Scarlet Innocence () is a 2014 South Korean thriller co-written and directed by Yim Pil-sung, starring Jung Woo-sung and Esom. It is a modern-day retelling of the classic Korean folktale Simcheongga. Plot After getting caught in a sex scandal, literature professor Shim Hak-kyu (Jung Woo-sung) is forced to leave Seoul to teach in a small, rural town, until the matter is settled, leaving his depressed wife (Yoon Se-ah) and daughter, Chung-ee (Park Seo-yeon). Hak-kyu becomes involved in a relationship with Deok-ee (Esom), a naive ticket seller for a soon-to-be-dismantled amusement park. Their relationship quickly spreads to the town residents and greatly disturbs Deok-ee's deaf mother (Kim Nam-jin). Eventually, Hak-kyu's name is cleared with the help of his friend, Dong-woo (Lee Chang-hoon), allowing him to teach at his university. Before he departs, Deok-ee reveals that their previous intimacy had made her pregnant. After aborting the baby, Hak-kyu leaves, promising to return for Deok-ee. Instead, he goes back home and gives respite to his miserable wife. Though Hak-kyu is still going to the rural town for a while, he avoids Deok-ee, telling her to "wait". One night, Hak-kyu visits her home to bribe her into never speaking their relationship again for a sum of money. During the conflict, Deok-ee forgets to turn off the stove, which engulfs her house with her mother still inside. Receiving distressing calls from Chung-ee, Hak-kyu returns home to find that his wife has committed suicide. Eight years later, Hak-kyu has become a successful writer, but is leading a wild lifestyle, including drinking, smoking, and gambling, becoming heavily indebted in the process. At the same time, he learns that an illness is threatening his vision. Chung-ee (Park So-young), meanwhile, is beginning to slip away and go to a club, where she meets Deok-ee, who has taken up the identity of "Yoon Se-jung" and is moving as the Shim's new neighbor. Deok-ee starts to frequently tend to the Shim as Hak-kyu spirals down due to his debt and his firing from his university, also recommending him an ophthalmologist (Yang Jin-woo), who only makes him blind. Eventually, the gambling boss, Mr. Choi (Kim Hee-won), forces Hak-kyu to sign a contract sending Chung-ee to Japan to work as a prostitute in return for a hefty sum of money. During Hak-kyu's period of mourning, Deok-ee reveals her identity and her anger to him, saying she will continue to make him suffer until