I quickly ran in the direction he had gone.

But even after I turned the corner, Ju Seunghyuk was nowhere in sight.

Where did he go? Did he go down the stairs?

It seemed we had passed each other. I was about to call him when I heard Ju Seunghyuk’s voice from one side.

“Kim Jun, how long are you going to make me wait?”

I turned toward the direction of the voice. Ju Seunghyuk was standing in an empty classroom nearby. And next to him stood Kim Jun.

...Don’t tell me he came all the way to the West Wing not to see me, but to meet Kim Jun? And what was that about waiting? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

In confusion, I stared at the two of them.

“Please don’t do this.”

“What am I doing?”

“What do you mean, what? You even came looking for me last night...!”

...Last night, Ju Seunghyuk was with Kim Jun? All this time, it wasn’t for work—he was meeting Kim Jun?

Thud.

My hand went slack and my phone slipped to the floor. Startled, I quickly picked it up and fled the scene as if running away.

***

By the time I came to my senses, I was standing in front of the library. It was the place where I had agreed to meet Ju Seunghyuk. Even in this situation, I had come here—honestly, I...

Could it really be the coercive pull of the original story at work...?

On the first day of the second semester, did something happen in the dormitory, and since then he’s been meeting Kim Jun behind my back?

No. That can’t be. Saying it’s the “original” now is ridiculous....

Besides, thinking about it, it wasn’t romantic at all. In fact, wasn’t it serious? Maybe even tense...?

Yeah, it’s nothing. Seniors and juniors can be together. It’s possible for someone to secretly go meet a junior late at night without telling their lover... No, actually, that’s not possible. No matter how close you are, you don’t go at night.

Ah—no, maybe you do! Come to think of it, I’ve been to Park Geonwoo’s dorm room before. So maybe Ju Seunghyuk too...

No. That’s different. I’m a Beta. An Alpha doesn’t go alone at night to an Omega’s room.

I looked at the ring shining on my finger.

Even after coming out of rut, Ju Seunghyuk had asked me ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to wear a couple ring. He’d even given me the ring that came out of the Linked Gate. So I shouldn’t feel insecure.

I clenched my ring-bearing hand tightly—when suddenly, someone gently wrapped their arms around my neck from behind.

“Hyung.”

The only person in this school who called me hyung—Ju Seunghyuk. I took his hand.

I still hadn’t heard any explanation. But just feeling his warm body heat instantly calmed the anxious trembling in my chest.

“You came?”

“Sorry. I’m late, aren’t I?”

“No. It’s fine. ...But why were you late?”

“I had something to take care of.”

“...I see.”

So he’s not going to tell me he met Kim Jun....

“Seunghyuk....”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I wanted to ask if he’d been with Kim Jun. If he’d been with him every night up until now.

But I couldn’t make myself speak. I was too afraid of what his answer would be.

***

That night, Ju Seunghyuk again said he had work late and went out.

After he left, I read the books I’d borrowed from the library. Every single one was about Omegas.

When a Guide manifests as an Omega, their mana capacity increases. In some cases, it even rises dramatically to the level of a reawakening.

Not only that, their overall compatibility rates go up, and when guiding, they can share a deeper resonance with Alpha Espers. Because of this, even at the same rank, a manifested Omega was evaluated more highly.

More than one person had told me, as a kind of blessing, that they hoped I would manifest too.

But I didn’t envy Omega Guides, nor did I want to manifest.

If I became an Omega, I’d be affected by pheromones. I’d have heat cycles, and the arousal felt during guiding would be stronger. Even though modern medicine had developed to the point where pheromone suppressants could help control it, there were still limits.

The books described in detail the hardships Omega Guides went through. People might think they were exceptional, but in reality, they often had it harder.

I didn’t need a book to know how difficult it was for a Guide to manifest as an Omega. I’d seen it enough around me.

And beyond heat cycles or arousal, there were other problems.

There were quite a few Alpha Espers who used pheromones to control Guides. These days, with better safety measures and stricter Esper ethics education, such people had decreased—but they still existed in numbers.

I had always stuck to first-stage guiding. It was partly my skill in controlling guidance, but if I had been an Omega, it wouldn’t have been so easy to withstand.

Whatever anyone said, I was content with my own designation. I had no desire whatsoever to manifest as an Omega. Even after reading about it, my thoughts didn’t change.

Manifesting as an Omega would just be a collection of inconveniences. I preferred being a Beta.

And yet...

Before pointless thoughts could take over, I picked up another book.

The Red Lotus Flame Manifestation Shock

This book covered experiments and results—and side effects—related to manifestation during the Red Lotus Flame craze in the United States.

Not only did they try to make Betas manifest, but they also tried turning Alphas into Omegas, and Omegas back into Betas—various human experiments were conducted.

And there were countless side effects: from cardiovascular disease, hearing loss, and loss of taste, to depression, lethargy, hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations, and even Esper-related symptoms like compatibility rate drops and mana runaway. Many people even lost their lives. But for all that sacrifice, the results were negligible.

There were a fair number of cases where Omega and Alpha pheromones disappeared, but these were seen not as achievements, but as side effects. There was one case of a Beta manifesting recessively, but even then it was unclear whether it was due to the Red Lotus Flame or a natural manifestation.

The experimental data I’d seen in Ju Gyeongchan’s study was similar....

And it said that even after the Red Lotus Flame craze ended in the 1990s, manifestation experiments continued. Some people even volunteered, saying they didn’t care about the side effects as long as they could manifest.

If I’d read this book last year, I would have thought it incomprehensible. Why risk your life for mere manifestation?

But now, I could understand their feelings a little.

I closed the book and lay down on the bed. I buried my face in the blanket, but felt nothing.

They say dominant Alpha pheromones are so strong that even bedding retains their scent... If I were an Omega, I’d be able to smell Ju Seunghyuk’s pheromones....

I couldn’t even smell the intense pheromones of his rut—so there was no way I could smell any lingering trace. I knew that. I knew it, but the gloom wouldn’t go away.

I wanted to manifest. Not for mana, not for compatibility rates. I just wanted to smell Ju Seunghyuk’s pheromones.

To think I’d want to become an Omega for something so trivial—what a stupid thought.

I knew it. And yet I couldn’t stop thinking it.

Now I understood why the original Lee Yeonsu had so desperately wanted to manifest.

I was an idiot. Ju Seunghyuk might be with Kim Jun right now, and here I was, thinking this. I felt pathetic and stupid.

***

“Hyung. I have something to say. Sit down.”

Ju Seunghyuk’s voice was low. It wasn’t a request—it was closer to a command.

Uneasy, I sat across from him.

“What is it...?”

When I asked cautiously, he said in a cold voice,

“Let’s break up.”

“...What?”

What did he just say? Did I hear that wrong?

“I said, let’s break up.”

He repeated it. I hadn’t misheard. Ju Seunghyuk was telling me it was over.

I just stared at him, unable to speak. He frowned, as if even looking at me irritated him, and went on,

“Kim Jun will be here in ten minutes. Leave before then. And give me the ring back.”

“...You’re breaking up with me because of Kim Jun?”

“Yes. Isn’t that good? Lee Yeonsu, you’ve always wanted to break up with me. Actually, you never even thought of us as dating, did you? You were always scheming to run away from me.”

“......”

He was right.

I had wanted to get away from Ju Seunghyuk. If he gave up on me and chose Kim Jun instead, that would be perfect.

I could escape from the obsessive man’s grasp and be free.

I could guide as I pleased, join a corporate guild.

It would be the dream I’d had ever since I realized I was in the original story. So I should be happy. I should leave gladly.

“Get lost.”

“No.”

But what came out of my mouth was the opposite of my thoughts.

“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d throw a party if I told you to get lost.”

I thought so too. Sometimes a strange anxiety would weigh on my chest, but I figured that if Ju Seunghyuk actually told me to leave, I’d feel relieved. But no.

“No...”

“No what? You can’t bear to leave the chaebol after all?”

I knew there were people who mocked me for throwing away the position of a chaebol heir’s Guide, only to end up with another chaebol. I’d overheard the whispers myself. But I hadn’t cared.

Because it wasn’t true.

But hearing Ju Seunghyuk say it made tears well up.

I covered my mouth and shook my head. But even as I cried, his voice stayed cold.

“Then why?”

Because I didn’t want to leave Ju Seunghyuk. I didn’t want to break up with him. Because... because...

“I love you! Ju Seunghyuk, I love you! I don’t want to break up. Seunghyuk, please, don’t throw me away!”

***

“Hyung. Hyung!”

At the urgent voice, my eyes flew open. Ju Seunghyuk’s face was before me, filled with worry.

“Seunghyuk...”

“Hyung, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?”

“A nightmare...?”

“You were tossing and turning so much I woke you up.”

“It was a dream?”

“Yes.”

He nodded and brushed at the corners of my eyes.

“What kind of dream makes you cry in your sleep?”

“It’s really a dream? This isn’t the dream instead?”

I felt uneasy, wondering if the cold, cruel Ju Seunghyuk who’d broken up with me was real, and the kind one wiping my tears now was the dream.

And if this moment really was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. I grabbed him without thinking.

“Hyung...?”

He seemed startled, but didn’t ask why. He simply held me quietly.

The firmness of his chest and his warm body heat told me this was reality. I sank into his arms in relief.

I didn’t want to be apart from Ju Seunghyuk. I didn’t want to break up. I wanted to smell his pheromones. I wanted to stay with him like this forever.

I realized then—I was in love with Ju Seunghyuk.