WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 44: Oppa, All Women Are Wolves.

──────

At the perfect time, Sia called.

I was in the middle of a meal, so it was not exactly a good time to answer.

But...

Even I could not say what would happen if I did not answer it now.

After excusing myself, I stepped away from the table to take Sia’s call.

Right before I answered, I swallowed hard, nervous about what Sia might say.

“Yeah, Sia.”

[Oppa, what are you doing right now?]

“I was eating.”

[What did you talk about when you met that unni?]

“It wasn’t just Yuna noona and me talking. Since it was this kind of gathering, we ended up talking a lot about the past.”

I told Sia everything we had talked about without leaving anything out.

Even the story about how Yuna noona and I used to eat jjajangmyeon together after work when we were kids, though I wondered whether I should tell her that.

I knew nothing good would come from telling her.

Still, it was much better than letting Sia hear about it later from someone else.

Thankfully, Sia did not seem as uncomfortable as I had expected.

As I was about to briefly tell her the rest of what we had talked about, Sia, perhaps feeling sorry for calling while I was eating, said this.

[You’re eating, and I called for no reason. Oppa, call me when your plans are over.]

“Okay. Enjoy your lunch.”

[But, oppa.]

Just as I relaxed and was about to hang up, Sia asked me something.

[How was that unni dressed today? What about her makeup?]

...Why was she asking that out of nowhere?

I had no idea what the question was getting at, but I decided to answer honestly.

“She looked like she was dressed normally. She seemed to have put in a little more effort than the last time we saw her at the restaurant, but it didn’t feel like she had gone all out or anything.”

I knew absolutely nothing about women’s makeup or fashion, but that was how it looked to me.

As I answered, I carefully considered why Sia had asked.

And I thought I understood.

She wanted to know whether Yuna noona had dressed up with the intention of seducing me.

If I had answered, “She had a full face of makeup and clearly put a lot of effort into her outfit,” Sia would probably have become even more wary of Yuna noona.

But at least as far as her outfit went, I had not noticed anything like that.

Trying to put Sia at ease, I added, “From what I could tell, she really just came to have a meal today.”

[No!]

Sia suddenly raised her voice.

That startled me.

[Girls who just turned twenty or beginners use heavy colors when they put on a full face, so everyone can tell they have makeup on. But women like that unni use light colors and put on a full face without making it obvious... Haah.]

What was that supposed to mean? Was there some world of women that I did not know about?

I still did not really understand, but judging from Sia’s reaction, it seemed I should not have said anything.

[Anyway, oppa, be careful. All women are wolves.]

Weren’t men the ones who were supposed to be wolves?

Before I could ask, Sia left one final remark and hung up.

[Now go eat. You must be hungry.]

...I did not know why, but I felt uneasy.

When I returned to the table, the conversation had continued without me.

As I sat down, Mother asked, “Who was that?”

“Sia.”

Yuna noona quietly joined in.

“Your girlfriend? I want to see her again too.”

Well, it did not seem like Sia wanted that at all.

“Why?”

“Why? She seems cute, pretty, and kind. I just want to get closer to her.”

“Our Sia is like that.”

At the compliment for her future daughter-in-law, Mother nodded with a delighted smile.

“Come visit my restaurant with your girlfriend sometime. Oh, and I think I said this before. I may be retired now, but as your senior Hunter, I’ll help however I can. Maybe we can spar sometime?”

“Spar?”

“Yeah. I was a fairly promising A-rank Hunter, after all. It would probably help both you and your girlfriend.”

Sparring.

How absurd would Sia find that if she heard it?

From Yuna noona’s perspective, she probably meant it sincerely, simply wanting to help a junior Hunter. But knowing the truth, I could only laugh to myself.

“Thanks for looking out for me.”

Still, neither Sia nor I would probably ever spar with Yuna noona.

If it did happen, I would be more worried about Yuna noona, who would have to spar with Sia.

“Yuna really acts like a proper noona. She takes such good care of Minjun too.”

Mother watched her fondly.

It might look that way on the surface, but would she still think so if she knew all the hidden truths?

Anyway.

After talking for quite some time, we finished our meal and left the restaurant.

As soon as we came outside, Yuna noona asked Mother, “Mother, have you heard of four-cut photos?”

“Oh, those photos young people take a lot these days?”

“Yes. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Would you like to take one as a memento?”

She pointed toward a photo booth across the street.

I did not take them often unless it was with Sia, but I knew people who liked them took them whenever they had the chance.

So I understood that this was a perfectly natural suggestion.

At the same time, though, I knew that if Sia ever saw this scene, she would grab Yuna noona by the hair and yell, “How dare that vixen!”

But it was not like I had an excuse to say I did not want to take them.

“Sure! I had been thinking that the four of us should take a picture together.”

“I wanted to try it too. Let’s go.”

Mother and Yuna noona’s mother both loved Yuna noona’s suggestion.

And once again, I was completely swept along by Yuna noona’s plan.

Only after taking photos and then going to a cafe to talk some more did the end of this outing finally come into sight.

“It’s been so long since we met. It’s a shame to part like this.”

“I know. Unni, I’ll be staying in Korea for another month or two, so contact me later!”

Mother and Yuna noona’s mother exchanged final goodbyes reluctantly. Meanwhile, Yuna noona came closer to me.

“Come visit the restaurant with your girlfriend sometime. From what I saw last time, I think she likes our food too.”

“...Yeah.”

If Yuna noona had not been the owner, Sia would probably have been the first to suggest going.

“Oh, Minjun. That business card I gave you last time, did you lose it?”

“Huh?”

“I gave you my card so you could contact me, but you never did. I wondered if you had lost it.”

I could not tell her that I had given it to Sia, so I decided to lie.

“Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I guess it fell out of my pocket back then.”

At that, Yuna noona joked, “I was worried you didn’t contact me on purpose because you couldn’t stand the sight of me,” then held out her hand.

“Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in.”

Swept along by the flow of things, I handed over my phone. Yuna noona entered her number, pressed the call button, and only then returned it to me.

“I’ll contact you later. Let’s have a meal together sometime.”

It had happened so naturally that all I could think was that I had been had.

Every part of the situation had been arranged too smoothly.

Anyway.

The outing ended with everyone except me sincerely looking forward to seeing each other again.

Then I called Sia and reported everything that had happened today.

Seriously, I had not done anything wrong, so why did I feel so guilty?

The moment I finished speaking, Sia said,

[Oppa. Let’s video call tonight and eat dinner together.]

Her voice was very dry, giving away none of her feelings.

Because of our circumstances, we rarely had the opportunity to meet and eat together. Since reuniting, we had often eaten this way to create the feeling of sharing a meal.

“Sounds good.”

But Sia’s expression as she suggested eating together looked clearly different from usual.

No matter how I thought about it, something was going on.

I had spent quite a long time with Sia, but understanding a woman’s heart still seemed very difficult.

And that evening, the meal Sia prepared was, coincidentally, jjajangmyeon.

Sia claimed it was a coincidence, but I knew.

There was no way it was actually a coincidence.

* * *

The next day.

After joining a Gate raid early in the morning, I stopped by Rokan’s lair around evening.

Rokan had suggested that since I had used Dragon Speech and received a new sword, we should spar again.

After arriving at the lair, we exchanged only brief greetings before the sparring match began without even time to rest.

“The method will be similar to last time. I will only defend, and you will attack me with your sword. However, there is one minor change.”

Rokan took a sword from his pocket dimension.

“This sword is different.”

Last time, Rokan had used a wooden sword, but it seemed he intended to use a real sword this time.

Like before, Rokan declared that he would not attack and would only defend.

But since it was a real sword rather than a wooden one, I could not help feeling a little afraid.

Anyway.

Just as he had during our first sparring match, Rokan used Dragon Speech to send me to an unknown field, and the match began.

I still remembered the basic keywords, will and domination, but now came the problem of what followed.

Some time had passed since I first started handling the dragon’s power. And now that I had successfully used Dragon Speech, a sense of pressure rose within me. I felt that I had to show some sort of improvement from before.

Could Rokan have brought out a real sword because he sensed how I felt?

“Let us begin, then.”

Holding his sword, Rokan signaled for me to come at him. As I steadied my breathing, I began recalling the sensation from when I had used Dragon Speech.

A desperate desire to survive.

Perhaps the word “desperate” did not suit dragons.

Were they not beings revered as the strongest on earth from the moment they were born?

So until now, I had thought that the dragon’s will used for Dragon Speech meant the loftiness of domination.

But when I thought of the times I had properly drawn out the dragon’s power, that did not seem to be entirely true.

Whenever I had amplified the dragon’s power dormant within me, it had been based on an absolute will to survive.

Did dragons ever use Dragon Speech with such desperation to survive?

Even if they did, those cases would be extremely rare.

Perhaps understanding this difference was one wall I needed to overcome.

“You seem to have many thoughts.”

Rokan spoke when he saw me organizing my thoughts instead of swinging my sword despite the match having begun.

“I cannot help it when I think about an unknown power.”

Perhaps if I crossed swords with Rokan a few times, I could find at least some answers to these questions.

As soon as I answered, I kicked off the ground and charged at Rokan.

It was faint enough that one would not notice without looking closely, but ever since what happened in Dragon Sword Garden, a slight light had begun to gather around my sword.

Of course, it was far fainter than the aurora-colored sword aura I had seen before, and its color was closer to light gray.

Still, this must be proof that I had grown.

Rokan easily deflected my first strike and smiled with satisfaction.

“You have certainly improved since before.”

“I would have no excuse to face you otherwise.”

I quickly changed the direction of my sword and thrust forward in what was meant to be a surprise attack, but Rokan cleanly knocked my sword aside again without moving from where he stood.

After we exchanged several more strikes, Rokan nodded with a pleased expression.

Of course, no absurd miracle occurred, such as my sword heading toward one of Rokan’s vital points.

“Before, you complained that you did not know what the dragon’s power even was. Now, I can sense that you have gained a vague understanding of that power.”

“You can sense even that?”

I had not told Rokan yet, but during today’s Gate raid, I had finally begun to feel, if only a little, what this dragon’s power flowing through my body was.

It was a very strange sensation to explain.

It was like becoming faintly aware of the blood constantly flowing through my body without rest.

It felt incredibly fresh to sense something that should not be felt.

Before, I had not been able to grasp it at all. But perhaps because of the two major events that had occurred, I felt like I was slowly beginning to understand what this “dragon’s power” was.

Of course, what I understood and experienced was surely only the tip of the iceberg.

Even so, during today’s Gate raid, I could clearly feel that I had grown another step.

“Because I am a dragon.”

With those short words, I had no choice but to agree.

Taking advantage of the opening, I swung my sword in another large surprise attack. Naturally, my sword was blocked by Rokan’s.

But unlike before, Rokan had not defended from the same spot. He had taken one step to block it.

It might have looked insignificant to someone else, but I knew that making him take that one step was an incredible achievement.

Rokan, who understood that as well, smiled at me as though he found me admirable.

“One more hour.”

“Pardon?”

“Let us spar for just one more hour. Then I will tell you some good news.”

“Good news...”

Could he not just tell me now?

More importantly, he wanted to spar for another hour like this?

I was constantly moving back and forth, swinging my sword along different trajectories without rest. If I did that for an hour, even a Hunter would be exhausted enough to collapse.

It was like playing an entire forty-minute basketball game straight through for an hour without any rest.

I understood that sparring had to be intense, but was this not practically overworking me? I was about to carefully ask him that when Rokan said something shocking.

“I intend to make that dungeon called Dragon Sword Garden into your training ground.”

“...Pardon?”

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried