Chapter 48 - Oppa, What's That Photo?

How had I known she'd made the jewelry from her own bones? She'd once carved a sword from her bones for me, so I'd only thought it might be possible. Even as I said it, I hadn't believed it could actually be true. Unfortunately, my hunch was right.

I stared at the silvery-white ring on my finger, carved from Sia's bone.

'... Ugh.'

I felt goosebumps rising all over. At least the sword she'd given me before had a handle, and I didn't have to carry it around every day. That made it a little less disturbing. This, though, was touching my skin.

Keep your expression under control. I turned to Sia, hiding my feelings as best I could.

Sia proudly held out her hand, which bore a ring made from her own bone. "Oppa, while we're at it, should I make a few more matching rings?"

"... Huh?"

"Enough to fill all ten fingers! Then we can wear different ones depending on our mood. What do you think?"

She smiled innocently, which only made it creepier. Just imagining all ten fingers covered in rings made from Sia's bones...

Ugh.

"... I really appreciate the thought, Sia, but this is more than enough for me."

"Oh, Oppa. Are you saying that because you think it'd be hard for me? It's not hard at all."

She'd missed the point entirely. She asked me to hold out my hand, then took a photo with her phone of our ringed hands together. Afterward, she gently stroked the ring on my finger.

"And Oppa, try to wear the ring and necklace regularly. They contain a little dragon power, so they should help you, even if it's only a bit."

Given what they were made of, I'd felt too uneasy to wear them all the time. I'd planned to take them off whenever I wasn't seeing Sia. But after hearing that, I had no choice but to keep them on. I desperately wanted to make an excuse and say I couldn't, but I couldn't think of a single one. All I could do was nod.

"I will. Thanks."

Resigning myself to it, I decided to do as she asked.

"Sia, give me a second. I need the bathroom."

"Okay!"

I retreated to the bathroom to pull myself together after the jewelry had rattled me. In the mirror, the silvery-white ring and necklace seemed to shine all the brighter, as if determined to make their presence known. Would I get used to them someday, like I had to using the Dragon Bone Sword? I couldn't even sigh freely in case she heard me.

I lightly patted my cheeks and gave myself a pep talk.

'It's just jewelry. Jewelry that's good for me. It feels a little strange, but I'll get used to it soon.'

After giving myself that little dose of self-hypnosis in the mirror, I came out.

Just when I thought I'd finally regained my composure...

"Oppa."

Another problem cropped up. Sia held out a photo. It was the four-frame photo we'd taken just before parting ways when I'd met up with Yuna recently. I'd taken it at the time, but hadn't known what to do with it, so I'd left it lying around.

If it had been a photo of just Yuna and me, I probably would have thrown it out without a second thought. No, I wouldn't have taken a photo alone with her in the first place. But my mother and Yuna's mother were in this one too, making it awkward to throw away.

'How did I forget about this?'

I'd known Sia might come over today. I'd even thought she wouldn't like seeing it, but I'd forgotten to put it away somewhere.

"What's this photo?"

One problem after another. At Sia's icy look, a chill ran down my spine again.

"Uh... that."

My mind went blank. What could I say to get through this? Would honesty be best this time too? Or was there some better way? The day was fairly cool, but cold sweat seemed to run down my back.

In the end, I decided that telling the truth was probably my best option again. Yuna had suggested the photo, and I couldn't refuse without making things awkward. And since she wasn't the only one in it, I couldn't simply throw it away. But being honest might not be enough. What I did next was important.

I rummaged through a drawer for a permanent marker and began blacking out Yuna's face in the photo. Sia looked startled by my sudden move, but she didn't stop me. It looked a little strange, but as far as I could tell, this was the best I could do.

The more of Yuna's face I covered, the more Sia's tense expression softened into a smile. Only when she seemed less angry could I begin to relax. Once I'd thoroughly erased Yuna's face, I wondered briefly what to do with the photo, then handed it to Sia.

"I doubt I'd look at this much if I kept it, and it'd only make me uncomfortable. Do you want it?"

"Should I take it, then?"

She slipped it into her pocket without hesitation. Only when the whole ordeal was over could I finally breathe easy. Maybe it was my imagination, but things like this seemed to happen a lot since I'd reunited with Yuna.

'Just my luck.'

This was exhausting. How had things ended up like this?

* * *

Despite a few little(?) incidents, we enjoyed our longer-than-usual time together and brought our sweet date to a close.

The day after our date, I had lunch plans with Rokan. Ever since reuniting with his granddaughter in this unfamiliar world, he'd often invited Sia or me to eat with him. Perhaps he found eating alone lonely.

I still had some time before lunch, so I browsed the internet. Sure enough, every page seemed plastered with articles about yesterday's gate break.

'Well, of course.'

An S-rank gate break, practically a disaster, in the heart of Seoul was newsworthy enough. Add the fact that one person had stopped it alone without a single casualty, and what more was there to say?

I looked through the headlines one by one.

<S-Rank Monster Appears in Central Seoul, Yet Casualties Are 'Zero'? Mystery Hunter's 'Spectacular Feat'>

<Who Was the Hunter Who Stopped the Gate Break? Authorities 'Investigating'>

<[Video] Wyvern Slaughter: Has Another Rising Hunter Star Appeared in Korea?>

Countless other articles were pouring out, each racking up an enormous number of views. From what I read, it looked as though things would get pretty troublesome if Sia's involvement came to light.

Next I went on YouTube and played videos of Sia's fight. The recording equipment hadn't captured her face clearly, but the footage of her in battle was vivid. After watching it several times, a thought struck me.

If I learned to use dragon speech and wield dragon power freely, could I display that kind of strength too? I couldn't picture myself wielding such tremendous power.

'But it's not impossible.'

After all, the Dragon Lord himself had recognized me, and I was growing rapidly.

I turned to the comments. Plenty of people wanted to know who Sia was. Where had this rising star come from? She might become a hunter who represented Korea. Even through the poor video quality, her beauty shone through.

The praise wasn't for me, but seeing so much positive attention for my girlfriend made me proud. It almost felt as though I were the one being complimented.

I wondered how things would unfold. They probably wouldn't discover Sia's identity, but I was curious what would happen next all the same. Had Rokan seen the articles too?

It was time for lunch, so I teleported to his lair with those thoughts still drifting through my head.

As soon as I arrived, I found a generous lunch spread waiting.

"Thank you for inviting me, Rokan."

"I'm the one who should thank you. My grandson-in-law has come to keep me company."

After greeting each other warmly, we began to eat. Naturally, yesterday's events came up.

"Rokan, did you see the articles?"

"About the gate break Shasha stopped yesterday?"

"Yes."

Of course he knew. It concerned his granddaughter.

"At first, I thought she'd gotten involved in something she needn't have. But Shasha told me she was on a date with you nearby."

"Yes."

Sia had probably given him a rough account, but I explained what had happened once more. Rokan nodded in understanding.

"Our kind don't usually interfere in human affairs. Now I see why she did."

"There's something I've been wondering. As a dragon, couldn't you stop all the gate breaks happening around the world?"

"I could, but why should I? Gates are you humans' concern."

"Even though you could save so many lives...?"

What would I do if I had power like Rokan's? I thought I'd probably use it to contribute something to the world. Rokan seemed to see it differently.

"That's your concern. To put it bluntly, human lives don't interest me much."

"But..."

I wanted to argue, but I couldn't think of a thing to say.

"From my perspective, it makes no difference whether a disease spreads here or a gate breaks open. I'm interested in experiencing a new world and keeping Shasha safe. That's about it."

Maybe I'd grown too comfortable with him because he usually seemed like a kindly grandfather. To a dragon, humans might be nothing more than curious little creatures. Just as we paid little attention when a few ants died, dragons might feel little concern when humans died in droves.

It seemed I still didn't understand dragons very well. If I wanted to master dragon power someday, perhaps I'd need to understand and accept their values to some extent.

I sat staring into space without a word. Perhaps thinking he'd hurt my feelings, Rokan said, "Of course I care about your safety too. You're the one our Shasha loves. When you smile, she smiles, and if you're hurt, she'll be sad."

"So don't take it too hard," he added. He had a surprisingly endearing side.

Anyway, we talked about Sia and all sorts of other things until the meal was over.

I'd eaten, and I was already at Rokan's lair. There was one obvious thing to do.

"Rokan, if you have time, I'd like to ask you for a spar."

What else but sparring? But he declined today.

"I'm sorry. I have something to do today."

"Ah... I understand. Then perhaps another time, when you're free."

He'd always been so willing to make time for me that I'd begun to take it for granted. He wasn't a person—no, a dragon—who had to keep his schedule open to spar with me.

Still, that left me with an awkward stretch of free time. Should I train alone here in the lair, or go look for a gate I could clear today? As I pondered how to spend the rest of the afternoon, Rokan made an unexpected suggestion.

"Minjun, have you considered getting your rank reassessed?"