If things kept going this way, something really bad was going to happen.

Even if Joo Seunghyuk did fall for Kim Jun like in the original timeline once the second semester began, I couldn’t afford to just sit back and wait.

Before that day ever came, I might end up chained by a dog collar and locked away somewhere.

No! I just want to live a normal life! I don’t want to wear anything like a dog collar!

And even more than that, I hated the idea of marriage.

I liked kind, gentle people. Of course, it’d be nice if they were good-looking too...

No, what am I even saying? One stray comment about Seunghyuk being handsome already caused all this mess. Screw good looks. Kindness is enough.

I want to marry someone kind. Someone who won’t ever lock me up. An obsessive seme is out of the question.

With a deep sigh, I closed the book I was pretending to read. I couldn’t concentrate at all.

Thud, thud.

That was when I heard a knock at the door. At this hour, there was only one person who would be knocking at my dorm room.

The moment I opened the door, my eyes widened.

It was Joo Seunghyuk.

I’d expected it to be him, but still—I couldn’t help being shocked.

“Seunghyuk!”

His face was splattered with fresh red blood. His black training clothes were soaked in it.

“Hyung.”

“Seunghyuk, what happened? Are you okay?”

Not even a minute ago I’d been trembling in fear that he might lock me up. But the moment I saw him like this, my heart sank.

“Don’t worry. It’s not my blood.”

“Then...?”

“It’s the blood of those other Espers.”

“Other Espers...?”

“They kept coveting you. Lee Yeonsu is mine, but they kept talking shit like they had a right to you.”

“......”

So the duel between high-ranking Espers Jihee noona had warned me about really happened... My mind went blank.

“Did the other Espers get hurt?”

“Why? Are you worried about those bastards?”

“N-No, it’s just... I’m worried the situation might get out of hand...”

“I wanted to kill them all, but if I got dragged into an investigation, I wouldn’t be able to see you. So I held back.”

“I... see. You did the right thing.”

Thankfully, it sounded like there were no casualties. If he’d actually killed someone on school grounds, not even Joo Seunghyuk would be standing here right now.

“Come in. I’ll guide you.”

Even for someone called the S-rank of S-ranks, taking on multiple A-rank Espers must’ve been exhausting.

Seunghyuk stepped inside without resistance. Up close, I saw that it really was just blood—he didn’t have a single scratch on him. Even after all his talk, I’d still been worried he might’ve gotten hurt somewhere. Now I felt a bit relieved.

Honestly, what was I even worrying about...? A-rank Espers were probably in chaos right now, and here I was fretting over a nonexistent injury on Joo Seunghyuk.

And yet, despite myself, my eyes kept scanning his face.

“You’re really not hurt anywhere?”

“Don’t worry. The handsome face you like is still intact.”

“What about your body? Are you hurt anywhere else?”

If his face was fine, did that mean his body wasn’t? As I checked him over, Seunghyuk let out a hearty laugh.

“Want me to strip and show you?”

“Is this really the time for jokes?” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

I grabbed his hand for now. Thankfully, his mana consumption was low and the wavelength was stable.

So he’d defeated all those A-ranks with barely any effort?

He really was the strongest in this world. Even Park Geonwoo—the S-rank sub-seme—was described in the original as no match for him.

At any rate, seeing his mana state put me at ease. I focused on guiding, and in a low voice, Seunghyuk murmured:

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“From now on, no one’s ever going to take you from me again.”

“......”

His lips curled into a wide smile. A beautiful smile, soaked in blood—and chilling to the bone.

***

The next day, I was summoned by Professor Choi and headed to the department chair’s office.

“As you’ve probably heard by now, there was a serious conflict yesterday among Espers... over you, Yeonsu.”

Why did I have to hear lines like this that sounded straight out of a harem drama?

I was briefly overcome by despair but bowed my head anyway.

“I sincerely apologize.”

Luckily, Joo Seunghyuk hadn’t crossed the line. The high-ranking Espers had sustained moderate injuries, but no one lost a limb, suffered permanent scarring, or suffered mana deviation.

At worst, a few arms or legs were broken. Which was still serious, sure—but considering the opponent was Joo Seunghyuk, he’d gone easy on them.

So I probably wouldn’t be punished too harshly.

“No, no. This isn’t your fault, Yeonsu. Those Espers were the ones who fought like lunatics. You have nothing to apologize for. I didn’t call you here to scold you.”

“But still...”

“No need to bow your head. If anything, it just proves how exceptional your talent is—so much so that Espers would lose their minds over you. There’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Professor Choi truly didn’t seem to blame me. Then why had he called me?

“You’re aware that Joo Seunghyuk is refusing the matching rate evaluation, yes?”

He brought it up with a subtle tone. And at that moment, I knew.

Ah. So that’s why I was called.

They wanted me to convince Seunghyuk.

I cut in quickly.

“Yes. I’ve tried talking to him myself, but... he’s very firm about it.”

That blood-soaked smile from last night was still vivid in my memory.

If I suggested now that he get matched with another Guide, it’d be chaos. He’d explode, screaming about how I was trying to pawn him off—and the obsessive seme switch would flip again.

If things went wrong, I might actually end up locked away with that designer dog collar around my neck.

“I don’t think anything I say will change his mind.”

“Yes, I figured as much. If you can’t persuade him, he won’t listen to us either. We should’ve anticipated that... If he won’t listen to you, what chance do we have?”

Professor, I beg you—please don’t talk like I’m his lover or something.

I barely managed to swallow the words. As my lips parted in protest, Professor Choi smiled gently and continued.

“Honestly, I can understand where Seunghyuk is coming from too. No matter how talented an Esper is, if he can’t find a compatible Guide, he’s just a rusted blade. The higher the rank, the harder it is to find a match. Seunghyuk’s suffered a lot because of that. You know about the accidents he’s caused during guiding.”

It was true that Seunghyuk had caused a lot of incidents while being guided. But that was because he was a psycho. The ones who really suffered were the Guides. They trembled in fear just being assigned to him.

Still, I was a Confucian son of Korea. Instead of correcting the record, I bowed respectfully.

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“And this time, he nearly went berserk from rejection shock. To meet a 93% match S-rank Guide in that state—it’s no wonder he lost it. Besides, Espers are naturally obsessive about Guides. So really, there’s nothing to worry about.”

It didn’t sound like he was trying to comfort me—more like he was making excuses for Seunghyuk.

I was surprised that Professor Choi was being this lenient with him.

After the press conference debacle, his refusal to cooperate with evaluations, and now this recent incident, I thought for sure Seunghyuk had earned some serious enemies.

But apparently not. Which was a relief for me—at least I wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

“You’re a Beta, right, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Yeonsu?”

The sudden question about my secondary gender caught me off guard.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I thought so. There’s no rule saying only Alphas and Omegas can be together. That kind of thinking is outdated. What do you think?”

“Ah, yes. I don’t think secondary gender should matter.”

Unlike the original Yeonsu, I wasn’t fixated on traits like that. When I responded casually, Professor Choi gave me a suggestive look.

“So you wouldn’t mind marrying an Alpha?”

Even for a professor, wasn’t that a bit too invasive? I hesitated for a moment, then responded.

“No, I don’t mind. I don’t really care about traits like that.”

“And what about Seunghyuk?”

“...Excuse me?”

“I think you two are a great match. It’d be a shame if things ended with just dating.”

“...Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

Professor, please don’t be scary too.

I looked at him in disbelief.

“Yeonsu, would you be open to guiding other Espers?”

“Yes, of course. As I’ve said before, I’d prefer not to be locked into an exclusive contract. I want to guide as many Espers as possible and gain varied experience.”

“Good. That’s a wonderful goal. Given the severe shortage of Guides, someone like you helping multiple Espers would be a huge asset to the country.”

“Thank you. I’ll continue to work hard.”

So please, I beg you, stop talking about marriage.

I looked at Professor Choi with desperation in my eyes. He looked away awkwardly.

“But the thing is... I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I witnessed the fight between Seunghyuk and the other Espers yesterday. It was a one-sided massacre.”

Professor Choi stared off into the distance, as if still haunted by the memory.

“I couldn’t stop him. No one could. And in that warzone, one thought hit me: if Yeonsu tries to guide another Esper, that Esper will d—no, won’t survive. Something like that.”

“......”

Professor Choi had originally been in Park Geonwoo’s camp.

He’d hoped Seunghyuk and I would reconcile but didn’t want things to go beyond that. Ultimately, he wanted me to marry Park Geonwoo and support various high-ranking Espers through guiding.

That was what he saw as the ideal for the good of the nation. I even saw the relief on his face when I declared at the press conference that I wouldn’t be marrying Seunghyuk.

But now, after witnessing the Esper bloodbath firsthand, he’d apparently changed his mind.

Seunghyuk was too powerful for even professors and officials to stop.

This time, he only broke a few limbs—but if his mood ever soured, he might wipe out every high-ranking Esper in the academy. No—maybe in all of South Korea. He was more than capable.

If that happened, it would be a national disaster. So they were trying to sacrifice me to stabilize Seunghyuk’s mind.

They were planning to hand the obsessive seme over to me so they could secure peace—for everyone else.

“From what I’ve seen, regardless of traits or rankings, the two of you suit each other perfectly. You’re meant to be.”

“...If you say so.”

Who the hell is meant for who?!

“Wouldn’t it be nice to rekindle that bond from seven years ago? You’re already dating—but it’d be good to make it official.”

“......”

“For the good of the country, a marriage between you two—”

No matter how Confucian I was, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I cut him off and stood up abruptly.

“I have class, so I’ll be going now.”