You’ll Make Me Fall in Love
I asked Sia about something that had been bothering me. She answered honestly and straightforwardly.
The conclusion we reached was…
"...There's nothing wrong with that."
If Sia’s words were all true, then every worry I’d had had just turned out to be complete nonsense.
For me, Sia simply said,
"What were you worried about…?"
"Well… I guess it’s just that succubus thing…."
I finally managed to voice the concerns I’d been carrying.
I told her that succubi were supposed to drain life force and kill people, so I brought that up.
"Ah… I see… But I already told you, you don’t have to worry at all!"
"Yeah… After all, why would I need to drain life force when I can just eat regular food and get energy… Wait, though, why does it look that way in myths?"
"I don’t know either. Maybe during the Middle Ages witch hunts were rampant? It’s probably just a leftover from that."
That meant, basically, people and I were different, so it made sense they’d treat us with suspicion.
"Ah… Wait, so do other monsters or demons from myths exist too?"
"Mom said to think that if they’re human-shaped, most of them exist."
"Eh…."
"After all, I exist, right?"
"Oh… Then all demons that look human are out there?"
"I heard that’s not true."
"Now I’m confused…."
"Right? Still, maybe they’re hiding somewhere in this world?"
"I see… So things like this are possible too, right? For example, someone on the street could be a vampire and just drain blood from me?"
"That’s possible."
"Whoa… Suddenly I’m scared."
"Aigoo, but that kind of person doesn’t exist anymore. Besides, we can do it up close with each other. We can tell just by looking if the other person is human or not."
"Sounds just like a light novel."
"That’s exactly how it feels."
I felt completely confused after learning the real truth about the world from Sia.
So I decided to slowly process everything she’d told me.
First, succubi awaken only through the maternal line. So when a child is born, if it’s a boy he becomes human, if it’s a girl she becomes a succubus.
Second, succubi don’t drain life force… It’s technically possible, but only a few can absorb it.
Third, their physical abilities are amazing. With just a little practice they can compete against top male martial artists.
Fourth, just like in myths, they can use charm magic.
Since they’re already incredibly beautiful, it’s easy to win people over, and once their eyes glow after awakening they can use charm too.
If they can’t control their powers properly they can charm the whole area around them…
And finally, the most important one…
I don’t fall for charm.
This is called a Special Constitution. There are quite a few people like me.
That’s why I told Sia I don’t fall for her charm.
Hearing that, I finally understood why Sia had revealed her true identity.
After all… if she wanted to confess to me, she could’ve just used charm. Why go through the trouble of confessing when there were easier ways… I hadn’t expected this situation.
Then another question suddenly popped into my head…
"So… Dad knew mom was a succubus and still married her?"
"Yeah."
"...Wow… I see."
"At first I heard Dad was super scared when he heard it."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, and before they got married they were supposed to reveal their true identities, but it became this kind of custom or something."
"Ah… Yeah, I guess so… But why didn’t mom just tell Dad right away?"
"Ah… Mom decided this guy was the only one for her."
"Ah… Ha…."
I could tell exactly who Sia had gotten her bulldozer personality from.
No… But wait, if Sia told me her true identity too…
"Huh? What else are you curious about?"
"It’s nothing… I just…."
Sia had been thinking about marrying me…
Me… Um… So I’m not against marrying Sia… But I’m still a first-year high school student… Marriage feels so far away… I don’t know how to even react.
I was over here overthinking everything, but Sia was just happily beaming.
"I was wondering why you were so smiley."
"Well, you took my confession without freaking out, so I’m happy."
Sometimes people say the ones who don’t think ahead are the ones who end up getting burned.
There was no way that applied to me, but if I’d run away or hated it… what was she even thinking by doing this?
Then, after thinking that far, another question popped up.
"Hold on, if I believed your confession and spread it around, what were you trying to do?"
"Eh… That’s why I was trying to make it sound like a rumor."
"……."
That answer felt like she’d just made it up on the spot.
Probably the confession yesterday hadn’t been thought through.
Still, maybe there was some reason behind it.
"Then… You can erase memories too, right? Besides charm?"
"Ah… Um…."
When I asked, Sia suddenly went quiet and froze.
Then after a while…
"I can do it in a similar way, but it won’t work on you, Siwoo."
"It won’t work on me? Is it because I have a Special Constitution?"
"Yeah… That’s about right."
Hearing that made me feel like the main character of a novel.
"Wait… So you couldn’t erase my memory even when I confessed like that?"
"That’s why I said I’d make you fall in love with me."
"……."
Watching Sia boldly say she’d lure me in like that left me speechless.
Not in a bad way— in a good way.
"Besides, I already trust you, Siwoo."
Seeing Sia smile brightly while trusting me completely made me incredibly curious.
Why had she gone as far as marriage and revealed her true identity? What was it about me?
"...Sia."
"Yeah?"
"Why do you like me so much? Honestly… I’m nothing like you. I’m not charming at all."
Sia had so many advantages compared to me. She was pretty, kind, and thoughtful.
Of course, with her like that, people kept gathering around her.
That was exactly why I hadn’t confessed my feelings to her.
In my eyes I just looked pathetic.
So I wanted to know why Sia liked me.
But…
"……You."
"Huh?"
"Don’t say that."
"What…?"
"Don’t say I’m not charming."
"No… But…."
"Then I’m supposed to like a guy who has no charm?"
"...!"
Hearing Sia’s words suddenly snapped me back to reality.
If I cut myself down, I’d be cutting her down too.
"Yeah, so why do I like you? I can tell you as many reasons as you want."
"No… Wait…."
"First, you’re really handsome. You’re my ideal type. You’re kind and careful, so you taught me so well. You have great manners too…."
"Ah… Okay! Stop! Stop!"
"Don’t ever say something like that again."
"I got it, I was wrong."
I couldn’t take any more of Sia’s praise.
It was praise for me, but I was too embarrassed to hear it.
But… there was one more thing I still wanted to know.
"Then… Since when have you liked me, Sia?"
"Me? Um…."
Sia hesitated for a moment with "um…".
"When do you think? Guess and I’ll tell you."
"Ugh…."
She smiled teasingly and told me to guess the right time.
So I thought as hard as I could.
"Um… Elementary school?"
"Wrong!"
"Middle school?"
"Wrong!"
"Then when…?"
Not elementary, not middle school… That left kindergarten or high school, but she definitely wouldn’t have revealed her true identity in high school. So the answer was…
"The answer is, kindergarten~"
"...That long ago?"
"Of course! I’ve liked you for over ten years."
"Eh…."
"So, get ready. I’ll make you fall in love with me by the end of this year."
"……."
Watching Sia smile brightly, I went blank.
I was shocked that she’d liked me since kindergarten, and her current expression was just too cute—I went blank again.
In the meantime…
"I’m leaving first!"
Sia got up first. At that moment her ears were bright red.
Where did this succubus even come from?
At first I had been really worried after she confessed she was a succubus, but it turned out to be wasted worry.
Because whether human or succubus, the Sia I liked was still the same Sia.
On the contrary, knowing she was a succubus and seeing her like this made me like her even more.
I followed after Sia to clean up the table and stood up too.
"Ah… But wouldn’t it have been better if I had just confessed my feelings?"
Now that all the misunderstandings were cleared up, I thought confessing to Sia would’ve been better.
But then I remembered Sia’s words:
"So, get ready. I’ll make you fall in love with me by the end of this year."
Smiling brightly, I thought maybe it was fine to just wait and see how she’d make me fall in love.
I was curious what kind of way Sia would take to make me fall in love.
At that time, Park Siwoo had no idea what kind of future was waiting for him because of that decision.