Achoo!
Legend has it that a nine-tailed fox bewitches people and devours their livers.
If one ever truly laid eyes on a gumiho, it would probably feel something like this.
On a riverside lit by nothing but the moon, a pair of striking crimson eyes watched her with open curiosity, as if they could see straight through to the thoughts inside her head. The woman smiled as though she were thoroughly enjoying herself and swept her wet hair back from her face. The droplets that scattered with the motion caught the moonlight and glittered like jade beads before falling away.
Her cheeks were flushed a vivid red, and the barest glimpse of her tongue between slightly parted lips somehow managed to be both adorable and intoxicating at once. Her soaked dress shirt clung to her skin, leaving nothing of her bare flesh or black undergarments to the imagination — enough to plant impure thoughts even in another woman. And yet, every time those careful, warm fingers brushed Yi Siyun's cheek as they gently tucked her wet hair aside, her face burned hotter still.
Yi Siyun stared up at the woman combing through her hair, flustered, and still could not look away.
They say those who follow a gumiho never realize the danger until their livers are already being torn out.
Did the people who followed the gumiho really not know how dangerous she was?
Maybe not.
Even now, Yi Siyun knew perfectly well that the person in front of her was dangerous — and still she could only stand there, staring as if bewitched.
"Um… are you all right?"
The woman before her tilted her head and asked. Those crimson eyes shone with startling clarity, and a single droplet slid slowly down her cheek, snaring Yi Siyun's gaze along with it.
"Um……?"
"Ah."
Only when the woman called out a second time did Yi Siyun realize she hadn't answered. She gave a small start.
"Ah— y-yes. I'm fine."
Get a grip.
The person in front of you is someone you need to be wary of.
She squeezed her eyes shut and gave her own cheeks a few sharp pats. Then, trying to put some natural distance between them, she staggered back a step as if dizzy — only for the woman to close that same step, her face creased with concern.
"Are you sure you're really okay?"
"Ah, yes. I'm just a little lightheaded."
Haha.
Yi Siyun laughed awkwardly and cast a quick glance around.
If I just bolt, that'll look weird, won't it…?
She was still fretting over how to extract herself when—
Crunch.
"Yi Siyun."
A familiar voice sounded behind her.
"Carmen!"
Yi Siyun spun around without bothering to hide her relief — and froze.
Carmen's expression was colder and harder than anything she had ever seen on her. Of course, that glare wasn't aimed at Yi Siyun. It was locked on the woman standing in front of her.
The woman only offered a slightly awkward smile and spoke up.
"Oh, um. Hello?"
"……Yeah."
Carmen answered shortly, caught Yi Siyun by the wrist, and pulled her close.
"She's soaked. We should get going."
"Ah, yes! Get home safe!"
She even waved them off with a cheerful little flutter of her hand.
Carmen strode off as if she couldn't leave the place fast enough, still gripping Yi Siyun's wrist. Half-dragged along, Yi Siyun twisted her head just enough to look back —
And there the woman was, still smiling warmly, still waving goodbye.
Ten minutes earlier.
"Ah… damn. Yi Siyun's gonna be pissed again."
Late for a meeting with her childhood friend, Carmen jammed her feet into her shoes and sprinted toward the rendezvous point. Still, if Yi Siyun tried to give her grief for being late, Carmen had a comeback ready.
If she starts in on me, I'll just fire back that she's the one who's always late and has no right to complain about me being late once.
She was running along, already savoring the thought of teasing her friend, when she skidded to a halt within sight of the meeting spot.
"That woman……"
She knew her the instant she saw her.
The woman who had pulled Tania and Adel into her arms at the entrance ceremony. And the same woman she had seen at the abandoned building that collapsed a few days ago.
The moment she recognized her, Carmen felt the blood drain cold from her entire body.
But why is Yi Siyun with her……
Both of them looked like drowned rats — as if they'd fallen in the river. Whatever the reason, she needed to get Yi Siyun out of there, fast. It was an open area, so the odds of an attack were low, but contact with dangerous people was best kept to a minimum.
It was the kind of move that could put Carmen herself in danger — and she stepped forward without a second thought.
"Yi Siyun."
At Carmen's call, her childhood friend — who had been staring at the woman — whipped her head around.
"Carmen!"
But Carmen didn't so much as glance at her. She kept her eyes fixed on the woman, ready to react the instant she tried anything.
The woman only smiled harmlessly and offered an awkward greeting.
"Oh, um. Hello?"
"……Yeah."
Carmen answered reluctantly and snagged Yi Siyun by the wrist. The woman hadn't done a thing — and still Carmen knew.
There was something off about her.
More than one or two things, in fact. Why she was suddenly with Yi Siyun at this hour, why both of them were soaked to the skin — none of it made sense. And more than anything, just looking at her gave Carmen the sensation of being pulled in. On top of that, it somehow made her want to spill every secret she had and cling to the woman like a spoiled child. As if some unidentifiable force were insisting that she was harmless.
No matter how I look at it, this is weird.
Could this be her Ability?
She was a student at the Academy, so she was definitely an Awakener. But…
I've never heard of an Ability that bewitches people.
Of course, Abilities came in countless varieties, and ones that could interfere with another person's mind did exist. But every Ability had an activation trigger or condition — snapping one's fingers, clapping, holding one's eyes open for a long time, or the opposite, keeping them shut. Mental-type Abilities in particular had especially finicky conditions. You had to fire the trigger every single time you invaded someone's mind.
And yet Carmen had felt that pull even before the woman noticed her. At the very least, she hadn't used an Ability on Carmen.
So she's just… like that, naturally?
It didn't make sense.
And the thing that made the least sense of all—
Carmen flicked a glance sideways and found Yi Siyun still looking back toward where the woman had been, even though they had already put enough distance between them that she shouldn't have been visible. Carmen barked at her.
"Yi Siyun!"
"H-huh? What?"
Yi Siyun turned to her with wide eyes, and Carmen felt her chest tighten with frustration.
"Do you have any idea who that woman just now was?"
"I know. She's the one who's famous for hanging around with Tania and Adel……"
"Not that!"
"Huh? Not that?"
Yi Siyun tilted her head, looking genuinely lost.
"She's the woman from the abandoned building that collapsed a few days ago!"
"Uh… ah!"
Only then did recognition dawn. Yi Siyun nodded.
"I think you're right…"
"Not 'I think' — you are right!"
Carmen clutched the back of her neck and groaned.
"Are you okay?"
Faced with Yi Siyun's pure, worried expression, Carmen let out a long sigh and planted a hand firmly on her shoulder.
"You."
"Yeah?"
"From now on, you do not leave my side. Got it?"
"……?"
"I said don't leave my side!"
"Ah— okay!"
Carmen watched Yi Siyun nod in bewilderment and still couldn't relax. She had all but snapped at her, but every word of it came from worry. What if she actually got hurt — or worse?
"Haa……"
Whooosh—
Only after a gust of wind swept over me did I finally stop waving. My hair was soaked, my clothes were soaked — even a mild breeze felt bitterly cold.
"I wonder if Siyun's cold too…?"
A fresh wave of guilt hit me. What if she caught a cold…?
I really didn't think she'd be that startled.
Still, at least I'd gotten an eyeful. Facing each other in the water under the soft moonlight, reaching out, taking each other's hands — it had felt like a scene from a fairy tale, like we'd become the leads in a movie. And more than anything, it had been a wonderful chance to confirm that even underwater, my Siyun was beautiful.
Whooosh.
Another wind cut across my cold, wet body.
"Ah… freezing."
At this rate I really might catch something. Better get home fast.
I hurried along toward the house — then stopped short with a sigh.
Soaked like this… I couldn't exactly go buy a hamburger, could I…
Looks like it was cup ramen at home again tonight.
"Eli… are you sure you're okay?"
Tania asked, her face full of worry. Beside her, Adel reached toward my forehead, and a cool, pleasant sensation touched my skin.
"You've got a pretty bad fever."
"This much is fi— achoo!"
I sneezed softly, and my head rang like a struck bell.
…Looks like I'd caught a cold.