“What about the other brothers?”

“The eldest young master is studying abroad, and the second young master resides in the main house.”

Something felt off.

The complicated family history of Seonghan Group’s chairman was widely known to the public.

The founding chairman of Seonghan had two sons. Though inheritance usually followed primogeniture at the time, the chairman chose not the eldest son, Joo Gyeongchan—who was not an Esper—but the second son, Joo Wanchan, who had awakened as an A-rank Esper, to be his successor.

Back then, all Espers were forcibly conscripted into the military, but the second son avoided enlistment citing a leg injury. (Not long after the mandatory conscription system for Espers was abolished, he made a full recovery. Which suggests he probably wasn’t actually injured—just used money and power.)

In any case, the second son became the chairman of Seonghan Group. And he married the only daughter of a five-term National Assembly member.

It seemed like a picture-perfect arranged marriage, but people said Chairman Joo Wanchan genuinely loved his wife.

However, she was unable to conceive for a long time, and pressure from those around them to produce an heir mounted. When his wife began suffering from extreme stress over it, the chairman adopted his older brother’s children.

His older brother, Joo Gyeongchan, fell into alcoholism after losing the succession battle and eventually died in a car accident while driving drunk. The sister-in-law remarried an American businessman shortly afterward, and the children of Joo Gyeongchan were being raised by the chairman’s mother.

Everyone assumed the chairman would divorce his infertile wife and remarry someone new. But instead, he adopted his nephews to protect her—and this made national headlines at the time.

And perhaps thanks to being freed from the stress of needing to bear children—

The chairman’s wife finally became pregnant and gave birth to a son. That was Joo Seunghyuk.

Legally, Chairman Joo had three sons. But two were nephews by blood. The only biological son was Joo Seunghyuk.

So then why was his real son being made to live in the annex while the adopted nephews remained in the main house?

Especially when the eldest was a college student and the second was a high school freshman. Even if you ignored bloodline, it still made no sense for the youngest—Seunghyuk, just a sixth grader—to be living separately.

I wanted to ask more, but the secretary cut me off before I could even open my mouth.

“Um...”

“You should go in. The young master is waiting.”

So they didn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe they couldn’t.

I realized it wasn’t something I could push the secretary on, so I quietly shut my mouth.

Secretary Ahn claimed to have work to do and fled in haste, and I entered the annex alone.

The annex, surprisingly, was luxurious.

The moment I stepped inside, I could tell I’d entered a rich person’s home.

Maybe they’d just created an independent space for a child with a strong personality?

I’d jumped to all kinds of conclusions from the shabby exterior, but maybe I’d worried for nothing.

But just as relief was starting to settle in, a coarse voice rang out.

“Don’t make me laugh! A piece of shit like you, an S-Class? What a fucking joke!”

Startled, I ran toward the sound. When I stepped into the kitchen, I saw a man yelling as he dumped orange juice over Seunghyuk’s head.

“What the hell are you doing!”

I shouted in shock and shoved the man away.

“You little fuck—!”

The man shouted in rage, but the moment he saw my face, his expression changed.

“Oh hey, it’s Lee Yeonsu.”

He grinned and extended a hand for a handshake.

“I’m Joo Taehan. B-rank Esper. You look even better in person than in the photos.”

So this was Joo Taehan, Chairman Joo’s second son and adopted nephew.

Seunghyuk stood in the corner, head bowed, soaked in orange juice. Watching this asshole smile after doing that to a kid four years younger than him made me sick.

I stared coldly at his outstretched hand and said sharply,

“What a fucking joke.”

“What?”

Joo Taehan’s face twisted into a hideous sneer.

“You’re not a B-rank. You’re D-rank.”

I could see mana. I wasn’t perfect at it yet, but I could still roughly tell how strong someone was.

News had spread that Chairman Joo’s second son had awakened as an Esper, but his rank had never been disclosed.

Now that I saw him myself, I understood why. Compared to Seunghyuk, his mana was pitiful. No wonder they didn’t want to reveal it.

If he were C or B, it might’ve been harder to tell—but for a D-rank, his mana was so weak it was immediately obvious.

“W-what kind of bullshit is that!”

Maybe because I’d hit the nail on the head, Joo Taehan’s face flushed bright red.

I hated people who strutted around after awakening and judged others by their ranks. But this piece of shit was an exception.

“You’re D-rank. I can see it clearly.”

“You filthy little Guide punk! I was gonna be nice ‘cause you’re S-Class, but—!”

He raised his fist high. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I was ready to get hit. But instead, what hit my ears was a scream.

“Aaagh!!” 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Startled, I opened my eyes.

Joo Taehan was engulfed in black flames.

It wasn’t real fire—it was mana. But from the way he screamed, it felt like his skin was being burned off.

“Hey! You fucker! Turn it off! Joo Seunghyuk, you little bastard, turn it off now!”

“Get lost.”

Just two syllables—and they carried murderous intent. I flinched and looked at Seunghyuk. Joo Taehan froze, forgetting even to scream.

Black mana surged from Seunghyuk’s hand. It condensed into a dark sphere—solid enough that even a non-Awakened person could see it.

He was just a kid, and only a few months into his awakening. How could he control his mana like this? It wasn’t just impressive—it was terrifying.

Fear overtook Joo Taehan’s face. He could tell that sphere was aimed at him.

“Fucker! I’ll tell Dad!”

Taehan ran off with his tail between his legs. It was hard to believe those pathetic lines had come from a high school freshman to his sixth-grade little brother.

Once he was gone, the sphere atop Seunghyuk’s palm vanished. At the same time, his small body staggered.

“Seunghyuk!”

I rushed toward him, alarmed. But he slapped my hand away coldly.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Seunghyuk...”

“You’re disgusting.”

“......”

I tried to support him. No matter what he said, I couldn’t just leave a swaying kid like that. But when he said “disgusting,” I froze on the spot.

“Why are you even here!”

“I’m your Guide...”

“Who says you are! You filthy trash! I don’t need you—get lost!”

His mana swirled violently. When an Esper’s mana becomes unstable, they can go berserk. Especially high-ranked young Espers—it's a known danger.

I grabbed Seunghyuk’s hand. It was sticky with orange juice, but I didn’t care.

“What are you doing!”

“I’m going to guide you.”

“I don’t want it!”

He tried to shake me off, but I only gripped harder.

“You need it.”

“I said no! Why the hell would I let some beggar like you—!”

“Even if you don’t want it, hold still. I might not be great at it—it’s my first time—but it’ll be fine.”

“What? Your first time?”

“Yeah. But don’t worry. I learned the basics at the Center. The Guide noona there said I had a natural talent.”

I deliberately kept my voice light as I held his hand and channeled mana like I’d been taught at the Center.

Then, all of a sudden, everything went black—and strange memories came flooding in.

What is this?

A storm of unfamiliar memories came crashing down.

Losing my parents at elementary school entrance ceremony. Growing up in an orphanage. Struggling to study and finally getting into university.

A man’s life played out before me like a panorama.

And that man—was me. These were my memories.

Are these memories of my past life?

I graduated college and got a job at a publishing company. Suddenly became the BL department editor, and started reading popular novels like crazy.

One of them was Swamp of the Guide. And the characters in it were Kim Jun, Joo Seunghyuk, Lee Yeonsu...

Lee Yeonsu? Joo Seunghyuk...?

In that moment, I realized this world was the setting of the novel.

***

That was my first guiding.

At the time, I thought it was a reasonable decision. But looking back now, it was just the rashness of a child.

To try guiding an S-Class Esper with no experience? And one who was also a child with no control over his mana?

On top of that, my memories of my past life came flooding in mid-guiding, so I couldn’t even do it properly. I almost caused something irreversible.

“Hyung, what are you thinking about?”

“You.”

“Pfft. I’ll take your word for it.”

Joo Seunghyuk let out a low chuckle as he drove.

What does he think of me now, I wonder? Back then I was a ‘beggar,’ now probably a ‘loser’... There’s no way he has a positive image of me. So why did he suddenly get obsessed with this loser beggar?

I couldn’t understand [N O V E L I G H T] a yandere’s taste at all.

“It’s true.”

“What were you thinking about?”

For years, the events of seven years ago had been a kind of taboo between us. Everyone knew we almost signed an exclusive contract. But neither Seunghyuk nor I ever mentioned it—not even when we ran into each other. We acted like it had never happened.

But now Seunghyuk had brought it up first. What did that mean? That he was ready to forgive me for breaking the contract and walking away?