Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Dragon's Public Display
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“Waaah!”
“Whoa, shit, insane……!”
“This isn’t a fire show or fireworks—what the hell, is it a nuke? Whoa, that’s crazy, for real…….”
“Fuck, that’s badass…….”
“I thought it’d just be a little flame since they called it a fire show, but whoa.”
The unreal spectacle had my classmates staring in awe, and the underclassmen seemed just as stunned.
It was enough to snap Lee Si-hyun out of her drunken haze in an instant.
Si-hyun was staring at me with her eyes wide open.
No, not just Si-hyun. My little sister was looking at me with a similar expression.
The girl who always bickered with me couldn’t believe her eyes even after witnessing the sight firsthand.
“……I shouldn’t mess with Sis.”
I can hear you, you little brat. You say that, but you’ll start up again anyway.
Anyway, even I was pretty shocked.
I’d fired it off just to test how much firepower I had, but I hadn’t expected it to pierce straight through the clouds into the sky.
Passersby out for evening strolls were staring at me in shock.
Looks like I might’ve caused a bit of a scene?
I’d scanned the area thoroughly beforehand and confirmed nothing was passing overhead at that height, so no one was hurt…… but I’d definitely drawn a ton of attention.
I’d figured it would attract eyes from the start, so that wasn’t an issue.
It was just that I worried it might make someone anxious.
That was when someone approached me.
“Wow! That big sis has horns on her head! She breathes fire from her mouth!”
A little girl who looked about five or six, out with her family for a night walk, suddenly ran up to me.
Her parents, who’d been blankly watching me shoot fire, belatedly freaked out and tried to stop her, but she’d already latched onto me.
She seemed well-loved, with no shyness in her actions.
It didn’t bother me, though. I knelt down to look at her.
“Cool, huh?”
“Yeah!”
“Wanna touch?”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“Heehee!”
The girl reached out and stroked my horn.
As expected, I felt nothing special. But for her, it must’ve been the opposite.
A hardness unlike any human. At her age, unaware of what Mutants even were, I probably seemed like someone incredibly special.
What did she know? She was too young for rudeness or anything malicious, so I just smiled and watched her.
“It’s hard! So cool!”
“Right?”
“Why do you have horns, big sis?”
“‘Cause I’m a dragon?”
“A dragon!?”
Her eyes sparkled. Just then, her worried parents rushed over, fearing I might harm their child, and grabbed her hand.
“Sorry! She doesn’t know any better…….”
I glanced up at them, and unmistakable fear flickered in their eyes.
Seeing that, I gave a wry smile. Guess fear of Mutants is unavoidable.
But I couldn’t blame them. Who wouldn’t be scared after seeing me blast fire from my mouth all the way to the clouds?
Especially considering all the incidents Mutants had caused, their reaction wasn’t rude at all.
Just normal parents protecting their kid.
“It’s fine. Kids do that.”
“Big sis, big sis. If you’re a dragon, can you fly in the sky?”
“Yeah.”
“Wooow! But you don’t have wings—how do you fly?”
“Wings?”
“Yeah!”
“……Wanna see?”
“Yeah!”
“You……! Sorry, we’ll be going now. Yun-seo, come here.”
“No way! I wanna play with dragon sis!”
True to her age, the girl started throwing a tantrum.
Embarrassment was plain on the face of the woman who seemed to be her mother.
Onlookers watched with keen interest.
Classmates, underclassmen, my sister—all of them.
They already knew I was kind to others, so even after the fire show, none of them seemed afraid of me.
No, they were probably eyeing me with curiosity, wondering if I’d really bring out my wings.
The girl was hooked the moment I mentioned wings. Yeah, it had to be intriguing.
Wings you couldn’t see, but apparently existed.
……My clothes might rip a bit, but oh well. I turned to Seo-ah.
“Seo-ah.”
“Yeah?”
Calling my sister in an unusually gentle tone with the kid watching.
She noticed and grimaced slightly but didn’t show it.
“Got any spare clothes I could wear?”
“Of course not.”
“Then, could you buy some? I’ll give you money…….”
“You’re really gonna bring them out?”
“Seems like I have to.”
“……Fine. But I wanna see them properly too.”
“I’ll show you at home later, just us.”
“You know you can’t at home, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I handed my card to my sister as I spoke.
While Seo-ah dashed off, the girl’s parents fidgeted anxiously. They probably thought they were imposing too much.
“Yun-seo! You can’t act like this!”
“Don’t wanna go—!”
“Why’s she like this today? Honey, say something.”
“Yun-seo. Don’t trouble big sis—let’s go home, okay? Be good, our Yun-seo?”
“She’s always so well-behaved and listens…….”
“Nooo, I’m not going!”
Even with Dad stepping in, Yun-seo showed no sign of backing down.
Her shrill, childlike volume rang in our ears.
“Yun-seo, should sis show you her wings?”
“Yeah!”
“Then, make a promise with sis.”
“What promise……?”
“Sis shows you wings and even flies a bit. In return, you listen to Mom and Dad.”
“Really!?”
“Yep. Sis doesn’t lie. Pinky swear…… thumb stamp! Promise?”
“Yeah!”
“……Sorry, truly.”
“It’s okay. Kids are curious. I’d have been too if I were Yun-seo. Oh, could you step back a bit? Wings are pretty big…… might hurt you. Yun-seo, wanna go to Mom for a sec?”
“Yeah!”
“Na-yeon sunbae? Underclassmen, mind stepping back too? Wings are huge—could get hit when they open.”
“Oh, sure!”
Once everyone backed away, I exhaled and unfurled my wings.
Crack.
A creepy sound accompanied the sensation of wings bursting from my back. Each about two meters, four combined.
The sudden emergence of dragon wings left everyone’s eyes bulging. Even after the fire pillar to the sky, the reaction was bigger.
“Waaah……! They’re huge!”
“Oh my god…….”
“See? Super big, right?”
“You can really fly?”
“Yep.”
I flapped them. The whoosh stirred a gust around us.
Whoosh—!
My body lifted slightly.
“Cool, huh?”
“Yeah!”
“Come here. Sis’ll give you a quick sky view.”
At my words, Yun-seo wordlessly hugged into my arms.
Holding her, I rose to a moderate height—not too high. About ten meters off the ground. Any higher, and her parents might freak.
“Waaah!”
“Oh…….”
Yun-seo squealed excitedly nonstop. And I was thrilled too.
First time spreading my wings and flying for real.
Wind blew.
The crisp autumn breeze felt refreshing just brushing against me.
“Fun?”
“Waaah……!”
Yun-seo nodded eagerly at my question, then squealed more.
No surprise—who gets to do this?
After circling the park, some folks snapped photos.
But I ignored it.
I’d resolved to reveal my Mutant status at uni, so I’d accepted this.
As long as it didn’t harm those around me, I’d let it slide.
But if anyone dug into my life and harassed my people, I wouldn’t let it go.
I’d talk to Agent Choi Jeong-ho and find a way to deal with them.
After the loop, we landed back where we started. Yun-seo beamed like she’d ridden a ride, toddling to her mom with shining eyes.
“Thank you so much. She’s not usually like this…… Yun-seo, home time. Okay?”
“Ahaha…… She’s at that curious age, right? Don’t worry. Yun-seo, remember our promise? Listen to Mom and Dad.”
“Mmm…… Okay…….”
Yun-seo seemed reluctant to part. But pinky-sworn, she obediently went into her mom’s arms without fuss.
“Bye-bye, sis!”
I silently waved to the girl. Couldn’t fold my wings yet—back felt too exposed.
With clothes barely hanging on, I wrapped my wings around myself.
Classmates and underclassmen approached.
Some gasped in awe, others asked if wings always shredded clothes like this.
“Yeah. Told you—need backless clothes or this happens. So, when’s Yun-seo coming back?”
Right on cue, my panting sister arrived.
“H-here, clothes.”
“Thanks. Hey, cover me. Gotta change…….”
“I’ll help too.”
Si-hyun, sober now, and Na-yeon flanked me. Awkward all around. Was there no Mutant clothing store……?
Wanted to try my tail sometime, but that’d have to wait.