Seoul Dragon - Chapter 42

I folded my wings and checked on the paragliding instructor and customer I had snatched.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh my... Thanks to you, I'm alive. Really, thank you so much!"

The paragliding instructor seemed to have regained his composure quite quickly.

But the man who appeared to be the customer still seemed half out of his mind.

Well, that's understandable. When would anyone ever experience something like this?

One wrong move and he would have said goodbye to this world—if he were still in his right mind, that would be the problem.

The man slumped down completely.

His complexion was pale as the strength left his legs.

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

"Ah, yes? Ah, ah... I-I'm fine."

The man, dripping with cold sweat, seemed to be relieved that he was alive. He let out a long sigh, then wobbled to his feet and greeted me.

"Thank you so much... I could have died if something had gone wrong."

As soon as the man finished speaking, the paragliding instructor repeatedly bowed to him.

"I'm so sorry! The turbulence wasn't supposed to happen, I didn't expect it to suddenly turn out like this..."

"Never mind that, just compensate me. I almost died."

"Well, that's..."

The man spoke to the instructor with a disgruntled voice, and the instructor awkwardly darted his eyes around.

Well, talk of compensation and such... they'll probably sort that out themselves.

Anyway, after his brief altercation with the instructor, the man seemed to have calmed down a bit and said to me:

"Once again, thank you so much. Thanks to you, I'm alive. Is there any way I can compensate you..."

"No, it's fine. I'm technically a civil servant anyway."

"Ah, but still... I don't know how to express my gratitude."

"I always say something: 'There aren't only bad mutants in the world.' I hope you'll occasionally remember that from today's experience."

"...I will definitely do that. Thank you so much!"

As I smiled and started to enter the café, I heard applause and people saying how amazing I was.

No, this is too embarrassing...

Some even requested autographs or photos.

"Um, could I get a photo too?"

And that included the man who had just narrowly escaped death.

Come on, you just almost died.

Should I say he has thick skin or...

Well, I don't mind, so I gladly took a picture with him.

Speaking of pictures... I don't think we took any when we were wearing the paragliding gear earlier. Should I suggest taking one?

They say the only things that remain are photos.

Yes. Not a bad idea.

"Wow, how is it that something like this happens exactly when you're around? It's really fortunate."

"Yeah, it is."

"You're a complete hero, a hero."

"Eek, that's a bit..."

"Why?"

"It's too cringeworthy. Just say I did my job as a civil servant."

"You're a weird one."

"I've always been weak to that kind of reaction. It's somewhat embarrassing."

"But you did something really great, why?"

"I just, just feel that way..."

It's an embarrassment I can't quite put into words.

It's not like we're in a superhero movie, but people calling me a hero felt a bit much.

Maybe it's because I was originally a small-town person at heart.

The strangely oversized pride that came with becoming a dragon doesn't raise its head at times like this.

Of course, it's not that I dislike it. There was still a sense of satisfaction from doing something good.

"Now there'll probably be newspaper articles and a big fuss again."

"Is this really the kind of thing that would make the news..."

"Of course it is. These days, even trivial things on social media get turned into news articles."

"I see..."

"Anyway, thanks to you, perception might improve a bit. There were people who were anxious, knowingly or unknowingly."

"Really?"

"Think about it. A dragon the size of a playing field appears in the middle of a university—wouldn't people be anxious? They just didn't show it."

"...Um. Yeah, I suppose that makes sense."

"We were fine because we know what kind of person you are, but people who don't know you don't know that. So this incident will probably help you quite a bit in the future?"

"Yes. I guess that's right?"

I nodded at Taehoon's words.

At that moment, I remembered what I had thought earlier.

Right, photos.

"Hey, since we've come all this way, let's take a photo. What do you think?"

"Now? If we were going to do that, we should have done it earlier when we were in our paragliding outfits."

Jo Minhyuk grumbled at my words. Um... is that so?

Then, Han Taehoon said:

"Hey, Seohyun is saying let's take one now anyway. All that remains in the end are photos. Oh, let's also check the bodycam footage later. I bet Minhyuk probably looks hilarious in it."

"Me? Why?"

"You screamed so much when we jumped. Your screams continued even after we took off?"

"Ah."

"Always so full of fear."

"Did I ask you to add anything to my fearfulness?"

"No?"

"Then why are you picking a fight, jerk."

"Just because."

"Ugh, this guy, seriously."

The bickering between Han Taehoon and Jo Minhyuk is now an everyday occurrence.

Anyway, since we decided to take a photo, that's fine. Minhyuk always acts reluctant like this first.

Making things difficult.

"Stop that and come quickly to take the photo."

"Fine."

"Is the setup ready? Let's find someone to take it for us."

"Ah, let's ask that instructor over there."

So, we ask a passing paragliding instructor to take our photo.

One.

Two.

Three.

Click-!

We looked at the captured photo.

The photo contained our present selves, brightly smiling.

I smiled as I looked at the photo.

Come to think of it, isn't this the first photo I've taken with friends since becoming a dragon?

It wasn't a bad feeling at all.

I thought it would be nice to have days like this again someday.

[I almost died today.]

Damn these f***ing weather forecasters

I made a reservation because they said there would be no weather anomalies, but I encountered turbulence while paragliding and almost went to the afterlife

I really almost died, but Lady Seohyun saved me, so I lived

-For real?

-Yeah, someone has a video of it

-She's really active, isn't she

-I wanted to give her some compensation, but she waved it off saying she didn't need anything like that lol Then she said that not all mutants in the world are bad and went back to chitchatting with her friends in the café

[The Dragon-type mutant definitely seems to have a pretty good personality]

Without hesitation, she saved people from a sudden accident and refused compensation, even speaking up for mutants...

It makes me think maybe that's why she became a dragon

-She doesn't seem to be a government puppet either

-Is the government crazy? If they try to use her as a puppet, the administration will fly away lol

[I'm in the Mutant Crime Eradication Agency...]

Our director is really nice

I'm a socially awkward loner in real life who can barely speak properly, but she's very kind, and she considers me in everything from conversations

She seems to understand the habits of loners very well

She knows exactly what makes loners comfortable

-For real?

-Aren't you that vampire who said blood tastes good? How did you get in there...?

-It just kind of happened...?

[But isn't "Mutant Crime Eradication Agency"... a bit tacky?]

They could have just gone with something like "Mutant Crime Management Bureau"

Even the title "Director" doesn't roll off the tongue

If it were changed, we could simply call her "Bureau Chief"

-For real lol

-Government officials have no sense for naming things

-...and so, there are petitions requesting a change to the agency's name.

The next day, when I answered my phone, the Vice Director spoke in a tired tone.

We already have so much to worry about in the early stages of our establishment, and now suddenly there's a petition to change the agency's name.

"Um... but can we change it just because we want to?"

-It wouldn't be difficult to change it now. Since the organization has just been established, now is the right time to change it. If we try to change it later, it would require additional budget...

"I'm fine with it. Calling someone 'Vice Director' is a bit cumbersome... we could just say 'Vice Chief,' right?"

-Actually, the Director's opinion is more important than mine. So, do you approve?

"I'm fine with it."

-...Understood. Then, what name would you like to go with?

"An agency under the National Intelligence Service, the Mutant Crime Management Bureau... let's go with that."

-Sounds good. Understood, Director. Or rather, I should now call you Bureau Chief.

"Ahahaha..."

-For me too, I prefer 'Vice Chief' over something like 'Vice Director.' It somehow sounds more prestigious, doesn't it?

"Then that worked out well. Anyway... you're working hard."

-Haha, well... yes. I suppose so. By the way, you did a great job saving that citizen last weekend.

"Did I?"

-Thanks to that, favorable articles are popping up everywhere. The public reaction is very positive too.

"...That's good."

-After all, you've now reached the ranks of quite important people. Nobody dislikes someone of that stature who steps up to help.

"Even so, in the end I don't have much real authority, right? I'm just a college student."

-Haha! But titles are quite important. Anyway, thanks to you, it seems we can steer things like budget allocations in a more favorable direction.

I was newly realizing that our Vice Chief seemed to be no joke when it came to capability.

He was handling the administrative processing needed by a national agency without any mistakes and cleanly.

Of course, he wasn't doing it alone—I heard several new staff had joined the agency—but supervising them is also a skill.

Indeed, he's not on the National Intelligence Service Director's line for nothing.