Chapter 13 - Oppa, Look Forward to It

We had only six hours left. Once those six hours were over, we wouldn't be able to see each other whenever we wanted, at least for a while. According to Sia's grandfather, we'd probably be allowed just three hours a week. For the time being, we'd be like Gyeonu and Jiknyeo, kept apart from each other. That made this date special, and I couldn't bear to waste a moment of it.

“Oppa, is there somewhere you want to go? Or something you want to do?”

“Lots of things. So many I don't even know where to start.” Dozens of places and things came to mind right away.

“Hmm. Where should we go?” Sia seemed to be thinking hard, too. We had so little time, and she must have wanted our date to be meaningful and romantic. Before long, though, we found an answer we both liked.

“How about Gangwon Province?”

“Gangwon Province?”

“We were going to take a trip there, remember?”

About a year ago by my reckoning, a few days before Sia's accident, we'd casually talked about visiting Gangneung before classes started. It was a little late for a summer getaway, but we'd figured that meant fewer crowds and relatively lower prices. I think we'd said we'd spend two nights and three days there and make a memory of that summer.

“Oh, right! We did. Let's go there!” Sia clapped her hands, delighted.

“What should we do when we get there?”

“It's five thirty now, so... let's have dinner first and think about it while we eat. Oppa, how does king crab sound?”

“... Is it that late already?”

“Yeah. Time's cruel, isn't it?”

I wished we had even a little more time, but we couldn't afford to spend what we had feeling sorry about it. After saying goodbye to Sia's grandfather, we made short work of getting to a king crab restaurant in Gangneung. We scanned the menu and placed our order right away. While we waited for the food, I said,

“Sia, I'm going to the bathroom for a minute.” It had been hours since I'd had the chance, so I needed to step away.

“Then, Oppa, could I borrow your phone for a bit?” Sia had asked out of nowhere.

“What for?”

“We'll need to book a place to stay later. I want to see what's available. My phone's out of battery.”

That was what she said, but I worried she might have something else in mind. An inspection, maybe. A look through my phone, my messages, my photos... I flinched for a moment, then decided I had nothing to hide even if she saw everything, and handed it over. Surely Sia wouldn't do anything strange while I was gone. This was Sia, after all. I should trust her.

* * *

Most men would probably be suspicious if their girlfriend suddenly asked to borrow their phone. How many would hand it over without hesitation? Even between lovers, a phone was a trove of private information, and Sia knew how difficult that could be. She knew Minjun couldn't have given her his phone without a single thought or doubt. Seeing him hand it over anyway, she resolved not to do what he feared.

There was just one thing she wanted to check: his wallpaper. Was it the default image, some other picture, or a photo of the two of them? Surely looking at that much was all right. She checked immediately. His wallpaper was a photo of her and Minjun together.

It wasn't a photo they'd taken today, though. By the calendar here, it had been taken about two years ago. ‘If he'd changed his wallpaper today, he'd obviously have used a photo from today.’ So what did it mean that he'd used an old one? Most likely, he'd set it as his wallpaper long ago. Maybe just before she died? Or maybe afterward? Either way, it didn't matter. The fact that her photo from two years ago was still there meant Minjun had gone on missing her after her death.

And Sia was right. Minjun had set the photo as his wallpaper a few weeks before she died. Afterward, he had missed her so much that he'd never changed it, not even once.

“... Why am I crying again?” She'd been so sure she wouldn't cry anymore, but her eyes were already filling with tears.

“No. I can't sit here like this.” How startled would Minjun be if he came back to find her crying? She quickly wiped her eyes and checked her face with the selfie camera. ‘Good. You can't tell.’

Sia picked up Minjun's phone again, intending to look for a place to stay as she'd said. But first, she decided to search for something else. Before accommodations, she searched for swimsuits.

* * *

I hurried back from the bathroom, took my phone from Sia, and watched her reaction.

“Sorry. Were you waiting long? The bathroom was outside the building and pretty far away.”

“It's fine. You weren't gone long.” Apart from a knowing smile, she seemed like her usual self. Of course she did.

Even if she'd decided to snoop through my phone, it wouldn't have mattered. The only woman I'd called recently was my mother. Apart from family, the last time I'd spoken to a woman on the phone was a year ago, and that call had been about Sia's funeral. That was why I'd been able to leave my phone with her so readily.

“No, it's fine.”

“Did you find anywhere good?”

“Yeah. A few places look nice... but I haven't decided which one.” Sia showed me the list of places she'd found. “They all look good to me. Is there one you like, Oppa?”

I'd expected her to find some fancy hotel, but every place on her list was a villa with a private pool. Maybe it was a coincidence, but I could sense how determined she was to swim with me. Of the three, we settled on the one with the best view of the sea.

“This one.”

“Then make the reservation, Oppa. I'll pay when we get there.”

We'd chosen our place for the night in no time. The food arrived just after I finished booking.

There was sashimi, all kinds of seafood, an array of colorful side dishes, and, to crown the meal, delicious king crab.

“Wow...” I'd never been served such a lavish spread in my life. My mouth fell open before I knew it. Since I was no good at taking food photos, I passed my phone to Sia, who eagerly started taking beautiful shots. She'd spent far longer living as a dragon, yet she still remembered how to use every feature on a phone. It was adorable.

As soon as she finished taking photos, we each picked up a king crab leg at almost the same time. We looked at each other and smiled, pleased to be in sync.

“Oppa, want me to take the meat out for you?”

“No, it's okay. Don't go to the trouble. You eat, too.”

“I'll use magic, silly. Hee-hee.”

“Oh.” Why hadn't I thought of that? Magic might be commonplace these days, but I'd never imagined using it to get crabmeat out of the shell. Then again, I'd awakened as a swordsman, not a mage.

I handed Sia my crab leg. With one motion of her hand, the meat came neatly free.

“Thanks, Sia.”

“I'll do the rest, too. Just enjoy your food, Oppa.”

I thanked her for the meal and ate the king crab meat, cleanly separated from its shell. Maybe it tasted so incredible because it was expensive, or maybe because Sia had prepared it for me. She watched me eat with a proud look on her face as she worked on the rest, as though seeing me enjoy it was enough to fill her up. Even so, she was busily eating king crab herself. Captivated by it, we ate in silence for a while.

Then, as Sia cleared away an empty shell, something seemed to occur to her.

“Oppa, has anyone besides me ever taken king crab meat out of the shell for you?”

Thinking she was just curious, I answered without giving it much thought. “This is my first time eating king crab, so no. Even with ordinary crab, I've taken the meat out myself, except when I was little.”

“Mmm. I see.” Her eyes curved into crescents. “Then have you ever done it for anyone?”

“Uh... not yet.”

I might do it for my children someday, but so far I'd had enough to do getting the meat out for myself. If I were going to do it for someone other than my children, it would probably be my parents or...

‘Wait.’ I thought I understood why Sia had asked.

“Then, Oppa, what if I asked you to do it for me?”

She'd probably been building up to that question all along. Once she'd asked it, the fact that she could get meat out of any shell with magic didn't matter. The answer was already decided. All I had to do was say it.

“Of course I would. King crab, shrimp shells, whatever you want.”

“Hee-hee.” Apparently pleased with the textbook answer, Sia grinned from ear to ear. Maybe it was just my imagination, but since we'd reunited, she seemed to show her feelings more openly than before.

“Oppa, you have to do it only for me, okay? Peel shrimp only for me, and hold down my perilla leaves only for me. Never do any of that for other women. Okay?”

I'd just told her I'd never done it for anyone, but she insisted on making the point again. And perilla leaves? I wouldn't feel like holding them down for anyone besides my family or Sia in the first place.

“I just couldn't bear to see you kindly peeling shrimp for another woman.”

“No, I...” I wasn't planning to do that anyway.

I tried to explain myself, though there was nothing to explain, but Sia seemed fixated on the subject. She picked up her chopsticks with a chilling look in her eyes.

“You won't, right?”

Why did the ordinary restaurant chopsticks in her hand suddenly look like deadly weapons? Was it because she was gripping them like sticks instead of holding them normally? And why did her smile look positively demonic?

“B-before that, Sia... Of course I won't, but could you maybe put those chopsticks down...?”

You're scaring me, Sia.