Joo Seunghyuk and I changed into our uniforms and headed to the KR Center. Today was mock combat training day.

Inside the KR Center’s main auditorium, the entire student body stood in formation, all wearing uniforms.

Since Seunghyuk and I were both S-rank, we stood in the very front row. As usual, people’s gazes were drawn to us the moment we appeared together — but by now, I was used to it.

Even the obsessive lunatic clinging to me instead of going to the Esper side — I was used to that too.

If I ever did break free from this yandere, the rumors would surely go: “After all that PDA, they finally broke up, huh.”

But that wasn’t the problem right now. What concerned me more was the murderous mana rippling from the lunatic beside me.

“Oh Seokgwang’s doing something unnecessary,”

Joo Seunghyuk muttered lowly as he stared at Professor Oh, standing on the podium.

Originally, mock combat training gathered all students in the auditorium only at the start of the semester. [N O V E L I G H T] After that, each group trained according to their assigned schedules.

But Professor Oh, who had temporarily taken over training duties in place of Professor Choi — currently away for a seminar — had suddenly announced an “urgent notice” and called everyone together.

“Yeah,”

I agreed with Seunghyuk. Normally I’d try to smooth things over to avoid putting a target on anyone’s back, but if the person in question was Professor Oh, then I couldn’t care less.

Just what the hell was so important that a substitute instructor decided to summon the entire school?

At the top of the hour, Seunghyuk finally returned to his own spot. Then Professor Oh, who had been reviewing documents with a blank expression, lifted his head.

He looked down at me with condescending eyes. Ever since I became Seunghyuk’s assigned Guide and was moved to C-class for firearms training, I hadn’t encountered Professor Oh once this semester.

Seeing his face again after so long stirred no sense of nostalgia — only disgust. But it wasn’t worth picking a fight with someone like him. People like that... best to stay clear.

I tried to avert my gaze, but then one corner of Professor Oh’s lips curled upward. It was a clear sneer.

A chill ran down my spine.

What is that? What’s he up to?

This wasn’t just about inflating his ego by stepping on me. There was definitely something else going on. He was planning something today, no doubt about it.

I stared at Professor Oh. His smile only deepened as he began his speech.

“It feels like the new semester just began, but we’re already halfway through.”

He delivered a bland, generic opening and then announced the interim results for mock combat training.

1st Place: Team 1 — S-rank Esper Joo Seunghyuk, S-rank Guide Lee Yeonsu

Total Score: 989 points

We were first place. It was expected.

Mock combat scores were based on monster kill count and speed, mana precision, and quality of guiding. (Special cases like berserk episodes weren’t factored into scoring.)

Every time, Seunghyuk obliterated the monsters with insane speed. Even with scoring adjustments for Esper rank, he was overwhelmingly ahead.

When the results were announced, gasps of admiration spread throughout the auditorium.

“Whoa, look at that score. It’s three times higher than second place. And it’s just two of them — their raw points alone are over triple.”

“Isn’t it unfair to have two S-ranks in one team?”

“Didn’t Joo Seunghyuk not even try this hard last year?”

“Seriously. The power of love is terrifying.”

I didn’t mind people calling it unfair, but could they not spout weird stuff about “love,” please?

I fought down the urge to argue with every person saying dangerous things.

But Professor Oh was the bigger problem. What was with that smile earlier? Why summon the entire school just to announce scores?

The other students seemed to have similar questions. Scores were usually posted on the school intranet. That’s how it had always been — no need to gather everyone like this.

As murmurs spread, Professor Oh spoke again.

“Some of you did well, and others may have underperformed. But high scores shouldn’t make you arrogant, and low scores shouldn’t discourage you. There’s still a lot of the semester left. We’ve only passed the halfway mark. Keep working hard. If you try, you can achieve the results you want. You, too, can be number one! Don’t give up!”

What a load of polished nonsense.

People often say the world of Ability Users is all about rank and matching rate.

That might not be the absolute rule, but there’s no denying the limits imposed by rank.

No matter how hard the students at the Institute tried, beating Joo Seunghyuk was next to impossible. And to catch up to a score more than triple yours in just two months? That was practically unthinkable. Professor Oh knew that.

Even so, he shamelessly propped up false ideals for the sake of his own image. If someone failed, he’d probably say it was because they didn’t try hard enough.

The only one who benefited from this hypocritical speech was Professor Oh himself.

“Starting next week, we’ll begin live gate-clearing training. Hologram tech may be advanced, but real combat is different. Keep honing your skills. And now... I have an announcement.”

Just as people were zoning out from the canned platitudes, Professor Oh finally got to the point.

Students who had lost focus quickly straightened up.

Professor Oh scanned the crowd with a satisfied expression. His gaze slowly traveled from the back row to the front — and landed on me.

Again, that unsettling smirk.

He was definitely planning something. And I was the target.

After a long dramatic pause, he spoke into the mic.

“Today, the Esper Training Institute is welcoming a very special guest.”

Just as he said that, a young man with a cute face stepped up onto the podium.

“It’s Aaron Han!”

The unexpected appearance of a celebrity caused a stir in the auditorium. I recognized him too.

Aaron Han.

He was the grandson of Han Guncheol, the S-rank Esper who left South Korea in the 1981 “S-rank Defection to Italy” incident. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Han Guncheol had been condemned as the ringleader of the defection, branded a traitor, and relentlessly vilified — so much so that he couldn’t step foot in South Korea again.

Even as public perception of Ability Users changed and the times evolved, Koreans still viewed Han Guncheol negatively.

But everything shifted when his son awakened as an S-rank Esper, and both his grandsons — David and Aaron — were also ranked S-rank.

They became a sensation. Even though ability rank is somewhat hereditary, having three generations of S-ranks was nearly unheard of.

Han Guncheol’s family became huge news. Their reality show, S-Rank Royal Family, was a smash hit, turning them into global celebrities.

Han Guncheol emphasized his Korean roots in many interviews, and the Han brothers often posted about eating Korean food and claimed to “love Korea” on social media. Despite being third-generation Korean-Americans, they spoke Korean fluently.

Over time, the image of Han Guncheol’s family transformed — from traitors to proud Koreans.

Among them, Aaron gained particular attention due to his small, cute looks and rarity as an S-rank Guide.

Though his explosive childhood fame had dimmed with age, Aaron still had plenty of devoted online “aunties” and “uncles.”

I also knew about Aaron — not because he was a global star or S-rank Guide.

That bastard was the second villainous sub-uke in the original novel.

Aaron attended a party by chance, fell in love with Joo Seunghyuk at first sight, and came to Korea to pursue him.

Then he and Lee Yeonsu waged a fierce battle over Seunghyuk.

Of course, since Seunghyuk only cared about Kim Jun, their fight was ultimately meaningless.

Still, knowing the original story, I’d expected Aaron to show up in Korea eventually. But the timing was way off.

He was supposed to appear next year — not even in second semester, but a full year from now.

Now even next year’s episodes were starting to pop up.

Everyone in the auditorium, myself included, focused on Aaron. He smiled as if basking in the attention and slowly spoke.

“Hello, I’m Han Minho, S-rank Guide. I’m twenty years old in Korean age.”

He introduced himself using his Korean name.

“Korea is my grandfather’s country. To me, it’s like a second hometown.”

Bullshit. Last year in Milan you said, “This is where my father grew up. It’s like a second hometown to me.”

His lines are so damn predictable...

Aaron’s mother was American. He was born in the U.S. and spent most of his life there. His reality show was filmed in the States too.

He held dual citizenship with Italy and the U.S., but considered himself American.

Even though he visited Italy for vacations and considered it his second home, he had zero interest in Korea. In fact, he disliked it.

Last year, while promoting his clothing brand in Asia, he visited Japan and China but skipped Korea, causing a minor scandal.

Everyone blamed the brand for poor PR, but I knew the truth from the original: Aaron had stubbornly refused to visit Korea, so they had no choice but to skip it.

“I’ve always wanted to visit Korea, and Professor Oh Seokgwang gave me a wonderful opportunity.”

Aaron looked at Professor Oh, who laughed loudly.

So he was the one who brought Aaron here. Makes sense — no wonder he dragged the entire school in just to show him off.

In the original, when Joo Seunghyuk not only rejected Yeonsu’s guiding but started getting involved with F-rank Guide Kim Jun, Chairman Joo became furious.

He searched for a new Guide — and when Aaron heard the news, he flew to Korea. He then fought fiercely with Yeonsu for the spot as Seunghyuk’s exclusive Guide.

But now Aaron had come via Professor Oh and was already at the Institute. This was a completely different storyline.

“Guide Han Minho will be training with the Esper Academy for the next month.”

“If I meet an Esper worth betting my life on... I might just stay.”

Aaron flashed a smile, and the room buzzed.

Espers, don’t get your hopes up. That line was about Joo Seunghyuk.

Sure enough, Aaron’s smile was aimed squarely at Seunghyuk. The Espers envied him — but the one being envied was focused only on me.

How long has he been staring at me...?

Even as the rest of the auditorium was captivated by the new S-rank Guide, to Joo Seunghyuk, I was the only one that existed.