Above Your Head

Side Story - Why am I a Pet!! (4)

\'Did it hit?\' Baek Bo-san was charging towards Bo-ram, but was blasted away before he could even register it. He lost two teeth from the slap on the cheek that Bo-ram gave him. Then, the floating Bo-ram pointed her right hand at him. It was in the shape of a pistol. "Beauty! Beauty! Pretty Power!"

Whoooosh! The golden cross held Baek Bo-san up in the air, and he was stuck in the form of a cross. He naturally resisted by exuding tremendous Inner Qi from his whole body, but he still failed to escape. The Justice Cross that held him up in the air was the ultimate magic that exhibited a powerful binding force, which was tantamount to the sins the target committed.

Groarrrr!! Bo-ram focused a tremendous amount of energy on her index finger, and just like that…her one carefully aimed shot punished the evil.

-Justice Execution-

Kroooarrrrrr----!!! The shot that shone in gold blew Baek Bo-san\'s head and body away. All that was left were his four limbs, which initially pegged his body to the Justice Cross. Thud thud thuck. When his arms and legs fell to the ground, Bo-ram, who was wearing a mask, blew on her index finger, Whooo~, and said, "Execution complete."

\'Why are you trying to act cool! Ackkk! Ackkkkkkkk!! What is this outfit?! You\'re crazy!!\' Although she was screaming on the inside, Bo-ram\'s outer expression remained unchanging. Then, a whisper came from inside her again, \'Ugh, anyway, it\'s all over, right? Since the enemy was defeated, right?\'

It was rather expected, since a Magical Girl would return to her original state once the transformation ended… However, Bo-ram did not know that the extra-terrestrial being that she contracted with, the Golden Dragon God, was neither good-natured nor in her right mind.

"I don\'t want to though?"

\'Wha-What did you say?\'

"I said I don\'t want to." Bo-ram\'s face was hidden by the mask, so her smirk went unnoticed by others. Then, a devilish look appeared on her face. The Golden Dragon God did not acknowledge the owner of the body she was controlling, so the contracted Bo-ram was now the pet and toy of the Golden Dragon God. To make matters worse, Bo-ram was nothing more than a game character now, and the Golden Dragon God was an existence who was not very interested in allowing a pet free will.

Boooom!

"…Bo-ram?" Louis watched as his niece kicked off the ground and disappeared into the sky.

No one knew, but…that was the day when "The One Year of Nightmare" that would never again happen began in Bo-ram\'s life. It was the day when Crazy Loli, one of the World\'s Top Three Oddities, was born.

***

"Uwahhhh! No!!!" Bo-ram woke up screaming. "Huckk... huff... huff..." She was drenched in cold sweat, and was out of breath and panting. She was within the lodgings that the Great Elder had prepared, one of the few stand-alone houses that existed in Dragonian, which was fully occupied by buildings. "Ugh, I have these kinds of nightmares because I keep practicing Two-Stage Transformations."

What nightmare are you even talking about? You should be honored!

Ahhh, Dragon God-nim! I can\'t believe you\'re in the body of such a broad!

"Agh, shut up, keep quiet!" In a fit of anger, Bo-ram threw the Golden Dragon sitting on her shoulders onto the desk. They continued rattling on. Since she was exhausted, and her training was almost over, she didn\'t feel like being considerate with them.

Wiiiiingggg! After going through the Gate that was installed in the house, Bo-ram crossed over the space. Unlike Dong-min, she did not have any sort of spatial control ability, so she could only teleport to a predetermined location.

Huoooongggg! The surrounding background changed, revealing the interior of a modern structure that was reminiscent of the Middle Ages. One view of the city, showcasing a concrete jungle, was reflected on a large glass window that was located in the front.

Bo-ram momentarily looked down at the view of the city, before someone called her name from behind, "Oh! Is that you, half-wit?"

Bo-ram\'s fuse snapped. "Agh, Elder Hyuncheon-nim, why do you call me \'half-wit\' whenever you see me? Have you ever seen anyone as cute as me?!"

The person who was teasing Bo-ram was Hyuncheon, the owner of Star Gate, which was the tallest building in Dragonian. He was also the Elder of the Black Dragon Clan, and a rare existence even among the elders to have accepted a human as his wife. Furthermore, as he met Bo-ram often, their relationship was pretty close.

"But you\'re ugly though."

"Agh! These dragon species, really! I just can\'t understand you all! And you all even called Dong-min oppa cute!"

Hyuncheon\'s wife, Jayna, who was standing next to him, chuckled as she saw Bo-ram throwing a tantrum. "Hoho, the dragon\'s perspective on aesthetics are unaffected by one\'s physical appearance."

"Well, I suppose so. Since they\'re made out of Polymorph (Shape-shifting Magic) anyway."

"What? That\'s not the case. It seems you have a misconception about the dragons." Jayna, who was an outstanding wizard and a Grand Sword Master who attained the realm of transcendence, shook her head. She pointed to her daughter, Hyunha, whom she was holding hands with. "Our Hyunha was born in the form of a dragon. The dragon\'s blood was more apparent than that of humans."

"Then Hyuncheon-nim\'s Polymorph is..."

"I don\'t know that sort of magic, half-wit. I\'m a spatial-type specialist."

"...What?"

It was rewarding to see Bo-ram make an incredulous expression, as if she could not understand the unimaginable remarks she just heard. Upon that sight, Jayna said, "Have you never thought it weird? Why is this place called Dragonian, and not \'Dragon Land\' or something like that?"

"..." In actual fact, it was a matter that Bo-ram had been wondering about. In the world of wizards, Dragonian commonly referred to a dragon subspecies, or more specifically a Dragonized-human. However, when she came to Dragonian, the term was replaced by \'Draconian\' or \'Dragonewt\', while Dragonian was used as the name of their homeland.

"And why do all the people who lived in the world of the dragon, Dragonian, are in human form?"

"That\'s..." Needless to say, Bo-ram also found that rather strange. She wondered why the dragons took on the forms of humans, even though they were in their own world. She even questioned if the reason was because they yearned to be like humans.

\'That remark is far off the mark.\' Unlike Dong-min, who rarely came out of Matt\'s Lair, Bo-ram experienced the discrimination that many dragons had against her. Some did not even recognize her as a living being. She became close to Hyuncheon because he respected her, which was rare among the dragons.

Jayna explained, "All the dragons know how to turn into human forms, and even newborn baby dragons could do so."

"That\'s..."

"That\'s right. They did not take the form of humans... Dragons are born with two appearances from the very beginning."

The Red Dragons had red hair in their human forms, while the Gold Dragons had golden hair in their human forms. Black Dragons like Hyuncheon had black hair, and Blue Dragons had blue hair. This was not a conscious choice they made due to liking that color so much, but because their human appearances were originally this way. If they did not like the color, they had to separately use magic to dye their hair.

"No, what on earth... Why? Why do dragons have human forms?"

"Because humans were the first piece that the Great Father created."

To be exact, it wasn\'t that the dragons had a human form. In the Great Universe, the largest number of species were the humans, so everyone conveniently referred to it as the human form. However, it was actually the form of God.

"It\'s because of that form that the dragons have some sort of mixed feelings and perspectives on these subspecies compared to others. That is also why there are cases, like us, where pairs couple up." As she said so, Jayna magnified the view of the city that went beyond the glass window. Spotting two beings that were showered by the rain, she zoomed in on them. "That sort of situation would surface too."

"Dong-min sunbae..." Bo-ram was not a fool. She could immediately grasp the situation even though she only caught a glimpse of the scene. She had already seen Matt and Dong-min several times, gaining some sort of understanding of their relationship. Matt and Dong-min had shared a lot of skinship, with Matt carrying Dong-min around and even kissing him sometimes. So, of course Bo-ram knew about them. "It seems he was rejected."

"It happens quite often. The fact that a pet and its owner sees each other from a different perspective."

Bo-ram frowned at Hyuncheon\'s calm voice. "We are not pets!"

"That\'s right, you all aren\'t pets. But you, the contractee of the Golden Dragon God, would have felt how the dragons perceive humans, right?"

"Well, that\'s..." Bo-ram recalled what the Golden Dragon God often said to her.

-No, why don\'t you ever listen to me?

"Because I don\'t want to!"

-What? But I\'m helping you out, though?

Humans raised dogs, tying them to a leash and tying them down to a single place for the rest of their lives. Humans raised cats, forcing the noisy ones to go through neuter surgery when they were in heat. Humans put birds in cages, robbing them of their freedom to fly for the rest of their lives. In a way, it could be seen as a terrible thing to do, but humans did not do it out of hate or despise. These acts were all done from within the realm of love. Rather, the problem was…

"I see. It\'s a matter of hierarchy," Bo-ram commented.

"It\'s great that you catch on quick, half-wit."

Basically, the dragons did not detest humans. They just did not consider humans as equals.

"It seems we\'ve strayed away from our original conversation, but if we look back to the very beginning of time… The way a dragon perceives a human is pretty different from how humans perceive a dragon. It is not that they don\'t care about appearances, but they just prioritize the soul and the spirit of the humans a lot more."

"Are you saying my soul and spirit is ugly?"

"Yes, it\'s ugly."

Bo-ram was flustered at Hyuncheon\'s firm remarks. She quickly asked, "Ah, no, I didn\'t mean it that way. The nature of the soul was decided from birth, so I can understand that it couldn\'t be helped. But what\'s wrong with my spirit?"

"There\'s no particular problem. It\'s a matter of preference. The dragons love the tenacity to overcome trials with an indomitable will, and the courage to overcome despair and move forward. Well, that\'s the kind of thing they prefer. Commonly..." Jayna smiled bitterly and said, "It\'s a distinct characteristic of those called heroes or brave warriors."

"Eh? Then Jayna-nim, you too?"

"I came to kill him, and then things turned out this way. Well..." Jayna turned her head and looked at Dong-min, who was oblivious to the fact that she was the most supportive of him among the others in Dragonian.

\'He\'s too young.\' Dong-min lacked the strength and the quality of a brave warrior. He was just considered cute based on the level of strength he possessed, so it was practically impossible to win over one from the dragon species.

\'But...\' What if he fought through harsh trials and broke down in despair, and finally grew up by overcoming them? What if he finally transcended the limitations of a mortal, and was reborn as a great hero or brave warrior?

Of course, there was a definite difference in the perspective of Hyuncheon, who was a lone dragon among humans, and Matt, who was born in Dragonian and lived among dragons. However, it was hard to imagine that Matt would break off from the shared preferences of the entire dragon species.

\'Perhaps...\' Jayna looked at Dong-min for a long time. Dong-min, who was walking slowly, disappeared into Matt\'s Lair.

***

A new morning had dawned. Bo-ram finished all the preparations needed and headed to the Star Gate. "Am I finally going back..." Before she realized it, it had been 19 years since she first came to Dragonian and started her training. Although it was merely 19 years, it was fact that she basically spent more than half of her lifetime here in Dragonian.

"It has only been about 1 year in the real flow of time."

"I know, I really do. The fact that the axis of time here in Dragonian varied from building to building..." Bo-ram commented. The amount of time she experienced was completely different from Dong-min, even though they both came to Dragonian at the same time.

"You came."

"Ahh, sunbae." Bo-ram waved, seeing Dong-min was waiting in front of the Star Gate. \'Aigoo, we\'re going back to the beginning... No, on the contrary, it became worse.\' Dong-min, who smiled at her and asked how she was doing, was still the same Dong-min she knew. The ever-so-pessimistic and cold Dong-min, a spirit that seemed like a sword sharpened to perfection, was flowing through his whole body.

"What about Matt unnie?"

"She\'s at her Lair. We\'ve said enough words of goodbyes."

"Ah, is that so." Bo-ram entered the Star Gate with an awkward smile on her face. They had been away from Earth for way too long a time, so she wanted to return quickly, and meet her friends and family.

Cluckkk. Dong-min, who was about to enter the Star Gate in the same manner, paused at its entrance. He stopped walking and looked back at the sight of the concrete jungle he had grown used to. "...I\'m going back." That was all he said, and he turned around to face the Star Gate again.

It was Dong-min and Bo-ram\'s last day at Dragonian, where they had been in for a seemingly endless and long period of time.