"Ack!"

I screamed and shot up in bed. Above me was a stark white ceiling, different from the one just a moment ago.

‘Where am I? Where’s Joo Seunghyuk? Kim Jun?’

I darted my eyes around in a panic.

A simple desk and laptop. A folding table set to one side. A worn-out stuffed dog under the bed. This was my dorm room.

Neither Joo Seunghyuk nor Kim Jun were anywhere to be seen. My arms and legs were free, and I had no injuries.

‘So it was a dream...’

Relief that I was alive swept over me—but right behind it came a wave of bitter frustration.

"Shit, when did I ever cloud your vision? You just slammed the door and refused to look..."

Words I’d been too afraid to say to Joo Seunghyuk slipped out belatedly.

It might’ve been just a dream, but my entire body was trembling. Cold sweat dripped down my back. His eyes. The beatings. That killing intent. It had all been too real.

What the hell kind of dream was that?

It was similar to a scene from the novel. In the original, Lee Yeonsu also met a brutal end at Joo Seunghyuk’s house.

But the conversation had been completely different.

Was it... a premonition?

Sure, Joo Seunghyuk was obsessed with me right now—but maybe the dream was telling me that the original plot wouldn’t change in the end.

I clasped my trembling hands together. I couldn’t just sit here.

I had to take action. I had to escape this obsessive lunatic.

***

I’d heard there was a Guide among this year’s new recruits who’d joined Changwi Guild.

I asked Jihui noona to introduce me to him. In exchange for buying lunch, I was able to get access to the first-years’ class schedules.

First-years had a lot of mandatory major classes, so the timetables were all pretty similar. That meant I could probably deduce Kim Jun’s schedule too.

Thankfully, the kid brought it up himself—saying he was in the same class as an F-rank Guide—so I was able to figure out Kim Jun’s timetable more easily than expected.

Today, during fifth period, Kim Jun would be in the Central Training Center taking a course called Guiding Basics.

I texted Joo Seunghyuk in advance.

<< Do you have time after fifth period today?

Yeah.

<< Want to meet in front of the training center then?

Sure. I’ll go.

<< Okay. See you then.

Yeah.

By the time Kim Jun’s class ended, Joo Seunghyuk would be there. And the two of them would meet.

The main seme and main uke of the original story, finally having their monumental first encounter.

Originally, I’d planned to wait until they met naturally. But after that dream, my mind had changed.

The sooner I got the main characters together, the sooner I could step out of this story.

Besides, if I was the reason they met, maybe Joo Seunghyuk wouldn’t want to kill me—like in the dream.

I did feel a little guilty, like I was dragging a perfectly innocent guy down into hell, but I didn’t have a choice.

I didn’t want to die at the hands of a deranged obsessive.

And Kim Jun ends up falling for Joo Seunghyuk anyway...

He confesses later on that he’s into hardcore stuff. That he actually liked it whenever Seunghyuk was forceful.

Basically, they’re a match made in S&M heaven. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Yeah. Even without me, those two were destined to end up together. I’m just fixing the timeline that I accidentally delayed.

I looked toward the training center where Kim Jun was attending his lecture, then sat down on a nearby bench.

There was still time before the class ended. I might as well read something while I waited.

I’d borrowed a book of essays by a Guide from the library on the night of the freshman welcome party, but hadn’t even gotten through the first page.

I turned the page.

It was a book written by a freelance Guide, describing a decade-long career—without bonding, without a permanent contract. Just honest, unfiltered thoughts.

Freelance Guides had mobility and freedom, but that meant it was also easy to get fired.

They earned more small allowances compared to bonded or contracted Guides, but the workload was heavier.

The social perception wasn’t great either. When people heard "freelance Guide," they looked down on you. Not just old folks—young people too.

But all of that could be endured.

Social scorn, overwork beyond reason—none of it could outweigh freedom.

I loved freedom more than anything. I didn’t want to be bound to anyone. But sometimes, waves of unbearable loneliness would crash over me.

A bonded Guide had stability. Knowing there was someone out there who was absolutely on ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) your side—that seemed to enrich their life.

I chose freedom over having someone on my side. I didn’t regret it. But that sense of loss... probably wouldn’t ever go away.

Someone who was absolutely on my side...

After rejecting the contract with Joo Seunghyuk, I’d never seriously considered becoming a bonded or exclusive Guide again.

More accurately, I’d been so busy running from the plot that I’d never even thought about what came after graduation.

All I’d really thought was, I want to make a lot of money, so I should probably go corporate.

Bonded... absolutely on my side... Could I really meet an Esper like that?

I brushed my fingers over the printed words “someone absolutely on my side” on the page when my phone vibrated.

I’m happy you asked to meet first.

A text from Joo Seunghyuk. He sent it twenty minutes after our last message. Was I imagining it, or did it seem... shy?

No, that had to be my imagination. There was no such thing as shy in the vocabulary of an obsessive lunatic.

Should I reply? What do you even say in this kind of situation?

As someone who’s been single since both past and present lives, this was too damn hard.

I held my phone, agonizing over it, when a sharp voice stabbed into my ears.

“Hey, F-rank! You still haven’t dropped out?”

What was that? F-rank...?

I followed the voice around the back of the building and saw a crowd of guys gathered.

“You think someone like you deserves to be here?”

“You dumbass. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

They were surrounding Kim Jun, hurling abuse at him.

All unfamiliar faces. Judging by the color of the badges on their uniforms, they were this year’s new students.

At the Esper Academy, the badge color changed every year. Last year was red. This year’s was green. You could tell their cohort just by the color.

“Where do you think you are, trash-tier F-rank?”

One of the guys in an Esper uniform tapped Kim Jun on the head. Not just fellow Guides—Espers had joined in too.

I instinctively moved to help Kim Jun—then stopped mid-step.

Wait. Could this be...?

The second event where Joo Seunghyuk and Kim Jun meet!

In the original, Kim Jun is viciously bullied for being an F-rank.

The Esper Academy was practically military. Talented kids were forced to enroll. You couldn’t refuse admission—or even take a leave—easily.

But that only applied to students up to C-rank. To enter if you were D-rank or below, you had to pass an entrance exam and get a recommendation.

In the past, anyone with abilities was admitted regardless of rank.

But under the pretense of giving lower-rank Espers a choice in career path, the system was changed—only those who wanted to could enroll.

That was just a pretty excuse.

The Academy ran entirely on government funds—no tuition. The state didn’t want to waste taxpayer money on low-tier Espers who didn’t contribute to national power, so they quietly shut them out.

The number of students admitted via exams wasn’t small—about 40% of the student body.

But the number of D-ranks was three times that of C-ranks. So in raw numbers, an overwhelming majority of low-rank candidates failed each year.

Debates raged every year—should the exam quota increase? Should it remain the same?

And in all those debates, F-ranks were ignored entirely.

People often said F-ranks weren’t even Espers—just regular folks with a hint of ability. Even back when all Espers were drafted into the military, F-ranks were exempt.

And Kim Jun... was the first F-rank to ever be admitted after the Academy’s system was finalized.

In Guide’s Swamp, Kim Jun was ruthlessly bullied for his low rank. Joo Seunghyuk stumbled upon it and took interest.

Let me be clear in case it’s misunderstood:

An obsessive lunatic doesn’t help the uke. He takes interest in them. That’s it.

The freshmen gang up on Kim Jun, demanding he drop out. They beat him until he says it himself. For low-rank students admitted via exam, withdrawal was relatively easy.

Joo Seunghyuk just stands by and watches.

But Kim Jun never gives in—even while bleeding and bruised.

“I’ll never drop out.”

He says it again and again, blood caking his face. Eventually the bullies are disgusted, curse him one last time, and leave.

The moment the situation ends, Joo Seunghyuk turns to go. But Kim Jun’s face lingers in his mind. In the end, he carries the unconscious Kim Jun to the infirmary.

And from that day forward, he can’t stop thinking about him.

Kim Jun, too, becomes deeply grateful to the man who helped him—twice—and begins to see him as someone special.

It’s the moment their fates become entwined.

Even though I already ruined their first meeting, if this event plays out as intended, the story will flow back to its original course.

This is my chance.

I came to a halt.