‘What the hell? Is that an earthquake?’

Startled, I looked toward the source of the noise. The tremor and boom were way too intense to be a simple earthquake. On top of that, I could feel an enormous mana wave. And I wasn’t the only one who was alarmed.

“Aaaaaah! What the hell is that?!”

Aaron screamed. And then—

“Aaack!”

“W-Wait, the lighting—!”

Screams erupted from the lecture hall at the end of the hallway, followed by a loud thud as people came pouring out through the door.

A camera tumbled across the floor, and a lighting rig crashed down.

They looked like a film crew. Don’t tell me they were hiding in an empty classroom, secretly filming us?

“Guide Aaron, what is going on here?”

I demanded an explanation from Aaron. The moment they were caught, the crew glanced anxiously at him. But Aaron didn’t look surprised at all, even though these suspicious people had suddenly popped out. That meant he already knew.

“Oh, we were filming a vlog.”

He said it casually, like it was no big deal.

“A vlog?”

“Yeah. You don’t know what a vlog is?”

“That’s not the point. If you were filming, you should’ve told me.”

One of the staff members was a C-rank Esper. Probably someone who could use invisibility magic. There were people who secretly filmed by hiring Espers with spatial or invisibility abilities.

“Why? We had permission from the school. We’ve been filming since the auditorium. What, was I supposed to go around asking every student for permission individually?”

“It would’ve been better if you had at least informed me.”

“I like natural footage. Besides, Koreans tend to overreact when there’s a camera.”

“I absolutely can’t agree with that statement.”

“A professor gave us permission. What’re you going to do if you disagree?”

Aaron snapped back, not just unapologetically but downright aggressive. Then suddenly, he flashed a bright smile.

“Esper Joo Seunghyuk!”

I turned my head along with Aaron’s. Down the hallway, Joo Seunghyuk was striding toward us, radiating murderous energy. Startled by the oppressive aura, the staff scrambled back into the classroom in panic.

Seunghyuk didn’t even glance at them. He walked straight toward me.

“Hyung.”

“Seunghyuk....”

“Who the hell is this guy?”

Joo Seunghyuk looked Aaron up and down with icy eyes. There wasn’t a trace of curiosity about the S-rank Guide.

I had been mad at Aaron, sure, but I still wanted to introduce them formally. Before I could speak, Aaron opened his mouth first.

“Hello. We met at the hotel, remember? At the Lexington party that night—”

“Hyung, are you close with this guy?”

Seunghyuk didn’t even glance at Aaron as he asked me the question.

“No. I just met him today.”

“Then why are you entertaining him?”

“Good question.”

It wasn’t like the route to the East Wing was a maze. I could’ve just told him to find his own way. Why was I showing this walking disaster around?

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“We were going to buy rings, remember?”

“Ah...”

I hesitated.

Which was worse — buying couple rings with the yandere or continuing to talk to this train wreck?

I didn’t want to say another word to Aaron, but even that felt better than ending up with matching rings.

Because once the rings were bought, there’d be no turning back — we’d be officially a couple.

“Well, Professor Oh told me to give Guide Aaron a campus tour—”

“Why the hell is that your job? Just ignore it and come with me.”

“But...”

How was I supposed to get out of this? The best option would be to avoid buying the rings and somehow pair off Seunghyuk and Aaron...

Just then, someone called my name.

“Lee Yeonsu.”

Kang Inho strode toward me.

What was going on?

Inho hated noise and hassle. No matter how urgent, if he saw a mess involving Joo Seunghyuk and Aaron, he’d usually steer clear.

Even if it were important, he’d text or pull me aside later — he wasn’t the type to walk into chaos.

“Inho, what is it?”

Was it about the explosion from earlier? For Inho to come to me directly... it must’ve been something serious. A wave of unease crept in.

“If you’ve got plans, go. I’ll show Guide Aaron around instead.”

“What?”

“Just go.”

He pushed his glasses up with his middle finger and said it coolly.

‘Inho, have you really changed this much lately? Are you in love or something? You’ve gotten so thoughtful. But seriously — I appreciate the kindness, but why give me this kind of unnecessary help? Why?!’

I wanted to grab him by the collar and demand an answer. But before I could, Joo Seunghyuk pulled me into his arms and smiled sweetly.

“Now that ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the obstacle’s out of the way.”

“Ugh...”

Obstacle, huh...? He didn’t even consider villainous sub-uke #2 a person.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah...”

I had no excuse left. When I answered obediently, Seunghyuk smiled.

After being battered by both Professor Oh and Aaron, seeing this guy’s face was almost a relief. At least Seunghyuk was good-looking....

I was abruptly reminded of the sad fact that I was a hopeless face simp as I turned to leave with him — only for Aaron to scream behind us.

“Where are you going?! You said you’d introduce me—ACK!!”

Aaron tried to grab my hand, but before he could, he went flying and slammed into the wall. Seunghyuk had used mana.

“Ugh.”

Aaron hit the wall and then crashed to the floor, groaning. Seunghyuk stepped on his hand with a cold gaze.

“How dare you touch someone with those filthy hands.”

“Aaaaagh!”

Aaron screamed, but no one dared step in. They were all paralyzed by Seunghyuk’s killing intent. Me included.

“Student Joo Seunghyuk, please calm down. This is a school.”

It was Kang Inho who finally spoke up, trying to stop Seunghyuk. But Seunghyuk ignored him and pressed down on Aaron’s hand.

At this point, I was the only one who could stop him. I calmed myself and gently took his hand.

“Seunghyuk, I-I’m fine. He didn’t even touch me. You stopped him.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yeah. Let’s just go.”

“...Alright.”

Seunghyuk gave me a soft smile. Then, without warning, he turned and kicked Aaron in the stomach.

Aaron screamed again. But Seunghyuk simply ignored it and looked back at me.

“Let’s go, hyung.”

“...Yeah.”

He walked away with me, one arm protectively around my shoulders. Behind us, I could hear Aaron sobbing in rage — but Seunghyuk didn’t pay it the slightest mind.

***

We got into a black sedan parked in the lot.

As usual, Seunghyuk buckled my seatbelt for me.

“I can do it myself...”

“I want to do it.”

His eyes curved gently. You’d never believe this was the same man who’d just smashed someone into a wall and crushed his hand.

Aaron’s existence didn’t seem to register with him at all. Honestly, even someone who accidentally stepped on an ant would probably care more.

I felt a chill and cautiously opened my mouth.

“Seunghyuk, you probably heard earlier... but Aaron’s an S-rank Guide.”

Honestly, Aaron pissed me off. From the moment we met, he’d been needlessly hostile and antagonistic. It made me not want to give him what he wanted.

But while a pain in the ass was just annoying, a yandere was someone who could lock me up and kill me.

Joo Seunghyuk really wasn’t someone I could handle. Sending him to Aaron was the right move.

“...Although maybe you already knew that. He’s a global star.”

“I don’t care. I’m not interested in any Guide except Lee Yeonsu.”

“R-Really?”

Please don’t be like this.... I knew it was just lip service, but it still scared me.

“Yeah. You’re the only one I care about.”

“Th-Thanks. Still, since Aaron’s a world-famous S-rank Guide, if you did a matching rate test with him, it might be higher than mine. So maybe you could—”

“Why would you say something so filthy with that pretty mouth?”

Suddenly, Seunghyuk’s voice turned cold.

I was about to suggest the 1:1 matching rate test again, but I had no choice but to shut my mouth.

His hand touched my lips. I could feel a sharp mana vibration at his fingertips. If I moved wrong, I might get cut.

I couldn’t even swallow dryly as I looked at him.

“You know, whenever you try to send me to another Guide, I can’t stand it. Makes me want to shut you up by fucking your mouth.”

He said it in a terrifying voice, a gruesome, R-rated line.

“S-Sorry. I was wrong.”

I moved my lips carefully, fully prepared to get hurt. If I didn’t apologize now, he really would turn this into a hardcore R-rated scene.

But despite everything, there was no pain. The moment I moved to speak, Seunghyuk had withdrawn the mana.

That didn’t mean his anger was gone. The inside of the car was now thick with pitch-black mana.

Bzzz, bzzz.

Just as I was nervously watching him, unable to speak, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I quickly pulled it out. It was a call from Jihee noona.

If it was Jihee noona, Seunghyuk wouldn’t lash out — or at least, less than he would with anyone else. Still, in this situation, I really didn’t want to pick up.

I was about to hit decline, but Seunghyuk said,

“Answer it.”

“Yessir.”

When the yandere gives a command, you obey. I immediately tapped the answer button.

“Hello?”

– Yeonsu.

“Oh, noona.”

– Are you with Joo Seunghyuk right now?

“Why?”

– He just destroyed a building.

“What? Destroyed?!”

That explosion earlier—could it have been...?

– Yeah. He blew up the ‘Han Testing Center’ behind the KR Building. Completely wrecked the whole thing.

The Han Testing Center was built in the late 1990s with sponsorship from the Sungan Group. It was a small, two-story building (one above ground, one underground) that housed mana measuring equipment and 1:1 matching rate scanners manufactured by Hanseong.

Back then, as Sungan was expanding the Esper industry globally, they had built it as a promotional facility.

Eight years ago, a newer facility was built, so the old one saw less use — but it was still used occasionally for basic tests.

– After wrecking the place, Seunghyuk disappeared. The professors thought he might be with you, so they told me to call.

“Ah...”

So now, every time Seunghyuk disappears, they immediately think of me. What a miserable reality.

– He’s not with you?

“Yeah...”

I nodded while glancing at Seunghyuk. Lying made me feel guilty, but the fear of a yandere outweighed that.

– If you see him, let me know. He doesn’t seem stable right now — if it feels dangerous, stay away.

“Yeah...”

Too late, noona. I’m already alone with the obsessive yandere...