Episode 20
‘What would she think, watching a drama about a completely different species, with emotions and relationships that are so foreign to her, even though she can mimic their appearance?’
Humans often found themselves relating to animals in documentaries, empathizing with their struggles and triumphs. Like a gazelle desperately trying to protect its young from a predator, or lions mating in the spring.
‘Is it a similar feeling?’
Hanin, sitting beside him, looked like a beautiful woman in her twenties or even thirties, but she was a creature unlike any human.
But then again, many legends and folktales depicted relationships between humans and dragons.
‘Tales of interspecies interaction…’
Like the story of the beautiful Lady Suro, who was kidnapped by a dragon, or the tale of the earthworm man who disguised himself as a human and seduced a woman at night. There were also many stories about dragon princesses marrying human men.
‘But those are just stories created by ancient humans who worshipped animals and plants, to legitimize the authority of their extraordinary offspring.’
He had always believed that those stories were ultimately products of human desires… but now, a real dragon was sitting right beside him.
“…”
He glanced at Hanin again.
‘She’s female… right? Since she transformed into a woman? Then… does she experience desire for the opposite sex? Even if they’re a different species… like humans…?’
A strange thought crossed his mind.
Hanin had said last night,
“All creatures are bound by their form. No matter how they fly or crawl, a snake is a snake, a wildcat is a wildcat, and a human is a human. And as you can see, I’m currently a ‘human,’ am I not?”
Then what about now? Now that she was in human form, did she possess human aesthetics? Did she find humans attractive?
‘…’
The thought made him nervous.
It wasn’t just because of his sudden scholarly curiosity about dragon aesthetics and reproduction.
‘What am I doing?’
He suddenly saw Hanin as a person… not a pet like a dog or a cat.
“…”
He was acutely aware of the situation: he had brought a beautiful woman into his solitary home, they were eating, sleeping, and watching television together.
***
I was completely absorbed in the drama.
‘Humans are such skilled storytellers…’
I had stumbled upon a drama while flipping through the channels, and now I couldn’t wait to see the next episode.
‘Oh, so sweet.’
But there was one thing I didn’t like about television. It always ended abruptly, right when things were getting interesting, leaving me hanging without knowing what happened to the male and female leads.
“To be continued in the next episode.”
‘When is the next episode?’
According to the fragmented knowledge I had gleaned from television, there was a way to watch all the previous episodes…
‘Which button on this remote control do I press?’
I couldn’t figure out how to do it.
‘And there’s no one around to ask…’
I felt like I was going crazy with frustration.
‘Ugh, this is unbearable…’
And to make matters worse, the human was late today.
“I want to watch this.”
When he finally returned late at night, I tried to explain with gestures and broken sentences. He looked at me with a strange expression.
“But Hanin, what you see on television isn’t real. It’s all made up, and the people in the stories are just actors, pretending to feel those emotions.”
‘So?’
I frowned.
‘Does he think I’m a fool who can’t tell the difference?’
They were just like the clowns from the old days, weren’t they?
He showed me how to watch what I wanted, but his expression remained concerned.
“You can only watch this when I’m here. Understand?”
“Yes, yes.”
The service had all the episodes of the drama I wanted to watch, without having to wait for the next episode!
Do you think it’s strange that I’m interested in human love stories? That I can even understand human emotions?
Of course I can understand.
I was once a lowly creature, like a worm, but I became a god who governs this land. I used to care for humans and naturally spent a lot of time with them.
Humans built shrines and appointed priests to communicate and interact with me, and occasionally, I would descend to the human world and mingle with them.
How is that possible? Is anything impossible for me, who has lived as long as the mountains of this land? I am a dragon who possesses a Yeouiju, a dragon orb that allows me to ascend to the heavens at will.
Most creatures, like horses, rabbits, and snakes, are bound to a single form for their entire lives. But dragons are as fluid as water descending from the heavens, capable of transforming into any creature that exists on this earth.
‘Worms, dogs, cats, rabbits…’
I am like water, able to fill any vessel.
‘And humans… I can become anything I desire.’
And depending on the vessel I inhabit, I can truly experience its senses, emotions, and actions.
I had watched about three episodes when the mirror called “television” suddenly went dark.
‘Hmm? What?’
I blinked and looked at the human.
“That’s enough for today.”
His next words were even more baffling.
“Watching too much television is bad for your brain.”
“…”
I stared at him blankly.
‘Why is he treating me like a three-year-old child?’
He then asked,
“Hanin, do you even understand what’s happening in the drama?”
I didn’t understand his question.
“I wouldn’t be watching it if I didn’t understand.”
He looked at me with a strange expression, as if he couldn’t comprehend my answer.
“You’re… not human, are you? So…”
“So you think only humans can understand humans?”
‘How narrow-minded.’
I clicked my tongue.
“Do you think understanding is exclusive to humans?”
“…”
“That non-human beings can’t understand human love stories?”
I nodded involuntarily.
“There was a time when gods, humans, and animals coexisted harmoniously. Now I understand why all those connections have been severed.”
His words seemed to spark deep thought in the scholar. After a long silence, he asked,
“Then in the past… were there really such cases… I mean, instances of intermingling… even marriage between humans and dragons? There are folktales about humans interacting or marrying dragons.”
“Hmm…”
His question made me ponder.
I had heard many such stories. Tales of dragons who were prevented from ascending to the heavens because of their love for humans.
‘There were indeed some actual cases.’
Or stories about dragons who, responding to the pleas of the people, were tasked with siring heroes by impregnating extraordinary human women, sneaking into their bedrooms at night.
“There were indeed some foolish dragons who fell for such things. Hmm, sometimes it was even ordained by the heavens.”
“Do you know any specific examples?”
He seemed more interested in this than the drama he had just watched.
“Yawn…”
But I felt sleepy after the drama ended. It seemed that even in human form, I needed food, water, and sleep. I yawned and stood up.
“It’s late. I’ll tell you tomorrow. Good night. I’m going to bed.”
I went to my room, wrapped myself in the soft blanket, and fell asleep.
‘I don’t remember very well.’
Even though I had lived for thousands of years, I couldn’t remember everything.
I had slept, interacted with humans, fallen asleep again, and dreamt of interacting with humans. It was hard to distinguish between dreams and reality. Some real events were hazy, while some dreams were vivid.
‘But aside from the ascension…’
The sound of rain reached my ears as I drifted off to sleep.
‘I need to contact the heavens…’
But my thoughts continued to spiral.
After all, being too close inevitably led to conflict. When gods, animals, and humans were closely intertwined, there were bound to be incidents.
Animals transformed and lived with humans, celestial beings descended from the heavens and married animals, dragons kidnapped humans or eloped with them, some abandoned their ascension due to love and lived in the human world, only to be captured when their true identities were revealed.
“Foolishness.”
My old friend would click his tongue whenever he heard such stories.
“Can’t they see beyond the immediate gratification? Throwing their lives away for a fleeting moment of passion.”
As if speaking directly to me.
“They’re just humans, after all.”
That was his perspective.
Their lifespans were too short. Their lives might be the most interesting and engaging among all creatures, but their time was as fleeting as morning dew on a blade of grass.
He was right.
‘But…’
I always wanted to argue.
‘Because…’
And then it happened.
‘Ah…!’
A sudden, sharp pain pierced my head, as if something was squeezing it.
‘Why does my head hurt so much?’
The pain forced me to stop thinking.
I had been experiencing these unexplained headaches ever since I fell to earth.