"Which bitch was it."
Sia's single, chilling remark rang through the restaurant.
At that icy voice, the whole place went silent in an instant.
"Sia, let's step outside and talk for a second."
Both to let her cool her head and to buy time for her anger to subside, Min-jun took Sia by the hand and led her out.
Fortunately, she followed Min-jun outside without resisting.
"I asked you which bitch it was, oppa."
"The blond woman who was sitting diagonal from us."
"Ahh, that bitch."
An ordinary person would have had trouble remembering someone they had only glimpsed in passing, but she already remembered the faces of everyone in the restaurant.
"So what did you do."
"Obviously I told her I couldn't give it to her. She kept pushing, so I drew a clear line and said no."
"......."
Min-jun's answer was a model answer, but her stiff face showed no sign of relaxing.
Of course she understood in her head that other women could take a liking to Min-jun, but actually going through it had been a huge shock.
But.
"Sia, are you mad?"
"......."
"Look at me. Sia. Look into my eyes."
Min-jun gently took her face in both hands and made her look into his eyes.
At that, her face, which had looked as unstable as a time bomb until a moment ago, slowly began to flush.
Min-jun could tell that even though she tried not to show it, deep down she had been anxious.
They had been apart for a whole year, and the Sia who came back was no longer an ordinary human like Min-jun.
'To ease Sia's anxiety, this is the only way for now.'
He didn't know if it was the best option, but at least it would be the second best.
Min-jun suddenly pressed his lips to hers.
Hard enough to leave her breathless.
"......!"
When their lips met, her pupils widened in surprise.
But she didn't push Min-jun away.
Instead, as if she had been waiting for this moment, she lightly placed her hands on Min-jun's waist.
"I'd never look at another woman."
When I have you.
After the deep kiss, Min-jun lightly kissed Sia's cheek.
Soon, life began to return to Sia's eyes.
"I believe you. Of course."
This time, in return, she kissed Min-jun's cheek.
Once things had settled, the two of them went back inside.
"Feeling a bit better now?"
"A little."
Her ice-cold expression had softened considerably; she was clearly much calmer than at first.
But no matter how much Min-jun had soothed her, her anger toward that woman didn't just disappear.
"Oppa. Could you go to the restroom for a bit?"
At Sia's out-of-the-blue remark, Min-jun was about to answer, 'I don't need to go, though?' when he happened to meet her eyes.
I don't want to show oppa anything ugly.
She didn't go so far as to say it, but Min-jun could read her intention clearly enough in her eyes.
"Then... I'll be right back."
Min-jun got up from his seat obediently, as if he understood.
Min-jun stepped away from the table for a moment.
The moment he was gone, Sia glared at the woman who had tried to get Min-jun's number.
Apparently without the slightest trace of guilt, the woman was chatting happily with her friend over her meal.
Looking at that disgusting face, Sia felt her anger boil up all over again.
My Min-jun oppa, whom I waited 2500 years for.
How dare she.
Some nobody like that, not knowing her place, dares to set her sights on him?
And that line she used to get his number, what a joke. She says it herself, that it's fine? She knows full well he has a girlfriend and still tries to get his number? Even with her own friend trying to stop her? What, isn't it fine to just be friends? Look, there's hardly a woman in here who wouldn't fall for my oppa's face. But they all keep it to themselves, don't they? Because they know he has a girlfriend. They just think, wow, he's handsome, and leave it at that. They don't have vile, vermin-like thoughts like trying to get his number when they know full well he has a girlfriend. Right?
A bitch like that, who isn't even human...
Needs an education.
"You. Come outside for a second."
With a chilling look on her face, Sia stood in front of Hwang Yeon-ju.
But.
"Why should I?"
Even after seeing Sia's face, the woman shot back brazenly.
At that brazen attitude, Sia folded her arms and glared at Hwang Yeon-ju.
Unleashing the dragon's killing intent she had been holding back all this time, she spoke again, clearly, one syllable at a time.
Infusing it with Dragon Fear.
"Come. Out."
***
After stepping outside for a bit at Sia's request-that-wasn't-a-request, I came back in.
I was staring quietly at the tteokbokki that had just come out, waiting for Sia to return.
'I wonder when Sia's coming back.'
I didn't know exactly, but she was probably giving that woman a piece of her mind about what happened earlier.
'I'd have done the same in her position, though.'
I hoped she would wrap it up at a reasonable point, get her emotions under control, and come back soon.
Not because I was worried about that woman, but because it felt like it was ruining our good mood for nothing.
While I was waiting like that for Sia to come back.
The restaurant door opened, and the woman who had come to get my number earlier staggered back in.
Her hair was a mess, her face was deathly pale as if she had seen a ghost, and her makeup was smeared everywhere.
'What on earth happened?'
At a glance, she didn't look okay.
She finally sat down on trembling legs, gathered her things in a daze, and walked straight out of the restaurant.
Her companion called after her, but the woman acted as if nothing her companion said was getting through; she just tried to get out of the restaurant however she could.
Left with no choice, her companion hurriedly paid and ran after her.
"......What on earth happened?"
I didn't know exactly what happened, but Sia had probably taught her a real lesson.
I think I'll leave whatever happened out there to the imagination.
If I knew, I might get hurt.
Meanwhile, Sia came back.
"Sorry, oppa. I took a long time, huh?"
"No, it's fine. Have you calmed down now?"
"Yeah, I'm really fine now."
Sia's expression looked bright, unlike before, so I decided not to think about that woman anymore.
"The tteokbokki just came out. Let's eat before it gets soggy."
"Okay. You eat too, oppa. It'll get cold."
While we were eating tteokbokki and chatting away like that.
"Oh right, Sia. What's in that bag?"
"Huh, you didn't open it, oppa?"
"Nope. It's your stuff."
Seemingly pleased with my answer, Sia smiled her signature fresh smile and held out the shopping bag to me.
"It's a present for you, oppa. Here."
When I opened the shopping bag, a pricey pair of wireless earbuds appeared.
I had actually been meaning to replace my earbuds, since they had a defect.
But the old pair had been a present from Sia too, so I hadn't had the heart to replace them.
"So you didn't go to the restroom earlier, you went to buy these."
"Yep. I was going to surprise you, but..."
Sia trailed off.
If it hadn't been for that woman earlier, we might have exchanged gifts as planned and spent an even cozier time together.
I could feel Sia's disappointment, so I just held her tight.
"That doesn't matter. Thank you so much."
When I thanked her, Sia smiled with her eyes, looking satisfied.
"Isn't there any present you want, Sia?"
"No, no. Just being with you right now is a present in itself."
Sia waved her hand.
"Still, think of just one."
"Hmm."
At first she mulled it over, but soon Sia's eyes began to gleam.
"It's not a present, but there is one little wish I have."
"What is it?"
"I want to try a roleplay, just once."
A roleplay, huh.
It was a somewhat unexpected answer.
I didn't know whether Sia had always liked this sort of thing, but it wasn't anything difficult, so I decided to go along with it.
"What kind of setup?"
"A noona and the little boy she used to play with in the neighborhood when they were kids."
This, too, was unexpected, I suppose.
"So you mean I'd call you noona?"
"Just for one day, no, wait. Even half a day is fine. I just want to try it once, so...... can't we?"
Like a little girl who had found a doll she liked at the supermarket, Sia looked up at me with bright, sparkling eyes, just like a child.
There was no way I could refuse when she looked that desperate.
"Sure. Trying it once wouldn't be bad."
"Really? Then can we start right now?"
She wants to do it this badly?
"If you wanted to do something like this, you should've said so sooner. It's not hard."
"Thank you, oppa!"
From the very moment I gave my permission, Sia's eyes changed.
From the eyes of an innocent college freshman to those of a mature woman who suited being called noona.
"Min-jun."
"Jeez, you scared me."
It was the first time Sia had ever spoken to me like I was her junior, and it gave me goosebumps all over.
Still, I had to play along.
"Yes, noona."
Calling Sia noona, when she had faithfully called me oppa since before we even started dating, felt pretty weird.
At that one word, noona, the corners of Sia's eyes lifted high.
As if being called that had been her wish all along.
"Want to come have some ramen with noona?"
In that moment, Sia truly seemed like a 'noona.'
A wolf of a noona, out to devour a younger man.
***
In the small hours, while Sia was sound asleep.
I had woken up partway through the night, so I went out onto the rooftop to get some fresh air.
"Whew."
She had said she wanted to be called noona for just half a day, so for exactly that long I called her Sia noona, as if I were the younger one.
But perhaps because she was so immersed in the roleplay, Sia treated me like a boy much younger than her.
'Was Sia always this grown-up?'
I had thought I knew a lot about Sia, but this taught me that I didn't.
So if you ask whether I hated it......
'All the better.'
I thought an event like this every once in a while was nice.
Those bewitching eyes of Sia's, the exact opposite of her usual innocent image, were still impossible to forget.
As I stood in the cool breeze lost in thought, I started getting sleepy again.
I decided to slowly head back home, where Sia was waiting.
But just then.
"Ugh."
Suddenly, I felt a sharp, tingling pain in my chest, unlike anything I had ever felt in my life.