From behind me, I heard Park Geonwoo’s voice calling.

“Yeonsu!”

I quickly shoved the note back into my pocket and turned to face him.

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry. I misspoke earlier. I was just so desperate to convince you that I...”

“Apologize to Seunghyuk instead.”

I turned to leave, but Park Geonwoo’s urgent voice stopped me.

“Yeonsu, I... I like you.”

“...What?”

“I’ve liked you for a long time.”

“......”

“I know you’re really angry with me. But everything I’ve done was because I liked you too much. Not telling you the truth two years ago, impulsively putting my pheromones on you, proposing an exclusive Guide contract, even my slip of the tongue just now — all of it came from my feelings for you.”

His voice was desperate.

“So I understand you’re disappointed in me, but please believe me this time. Joo Seunghyuk lied to you.”

“It’s not that I can’t believe you because I’m disappointed in you.”

“Then why?”

“Because I love Seunghyuk. And I believe the words of the person I love. Everything he’s shown me until now couldn’t have been a lie.”

“Yeonsu, this isn’t the time to get emotional. You need to go to the hospital and get tested right away.”

Frustration and worry were mixed on Park Geonwoo’s face. He was concerned for me — but in the face of both his confession and his concern, my heart only cooled.

“Senior, is the Red Lotus Flame really that dangerous?”

“You have to ask? Of course it’s dangerous! All the ability users in Africa who consumed it suffered horrible side effects. Even with the special variety, there’s no telling what might happen.”

“Then you’ve known about this danger all along, but you still didn’t tell me. You’ve had plenty of chances since you returned to Korea.”

It had been a long time since he’d come back.

When we met at school, when he gave that special lecture, when he came to the dorm room — there were plenty of opportunities. Even after the car accident — which he’d said had only caused a light leg injury — he could have contacted me from the hospital.

And after break ended and the second semester began, if he’d really decided to warn me, he could have done so at any time. But he’d stayed silent.

“Yeonsu, I wanted to tell you. But I didn’t have solid proof... and the whole Inspection Division was involved. I couldn’t act on my own.”

In other words, if I knew, then Seunghyuk would find out, and he might realize the Inspection Division was investigating him and hide the evidence — so he’d decided not to tell me.

Maybe sensing my expression go cold, Park Geonwoo quickly added,

“But even during the investigation, I was worried about you. I only joined the Inspection Division in the first place because I wanted to work on this case directly.”

“I understand your position. Duty is important.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“But if it were me, I wouldn’t stay silent knowing the person I loved was in danger.”

“Yeonsu, I joined the Inspection Division for you—!”

“I’m not criticizing you for doing your job as part of the Inspection Division. Just don’t use me as an excuse. And as for your confession — I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. I already have someone I love.”

I bowed my head politely, then turned — and met the eyes of a man standing across from me.

“Kang Inho...”

“Lee Yeonsu. What a coincidence.”

His voice was flat.

“Uh... what are you doing here?” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“I had some business. I’m heading back now. You?”

“Same.”

“Want a ride?”

“...Yeah.”

I gave a small nod, but Park Geonwoo cut in.

“Wait, Yeonsu. I’ll take you.”

“No. It’s fine. Inho, let’s go.”

“Sure.”

Kang Inho strode off, and I followed him.

In the parking lot, a black SUV was waiting.

“Get in.”

“Okay.”

Once I was in, Kang Inho started the engine. We didn’t speak until we’d left the Center.

I broke the silence first.

“You know Joo Seunghyuk?”

“Yeah. We ran into each other a lot during Gate raids. And now we’re at the same school.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

On the note Seunghyuk had left me, he’d written: Don’t worry. Go back with Kang Inho.

He had known he’d be arrested by the Inspection Division today, and had called Inho in advance.

“What’s your relationship with him?”

“Employer and employee.”

The answer was curt.

“So you’ve been colluding with him to keep an eye on me all this time?”

I’d suspected for a while that someone was feeding him information about me — he knew far too much. But I hadn’t expected it to be Kang Inho.

Then again, thinking about it, there was no one better suited.

We’d gone to the same middle and high school. Both top students, we’d been in the same class for all six years, and we’d often gone on raids together. Even in university, most of our classes overlapped.

We weren’t exactly friends, but he’d been the closest person to me all through school. It made perfect sense for Seunghyuk to buy him off.

“I was just a paid hire. I can’t talk about my employer. But it wasn’t surveillance.”

“Then what?”

“He was worried about you.”

“Worried?”

“He must’ve heard somewhere that when a kid from a non-ability family awakens and transfers to a specialist school, they almost always get bullied. So he kept worrying you’d be harassed. Then he asked me to go to your school and make sure you were safe.”

“So you transferred in middle school because...?”

“Employer’s orders.”

I’d thought Seunghyuk had bought off Kang Inho after we’d ended up in the same schools. But it was the other way around?

I recalled the first time I’d met Kang Inho.

***

Seven years ago, I was supposed to attend Seonghan Ability User Specialist School with Joo Seunghyuk after signing a contract with him.

As the name implied, it was a private academy founded by the Seonghan Group, famous for having the best facilities in the country — the most coveted school for young ability users in Korea.

But when I turned down the exclusive contract, that plan was canceled.

Chairman Joo had offered to cover my tuition regardless, but I refused. The school had an integrated elementary, middle, and high program, and I didn’t want to keep running into Seunghyuk.

Still, I couldn’t stay in a regular school after awakening, so I transferred to a Guide specialist school. About a month later, Kang Inho transferred in.

At the time, I was being bullied.

Even in a Guide school, there was a so-called delinquent clique, and they’d marked me as a target on my very first day.

Nothing specific had happened — they just seemed to dislike me existing.

On the day Inho transferred, the bullying didn’t stop. As soon as morning assembly ended, they surrounded my desk and started in again.

“Lee Yeonsu, are you really S-rank? I just don’t buy it.”

“Yeah. Like hell this thing’s S-rank. What a joke.”

They all had parents who were high-ranking ability users and socially prominent, so no one would intervene on my behalf.

“My mom and dad are both A-rank, and I’m still only B. How could you be S?”

“Exactly. And your whole family’s Beta. I heard you don’t even have a single distant relative with an awakened gene. How the hell are you S?”

“I’m telling you, the machine was broken. Even if he is S, there’s gotta be some defect. You think Seonghan cut him loose for nothing?”

“Hey, just tell us straight. You didn’t dump Seonghan — they found out you weren’t S, didn’t they? You just spun it for the reporters to save face, right?”

“......”

At first, I tried. I tried to clear up the misunderstandings, explain myself, get along somehow. But after a month of hearing the same thing, I gave ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ up.

Now I was too tired to bother, so I just stared at my book in silence — until one of them kicked my desk. It toppled over, spilling everything from the drawer onto the floor.

The class screamed, but no one helped.

I bit my lip and bent to pick the desk up — when another one of them flicked me on the forehead.

“Hey! Why aren’t you answering? Think being S-rank makes you too good for us?”

“Yeah. You put on such an angel act on TV, but you’re just fake, aren’t you?”

“Let’s post it online.”

“Yeah. Let’s show everyone the real Lee Yeonsu.”

“Please, just stop...”

I was at my limit, about to snap — when a dry voice came from behind me.

“Your inferiority complex is pathetic.”

I turned in surprise. The transfer student, Kang Inho, was standing there with his arms crossed, watching us.

“Hey! Transfer kid, are you talking to us?”

“Who else would I be talking to?”

The biggest one in the group yelled, but Inho didn’t flinch.

“You siding with Lee Yeonsu?”

“Not siding. Just watching.”

“Watching so you can tattle?”

“Yeah.”

His reply was indifferent, almost lazy — not what you’d expect from someone helping a classmate in trouble.

“Tch, whatever. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

Apparently thinking he’d report them to the homeroom teacher, they left in irritation. But that day, the teacher never said a word.

It seemed Inho hadn’t told him anything. But the bullying didn’t continue, either.

They just... stopped.

They didn’t have the time anymore.

One’s parents’ business collapsed, another’s father got caught embezzling guild funds, another’s corporate guild contract was revoked.

For various reasons, they all ended up transferring out.