Back on Earth, the Seoji corporate headquarters. The corporation that Yun Seora and Yun Seohui had built together after razing Sinyoung to the ground.
In the CEO office, Seora and her older sister were sitting at the table for guests, sharing a late lunch and going over the day's agenda.
"So... a man who definitely looked like Sung Shihyun and another who looked like a more serious Oppa showed up, asked to purchase a helicopter from you, then took it into Paradise, Unni?"
Seohui nodded, sipping on some green tea while she nibbled on a slice of tuna sashimi. "That's correct, Seora." She giggled and said, "It seems like my hero doesn't even need to act anymore. He's built up enough causality for the situation to resolve itself."
Seora reached over to pluck a piece of salmon sashimi from the spread they'd ordered for lunch. Then she said, "More like he's accumulated enough good karma... Oppa has SUCH a bad habit of wracking up debt without asking it to be repaid."
That was what bothered Seora the most.
Her Oppa... Jihu.
He always went around helping people. ALWAYS. And whenever he did, he didn't ask for anything in return. As if it was natural, he simply threw money, aid, resources at the problem and then just... left it. Like it meant nothing to him.
But it meant the world to the other party.
Seora reflexively rubbed her left arm.
It was healed now. It had been healed for ages now. But every now and then she still remembered it.
Struggling in that cramped bathroom back in the Tutorial against those bastards. Barely managing to resist the worst, only for them to give up and shred her arm instead, leaving her to bleed out. Oppa healing her arm without asking anything...
Herself being too prideful to let it heal, making it worse. Almost having the worst happen to her again at the hands of those foreigners... something that WOULD have happened if Oppa had been a minute slower. Those hands roaming her body and tearing at her clothes...
...Yes. Her Oppa... Jihu didn't understand how much he meant to her. How much he had helped her by just existing. How he gave her not just the courage to stand again, but a reason to live. And proof that there were people worth meeting out there in life.
Seohui tilted her head and let out a soft smile. "You're thinking of him again?"
Seora sighed softly. "...Yes. Oppa is..." She frowned and placed her hand over her heart.
How could she explain it? The debt of gratitude she could never repay. The strength she gained from hearing him declare he would fight the world for her sake when he was presented with the contract with Sinyoung.
===
*"This is out of curiosity... But if I were to one day decide to make an
enemy out of all the organizations in the world, would Sinyoung support
me?"*
===
And when he was asked if a single woman was worth it... If earning the ire of Sinyoung was something that he was willing to face for the sake of a single woman...
===
*"Yeah. It is."*
===
Seora knew now. It wasn't her that he had been talking about. She had reviewed the memories again and again and realized he had been referring to Hannah. Especially since she was the one he chose to marry.
But even then...
Seora knew.
'It's still true for us.'
Because at the end, Jihu HAD faced Sinyoung. Mobilized all of his resources to get rid of her father and raze the company to ash. Not only that...
Seora shifted her gaze to Seohui. To her Unni who had changed so much- No. Who had finally been allowed to be who she was at her heart.
Seohui tilted her head, her eyes soft. "Seora?"
"...I'm just grateful, Unni."
Seohui laughed. "For what?"
"For you. For Oppa..." Seora waved her hand and said, "For all of this."
It was something that was unfathomably heavy. Not a burden, but the weight of gratitude itself. Of knowing that, no matter what Seora did, she could never pay back all that Jihu had done for her. Could never level the scale tilted towards her Oppa.
Even so...
"...But I wish I could do something for Oppa."
That was what bothered Seora the most about all of this.
If her Oppa had been a normal man, she could have helped.
Seora had money. Resources. Power.
With them, she could change a man's entire life, pulling him into the upper echelon all of society would trade their lives for.
But Jihu had that too.
Seora was beautiful. Willing to give her body, heart, and soul to Jihu whenever he asked.
...But she wasn't the only one who would do that.
Hannah definitely had already. So had Flone. Princess Teresa was willing as well... Not to mention everyone else.
And as for fighting alongside him... Despite everything, Seora lacked that talent.
She wasn't unskilled. And she wasn't hopeless on the battlefield.
...But Jihu had already resolved everything.
Even that day, when he burned everything to defeat the Army Commanders, all Seora could do was stand by and receive the news with numb disbelief.
"...It's frustrating, Unni." Seora lowered her gaze, staring at her cooling cup of green tea. "...I want to give Oppa everything. But it's not enough."
"Seora..." Seohui sighed. "...I'm sad."
Seora blinked. "What?"
Her Unni... was sad? About what?
Seohui let out a sad smile and said, "You haven't realized it yet, have you?"
Seora pursed her lips. "Realized what? That I'm just another woman in Oppa's life who isn't even worth standing beside him? That I'm a greedy girl who wants him all for herself because I can't think of how else to repay him? That-"
"No. That you think Jihu sees people as something that can be assigned value at all."
Seora froze.
Seohui let out a soft sigh and said, "I've realized this while watching my hero." She gently folded her hands on her lap and said, "It was something that was bothering me for the longest time. Objectively, Jihu is the same as Sung Shihyun. In actions, in accolades, in legacy even. So... why is he different?"
Seora paused to think about it.
...Unni had a point.
Jihu and Sung Shihyun were similar. They fought with sword and magic. Their abilities echoed each other. And they both accomplished impossible feats.
Yet, Sung Shihyun was reviled by women when he spoke to them while Jihu charmed every beauty he met. Moreover, Sung Shihyun had a terrible reputation while Jihu didn't.
The reason for that...
'...Why WAS it different?'
Seeing Seora's confusion, Seohui smiled and said, "It's simple, Seora. He sees us. Not as 'women to collect,' but 'people to be loved.'" She picked up her tea and took a long sip. "...Have you thought about it? Jihu could have created a harem of women any time he desired. All of us were willing. If he asked, he could have pulled each of us into bed every night without question."
Seora paused. "That's... true..."
Although she couldn't speak for everyone else... Seora did know that if Jihu asked her to sleep with him, she would have. No questions or hesitation about it. He had done more than enough to earn it.
And the same was clearly true for her Unni.
...In fact, if Jihu had asked, Seora would be willing to do it with her Unni too, sharing him.
But he never did.
In fact, he was, frustratingly, always avoiding the question or topic.
But now that Unni mentioned it...
Seohui smiled. "Isn't it clear? He respects us too much to have us just be a beauty in his bed. And he has been struggling at how to arrange things so that we don't fall into that trap."
"...That's..."
Seora stopped to think about it.
...What if Jihu DID do that? What if he had just treated them all as beautiful women that he took to bed or dragged around?
Like that, they would be a trophy. Eventually, they would start vying for his attention. His favor. Their life would slowly start to revolve around him and they'd lose themselves.
If Oppa was a lesser man... No. If he was even the slightest bit less prideful... if he wasn't as confident in himself or knew when to draw lines, it would have ended up that way.
Seora could envision it. A version of her Oppa who charmed all the same women, but didn't know how to say 'no.' Who let himself be pulled into bed, had sex, and then ran himself ragged trying to fill the flames of desire and love they had.
"...Oh." Seora's voice was quiet.
Because she understood now.
Why her Oppa played dense. Why he didn't seem to want to commit. Why it was taking this long to sort everything out.
"...He wants us to be 'us.'"
That was it. The reason why he didn't just pull them into bed. Why he didn't just smile and nod at their affections and accept it wholesale.
Because...
"That's right." Seohui smiled. "Jihu doesn't want us to dissolve into his life. He wants to weave his life into ours." She let out a soft chuckle. "It's amusing, isn't it? A man who could take it all, fairly and justly. A man who deserved embracing all the affection like a greedy dragon. But a man who still carefully propped up the beauties who threw their hearts at him before walking away. Not claiming them, but giving enough space for them to choose to follow instead."
"...That's stupid." Seora murmured. "Oppa should just take it. Take us, me. He earned it."
Seohui chuckled. "But he's the type who doesn't believe people can be 'earned' Seora. Because he's a hero who wants people to walk with him instead of behind him."
Seora's breath hitched.
Memories came flooding back.
How he never allowed her, Seol-Ah, or Sungjin to be dependent on him. How even now, he didn't dictate what Elysium did, but made sure everyone was involved. How the Neutral Zone itself wasn't being run by him, but by everyone else who had found the area they could operate the best in.
...How he could have made Seora into a mindless woman who begged and craved his attention and affection. And how she was already trending towards that, but he drew the line to stop her.
Seohui smiled. "See? That is the man I love. The hero I would give everything to. Because I know. Even if I lay myself at his feet, he would pull me up and tell me to walk with him."
"...Dammit, Unni." Seora pursed her lips. "...You're not supposed to be this thoughtful."
Seohui laughed. "Well." She plopped another piece of tuna sashimi into her mouth and said, "I WAS the First Lady of Sinyoung who everyone feared. Although I'm like this now, it's not like I lost those skills or that acumen. I just... enjoy being this. Free. Not having to think too hard. And just... living."
Seora sighed. "...I still wish Oppa was here though."
Seohui tilted her head, an amused sparkle in her eyes. "Oh? And if he was, what would you say?"
Seora looked at Seohui and said, "I'd say that I get it now. Why he doesn't want to just make us his. But at the same time..." She huffed. "It's frustrating!" She slammed her hand on the table. "I have needs too! And I've already been fantasizing about him since that day in the Neutral Zone, so why can't he just pull me into bed already?! I don't care about the other stuff, but at least sex...!"
Since Seora understood now, she could work it out. Now that she knew Jihu wanted her to be able to be independent, she would figure out a way for them to be together without making her life revolve around his.
But still!
At least that!
Seora had seen Flone's daughter. And now Hannah was pregnant!
"I want Oppa's baby too!"
A soft cough.
Seora froze.
Seohui giggled and tilted her head. "Well, Hero. That's what my little sister wants. Are you finally going to grant her wish?"
Seora felt her entire body heat up and she slowly turned her head.
There, in a freshly laundered suit, carrying a bucket of Korean fried chicken, Seora's favorite guilty pleasure between work...
Jihu let out an amused smile and said, "Well. That's fairly forward. And it can be arranged, Seora."
"O-O-O-OPPA?!"
Jihu laughed. "Mm, since you're this frustrated, shall we get to it?" He teased and set the fried chicken down on the table.
"W-W-Wait. Oppa, you can't just... that's... THIS WAS A PRIVATE CONVERSATION!"
"Ah, well this was Seohui's idea." Jihu glanced at Seohui.
Seora immediately snapped her head towards her older sister.
Seohui giggled and pulled out a communication crystal. "Oops~?"
"YOU!"
Seora wanted to lunge at her sister. But Jihu was there. And he heard everything.
But...
Since he heard everything...
No, since he said that could be arranged...
Jihu let out a relaxed smile and said, "Tell me, Seora. Would having you make you feel loved?"
Seora's cheeks burned. She stared into Jihu's eyes, shining with iridescent colors...
Then she glanced over at Seohui who had CLEARLY set this whole thing up, the sly woman she was...
"...Fuck it." Seora slammed her hand on the table and pointed at Jihu. "Oppa! You, me! Babies, now! And you!" She pointed at Seohui, her ears red. "Y-You too! Since you started this mess, no going back!"
Seohui giggled. "Well... That's what she said, my hero." She slowly stood up and reached up for her blouse, slipping it off. "This office IS private. And soundproof."
Seora felt her entire body burn, realizing that, yes, this was a thing that WAS happening.
Jihu chuckled. "Alright. Then... for these beautiful flowers that I stole from Sinyoung..." He crossed the gap in an instant, pulling Seora into his left arm and Seohui into his right. "...Shall I pluck you properly?"
"O-Oppa! Th-That's... Hn~?! W-W-Wait! You can't- Ahn~"
"H-H-Hero! So... Ahn~ bold...!"