Chapter 51: The Weight of Truth

I repeatedly pressed my lips against her shoulder like a woodpecker. Tok, tok, tok.

As I continued this action several times, Jinhyang finally asked in a confused tone, “What are you doing?”

“Biting would hurt, wouldn’t it? So I’m just using my lips.”

“I see…?”

Tok, tok, tok.

Instead of answering, I pressed my lips against her shoulder again, probably about ten times.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt, but…”

Her gaze shifted to her shoulder, where my lips had left the area slightly damp. Jinhyang’s expression twisted awkwardly.

“Did you lick it or something?”

“No, I only used my lips.”

Was it gross? I raised my hand and wiped her now slightly wet shoulder, but she rubbed my lips with her thumb.

“Why are your lips so damp?”

“Are they?”

I rubbed my own lips curiously. Swish, swish.

‘They are damp.’

Indeed, my lips were moist, like a dog’s nose.

“Do you drool often or something?”

“Even if my brain’s slowed down, I’m not that bad…”

What does she take me for? I sighed and handed the order slip to the baker.

After leaving instructions to complete it by next Saturday, we stepped out of the bakery.

“All set?”

“Not yet. I still need to get Yoon Bora’s gift.”

I already had an idea of what to buy for Yoon Bora. Since she trained at the gym every single day, workout equipment seemed the best choice.

“What are you planning to get for Yoon Bora?”

“Some gym equipment.”

I was thinking of heavy dumbbells, the kind even hunters struggled to lift.

“Then we need to head to the basement.”

“Yes, let’s go quickly.”

I tapped Jinhyang’s shoulder, the same spot I had just touched with my lips. The dampness lingered faintly, though it didn’t smell like saliva.

The Hunter Tower’s basement housed a special facility where hunters gathered—a space strictly off-limits to regular people.

Ding.

As the elevator doors opened, a surge of overwhelming energy hit me like a slap to the face.

‘This…’

The space was filled with hundreds of hunters. Many were unlocking their abilities to test equipment, filling the air with an intensity that words could hardly describe.

“Hic!”

The sheer pressure made my ears flatten and my tail instinctively curl around Jinhyang for protection.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“It’s… it’s just…”

I couldn’t even form proper words as the heavy atmosphere pressed down on me. Now I understood why ordinary people weren’t allowed here—it was for their safety.

‘But I need to get Yoon Bora’s gift.’

I looked at the vast space again, questioning if I could even take a step inside. Just standing at the entrance made my whole body ache.

“I… I can’t…”

Trembling uncontrollably, I clung to Jinhyang like my only lifeline.

She reached out and gently placed her hand on my stomach. A wave of warmth coursed through me, pushing away the oppressive energy that had been crushing me.

“Huh?”

My pounding heart calmed, and my trembling lips stilled. Jinhyang had clearly done something to help.

“Better now?”

“Yes… yes, I’m fine now. Thank you.”

It was fascinating.

Just moments ago, I’d felt like I was dying.

Still trying to make sense of it, I placed a hand over my chest, opening and closing my fists experimentally. Jinhyang spoke as she observed my actions.

“You’re just sensitive. Most people wouldn’t react this strongly.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just don’t stray too far from me while we’re here.”

“I wasn’t planning to.”

Sticking close to her wasn’t just for safety; she was also a reliable mode of transportation when needed.

“So, what are you buying?”

“A dumbbell and gloves for Yoon Bora. A set.”

“Not bad.”

Nodding in approval, Jinhyang stepped out of the elevator, and I followed her to the fitness equipment store. Rows of various exercise tools were displayed.

“Can I let go for a bit?” I asked.

“If you do, it might be like earlier.”

“Hmm…”

I decided to test something. After hopping off Jinhyang, I immediately wrapped my tail around her hand. Thankfully, my guess was right—staying connected physically worked. I didn’t feel the trembling return.

“Let’s head over there.”

Leading the way, I stopped in front of a lineup of dumbbells, each arranged by size. However, the weights weren’t labeled, so I’d have to lift them to figure it out.

‘That’s inconvenient.’

Looking around, I found one that seemed quite heavy and approached it.

“Ugh!”

With a grunt, I bent at the waist and gave it my all, but the dumbbell didn’t budge. Even pushing it failed to make it roll.

‘This might do.’

Its sleek silver design was clean and stylish, perfectly matching Yoon Bora’s image.

“I think this one is good,” I declared.

“That’s probably too light for Yoon Bora.”

“It’s not light at all! This thing is ridiculously heavy!”

I stepped aside, gesturing for Jinhyang to try lifting it. Understanding my intent, she casually approached, leaned down, and picked it up—effortlessly.

She didn’t even bother assuming a proper lifting stance.

“Yep, this one’s light. Feels like it’s about 100 kilograms.”

“…?”

One hundred kilograms. And she called it light.

The contradiction of those words left me tilting my head in disbelief.

‘Wait…’

Come to think of it, Yoon Bora had once mentioned that she warmed up with weights around this size. I’d completely forgotten that she and Jinhyang were elite hunters recognized throughout Korea.

“For Bora, she’d probably need one four times heavier than this,” Jinhyang noted.

“Four times…”

Four hundred kilograms—lifted with one hand, no less.

While grappling with the absurdity of such strength, Jinhyang pointed to a much larger dumbbell.

“That one should work. They can also engrave something on it if you want.”

“Y-Yes, let’s do that.”

I decided to wrap this up quickly and leave. Staying here much longer felt like it would shatter my understanding of reality.

I still needed to buy gloves, though.

By the time we’d finished, it was already late morning. The mental toll from shopping had left me drained.

“I need a nap,” I muttered.

Collapsing in the staff break room, I closed my eyes, hoping to recover. But before long, the door creaked open, and someone stepped in.

“Harang.”

“Hmm?”

I lifted my head to see Yoon Bora standing at the entrance. She seemed unusually tense.

“Harang, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

What could be so serious? Her nervousness rubbed off on me, and I swallowed hard.

“Harang, you know you have a… status issue, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

Ever since my transformation, I hadn’t officially registered my identity. It was bound to cause problems.

“So, I took the liberty of registering you temporarily.”

“What?”

How had she done that? Shouldn’t I have gone to the local office myself?

As questions swirled in my mind, Yoon Bora handed me a set of documents.

[Resident Registration Record]

The document listed three names:

• Yoon Bora
• Raxy Bora
• Kang Harang

To my surprise, my name was included as part of the household, without even changing my surname.

“Yoon Bora, is this even legal?”

“Um… probably not, technically?”

“…?”

Does that mean she’d done this illegally?

I stared at her in disbelief. Yoon Bora didn’t seem like someone who would break the law.

Perhaps realizing my thoughts, she frantically waved her hands.

“Wait! Don’t get the wrong idea! I only did this because I thought you wouldn’t like the alternative!”

“What alternative?”

“To register you, they’d need to verify who you originally were. That includes family authentication.”

“Ah.”

Admitting to everyone that I used to be a man wasn’t something I could do easily.

Moreover, I had no family left to vouch for me.

It seemed Yoon Bora had bent the rules—perhaps even broken them—for my sake.

She must have hated doing it.

“Do you think it’s weird? Should I undo it and go back to how it was?” she asked hesitantly, carefully watching my reaction.

“No, I like it.”

There was no reason for me to dislike it. The identity crisis that had been plaguing me was finally resolved.

Becoming part of their family was a little surreal, though.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, Harang, this is how we’ll live from now on, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

The phrasing was a bit strange, but I let it slide.

My new registration even came with a completely different ID number.

Everything about it, from the first digit to the last, was different. Even my official age.

“Yoon Bora, this feels a bit off.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m younger now.”

Younger than the twin sisters, no less.

It seemed there had been a mistake during the process of creating my new identity.

“Look here.”

I pointed to the first few digits of the ID number, the part that indicated my birth year.

But Yoon Bora merely tilted her head, confused.

“Harang, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“No, really. Look closely. I’m younger than you now.”

I tapped the section of the paper repeatedly to emphasize my point.

“What are you talking about? Why would you be older than us?”

“…Huh?”

What?

She had to know I was older—why was she saying this?

At first, I thought she might be joking, but her expression was entirely sincere.

“Ah, I see. Harang, do you want to try being the older sibling?”

“No, that’s not it…!”

I wanted to say that I had been older all along, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

Yoon Bora’s normally kind eyes now looked hollow, almost eerie.

It was terrifying.

“Harang, I understand you want to be an older sibling, but it’s too early for you. Got it?”

“B-Bora…?”

This was a side of her I’d never seen before—a chilling intensity that left me with no choice but to nod.

I got the sense that crossing her in this moment might lead to something disastrous.

This was Yoon Bora, the woman who could casually lift 400 kilograms with one hand.

For now, I had to accept my role as the younger sibling.