The Meeting (1)
After checking my status window, an important fact came back to me.
Any citizen of the Republic of Korea who Awakened was required to report it to the state. It was the very first law enacted five years ago, and the fine scaled exponentially with every day you failed to register — so the smart move was to get it done fast.
In my case, a full day hadn't even passed yet. Still, better safe than sorry.
To register, I have to go to the National Awakened Management Association, right?
I looked down at my clothes.
A top so oversized it looked like a child playing dress-up in an adult's wardrobe. Shorts with a waistband so loose they were one wrong move from sliding clean off…
I could not show up at the Association like this. I would die of embarrassment. Ordering new clothes and waiting for delivery wasn't an option either — I didn't have the time.
I went into the bedroom and opened the closet.
Cover the short sleeves with a black windbreaker, cinch the pants with an elastic waistband. That should do it.
It was summer, so I'd roast — but I wouldn't die.
Well… anything beats walking out in front of people looking like this.
I steeled myself, pulled on the pants, and shrugged into the windbreaker. In the bathroom mirror I looked like someone who'd stolen her boyfriend's clothes.
Strike while the iron's hot, as they say.
I left the house at once.
The moment I stepped out the front door on the ground floor, the pouring sunlight made the windbreaker heat up almost instantly. At least the house wasn't far from the station, so the walk didn't take long.
Inside the station it was a different world — packed wall to wall with people. I felt like every pair of eyes on earth was fixed on me.
Once I boarded the train, those stares faded. Or rather, there was no room left to feel them. Whether it was just bad timing with the evening rush or not, the car was stuffed full. Buried in the crowd, I felt my new height acutely.
I used to have a clear line of sight…
I gritted my teeth through the discomfort until my stop arrived, then wormed my way through the throng and out of the station.
There it stood — a towering skyscraper, the heart of the modern age: the Awakened Association. I slipped my phone, still open to the map app, back into my pocket.
It's right there in plain sight. Who needs a map?
I quickened my pace toward the building. Ten minutes later I arrived to find the Association swarming with people.
Okay… so where do you actually register?
I looked around, but the crowd was so thick I couldn't find the registration desk. In the end I went to the information counter near the entrance and asked.
"Excuse me… where do I go to register as an Awakened?"
"That way."
I followed the attendant's pointing hand — and my soul nearly left my body. People. So many people. Roughly thirty of them queued at each desk.
"An unusually high number of Awakenings today," the attendant remarked.
I let the comment wash over me and trudged toward the back of the line.
This line is way too long.
I sighed inwardly. Thanks to the windbreaker, my upper body was already soaked in sweat. Every fiber of my being wanted to turn around and go home — but I'd already waited thirty minutes, so I held on.
At least my eyes weren't bored. The place was packed with people so distinctive that simply watching them was entertainment enough.
Someone whose eyes glowed with light. Someone demonstrating magic for the crowd. Even someone with a pair of cat ears sprouting from their head…
Truly every kind of person imaginable.
As I kept scanning the room, one figure in particular snagged my attention. A tall woman with striking features, dressed in a black gown that matched her long black hair. The sheer magnetic allure of her presence left me staring, completely entranced.
"I get that you're excited about Awakening, miss, but let's keep the line moving properly."
The voice right behind me snapped me back to reality.
Miss? Is he talking to me?
I looked ahead — the line had advanced a long way without me.
"Aaah, I'm so sorry!"
I scrambled forward to close the gap.
"Hahaha. Being excited is fine, miss, but stay calm. Even after you Awaken, life doesn't change as much as you'd think."
Mine changed a whole lot, actually…
I swallowed the thought and answered out loud.
"You talk like you've been Awakened for a long time."
"I have."
"But this is the line for first-time registration?"
"Hahahaha. Most people don't know, but this line is also for re-Awakeners."
"Re-Awakeners?"
"When you hit a special trigger, or when you pass level two hundred, you re-Awaken. It's not exactly common knowledge."
"Wow, I've never heard of that."
"Re-Awakening mostly just adds a second class — not a huge overhaul. And not that many people go through it, so it's no surprise it's news to you."
"Then you must be incredibly strong."
"Nah. This old man Awakened as a combat class, worked as a doctor, saved one person, and re-Awakened for it. Wasn't strength that did it."
"That's still amazing, though."
"Kind of you to say so. All right — almost there now."
I looked ahead at his words. Only three people remained in front of me. I focused on the receptionist's voice up front.
"Jang Dongmin, correct?"
"Yes."
"Class is Knight."
"Yes."
"You've been Awakened for two days?"
"Yes."
"May I see your ID?"
"Here you go."
"All right, registration complete. Any other questions?"
"No, nothing."
"Very well. Have a good day."
The receptionist ran through the procedure with the mechanical efficiency of someone who had done it hundreds — thousands — of times.
So this is what a professional looks like.
The next two people weren't much different. At last, the endless wait ended and it was my turn. A call came from the desk.
"Next, please come have a seat."
"Kwon Siyu, correct?"
"Yes."
"Class is Maid."
"Yees."
"Awakened about a day ago."
"Yes."
She hadn't filled out any preliminary form, yet she nailed every detail of my information.
Guess the Association really does have a lot of Awakened on staff.
"May I see your ID?"
"Yes, here."
"Uh…"
The receptionist looked back and forth between my face and the card several times.
"This is your ID, correct?"
"It is…?"
"The gender doesn't match…"
Ah… what do I do?
"W-well… when I Awakened, my gender changed."
"I'm sorry. My ability can't verify the authenticity of that. I'll connect you with another Awakened — would you mind heading over?"
"Okay… Is this kind of thing common?"
"No. Of course it's rare."
"You just seem so calm about it."
"This is a first for me, but strange things happen all the time around here. You'd be shocked if you knew how many different classes exist in the world."
Experience practically radiated from her face.
"No need to panic. Physical transformations are fairly common."
Beep-beep-beep-beep — beep.
She tapped at the phone as she spoke.
"Please go to the Special Counseling Room on the third floor and tell them Na Yeongseo sent you."
"Yes."
"Yes… this is Na Yeongseo at the front desk. We have an identity verification issue down here…"
At her shooing gesture, I moved on. When I reached the third floor, a passing staff member stopped me.
"What brings you up here?"
"I was told to go to the Special Counseling Room…"
"Straight that way, left at the corner — the room on the left. The name sounds intimidating, but it's nothing serious. Just relax and head on over."
Buoyed by the employee's encouragement, I set off toward the Special Counseling Room.
Why does everyone keep telling me not to worry?
The reassurance only made me more anxious. I approached the door with deliberately slow steps.
Creeeak.
I opened the door to find a man with tired, ash-gray hair seated inside.
"Come in."
His voice was languid.
"I've already received your information from downstairs. Your gender changed, is that right?"
"Yees…"
"I'm going to use a lie-detection ability now. Would you hold out your left hand?"
"Here."
The moment I extended my hand, he interlaced his fingers with mine.
"What are you doing?"
Isn't it weird for a man to lace fingers with a woman's hand like that?
"It's a condition of my ability."
"Pardon?"
Conditions like that exist?
While I was still reeling, he began his questions.
"I'll ask you now. Is the person on this ID you?"
"Huh? Yes."
"You were male until you Awakened, and you are currently female."
"Yes."
"That will do. You can take your hand back. You'll need a new ID issued."
"Pardon?"
"All of your physical information has changed. Please proceed to the Special Cases Response Team on the second floor…"
From there I was shuttled from one office to another and another, and by the time I finally made it home, evening had long since passed and the sky was dark.
I'm starving… but I just want to sleep.
Exhaustion outweighed hunger. I collapsed onto the bed.
The woman in the black dress arrived at her mansion.
She had visited the Awakened Association looking for a dungeon she could clear alone, but nothing suitable had turned up. After changing into more comfortable clothes, she checked her status window out of habit.
She was reading through it as usual when something alien caught her eye — a skill she had never seen before.
Rights as a Master(EX)
She opened the detailed description at once.
"Oho…"
She murmured softly to herself.
Maid Call
Brilliant light flared before her, and a woman in rumpled clothes materialized.
The woman's name was Kwon Siyu — a pitiful maid who had fallen asleep after a grueling day.
"Huh?"
The soft bed that had been cradling my back was gone. I was face-down on a wooden floor.
Clinging to the last scraps of half-asleep consciousness, I pushed myself up. Sitting on the sofa in front of me was a woman.
How could I forget her? She was the woman in the black dress from the Awakened Association.
"Who are you?"
Bewilderment leaked into my voice.
"Me? I'm your master."
I startled at her answer.
"Pardon?"
Master? As in the master listed on my status window?
"I look forward to working with you."
Her quiet smile was so devastatingly beautiful it wiped every stray thought from my mind.
"What's your name?"
"Kwon Siyu."
The answer came out on reflex.
"A pretty name. Is there anything precious at your house?"
"Sorry? Why all of a sudden?"
"You'll be living here from now on, so you should go fetch whatever you need."
"Pardon?"