Twins (2)
Lucy hurried toward the academy shopping district.
Academy Street 3...
Academy Street 3 sat where a broad boulevard narrowed into a cramped alley. From the outside, the passage looked dark and dingy. Lucy had never come this way before. She scanned her surroundings as she stepped into the gloom, and the red lanterns and gaudy signs she passed one after another left her unable to hide her dismay.
It was a love motel district — the kind everyone whispered about.
The friend who'd sent her that message had been certain she'd seen Lee Ho-yeon and Rumi. They'd lived in the same Class A long enough that a case of mistaken identity was almost impossible. But there was no reason in the world for Rumi and Ho-yeon to be here.
A restless unease kept gnawing at her.
Should I wander around a bit... or just wait? No. I should message Rumi first.
She'd been so shocked by the original tip that she hadn't even sent a confirmation to Rumi or Ho-yeon. Only after bursting out of the dorm and finding herself face-to-face with a strip of motels did she come to her senses and tap out messages to both of them.
Naturally, no reply came.
...They're not answering.
Ho-yeon was one thing, but Rumi had always written back immediately. This time, even Rumi was silent.
"Just a little... I'll just look around a little and go."
Lucy wandered aimlessly through the streets around Academy Street 3. Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. She checked every restaurant, café, and karaoke place in the area. Rumi and Ho-yeon were nowhere to be found.
I should just go back. My friend must have been mistaken.
She tried to tell herself that, but looking at the smartwatch that still hadn't buzzed with a reply, a strange sting bloomed in her chest. After two hours of wandering she found herself back at the dark alley where she'd started, and heaved a long sigh.
"What am I even doing... This is so stupid."
Just go back. People don't always answer right away. She felt pathetic for roaming the streets for two whole hours over something so small.
The moment she resolved to return to the dorm, her smartwatch chimed.
Thank god. I was just overthinking it.
"Hahh..."
The tension drained out of her. She let out a breath, smiled, and sent a reply.
Her smartwatch chimed again almost immediately.
"Huh?"
Something important...? Lucy tilted her head, then nodded to herself. Rumi would tell her tomorrow. She sent a cheerful reply saying she'd got it, then turned to leave the alley.
That was when she saw them.
Far down the street, a familiar man and woman stepped out of a motel. A petite black-haired girl and a tall man in a mask. Even at a distance, it was Rumi and Ho-yeon. Rumi had hooked herself around one of his arms and was hanging off him, all sweetness and affection.
"Ah......?"
A short, broken sound escaped her. No way. That can't be. Lucy's pupils trembled. She pressed a hand to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut.
I saw it wrong. Rumi said she was on her way to the dorm right now. She wouldn't lie to me. She wouldn't.
She drew a deep breath and opened her eyes.
Rumi and Ho-yeon were still standing in front of the motel. Rumi was still holding his arm. Then the man's hand came up, pulled the mask down, and his profile came into view.
That face was — there was no denying it — Lee Ho-yeon.
And then the two of them slowly kissed.
"What... is that..."
Lucy stared at the kiss in a daze, then began to back away. She shouldn't be here. She should have gone back. If she hadn't been stupid enough to wander for two hours — if she'd just gone straight to the dorm — she never would have had to feel this.
The regret came too late. She walked. Her head throbbed; it felt as though every last brain cell had taken up a spear and driven it into her skull.
She thought of nothing. She simply walked, and before she knew it she was standing in front of the dormitory. Her smartwatch chimed with a new message. She didn't want to look.
Lucy went inside and peeled off her jacket. A sudden chill swept over her, and only then did she realize her whole body was soaked in sweat. The clammy feeling didn't matter. Not now. The room seemed to spin. She threw herself onto the bed.
"Ah... ahh... hhkk..."
Only after she'd left the noisy street behind and given her body over to the quiet of her dormitory bed did the feelings she'd been shoving down come flooding in. Lucy's eyes filled in an instant. She clutched the soft blanket to her chest and sobbed, quietly, into the dark.
"Why... why did it have to be those two... whyyy..."
Lucy and Rumi had lost their parents young. They were orphanage kids. But Rumi had never adapted, and the other children had made her a target, so the two of them had walked out while they were still far too young to be on their own. From that day on, Lucy and Rumi had been at war with the world.
Two little girls trying to survive was a brutal gauntlet. Lucy hadn't wanted Rumi to go through any of it. Because I'm the older sister. Because we don't have parents, so I have to be the one who protects her.
She'd held on through all of it. Through the nights she worked part-time jobs alone after middle school let out. Through the times Rumi couldn't adjust to a job, caused some disaster, and Lucy bowed her head in apology in her place. Through the times Rumi clung to her in tears, saying she was sorry, and Lucy had to be the one to soothe her. The single wish of living happily with Rumi had been enough to keep her standing.
Even when the director of a support center approached them with an offer of aid and then demanded Lucy's body as the price, she had turned him down. I have to be an older sister my little sister can be proud of. She refused the support and took on more shifts instead. She had Rumi's share to cover too, so she slept less. And she worked even harder to keep strange men from getting anywhere near her sister. Innocent as Rumi was, she might have fallen for some creep in a heartbeat.
Then, thankfully, they made it to high school. Both of them passed the ability aptitude test, and the academy took them in with full support. Lucy was finally able to quit her part-time jobs and just... be with Rumi.
That was why the two of them were so close. They understood everything about each other. And that was exactly why Lucy could never, ever step between what she had just seen.
She had always known Rumi liked Ho-yeon.
"Rumi..."
Lucy sobbed her sister's name. The most precious person in the world. Family she loved beyond anything words could hold. They bickered sometimes, but in her heart there was no one she loved more.
And Ho-yeon. The person who had saved her life. The person who had always taken her side, no matter how stupidly she behaved. The person who had taught her she'd been wrong — that not every man was filthy and vile.
And... the man she liked.
If only it had been anyone else. If Ho-yeon had ended up with some other girl entirely...
She would still have had Rumi. But if those two were together, Lucy would have no one at all.
"Ah... hh, haaakh..."
She dragged in a ragged breath and pressed a hand to her chest. Her head hurt so badly that thoughts she never should have entertained came spilling through anyway. Rumi and Ho-yeon. She loved them both so much that it only made this worse.
Things that had never made sense were starting to click into place. The little flickers of being left out whenever the three of them were together. The lies from Ho-yeon and Rumi. Rumi's sudden change in how she presented herself. The way the two of them always vanished whenever the group went out. And what they must have been doing, every time they disappeared.
"Nngh..."
Lucy clutched her head as the pain climbed, and shut her eyes. Right now, she just wanted them closed. Without a single thought in her head.
I got back to the hospital room, washed my hands, and dropped onto the bed.
"I'm actually exhausted."
Rumi had been so clingy I could barely stand it. She must have felt lighter, thinking about finally telling Lucy how she really felt. She'd tried to stay glued to me until the very last second; I only managed to peel her off with a kiss. I would have liked to indulge her longer, but we were cutting it close on time.
A message from Lucy had come through in the middle of all that, so I'd sent a reply as well before heading back. I flicked on my smartwatch hologram to kill time until I fell asleep — and that was when I felt mana coming off the ceiling.
A faint rustle.
"...Scarlet?"
"You noticed me even with your mana circuits injured. How disappointing."
A soft thud — the instant I said her name, Scarlet dropped from the ceiling and landed on the floor.
"What's going on? Breaking into a hospital room in the dead of night... here to assassinate me?"
"Regrettably, my contract forbids it. I came because there's something I urgently need to tell you."
"What is it?"
The look on her face was dead serious. I sat up and gave her my full attention.
"Classified information has begun circulating among Korea's intelligence networks. There's a request out to locate Miss Nam Da-eun and Miss Nam Daehee."
"...So the Buyer Guild finally caught on."
Honestly, they were late. Thorough investigation on our end had bought us time, so I wasn't complaining.
"Yes. The moment I learned of it, I came straight to you."
"Scarlet... thank you. I'll pay you separately for this."
Before I even started thinking about Nam Da-eun, I thanked Scarlet first. I'd lost count of how many times she'd helped me, this included. She was bound by a contract that kept her from acting hostile toward me and compelled her to obey my orders — but she had no obligation to do things I hadn't asked for. She was helping on her own. Of course I was grateful.
I'd been ready to put her on a proper salary just to show it. Scarlet shook her head.
"No. That's quite all right."
"Well, I'm not all right with it."
"...Ho-yeon. Then I do have a request."
"Let's hear it."
Was the contract wearing on her? Was Liliana tormenting her too much? A handful of possibilities ran through my mind as I looked at her.
"...I would be grateful if you could arrange some time for me with Lady Liliana. With Miss Nam Da-eun and Miss Nam Daehee staying at the dormitory..."
"Ah..."
Scarlet's head dropped. And then I remembered — our first meeting. Liliana was the reason Scarlet became so obedient. I could still picture Liliana's face lighting up as she announced she was a master of torture. Fair enough. What was money supposed to do for her? She had a succubus tail that money couldn't buy.
"I-I'm sorry..."
"...No. I'm the one who should be sorry. I'll take care of it as soon as I can."
I should have noticed on my own. How humiliating it must have been to have to say that out loud. Scarlet's face, as she forced the words out, was the reddest I had ever seen it.