Seoul Dragon - Chapter 51

The midterm exams successfully ended.

Around the time when I was catching my breath after midterms, Yeonhwa suddenly invited me to a group chat.

[Ha Yeonhwa: Surprise!]

[Yoo Harin: Hello.]

It seemed like she had created this group chat with the purpose of introducing Yoo Harin to me.

It also seemed like a group chat where mutants in the Management Bureau could share various work-related information and news.

[Yoon Seohyun: Hello.]

[Yoo Harin: Were you surprised to be suddenly invited?]

[Yoon Seohyun: Not particularly surprised.]

[Yoo Harin: Oh, really? I was surprised... Sister Yeonhwa tends to be impulsive sometimes.]

[Yoon Seohyun: Impulsive?]

[Yoo Harin: Yes. I was going to ask what kind of person our Bureau Chief is, but she suddenly invited me to the group chat.]

[Ha Yeonhwa: Hahahahaha I thought it would be better for you to chat directly than for me to explain for days.]

[Yoo Harin: Well, that's true, but...]

[Yoon Seohyun: I'm always welcoming. Especially since we'll be working together from now on.]

[Yoo Harin: Honestly, when I first heard about the Management Bureau, I was a bit shocked. Me? Working for a government agency? What is this? Is this a sweet deal? That's what I thought.]

Oh... Harin thought similarly to me. Honestly, it is a sweet deal. It's like suddenly getting employed after being jobless.

[Yoon Seohyun: What did you do before your mutation, Harin?]

[Yoo Harin: Just attended university. I've quit now though.]

[Yoon Seohyun: I see... I'm curious about something—what kind of abilities does a Fairy have?]

[Yoo Harin: Uh, well... I have various abilities. First, I can calm people's minds and bodies, and I can influence dreams.]

[Yoon Seohyun: Dreams?]

[Yoo Harin: Yes. I found I could do it without even realizing. And... I can also manifest nightmares into reality.]

[Yoon Seohyun: ...That's quite an incredible ability.]

[Yoo Harin: Right? It's a pretty useful ability. I can provide mental care, or break someone's mental state... I once put a dangerous mutant straight into a mental hospital.]

Come to think of it, Harin's abilities are no joke either...? Manifesting nightmares into reality? What, is she some kind of dream fairy or something?

I wanted to see it in person.

I imagined a fairy would be really cute.

...Even Sia was extremely cute. With her chubby, squishable cheeks.

[Yoon Seohyun: Oh.]

[Ha Yeonhwa: Before I was assigned to mutant crimes, Harin really, really struggled a lot.]

[Yoo Harin: Thanks to that, I made some money. It was too much money for a twenty-two-year-old, so I could buy lots of luxury goods.]

[Yoon Seohyun: Luxury goods?]

[Yoo Harin: Ah, that's... a quirk I developed after becoming a Fairy. I get heart-fluttering feelings when I see beautiful things? So I can't resist luxury items or pretty things... Don't you have anything like that, Bureau Chief?]

There was something in Harin's words that I could relate to.

Since becoming a dragon, though I hadn't made it obvious, I did feel a slight desire to possess things like jewels when I saw them.

Of course, thanks to Jin-ha's clothes, those desires were quite satisfied, so I didn't unnecessarily spend money.

[Yoon Seohyun: Not particularly? Oh, but I do feel a slight stirring when I see treasure-like things. But after receiving clothes from Jin-ha, my desires seem fulfilled, so I don't think much about it.]

[Yoo Harin: I guess that's because you're a dragon? You know, in popular media, there's always that greedy dragon hoarding treasures and gold coins in its lair, that kind of thing.]

I kind of understood what she meant. That was the common perception of dragons in Western media. Looking at it that way, maybe there was some connection.

[Ha Yeonhwa: Seohyun. Harin is really, really cute. Makes me want to bite her cheeks.]

[Yoo Harin: She says things like that but has never actually done it.]

[Ha Yeonhwa:  I want to, but my body freezes up when I meet you in person.]

Oh-ho. As expected, like Sia, Harin also seemed quite cute. Come to think of it, they're around the same age.

Twenty-three and twenty-two.

I wonder just how cute she must be for Yeonhwa to react like that?

[Yoon Seohyun: After hearing Yeonhwa, I'm curious.]

[Yoo Harin: Then, would you like to meet?]

I made one curious comment, and immediately got an invitation to meet.

...Well, there's no reason to refuse.

[Yoon Seohyun: Are you free now?]

[Yoo Harin: Yes.]

[Yoon Seohyun: Ah, before that, where do you live? I can get there quickly if we're meeting.]

[Yoo Harin: I live in Seoul too. Now that the Management Bureau is officially established...]

[Yoon Seohyun: Oh... So near Seocho?]

[Yoo Harin: Yes. Not far from the National Intelligence Service. Would you like to meet here? Or should I come to your side? If it's near Hanguk University, it's not that far.]

If it's Seocho... it seems she really lives close to the National Intelligence Service. For commuting, being quick is definitely the best. Although I don't really have to go to the office much.

[Yoon Seohyun: Then, could you come here? I'll send you the location.]

[Yoo Harin: Sure. I'll be there soon.]

Harin replied with a somewhat calm tone.

I was slightly excited. If Yeonhwa was advertising her cuteness this much, it must mean she's truly incredibly cute.

Once again, I waited for Harin at the familiar café. Well, the food here is good.

The owner, who was somewhat flustered the last time I came, now handled my presence quite skillfully.

He was surprised when I told him I used to come here often before my mutation.

I ordered an iced Americano and waited for about ten minutes.

The café door opened, and a girl who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen appeared.

Light blue hair and blue eyes. But most impressive of all was her incredibly cute appearance.

I could see at a glance that this was Harin.

I immediately understood why Yeonhwa had made such a fuss about her appearance.

...She's really cute. Makes me want to rub her cheeks.

The kind of appearance that naturally evokes such desires.

She must have seen me too, as she looked at me with slightly curious eyes. The purity and mischief evident in her eyes further emphasized her cuteness.

"Hello."

Harin approached my table, sat down, and greeted me. Her calm voice was impressive.

Considering that fairies are typically described as mischievous, it seemed there was indeed a difference between her appearance and what humans imagined.

"...You're cute."

"Uh, what?"

And with words that came out before I could stop them, Harin's expression turned perplexed. And so was mine.

Ah, a mistake.

"Ah, that was a mistake. I couldn't help it. You're just as Yeonhwa described."

"...Thank you. But I don't particularly like being called cute."

Even her slightly grumpy response was cute.

If my cousins had acted like this, I would have given them a knock on the head, but when Harin did it, it was incredibly cute.

When that mysterious mutation beam transforms people into mutants, does it pour in a "cuteness" category to create such an appearance?

Honestly, if it wasn't rude, I'd want to have her sit on my lap and rub her cheeks.

Like I did with Sia. No, in some ways, she was even cuter than Sia.

...If I ever saw her standing next to Sia, I'd probably end up taking a ton of photos without realizing it.

Well, because they're cute.

Come to think of it, Sia mentioned that her World Tree project would be finished soon... Once that's complete, it might be good to take Harin there for a visit.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I offended you. I'd usually restrain myself, but you're just exceptionally cute."

In response to my words, Harin nodded nonchalantly. It was a dismissive yet familiar attitude.

"I understand. My mom herself has been trying to hug me and not let go these days."

"Ah, that might make me a bit jealous..."

"What?"

"Ah, nothing. Anyway, nice to meet you. Looking forward to working with you."

"Yes, Bureau Chief."

Being called "Bureau Chief" felt somewhat awkward.

It was fine when the Vice Chief called me that, but somehow it felt distant.

She was a fairy with many charms in various ways. I originally wasn't the type to want to get close to others.

Is she releasing some kind of pheromone...?

"Just 'Seohyun' is enough. It feels too distant, doesn't it? We'll be working together from now on."

"Ah, yes. Then I'll call you Seohyun."

"Or you could just call me 'unnie' like Yeonhwa does. I'm twenty-four, after all."

"Somehow it feels like the distance between us is suddenly closing, doesn't it?"

I thought so too.

"Uh, well. If it's too burdensome, there's no need."

"It's not particularly burdensome. It's a familiar response... Then I'll just call you unnie. And Seohyun unnie, feel free to be casual with me too."

"Okay. By the way, you're really amazing, wow..."

"What do you mean?"

"No, I mean your physical charm. I felt a bit of it with Sia, but she wasn't as much as you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not usually the type to close distances with people so quickly. But just seeing you, I was like, wow."

"It is a bit comfortable, I suppose. Most people who meet me tend to be friendly towards me. I think it might be similar to High Elf Sia unnie's ability..."

Come to think of it, maybe it's because both elves and fairies fall under the category of magical beings.

They both commune with nature and receive its protection.

"Then can you also commune with nature?"

"Yes. But not to the extent that Sia unnie can talk to nature."

"That's fascinating..."

"What abilities do you have, unnie? Besides what you've publicly disclosed, I feel like there's more. Like during the press conference last time. Do you use something like magic?"

Magic... Thinking about what I did with Sia last time, maybe something resembling magic might be possible. It could be an ability I haven't realized yet.

"Well... I don't think I fully know my abilities yet. For now, I can make it rain."

"You can make rain?"

"Yes. I'll probably actively use it around next spring. There tend to be big forest fires around that time."

"And what other abilities do you have?"

"Fear."

"Fear...?"

"Yes. You know how in media they often describe dragon fear or whatever to explain the feeling of intimidation? I have exactly that ability. I used it to catch the Demon-type mutant."

"I thought my abilities were impressive, but yours are truly beyond imagination, unnie."

"I think so too."

Harin stuck out her tongue as soon as she heard about my abilities.

She said I was the first mutant she'd seen with such a broad spectrum of abilities.