When I rejected even his final chance, Joo Seunghyuk’s expression crumpled into something utterly devastated.

“Lee Yeonsu, you said you wouldn’t leave me. You said you wouldn’t run away!”

He screamed like a wounded animal.

“Why did you do it?! Why the hell?!”

“You... said you were marrying someone else. So...”

“I’m the one who asked you to marry me! I’ve said it thousands of times—that I’d marry you! You believed that bastard Ju Jeonghan the first time you met him, but you couldn’t believe me? I know you don’t like me, but was your trust in me really that nonexistent?”

He was right. Joo Seunghyuk had always whispered marriage to me. But I couldn’t bring myself to believe him.

Now, watching him kneel in front of me and beg, I finally realized the political marriage with Lexington had been a lie—and I’d been completely deceived by Ju Jeonghan. But it was already too late.

“I’m sorry...”

“You should’ve just sold out for money! If you did that, at least I could’ve blamed myself for not offering more. But to treat me like a disgusting bug, saying you don’t want anything and just want to leave?!”

“......”

Not only did he know that I’d met with Ju Jeonghan, he knew everything we talked about.

He knew—and still pretended not to.

“Why did you go to the amusement park, then? Were you having fun playing with me? What were you thinking while we were there? ‘Let’s lull this idiot into feeling safe, then make a run for it’? Was that it?”

“...I’m sorry.”

It was all I could say.

Back when I was abandoned at the orphanage, I had thought the same thing: If you’re going to throw me away, just keep hating me. I hated my aunt the most for giving me hope before discarding me.

Knowing that, I couldn’t bring myself to offer any hollow excuse.

“Why is it always the same trick? Why give someone joy only to shove them off a cliff? Did you think you could run again? That I’d let you get away again?!”

Again?

But this was the first time I’d tried to run. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to correct him as he screamed in rage.

“Lee Yeonsu, you’re so cunning. You haven’t changed at all.”

Haven’t changed...? I had no idea what he meant.

Overwhelmed by guilt, fear, and confusion, I lowered my head. And then Joo Seunghyuk gripped both my shoulders tightly.

“You’re not going anywhere! You’re mine! My Guide! You’ve been mine since seven years ago! YOU. BELONG. TO. ME!!”

He screamed, utterly drenched in madness.

And when I looked into those black eyes overflowing with possessiveness, I finally understood.

I’d thought his obsession had begun after we slept together while he was drunk. But I was wrong.

It had started seven years ago, the moment we first met.

“Seunghyuk, I’m not Simcheong. I didn’t come as a sacrifice. I came to be your Guide.”

“...My Guide?”

“Yeah. Your Guide.”

Yes—since then.

Even before I realized this was a novel world, the plot had already started to twist.

I hadn’t avoided the original story for seven years. I had been trapped in the hands of the obsessive yandere all along.

And I was only realizing that now.

***

I was imprisoned.

Locked up the moment winter break started...

Even though the original plot had already diverged seven years ago, somehow, the story was still progressing in the same direction.

The place I was confined in was a basement with not even a small window. Most likely the same one where Kim Jun was imprisoned in the original.

I lay on the bed and looked at my hands. A ring sparkled on the fourth finger of my left hand.

The moment I admitted that I had tried to run, Joo Seunghyuk took everything from me.

My clothes, my wallet, my phone—even my Horaitron-issued handgun. But he hadn’t taken the ring.

I now wore nothing but that ring.

Ah, no—there was one more thing.

Cuffs around my wrists and shackles on my ankles.

They were Alcantara’s Treasure—a “special auction” item Joo Seunghyuk had purchased.

I’d felt uneasy the moment he bought them. And now, here they were on me.

I should’ve stopped him back then. But even if I had, he would’ve just used something else.

The treasure was said to contain the power of submission. The owner could control the wearer’s posture at will.

In the original novel, this artifact had been used for those kinds of things.

If that were still the case, I probably wouldn’t even be sane right now. It would’ve been a nonstop stream of drugs, tools, and harsh, R-rated acts.

Honestly, the moment I was shackled in that basement, I was prepared.

When I admitted I tried to run, I had even considered death.

So being locked away in a cozy garbage pit without dying... felt like a blessing in disguise.

But Joo Seunghyuk didn’t do anything to me.

He didn’t feed me suspicious drugs or force himself on me. He didn’t insult or beat me. He didn’t demand explanations or declarations of love.

In fact, he didn’t even come see me.

It reached a point where I wondered if he’d forgotten he had me locked in the basement.

There was a bed, a pillow, a blanket, and a dim standing lamp that served as mood lighting. Thankfully, the room had been designed as a guest room once—it had a bathroom attached.

For more than five days, I didn’t see a single person.

No books, no phone, no computer, no TV.

Just darkness and silence.

And yet, surprisingly, I wasn’t bored.

In the dark, I rewound the last seven years in my mind.

At the Blue House, Joo Seunghyuk had been watching me. He even saved me from an Esper who tried to sexually harass me.

Minors didn’t have to participate in national gate raids, but he’d been diving into gates since middle school. And whenever we ended up at the same site, he’d stare at me. Or flinch and look away if our eyes met.

I used to think it was a coincidence—or that he just hated me.

But now that I knew he’d been obsessed with me since seven years ago, everything looked different.

Come to think of it... could he have shown up then for my sake too?

***

S-rank Espers were required to participate in twenty days or five national gate raids per year.

But I was summoned far more often than that. Still, I treated it as part of my training, so I didn’t complain. I figured being out in the field was more helpful for a Guide than sitting through class.

But once I entered senior year, a problem arose.

“Lee Yeonsu, you’re doing Stage 1 again today? You’re not a little kid anymore. When are you gonna drop the act?”

Here we go again...

Kim Seowon, an A-rank Guide, had picked a fight—again.

He was one year older than me, and now that he was legally an adult, he had started participating in national gate raids.

Since he was a high-ranking Guide, we ran into each other often during raids. And every time, he acted like he couldn’t stand the sight of me.

“Tch. There’s only so much leeway we can give you.”

“Does he not realize he’s dragging everyone down?”

It wasn’t just Kim Seowon. His entire clique joined in.

“Just because the media hypes him up, he thinks he’s some big deal. It’s not that we can’t do it. We sacrifice ourselves for Espers.”

“Exactly. Fucking selfish.”

“Guide Lee Yeonsu’s good at Guiding, though.”

An Esper nearby spoke up—and instantly, Kim Seowon’s group turned on him with murder in their eyes.

“So we’re not good enough, is that it?!”

“What kind of shitty comment is that!”

“I’m reporting this to the Association!”

It was always like this. Every now and then someone would take my side, but Kim Seowon’s group would flip out without fail.

“Sorry. Guide Kim Seowon, that was my mistake.”

“Too late. I’m telling my grandfather. You better be ready.”

Kim Seowon was said to be the eldest grandson of the Association President. And there was no benefit in getting on that man’s bad side—so when Seowon got angry, everyone had to bow their heads.

“Guide Kim Seowon! I truly apologize. I absolutely didn’t mean it that way. Please forgive me just this once.”

The Esper stammered as he bowed over and over.

He probably wouldn’t side with me again.

But even if he didn’t... just ignoring the argument was already more than I could hope for.

“Well, it’s not like Seowon’s wrong.”

A-rank Esper Park Cheoljin chimed in.

“As a Guide, you should have some damn responsibility. Thanks to Lee Yeonsu, new Guides are getting cocky and acting like they don’t have to give a damn.”

Park Cheoljin was the one who once tried to molest me during Guiding.

I’d almost reported him to the Center, but he’d begged, saying it was a heat-of-the-moment impulse from mana overload, and I’d let it slide.

Now here he was, piling on the pressure because Kim Seowon had set the mood.

I should’ve reported him. But it was too late.

And he wasn’t the only one who thought that way.

There were plenty of people who hated the fact that I only did Stage 1 Guiding—just holding hands. They might not say it to my face, but they grumbled behind my back.

Thanks to Kim Seowon, the topic had boiled to the surface. And now, I was being rapidly isolated.

“All right, we’re beginning the gate raid! Espers, please gather at the entrance!”

The Center staff member in charge shouted from a distance, and the Espers began moving.

“Let’s go grab lunch.”

“Yeah.”

Seowon’s group left the tent. It must’ve been lunchtime, because the other Guides were also getting up one by one.

I stayed seated.

Then Kang Inho approached me.

“Yeonsu, aren’t you going to eat?”

“Ah... I was planning to stay on standby...”

You never knew what might happen during a raid. It was dangerous for all the Guides to vacate at once.

Even if this was only a B-rank gate, there was no guarantee something like Horaitron wouldn’t happen again. Besides, I didn’t have an appetite.

Kim Seowon had completely killed it.

“Don’t let Seowon get to you.”

“Huh? ...Thanks.”

Even Kang Inho, usually aloof, was trying to comfort me. My face must’ve looked pretty bad.

I tried to smile, but my expression wouldn’t soften.

It wasn’t just Seowon’s gang.

Unlike in middle school, more and more people had started demanding Stage 2 or 3 Guiding.

It would probably get worse once I became an adult.

Then suddenly, there was commotion outside.

Curious, I stepped out of the tent—and saw Joo Seunghyuk marching toward the gate, sword in hand.

This was a B-rank gate. No signs of a break emergency.

Why was S-rank Joo Seunghyuk here?

And... in his school uniform?

He must’ve come straight from campus.