I pulled my hood down deeply.
It was a bit obstructed by my horns, but it mostly covered my face.
I knew there was no good in openly revealing that I was a mutant, so I had no choice but to be cautious.
We arrived at the department store.
“Ugh… It feels a little better once we’re inside the store. By the way, are you not hot, sis?”
“Sis?”
“Then, should I call you brother, since you look like that now? You know that would be even stranger, right?”
“…Right. Now that it’s like this, what difference does it make? I’ll have to get used to it.”
“So, are you hot or not?”
“I’m not really hot.”
“In this weather, you’re wearing a hood like that and saying you’re not hot? Wow…”
“Was today really hot?”
“Heatwave warning.”
My younger sister’s short reply.
…A heatwave warning?
Isn’t it June right now?
“Isn’t it June right now?”
I asked my sister, and she clicked her tongue.
“Exactly. The weather’s crazy. Anyway, it’s good that you’re not hot. Keep that hood down properly. If you get caught, it’s going to be a disaster. You could even get kicked out of the store.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“There are stores that don’t allow mutants because they’ve caused too much trouble. Especially large stores like this; they won’t let any mutant in unless they’re certified not to cause accidents.”
“Seriously? You can’t even go into stores?”
“Yeah. What can you do? You have to blame the ones who caused trouble. There was almost a disaster in a department store before.”
Sigh
This was frustrating.
If things keep going like this, I’ll just have to live with my hood down forever.
The only real relief was that I didn’t feel any heat at all right now.
Has becoming a dragon made me immune to heat or cold?
That’s actually convenient.
“What are you going to do about the clothes?”
“I’ll measure your size, so just go into the changing room. I’ll pick out the clothes for you.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“I’ll be shopping for some things, so call me when you’re done buying all your clothes.”
“Okay.”
And so, the department store exploration continued.
My younger sister was grinning, happily picking out clothes.
The way she moved, almost like she was possessed, made it clear that this was something she was very used to.
She looked through a bunch of clothes and then called me.
“Hey! Come here!”
“Coming, coming.”
She shoved me into the changing room and then brought a hat from outside, placing it on my head.
“Take it off.”
“……”
What kind of weird statement was that?
Anyway, my sister skillfully took my measurements and then brought out underwear and clothes that fit my new body.
“This is seriously so unfair.”
She grumbled.
“Why, what now?”
“No, is this even possible? You’re so slim, but your breast is huge? It’s a scam!”
“Is it that big…?”
I didn’t feel like it was that big, but maybe it’s because I’m so skinny?
“Big! It’s gotta be at least a D cup!”
“Hey, hey. Quiet down. But does it really look like a D cup?”
“It’s because your body is so thin. Anyway, we bought everything, so put on the hat first. If you don’t want to wear the hood, that is.”
“Fine.”
“The world is so unfair. Why does someone who used to be a guy have a body like this…!”
“Hey, there are plenty of things to be jealous about. But you’re treated like a walking bomb.”
“If you look at just that part, yeah, it’s the only good thing.”
“That’s the problem… I have no idea how I’m supposed to live socially. The level of social perception is worse than I thought. Being a mutant is tough.”
I mumbled to myself, and my younger sister responded.
“What’s this? I thought you were calm about everything, but you’ve got worries too?”
“Of course I do. But, well… I guess I’ll figure it out somehow. At least, I’m glad I won’t be harmed by anyone. Since I was always an outsider, I’m used to not having people around me.”
“Do you think the others are talking behind your back?”
“Let them talk. As long as they don’t say it where I can hear it, I don’t care.”
It doesn’t really bother me what others say about me.
I already thought my department life was half ruined.
I had quite a colorful history from the past.
“Really… But you never know. You might end up being super popular, a social butterfly.”
“Ugh, that’s a bit much. I know exactly what kind of people they are. If they pretend to be friendly now, it would just feel fake and uncomfortable.”
“I think the problem is that you’re way too picky about who you befriend.”
“I prefer my relationships to be narrow and deep.”
“True. But with your attitude, it’s not like you’d change that in a short time. Still, you don’t have anyone really close in the department, do you?”
“Hmm?”
“Well, I can’t say there’s absolutely no one, but I can’t really say I’m super close with anyone either. We just go to class together, play games… that kind of thing.”
“That sounds like you’re actually pretty close with them, though.”
“Yeah, I guess. But I’m not sure how they’d feel about me now. Like you said, there might be some who approach me with weird intentions. If it’s someone I don’t know, I wouldn’t care, but if it’s someone who knew me before I transformed and they approach me like that… it’d just feel off.”
“You said you’d fold a coin in half?”
“That’s just a metaphor. I don’t plan on turning into a troublemaking mutant.”
“Well, I guess you’ll figure it out. By the way, how do you feel about the clothes you bought? Do you like them?”
“At least there’s nothing too long or bulky, so I’m okay with that. Even though I’ve become a girl, I’m not quite ready to wear a skirt just yet.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“Though you never know. Maybe one day I won’t feel uncomfortable about it.”
“Hmm. Are you going to wear them?”
“Yeah. I’ve got the hat, so… Even though I’m not hot, wearing a hood all the time is still uncomfortable.”
I quickly threw on the most neutral-looking outfit from the ones I bought.
A black short-sleeved shirt and black wide pants.
It’s summer, so wearing black could be hot, but since I couldn’t feel the heat anyway, I just went with all black.
The reason I chose black was simple.
No matter what stains get on it, they won’t show.
My younger sister looked at me and said my fashion sense was awful, but… fashion is all about the face.
With this face, even if I wore a sack, I’d still stand out.
If I dress a bit dull, what’s the big deal?
“Lunch? Since we’re out, let’s eat something delicious.”
“Huh? What about Mom?”
“She’s already home. It’s taking us too long, so she said she’d get home first. Maybe she’s going out for an appointment or something.”
“Then let’s just go home and order delivery. It’s uncomfortable to eat with a hat on.”
“Okay. How about pizza?”
“Not bad.”
“Let’s hurry and catch the subway. It’s so hot.”
It wasn’t long after we got on the subway that we arrived at the subway station near my studio apartment.
It wasn’t far from the department store.
But then.
BEEP BEEP BEEP—!!
Suddenly, a disaster alert blared from everyone’s smartphones as if trying to tear through our eardrums.
The surroundings immediately became chaotic.
Since we were on our way home, my sister and I checked the message at the same time.
It was written in a complicated way, but if I were to summarize, it went something like this:
Minotaur-type mutant escaped.
Current location: Seoul, South Korea.
Exact location: Hanguk University Entrance Station.
Wait a minute. That’s near our studio apartment.
CRASH!!
As soon as we stepped out of the subway station, a loud noise rang through the air.
The sound of something being destroyed echoed vividly.
It seemed that the mutant was rampaging near where we were.
My younger sister was speechless.
She seemed to recognize the situation as serious.
She was more unsettled than I was, fidgeting anxiously.
“…What do we do?”
Even I, who hadn’t directly experienced a mutant attack yet, recognized how serious this situation was.
So, it was no surprise my sister, who had witnessed mutants for months, was feeling panicked.
“KAAAAHHH!”
I could hear the screams of people.
The screams were coming from quite a distance, but by focusing my senses, they became surprisingly clear.
The fact that people were screaming like that from such a distance meant that the situation was extremely dangerous.
I felt urgency.
If someone were to die in the middle of the city because of a mutant, public perception of mutants would plummet even further.
I instinctively understood that.
And if that happened… it would become even harder to just walk around freely on the streets.
That was something I couldn’t let happen.
At the very least, I didn’t want to be treated like a walking bomb.
That meant I had to stop this.
The moment I thought that, it felt like my vision opened up.
No, it wasn’t just my sight.
All of my senses seemed to expand.
It was like I could see everything around me from above, as if I were looking down from the sky.
If there were such a thing as clairvoyance, this might be it.
The mutant’s location was… near Exit 2 of the subway station, in the bustling area.
It was truly unfortunate, but that bustling area was also where our studio apartment was.
In other words, the mutant was blocking our path.
If I continued to walk with my sister toward that area, she could be in danger.
I stopped running and spoke up.
“Yoon Seo-ah.”
“…What?”
“Stay here. The mutant is causing chaos near the downtown area. And, seriously, the bastard is rampaging right in front of the café near our apartment.”
“How do you know that…?”
“Because I’m a mutant. I don’t know why, but I can see where they are. And right now, it’s really dangerous. If things go wrong, someone might die.”
“Are you seriously going? No way, right?”
“I think I have to.”
“What!? Are you crazy!?”
My sister was horrified.
If I were her, I’d probably react the same way.
But I had no choice.
I had to go.
If public perception of mutants fell to the worst level, I might even have to drop out of school.
Considering the tendencies of people in this country, it was only a matter of time before a movement to expel mutants from campuses started.
If I wasn’t a mutant myself, I would probably have joined that movement, but unfortunately, I was one.
I couldn’t afford to be expelled from school after all the tuition I paid.
Someone might say I’m overreacting, but this was a huge deal for me.
I had studied so hard, grinding my teeth to get into Korea’s top university, and I wasn’t about to let it all be ruined by a ridiculous accident like getting expelled.
And anyway, since the mutant was hanging out in front of the café near our studio, I had to deal with him.
Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to step up.
“Think about it. If the news comes out that someone was killed here, what do you think the public’s perception of mutants like me will be? I might not even be able to walk down the street anymore.”
At those words, my sister, though still anxious, seemed to understand.
“Do you think you can stop them?”
“Yeah. It might be some misplaced confidence, but… I have a feeling I’ll be okay.”
And the reason I was so determined to go was that I genuinely believed I could stop this rampaging mutant.
“So, stay here for now. I’ll contact you once the situation is over.”
“…Be careful.”
“Don’t worry. The doctor said that the longer a mutant’s transformation takes, the stronger they become.”
“So?”
“I’m apparently the latest mutant to transform in the world. I told you before when I woke up, right? When I swung my fist casually, the alloy partition got bent.”
“…I got it.”
As soon as the words ended, I ran at the fastest speed I could muster.
Now wasn’t the time to think about strength control or any of that nonsense.
As I ran… the scenery around me passed by so quickly, it felt like I was riding a train.
“Whaaat!”
I heard someone’s surprised voice, but I couldn’t afford to pay attention to that.
I kept running, running.
Finally, I stood at the center of the chaotic destruction.
And there, in the middle of it all, was him.
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