My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon - Chapter 41

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 41: Oppa, Look Forward to Your Gift.

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The night before Minjun received his mother’s call.

“Did Minjun forget to contact me?”

Yuna, taking a short break in the store’s staff room, idly played with her phone.

She had definitely given him her business card and told him to contact her later before they parted ways, but several days had passed without a word from Minjun.

They had known each other for so long that, even if only to say hello after such a surprising reunion, he should have contacted her at least once.

As far as Yuna could tell, there were two possible reasons why Minjun had not called.

Either he had lost her business card and could not contact her, or...

His girlfriend had stopped him from calling.

Yuna judged the latter to be far more likely.

‘What an uptight guy.’

Maybe it was because she had lived in the United States for nearly half her life, but she could not understand it with her American mindset.

In the United States, it was common for men with girlfriends to hang out with other women, and the opposite was not strange either.

‘I’m only saying we can stay friends.’

Was even that not allowed?

Anyone else with a Confucian mindset would probably click their tongue and say an evil spirit had gotten into her head.

To ease her frustration, Yuna opened her phone gallery and looked through old photos of herself with Minjun.

There were photos from when they had modeled together as children, all the way to one of her kissing Minjun.

‘That’s too much.’

I made it so obvious, and he never realized how I felt.

Yuna thought Minjun was incredibly dense when it came to things like that.

Gazing at the old photos with an odd look in her eyes, she sank into thought again.

If she had not immigrated, perhaps Minjun would be with her instead of Sia.

‘Is there no way?’

She had finally gotten hold of this thread of fate again after so long. She could not just let it slip away.

As she pondered, Yuna suddenly thought of her mother.

Had she not said that she would arrive in Korea the day after tomorrow and stay for a month or two, both to see her daughter and cure her homesickness?

‘Mom liked Minjun a lot too.’

It had been over twenty years, but Yuna remembered this clearly.

Her mother had once said she wanted Minjun as a son-in-law.

It had probably been a joke, but her mother had liked Minjun enough to say something like that.

Their families had also taken turns looking after each other’s children whenever needed, so her mother would surely be curious about how Minjun had grown up as well.

‘...This isn’t a bad idea.’

Even to her, it seemed like a fairly good plan.

After roughly organizing her thoughts, she ran through the plan in her head.

‘Just wait, Minjun.’

Once she had made up her mind, Yuna immediately called her mother.

* * *

“When am I free? Well... Mother, something came up. I’ll call you back later.”

After hurriedly ending the call, I quickly checked Sia’s expression.

I had not even put Mother on speakerphone, so an ordinary human could never have heard it. Still, I put aside my pure admiration at how dragons truly were different.

What mattered now was that Sia had heard every word of that call.

[Oppa.]

Her voice was cold as ice, and her frigid gaze sent chills down my spine just from meeting it.

It was an unfamiliar air, unlike Sia’s usual self.

When had Sia reacted like this before?

Right.

Not long after we reunited, when she found out some crazy woman had tried to get my number.

Sia had looked exactly like this then.

Her voice, and even that icy gaze.

Which meant...

This was definitely an emergency.

[Your mother asked you and that woman to get together for a meal?]

Sia spoke each word clearly and separately.

Her unusually stiff tone made goosebumps rise all over my body.

“...Yeah.”

She had heard everything, so I could not lie.

[Then are you going to go?]

...It was a really difficult question to answer.

It seemed best to accept the meal invitation while assuring Sia that I would never keep in contact with Yuna after that, so she could feel at ease.

But that was only the second-best option, not the best one.

There was no telling whether Sia would accept it.

She might trust me, but she would not trust Yuna.

Ha, what should I do?

Deciding to just take the plunge, I chose to be honest with Sia.

“To be honest, I don’t want to go because it feels off. But Mother really seems to want to see Yuna too.”

I also briefly told her how Yuna’s mother had looked after me when I was young.

“I don’t want to go either. I’ll try to convince Mother not to make me go... But even if I have no choice but to go, I’ll try to make sure nothing you’re worried about happens.”

I spoke as carefully as I could, watching Sia’s reaction the whole time.

Her expression had not worsened, but perhaps it was not the answer she wanted. She simply stared at me with her lips pressed tightly together.

That made her even scarier.

Maybe I should tell Mother that Hunter work has been really busy lately and find a way not to go after all...

Just as I thought that, Sia finally broke the terrifying silence.

[This isn’t a gathering I can join, is it?]

“Mm... no. I’d want to take you if you could come.”

Another silence followed. Then, as though she had made a difficult decision, Sia spoke.

[...It can’t be helped. Go.]

“Really?”

It was unexpected.

But when I looked closely, Sia’s lips were trembling.

“...It would be better if I don’t go.”

[No. Just go. I can’t cause trouble for you and my mother-in-law because of me. You said it’s been twenty years since you saw them.]

Now, not only her lips but even her voice trembled slightly.

[So it’s fine, oppa. I’ll go finish my work. Get some rest.]

Before I could say anything, Sia ended the call.

She said she was fine, but she looked worse than ever.

I wondered if I should call her back, but...

Maybe it would be better to leave her alone and give her time to sort out her thoughts.

“Haah.”

I sighed in frustration.

I had a bad feeling. It felt like that woman definitely had some kind of scheme.

Anyway.

As I continued worrying and finished the porridge Sia had packed for me, I was clearing away the bowl when Rokan came to see me.

“How are you feeling?”

Rokan sat on the edge of the bed and looked me over.

“I feel a little tired and heavy, but nothing seems seriously wrong.”

“Even so, do not even think about overdoing it.”

Even if I wanted to do something, I could not without a sword.

Come to think of it, what had happened to the Dragon Bone Sword I left with him last time?

“Ah, Rokan. Sorry if I sound like I’m rushing you, but... how is the sword coming along?”

“Ah, the sword. I will do my best, but it probably will not be the same as before.”

Reaching into the air, Rokan took out the broken Dragon Bone Sword I had given him yesterday and placed it in front of me.

The sword was still exactly as it had been when I first left it with him.

“I have seen many Dragon Bone Swords, but this is the first one I have seen damaged this severely.”

“The first...?”

“Yes.”

According to Rokan, the Dragon Bone Sword was far tougher than I thought. Even if dragons deliberately tried to break one, it would not be easy to damage it this badly.

He added that the visible damage was not all there was, so its condition really did seem serious.

“Could it be because I struck the Emperor’s sword with this sword...?”

“I cannot say it had no effect, but that was not the direct cause. I believe the direct cause was that the sword was overloaded beyond what it could withstand.”

“Overloaded?”

“Dragon Speech.”

When I looked puzzled, Rokan explained further.

To summarize, while I was trapped in that space, I had unconsciously squeezed out every bit of power left in the sword in order to use Dragon Speech. That had temporarily drawn the dragon’s power within the sword to its absolute limit... but the price was that the sword had been damaged this badly.

“It is similar to how your body was left in ruins from wielding that power.”

It was not certain yet, but Rokan said that assumption was probably correct.

It would make sense if both were side effects of using Dragon Speech before my body was ready.

“So... I could use Dragon Speech because every condition lined up perfectly and a series of coincidences happened?”

“Yes. On top of that, the environment likely played a role as well.”

Hearing it put that way made me feel strangely downcast.

In the end, it meant the day I could use Dragon Speech perfectly without outside factors was still far away.

“Still, you did well. Regardless of the process, there is meaning in the fact that you managed to use Dragon Speech even once.”

More than that, he said he was deeply grateful that I had returned safely.

“I am only telling you this now, but when Shasha learned that you were trapped in the Gate, she fainted on the spot.”

“...Ah.”

...She fainted.

As I pictured it, a part of my chest ached.

If I had not returned for a long time, or if I had never returned, Sia probably would have...

...I did not even want to imagine it.

I felt sorry toward both Sia and Rokan for making them worry.

But while I silently dwelled on what Sia must have felt, Rokan warmly embraced me.

“If you had not resisted with all your strength and had given up, Shasha would have felt as if she had lost the world. In that sense, thank you. And I am proud of you.”

After gently patting my back, Rokan put the broken sword back into his pocket dimension.

“I am planning to visit the place you went to soon.”

“That dungeon is probably owned by a guild, so...”

The words, “You probably will not be able to enter freely,” rose to the tip of my tongue, but I soon realized I had worried for nothing.

What could a dragon like Rokan possibly be unable to do?

“...Never mind. That was pointless.”

“Anyway, we might find another clue there for bringing out your power.”

After saying that, Rokan left a bottle of potion beside my bed, as he had yesterday, and stepped out for a while.

Once I was alone, I drank the potion in one go and stared at the large, dark screen.

The screen I had been using to video call Sia for so long before Rokan arrived.

‘...Is Sia okay?’

I hoped not, but Sia was probably in an extremely bad mood right now.

I felt terribly sorry for upsetting her over something like this.

That guilt soon turned into resentment toward Yuna.

‘Seriously, that noona.’

If I did not contact her, she should have taken the hint that I was not interested.

Why was she making such a big production out of this?

* * *

Immediately after ending the call with Minjun.

Sia stared blankly at the dark screen with unfocused eyes.

‘That woman must have planned this.’

When Minjun had not contacted her even after she gave him her number, that woman must have devised a strategy to create a connection somehow.

She had probably created a situation where Minjun would have no choice but to meet her again, then planned to use it as an opportunity to gradually get closer to him.

In truth, her guess was almost right.

‘She got me.’

If she told him not to meet her in this situation, it would look like she was throwing a tantrum.

That was why she was so frustrated.

She could feel so clearly how Minjun was trying to be careful not to make her anxious, and how that woman was desperately trying to create an opening.

It was not that she did not trust Minjun.

She just did not know what that woman might do next.

How could she keep that woman from even coming near Minjun?

As anxiety consumed her, her composure gradually began to crumble.

To regain it, she took a deep breath and gripped the bone she had prepared for making a Dragon Bone Sword, refining it with greater precision.

For now, trust Minjun.

Then find out how that woman named Yuna flirted with him during that meeting, and come up with more detailed countermeasures.

No matter how much she worried, there was nothing she could change right now.

So for now, she should focus only on making the sword.

Her hands busily refined the bone.

Sia began to think about the sword’s design.

Since it would be the only sword like it in the world, should its design not be special too?