his turmoil, was Go Yu-na, beaming at him.
Already weighed down by the distress over Sia since yesterday, the sight of Yu-na at his doorstep made Min-jun's head throb even harder.
He had given her his phone number, but he hadn't given her his address.
How did this woman even know where he lived? And what possible reason could she have for coming here?
The sight of Yu-na grinning at him only made his temples pulse more painfully.
Right now, Min-jun wasn't in the mood to see anyone—and if that someone was Yu-na, he wanted to see her even less.
But it wasn't like he could just coldly ask how she found his place and send her away.
There was no good reason to.
Swallowing back the sigh rising in his throat, Min-jun forced his voice to remain calm as he asked,
"...How did you know where I live?"
"I asked your mom! A while back, she sent me some kimchi, so I wanted to return the favor by making some things and visiting her. But she said her place was in Yangpyeong and told me not to bother coming all the way out there. So I told her I'd send it through you instead."
With that, Yu-na held out a hefty bundle of food she had brought with her.
"So, Min-jun. Could you pass this along to your mom later?"
"......"
If her goal was just to send food to his mother as a thank-you, she could've used a delivery service or something. There were plenty of ways.
But why go out of her way to send it through him?
Not to mention—if Sia found out about this, there was no telling how she'd react.
Min-jun alternated between staring at Yu-na and the bundle in her hands, his expression thoroughly bewildered.
"But! I brought plenty for you to eat too. See? Isn't this fine?"
"Well... thanks. I'll eat it."
Just as Min-jun accepted the bundle and was about to politely send her off—
"Ah, Min-jun. Sorry, but I really need to use your bathroom. Like, now."
Before he could even respond, Yu-na smoothly slipped past him into his apartment.
He tried to stop her, but couldn't bring himself to say anything, so Min-jun swallowed his words.
How could he possibly tell her to leave when she said it was an emergency?
With a bitter expression, Min-jun could only stare at the bathroom door she had just disappeared behind.
And then, moments later—
"Min-jun, I'm really sorry, but can I just have a glass of water before I go?"
"...Sure."
Under normal circumstances, letting Yu-na into his apartment at all was far from ideal.
But every possible factor was unfolding in a way that left him no choice but to allow it.
Min-jun could feel a headache coming on.
He wasn't stupid—it would be a lie to say he didn't sense some kind of intention behind all of Yu-na's actions.
But this was the situation.
A repeating cycle of moments where he couldn't just sternly kick her out.
While Min-jun poured water for Yu-na, she took the brief opportunity to glance around his apartment.
Then, her gaze landed on the clothes drying rack where Sia's laundry was still hanging.
"You're living with your girlfriend, huh? I don't remember hearing about that last time."
"Yeah. She's just out somewhere right now."
Of course, it was a lie.
Given the restrictions he was under, cohabitation wasn't even an option, no matter how much he might have wanted to.
But if he said this, maybe Yu-na would feel uncomfortable enough to leave sooner.
However.
Go Yu-na had known from the start that Min-jun was lying.
There was only one toothbrush and cup in the bathroom, and there were no traces of cosmetics or other feminine products—no signs of a woman living here at all.
To her, those clothes were just something Sia had left behind for some reason, coincidentally hanging there.
'He's lying.'
She could immediately tell Min-jun was uncomfortable around her.
But inwardly, she smirked.
I just came to deliver food for his mother, and yet he's this wary—
He's unexpectedly cute like this.
"Here's your water."
"Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
Yu-na acted as if she had been invited from the very beginning, settling in comfortably and sipping the water slowly.
After finishing her drink, she unwrapped the bundle and began explaining each of the dishes she had brought for Min-jun.
"This silver container has the black bean sauce. It's made with the exact same recipe as the one from the restaurant, so it'll taste great. And this is kimchi I brought from the shop—not factory-made, but handmade by the aunties there."
"I'm not a kid. At this rate, people will think you're my mom, not my noona."
She didn't have to explain everything in such detail.
"Just tell me which is yours and which is for my mom."
Not that he was even sure he'd eat it.
"What a shame. Our Min-jun used to be so cute."
With a slightly disappointed expression, she continued explaining the rest of the food.
Once Yu-na finished—
"Noona, aren't you busy? Shouldn't you get going soon?"
You've had your water, I've got the food—time to leave now.
Min-jun phrased it diplomatically, but Yu-na either didn't pick up on it or pretended not to.
"Ah, I'm off today. I'm usually a pretty busy woman, but I'm not the type to work nonstop without any breaks. Things should be a little more relaxed for a while."
With a sly smile, she subtly emphasized that she had plenty of free time.
"Oh, since I'm free today—wanna spar? I may have retired, but I was an A-rank Hunter once. I could be pretty helpful."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm good."
From her perspective, this was just another way to prolong her time with him—but of course, Min-jun had no reason to accept.
"Aw, come on. I'm telling you, it'll be useful. Don't overthink it."
"I'm really fine, noona. You don't have to go out of your way for me. Thanks for the food."
At this point, most people would take the hint and leave—but Yu-na, undeterred, kept pushing.
"What about your girlfriend, then?"
"Sia would say she doesn't need it either."
"Guess there's no helping it."
Still unable to let go completely, Yu-na placed a light hand on Min-jun's shoulder and asked:
"Well, it's almost lunchtime—wanna grab a bite together? Eating with someone's better than eating alone, right?"
"Sorry, I have plans."
Another obvious lie.
"Guess I'll have to accept that. Let's eat together soon, then."
Yu-na's expression was full of reluctance right up to the very end.
Seeing her reaction, Min-jun had a premonition.
She's going to keep finding excuses to come here. And if that happens, things are going to spiral out of control.
He didn't want to keep letting Yu-na's presence fray his and Sia's nerves any longer.
"Noona."
Today, Min-jun decided to draw the blade.