For the next ten years, she travels from city to city, works as a part-timer, invests everything that she saves in the share-market, and then she repeats the cycle.
For the next ten years, she meets a lot of people. She learns from them, and there are times when she teaches them. As she grows more, her changes are more in control. Heat spells are nothing but bouts of horny moments for her. She can control them well.
She makes a lot of friends who would never know her real name.
Sometimes, she's Kim Seol. At other times, she's Park Seol. But she's never Chang Seol to them.
She doesn't go back to S City, U City, and Z City in those ten years, just in case she triggers something that causes problems in the future.
After ten years are over, Chang Seol goes to a secluded mountain and decides to live as a cockatrice instead of a human. The mountain barely sees human visitors. Chang Seol makes a treehouse for herself where she keeps her clothes and other things that she gathered over the years.
She changes into a cockatrice at will now.
Chang Seol doesn't know how to fly. She walks around the mountain at first. The residents of the forest are scared of her.
When she's Cockatrice, she feels freedom. There's no urge to change into a human. Rather, she doesn't feel any need for humans in her life. Though she has spent thirty years with humans, there's always been a void that alienated her from the humans.
She hunts beasts: foxes, rabbits, and sometimes, wolves. At night, she sleeps on the thick branch above her treehouse. She wakes up when the first ray of sunlight pierces the sky. Then, she hunts again. The cycle repeats and she's content until she wanders to the cliff of the mountain.
The sky belongs to the birds.
Before she realizes what she's doing, she finds herself jumping off the cliff. Panicking, Chang Seol spreads her wings wide, mimicking the white seagulls as she trails them over the wide blue lake. Her nervousness diminishes as she finds that she's not falling into the lake. She glides in the wind as if it belongs to her.
Chang Seol's eyes shine. She sings along as she soars in the sky, twisting in the air freely. She dives toward the lake, gliding only a few inches above it. Her talons dip in the water, cutting it as the water splashes on her leathery wings. She flies upward again, returning, dancing in the air, and then she takes another dip in the water.
Being a cockatrice doesn't need any efforts. Being a human does.
For the next few years, Chang Seol continues to live as a cockatrice. She nearly forgets about going back to the human world. In fact, she thinks that it's fine like this.
Living a life like this is okay. She doesn't need to worry about college fees, a mister who loves another woman, part-time jobs, or making money. She's a cockatrice — not a human. She doesn't need to live like a human.
However…
[Strange bird has been found in the A Mountain by the K Satellite.]
[Mount A: is it alien?]
[A team of specialists is going to Mount A.]
Headlines like this beam upon the national TV screens around the country.
When humans start to make an appearance, Chang Seol gathers her things and flies out in the dark.
"Damn!" She curses the humans. "Why can't they mind their own businesses?"
In the past, there's been no good technology to pinpoint a strange bird in a mountain area. Now, one can rarely hide, especially if it's her size.
In the last twenty years, her size has increased tremendously. She's nearly as tall as a two-storey building. One can say that she has reached maturity.
Chang Seol goes to Z City, wondering how things are there. There are several long term investments that should reach their peaks soon. To avoid suspicions, she did invest under several names.
There's one investment under her father's name. Two other investments are under her mother's and sister's names. Back then, it was easy to forge documents and make it look like her grandfather did it. They should get notified soon.
She also has some under her names. But now, she doesn't know whether she needs money. Living as a cockatrice is good. Maybe she should buy her own island and make a forest for herself. That sounds good. She is going to do that.
Chang Seol lands over the roof of the sharehouse. She wonders what year it is. Has she already come here?
Then, she sees herself storming toward the door of the sharehouse. Mister is trodding behind her.
It's the night he adopted her as a goddaughter.
"Chicken!"
When she hears his voice, her peaceful heart palpitates again. Even after twenty years, she's affected by this voice. Chang Seol flies away before her heart wavers again. She doesn't want to fall for this man again.
Chang Seol knows that it's her time to return. She takes her human form and wears clothes after ten long years. She visits the offices and takes care of the document work. To be honest, she doesn't like returning to the human world. It feels mundane and unnecessary.
She lives in a hotel for the next few weeks. Then, she returns to U City on the day of her twentieth birthday. She hides behind the house. Today is the day. Everything should be revealed.
Though her parents are sitting in their room, she can hear her parents clearly.
"Do you think that Father invested this much?" Her father asks her mother.
"He might have foreseen the bankruptcy." Her mother inhales sharply. "Father was quite wise. He invested in several places to make sure that we won't eat losses."
"For you, Mi-Young, and even me." Her father sounds suspicious. "Why is there not any for Chang Seol?"
"I don't know." Her mother hesitates. "Maybe he thought that she would be married by now."
"There's one more letter here." Her father rips the envelope and takes out the papers. "What's this?"
Chang Seol hears them gasps. Her parents let out a cry of pain. Her mother and father hold their heads in their hands, blinking their eyes.
When the truth appears on their faces, the lies crumble down into pieces. Her parents' fake memories break down when they see the DNA report and a letter that reveals everything.
The letter also mentions how Chang Seol lied to them about her marriage and who Sin Jeong-Hyuk is. The letter is signed under her name.
In the end, she can't find any courage to say it to them directly.
Chang Seol sighs.
What will they do now?