The Name I Can't Even Say Out Loud
I decided to head to the hospital. I dried my hair and opened the bathroom door. A rush of warm, steamy air flowed out into the living room. I roughly tousled my wet hair with a towel and stepped outside. Mom was standing in the kitchen. It was the same morning scene as always.
“Our Eun-ran, you were taking a shower?” Mom said, turning around. At that moment, her movements froze. Her eyes slowly widened. Her mouth fell slightly open. She couldn’t make a single sound, like someone who had forgotten how to speak.
“...Mom?” I called out cautiously. Still no reaction. She just stared at me blankly.
“...Who are you?”
“Mom... stop joking around....”
“Eun-ran’s friend?”
“No, I’m not?”
A brief silence. Mom’s gaze slowly traveled from the top of my head to my toes. Pink hair, heart-shaped pupils, a drastically changed figure.
“...Are you really Eun-ran?” she asked carefully, calling my name.
“Yes, it’s me. Your daughter, Moon Eun-ran.”
Mom strode over and grabbed both of my shoulders.
“What happened? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No, I’m not hurt!”
“What’s with your hair? Did you dye it?”
“I didn’t!”
“Your eyes? Are those contacts?”
“No!”
Mom’s hand gently touched my cheek.
“...It really is you, Eun-ran.”
A long sigh escaped her. But her expression was still full of confusion.
“What on earth did you do all night...?”
“I don’t know either...” I muttered quietly.
For a moment, neither of us said anything. The only sound was the ticking of the clock. Mom looked me up and down once more before speaking carefully.
“...Did you awaken?”
“...Yeah.” I answered softly.
Mom’s eyes trembled. Surprise, worry, relief—all those emotions mixed together.
“Still, that’s a relief.”
It was an unexpected response.
“You’ve wanted to awaken ever since you were in kindergarten.”
Mom smiled.
“I don’t know what your ability is... but being alive is what matters..... But.”
She hesitated for a second before asking cautiously.
“Hmm?”
“...Why did you get so pretty?”
“I don’t know either.”
In the end, that’s what I muttered. Mom blinked a few times.
“You don’t know?”
“I woke up like this.”
“I thought you’d gotten plastic surgery overnight.”
Mom still looked like she couldn’t believe it as she examined my face up close. She gently pressed my cheeks and traced her fingers along my jawline.
“What is this skin? It’s like a baby’s.”
“Ughhh... stop touching...”
“Why? You’re my daughter.”
“Still...”
Suddenly, Mom’s face turned serious.
“There aren’t any side effects, right?”
At that question, I flinched. The black liquid, the unknown ability name, the status window. The passive skill.
“...I don’t think so.” I answered a little late.
“Still, we should go to the hospital.”
“Huh?”
“You need to get an awakening examination. You have to register your ability too.”
My face stiffened.
“...Do I really have to go?”
“Why?”
“....Just because.”
Mom narrowed her eyes.
“Is it a dangerous ability?”
“It’s not!”
I denied it way too loudly. Mom’s suspicion only grew stronger.
“Then why?”
I avoided her gaze and stared at the floor.
“...The name is a bit...”
“Hmm?”
“...Embarrassing.”
Mom stopped and looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“The ability’s name?”
I gave the tiniest nod. Mom crossed her arms, now completely intrigued.
“It’s something you can’t even tell your own mom?”
“Yeah.”
Mom burst out laughing.
“Our daughter’s going through puberty.”
“I’m not!”
“Then why are you so sensitive about it?”
“It’s not that....!”
I started to speak but clamped my mouth shut. There was no way to explain it. How was I supposed to tell her that the ability name was lewd?
Mom teased me for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.
“Still, we have to go to the hospital.”
My shoulders twitched.
“Today?”
“Yeah. It’ll be crowded since it’s the weekend, but it’s better to check as soon as possible.”
I wanted to run away. But getting a checkup after awakening was legally mandatory. If I didn’t register, it would cause all sorts of inconveniences.
“Ah...!! I really don’t want to go..!!”
“Too bad.”
She was firm. A little while later, I stood in front of the entrance with my hood pulled down as far as it would go. I covered my face as much as possible so my hair wouldn’t show. The skill’s effects made even going outside feel incredibly nerve-wracking.
“Not saying anything won’t solve the problem,” Mom said.
“I know.”
The post-awakening medical examination is a legal obligation.
Failure to register may result in various restrictions.
The car was quiet. We didn’t even turn on the radio. Mom focused on driving while I just stared out the window.
“What am I going to do if I run into kids from school?” I muttered quietly.
“It’s the weekend, so it should be fine.”
“Yeah...”
The hospital building came into view. A big, white structure. Bold letters were displayed above the entrance.
Ability User Specialized Treatment Center
The car stopped in the parking lot.
“...Haa.”
We entered the center. The smell of disinfectant mixed with a faint air freshener, overlapping with distant announcement broadcasts and the sound of number calls. The interior was wider than I expected. A long reception desk sat in the middle of the lobby, with rows of waiting chairs lined up on one side. A large screen covering the entire wall slowly scrolled through guidance messages alongside the Ability Management Bureau logo.
Physical changes immediately after awakening are a natural phenomenon.
Since unknown abilities can be dangerous, please receive an examination immediately.
Unauthorized use of abilities may result in legal sanctions.
I looked up at the screen without thinking.
“Rampage, huh......” I muttered quietly. A chill ran down my spine for no reason. Everything that had happened since morning flashed through my mind. The black liquid, my changed body, the status window, the passive skill. And the ability name.
“Ha....” A short sigh escaped me. For my ability, the name was a bigger problem than rampaging.
Mom nudged my arm from the side.
“There’s a machine for taking a number ticket over there.”
I turned my head. An unmanned kiosk stood on one side of the lobby. The man standing in front of it was making small sparks of fire at his fingertips, and the middle-schooler next to him had animal ears sprouting from his head. Here, I wasn’t the weird one—I actually seemed pretty normal. Even so, my tension wouldn’t ease.
Mom came back holding a number ticket. Waiting number 37. I checked the current call number: 29.
“It looks like it’ll be quick.”
“Yeah. Let’s sit over there and wait.”
When I sat down, the auntie sitting across from me glanced at me for a moment. Then her eyes widened slightly.
“Oh my, did you awaken too, student?”
At the sudden question, my shoulders twitched.
“...Yes.” I answered quietly.
The auntie smiled brightly.
“Your hair color is so pretty. Congratulations.”
Congratulations. The word sounded strange to me.
“Thank you...” I replied awkwardly, but it eased my mind a little.
Just then—
Number 37, please proceed to Examination Room 3.
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m a little nervous.”
Mom quietly covered my hand with hers.
“It’s okay. It’s just an examination.”
In front of Examination Room 3, it looked similar to a regular hospital exam room. A small electronic display was mounted on the white door, and next to it was a sign that read Basic Examination for New Awakeners. When we opened the door and went in, a female doctor in a white coat looked up.
“Ah, you’re here.”
The doctor checked the screen once and spoke brightly.
“You must be Miss Lewd, correct?”
Silence. My face froze exactly as it was. The corner of Mom’s mouth twitched faintly.
“...Excuse me?”
The doctor seemed to sense something was off and looked back down at her tablet.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Moon... um.....”
I quickly spoke up.
“...It’s Eun-ran.”
My voice was a tone lower than usual. Behind me, Mom was desperately holding back her laughter.
“Ah! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
The doctor bowed her head hurriedly.
“Ah, it’s okay. I got teased with my name a lot when I was little.”
Why did it have to happen even at the hospital, of all places?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!”
A small laugh slipped out from Mom’s direction.
“Pfft...”
“Mom.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
She didn’t look sorry at all.
“So... yes.... You are Moon Eun-ran, correct?”
“...Yes.”
“This is your first awakening, and it manifested this morning, right?”
“Yes.”
The doctor quickly typed the information into her tablet.
“Do you remember the approximate time of your first awakening?”
“...Around 3 a.m., I think.”
“Were there any unusual symptoms?”
Unusual symptoms. The moment I heard those words, everything that had happened that morning flashed through my mind one after another.
“...A little.”
It wasn’t a little. It was a lot. But explaining everything would be too complicated. The doctor stopped writing and asked.
“Could you tell me what kind of changes there were?”
My lips trembled slightly.
“...My body... changed a bit.”
“Which parts?”
A brief silence. I could feel Mom’s gaze on me.
“...Overall.”
I answered as vaguely as possible. The doctor nodded.
“Right after awakening, external changes often appear.”
That made me feel a little relieved. Oh, so it’s a fairly common case.
But the next words continued.
“Hair color change, eye transformation, body shape change—they’re all common cases.”
Um.
“We’ll start with the basic examination first.”
The doctor pointed to the device beside her.
“Please stand over there.”
I stood up slowly. When I took off my hood, my pink hair flowed down softly. The doctor’s eyes stopped for a moment.
“Oh my... you’re so pretty... beautiful... it feels like I could get sucked in..... deep.... charming.......”
I froze for a second.
“Excuse me?”
“Ah, no, I’m just confirming the color change in the records.”
The doctor quickly changed the subject. But the tips of her ears were slightly red. The skill description I’d seen earlier came to mind. Pheromone effect.
“...No way?”
Was it really this strong?