I continued to run into Joo Seunghyuk now and then—during gate subjugations, at events involving ability users. And I also kept hearing stories about him.

But even after he was confirmed to be the chairman’s biological son, Joo Seunghyuk remained violent and continued to cause problems. Just like how he was described in the original novel.

On top of that, the various incidents that kept occurring... were all exactly as they had been in the book. The inertia of the source material was stronger than I’d expected, and not something I could easily escape.

The darkness buried in Joo Seunghyuk’s heart hadn’t changed either. Even if he’d found out who his real father was earlier than in the novel, the wounds he’d already received couldn’t simply be undone.

I looked over at the man behind the wheel. He was now taller than me, his appearance far more mature—but the expression stained with hurt on his face was still just the same as when he was a child.

Seven years ago, when I said goodbye and walked away, he’d had that exact look on his face.

Today, Joo Seunghyuk was acting strange. He wasn’t a gentle or mild-mannered person by any means, but he had never lost control of his mana to the point of threatening someone’s life, nor had he ever injured me badly enough to draw blood.

I’d thought it was because of Park Geonwoo, but... could something have happened with his father?

I laid my hand over his, resting on the gearshift.

“Seunghyuk-ah, I’m glad I met you. If you’d never been born, I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to meet someone as beautiful as you. I wouldn’t like that.”

It’s not that I wanted to get tangled up with a yandere—I just never wanted to deny Seunghyuk’s birth or his existence.

“There are lots of people who care about you. So I hope you can learn to care about yourself too.”

Joo Seunghyuk suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and stared straight at me.

“Hyung, do you like me?”

“Who wouldn’t like you? Honestly, everyone probably likes and relies on you more than you think.”

“I don’t care about the rest of them. I’m asking if you, Lee Yeonsu, like me.”

I’d told him I liked him plenty of times before. Words made up to soothe the yandere, to keep myself from getting locked up or worse.

I could do the same now—say something comforting that would lift his mood. But the look of desperation in his eyes... made it feel like lying would be a mistake.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer. I turned my head away.

That’s when his hand caught my chin—and his lips crashed into mine. His tongue prodded insistently, pressing against the wound on my lip again and again as if scolding me.

“Ugh...”

A fierce sensation coursed through my entire body, stirring a strange excitement. Startled, I jerked away on instinct, and Joo Seunghyuk’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“Why are you pulling away?”

“I-it hurts. My lip.”

Joo Seunghyuk gently stroked my lips. The wound reopened, and blood started to seep out again.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Not really... just a little...”

He leaned in again and licked the cut. Every time his tongue touched it, my body twitched—but I didn’t pull away.

He lapped up the blood, slowly, over and over—then pulled me into a hug.

***

...Am I maybe an M?

When Joo Seunghyuk licked the wound yesterday, it had stirred a weird sort of thrill. And then in the car...

He did all that, and I didn’t even try to stop him. I just went along with it.

It wasn’t the first time I’d felt this way either. What the hell is wrong with me?

Anyway, I had to get to my lecture. But seeing the injury on my lip put me in a complicated mood.

‘This totally looks like a hickey or a kiss wound or something...’

My public image was plummeting again. But the real problem was Joo Seunghyuk.

“Hyung, I believe in waiting until marriage. You stole my life’s goal—so you have to take responsibility.”

“......”

“Hurry up and say something.”

“Seunghyuk-ah, I’m tired...”

“My life goal is you. So if you don’t take responsibility, I’ll go insane. If you look at anyone else, I’ll erase them.”

“...Okay. I’ll take responsibility. So please...”

Yesterday, Joo Seunghyuk had smiled sweetly as he once again declared himself a firm believer in premarital purity.

I never imagined that the yandere’s ultimate life goal would be celibacy.

With how seriously he’d said it, maybe that really had been his first time.

There were always rumors about him sleeping around—but maybe they were all just rumors after all.

There’s that saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” but with me and Park Geonwoo as proof, sometimes smoke billows for no reason at all.

If Joo Seunghyuk really was a celibacy-believer, then the novel had seriously deviated. In Swamp of the Guide, Seunghyuk had been a promiscuous seme, and even after getting involved with Kim Jun, he still slept around.

When did the source material even start changing...?

CRACK—BOOM!

Thunder suddenly roared. I jumped and looked outside the dorm window to see rain pouring down in sheets.

A summer shower, huh...?

I guess summer’s here now.

Joo Seunghyuk was probably attending a lecture in the East Wing. There hadn’t been any forecast for rain today, so he likely didn’t bring an umbrella.

Joo Seunghyuk hated rainy days.

At school, when it suddenly rained, there was never anyone who came to pick him up.

While the other kids walked home under umbrellas with their parents, he always had to walk back drenched, all alone.

...But that was the original story.

This time, the truth about him being the biological son had come out much earlier, so maybe he wouldn’t have to suffer that same kind of loneliness.

Still, my body moved on its own.

I stood up, grabbed an umbrella, and left the dorm.

Back during gate missions, Joo Seunghyuk’s mood always soured when it rained. Every time, I’d felt the urge to talk to him—but I held back, not wanting to get tangled up in the source material again.

Just once, I wanted to hold an umbrella over his head.

We were already entangled anyway. A little more wouldn’t hurt.

The lecture would end soon. I checked the time and sprinted toward the East Wing. I already knew the campus was big—but running like this made it feel even bigger.

“Haa... haa...”

It wasn’t even uphill—just flat ground—but I was already out of breath. Damn this trash stamina.

After Seunghyuk dumps me, I’m starting a workout regimen immediately.

“Yeonsu-ssi, are you all right? Are you feeling unwell?”

An Esper approached, looking concerned.

“No, I’m fine.”

I’m not sick—just incredibly out of shape.

“Let me escort you to the infirmary—”

“No, really, I’m fine. Ah, Seunghyuk-ah!”

Over the Esper’s shoulder, I spotted Joo Seunghyuk. I immediately ran over to him.

“What are you doing at the East Wing?”

His face, already cold, looked even frostier now. He must’ve been in a bad mood because of the rain.

“It’s raining. I figured you probably didn’t bring an umbrella.”

I held the umbrella up over him.

“You came just for this?”

“Yeah.”

I tilted the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) umbrella more toward his side. But it was too small—rain still fell onto his shoulder.

“Sorry, the umbrella’s tiny, huh? It’s the only one I had in the dorm.”

Joo Seunghyuk stared down at me silently. Was he upset that I came to the East Wing?

“Hyung, you know you’re awful?”

“Me?!”

I flinched. I didn’t care if he saw me as a loser or a weirdo—but awful? That was dangerous.

“N-no! I’m not awful!”

“You are. You keep giving me hope.”

“...Huh?”

“Let’s go.”

Joo Seunghyuk took the umbrella and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“You’re soaked.”

He was right. I was a mess from head to toe. The wind had been so strong, the rain was practically horizontal.

I’d gotten drenched sprinting all the way here.

“Ah, you’re right. Sorry. You’ll get wet too if we walk like this.”

If we stayed this close, his clothes would get wet too. I started to step out from under the umbrella—but Seunghyuk tightened his hold and pulled me closer.

“Let’s get back to the dorm before you catch a cold.”

“...Okay.”

“Why’d you rush over like that? Didn’t even notice you were soaking wet.”

“Your lecture was ending soon. I didn’t want you to get caught in the rain, so I ran.”

“You really are awful. Lately you’ve been awful—but today’s the worst.”

I’d been acting slow and dumb lately just to get rejected by him—but I didn’t think I’d been awful...

Either way, if that’s how he saw it, this was bad. The last thing I wanted was to leave him with a bad impression.

“N-no, that’s not what I—”

I shook my head and tried to explain—but before I could, our lips met.

Warmth spread through me as the sound of rain filled the world around us.

***

The lecture hall was buzzing more than usual.

“Esper Park Geonwoo is coming back to Korea this week! I can’t wait to see him!”

“Even if he’s back, he probably won’t enroll until second semester.”

“No way. I heard he’s giving a special lecture this Friday!”

“Seriously?!”

Everyone was getting excited at the news that Geonwoo-hyung would be attending the academy.

He’d always been a popular person.

If the main uke, Kim Jun, was a contrast to the villainous sub-uke Lee Yeonsu, then the main seme, Joo Seunghyuk, was the exact opposite of the sub-seme Park Geonwoo in every way.

An S-rank Esper who was kind, polite, gentle, and just—Park Geonwoo was beloved by the entire nation.

And now, he had become a global hero beyond just Korea.

So the special lecture’s this Friday...

There was a chance we’d see each other again for the first time in two and a half years.

He probably wouldn’t be thrilled to see me, though...