“If we’re going to do it, we should do it right. Did you forget what I taught you yesterday?”

“...Well.”

“I taught you all night, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, that’s true, but... today I’m just really tired....”

By now, I’d gotten a rough sense of the obsessive seme’s behavioral pattern. The moment we kissed, it would trigger the switch of the tireless beast. There was no way it’d end with just a kiss.

“I’m really tired.”

When I murmured that timidly, Joo Seunghyuk let out a short laugh.

“I won’t devour you today.”

You said that last time too—then you devoured me.

I couldn’t trust a word out of Joo Seunghyuk’s mouth. I took a step back, unable to erase the suspicion in my eyes.

“W-Want some water?”

“Yes.”

I quickly took a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to him.

“Did you change the water?”

“Oh, yeah. I bought a separate one just for you.”

My former team leader from my past life once said:

"An obsessive seme doesn’t drink just any bottled water."

Seunghyuk had always drunk whatever was available, but still—I couldn’t help noticing how weird it felt seeing an obsessive seme drink cheap bottled water. So, when I heard that a famous foreign water brand had officially been imported into Korea, I immediately went and bought some.

Its name? Evie*.

This world was different in many ways from my previous life. Company names, product brands—most of them were different. But Evie* existed here.

That could only mean one thing: this world wanted me to offer Evie* to the obsessive seme as tribute. It wanted Joo Seunghyuk to drink Evie*.

“What about you, hyung?”

“I still have some of the old stuff left, so I’ll finish that first.”

I didn’t care about water taste. I just liked the cheap ones.

“This one’s your exclusive supply.”

“Thank you.”

Seunghyuk accepted the Evie*, but didn’t open it.

“Is it not to your liking?”

Should I have gone for something even more expensive? All the other semes drink this brand, though....

“This is the first water you’ve ever bought me. I’m going to keep it.”

“...Keep it? The bottled water?”

“Yes. I’ll keep it forever.”

He gazed at the Evie* in his hands.

There was absolutely no reason to preserve bottled water in a plastic container. But when I saw the pure, radiant expression on his face—like he was staring at candy—I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

“Hyung. I’ll wait a little.”

“Huh?”

“Have a safe trip home this weekend.”

He smiled softly and pulled me into a tight embrace.

***

Joo Seunghyuk said he’d wait.

I thought that meant he’d wait until I was ready to marry him.

But apparently, I’d misunderstood something.

“Yeonsu, what is all this?”

“I have no idea.”

When my mother asked, I could only shake my head in bewilderment.

Not even a few minutes after I’d arrived at my family home, a delivery truck marked with a department store logo and a luxury van pulled up outside. Then a flood of goods started pouring out.

“These are gifts from Mr. Joo Seunghyuk.”

A department store employee in a black suit and white gloves answered on my mother’s behalf.

“Joo Seunghyuk? Isn’t that the guy hyung saved?”

“Yeah! That super handsome guy!”

My younger twin siblings, Minsu and Gyeongsu—second-year middle schoolers this year—shouted excitedly.

They were fraternal twins. Minsu had a round face and a gentle personality, while Gyeongsu had sharp features and a no-nonsense attitude. Minsu was fifteen minutes older, but Gyeongsu never called him “hyung.” And Minsu didn’t particularly want to be called that either, so they didn’t argue about titles.

Apparently, the family had met Joo Seunghyuk while I was hospitalized.

“But why did that guy send gifts? It’s not even Yeonsu hyung’s birthday.”

Minsu asked innocently.

“Oh, that’s... well....”

Engagement gift, wedding dowry, bride price...

A thousand words came to mind, but not a single one I could actually say.

While I was hesitating, Gyeongsu confidently chimed in.

“Dummy! Our hyung saved Seunghyuk hyung! He’s just saying thanks. Plus, the matching rate was crazy high—he almost had to retire, and hyung saved him from that!”

“Yeah! That’s it!”

I quickly nodded along.

“Wow! That’s seriously amazing!”

The twins were over the moon, but my mother looked uneasy.

“Still, isn’t this a bit too much...?”

My father and my younger sister, Jisoo, also looked nervously at the mountain of gifts.

Even if he was a lifesaver, this level of extravagance felt excessive.

“Y-Yeah....”

I mumbled and slipped outside for now. Our family lived in a decades-old single-family home on the outskirts of Seoul. I walked all the way to the neighbor’s house before calling Joo Seunghyuk.

“Seunghyuk, uh... a delivery truck from a department store just showed up with a bunch of gifts. What is all this?”

— “Still not enough, right? I couldn’t prepare properly because I had to send it in a hurry.”

Not enough, my ass! And how the hell did you even get our address?!

I wanted to scream and send everything right back.

But then I remembered how, in the original novel, Kim Jun refused Seunghyuk’s gifts—and ended up suffering through some very R-rated “punishment” with those very same items all night long.

So I couldn’t say anything.

Still, this wasn’t right. I cautiously opened my mouth.

“It’s not that. I’ve never received this many gifts before. My siblings are thrilled too.”

— “I’m glad.”

“Seunghyuk, it’s just... I’m really grateful you care so much. Truly. But our house is so small we don’t even have space to put it all....”

— “Ah, I should’ve just bought you a house first.”

You lunatic.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I really am grateful, but this is too much for someone like me—”

— “Don’t say it’s too much. Lee Yeonsu is someone special. Besides, you’re mine, hyung. We’re going to get married, so what’s too much about it? Don’t say things like that anymore.”

“Hearing that really means a lot but...”

— “If there’s no space, just throw stuff out. And next time, let’s go house hunting.”

“Ah—no! I’ll accept the gifts, okay? Thank you!”

I cried out in panic. At the very least, I had to stop him from buying me a house.

If I took that, I really would have no choice but to marry him.

— “I’m happy because hyung’s happy.”

Seunghyuk sounded cheerful. So just accepting /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ it was the right answer, huh....

***

“Woof!”

When I trudged back home, Minwoong ran up to greet me. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“Woongie!”

At this rate, I might really end up married to that obsessive lunatic....

I hugged Minwoong tight and tried to soothe my heavy heart. But my siblings couldn’t care less if their brother was emotionally wrecked—they were too busy gawking at the gifts.

“Whoa! This just came out yesterday! They’re not even taking preorders anymore!”

“This is a limited edition! They’re not selling this to regular people at all!”

Minsu and Gyeongsu babbled nonstop as they fawned over smartphones and game consoles. I didn’t really know much about them, but they must be expensive and hard to get.

“There are three tablets too. All of them are 12-inch Pro models!”

“Whoa! Amazing! Amazing!”

Seunghyuk was absurdly extravagant....

“Whoa, it’s finally sinking in that hyung’s bonded to an S-rank.”

“There’s a girl in my class whose older sister’s an A-rank. She’s always decked out in designer brands. I used to wonder when we’d ever get to be like that....”

“Hey!”

Jisoo elbowed Gyeongsu in the ribs with a scolding look.

She must’ve felt the same way too. When friends bragged about having gifted siblings, she’d probably been envious at times. But she never once let it show.

She’d grown up too fast, thanks to her lousy older brother.

If I had followed the original plot and become Seunghyuk’s exclusive Guide, our whole family would’ve lived in luxury....

The thought that my family had struggled because of me weighed heavily on my chest.

“Jisoo, this one’s for you.”

I handed Jisoo a laptop and tablet. She hadn’t even touched any of the boxes yet, just quietly watching, trying to read the room. I’d meant to buy those for her anyway—she was in her final year of high school.

“Are you sure I can really take this?”

“Of course. Hurry and grab the rest too, or those two will snatch it all.”

Now that we’d accepted the gifts, we couldn’t exactly give them back. Might as well enjoy it....

“I don’t care about that. You take the laptop, noona.”

“Yeah, that laptop isn’t for gaming anyway. It’s a work machine.”

Gyeongsu and Minsu said, glancing at the laptop in Jisoo’s hands. They were still middle schoolers, but knew a surprising amount.

“Alright. You two can take the others. This one’s mine.”

A smile spread across Jisoo’s lips as she looked at the dark gray laptop. Her dream was to become a graphic designer, and she’d always wanted one from that brand.

“And this bag would look great on you.”

I pointed to a black mini crossbody with a small designer logo, and Jisoo beamed.

“R-Really? Feels like only pretty girls, like idols, should carry something like that....”

“You’re prettier.”

“Tch... liar.”

“I’m not lying. Our Jisoo’s the prettiest.”

She shook her head in denial, but I could tell she didn’t dislike hearing it.

“And this one’s perfect for Mom.”

When I handed a leather tote bag to my mom, who’d been staring blankly at the scene, she quickly waved her hands.

“Oh, no, I don’t need anything.”

“Don’t worry. Seunghyuk’s filthy rich. He’s just thanking us for saving him. No pressure.”

“Yeah! He’s totally loaded!”

“Still...”

“Just take it. It’s really a genuine gift.”

The moment I said “genuine,” my conscience pricked painfully.

“Mom, that’s a real designer bag! Crocodile leather! You can’t even buy it with money unless you’re a VIP client!”

Gyeongsu rattled off his luxury brand knowledge. Where did a kid even learn that stuff? Probably the internet....

“Dad, this one’s for you. Try them on.”

I handed my father a pair of black leather shoes.

“Should I?”

He hesitated a moment, then slipped them on. They fit perfectly.

How the hell did Joo Seunghyuk know my dad’s shoe size?

A chill ran down my spine.