The morning air in the school corridor felt strangely tense.
Both Yuna and Jihun were walking in opposite directions, lost in their own thoughts.
Yuna kept looking down while walking.
Why am I still thinking about yesterday… she thought, frustrated. It was just an embarrassing moment. Just forget it.
A few steps away, Jihun was thinking almost the same thing.
Why did I even tell her that I'm not dating Park Haeun? he wondered. That sounded like I was explaining myself…
Both of them assumed the other person wasn't bothered at all.
And then—
THUD.
They bumped into each other.
Yuna stumbled back.
"O-Oh! Sorry!" she said quickly.
Jihun straightened immediately and cleared his throat, returning to his usual cool expression.
"Watch where you're going," he said calmly.
"Y-Yeah… you too," Yuna replied awkwardly.
Neither of them looked directly at the other.
An awkward silence filled the corridor.
Then suddenly—
"IT'S THE SCARLET SHADOW!"
A loud shout echoed through the hallway.
Students started running toward the noise.
Jihun's expression instantly became serious.
"Come on," he said, walking quickly toward the crowd.
Yuna followed him, her mind spinning.
Scarlet Shadow?
But I didn't do anything today…
Then who are they talking about?
When they reached the crowded hallway, they saw a shocking sight.
Two boys were stuck in thick slime on the floor.
"UGH! THIS IS DISGUSTING!" one shouted.
"SCARLET SHADOW! WHEN WE CATCH YOU, YOU'RE DONE!" the other yelled angrily.
Yuna immediately recognized them.
Taemin and Seojun.
Both of them were trapped in sticky slime up to their ankles.
Students around them were whispering excitedly.
"Scarlet Shadow did it again!"
"This is definitely her work!"
Yuna froze.
Wait…
I didn't do this.
I just arrived.
Then who did it?
Beside her, Jihun folded his arms while observing the scene carefully.
"So the Scarlet Shadow appeared again," he muttered.
He glanced around the crowd.
"She must still be somewhere here. Look around carefully and tell me if anyone seems suspicious."
Yuna nodded, but inside her mind was racing.
Someone actually did this…
And everyone thinks it's Scarlet Shadow.
But this time it wasn't me.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Which means someone is copying Scarlet Shadow.
Or worse… someone is using my name.
They walked closer to Taemin and Seojun.
Jihun crouched down beside them.
"What happened?" he asked.
Seojun groaned while trying to pull his foot free.
"We didn't even see anything!"
Taemin added angrily, "We were just walking here and suddenly slime exploded under our feet!"
"And then people started shouting Scarlet Shadow!"
Jihun frowned slightly.
"Did you two do anything recently? Something that could make Scarlet Shadow target you?"
Both boys immediately shook their heads.
"No!" Seojun said.
"We haven't bullied anyone for a while!" Taemin added quickly.
Jihun stood up slowly.
His expression looked slightly dissatisfied.
"If that's true… then Scarlet Shadow isn't being very fair this time."
Yuna blinked.
Jihun continued calmly,
"Her pranks were supposed to punish people who deserved it."
"But if she's targeting people randomly now, then she's crossing the line."
Yuna stayed silent.
Inside her mind, her thoughts were racing.
But I didn't do this…
So someone else planned it.
And they made sure everyone would blame Scarlet Shadow.
Her suspicion grew stronger.
Eventually teachers arrived and handled the situation, and the students slowly returned to their classrooms.
When Yuna and Jihun entered the classroom, both of them were still thinking about the incident.
Yuna sat down quietly.
Who could it be…
Someone who knows about Scarlet Shadow…
Someone bold enough to copy the prank…
While she was thinking, Jihun suddenly spoke.
"What do you think?"
Yuna looked at him.
"About this morning," he said. "Who do you think could have done it?"
At that moment, both of them had completely forgotten about their earlier embarrassment.
Now they were focused on the mystery.
Yuna shook her head.
"I'm not sure," she said honestly.
Jihun sighed slightly.
"If someone is pretending to be Scarlet Shadow, then that's a problem."
Before Yuna could reply—
A cheerful voice suddenly appeared beside them.
"Yunaaa~"
Both of them turned their heads.
Harin was standing next to Yuna's desk with a playful smile.
She leaned slightly closer to Yuna.
"Can I borrow you for a minute?" she asked softly. "I need to talk to you."
The way she said it sounded almost… romantic.
Yuna blinked in surprise.
"Huh? Me?"
Harin nodded.
"Yeah. Come with me."
Yuna stood up.
"O-Okay…"
The two of them walked out of the classroom together.
Jihun silently watched them leave.
His eyes followed them until they disappeared through the door.
How did those two become so close already… he wondered.
The transfer student has only been here for a short time.
While he was thinking, he suddenly heard some girls whispering behind him.
"Oh my god… Haru is seriously the sweetest boy ever."
"Right? He treats every girl like she's a princess."
"I'd be so lucky if Haru made me his girlfriend…"
Jihun didn't react, but for some reason the words bothered him slightly.
His gaze shifted toward the classroom door again where Yuna had left.
Haru… huh.
And a quiet thought appeared in his mind.
Why does it feel strange seeing them together?
Harin led Yuna through the quiet corridor and toward the back side of the school building, where very few students usually came during class time.
The wind rustled the trees behind the sports field, making the place feel unusually calm compared to the noisy hallways.
Yuna crossed her arms and looked at Harin curiously.
"So… what did you want to talk about?"
Harin leaned casually against the wall, smiling in her usual playful way.
"Well," she said dramatically, lowering her voice, "I heard something interesting this morning."
Yuna raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
Harin continued, "Some girls were talking near the science lab storage room. They said someone took a lot of slime materials for an assignment this morning."
Yuna's eyes widened slightly.
"Slime…?"
Harin nodded.
"I don't know who took it," she admitted, shrugging. "But it sounded suspicious."
She then stepped closer with a dramatic grin.
"If you want, I could help you find the real culprit."
She placed a hand on her chest like a heroic knight.
"We could work together and solve the mystery!"
Yuna stared at her for a second.
Then she sighed.
"…No."
Harin blinked.
"…No?"
"You're too noticeable," Yuna said calmly. "If you walk around investigating, everyone will start paying attention."
Harin laughed softly.
"Well… that's true."
After a moment, the two of them began walking back toward the classroom.
As they reached the door, Yuna suddenly stopped.
"Actually…"
Harin looked at her.
"If you want to help," Yuna said, "you can join us after school."
Harin tilted her head.
"Us?"
"Jihun and I are investigating," Yuna explained. "And since you know where the slime materials are stored for assignments, you could help."
Harin smiled immediately.
"Sure. Sounds fun."
They walked back inside the classroom.
Jihun was sitting at his desk, reading something, but his eyes briefly lifted when Yuna entered.
Yuna walked straight to him.
"I found something," she said.
Jihun raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
Yuna explained everything Harin had told her.
"That slime might have been taken from the science lab storage for an assignment," she finished.
Jihun glanced toward Harin for a moment.
Then he looked back at Yuna.
"Can we really trust this Haru?" he asked calmly.
Yuna looked completely confident.
"Of course," she said immediately. "She's trustworthy."
Jihun studied her face for a moment.
Then suddenly—
He gently reached out and touched her hair, fixing a small strand that had fallen over her face.
"Don't trust new guys so easily," he said quietly.
For a moment, Yuna completely froze.
Her brain stopped working.
Her face slowly turned red.
W-What was that…?!
Jihun had already leaned back in his chair as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile, Yuna's heart was beating wildly.
Calm down… calm down…
I trust Harin because I know her from middle school…
That's the only reason…
She shook her head slightly.
No more blushing! Focus!
She quickly turned serious again.
"Anyway," she said, trying to sound normal, "why do you suddenly think someone is trying to blame Scarlet Shadow?"
Jihun leaned back in his chair and looked toward the window.
"Because something doesn't match," he said calmly.
Yuna listened carefully.
"Every time Scarlet Shadow appeared before," Jihun continued, "the targets were people who had done something wrong."
"Bullies. Arrogant students. People abusing their power."
He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.
"But today's incident was different."
Yuna frowned slightly.
Jihun continued,
"Taemin and Seojun might not be perfect, but lately they've been keeping a low profile."
"And the slime trap this morning…"
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"It looked more like someone trying to copy the style, not the purpose."
Yuna stayed silent.
Jihun finally looked back at her.
"Which means one thing."
"What?" Yuna asked.
"Someone wants people to think Scarlet Shadow is becoming reckless."
He paused.
"And when that happens, everyone will start seeing Scarlet Shadow as the villain."
Yuna's heart skipped slightly.
He's… not wrong.
Jihun leaned forward slightly.
"So whoever did this," he said quietly, "is either trying to play a prank…"
"…or they're planning to destroy Scarlet Shadow's reputation."
Yuna looked down at her desk.
Inside her mind, a new determination slowly formed.
Whoever you are…
I will find you before you ruin everything.