The Beauty with Crimson Eyes
My blurred vision, as if shrouded in fog, suddenly sharpened with eerie clarity—focused solely on her face.
Her eyes, swollen from crying just moments ago, were flushed a vivid red. The large irises within them glistened like peach blossoms drenched in rain.
Below her straight, elegant nose, her lips—still damp—were plump and crimson, like perfectly ripened wild strawberries.
*Gulp.*
I swallowed dryly as my heart began to throb slowly.
This was unmistakable **lust**.
It was the instinct that had clung viciously to the soul of a man who had spent half his life obsessed with carnal pleasure. A kind of curse.
The slight downward tilt of her eyes. The smile that curved her lips, so lovely it could make every flower in the world seem dull by comparison.
That defenseless smile flooded my mind with murky, pitch-black desire.
What would it taste like if I pressed my lips against those red ones and claimed them?
What expression would those innocent eyes make once they melted in ecstasy?
"Hehe..."
Oblivious to everything, she rubbed her body against mine like an affectionate puppy seeking comfort in its owner's arms.
Every single movement was both torture and stimulation to me.
Through the single layer of clothing between us, her body heat pressed against me with raw intensity.
The softness of her breasts digging into my chest.
The feel of her arms wrapped around my waist.
And even the curve of her firm, elastic thighs brushing against my lower body.
Each time her modestly full breasts were crushed against me, a sharp thrill raced down my spine.
*I'm going insane.*
I wanted to crush that slender waist in my arms right then and there.
I wanted to ravage that pure, radiant face however I pleased, until the sounds spilling from those lips were not clear laughter but beastly, panting moans of pleasure.
A sadistic urge surged through me—the desire to smear that pure white smile she gave me with a deep red flush and corrupted ecstasy, utterly ruining it.
Even the version of her I'd seen on the snow-covered mountain, weathered by time, had been beautiful.
But the woman before me now was the **Sword Empress** in the fresh bloom of youth, more vibrant and fragrant than a newly opened peach blossom.
I had prided myself on having embraced countless peerless beauties across the Central Plains, yet in the face of this pure, refreshing aura radiating from the young Sword Empress, my reason was on the verge of total paralysis.
There was no way I could hold back.
No—I didn't even consider holding back.
Before reason could intervene, my body moved according to instincts honed over decades.
*Slide.*
Like a snake coiling around its prey, I wrapped my arm around her slender waist—gently, yet firmly enough that she couldn't escape—and pulled her tightly against me.
At the same time, I reached out with my right hand and elegantly lifted her trembling, delicate chin.
The body heat transmitted through the thin fabric was electrifying.
"...? Huh?"
"Shh."
Our gazes tangled in the air.
Staring intently into her wide, startled eyes, I lowered my voice to a deep, gentle whisper.
"Your real name is Seoryeonju, right?"
"S-Sister...?"
We were so close our noses nearly touched.
Startled by my sudden action, her chin trembled faintly beneath my fingers.
"Why are you suddenly using my personal name...? You should call me Yeon-jin..."
Her eyes flickered with confusion.
A pure, innocent answer, bound by the rules of propriety.
The moment I heard it, a strange sense of certainty—and a peculiar feeling of transgression—washed over me.
*As I thought, this young lady is indeed the Sword Empress in her younger days.*
*Stroke.*
Instead of releasing her stiffened chin, I tightened the arm around her waist and pulled her even deeper into my embrace.
"Eek...?!"
Our breaths intertwined in the dangerously narrow space between our lips.
The fresh, youthful scent carried on her exhale tickled the tip of my nose.
As if entranced, I drank in every delicate detail of her features before slowly—ever so slowly—lowering my head toward her reddened lips.
The urge to devour those lips burned fiercely, but a hunter who rushes will only scare away the prey.
Just before our lips met, I deliberately shifted direction—
*Chuu.*
"...Ah!"
Instead of her lips, I left a clear, deliberate kiss on her smooth, rounded forehead.
Pulling my lips away from her lovely brow, I gently brushed her flushed cheek with my left hand.
The skin beneath my fingertips was as smooth as silk.
*How's that?*
A triumphant smile curved my lips.
Even the resolute female heroes of the orthodox sects and the proud daughters of prestigious families had never been able to hide the way their eyes crumbled in this exact sequence of events.
Soon enough, that beautiful face would flush like a ripe apple, and she'd either shyly lower her head or look up at me with eyes drenched in uncontrollable desire, breathing hard.
Or so I thought, wearing a confident grin...
"Ahahaha!"
"...Huh?"
What reached my ears was neither a shy sigh nor a sticky moan.
It was a clear, pure laugh—like jade beads rolling across a silver tray.
*Whoosh.*
Like a butterfly riding the spring breeze, Yeon-jin slipped out of my arms. Her face held not a trace of lust—only a bright, innocent smile.
*...What?*
This wasn't the picture I'd imagined at all...?
As I stood frozen in bewilderment, Yeon-jin casually wiped the tear stains from her face with the back of her hand.
She looked so innocently cheerful, like a child who had just stopped crying after being handed a sweet.
"Hehe, Sister Seol-hye really is kind after all."
She sniffled and burst into bright laughter.
"Even when I was little, whenever I cried, you'd kiss my forehead like this to comfort me, right? Remembering that makes me feel so much better. Thank you, Sister."
"...What?"
I stared at her with my mouth hanging open.
That smile was so utterly guileless that it didn't seem like she was joking.
The black desire that had bloomed inside me had, in an instant, transformed into benevolent sisterly affection. I was utterly speechless.
Unable to accept reality, I asked again in a trembling voice.
"Um, hey... Are you really okay? I mean, how should I put this..."
"Yes?"
"I mean... aren't you embarrassed at all? Or shy? Doesn't your heart race or anything like that?"
I watched her expression desperately, like a man grasping at straws.
*Please, just show me a slightly flushed face.*
Only then could the pride of Wi Yeon-seol—the Beautiful Face Heavenly Killer, who had stolen the hearts of countless women—be preserved.
But contrary to my desperate wish, Yeon-jin widened her clear eyes and waved her hands in denial.
"No way, of course not."
As if she'd heard a ridiculous question, she let out a bright giggle and delivered the finishing blow.
"We're both women, Sister. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
”....?!?!“
It felt like a thunderbolt had struck me from above.
"...What?"
The ominous premonition that had been crawling down my spine since earlier.
The unpleasant feeling hidden in the fog finally took shape, tightening around my throat. Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
Both... women?
"Wait, hold on."
Overwhelmed by extreme confusion, I stared blankly into space before urgently reaching out to grab Yeon-jin's shoulders.
My whole body was shaking violently. I tried to suppress it, but my expression stiffened on its own.
"No. I am a man. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
I spoke with a deadly serious face, my voice rising in agitation.
Me, a woman? That was impossible.
I, Wi Yeon-seol, had lived my entire life as a man—a man's man who had embraced countless women. To be called the same as some ordinary girl like you was not just a joke; it was downright offensive.
But my solemn confession didn't reach her at all.
"Ahahaha!"
Yeon-jin clutched her stomach and burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Sister, are you telling jokes to cheer me up? You're really something."
"......"
"I'm really fine now, Sister! So you don't have to force yourself to be funny. Let's go rest."
She grabbed my arm and smiled sweetly as she tried to pull me along.
Her bright, innocent expression left me speechless, but I couldn't let this slide.
Setting everything else aside, this was a matter of my very life.
I shook off her hand with trembling fingers and forced the words out again in a shaky voice.
"I'm not... joking."
"Huh?"
"It's not a joke. I am clearly a man. And who the hell is this 'Seol-hye' person you've been calling me? Surely you're not talking about me."
*Please say no.*
Tell me that the sense of discomfort I feel all over my body, the heavy weight on my chest, and this delicate voice are all just my imagination. Please...!!
At my desperate, almost pleading tone, a dark shadow instantly fell over Yeon-jin's previously bright face.
"...Sister."
"Y-Yeah! I'm not your sister, but hurry up and tell me!"
She slowly wiped the smile from her lips and looked at me with eyes full of complex emotion—pity and sorrow intertwined.
The silence that followed was brief, yet to me it felt like an eternity.
She finally spoke, her voice heavy.
"Are you... still suffering so much in your heart because of 'that incident'...?"
"That incident?"
"I know. It must have been hard to accept. But you know better than anyone that it couldn't be helped."
She gently stroked my cheek with a sympathetic touch and whispered softly.
"So please... just forget about it now..."
"What...!"
What the hell was this girl saying?
My mind began to tangle chaotically.
I couldn't understand what nonsense the woman in front of me was babbling about.
First of all, I was not a woman.
And I was most certainly not some "Sister Seol-hye."
Moreover, suffering in my heart? From what?
The only thing twisting my insides right now wasn't some mysterious "incident"—it was the fact that you kept spouting complete gibberish like a lunatic!
"Haa... Haa..."
The incomprehensible situation left me gasping for breath.
My heart pounded violently, as if it would burst.
To calm this chaos—or rather, to prove that my mind was still intact—I focused on the discomfort I felt throughout my body.
*I need to confirm.*
With trembling hands, I reached up and felt my neck.
*...!*
It was gone.
The rough, protruding Adam's apple that every man should have was nowhere to be found.
My shaking hands moved across my arms, waist, and legs.
The firm, attractively thick arms.
The solid waist and muscles that had once defined my body.
The boulder-like thighs.
The male physique my fingertips remembered was completely gone.
In its place was smooth, soft skin without a single hair.
And beneath that, only the unfamiliar sensation of flexible, elastic muscles.
And above all else.
*...This.*
The unidentified weight that had been pressing heavily on my chest since earlier.
As if in a trance, I lifted my trembling hand and grabbed the fabric covering my chest.
*Squish.*
A massive, soft mound of flesh—far more than a handful—filled my palm completely.
"Eep?!"
At the same time, the sensation of sensitive skin being roughly pressed sent a sharp jolt of pain straight to my brain.
An involuntarily lewd, high-pitched moan slipped from between my lips.
I yanked my hand away in shock, but the absurdly soft sensation lingered in my palm like an afterimage.
*This can't be real. This... is my body?*
Overcome by creeping terror, I frantically looked around.
Beyond my foggy vision, I spotted a shimmering surface in the corner of the garden.
It was a small pond.
*A mirror! Damn it, I need to see what the hell is going on...!*
With no time to think, I dashed toward it.
But though my mind was racing, this unfamiliar body refused to obey.
My stride, my center of gravity—everything was completely different from my original body, making it impossible to sprint properly.
"W-Wait?!"
I barely took a few steps before my legs tangled.
My ankle twisted. Losing my balance, my body floated into the air—
*Splash!*
With a loud splash, I plunged into the water.
"Ugh..."
A dull pain radiated from my buttocks—apparently I'd landed on them—but fortunately, the pond wasn't deep.
It was shallow enough that the water only reached halfway up my thighs.
If I'd fallen into a deep pond in this state of impaired movement, I might have drowned. I suppose I should consider myself lucky...
"Ha... Hoo...!"
Soaked like a drowned rat, I gasped for air.
The cold water soaking my lower body seemed to snap my muddled mind back to clarity.
*Right. First, my eyes. I need to wash away this damn fog...!*
Cupping my trembling hands, I scooped up pond water and splashed it roughly onto my face.
*Splash. Splash.*
The cool chill struck my face, and the hazy fog clouding my vision seemed to wash away.
My previously stiff and stuffy eyesight gradually cleared, growing sharper.
Without even wiping the droplets running down my cheeks, I braced my shaking hands against the pond bottom and leaned forward.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
My heart roared in my ears like it was about to explode.
*Please don't let it be true. Please let all of this be a terrible nightmare.*
The ripples on the water's surface gradually settled, and a clear mirror formed. A figure rose within it.
"......!"
My breath stopped.
There, a woman was looking up at me.
For more than half my life, I had wandered the world in a frenzy of lust, laying eyes on thousands of women.
Among them were gisaengs renowned as the greatest beauties of the Central Plains, renowned female heroes of the martial world, daughters of the Five Great Families, and even imperial princesses carrying royal blood.
However, I could say with absolute certainty that the woman before my eyes now was a peerless beauty who would place all those women beneath her feet. A true **absolute beauty** in every sense of the word.
Hair as glossy as black satin. Skin whiter and more translucent than white jade, now glistening with moisture and radiating an even more seductive glow.
But what captured my gaze most of all were her eyes—shining like rubies.
A vivid, blood-red hue so intense it seemed as though droplets of fresh blood might spill from them at any moment.
At the corner of those bewitching crimson eyes that seemed to entrance anyone who looked into them was a single, tiny, exquisite teardrop mole—like the final touch that perfected a masterpiece.
She stared with her mouth agape in disbelief, wet strands of hair clinging to her cheeks.
It was exactly the same expression I was making.
"Ha..."
A hollow sigh escaped my lips. The beauty beneath the water moved her cherry-like lips in perfect sync.
And then I realized.
The peerless beauty reflected in the water... was me.