A house with quite a spacious layout, featuring two rooms.

That was where Yoon Si-woo currently lived.

When he first rented the house, his young age and lack of worldly knowledge made him think that the bigger, the better. So, he chose this large house simply because it looked big at first glance.

However, just a few days later, he realized that having so much space and extra rooms was only a downside since he was living alone. He often found himself regretting that decision until now…

“…Hmm, it seems I need to buy some necessary furniture.”

“Yeah, I guess so? There’s nothing in that room since it was just used as a storage space.”

Thanks to living in such a large house, Yoon Si-woo was able to offer a room to Scarlet. He wanted to commend his past self for making that choice.

That said, he’d never really considered the situation of someone staying at his home, and now he faced the problem of not having a blanket for her to sleep with.

“…Well, I can sleep on the sofa if you want to take the bed in my room?”

“Wait, that’s not right. You’re the homeowner. Don’t worry, I just need a pillow and a blanket. I can just buy them later when I go out for other things.”

Surprised by Scarlet’s nonchalance about needing just a pillow and a blanket, he responded in disbelief.

“Are you seriously going to sleep on the floor? It’s not like you’re staying here for just a day or two. You should at least sleep on a bed. If this is because of money, I can chip in a bit…”

“No, it’s not that I’m particularly short on cash or anything… but yeah, I guess having a bed would be nice. I see what I need, so I’ll go out and get it.”

Scarlet, nodding, said that and made ready to head out for her shopping.

Yoon Si-woo intended to stay behind and see her off, but—

[…Haah, it’s a rare opportunity to be alone together. Why aren’t you following her out?]

Blushing from Lucy’s advice, Yoon Si-woo quickly put on his sunglasses and tilted his hat down, then slipped on his shoes to follow Scarlet.

Scarlet turned to him with a puzzled expression.

“…Are you wanting to come with me? Since it’s a break, wouldn’t it be better to rest at home?”

“Well, I’ll just end up getting bored at home all alone… plus, there’s bound to be a lot that we need, and it’d be nice to have an extra hand, right?”

“If you’re insisting on coming, then I can’t really decline… thank you.”

With a slight smile and a grateful response, Yoon Si-woo muttered sincerely toward Lucy.

-…Thank you.

[Don’t mention it.]

—

Yoon Si-woo was aware that his face had become quite well-known among people.

Since the scene of him being appointed a hero was broadcasted, he had been inundated with numerous autograph and photo requests from people while wandering the streets aimlessly.

To prevent such occurrences, he started wearing a hat and sunglasses to obscure his face, and it seemed to work as the number of people recognizing him decreased significantly.

The issue was that by covering his face, inevitably, all the people he encountered mistook him for an adult.

“Excuse me, are you newlyweds? If you are, you both need to share one bed. Should I recommend the queen-sized bed over there?”

“Th-that’s not the case, so please keep your voice down so she can’t hear you…!”

With a suggestive smile, the furniture store clerk asked him, and Yoon Si-woo broke into a cold sweat, quickly trying to explain.

If she realized that people were thinking they were newlyweds, then the very reason they had come out together would be in jeopardy.

But one could see why people might confuse them as a married couple.

If young man and woman were seen browsing furniture together in broad daylight, wouldn’t that lead one to think they were newlyweds?

Moreover, while he was obscuring his face, Scarlet gave off a mature vibe that made it hard to think of her as just a student when she wore casual clothes.

“Is this bed available for installments? Oh, it is? Then, let’s go for the maximum installments—wait, no. Just give it to me as a lump sum. Yes, it should be delivered to this address? Oh, you can send it today? Alright then, thank you.”

While he observed her buying furniture with such ease, it felt as if she had a seasoned experience living alone for quite a long time.

As he absentmindedly watched Scarlet purchase the bed, an older staff member, perhaps a senior clerk, approached and whispered to him.

“Ah, looks like you’re going to be living in separate rooms from the get-go, huh? While it’s good to respect personal space, I hear that starting off like this could hurt the bond between couples… Do you want me to recommend switching to a queen size bed?”

“Please just leave me alone…”

“Oh no, could it be that there are issues in the bedroom that you can’t mention to others…? Oh my, even at such a young age… I’m truly sorry! I lacked consideration. I’ll ensure the delivery doesn’t charge you the fee. Sir, hang in there! You got this!”

With a regretful look, the clerk bowing deeply left Yoon Si-woo with a sigh of frustration.

Anyhow, it seemed that Scarlet had finished shopping, and he saw her approaching him.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“…No, nothing at all. Did you get everything?”

“Yeah, they said the furniture would be delivered, and I bought most of the essentials. We can head back now, and let’s stop by the market on our way back.”

“…Okay.”

Watching Scarlet approach and speak naturally, Yoon Si-woo felt his face crimson.

…Ah, hearing all those “newlywed couple” remarks from earlier has put strange thoughts in my head.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to erase images of Scarlet and himself holding hands and lying on a queen-sized bed.

He felt as though a bad demon had settled in his mind.

Even having such thoughts felt like a betrayal to Scarlet, who trusted him completely.

He vowed to suppress such thoughts as much as possible.

As he talked with her for a bit, their afternoon passed by, and after having dinner together, it was finally time to sleep.

While taking a cold shower, he incessantly muttered to himself to calm his mind.

The pleasant scent wafting through the house was due to a diffuser, not because of Scarlet.

I can control myself.

Thus, after brainwashing himself, he finished his shower and tried to meditate in the living room to calm his uneasy heart.

“Goodnight, Yoon Si-woo.”

After finishing her shower, as she walked past him into her room, telling him goodnight, he realized that his attempts to calm himself were utterly meaningless.

…The sight of a girl smelling like the same shampoo as him, mildly flushed from the shower, couldn’t be erased from his mind by normal means.

“…This is driving me insane.”

Sighing, Yoon Si-woo returned to his room and made a request to Lucy.

-…Please train me hard enough that I won’t have any strange thoughts.

[Don’t worry. I’ll train you well enough to erase those thoughts from your mind.]

Be it a misfortune or a blessing, Lucy had the capacity to fulfill that request beyond expectations.

He woke up the next morning completely exhausted.