Chapter 16

Ahn Ye-in couldn’t help but scoff at the recent rumors she had heard.

What? Yoon Seo-hyun became a Mutant?

Turned from a man into a woman?

A Dragon?

They’re just making ridiculous claims.

What? She’s become the Senior that the juniors want to meet most during the Orientation?

You’ve got to be kidding me with these ridiculous lies.

That Yoon Seo-hyun?

That atrocious gangster?

Just as Seo-hyun harbored ill feelings toward Ye-in, Ye-in also bore resentment toward Seo-hyun.

Because just as Seo-hyun ruined her university life, she too had her college experience ruined by Seo-hyun.

Of course, in the end, it was all due to her own actions that led to the situation, but to Ye-in, that was irrelevant.

The fact that she suffered due to Seo-hyun was the only thing that mattered.

She had always disliked Seo-hyun from the first meeting, as he gave off an overly haughty impression.

At the beginning, being called upon by the seniors was quite an unpleasant experience, but Ye-in found another way to handle the situation.

Since all you had to do was please the person maintaining discipline.

Yeah.

She realized that a senior she had made a good impression on during the Orientation was a prominent figure in their year. Therefore, she attached herself to him.

And from there, Ye-in’s university life flourished. Although there were certainly some senior women who didn’t like her, they weren’t influential enough to affect the dominant opinion.

In short, there was no one left in a position to cross Ye-in.

Though it was an immature way of thinking, such a mindset did have its practical use in daily life.

Ye-in was always exempt from the gatherings, and people she disliked were reported to the seniors.

Notably, Han Tae-hoon and Yoon Seo-hyun.

If someone asked why she disliked them so much, it was because their gestures and tone rubbed her the wrong way.

Other classmates flattered her, but they didn’t. They were born rebels.

They always opposed every suggestion she made. Why? Because everything was too advantageous for Ye-in.

Ye-in disliked that.

When preparing for freshmen events, MT trips, or festivals, Ye-in believed she should be in a comfortable position.

Being lost in her own superficial sense of privilege wasn’t an unusual thing — even a small amount of power can change a person, as they often say. And that was exactly the case with Ye-in, tasting a measly bit of power.

Because of this, she fabricated reasons to make Han Tae-hoon favored by the seniors, and behind Seo-hyun’s back, spread malicious rumors labeling him a dog and incited the seniors against him.

Then…

Suddenly, Yoon Seo-hyun took down those senior figures like gods.

Ye-in recalled the situation back then.

“Damn him!”

“Hey, Seo-hyun, calm down!”

“Let go, Han Tae-hoon. Seniors? Seniors deserve respect only when they act like true seniors. You, don’t you want to avoid these meaningless calls? Because I sure as hell don’t. Today, I’m going to dismantle this nonsensical discipline in the Korean Department. You, just watch.”

After reducing the seniors to nothing, Seo-hyun glared at Ye-in and said,

“Is it you? Ahn Ye-in.”

“Wh-what?”

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? You were the one sticking by the seniors to get your classmates you didn’t like in trouble, weren’t you, damn bitch.”

“Me? What did I do!?”

“You should be grateful for your gender. If you weren’t a woman, I’d have left you out for twelve weeks. But breaking my leg because of it doesn’t seem worth it. You, don’t ever cross my path again. If I catch you pulling nonsense like this one more time, even if my life ends, I’ll make you into a similar wreck. Keep that in mind.”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Shut up. There’s hardly anyone in this department who doesn’t know you. Your antics relying on someone like these guys are pathetic. How did you even manage to enter this school?”

At that moment, Ye-in did not want to admit that she felt fear towards Seo-hyun.

Ahn Ye-in being intimidated by Yoon Seo-hyun? The mere notion of such a rumor was humiliation enough for her.

Because of that, she wanted to bury Seo-hyun socially, and tried to frame him as a sexual assault perpetrator, ultimately failing.

As a result, her relationship with teacher Shin Jeong-min also became strained because just when she thought she was closing in on her goal, all her efforts were dashed due to teacher Shin’s intervention.

That’s why Ye-in disliked Seo-hyun’s prominence even more.

Even the photos of Seo-hyun circulating around the university demonstrated just how far they had come in life.

A striking appearance that made even celebrities seem dull in comparison. On top of that, being a Dragon-type Mutant, an incredible topic of discussion.

Regardless of the natural caution towards Mutants, Seo-hyun was bound to be the biggest talking point at Korean University. Like an SNS influencer.

This reality irritated Ye-in.

The mere idea of feeling inferior to someone who was once a man was laughable.

But even so… resentment continued to well up within her.

For someone like her, realizing that the person she had looked down on was actually above her was difficult to accept.

A twisted sense of inferiority colored her thoughts, to the point where rational thinking became impossible.

And… now, Ye-in found Seo-hyun standing right in front of her.

The jet-black horns on his head. The golden eyes that seemed to pull one in.

Features that any onlooker would find enchanting.

To her, it felt as if everything was mocking her.

She wanted to provoke some kind of trouble, but couldn’t.

Perhaps, it would have been different with the old Yoon Seo-hyun, but confronting the current Yoon Seo-hyun would undoubtedly lead to bodily harm.

Society tends to react strongly to men hitting women but pays less attention when it’s women hitting women.

In other words, picking a fight carelessly might result in the twelve weeks of harm that he mentioned four years ago, or more.

Therefore, she attempted to ignore Seo-hyun even though she saw him.

However… that only stood true if Seo-hyun hadn’t acknowledged her.

The moment Seo-hyun noticed her, her chances of getting out of this situation peacefully were effectively nil.

*

I laughed. I thought it was a day of bad luck, but on second thought, isn’t it a stroke of good fortune?

I now possess enough power to punish that damn woman.

Concerns about mutant perception? That’s a matter for later discussions with a journalist.

If I explain how she tried to frame me as a sexual offender before my mutation, that’s all that’s needed.

Would journalists who approach me cautiously now write bad stories if I request their coverage?

Of course, the punishment should be appropriate.

It’s problematic to go too far.

After preaching about the perception of mutants, it’d be absurd to do something that diminishes that perception.

All I need to accomplish is to ensure that this woman can’t hold her head high anymore.

I approached Ahn Ye-in. Long time no see, that smug face.

Regardless of her somewhat cute appearance, her slightly neurotic impression seemed to represent her personality well.

I smiled. Meanwhile, Ahn Ye-in’s expression as she looked at me gradually turned sour.

Oh my, this is interesting.

“Hi? Long time no see?”

“Who are you?”

Her pretense of not recognizing me was obvious. But I won’t back down from here.

It’s absurd to say she doesn’t know me now.

Especially Ahn Ye-in. Someone who would be more sensitive to my news than others claims not to know me?

You can lie, but at least hide your expression.

Clearly, it’s easy to see the disliking expression directed at me. So you’re too clumsy at managing your emotions?

“Who? Isn’t there anyone in this university who doesn’t know me now? My name, major, and class year are all over the rumors… especially you wouldn’t be able to miss me, would you, Ahn Ye-in? You’re still parading around the university with that shameless face? I thought you were embarrassed enough to drop out, but it seems you’re not willing to remove the Korea University badge?”

“……What do you want, Yoon Seo-hyun.”

“Just that I saw an old familiar face and wanted to say hi. It seems like you’ve forgotten what I said back then.”

I erased the smile from the corner of my lips.

“What…?”

“I did say not to cross my sight, didn’t I?”

“Y-you. If you try any funny business here, people won’t let it slide, right?”

“Do you really think I’m stupid enough not to know that?”

“Then what exactly…?”

“Well, seeing how you tried to socially ruin me and now checking out your condition, it seems you didn’t bear enough risk, right? That’s why I personally came here to let you taste what it feels like.”

“What?”

“Getting socially buried feels terrible, you know. I’ll never forget the looks other classmates gave me before the verdict of not guilty came out. I was a freshman back then, you know?”

“So, what exactly do you plan to do!”

As I probed slowly, the girl erupted.

“Just, this kind of thing.”

I can’t go too far physically.

In my heart, I’d love to do what I told Han-gyeol: leave her incapable of walking for life, burn her whole skin, or set her hair on fire.

But, doing that would undoubtedly cause problems.

True, even if I did that, living alone would pose no problem for me.

But disrupting the precious life I value because of that… doesn’t feel appealing.

Therefore, this extent feels appropriate.

Isn’t it always in those fantasy tales?

The overwhelming pressure emanating from the existence of a dragon.

What’s called Dragon’s Aura, right?

Just as with other abilities I’ve awakened to, I naturally acquired the use of Aura this time around.

I looked into her eyes.

That was enough.

I could see her lips and whole body trembling.

For that reason, her white pants were gradually becoming yellow.

What a pity, wearing white pants on a day like today. Unbelievable luck, isn’t it?

Most gratifying of all is the fact that several people are watching this scene at this moment.

Lifting your head up will be hard for quite some time.

Of course, she won’t even have the presence of mind to do so.

She will probably wish to lose her mind from the pressure emanating from me.

But I won’t even allow her that luxury of losing consciousness.

Since I could control that pressure as I wished.

I looked deeper into Ahn Ye-in’s eyes.

Definitely, I could see the etched fear in her eyes.

Naturally, she will always have the feeling that I’m watching whatever she does.

Even when she sleeps, when she dreams, when she walks, attends lectures, works… in all these scenarios, my shadow will linger in her retina.

In short, fear toward me will be engraved in her entire life.

I can appear before her anytime.

I can grab her neck and twist it anytime.

I engraved this thought in her.

Just by this, Ahn Ye-in will likely be incapable of normal life from now on.

This is quite satisfying.

Because instead of inflicting physical harm, causing psychological trauma guarantees longer-lasting pain.

Who knows, she might commit suicide someday due to the influence of the aura, but that’s none of my concern.

Back then, if I’d been labeled as a sexual offender in my freshman year, I would’ve likely ended up like that too.

This is the just punishment she deserves.

If someone draws a sword against others, they need to be prepared for it to turn against them.

Finally, I said something to her.

“This is the last warning. Don’t ever show up in my sight again. If I see you next time… it won’t end this way. Although, I don’t even have the intention to do so.”

After finishing my words, I smiled.

At that moment, her pupils lost their light.

Oh, she broke down.

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