I suddenly found myself staring into the mirror.
The face of a beautiful woman, bearing not a single trace of my former self.
The woman in the mirror gazed back at me with that same mysterious bearing.
I could no longer deny that the reflection in the mirror was my own.
Especially since I had just finished buying women's clothing.
“…Hoo.”
A sigh escaped me on its own.
Thinking back, the people in the mutant communities had plenty of worries beyond merely complaining about their changed bodies.
And the majority of those worries concerned human relationships.
Like, how are you supposed to face other people now that your body has become like this?
I, too, was facing similar concerns.
[Mom]
…What on earth was I supposed to tell my parents?
“Ah, ah.”
What leaped from my throat was a beautiful voice, like rolling jade beads.
A sound completely opposite to my previous coarse, low voice. No one who heard it would ever associate it with the voice of Han Yujin.
But if I answered the phone like this?
I would have to face a very natural and obvious question.
A question like, “Who are you?”
Of course, I had plenty of evidence to prove that I was me.
My fingerprints were the same, for one. But convincing them would require an arduous process.
‘And what if… my parents can’t accept it?’
My parents were quite open-minded. They didn’t hold unnecessary prejudices.
But… would that extend to mutants? Would it extend to someone in my condition?
I had a vague sense of hope, but… it would probably be difficult.
That was what I thought.
And so, I couldn’t bring myself to answer.
Beep—
[1 Missed Call]
[Mom]
The call ended.
I stared at the blinking phone screen before squeezing my eyes shut.
‘…I really should answer.’
It was something I’d have to reveal eventually.
It didn’t seem like I’d return to my original form, and it wasn’t like I could just never show my face again.
Though I still wasn’t confident enough to answer Mom’s call…….
It was something I had to do.
Rring—!
[Mom]
Right on cue, another call came in.
“Hoo…….”
I took a deep breath and answered.
[Hello? Why haven’t you been answering! You should pick up quickly!]
Mom’s voice was urgent. But at the same time, I could sense her relief.
She had been worried about me, it seemed.
[The world is dangerous these days, are you trying to give Mom a heart attack? Huh?]
Her worry made me happy.
But at the same time, anxiety flooded in. The moment I spoke, how would that happiness change?
[…Son?]
When I didn’t speak, an anxious voice came from the other end.
I intuitively felt that the time had come to end this long torment.
[Is something wrong? Wait, Mom will come over right now……]
“…Mom.”
[Huh…? This voice, who……]
“…I’m fine. For now.”
A deep, heavy silence fell.
I couldn’t say anything more. Only the sound of breath being drawn came through the receiver; no answer returned.
I felt like my breath would stop.
What would Mom say like this?
If Mom denied me, I would…….
After a brief silence.
A bewildered voice struck my ear.
[Wait, what happened? Where did Yujin go and……]
“…It’s me, Mom.”
[No, but your voice……]
Silence returned once more.
But this time, it didn’t last long.
[It’s… really Yujin?]
“…Yeah.”
The answer didn’t come immediately from the other side.
She was probably agonizing over what to say.
But she wouldn’t be able to accept it easily. She couldn’t be expected to…….
But the words that came out were something I hadn’t expected at all.
[…You’ve suffered.]
I, the man Han Yujin.
In twenty-one years of life, I had only cried once—when I was born.
The number of times I could cry in the future was two.
Only when my parents passed away, and when the country fell.
So… this thing starting from my eyes and flowing down my cheeks was not tears.
I was merely relieved, if only for a moment.
*
[…So, what happened?]
“…I don’t know either. I just woke up, and my appearance had changed.”
[A mutation… is that it?]
“…Yeah. Probably.”
The reason Mom could understand my situation so quickly was largely thanks to the state of the world today.
The phenomenon of bodies mutating wasn’t happening only to me.
Not to mention, the government was continuously releasing press statements and working to stabilize the situation.
Thanks to that, Mom had been able to connect the dots naturally.
[…It’s okay. Everything will be okay. But our son, your voice has become prettier?]
“…Don’t say that.”
[Before, our son’s voice was so much like Dad’s that I hesitated to call, but now I can talk without any reservations.]
I let out a hollow laugh at Mom’s joke.
I knew Mom wasn’t saying that for no reason.
She was trying to ease the tension that could have become awkward.
At times like this, I couldn’t help but admire Mom’s conversational skills.
Mom must have been just as bewildered… It was almost amazing how she didn’t show it at all.
[So… would video call be okay too? You don’t have to if it’s burdensome.]
“…No, it’s fine. It’s not like I’m going to go my whole life without showing my face.”
Mom was probably worried that I had turned into some bizarre form like other mutants.
But in that regard, I had nothing to worry about.
I wasn’t too fond of it… but at least my outward appearance was beautiful.
Beep.
I pressed the video call button.
After a brief buffering, Mom’s face popped up.
My eyes itched at the sight of her face, which I had missed more than I realized.
And just as I saw Mom, Mom saw me too.
[…Oh my.]
Mom looked at me with wide eyes.
Even Mom couldn’t hide her surprise at my appearance.
Though the surprise was closer to admiration than negativity.
[My son… has become an angel?]
“…I actually just went through hell because of that.”
[Ah, sorry. More than Mom expected……]
“Because I’m so beautiful and pretty?”
[…Son, do you like that appearance quite a bit?]
“As if. I was just stating an objective fact.”
I shuddered at Mom’s misunderstanding.
Me, fond of this appearance? Just the other day, I had even received advances from another man.
There was no way I could like it.
“…Well, anyway. I’m perfectly fine.”
[…It seems so. But if it’s hard, talk to Mom anytime, okay?]
“…I will.”
[Liar. Hehe.]
“…….”
Whenever I talked with Mom, I always felt like I was on the defensive.
[But what about the army then? There’s less than a week left.]
“Exactly one week left. And the army… sigh.”
[…You don’t have to go, do you?]
“From a mutant’s standpoint, it seems I’m considered active duty. But since my gender has changed too… from the Military Manpower Administration’s perspective, things might be different.”
[Really, they should have the decency to exempt you from this. Our country’s Military Manpower Administration has no heart.]
I agreed.
To think I would still have to worry about going to the army even after ending up like this.
[I feel bad saying this, but try to get out of it if you can. The world is dangerous enough as it is.]
“…I was going to even without you saying so.”
[This is just Mom’s guess, but things don’t look good. Maybe the world really is coming to an end……]
“Cut it out, that again? The world doesn’t end that easily.”
[I’m just saying. Isn’t it better to be prepared than to do nothing?]
That wasn’t wrong.
Still, there was something excessive about Mom’s behavior.
Who carries around multiple survival bags these days?
[Ah, have you been in touch with Yuri?]
“Her? Why.”
[How many times have I told you not to call your sister a bitch! It’s nothing, I just can’t reach her.]
Upon hearing that, my warm heart sank instantly.
That bitch was a nuisance even at a time like this.
“…I can’t reach her either. She’s not answering you either?”
[…Yeah. I’m really worried something might have happened……]
I snorted at that and said,
“Don’t worry. I told you, throw her among primitive tribes and she’d adapt just fine going ooga-booga.”
[How could such a fragile child do that?]
I could only let out a hollow laugh at that.
Truly, that bitch had done a thorough job building up her image with Mom.
She didn’t even live alone; freeloading at home all this time without showing her true colors.
Detestable creature.
“Anyway, don’t worry. Getting into trouble isn’t anything new for her.”
[Is that so…?]
“That pig will come back on her own when it’s dinner time. You shouldn’t worry too much, Mom.”
[…Right. Surely nothing’s wrong.]
It was time to wrap up the conversation.
Sensing that, Mom offered her closing words.
[Son, you know Mom still loves you, right?]
“I do have a lovable face, after all.”
[When you looked like Dad, I wanted to smack you every time you said that… but now it’s not wrong.]
“…What’s wrong with Dad.”
[I’m joking. Anyway……]
After a brief pause, Mom continued.
[Take care of yourself. Don’t go to dangerous places.]
“…Why would I go to dangerous places?”
[That’s true.]
Mom smiled faintly. I smiled faintly back and said,
“Go on in. You should rest now.”
[Yeah……]
Click.
The call ended.
I blankly stared at my phone, which had returned to the home screen, then opened the SNS app.
I wasn’t the type to be good at this kind of thing… but it was the perfect tool to see what others were up to.
I went straight to my younger sister’s account.
[Han Yuri’s SNS]
Whether school was off today, or she had skipped class.
This one, true to her social butterfly nature, had it flooded with various photos.
And there was one photo uploaded today.
[Hanbyeol Pocha]
A bar with a name I’d never seen before.
I immediately searched for the place in the search bar.
Hanbyeol Pocha.
010-XXXX-XXXX
4.1 stars. 3,241 reviews.
And the address.
54-gil, Apgujeong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
I was at a loss for words.
…That bitch.