Episode 180. Twins (2)

Lucy quickly headed towards the Academy shopping district.

‘Academy Street 3….’

Academy Street 3 was located where a narrow alley branched off from the wide main street.

The alley, visible from the outside, had a dark and dim atmosphere.

Lucy, coming here for the first time, slowly observed her surroundings as she entered the dark alley.

Seeing red lanterns and flashy signs here and there, Lucy couldn’t hide her confusion.

It was, commonly known as, a motel district.

The friend who sent the message earlier had definitely said they saw Lee Hoyeon and Lumi.

As a friend who had lived in the same A-class until now, she couldn’t possibly have mistaken them.

But there was no reason for Lumi and Lee Hoyeon to be here.

Lucy continuously felt an uneasy feeling.

‘Should I look around… or should I wait a bit? No. I need to message Lumi first.’

Because she was startled by the message, she hadn’t even sent a confirmation message to Lumi and Lee Hoyeon.

Rushing out of the dormitory and facing the motel district, Lucy, regaining her composure, sent messages to Lumi and Lee Hoyeon.

But naturally, no reply came.

‘…No reply.’

Even if Lee Hoyeon might not reply, Lumi always replied immediately, but Lumi wasn’t replying either.

‘Just a little longer… Let’s just look for a bit longer.’

Lucy aimlessly wandered around the vicinity of Academy Street 3.

Thirty minutes passed, then an hour passed.

Even after checking all the nearby restaurants, cafes, karaoke places, etc., Lumi and Lee Hoyeon weren’t seen.

‘It’s probably okay to go back now.’

‘My friend must have mistaken them.’

Even as she tried to think that, looking at her unresponsive smartwatch, Lucy strangely felt a pang in her chest.

After wandering for two hours like that, Lucy finally returned to the dark alley where she first came and let out a deep sigh.

‘What am I even doing… I’m such an idiot.’

‘Let’s go back.’

‘They might not reply.’

She felt pathetic for wandering the streets for two whole hours just because of something like that.

Ting-

As soon as she decided to go back to the dormitory, Lucy’s smartwatch rang.

• My beloved Lumi: Sorry, Lucy. Sorry for the late reply. I stopped by the supermarket and am on my way back to the dorm now.

‘That’s a relief. It was my misunderstanding.’

‘Phew….’

As her tension eased, Lucy sighed with a smile and sent a reply.

Ting-

However, another message immediately arrived from Lumi.

• My beloved Lumi: And I have something important to tell you… Let’s talk tomorrow.

‘Huh?’

‘Something important?’ Lucy tilted her head, then nodded.

Lumi would tell her tomorrow.

Happily sending an ‘okay’ reply, just as she was about to turn around and leave the alley.

A familiar man and woman emerged from a motel visible in the distance.

A petite, black-haired woman and a tall, handsome, masked man.

Even from afar, it was Lumi and Lee Hoyeon.

Lumi was linking arms with Lee Hoyeon and acting cute.

‘Huh…?’

Lucy let out a short gasp.

‘No way. It couldn’t be.’

Lucy’s eyes darted nervously. She placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes.

‘I must have seen wrong.’

‘Lumi had just said she was going back to the dorm.’

‘She wouldn’t lie to me.’

Lucy took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Lumi and Lee Hoyeon were still standing in front of the motel.

Lumi was still holding Lee Hoyeon’s arm.

Soon, the man’s hand rose, his mask lowered, revealing his profile.

That face… was undeniably Lee Hoyeon.

And the two slowly kissed.

‘What is that…’

Lucy blankly watched the two kiss, then slowly backed away.

This was not a place she should be.

‘I should have gone back sooner.’

If I had gone straight back to the dorm instead of foolishly wandering for two hours… I wouldn’t have had to feel this way.

Lucy walked down the street, feeling belated regret.

Her head hurt.

It felt like every single brain cell was holding a spear and stabbing her brain.

‘….’

Without thinking anything, she just kept walking until, before she knew it, she had arrived in front of the dormitory.

Ting-

Her smartwatch sent a notification for a new message, but she didn’t want to check it.

Entering the dormitory, Lucy took off her outer clothes.

Suddenly, her whole body felt cold, and only then did she realize it was drenched in sweat.

But the sticky feeling wasn’t important right now.

Feeling like her head was spinning, Lucy threw herself onto the bed.

‘Ah… Ugh.. sob…’

Escaping the noisy street and collapsing onto the quiet dorm bed, the emotions she had been pushing away finally surged over her.

Lucy’s eyes began to well up in an instant.

Hugging the soft blanket tightly, Lucy quietly sobbed.

‘Why… Why them of all people… Whyyy…’

Orphaned since they were young, Lucy and Lumi came from an orphanage.

However, because Lumi couldn’t adapt and was being bullied, the two left the orphanage at a young age.

From then on, Lucy and Lumi began fighting the world.

Surviving as two young girls was a difficult hurdle.

But Lucy didn’t want Lumi to experience hardship.

Because I’m the older sister.

Since they had no parents, she, as the older sister, had to protect Lumi.

Even after finishing middle school classes and working part-time jobs alone.

Even when Lumi couldn’t adapt and caused trouble, forcing Lucy to apologize and bow her head in her stead.

Even when comforting Lumi, who cried ‘sorry’ and clung to her.

Somehow, she endured.

She could find the strength solely with the desire to live happily with Lumi.

Even when the director of the support center approached them offering aid, using support as a pretext to demand her body, Lucy rejected the temptation.

She had to be a confident older sister to her sister.

Lucy refused the support and took on more part-time jobs.

Since she had to earn for Lumi too, she cut back on sleep.

At the same time, she guarded more diligently against suspicious people approaching Lumi.

Lumi, being so pure, might easily fall for suspicious people.

Fortunately, upon entering high school, both passed the aptitude test for ability users, and they received support for the Academy.

From then on, Lucy could quit her part-time jobs, and they could live comfortably.

That’s why Lucy and Lumi were special to each other.

They understood everything about each other.

That’s why… she could never interfere between them.

She knew well that Lumi liked Lee Hoyeon.

‘Lumi….’

Sobbing, Lucy whispered Lumi’s name.

Lumi, the sister most precious in the world to her.

Her family, whom she loved beyond words.

Even though they sometimes bickered, in her heart, she loved her sister more than anyone.

And Lee Hoyeon.

The person who saved my life.

The person who always took my side, no matter how foolishly I acted.

The person who showed her she was wrong for thinking all men were dirty and despicable.

And… the man I like.

‘I wish it had been someone else.’

‘If he had ended up with someone else…’

she would still have Lumi.

But if those two got together, Lucy would have no one left.

‘Ah… Ugh, gasp…’

Breathing heavily, Lucy placed a hand on her chest.

Her head hurt so much that she even had thoughts she shouldn’t have.

Lumi and Lee Hoyeon.

Because she loved them both so much, it was even harder.

Now, finally, things that didn’t make sense started to make sense little by little.

The sense of alienation she occasionally felt when the three of them were together.

Lee Hoyeon and Lumi’s lies.

Lumi’s sudden change in image.

She remembered how they would disappear together whenever they hung out.

‘What could they have been doing every time they disappeared?’

‘Agh…’

Lucy clutched her increasingly aching head and closed her eyes.

Right now, she just wanted to close her eyes.

Without thinking anything.

*

Arriving in the hospital room, I washed my hands and lay down on the bed.

‘I’m really tired.’

Lumi kept acting spoiled, it was so exhausting.

The thought of telling Lucy my true feelings must have felt relieving.

She kept trying to stick close until the very end, so I barely managed to pull away with a kiss.

I also wanted to play with her longer, but time was tight.

In the meantime, a message came from Lucy, so I even sent a reply before returning to the hospital room.

To kill time before going to sleep, the moment I turned on the smartwatch hologram, I felt mana from the hospital room ceiling.

Swish-

‘…Scarlet?’

‘You noticed me even though your mana circuits are injured. What a shame.’

Thud-

As soon as I called her name, Scarlet landed from the ceiling.

‘What’s going on? Breaking into a hospital room in the middle of the night… An assassination?’

‘Unfortunately, due to the contract, I can’t do that. Instead, I have something urgent to tell you, so I came.’

‘What is it?’

Seeing Scarlet’s serious expression, I also sat up and prepared to listen intently.

‘Top-secret information has spread among Korean informants. The request is to find Ms. Nam Daeun and Ms. Nam Dahee.’

‘…The Buyer Guild finally caught on.’

Actually, you could say it’s too late.

Thanks to their thorough investigation, we bought ourselves time, so I’m happy.

‘Yes. As soon as I learned the information, I rushed straight to you, Hoyeon-nim.’

‘Scarlet… Thank you. I’ll pay you separately for this.’

Before thinking about Nam Daeun’s situation, I first expressed my gratitude to Scarlet.

Including this time, I don’t know how many times she’s helped me.

Scarlet is bound by a contract that prevents her from acting hostile towards me and requires her to obey my commands.

She has no obligation to do something I didn’t ask her to do, yet she’s helping voluntarily.

So of course I’m grateful.

To express my gratitude, I was going to offer her a salary, but Scarlet shook her head.

‘No. It’s fine.’

‘It’s because I’m not fine with it.’

‘…Hoyeon-nim. Then I have a request.’

‘Tell me.’

Could it be that the contract is very uncomfortable for her?

Is Liliana tormenting her too much?

I looked at Scarlet, thinking of various possibilities.

‘…I would be grateful if you could allow me to spend time with Liliana-nim. Since Nam Daeun-yang and Nam Dahee-yang are in the dorm…’

‘Ah…’

Scarlet bowed her head deeply.

Only then did I remember our first meeting with Scarlet.

‘The reason Scarlet became so compliant was Liliana.’

I recalled Liliana’s face, excitedly boasting about being a master torturer.

Indeed, what good is money?

Especially when she has a priceless succubus’s tail.

‘I-I’m sorry…’

‘…No. I’m sorry. I’ll try to arrange it as soon as possible.’

I should have realized sooner; how embarrassing it must have been for her to say that herself.

As she brought it up, Scarlet’s face was redder than ever before.