How do I help you hatch?

"That boy easily gets jealous." Mr No heaves a sigh as he turns on the light. "He makes me worry."

The black egg is lying on the bed inconspicuously.

"Don't you feel that it's turning colder?" Mrs No removes her clothing and changes into a blue water serpent and crawls toward the bed. She doesn't move too close to the egg, afraid that it might react badly to her energy. "I don't think that we can help it hatch."

"It's already odd that she gave birth to an egg." Mr No creases his forehead. "I have never heard of it before. Shapeshifters have always given birth to human infants."

Yeah, it's odd. Chang Seol has been listening to them from the bathroom. So, they think that it's odd. The egg is dying. Then, how did the egg hatch?

"Waaaa~" A piercing wail comes from the corridor, followed by the sound of footsteps. A toddler enters the room. He's not surprised to see a giant serpent in the middle of the room. The two-year-old boy runs to his mother and hugs her. "Mother, I had a nightmare."

The water serpent hisses at the boy soothingly. Though he can't understand a thing, the boy sniffles and says, "That egg stole you away from me."

Stole away? That egg can't steal anyone's away. Chang Seol shakes her head. What a cry baby! Why would she want his mother?

"Shi Won." Mr No smiles at him. "That egg will be your bride."

"What? I don't want an egg as my bride," No Shi Won shouts, clearly hating the idea of an egg in a bridal dress.

She doesn't want this crybaby as her husband either. Chang Seol sneers. Why is she even --

Okay, why are her talons blinking in and out of existence?

"What are you talking about?" Mrs No asks her husband. "Bride?"

"Uncle Chang said that he would give the child to our family if it turns out to be a girl." Mr No explains, "My father said yes."

"Men!" Mrs No shakes her head. "It's not even born yet. I don't think that it will take birth."

"Waaaaa… I don't want an egg bride." No Shi Won keeps crying pitifully, "I want a pretty bride."

Chang Seol finds herself on the merge of disappearing.

Shit! Is it because of No Shi Won's screams or the fact that there are two serpents and a future basilisk in the room?

By the way, aren't No Shi Won's parents breaking the law by showing his true form to a toddler? Then, he might not remember seeing his mom turning into a serpent when he grows up.

"The egg's energy is lowering." Mrs No moves backwards, worried. "It must be distressed. Let's send it back tomorrow. If it dies in our care, we will be blamed."

"Alright." Mr No picks up his son in his arms. "Let's hope that it doesn't die tonight."

They turn off the light and leave the room.

"Damn!" She cursed in a low voice as she comes out of the bathroom. "Am I dying already?"

If the egg dies now, there won't be the next twenty years of her life.

"Then, I am here because I need to do something." She walks toward the egg. "Should I eat you?"

Is it cannibalism if she eats herself?

Her body starts blinking rapidly.

That's probably not a good decision.

"Should I help you hatch?"

Chang Seol's body starts blinking slowly.

That must be it.

So, if she eats herself, she will be wiped out from this world.

If she helps herself hatch, she will exist for the next twenty years for sure.

"How do I help you hatch?" Chang Seol glares at the egg. "Do you think that I will sit on you and give you my warmth until you come out?"

Her body stops blinking.

"That's it?"

But…

Sitting in her own egg is… disturbing.

Her body starts blinking again.

"Let's keep this a secret between us." Chang Seol swallows her pride and tears. She will do this for the sake of her existence. Dying is not even an option. "Nobody must know what happened here tonight."

Chang Seol climbs the bed and sits on the egg awkwardly, feeling the life throbbing inside the egg. She could feel her own heart beating rapidly. After a while, the cold egg starts warming up. Chang Seol relaxes her shoulders, adjusting herself on the egg, and then she falls asleep.

Feeling something move beneath her, Chang Seol opens her eyes groggily. She finds herself lying on the egg completely naked. As she rolls down on her back, Chang Seol wonders when she changed into her human form.

Crack~

She pales when she notices the tiny crack in the egg. No! This egg didn't break due to her weight. She looks at her hands. "I am not blinking like a tube light."

Crack~ Crack~ Crack~

A small black head forces itself out of the egg. Chang Seol gasps when she notices a small black furry chick looking at her. That's her younger self. Tears well up in her eyes. She's not going to get wiped out of existence.

"Chirrup!" The black chick blinks her eyes at her. "Chirp!"

"Wait for a moment." Chang Seol grabs her hair. "It should be a human infant."

That's what No Shi Won told her.

"Chirrup?" The little chick struggles to get out. "Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

"Whoa!" She raises her hand. "Don't call me that. I am not your mommy."

"Chirp…" The little chick looks at her, confused.

"First of all, you must turn into a human." Chang Seol removes the rest of the eggshells and helps the chicken out. It's early morning. The people of this house will wake up soon. "Become human."

"Chirp." The chick is bigger than a normal chick but shorter than an owl. It's black as midnight and round like a ball. Even though it's kind of odd, it's cute and soft.

Chang Seol notices that her tail is so small that it is almost invisible. She mumbles softly,

"I was cute when I was young. What happened to me after I grew up?"

"Chirp!" The chick rubs her head against Chang Seol's thumb. "Chirp, Chirp, Chirp."

"I can't feed you." Chang Seol wrinkles her nose. She looks straight into the chick's eyes. "Listen, you have to become human or you will be sent to a zoo. You don't want to go there. For your and my sake, become a human."

"Chirp?" The chick cocks her head.

"Human, you are human." Chang Seol keeps repeating the words. "You won't change for the next twenty years because you are a human. Your parents will love you more if you are a human." or they might chop this chick and cook her into a meal.

It takes a good fifteen minutes but the trick works. The chick turns into a small infant girl. Chang Seol swipes the eggshells away from the bed and lays down the infant on the centre of the bed. The infant watches her quietly as she looks for something to cover herself.

The wardrobe is empty. She does find bedsheets. Chang Seol picks up one and wraps it around herself. It's already bright outside. Going out from the front door is impossible. So, her exit is going to be the window. She goes back to the infant lying on the bed.

"Well." Chang Seol sighs. "I have two advises for you. First, try to act human in the next twenty years. Second, don't marry No Shi Won. I will take care of life after we turn twenty."

The infant blinks her eyes.

"Too quiet." Chang Seol bends down her waist and pinches the infant's arm. The infant wails loudly, looking at her accusingly. Chang Seol mumbles an apology. The infant's piercing wails are loud enough to wake up the whole house. Chang Seol is sure that the infant will be alright. She climbs out of the window. Moving to her left, she gets a hold of the pipeline.

Only after a few seconds after she's gone, No Shi Won's parents enter the room. They widen their eyes when they see the crying infant on the bed.

"It's a child." No Shi Won's mother exclaims, "A girl."

"No Shi Won's bride is born." No Shi Won's father's eyes shine. "I will call Chang Il-Sung."

Mrs No goes to the bed and takes the child in her arms. She tries to soothe the child. "Welcome to the world, Miss Chang."