When they are out of the station, Saya stops walking and releases her wrist.
"Tell me clearly." Saya scowls at her darkly. "Are you really their daughter?"
"I am a cockatrice too." Chang Seol's round eyes are fixed on the beg. "I turned twenty recently and I changed into a cockatrice for the first time on my birthday."
"Changed? What did you look like?" Saya questions her. The girl could be lying but she wouldn't be able to imagine a real cockatrice unless she has seen one. This world does have shapeshifters but cockatrice shapeshifters are extremely rare -- and a black cockatrice doesn't exist in this world yet.
"Black." Chang Seol tells her, "black chicken head and half dragon with two talons and two black wings. I can see colour bubbles around people… but I can't see any colours around you at the moment."
Colour bubbles? Does she mean auras? If she was a human shapeshifter, she wouldn't be able to see auras. Saya shakes her head in disbelief. "What did you do? You shouldn't be able to get on the train."
"I don't know," Chang Seol puts her hand in her pocket and takes out her train ticket. "I took a pass for U City. The trainmaster also said that the next station is U City. I didn't expect it to be a strange train that travels to the past."
She didn't expect that her parents are… Chang Seol holds her head. This is too much.
Saya glances at the train ticket. "There's no reason for you to be able to… Ah."
"What?" Chang Seol looks at her, wide-eyed.
"The cockatrices from the other world followed me to the train." Saya tells her solemnly, "I guess there are creatures who can see the train. I wonder if they even followed the train. If they did, it would have annoyed the train a lot. It's no wonder that it wanted me to get rid of it quickly."
She speaks as if the train is alive. Chang Seol shudders. Did she get on some creepy train accidentally? No Shi Won didn't say anything about this.
While Chang Seol is mentally freaking out, Saya takes her time to study her. It's hard to believe this girl but… this girl looks honest.
"I am going to the Chang family." Saya questions her, "Do you want to come?"
Chang Seol shakes her head. "Don't put me in that family."
"Why?" Saya frowns. "Did they mistreat you?"
"No, but this is wrong." Chang Seol snaps at her, "They don't even know that I am not their daughter. The birth memories are fake. All of their affection for me is fake."
Why would that train pick up this sentimental cockatrice? Saya sucks in the air. "Chang Seol, if I don't do this, you will not exist in your time anymore."
"What?" Chang Seol gapes at her. "Is it like those time changing movies? If I change the past, my present would also change."
"And you might become something like me." Saya says to her in a grave tone, "The reason why you can't see any auras around me is that I am not a part of any world. I am a slave of that train. Until my journey ends, I have to do the missions that the train gives me."
"W-What are you?" Chang Seol takes a step away from her. "Why can't you leave the train?"
Saya pats her bag unconsciously. Her eyes have a glimmer of melancholy when she says, "I am a passenger. I started my journey a long time ago. I don't know when it will end but I am sure that it will end someday. The end will bring me peace."
A creepy train that makes people its slave? Chang Seol's heart is heavy. How long does the train take to reach the end?
"Passengers don't deserve pity. Each one of us had committed grave sins." Saya grabs her hand. "Let's go. We must do this before the train returns. I guess the train wanted you to see the truth behind your birth."
Sensing that Saya doesn't want to be questioned, Chang Seo doesn't ask any other questions. Saya raises her arm and stops a cab. They get into the cab and she hears Saya tell the Chang family's house's address to the driver. On the entire way, they don't talk. Saya is holding the egg protectively while gazing out of the window.
How is this girl going to put this egg into the Chang family? Chang Seol furrows her brows. As much as she knows, her family is rich in 200X. Would her family allow this girl to meet her mother?
Her mother… that woman is not her biological mother.
The car comes to a halt in front of the Chang house. Many things have changed but the sea is the same. Saya pays the driver and gets out of the can. Chang Seol trails after her.
How does this work? Can a passenger manipulate everyone's memories?
A servant opens the door. Saya smiles at the old woman. "I am Park Miran, Park Yoon-Seo's younger sister."
"You are Madam's younger sister." The servant exclaims. "Madam will be delighted to see you."
"She will be." Saya giggles. She turns her head toward Chang Seol who is too shocked to speak a word. "Auntie, I came here with a friend. Her name is Kim Yeon."
The servant only nods as if she's absorbing a piece of information. "Please come in."
What the hell is going on? Chang Seol has never heard of Aunt Miran. As much as she knows, her mother only has one younger brother.
It's not the right time to ask questions. Chang Seol keeps quiet and walks beside Saya. The house looks different. There are many servants. It still has a down-to-earth vibe. The servant takes them to the sitting room.
After they are seated, the old woman tells them, "Please wait here. Madam will come here soon."
After the old woman is gone, Chang Seol turns her head toward Saya. "What did you do to her?"
"This is something that passengers can do. For the sake of missions, we can make lies become the truth. When I told her that I am Park Yoon-Seo's younger sister, her brain searched for the information related to Park Yoon-Seo."
Saya explains it to her, "At that instant of time, the fake memories appeared in her head. Those fake memories of me and Park Yoon-Seo made her believe that I am Park Yoon-Seo's sister. When she tells Park Yoon-Seo's or anyone else that Park Yoon-Seo's sister is here, they will believe this lie. In fact, they will all recall the moments when I was here before but those memories are completely fake."
That's insane… Chang Seol gasps. "How is this possible?"
"It should be impossible to come back in time." Saya remarks, "It should be impossible for a human to turn into a cockatrice… Well, cockatrices shouldn't even exist. They are mythical creatures in human society."
Chang Seol gets the point. But making fake memories is still crazier than going back in time. "Is it like hypnotism?"
"No." There's no more explanation. Saya looks at the door.
Park Yoon-Seo's opens the door and walks into the room.