Chapter 24
Chapter 24. Oppa, Why Are You So Sexy?
Sia resumed the playback, displaying the full sequence where I had conversed casually with the scoundrels, oblivious to their imminent betrayal, as well as the downtime banter Junhwi and I had exchanged.
While those instances felt thoroughly mundane to me, Sia appeared completely captivated by them.
[Experiencing everything through Oppa’s vantage point feels bizarre.]
“Does it?”
Reflecting on it, I would probably be equally fascinated if Sia filmed her own perspective and shared it with me.
It would likely resemble secretly reading through another person’s personal journal.
[Definitely. Along with observing what those filthy scoundrels who sought to murder Oppa looked like before they perished…]
“What about them?”
Had she second-guessed her choice and lost the stomach to watch?
Truthfully, I would have been glad if she chose to turn it off, and I was on the verge of assuring her she did not need to push through if it distressed her.
Yet Sia stated her thought with unshakeable seriousness.
[It is undeniably clear now. This world poses far too much peril for Oppa.]
What was she getting at?
[Just observe. That wretched Seo Yuseon continuously tries to entice Oppa with those sidelong glances.]
“She only intended to make our side lower our defenses—”
To be fair, I never once perceived Seo Yuseon as attempting to flirt with me.
Sia, on the other hand, interpreted matters in an entirely different light.
[That is problematic on its own. In any case, between that wretched female back then and any other temptress trying to bait Oppa into danger, not a single one deserves trust. I cannot permit this.]
It had crossed my mind occasionally, but since our reunion, Sia seemed considerably more prone to possessiveness and suspicion than she once had been.
She was even overanalyzing the gestures of a murderous enemy who had sought my life.
Then again, given the unfathomable span of time we had spent apart before finding each other again, her emotional state was entirely understandable.
At this pace, I might eventually be forced to justify an accidental brush against a female retail clerk’s fingers.
Regardless, I attempted once more to reiterate my earlier point.
“Which is why I mentioned before, Sia, that this footage holds zero entertainment value.”
[No. I insist on seeing it. It is necessary for me to witness it anyway.]
Sia dismissed my words with a shake of her head, acting as though my hesitation made no sense, and returned her total focus to the display.
Even as I struggled to suppress yawns brought on by monotony, Sia remained utterly glued to the screen.
Eventually, the recording drew near the climax where the trapped enemies launched their final, desperate struggle and hurled those particular foul utterances right before their demise.
Halting the playback, I addressed her directly.
“Sia. Can we just stop right here? There is truly nothing pleasant ahead.”
[I still wish to see it.]
“Even if it depicts actual fatalities?”
[I informed you already, those beasts were never human beings. They were merely garbage.]
“…”
I made one last effort to sway her, but Sia showed not the slightest intention of backing down.
[Everything is fine. That is precisely why I must watch.]
“…Fine then.”
Continuing to dissuade her was completely futile.
Yielding to her stubbornness, I let the video run once more.
Before long, the exact sequences I had dreaded surfaced: the vile provocations they directed at Sia and myself, followed immediately by my blade piercing straight through their chests in one decisive motion.
‘Here it comes.’
Letting out a silent breath, I kept a sharp eye on Sia’s reaction.
Even I had been provoked into blinding fury when those wretched foes originally uttered those words. How much more agonizing would it be for Sia to hear them?
Yet her countenance bore no resemblance to someone who had witnessed something repulsive.
Rather, a radiant vitality and intense thrill sparkled across her gaze, catching me entirely off guard.
‘What is this reaction?’
[Oppa.]
Paying no mind to my bewilderment, Sia gazed at me with an entranced, feverish gleam in her eyes.
[Why do you look so incredibly sexy?]
“…?”
How could any part of that display be considered sexy?
Even following the conclusion of her lengthy video call with Minjun, Sia remained glued to the monitor.
Shifting closer, she restarted the very segment she had earlier frozen in place.
Her desire to review the skirmish had nothing to do with offering Minjun more refined combat critiques. Nor had any of the mundane trail banter, which Minjun considered so dull, piqued her interest. What Sia yearned to witness once more was the exact instant Minjun, without a shred of hesitation, plunged his steel directly through the hearts of those foul-mouthed scum.
“Hehe. How does our Oppa manage to appear so alluring?”
Far from sharing Minjun’s worries, Sia had not felt wounded by the villains’ venomous slander in the slightest.
Her entire focus had been seized by Minjun’s reaction instead.
He had thrust his weapon into their chests without a second thought, treating their remarks as unworthy of even being fully voiced.
Furthermore, his blade energy had blazed a vivid crimson for a split second, seemingly infused with the raw weight of his fury.
“Oppa must be the sole soul oblivious to his own charm.”
When Sia had voiced that remark while they were watching the recording together, Minjun had instinctively shaken his head, unable to fathom what had charmed her.
In Sia’s eyes, however, Minjun merely appeared flustered by the compliment itself.
He carried himself with such striking magnetism, yet flinched in modest embarrassment the second someone pointed it out.
That sharp contrast lent him a remarkably endearing, slightly dorky allure.
Stunning and charismatic, yet blessed with the disarming awkwardness of an earnest nerd. The realization that such an extraordinary, mythical catch of a partner belonged exclusively to her sent an electric jolt through her entire being.
“Still, this element leaves something to be desired.”
Having been assembled in haste, the recording apparatus presented numerous shortcomings in Sia’s estimation.
Its most glaring defect was its restricted point of view.
Fastened squarely onto Minjun’s chest, the lens could capture the world solely from his torso’s orientation.
Had the recording captured him through an objective third-person angle, she could have observed his exact facial expressions during that clash.
‘When Oppa executed those three scoundrels… I could have witnessed his face as well.’
Certain facets of Minjun emerged solely within the depths of Gates—facets hidden from normal daily life.
That had been her primary motive for constructing the recording rig, yet putting it into practice had revealed obvious limitations.
If only she had deployed an aerial recording drone to capture the expedition instead.
The thought struck her like a bolt from the blue.
‘Why failed I to realize that sooner?’
Preoccupied with an array of matters, the alternative had slipped past her attention.
A dedicated filming drone would effortlessly resolve the dilemma. With proper modifications, she could study Minjun in vivid detail from every conceivable angle.
Had she engineered such a device from the beginning, she could have preserved his precise expression in that decisive moment, along with his posture and visage across every passing second.
Lamenting past oversights achieved nothing now, however.
Beginning with the subsequent Gate venture, an aerial drone would be standard equipment. For the present, she had to maximize the utility of the existing file.
Sia ran that segment at a crawl.
There had to exist a surface reflecting Minjun’s features, no matter how faintly.
Perhaps the reflection within someone’s gaze.
Minjun’s likeness might have been caught inside the irises of the adversaries positioned across from him.
Fixated on uncovering it, Sia enlarged the pixels to inspect the reflection within the pupils of each adversary one by one.
Given the microscopic nature of such reflections, discerning every nuance might prove difficult, but any glimpse remained superior to none.
Then, at long last, her target came into view.
“There it is…!”
Sia spotted Minjun mirrored within the eyes of Seo Yuseon, the foe who had stood directly across from him. Magnifying the crop, she found the frame slightly blurred, yet Minjun’s silhouette gripping his blade remained recognizable.
‘Can this be scaled up further?’
Swallowing tensely, she stretched the digital magnification to its absolute ceiling.
Unfortunately, only the hazy contour of Minjun’s countenance could be seen. Reading his detailed features was completely out of reach.
For an instant, Sia weighed abandoning the effort, but quickly cast the notion aside with a decisive shake of her head.
She stood as the absolute embodiment of unyielding determination, having dedicated two millennia to mastering a singular incantation—interdimensional transit sorcery—without once faltering.
If human machinery met its ceiling, invoking mystic authority was the natural answer.
To refine the murky impression of Minjun etched inside Seo Yuseon’s gaze, Sia marshaled the entire mystical archive she had refined over twenty-five centuries.
While applying magical intervention might sound effortless, merging sorcery with a media file forged through both magic and modern human engineering made the endeavor exceptionally intricate.
At least, it would have been near impossible by mortal benchmarks.
For a transcendent draconic being like Sia, a mere ten minutes sufficed to enhance and sharpen the visual record completely.
With her pulse racing violently, she studied Minjun’s features reflected in the frame.
“Ah…”
His eyes were stretched wide, glaring fiercely at the scoundrels.
His mouth twitched under the strain of suppressed rage.
Even across the reflected image, an unfathomable fury radiated unmistakably from Minjun’s countenance.
It was an unyielding wrath sparked by the reality that vile insects undeserving of existence had dared slander his cherished woman.
Feeling that passion crash into her as if delivered without mediation, Sia pressed a hand against her lips, unable to tear her gaze from Minjun for an extended period.
Her heartbeat hammered wildly past all restraint, while her cheeks burned brighter than the dawn under a tidal wave of ecstasy.
Were she to yield to her impulses, she would have darted to Minjun’s presence this very second and buried herself in his comforting warmth.
She craved his touch and burned to voice every sensation coursing through her spirit.
Yet Sia remained entirely aware that such an act was out of the question for now.
‘I desperately need something extra.’
Voice calls, shared snapshots, and this moving footage capturing Minjun’s likeness were all she had.
Originally, she had assumed such remnants would tide her over across an entire week, but her endurance was already cracking under the strain.
Perhaps born from the sheer weight of her longing, her fingers trembled with an uncharacteristic restlessness.
‘This simply will not suffice.’
Remote calls offered too little. She needed to breathe his scent and absorb his personal heat directly.
She required an anchor that would make her feel Minjun’s physical proximity even when he was far away.
Following that particular catastrophe, I adhered to Rokan’s guidance and withdrew from active Gate clearance runs.
I even inquired about continuing my combat conditioning, but Rokan declined, insisting we must safeguard against even the faintest hazard.
Consequently, I found myself idling away the days, spending extensive hours in daily communication with Sia.
Our dialogues traversed standard topics, though I also capitalized on the downtime to ask for her comprehensive insights into the lore and nature of dragons.
I reasoned that acquiring a richer comprehension of draconic biology and culture would significantly enhance my proficiency in manipulating draconic power.
Days drifted past in that manner until the designated date to see Sia finally arrived.
Completing my attire and consulting the clock, roughly ten minutes remained prior to our scheduled encounter.
I utilized the fleeting gap to verify that nothing essential had been overlooked.
This marked the day I would enter Sia’s personal sanctum.
Visiting her freshly acquired residence felt akin to a housewarming, prompting me to prepare a domestic offering. Just yesterday, I had granted Sia free rein to select whatever she desired.
Yet rather than requesting customary home supplies like bundles of paper products, Sia requested an entirely baffling item.
Having been partners across an extensive journey, I had assumed I held a firm grasp on Sia’s habits. Lately, however, her reasoning was utterly beyond my comprehension.
‘What purpose could my discarded wardrobe possibly serve?’
She had explicitly bypassed fresh garments or outfits worn merely a handful of times, demanding instead ancient apparel I had utilized across years until virtually threadbare.
What on earth did she intend to do with such rags?
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