Even while everyone was distracted by the new S-rank Guide, it seemed like I was still the only one Joo Seunghyuk could see.

I looked back at him.

The moment our gazes met midair, a loud tap tap rang out from the mic. I turned my eyes back to the podium.

“Guide Han Minho, there is currently no true S-rank Guide in the Institute. Please show them what one looks like.”

Professor Oh suddenly fired a direct shot at me with his comment. He had always disliked me — but up until now, he’d only undermined me subtly. This was the first time he had openly criticized me like this.

Did he bring Aaron here just to keep me in check? Was his plan to trot out a shiny new S-rank Guide in front of the entire school to make me look pathetic? Was that why he was smiling like that earlier?

If I’m just being paranoid, fine. But Professor Oh is exactly the type of man who would pull something like this.

And it wasn’t just me — the other students must’ve picked up on it too, because the excitement over the celebrity’s appearance died down in an instant.

“Yes. I’ll meet your expectations,”

Aaron replied confidently, looking straight at me. From the sound of it, his thoughts weren’t much different from Professor Oh’s.

***

After the introduction, Professor Oh gave a short lecture on the live gate-clearing practice scheduled for next week.

It was such a basic overview that it wasn’t really helpful. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Sure, it might be useful for first-years who’d never participated in a gate-clearing mission — but they wouldn’t even be eligible until the second semester. So it was basically pointless.

I suppose someone might take today’s lecture to heart and remember it until next semester... but I doubt it.

Besides, the school usually gathers just the first-years separately to give them these kinds of lessons during second semester.

In any case, there was no real reason to summon the entire student body for this.

I’m sure Professor Oh knew that too. But he probably thought it would look bad to introduce Aaron and do nothing else, so he slapped on a fake “lecture” for show.

Once the half-assed talk ended, mock combat training finally began.

I was on my way to the gate arena when Professor Oh called out to me.

“Lee Yeonsu.”

“Yes?”

“Come to my office when it’s over.”

“Understood.”

***

After training ended, I went to Professor Oh’s office.

“Welcome, Yeonsu.”

He greeted me with a wide grin. This man always acted differently when we were alone.

Is this what {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} people call “social finesse”? It was so ridiculous, it was almost impressive.

“Did you have something to say?”

If I smiled and laughed along, maybe I could improve my relationship with him. But I didn’t care to do that.

It’s not like I’ll have to deal with him after graduation anyway.

“As you already know, Guide Han Minho will be staying at the Institute for a month. Technically, foreigners aren’t allowed to train here, but I got special approval from above — just for your sake.”

“...For my sake?”

I had planned to let anything he said go in one ear and out the other. No matter what nonsense he spewed, I was going to just nod and move on.

I didn’t want to flatter him, but I didn’t want to make enemies either.

But the moment he said something so outrageous, I couldn’t help but respond.

Even I could hear how incredulous my voice sounded — but Professor Oh didn’t bat an eye. He simply smiled like a kindly old man.

“That’s right. I know it hasn’t been easy, guiding Joo Seunghyuk all this time. The department head has really put you through a lot. And don’t even get me started on Sungan. It’s terrible how they’ve dumped this kind of burden on you and pretended not to notice. That’s why I went through great lengths to personally invite Guide Han Minho here.”

“Ah... I see.”

I answered stiffly.

If it were anyone else, I might believe them. But Professor Oh? There’s no way he did any of this for my benefit.

He must’ve brought Aaron because he was annoyed that I was Joo Seunghyuk’s assigned Guide. And now he was acting like he did it out of concern? What a joke.

“It seems Guide Han Minho took quite a liking to Joo Seunghyuk. And if he ends up bonding with a good Esper, he’s apparently open to acquiring Korean citizenship. Having an S-rank Guide naturalize would be a huge boon for South Korea. So I hope you’ll help him out.”

Unbelievable.

People at the Esper Training Institute thought I was dating Joo Seunghyuk. Professor Oh was no exception.

So what — now he wanted me to help my supposed boyfriend bond with someone else?

“You’re aware of the rumors that I’m dating Joo Seunghyuk, right?”

I never said out loud that we were dating unless absolutely necessary. Even now, I thought it best to ignore the rumor — but this was too much.

Professor Oh burst into laughter.

“How long do college relationships really last? Besides, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors too — Seunghyuk’s quite the playboy.”

He answered gossip with more gossip.

“You’ve been treated better than your station because of your S-rank. I’m sure it made you feel like the world revolved around you. But the world isn’t so simple. Rank isn’t everything. Surely you don’t actually think Joo Seunghyuk is going to choose you, do you?”

“I think you’ve crossed the line.”

Telling me to “know my place” — he had definitely crossed a line.

Up until now, Professor Oh at least pretended to be respectful when we were alone.

He used me for his image but didn’t want to be on bad terms with an S-rank.

But now that a new S-rank Guide had shown up, he’d decided to drop even that shallow act.

“I understand. Medicine that’s good for you tends to taste bitter. But like it or not, you have to accept reality.”

“......”

“You must have had a tough time being the only S-rank Guide in your twenties. But if Han Minho naturalizes, your burden will be lighter, won’t it?”

“......”

Judging from his tone and expression, he looked like a kindly mentor offering advice to a struggling student. That only made it more absurd.

When I said nothing, Professor Oh patted my shoulder.

“I’m only saying this for your sake, Yeonsu. You’re a smart kid — I trust you’ll understand my meaning.”

“Professor Oh...!”

I couldn’t take it anymore and was about to speak up when the office door swung open.

“How long are you going to make me wait?”

It was Aaron. Unlike his bright and cheerful appearance in the auditorium, his face was full of irritation now.

“Ah! Guide Aaron, please come in.”

Professor Oh quickly stood and bowed.

Aaron plopped down on the couch next to me. He slouched against the backrest, arms crossed, legs sprawled — rude as hell — and yet Professor Oh apologized.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Are you done talking?”

“Of course, of course.”

The professor who had just been groveling toward Aaron turned to me with a completely different face.

“Lee Yeonsu, you understand what I said, right?”

“......”

His tone was noticeably more forceful than before. What, did he want to humiliate me in front of Aaron now?

If he wanted to grovel to S-ranks, he should just grovel to all of us. Acting all high and mighty toward someone like me who has no money or connections — while simping for someone like Aaron — was beyond pathetic.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Now go ahead and show Guide Aaron around the school. Since you’re both S-ranks, you’ll probably have a lot in common. Introduce him to the other S-ranks too.”

As if there were other S-ranks here. Right now, it was just me and Joo Seunghyuk.

So in other words: go introduce Aaron to Seunghyuk.

“...Understood.”

“Good. Glad you’re being reasonable.”

Professor Oh tried to pat my shoulder again, but I didn’t want even a thread of fabric to brush against him. I stood up quickly and dodged the gesture.

“I’ll be going now.”

I bowed politely and left the office. Aaron stood up without a word.

“Guide Aaron, enjoy your tour of the school!”

Professor Oh called out cheerfully behind him, but Aaron didn’t so much as acknowledge him as he walked out.

I said goodbye to Professor Oh, Professor Oh said goodbye to Aaron, and Aaron ignored everyone.

It was a complete mess.

Even after leaving the office, I was still seething. It had been a while since I felt this angry. But I held it in and greeted Aaron calmly.

“Hello. I’m Lee Yeonsu.”

“I’m Aaron Han.”

Inside the KR Center, he introduced himself as “Han Minho,” emphasizing his Korean roots. Now he was calling himself “Aaron” again.

“Should I call you ‘Guide Aaron’?”

“What else would you call me?”

He frowned deeply.

I already knew Aaron wasn’t as bubbly as his cute image suggested — he was selfish and sharp-tempered. That’s how he was in the original, too.

But even so — was that really a question worth getting this irritated over?

Ridiculous. But again, I swallowed my reaction.

“Earlier, you introduced yourself as ‘Han Minho.’ Now you’re calling yourself ‘Aaron.’ So I was just asking what name you’d prefer to go by.”

“Just call me Aaron.”

He replied bluntly, then turned his head away as if just talking to me annoyed him.

Is he already treating me like an enemy because I’m Joo Seunghyuk’s assigned Guide?

In the original, he did fight bitterly with me for the position of Seunghyuk’s exclusive Guide.

A lot of things have changed from the original timeline, but Aaron’s crush on Seunghyuk was clearly the same. The fact that he got Professor Oh involved just to meet him — he might even be more aggressive now than he was back then.

Not only am I stuck with a possessive yandere, now the second villainous sub-uke from the original is tangled up in this too.

Everything I’d worked toward for the past seven years to escape the original story... was starting to crumble.