The Truth Behind the Red Hair
Yoon Siwoo had finally realized it—a feeling he had never experienced before. Like a sudden fever, he could no longer look at Scarlet’s face with the same natural ease he had possessed just a short while ago. He had never known it was possible to be so intensely aware of another person. Just being near her made his heart race, and the mere thought of her caused his face to flush. Holding her gaze during conversation felt impossible for the time being. Until he could grow accustomed to this heart-pounding sensation, he decided it would be best to avoid her.
“Today’s training is all about overcoming fear! You’ll be experiencing my special ‘Unconscious Stimulus Magic’! It’s a spell that manifests the very things you subconsciously dread or avoid the most.”
His homeroom teacher, Eve, was, quite literally, the world’s greatest illusionist. Even with the Radiant Holy Sword in his possession, Siwoo knew that if he wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t be able to distinguish her high-level illusions from reality. Still, he felt confident. He didn’t know what his deepest fears were, but with the Radiant Holy Sword and Lucy by his side, he was sure he could overcome whatever the illusion threw at him.
Snap.
He heard the sound of Eve’s fingers clicking. He was in the classroom, surrounded by the chatter of his classmates. Siwoo looked around. It was a perfectly ordinary scene, yet he felt a strange sense of emptiness.
"Hmm, to twist even one's perception... an impressive illusion."
The familiar voice washed away the emptiness. Right, that’s why it felt so hollow—I couldn’t feel Lucy. Thankfully, the connection forged by their contract remained intact. As it turned out, his greatest fear was losing Lucy. Now that he knew their bond was secure, the rest of this was just a meaningless fantasy. Just as he prepared to shatter the illusion, a flash of red hair caught his eye.
The girl who made his heart race just by being in his presence was smiling brightly—but not at him. She was laughing at another male student. Siwoo’s heart felt as though it had been struck and brought to a dead halt. As the boy approached, she blushed shyly. When the boy walked out of the classroom, she followed him, looking bashful. They sat in a secluded spot behind the school building, enjoying their own private world. In the quiet atmosphere, their eyes met, and the distance between them closed, bridged by a mutual understanding only they could share. As they shared a fleeting kiss, Siwoo felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.
In the blink of an eye, she had become a mature woman. The boy, now a man, knelt before her and proposed. She accepted the ring, smiling with the happiness of someone who had gained the whole world. She embraced him, and the kiss that followed was far longer than the one they had shared as students. Then, he saw her in a wedding dress. She tossed her bouquet toward the guests, and as someone caught it, she laughed radiantly and kissed the man in the tuxedo. After the wedding, they left for their honeymoon. They spent the day sightseeing and, after a fine dinner at a restaurant, returned to their hotel. Perhaps it was the wine, or perhaps something else, but her face was flushed as she exchanged heated breaths with the man on the bed. His hand brushed against her body, revealing skin that was still as white as snow, though she had grown in ways he hadn't seen before. And, and...
The voice snapped him back to reality. Only then did he realize he was drenched in cold sweat. It’s just a fantasy. He gritted his teeth and focused his mind, finally breaking free from the illusion. As he emerged, he locked eyes with Scarlet, who happened to be looking his way. He felt his face turn bright red. Overwhelmed by shame, he couldn't lift his head. How long had he even known her, to be suffering alone over such a vision? He felt mortified that he harbored such feelings for her when he wasn't even anything to her. It seemed he wouldn't be able to face her for a while.
From that day on, Yoon Siwoo consciously avoided Scarlet, as his heart refused to settle whenever he saw her. She had been in the infirmary after lunch the day before, likely feeling unwell, yet he hadn't even been able to ask if she was okay. He couldn't bear to look her in the eye. If he did, he feared those images from the illusion would come flooding back. It wasn't just when he saw her, either. He feared he might accidentally recall the scene while sitting still, so he began wandering outside more than ever just to clear his head.
That evening, while walking to clear his mind, he spotted her in the distance. His heart began to race, and just as he turned to leave, he noticed a man standing beside her. The man looked far too old to be a student. Then, he heard their conversation.
“If you don’t want to, you can refuse, but is there really no way?”
“Um, I’m not really comfortable with things entering my body...”
“Hmm, if you’re against it, it can’t be helped. Then, is it alright if I touch you or take photos?”
She nodded. Siwoo’s heart beat with a dark, ominous rhythm. It felt as if all the blood in his body had turned to ice, chilling him from the inside out. The conversation felt heavy with implication. Driven by a desperate, sinking suspicion, he followed them. They arrived at a building that looked like no place for a student to be. Even at this hour, he could hear the occasional moan of men and women who had rented rooms. It looked like they were about to do something illicit. He debated whether to rush in and stop her, but in that moment, he wondered: Who am I to stop her?
While he hesitated, she disappeared into the building with the man. His strength gave out, and he slumped onto a nearby bench. The image of her from his illusion resurfaced. Was she doing something similar inside right now? His hearing, which was annoyingly sharp, picked up suggestive sounds leaking through the walls, clouding his rational thought. And amidst it all, he thought he heard a familiar voice.
“It feels go—$#@$@#%!”
I must have misheard... He muttered to himself, covering his ears. After a long while, she emerged from the building, drenched in sweat. She noticed him, her expression stiffening, and she tried to walk past him. Siwoo blocked her path before he could stop himself. When she glared at him and asked coldly what he wanted, he asked in a trembling voice:
“...What were you doing in there?”
He saw the envelope of money in her hand as she replied, asking why she should have to tell him. Could it be... for money?
“Are you... doing this for money?”
She nodded. The Holy Sword of Truth confirmed it was the truth. He didn't want to believe it was just for money. Or rather, he desperately wanted to think otherwise. He asked if she was being blackmailed or held against her will.
“I did it because I wanted to. It wasn’t particularly hard, and I actually liked it.”
He wanted to believe the voice he’d heard earlier was just a mistake, but the Holy Sword of Truth spoke: It is the truth.
His stomach churned. For the first time, he wished the Holy Sword of Truth didn't exist. Hearing truths he didn't want to know was agonizing. When he asked if she would do it again, she replied:
“Well, if the opportunity arises. There’s no other way to earn money this easily.”
The Holy Sword of Truth remained calm. It is the truth.
Stop... He wanted to beg, and he felt as though he actually had. Can’t you stop? If you need money, I’ll help you, please... But her response was icy.
“Help me with what? Do you think you’re anything to me? I don’t need it.”
Her words felt like a dagger to his heart. He was nothing to her. Each word served as a painful reminder of that fact.
Lucy’s voice, seemingly trying to comfort him, helped him regain his composure. It was shameful to be disappointed in her just because she was different from what he had imagined. Regardless of who she was, the fact that he liked her remained unchanged. He followed her with quick steps as she walked away. She glared at him, but as a man, he couldn't leave the woman he liked alone late at night. They arrived at a dilapidated-looking building. Seeing her climb the stairs that looked like they might collapse at any moment, he found himself following her up.
When she opened the door, the room that revealed itself was shocking. He knew his own home was quite spacious, but this was cramped—too cramped. The orphanage where he had spent his childhood looked like a hotel in comparison. He couldn't believe a student at Aegis Academy lived in a place like this. Was she living here to afford the exorbitant tuition? Was that why she had to do such things? To him, who had never felt material lack thanks to Lucy, the reality was heartbreaking.
She called him in, telling him to come in for a moment. This wasn't the kind of situation where he could feel the flutter of entering the home of someone he liked. She unfolded a small table and gestured for him to sit. He sat at one end and looked around. There was a tiny bathroom right by the entrance, a bed and a small wardrobe to the left of the table, and a cooking space with a small refrigerator to the right. That was all. It felt like a space equipped with only the bare minimum for survival. He glanced inside the refrigerator she had opened; it was empty. She drew tap water from the sink and handed it to him. Apologizing that it was all she had to offer, she seemed accustomed to this life. She drank the unfiltered tap water naturally. Seeing her gaze fixed on him, he drank it too. The water tasted stale. She must have taken this taste for granted. He felt tears welling up.
He wanted to offer her some comfort before she told him to leave. Many words crossed his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to say them. Anything he said would likely be a wound rather than a comfort. So, he stood up quietly and offered the most unremarkable greeting before leaving.
“See you tomorrow.”
She nodded.
The next day, for some reason, she was late. Siwoo worried that she might be in shock from the fact that he had discovered what she was doing. “Scarlet is late,” said Sylvia, the girl sitting next to him. She was the student who received macarons from Scarlet every day. Siwoo recalled the interior of Scarlet’s home from the day before. Surely, she was buying those for her at great personal cost. “Sylvia, let’s talk for a moment.” When he called her outside, she followed him, blushing. Siwoo said to her, “I want you to stop accepting things from Scarlet.”
Sylvia, who had been blushing, seemed taken aback by the unexpected request. She hesitated before answering, “Um... could you tell me why I should do that?”
“I can’t tell you the reason, but please, just do it.” Because he couldn't reveal what Scarlet was doing to earn that money, Siwoo had no choice but to be vague. But Sylvia, unsatisfied with the answer, refused.
“It’s a bit much to ask me to stop without a reason. Scarlet buys me macarons out of the kindness of a friend.”
At Sylvia’s words, Siwoo grew angry. “Liar.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re lying. You don’t even think of her as a friend.”
Every time Scarlet brought her macarons, Sylvia would say she was grateful because they were friends. But the Holy Sword of Truth had told him every time that Sylvia was lying. In other words, Siwoo knew that Sylvia had never once considered Scarlet a friend.
“...I don’t know why you would think that. To go so far as to be unreasonable...”
“I know everything, so stop it.” Siwoo cut her off, his voice sharp. Scarlet was doing such things for her, believing they were friends, and he couldn't look kindly upon Sylvia for exploiting Scarlet’s heart.
“What is your problem! Who is she to you that you always pay attention only to her? I like you so much more—!”
Siwoo stared at Sylvia, who was lashing out with a sense of entitlement, with cold eyes. Sylvia looked hurt for a moment, but then she wiped the expression from her face and said indifferently, “...I understand. I’ll stop accepting macarons from Scarlet. After all, we weren’t friends to begin with.”
Yoon Siwoo nodded. This is enough, he thought.