Chapter 29 - Oppa, What Exactly Is Your Relationship with That Woman?

“Wow.”

Minjun let out an exclamation as soon as he entered the restaurant. Junhwi had told him yesterday that it was an upscale Chinese restaurant, but he hadn’t expected anything quite this fancy. The elegant interior, along with the awards and trophies displayed prominently around the room, seemed to speak to the restaurant’s standing.

As Minjun stood taking it all in, Jiyun came over and said,

“A lot of famous celebrities and high-ranking hunters come here. Even they have trouble getting a table unless they book a month ahead.”

“Then how did you get a reservation?”

“My friend owns the place. I asked her for a favor, and managed to get one.”

Perhaps she was proud of her friend, because Jiyun looked delighted the whole time she talked about her and the restaurant.

“Wow. Your friend’s made it at a young age.”

“Right? I think she’s amazing too.”

While Minjun and Jiyun chatted easily, Sia watched from right beside them. It was an ordinary conversation, nothing more, but she still felt uncomfortable seeing Minjun talking one-on-one with another woman. She could easily have let her displeasure show. Instead, she kept a straight face and watched him.

As though he’d read her mind, Minjun turned toward her.

“If it’s good, let’s come back, just the two of us.”

“Okay!”

Just the two of us. Minjun’s words put Sia at ease.

Once they had sat down and ordered the set menu, the four of them began chatting in earnest. Given why they had gathered, the conversation naturally began with thanks.

“Thank you again.”

Emotion seemed to well up in Jiyun as she spoke. She drank a glass of water before continuing.

“Both our parents died when we were young. Junhwi was the only blood family I had...”

She spoke calmly, but Minjun could sense what she was feeling. How much must the brother and sister have depended on each other without their parents? If not for Minjun, Jiyun might have lost Junhwi, her only family, and been left all alone in the world.

Listening to Jiyun brought Sia’s past to Minjun’s mind: how she had lost her entire family in a gate incident when she was in high school. He could still see her weeping alone at the funeral after losing them all in an instant.

“I don’t think I could thank you enough, no matter how many times I said it.”

“Please, it was nothing. Besides, I wasn’t fighting alone.”

“What are you talking about? You took on almost all the villains yourself, hyung. Man, even as another guy, I thought you were so cool.”

Junhwi chimed in cheerfully. At the sound of “hyung,” Minjun made a show of shuddering.

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Old habits die hard, hyung.”

Those painful memories had nearly left Minjun feeling down, but Junhwi’s good humor helped him shake it off.

Meanwhile, Sia watched with pride as the brother and sister thanked Minjun from the bottom of their hearts. Seeing others recognize her boyfriend like this made her happy too.

The four continued their warm conversation, and Sia joined in while keeping a close eye on Jiyun’s reactions.

‘I still can’t tell.’

Jiyun had even complimented Sia and asked how she managed to look so good. She had admired their matching shirts, too, with no trace of jealousy. On top of that, she and Junhwi had prepared a separate gift for Minjun and Sia: an expensive pair of slippers for each of them, matching as a couple’s set. However Sia looked at it, Jiyun showed no sign of being romantically interested in Minjun.

Even so, Sia kept reminding herself not to let her guard down until they parted ways with the siblings.

While she waged that private, invisible battle, the first course finally arrived: crab and scorched-rice soup. Tender crabmeat and scorched rice complemented each other beautifully.

Sia tasted a spoonful and watched Minjun’s reaction.

“Is it good, Oppa?”

“Yeah. It’s really good.”

“I’ll make it for you sometime.”

She was learning to cook these days, she said, so he only had to tell her what he liked. She smiled brightly at him, her gaze full of affection.

“Oppa, open wide.”

Sia scooped up a generous spoonful of soup and fed it to Minjun, almost as though she wanted to show Jiyun how close they were.

‘This is a little... embarrassing.’

They fed each other sometimes when they were alone, but other people were sitting right beside them. One was a younger friend he knew, and the other was that friend’s older sister, whom he had only met today. But he couldn’t refuse a spoonful of soup from his lovely girlfriend.

Once Minjun swallowed it, Sia opened her mouth adorably, as though it were her turn.

“Anyone would think you hadn’t even been together a hundred days.”

The sight was sweet enough to bring a smile to Jiyun’s lips.

“How many years did you say you two had been dating?”

“Almost five years,” Minjun answered.

Jiyun looked startled. “Wow. And you’re still so lovey-dovey.”

Five years was long enough for a relationship to lose its spark, for passionate lovers to become comfortable companions. And yet...

“I think anyone in our position would be the same,” Minjun said.

They had miraculously found each other again across the span of a lifetime. How could they not cherish each other deeply? As he answered, Minjun laid a hand lightly on Sia’s shoulder and drew her close. She leaned against him with a smile.

The meal continued in that warm atmosphere until dessert arrived, signaling the end of the courses.

“Oh, right. You said you were a hunter too, Sia?” Jiyun asked.

“Yes, though I think I’ll take a break for a while.”

If Sia wasn’t going into a gate with Minjun, she had no reason to put herself through the trouble.

“But you haven’t retired, have you?”

“No. I’m just taking a break for now.”

It might be difficult at present, but Sia dreamed of the day she and Minjun could enter a gate together, just the two of them. At her answer, Jiyun clapped her hands.

“That’s perfect. There’s something I haven’t told you. You know the owner here? My friend? She used to be an A-rank hunter.”

“Really?”

“No way.”

Minjun and Sia were both intrigued. Jiyun had said she was twenty-seven this year, and the owner was her friend... That meant the woman had not only succeeded as a hunter but also achieved a great deal as a businesswoman.

“She sounds impressive.”

“She’s my friend, but I think so too. Anyway, that’s not what I was getting at. I was thinking I could introduce you two to her.”

Although Jiyun said her friend had retired, she was still a former A-rank hunter. Learning from the experience she’d gained as a hunter would help them, Jiyun explained, and her connections from those days could prove even more useful. It was another way for Jiyun to thank the two people who had saved her brother’s life.

But at that moment, Sia seemed to sense something instinctively.

“Your friend is a woman, isn’t she?”

Could this person see Minjun as a potential boyfriend or not? That was all Sia cared about.

Jiyun, unaware of what lay behind the question, answered casually. “Yes. She should be in the kitchen now, so if I call her, she’ll probably be here soon.”

Jiyun called her friend and was told she would be over shortly.

By the time they were nearly finished with the second course, Jiyun’s friend, the restaurant’s owner, opened the door and came in.

“Jiyun! How long has it been?”

“Yuna! Why have you been so busy lately? You said we’d see each other more once you retired!”

“That’s just how life goes. I never expected to end up running a restaurant myself.”

After they greeted each other warmly, Jiyun introduced her friend to Minjun and Sia.

“This is my friend Go Yuna, the one I mentioned. And these are the people I told you about before: Minjun, who saved our Junhwi’s life, and his girlfriend Sia. She’s a hunter too.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure.”

Right after they exchanged greetings, Go Yuna stared at Minjun’s face as though something puzzled her.

‘What’s her problem?’

Staring so intently at someone else’s boyfriend... Just as Sia was considering letting some of her irritation show, Yuna tilted her head. Still looking uncertain, she suddenly asked, “Were you Yoon Minjun from Saetbyeol Kindergarten at Uju Apartments?”

“... How do you know that?”

At Minjun’s reaction, certainty crossed Yuna’s face, followed by a smile.

“It’s me! Go Yuna! Don’t you remember playing house at my place? We went to kindergarten together!”

“... Oh!”

Minjun clapped his hands, as though it had finally come back to him. The woman who had introduced herself as Go Yuna beamed at him.

“I thought I’d never see you again! It’s so good to see you, Minjun. How have you been?”

“Wow, I remember it all now. What a place to run into you.”

Stunned by the coincidence, Minjun greeted her enthusiastically, forgetting for a moment that Sia was beside him.

“We should meet up for a meal sometime. Wow.”

“That would...”

Minjun stopped mid-sentence and checked Sia’s expression.

‘...!’

She wasn’t showing it outwardly, but he had known her long enough to tell. If he readily agreed here, something would go very, very wrong.

“I’d like to, but I’ve been busy lately. I don’t think I can for a while.”

“Oh, really? That’s too bad.”

Go Yuna looked genuinely disappointed to hear he had no time. Sia watched it happen right before her eyes.

Whether Yuna didn’t feel Sia’s piercing gaze or was pretending not to, she turned to her with perfect composure.

“Or... it was Sia, right? If you don’t mind, would you like to have a meal together sometime?”

On the surface, it looked like a simple, friendly invitation. But Sia’s instincts were warning her: that woman was dangerous. Sooner or later, somewhere, she was sure to become a serious obstacle between Sia and Minjun.

“I’d love to!”

Sia hid those thoughts and answered brightly. First, she needed to find out exactly what the woman was thinking.

* * *

By the time we’d finished eating and talking about this and that, an hour and a half had passed since we met the siblings.

“We should get going,” I said.

“Already? Stay for a coffee,” Jiyun urged. There was a lovely café nearby, she said, and she seemed sorry to see us leave.

But this didn’t seem like the time to sit around laughing over coffee. Feeling Sia’s blazing stare beside me, I brought our visit to a close.

“We have other plans. Thank you for lunch. Junhwi, I’ll get in touch later.”

“See you soon, hyung!”

With that, we said goodbye to Junhwi and his sister. Now there was just Yuna left.

“Sia, let’s have a meal together soon. I’ll call you. And Minjun, since we happened to run into each other like this, let’s at least keep in touch now and then.”

She pressed her business card into my hand, telling me I could reach her there.

“I have to get back to work. Let’s talk soon.”

“Okay, Yuna. See you.”

She waved us off with a smile right up until she went back inside.

Once she was out of sight, the presence beside me seemed to grow steadily more imposing. Goose bumps rose all over my body. My instincts were definitely warning me.

“Oppa.”

Sia laced her fingers through mine and gazed steadily at me. Why did the look in her eyes, which I usually found so endearing, feel so cold today?

“That Yuna woman... what exactly...”

Her voice grew firmer, and I felt her mana surging through the hand clasped in mine.

“What exactly is your relationship with her?”