Chapter 4

[4] Babe, You Really Are a Genius.

Everyone is probably familiar with the sight of a man breaking into a cold sweat when his girlfriend asks, “Babe, who’s prettier? Me or that celebrity on TV?” Even if they’ve never witnessed it firsthand.

I’d laughed at scenes like that on television a few times myself.

But now, it wasn’t so funny anymore.

When I watched it, I’d thought it was just comedy. Now it had become a documentary about my life.

“Babe, do I look better with this face, or was my old face prettier? The one I had before I reincarnated?”

The question left me struggling to breathe.

And she wasn’t even comparing herself to another woman.

She was comparing herself before reincarnation to herself afterward.

In a way, Sia was preparing to wage war against herself.

And I was the innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.

‘How the hell am I supposed to answer?’

First, I needed to think as objectively as possible.

The human Sia, before her reincarnation, had certainly been beautiful.

That wasn’t just my opinion. Most people who knew her would have agreed.

But her current appearance was simply overwhelming.

Even actresses famous for their beauty would have dreaded standing beside her.

Yes. Honestly, the answer was already obvious.

Her current face was much prettier.

But what would happen if I said that outright?

“Then what about the old me, babe? Are you saying I wasn’t that pretty before?”

And if I said she looked better before?

“Don’t lie to me, babe. You think I can’t tell?”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, I racked my brain for an answer that would satisfy her.

What should I do? Would saying both were beautiful sound too halfhearted?

Actually, given the way Sia was now, she might be delighted by that answer. But it was a gamble.

‘Since that’s no sure thing, should I steer the conversation somewhere else?’

That might be one way out.

Or…

Right. I should try thinking about it from her perspective.

‘If I were Sia, what would I want to hear…?’

Suppose I were her. What answer would I want from the boyfriend I loved?

Quickly gathering my thoughts, I swallowed and spoke.

“Sia, I don’t mind either way. Both are really beautiful, but if I had to choose, I’m more used to your old appearance, so I think I might prefer it a little. But…”

“But?”

Sia perked up, listening intently.

“I recommend choosing whichever appearance would make other women more jealous, even if it’s only by a little.”

“Whichever appearance would make other women jealous? What do you mean, babe?”

Apparently not expecting that answer, she tilted her head.

Good. I had successfully shifted the focus with something unexpected but intriguing.

Now I just had to deliver the finishing blow.

“I want you to choose whichever look is pretty enough to make other women think, ‘I could never steal a man who’s dating someone that beautiful.’ I’m a man, so I don’t really know what kind of female face women find beautiful…”

“Babe.”

Sia interrupted before I could finish.

For a moment, I worried she hadn’t liked my answer. But her voice, brimming with delight, and her eyes, curved into crescents, told me the exact opposite.

“You’re an absolute genius.”

“Do I look better with this face, or was my old face prettier? The one I had before I reincarnated?”

Sia had asked Minjun with entirely innocent intentions.

She didn’t mind which one he chose.

In fact, she wouldn’t even have minded a third option.

She simply wanted to take the form that best matched his ideal appearance.

After all, she was a dragon who could use spells like Polymorph as easily as breathing.

‘So I might as well look the way that makes him adore me most, right?’

But contrary to her intentions, Minjun gave a rather unexpected answer.

‘He wants me to choose the face that would make other women more jealous?’

Not the one he preferred, or even the one she thought looked better, but the one other women would envy?

Sia didn’t understand.

‘What exactly does he mean? Is he telling me to figure out how to make myself pretty?’

But the moment she heard his explanation, a shiver ran through her entire body.

‘Look beautiful in the eyes of other women, not men. That way, other women won’t dare try to seduce me.’

That was how Sia interpreted his words.

‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

He’s right. I have to stop those conniving bitches from getting anywhere near him.

He never forgot me for an entire year. He even brought tteokbokki for the anniversary of my death. And I’m supposed to let other bitches flirt with him?

Absolutely not.

That single remark left Sia certain of Minjun’s feelings.

However…

There was one thing Minjun had overlooked.

The more beautiful Sia was, the higher the caliber of women who would want him.

‘How I look will determine the caliber of bitches who make a move on him.’

Sia couldn’t care less what other men thought of her face.

They could find her ugly or beautiful. It made no difference.

But other women would use her appearance to judge Minjun’s worth.

If she was too beautiful, they might become curious and think, “There must be a reason a woman like that is with him.”

She couldn’t allow that to happen.

Any woman who dared approach him while his girlfriend looked the way she did now would probably possess comparable beauty or charm.

‘But if I look the way I did as a human… the bitches who approach him won’t be quite that impressive. Yes. This is the right choice.’

As soon as she reached that conclusion, her eyes curved into crescents.

‘But this alone isn’t enough.’

Not with a man like hers.

‘No matter what I do, sooner or later, at least one bitch will try to seduce him.’

Her intuition as a woman told her so.

‘I need more precautions. More. Changing my appearance? That’s nowhere near enough to put my mind at ease. Think of something else, Jeong Sia. More. More. Rack your brains harder.’

Did Minjun have any idea that Sia was fighting this silent battle with herself?

No. He probably didn’t.

My plan had been a resounding success.

I seemed to have safely navigated the sudden crisis. Apparently pleased with my answer, Sia smiled and planted a lingering kiss on my cheek.

The moment she pulled away, she cast a spell.

[Polymorph.]

I still couldn’t get used to watching her cast magic without calculating any formulas.

A brilliant light enveloped her as soon as she spoke.

Then it faded.

Standing before me was Sia, looking exactly as she had when she was human.

Gone were the vivid red hair and the goddess-like beauty that threatened to steal my senses.

Instead, there was the woman I had fallen in love with, her long hair giving her an innocent air, her soft, rounded features warm and kind.

“Babe, am I pretty?”

“Do you even have to ask? Is there anyone in the world prettier than my Sia?”

Still…

Although I had answered instinctively, I couldn’t help wondering.

Of course, I didn’t mind what she looked like.

Whether she wore her old human appearance or her new one, all that mattered was that she had miraculously returned to me alive.

But at least from my perspective, if I were a woman, I would have been more jealous of the unrealistically beautiful, red-haired Sia.

So why had she chosen the face from her previous life?

‘Do dragons judge appearances differently from humans? Or does she genuinely think the face she had when we first fell in love is prettier?’

My questions remained unanswered, but I decided not to question her choice any further.

Whatever she looked like, she was still my beautiful girlfriend, Sia.

Anyway…

“This really takes me back. Doesn’t it, babe?”

We quietly held hands, taking in the sight of each other.

For a very long time.

Only after the warmth of our hands had fully passed between us did we decide to go buy tteokbokki as planned.

As we had discussed earlier, two or three servings were nowhere near enough to satisfy Sia now that she was a dragon.

Holding my hand, she used Teleport.

Our surroundings changed in the blink of an eye.

“Wow, it’s been so long since I was here.”

We stood in a secluded, dimly lit alley in a Seoul neighborhood full of small rental rooms.

Sia looked around, seemingly lost in memories.

To anyone else, it was an unremarkable gray neighborhood, but to us, it was a place filled with memories.

Just as we had back then, we shared a quick kiss in the secluded alley.

Then we stepped out onto the street and began looking for a tteokbokki shop.

If we had a regular place, we would have headed straight there. But Sia had always loved tteokbokki so much that we ordered from all sorts of places instead of sticking to just one.

I strolled along at a leisurely pace, giving her a chance to look around the neighborhood for the first time in ages.

Let’s see. I was sure a new tteokbokki shop had opened somewhere nearby recently.

After wandering the streets for about ten minutes, we found it.

“What would you like to order?”

Perhaps finding a modern restaurant menu unfamiliar after so long, Sia scanned the one on the wall.

All while pressing herself close against me.

Then, after looking through the dishes one by one, she turned to the employee.

“We’ll take ten servings of tteokbokki to go, please.”

…

Had I heard that wrong?