“It’s truly surprising.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
“I’ve never met someone who is so emotionally stable like this.”
“The doctor said the same thing…”
“Haha, that’s understandable. He’s probably the person who has seen the most mutants in Korea.”
“Really?”
Certainly, that doctor… seemed like someone who had gone through quite a bit of similar situations.
“Yes.”
“So, um, may I ask why you’re here to see me…?”
“Oh, it’s to help with various conveniences for mutants. You don’t need to be too cautious.”
“Conveniences?”
“Well, usually mutants don’t have their gender change, but… since you’ve undergone a gender change, you’ll probably need a new ID card.”
“Ah.”
That’s right.
My ID card.
Since my appearance has changed, all the documents that could prove my identity are probably nothing but scraps of paper now.
“And I noticed that you’ve completed your military service. There’s also the matter of reservists…”
“Are you saying I have to go to reservist training like this?”
“Haha. Normally, you’d have to go, but since mutants might cause accidents if they’re sent, most mutants are excluded from reservist duty. However, as I’ve heard from the doctor, you’re very calm. Usually, when someone’s gender changes, they get confused.”
“Awesome.”
“Excuse me?”
At the mention of being excluded from reservist duty, I couldn’t help but mutter “awesome” under my breath.
“Ah, no, it’s nothing. Anyway, like you said, even though this situation is strange, it somehow feels familiar.”
“Well, isn’t it better that way? If your mind were unstable and you were causing havoc… it would have been a pretty terrible situation.”
The expression of the National Intelligence Service agent seemed to show a deep relief, as if he had narrowly avoided something.
Seeing his reaction, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something serious had happened.
“You said I was unconscious for three months… Did something happen during that time?”
The National Intelligence Service agent silently nodded.
“A lot happened. Many mutants were confused due to the unique traits they developed, and there were numerous incidents. People getting hurt was common, and in severe cases, there were fatalities.”
“…It sounds like it was serious.”
“It was a sudden change. Thankfully, modern weapons worked on mutants, or else the casualties would have been huge if they hadn’t.”
“Then, the social perception of mutants must not be very good.”
“Unfortunately, yes. Not all mutants are like that, and there are many who live well and blend in with people… but there are crimes caused by mutants, so it’s not like there aren’t any. Social perception is often shaped by the extreme minority.”
I felt a headache coming on.
Does this mean I’ll be treated like a quasi-terrorist now, going from an ordinary college student that anyone could meet to something like that?
“Anyway, Seo-hyun, you’ll stay in this hospital for a while and continue training to control yourself. You’ll have to interact with others in everyday life, so… I ask for your understanding. Ah, here are the documents.”
The National Intelligence Service agent said this as he handed me some papers.
“What are these documents?”
“As I mentioned earlier, these are for your ID card and identity-related documents. And later, you’ll need to take a passport-style photo as well.”
“Okay.”
I carefully reviewed the documents the National Intelligence Service agent handed me, signing wherever required and moving on.
I was worried I might break the pen… but as I consciously thought that I shouldn’t exert too much force, I could feel my grip naturally loosening.
Unlike what I worried about earlier, it felt like I could automatically adjust my strength now.
It seems like I might not need much training at all.
“Oh. With this level of control, you might not need that much training after all.”
The agent marveled at my progress.
He said he didn’t expect me to control my strength so quickly.
He mentioned that usually, people would have to break about ten pens to get a feel for it.
After I had gone through the documents, taken the ID photo, and finished all the procedures, the agent gathered the papers and said.
“Well, it looks like most of the necessary work is done. I’ll be going now. Thank you for your cooperation. If you need any help, just speak to the doctor. And just in case, here’s my contact information. If anything goes wrong or if your condition is unstable, feel free to reach out.”
“Ah, okay.”
Once the agent left, I returned to the hospital room where I had been lying down.
The doctor casually asked if all the necessary procedures had been completed, and I nodded, confirming they were.
Soon, my new ID card would arrive, and my personal information would change as well.
As for my name… I decided to just keep it the same.
Seo-hyun.
It’s a name that can be used for both men and women, after all.
There was no need to change my name just because my gender had changed.
I had been called Seo-hyun my entire life, and I would likely continue to be called Seo-hyun from now on.
I lay down on the bed.
If I could at least use my smartphone, I might be able to catch up on what had been happening, but I couldn’t even do that.
They said my family had taken it.
In the end, all I could do was stare blankly at the ceiling.
I thought to myself, absent-mindedly.
Mutants are said to inherit the traits of the creatures they transform into.
And the creature I had transformed into was, most likely, a dragon, or at least a dragon-like being.
In fantasy novels, or any kind of media, dragons are typically described as having great physical and mental strength.
Of course… they are often portrayed as brutal tyrants as well, but still.
I thought about the typical image of a dragon.
Maybe the reason I was more mentally stable than other mutants was because of some inherent dragon-like trait.
To be honest, it makes sense, right?
Most mutants, as soon as they transform, can’t accept the reality and end up losing their minds or going into a frenzy.
But I’m the only one who isn’t like that.
I do feel some confusion, but that’s about it.
I don’t feel like I’m about to lose my mind because I can’t accept the situation.
….At least, that’s a relief.
Considering my mental state was already fragile like shards of glass, I must have gained some mental toughness after the transformation.
If I were still my old self, I might have ended up on a wanted poster somewhere.
My family is coming.
It makes sense since I’ve woken up.
Originally, they were supposed to tell them sooner, but mutants who haven’t undergone a medical check can be extremely dangerous, so they purposely delayed the announcement.
The timing strangely overlapped with when my family couldn’t come to see me, so I didn’t face them until three days later.
There was joy on their faces.
“…Is it really you, Seo-hyun?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m so glad. Really.”
Honestly, I was just dazed.
For me, it was just a nap and waking up, yet they had such a reaction.
Even my always-ill-tempered little sister, who would normally be annoyed, was now wearing a relieved expression…
I could tell my family had been really worried about me.
“But, you recognized me?”
“I watched you transform. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize you? How are you feeling? Did you just wake up today?”
“No. I’ve been awake for about three days now.”
“What?”
My mom looked like she was about to scold the doctor for not informing her immediately that I had woken up, but I stopped her.
“Calm down, calm down. It was delayed because they were running various tests.”
“What kind of tests…”
“They said mutants are dangerous…”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“You know. It was no joke.”
At that moment, my younger sister, Yoon Seo-ah, interrupted.
My little sister.
She was quite cute, but still, she was my mom’s daughter.
We had fought every day when we were younger.
It had gotten a little better after I went to the military, but still, she felt more like a close male friend than anything else.
Anyway, she asked with a somewhat blunt expression.
Even though she was like that, I guess it was natural for her to be curious, since her family member was a mutant.
“Right now, if I swing my fist wrong, I could kill someone.”
“What?”
“When I had the medical check, I just casually swung my fist, and the alloy partition got bent.”
“Really!?”
“It’s true. Thankfully, Seo-hyun is very emotionally stable, so we called your family. If Seo-hyun had been even a little emotionally unstable, it could have been a huge problem.”
My little sister, looking horrified, spoke to the doctor, and the doctor chuckled.
But, the words that came out of that chuckle were enough to make anyone panic.
“Oh my…”
My mom and dad also seemed quite shocked.
Well, it was understandable.
While having horns or animal ears is a pretty common feature among mutants, a mutant who could bend an alloy partition with their bare hands wasn’t exactly common.
Their son… or should I say daughter now…
Anyway, their child had become such a being, so it made sense they’d be shocked.
Still, the doctor added a few more words.
Unlike most mutants, I was emotionally very stable, and I didn’t feel any confusion.
There was no sign of the usual aggression that new mutants often experience, so it seemed like living a normal life wouldn’t be too difficult for me.
That reassurance seemed to calm my parents down.
“Mom, can I use your phone?”
“Huh? Oh, Seo-ah, your brother’s phone.”
“Not brother anymore, right? Isn’t it sister now? Whatever, here.”
“Thanks.”
Whether I was a girl or a boy didn’t matter to me at that moment.
I quickly grabbed the phone and started checking it.
…As expected.
I had an absolutely overwhelming amount of messages.
First, when I checked the six group project chat rooms, the team members were venting their frustration toward the suddenly missing group leader.
And then, everyone left the chat rooms.
Well.
They probably went off and complained about me somewhere out of sight.
I chuckled as I saw that.
Serves them right, idiots.
Of course.
How could the ones who just submitted papers manage to handle the projects at the last minute?
They’d never even made a PowerPoint before.
It was ridiculously satisfying.
But, despite the satisfaction, a sense of helplessness also washed over me.
I had six courses I needed to retake… but… won’t I be unable to retake them?
At least since it’s the beginning of the semester, if I had been processed for a leave of absence, I could just retake the semester later…
“Mom. I’ve got a serious problem.”
“Huh? What’s the problem?”
“Did I… end up on a leave of absence?”
“Yeah. After you collapsed, I had them process a leave of absence just in case. They said it was because of a serious illness, so it couldn’t be helped.”
Hearing my mom’s thoroughness, I let out a relieved sigh….