episode_0016

Ye-in couldn’t help but scoff at the rumors she’d been hearing lately.

What? That Yoon Seohyun had become a variant?

A man turning into a woman?

A dragon?

What absolute bullshit.

And what? That she was now the senior underclassmen most wanted to meet at the general assembly?

What ridiculous nonsense.

That Yoon Seohyun?

That monstrous thug?

Just as Seohyun bore resentment toward Ye-in, Ye-in too harbored deep-seated animosity toward Seohyun.

After all, just as Ye-in had ruined Seohyun’s college life, Seohyun had ruined hers in return.

Of course, it was Ye-in who had started it all, but that didn’t matter to her.

The only thing that mattered was that she had suffered because of Seohyun.

From the moment she first laid eyes on Seohyun, she had hated how he acted all high and mighty.

At first, being singled out for the seniors’ hazing rituals felt humiliating, but Ye-in found another way to handle it.

All she had to do was win over the one in charge.

Exactly.

She figured out one influential senior who held sway over their year and latched onto him.

And from then on, her college life flourished. Sure, some senior girls disliked her, but they weren’t powerful enough to matter.

In other words, there was no one left who could touch Ye-in.

It was a childish way of thinking, but such thinking held real-world advantages.

Ye-in was always exempted from the hazing, while those she disliked were targeted by the seniors.

Case in point: Han Taehun and Yoon Seohyun.

Why did she dislike them so much? Simply because their mannerisms and speech rubbed her the wrong way.

Most of her peers groveled before her. But not those two. They were natural-born rebels.

Every time she proposed something, they opposed her. Why? Because everything skewed too conveniently in Ye-in’s favor.

And she hated that.

Whether organizing freshman events, preparing for MT trips, or setting up festivals, Ye-in firmly believed she deserved the most comfortable position available.

It was no surprise she became entrenched in petty privilege.

Even the smallest taste of power could warp a person, and the minuscule authority Ye-in wielded was no exception.

So, she nitpicked Han Taehun’s behavior, goading the seniors into harassing him, and whispered poison about Seohyun behind his back, branding him a despicable bastard in their ears.

And then…

Suddenly, Seohyun beat the ever-living shit out of the seniors who had once seemed untouchable.

Ye-in recalled that moment vividly.

‘You fucking bastard.’

“Hey, Seohyun, stop!”

“Let go of me, Taehun. Seniors? They’re only seniors if they act like it. These pieces of shit don’t deserve the title. You really wanna keep groveling under trash like this? I don’t. Today, I’m tearing out the roots of this department’s toxic hierarchy. You just stand back and watch.”

After reducing the seniors to pulp, Seohyun locked eyes with Ye-in and spoke.

“It was you, wasn’t it? Ahn Ye-in.”

“Wh-what?”

“Don’t play dumb. You’re the one who clung to these bastards to drown anyone you didn’t like, you fucking bitch.”

“Me?! What did I do?!”

“You should be grateful you’re a woman. If you weren’t, I’d have put you in the hospital for 12 weeks. But I’ll hold back—ruining my life over you isn’t worth it. From now on, stay the hell out of my sight. If I catch you pulling this shit even once more, I don’t care what happens to me—I’ll make sure you end up just like these fuckers. Remember that.”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Bullshit. Everyone in the department knows. Pathetic, really. You think you’re something just because you’ve got these worthless bastards backing you? How the hell did you even get into this school?”

At that moment, Ye-in refused to admit she was afraid of Seohyun.

Ahn Ye-in cowering before Yoon Seohyun? The very idea was humiliating.

So, she wanted to bury him socially—branding him a sexual predator and nearly succeeding before Shin Jeong-min’s interference ruined her plans.

Because of that, her relationship with Professor Shin became strained. At the last moment, his help turned all her efforts to dust.

And now, seeing Seohyun garner attention from others burned her even more.

Just one look at the photos of Seohyun circulating campus showed how far she had fallen in comparison.

A beauty that eclipsed even celebrities. And now, the sensational transformation into a dragon variant.

Regardless of people’s wariness toward variants, Seohyun was now the hottest topic on campus—like a social media influencer.

It twisted Ye-in’s insides.

How absurd.

Feeling inferior to someone who was once a man?

But still… rage boiled inside her.

For someone like Ye-in, realizing that a person she once looked down on now stood above her was unbearable.

Warped envy poisoned her mind, rendering rational thought impossible.

And then…

Now, Seohyun stood before her.

Jet-black horns atop her head. Hypnotic golden eyes that threatened to swallow anyone who met her gaze.

A beauty so mesmerizing, no one could look away.

To Ye-in, it all felt like mockery.

She wanted to pick a fight, but she couldn’t.

The old Yoon Seohyun was one thing—but provoking her now would leave Ye-in in pieces.

The world reacted sensitively when men hit women, but not so much when women hit women.

In other words, if she picked a fight now, she might end up with injuries far worse than the 12-week hospital stay Seohyun once promised.

So, even after locking eyes, Ye-in tried to ignore her.

But… that was only possible if Seohyun hadn’t noticed her.

The moment Seohyun saw her, any hope of leaving peacefully vanished.

I smiled.

I thought today was unlucky, but perhaps it was the opposite.

Right now, I had more than enough power to punish that wretched bitch.

Public perception of variants? All I’d need was to tell my story to the right journalist later.

Before I became a variant, she tried to frame me as a rapist.

Now that I knew reporters would handle me carefully, which story do you think they’d run—the negative one she wanted, or the one I’d give them?

Of course, I’d have to keep my retaliation within limits.

Too extreme, and I’d create problems for myself.

If I preached about improving public perception of variants, I couldn’t turn around and damage it.

All I needed was to make sure she could never show her face in public again.

I approached Ahn Ye-in. That face—long time no see.

Pretty, but with sharp, nervous features that perfectly reflected her personality.

I smiled. Meanwhile, Ye-in’s expression twisted with dread as she looked at me.

Heh. This is fun.

“Hey. Long time no see.”

“Who are you?”

I could see her feigning ignorance, but I wasn’t about to let her off.

Pretending not to know me now? Ridiculous.

Especially for Ahn Ye-in. Of all people, shouldn’t she be the most obsessed with me?

If you’re gonna lie, at least put in some effort.

And if you’re lying, at least control your expression. Anyone could tell she was looking at someone she despised.

“Who am I? Pretty sure everyone at this school knows me by now. Name, major, student ID—it’s all out there. Especially you, Ahn Ye-in. You really have the gall to strut around campus with that shameless face? Honestly, I thought you’d have dropped out in shame by now. Guess you couldn’t bear to lose that prestigious university tag, huh?”

“…What do you want, Yoon Seohyun?”

“Just felt like catching up. Seems like you forgot what I told you back then.”

I wiped the smile off my face.

“What… are you talking about?”

“I told you to stay out of my fucking sight, didn’t I?”

“Y-you… If you try anything here, people won’t just stand by—”

“You think I’m stupid enough not to know that?”

“Then what the hell do you—?”

“It’s just… you tried to bury me socially back then, but looking at you now, it seems you didn’t even pay half the price I did. So, I came to give you a taste of what that felt like.”

“What?!”

As I needled her, she finally exploded.

“Let’s just leave it at this.”

I couldn’t go too far.

Part of me wanted to do what I told Han Kyoul—break her legs so she’d never walk again, burn her skin, scorch her hair.

But that’d cause too many problems.

Sure, I could get away with it if I lived alone. But if it disrupted the life I cherished now… I wasn’t interested.

So, this much should suffice.

You know how it goes in fantasy stories, right?

The overwhelming pressure a dragon exudes.

Dragon Fear, or something like that.

Like with my other abilities, I instinctively learned how to use Fear.

I stared into her eyes.

That was enough.

Her lips trembled. Her entire body shook violently.

And then… her pants gradually darkened with a yellow stain.

Tsk. Of all days to wear white pants. How unlucky.

The best part? Plenty of people witnessed this.

She won’t be raising her head anytime soon.

Not that she’d even have the mental fortitude to try.

She probably wanted to faint from the terror I radiated.

But I wouldn’t allow it.

I could modulate Fear at will.

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

There it was—pure dread, etched into her gaze.

From now on, no matter what she did, she’d feel me watching.

When she slept, when she dreamed, when she walked, when she attended class, when she worked… in every moment, my image would flicker in her mind.

Meaning, fear of me would be carved into her entire existence.

She’d never know when I might appear.

She’d never know when I might grab her neck and twist.

That thought was now branded into her.

It’d probably ruin any chance of a normal life for her.

A perfect method, really.

Rather than physical wounds, psychological scars lasted far longer.

Maybe one day, Fear would drive her to suicide… but that wasn’t my problem.

Back in freshman year, if that “rapist” label had stuck, I might’ve done the same.

This was her deserved reckoning.

If you point a blade at others, be prepared for it to turn back on you.

Finally, I left her with one last warning.

“Final chance. Never let me see you again. If I do… it won’t end like this. Not that you’d dare test me.”

With that, I smiled.

At that moment, the light faded from her pupils.

Ah. She’s broken.