WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 13: Oppa, Just You Wait.

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We only had six hours left.

Once those six hours passed, we would not be able to see each other whenever we wanted for a while.

According to what Sia's grandfather had told us, we would probably only be allowed three hours a week.

For the time being, we would be like Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo, forced to stay apart.

Considering all that, this date could not help but be special. That was why I thought we could not waste a single moment of it.

"Oppa, is there anywhere you want to go? Or anything you want to do?"

"Lots of things. So many that I have no idea where to go or what to do first."

Just off the top of my head, there were dozens of places I wanted to go and things I wanted to do.

"Mm. Where should we go?"

We did not have much time left, but Sia seemed to be giving it serious thought, perhaps because she wanted this date to be a little more meaningful and romantic.

Before long, though, we found an answer we were both happy with.

"How about Gangwon Province?"

"Gangwon Province?"

"We said we'd take a trip there, remember?"

By my reckoning, it had been around a year ago, a few days before Sia's accident.

Before the semester started, we had casually talked about taking advantage of the break to visit Gangneung.

It was a little late for a summer getaway, but that would mean fewer people and relatively cheaper prices, so I had thought it would be perfect.

I think I had said something like, "Let's take a two-night, three-day trip to Gangneung and make some memories of this summer."

"Right, we did! Then let's go there!"

Sia clapped her hands in delight.

"What should we do there?"

"It's five thirty now, so... let's think about it over dinner first. Oppa, how about king crab?"

"...It's already that late?"

"Yeah. Time is so cruel, isn't it?"

I wondered what it would have been like if we had just a little more time, but we did not even have time to regret it now.

After saying goodbye to Sia's grandfather, we quickly arrived at a king crab specialty restaurant in Gangneung.

We gave the menu a quick look and promptly ordered.

While we waited for our food to come out, I said, "Sia, I'm going to the restroom for a minute."

I had not been able to go for several hours, so I decided to step away briefly.

"Then, Oppa, can I borrow your phone for a moment?"

Sia suddenly asked to borrow my phone.

"What for?"

"We have to find a place to stay later, right? I want to see if there are any good places first. My phone's battery is dead."

That was what she said, but I could not help worrying that she might have another reason.

Like checking my phone. Looking through it. Browsing my messages or gallery...

I flinched for a moment, but I soon concluded that I had nothing to hide even if I showed her everything, so I handed it over without hesitation.

It was not like Sia would do anything strange while I was gone.

This was Sia, of all people. I should trust her.

* * *

When a girlfriend suddenly asks to borrow their phone, most men would probably find it suspicious.

How many men would readily hand over their phones in a situation like that?

Even for lovers, it was incredibly difficult to casually hand over a phone, a treasure trove of private records. Sia knew that well.

She knew Minjun could not have lent her his phone without a single thought or suspicion.

Even so, seeing Minjun hand it over so readily, Sia resolved not to do anything like what he was worrying about.

There was only one thing she wanted to check.

His wallpaper.

Would it be the default wallpaper? A different photo? Or a photo of the two of them together?

That much would be okay, right?

She immediately checked the wallpaper.

It was a photo of her and Minjun together.

But it was not a photo taken today. By this world's reckoning, it had been taken about two years ago.

'If he had changed his wallpaper today, he would have set it to a photo we took today.'

But if his wallpaper was an old photo?

There was a very high chance that he had set this photo as his wallpaper long ago.

Perhaps right before she died. Or perhaps after she had died.

It did not matter which one it was.

The fact that a photo from two years ago was still his wallpaper meant that Minjun had missed her endlessly even after she died.

And Sia's guess was right.

Minjun had set this photo as his wallpaper a few weeks before Sia died.

After Sia's death, he had never changed it even once because he missed her so much.

"...Why am I crying again?"

She had been certain she would never shed tears again.

Yet her eyes were already starting to well up again.

"No. This isn't the time for this."

How startled would Minjun be if he came back and suddenly found her crying?

Sia quickly wiped her damp eyes and checked her face using the front camera.

'Good. You can't tell.'

Sia picked up Minjun's phone again and decided to look for a place to stay, as she had originally intended.

But before that, she searched for something else.

Before looking for accommodations, she searched for swimsuits.

* * *

After quickly using the restroom, I took my phone back from Sia and watched her reaction.

"Sorry. Did you wait long? The restroom was far away, outside the building, so I took a little longer."

"It's okay. I didn't wait long."

Other than the knowing smile on her face, she looked like her usual self.

Just as I thought.

Still, even if she had decided to snoop through my phone, it would not have mattered.

The only woman I had spoken to on the phone recently was my mother.

The last time I had spoken to a woman on the phone, excluding family, was a year ago.

And that had only been because of Sia's funeral.

That was why I could hand my phone over without hesitation.

"It's fine. Did you find a good place?"

"Yeah. I found a few places I like, but... I haven't decided which one to choose yet."

Sia showed me the list of accommodations she had found.

"They all look good to me. Is there one you like, Oppa?"

I had expected her to find some fancy hotel.

Maybe it was a coincidence, but every place Sia found was a pool villa.

I could feel how determined she was to go swimming with me somehow.

Of the three places, we ultimately chose the one with the best view of the ocean.

"This one."

"Then just make the reservation, Oppa. I'll pay later."

We quickly picked our accommodations for the night.

Right after we finished booking, the food arrived.

Starting with sashimi, there was all kinds of seafood and lavish side dishes, not to mention the delicious king crab that would be the highlight of our dinner.

"Wow..."

I had never been served such an extravagant meal in my life, so I could not help staring with my mouth open.

I was not good at taking food photos, so I handed my phone to Sia. Like a fish in water, she began taking pretty pictures.

She had spent far more years living as a dragon, yet it was adorable how she remembered exactly how to use a phone.

As soon as she finished taking pictures, we both picked up a king crab leg at nearly the same time.

We smiled at each other, thinking we were on the same wavelength.

"Oppa. Want me to pick out the crab meat for you?"

"No, it's okay. You don't have to go through the trouble. You should eat comfortably too."

"I'm going to use magic, so it's fine. Hehe."

"Ah."

Why had I not thought of that?

Even in an era when magic was commonplace, I had never considered using magic to pick crab meat out of its shell.

Then again, I had awakened in swordsmanship, not magic.

I handed Sia my king crab leg.

With a single touch from her, the crab meat was cleanly removed.

"Thanks, Sia."

"I'll do the rest too, so just eat comfortably, Oppa."

I told her I would enjoy it and ate the king crab meat, neatly separated from its shell.

Maybe it was because it was expensive, or maybe because Sia had picked it out for me, but it tasted incredible.

Sia looked at me proudly as I ate, diligently picking out more meat for me.

She wore an expression like she was full just from watching me eat.

At the same time, Sia was also busily picking out and eating king crab meat for herself.

Completely captivated by the king crab, we ate in silence for a while.

Then, as Sia cleared away a crab shell that had been neatly picked clean, she seemed to remember something and spoke up.

"Oppa. Has anyone besides me ever picked king crab meat out for you?"

Thinking it was simple curiosity, I answered without much thought.

"Today is my first time having king crab, so no. And for regular crab too, I've always picked the meat out myself, except when I was little."

"Mhm. I see."

The corners of Sia's eyes curved like crescents.

"Then, have you ever picked it out for someone else?"

"Uh... not yet."

Maybe I would do it for my children someday, but until now, I had been too busy picking it out for myself.

Still, if I had to do it for someone other than my own children, it would probably be my parents or...

'Wait.'

I thought I understood why Sia was asking these questions.

"Then, Oppa. What if I asked you to do it for me?"

She had probably been building up to that question all along.

The moment she asked it, the fact that Sia could use magic to remove anything cleanly no longer mattered.

The answer had already been decided when she asked. All I had to do was say it.

"Of course I would. King crab, shrimp shells, anything."

"Hehe."

Apparently pleased with my textbook answer, Sia's smile stretched from ear to ear.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but Sia seemed better at expressing her emotions after we reunited.

"Oppa. You have to do it only for me, okay? Only peel shrimp for me, only hold a perilla leaf for me. Never do that for other women. Okay?"

Even though I had just told her I had never done those things, Sia deliberately stressed it again.

And a perilla leaf?

I had never felt like doing that for anyone except family or Sia in the first place.

"I honestly don't think I could bear seeing you kindly peel shrimp for another woman."

"No, I..."

I told you I had no intention of doing that in the first place.

I was about to offer an explanation that was not really an explanation, but perhaps she was really fixated on this topic. Sia picked up her chopsticks with a chilling look in her eyes.

"You won't, right?"

Why did the ordinary restaurant chopsticks in Sia's hand suddenly look like a vicious weapon?

Was it because she was holding them like a stick instead of the usual way?

And why did Sia's smile feel like a devil's smile?

"Umm... before that, Sia. Of course I won't, but could you put those chopsticks down...?"

I'm scared, Sia.

Footnotes:

A "perilla leaf" is commonly mentioned in Korean relationship discussions, where holding one for another person during a meal can be viewed as an intimate gesture.

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