Seoul Dragon

“This is quite remarkable.”
“What is?”
“I’ve never seen someone so emotionally stable.”
“The doctor said the same thing…”
“Haha. That makes sense. He’s probably the person who has seen the most mutants in Korea.”
“Is that so?”
Indeed, that doctor… he did seem like someone who had experienced similar situations many times.
“Yes.”
“Um, but why did you come to see me…?”
“Ah, I’m here for the convenience of mutants. You don’t need to be so wary.”
“Convenience?”
“You see, normally mutants rarely experience gender changes… but since your gender has changed, Seohyun, you’ll need a new ID card.”
“Ah.”
That’s right. ID card. Since my appearance had changed, all the documents that could prove my identity would have become worthless.
“And I noticed you completed your military service. There’s also the matter of reserve forces training…”
“Don’t tell me I still have to go to reserve training like this?”
“Haha. Normally you would, but since mutants going there might cause unnecessary accidents, mutants are usually removed from reserve force assignments. But, as the doctor mentioned, you’re remarkably calm. Most people who experience gender changes tend to be confused.”
“Sweet!”
“Pardon?”
Upon hearing that I would be exempt from reserve training, I unconsciously muttered, “Sweet!”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, as you said, somehow in this situation, how should I put it… it feels familiar.”
“Well, that’s for the best. If your mental state had been unstable, and you had gone on a rampage… a pretty terrible situation could have unfolded.”
As the NIS agent said this, his expression showed relief as if he had aged ten years less. Somehow, seeing such a reaction made me feel like something serious had happened.
“I was told I was unconscious for three months… Did something happen during that time?”
The NIS agent silently nodded.
“Many things happened. There were quite a lot of mutants who were confused by the species characteristics that manifested in them, and there were many incidents. People getting injured was commonplace, and in severe cases, there were even situations where deaths occurred.”
“…That sounds serious.”
“It was a wind of drastic change. We were fortunate that modern weapons were effective against mutants; if they hadn’t been, there could have been an enormous number of casualties.”
“Then the social perception of mutants must not be very good.”
“Unfortunately, yes, that’s the case. Not all mutants are like that, and there are many who mix well with people, but… it’s not like there are no crimes committed by mutants. Social perception is ultimately formed by an extreme minority.”
I had a headache. Does this mean I’ve gone from being an ordinary college student who could be seen anywhere to being treated almost like a terrorist?
“Anyway, Seohyun, you’ll be staying in this hospital for a while, continuing to train to control yourself. It’s unavoidable if you want to blend in with others in daily life… I ask for your understanding. Ah, here are the documents.”
The NIS agent handed me the documents as he said this.
“What kind of documents are these?”
“As I mentioned earlier, they’re related to your ID card and identification. And you’ll need to take an ID photo later as well.”
“I see.”
I carefully reviewed the documents I received from the NIS agent, and signed where signatures were required.
I was worried I might break the pen… but as soon as I consciously thought I shouldn’t use force, I felt the strength in my grip loosening.
Somehow, contrary to my earlier worries, it felt like my strength was automatically being regulated.
At this rate, I might not even need training?
“Oh. At this rate, you might not need that much training after all.”
The NIS agent marveled at my behavior.
He didn’t expect my strength control to happen so quickly. Usually, people break about ten pens before they get the hang of it.
…After going through all the documents, taking ID photos, and completing various procedures, the agent gathered the papers and said:
“Well, now that we’ve pretty much completed all the necessary tasks, I’ll be going. Good job. If you need any help, you can tell the doctor. And just in case, here’s my contact information. You can contact me if there’s any problem or if your condition becomes unstable.”
“Ah, yes.”
As soon as the agent left, I returned to my hospital room. The doctor cheerfully asked if I had completed all the necessary procedures, and I answered that I had.
Soon, my newly issued ID card would arrive, and my personal information would be changed.
As for my name… I decided to keep it as is. Seohyun.
Isn’t it a name occasionally used by both men and women?
I didn’t feel the need to change my name just because my gender had changed.
I’ve been called Seohyun all my life, and I’ll continue to be called Seohyun.
I lay down on the bed. If I could use a smartphone, I could at least know what information had been available during my unconscious state, but I couldn’t even do that.
I was told my family had taken my smartphone.
In the end, all I could do was stare blankly at the ceiling.
I thought blankly.
I heard that mutants obtain the characteristics of the being they have mutated into.
And what I’ve mutated into is, with high probability, a dragon or dragonkin.
In fantasy novels or any media, they’re described as beings with incredibly strong bodies and minds once they appear.
Of course… they’re also often depicted as tyrannical despots, but anyway.
I recalled the common image of a dragon.
Perhaps my mental stability compared to other mutants might be related to dragon characteristics.
Honestly, it makes sense.
Most mutants either lose their minds or go berserk because they can’t accept reality right after mutation, but I’m different, which is even stranger.
I do feel confusion, but just that. I don’t feel like I’m going to go crazy because I can’t accept the situation.
…That’s at least fortunate.
My mental state was already as fragile as glass fragments, but it seems I’ve gained mental armor through mutation.
If I had remained my original self, my face might have ended up on a wanted list somewhere.

My family is coming.
Now that I’ve woken up, it’s only natural.
Originally, they should have been informed much earlier, but since a mutant who hasn’t undergone a medical check can be extremely dangerous, they deliberately delayed the notification timing.
That timing coincidentally overlapped with a time when my family couldn’t come to see me, so I faced my family three days later.
Joy was etched on my family’s faces.
“…Seohyun?”
“Yes.”
“Thank goodness. Really.”
Honestly, I was just bewildered.
For me, it was like waking up after a short nap, yet they reacted like this.
Even my usually disrespectful younger sister now had a relieved expression… it made me realize how much my family must have worried about me.
“But how did you recognize me so easily?”
“We watched you transform, so how could we not recognize you? How are you? Did you wake up today?”
“No. It’s been about three days now.”
“What?”
My mother looked like she was about to confront the doctor for not immediately informing her that I had woken up, but I stopped her.
“Calm down, calm down. They were late because they were doing various tests.”
“What kind of tests…”
“You know mutants are dangerous. I’m no joke either.”
“Why, what is it?”
At that moment, my younger sister interrupted. Yoon Seoa. My sister.
Her face is quite pretty, but still, she’s my mother’s daughter.
Since childhood, there wasn’t a day we didn’t fight.
We fight less since I came back from the military, but it still feels like we’re just close strangers.
Anyway, she asked with a rather blunt expression.
I guess no matter what, she’s curious about her family member being a mutant?
“Right now, if I swing my fist wrong, someone could die.”
“…What?”
“When I first did the medical check, I just casually swung my fist and the alloy barrier caved in.”
“Really!?”
“It’s true. It’s only because Seohyun is emotionally very stable that we called in family members; if Seohyun had been even slightly emotionally unstable, a serious situation could have occurred.”
My sister spoke to the doctor with a shocked expression, and the doctor laughed lightly. But the words that came out of that light laughter would have shocked any ordinary person.
“My goodness…”
Mom and Dad also seemed quite surprised.
Well, they couldn’t help it.
While having horns on the head or animal ears might be a fairly common characteristic among mutants, a mutant who could dent an alloy barrier with bare hands wasn’t that common.
Their son… or should I say daughter now?
Anyway, their child had become such a being, so it was understandable that they were surprised.
Still, the doctor added a few more words.
Unlike typical mutants, I’m emotionally very stable and don’t feel confusion.
The characteristic aggressiveness of newly mutated mutants isn’t felt either, so there won’t be major inconveniences in daily life.
With those words, my parents also felt relieved.
“Mom. My phone, please.”
“Huh? Ah, Seoa. Your brother’s phone.”
“Isn’t he my sister now, not my brother? Whatever, here.”
“Thanks.”
Whether I was a man or a woman, setting aside issues related to identity, I quickly checked my smartphone.
…As expected. There were terribly many messages.
First, looking at the six group project chat rooms, the team members were expressing their frustration towards the team leader who had suddenly disappeared. And they all left the chat rooms.
Well… they probably talked behind my back a lot.
I laughed as I saw that. Serves you right, idiots.
Of course. How could guys who just submitted papers manage at the end of the project? Literally, they’ve never even run PowerPoint before.
It was incredibly satisfying.
But, separate from the satisfaction, a sense of despair also came over me.
With six courses to retake, would this… even be possible to retake?
At least if it was processed as a leave of absence at the beginning of the semester, I could just retake the semester, but…
“Mom. A serious problem has come up.”
“Hm? What problem?”
“Did I get processed for a leave of absence?”
“Yes. After you collapsed, I asked for a leave of absence just in case. I said you had to take a leave due to a major illness.”
Thanks to my mother’s thoroughness, I breathed a sigh of relief.