That woman had tried to seduce Minjun. The thought alone made Sia's anger rise, but there was a bigger problem: the woman was Yuria, a dragon notorious for her tangled history with men.

'That bitch. How dare she?'

Sia lost her temper and slapped Yuria hard across the face.

SMACK!

If Yuria had been an ordinary human instead of a dragon, the blow might well have snapped her neck.

Rubbing her reddened cheek, Yuria glared bitterly at Sia. She felt no guilt. She was only furious that she'd been caught when she'd thought her plan was perfect.

Yuria drew a furious breath to speak, but Sia unleashed Dragon Fear first and spat a cold insult.

"You fucking bitch."

For a moment, even Rokan, standing beside them, nearly buckled under the overwhelming force of Sia's Dragon Fear.

"If you hated seeing me date my Oppa, you could've just said so."

The timid Sia Yuria had seen at the gathering was nowhere to be found.

'I-is she going to kill me?'

Overcome by terror, Yuria's legs gave way, and she crumpled to the floor. She hadn't felt fear this intense since becoming an adult dragon.

"But you dared make a move on my Oppa?"

Sia lifted Yuria's chin when she couldn't meet her eyes, forcing her to look at her again.

"Grandpa. Tell me exactly how this bitch tried to seduce my Oppa."

With a troubled expression, Rokan told her exactly what he'd witnessed. Not only had Yuria made every advance she could think of to seduce Minjun, she'd placed a curse that dulled his awareness so he wouldn't notice.

"She probably knew Minjun wouldn't fall for her if he were in his right mind, so she cast the curse discreetly to keep him from realizing it."

The moment Sia heard the word curse, her face flushed bright red with anger. Yuria had set out to tear them apart. Fortunately, Minjun had somehow resisted through sheer willpower, so what Sia feared hadn't happened. But Rokan added that, with Yuria's curse on him, it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd given in.

A woman with wealth, fame, and beauty had deliberately set out to seduce him—and cursed him to make him more susceptible. Even then, Minjun had rejected her and stayed faithful to Sia. When she realized that, Sia felt her nose sting.

'I've always trusted Oppa, but...'

Even under a curse, he'd thought of her and held firm. A sense of reassurance she hadn't felt in days washed over her.

But it didn't last. One look at Yuria's venomous face brought her anger surging back.

"I will never forgive you, you bitch."

* * *

Even after Rokan had rescued me and sent me home, my thoughts were still a mess. An SSS-rank hunter I'd met for the first time today had tried to seduce me despite knowing I had a girlfriend. Maybe it was the aura she gave off, but impure thoughts had taken over my mind as if I were possessed. I'd barely managed to resist and was about to leave when Rokan found me. How could any of that make sense?

And another thing.

'What am I supposed to tell Rokan?'

Of course I was innocent, but without knowing what had happened, anyone would have thought I was cheating. Rokan must have been furious at the sight. How could he not be, seeing the man involved with his granddaughter tangled up with another woman? Oddly enough, though, instead of getting angry, he'd reassured me as if he knew the whole story. Had he guessed what was going on?

Or maybe... did Rokan know the woman's hidden identity? Perhaps she was a dragon like him. If she was, some things would make sense. Rokan might have been uncomfortable with another dragon besides Sia approaching me, or Yuria might have been plotting something on a scale a human like me couldn't even imagine.

It was all speculation, of course. But if I was right, other dragons were living in this world in secret besides Rokan and Sia. There might be more than just that woman.

'If that's true... it's kind of creepy.'

Countless possibilities swirled through my head, but I was so groggy that even those worries sank out of reach. I lay down on the bed to get some sleep.

I had no idea how much time passed. When I woke, still half-asleep, I sensed someone nearby. I looked over and found Rokan gazing at me. His sudden appearance made me freeze. I had no idea what to say first.

"You must have been tired."

"... Um, Lord Rokan. What happened earlier..."

"I know. That woman came on to you first. You kept turning her down, but she persisted."

Just as I'd suspected, Rokan knew more or less what had happened.

"Yes. I know it's hard to believe, but... that's right."

Still, I was ashamed and sorry that he'd seen me like that. And even Rokan couldn't know what filthy thoughts I'd had at the time. If he knew about thoughts I couldn't bear to say aloud, surely he'd be angry.

"Don't hang your head. You haven't done anything wrong."

When I lowered my head, Rokan spoke gently.

"If anything, I came to tell you how proud I am that you held out."

"Held out... sir?"

I didn't understand what he meant.

"You wouldn't have noticed, but there was a curse on that room. It dulled the affected person's awareness. That's why you couldn't judge things clearly."

So no matter how hard I'd tried to stay faithful to Sia, I might have fallen for Lia Black's advances against my will. But then why? That was the question. It was strange enough that a woman who seemed capable of seducing any man she wanted had chosen me. Now I was hearing she'd even used a curse.

"I don't understand. Why would she go so far as to use a curse to seduce me?"

If she'd wanted, she could probably have seduced a rich, handsome young Hollywood actor instead. Why had she been so desperate to win me over?

Was she planning to get something on me, then blackmail me into signing a contract with the Aura Guild? No. If that had been her goal, the guild master wouldn't have done it herself. Or was she after something I had that no one else did? What could it be?

"I can't tell you."

"... What?"

Rokan's answer caught me completely off guard. He hadn't said he didn't know. He'd said he couldn't tell me. Which meant he knew the reason.

"You'll find out naturally one day. But now isn't the time."

What could the reason be that he couldn't tell me? Whenever he said something was a secret I'd learn someday, the curiosity nearly drove me mad.

"Could you at least give me a little hint?"

"Not even that."

Rokan shook his head firmly. I didn't know when I'd uncover those secrets, but perhaps I'd understand once I fully awakened my dragon power. For now, I'd have to settle for that thought and hold back my curiosity.

"By the way, about today... Does Sia know?"

Rokan had found us there, so there was a good chance he'd told her. I hoped he hadn't.

"I told her."

"Ah..."

I was speechless for a moment. After a brief silence, I asked carefully, "Was Sia... angry?"

"I haven't seen Shasha that angry in hundreds of years."

"Ah..."

I wished he hadn't told her. Or at least had waited until she'd had time to collect herself. She must already be struggling because of what happened that day.

"I just hope Sia hasn't misunderstood."

"Don't worry. She knows the whole story. Shasha is angry with that woman, not you. In fact, once she heard what happened, she was grateful to you for resisting the temptation despite the curse."

"Of course I did."

Sia would have done the same in my place.

"So is Sia... okay?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally, I'm afraid not."

She was doing her best to overcome her trauma, but Rokan could see how much she was struggling. And today she'd heard more bad news.

"I was just telling Shasha to go out for some fresh air. She's well enough to move around, and it might help her sort through her thoughts."

"That sounds like a good idea. Oh, please tell Sia I'll pack her a lunch when she goes out."

"I will. And while we're on the subject, Minjun, why don't you go get some fresh air too?"

As we talked, I realized I needed to clear my head as well. Too much had happened lately, and I wasn't in any condition to train. Getting outside sounded right.

"Yes. I will."

"Good. Let me know anytime if you need help."

"Thank you."

After Rokan left, I took my time thinking about where I could go for fresh air. Maybe I'd revisit somewhere Sia and I had traveled together and reminisce. Or Jeju Island?

'Not a bad idea.'

Sia was recuperating in Rokan's lair, not her own on Jeju Island, so I probably wouldn't run into her. Besides, we might go on a date there someday. It wouldn't hurt to scout it out. Once the thought occurred to me, I picked up my phone and booked a flight to Jeju Island.

* * *

The Jeju branch of the Korean Hunter Association. Employees in the Gate Management Department, which oversaw recently formed gates, were studying their monitors with grave expressions. They were looking at information on a gate that had appeared yesterday near Yongduam Rock, a famous tourist attraction on Jeju Island.

"Jinseong, have we ever managed a gate like this?"

"Not one we've handled."

The man called Jinseong stared at the monitor and let out a low groan.

"Let's say we can deal with it being an extra gate and EX-rank on top of that."

"Can we really just brush those off?"

"No, we can't. But there's a bigger problem."

There were ordinary gates, dungeon gates, and extra gates, which fit neither category and were comparatively the hardest to clear. This one's rank was EX—outside the standard scale—so there was no way to gauge how dangerous it was. That alone was alarming enough, but Jinseong had another problem in mind.

"Why... can't anyone get inside?"

There was no such thing as a gate hunters couldn't enter. Whatever the gate's rank or the hunter's, entry itself was always possible. Yet according to every report they'd received, no one had been able to get inside—not even the S-rank hunters who'd rushed over at their request.

"If a gate break happens at this rate..."

"Careful what you say, Jaemin. You'll jinx us."

"Come on, Jinseong. You don't really think that could happen?"

"I've seen plenty of people regret saying that. Widen the restricted area around Yongduam Rock, and ask headquarters to send personnel."

As Jaemin had said, the odds were extremely low. But if the worst happened, the loss of life could be horrific—perhaps unprecedented.