Joo Seunghyuk had already intercepted a letter between me and Park Geonwoo two years ago. He’d had his eyes on me since then. And after that, he told his first lie—claiming our first time was just a coincidence.

From the beginning, everything was a lie. His feelings couldn’t possibly be real.

“You seem troubled,” said Joo Junghan, glancing at me sideways. “I suppose your heart must feel heavy, suddenly leaving like this.”

“It’s not that.”

“Still, I’d like to apologize once more. As of today, we’re officially beginning preparations for the wedding. After explaining things to Lexington, they suggested we skip the engagement and proceed straight to marriage. We agreed—it’s better that way. The wedding’s set for August. Once they’re married, Seunghyuk will put an end to his little amusements.”

Amusements.

I’d hoped Seunghyuk wasn’t sincere. I wanted it to be mockery or a passing amusement. I still want that to be true. Just a few days ago, I was trying everything I could to make him break up with me.

But hearing someone else say it... made me feel sick.

Why does this feel so awful?

Lately, even I don’t understand my own heart.

Maybe it’s a good thing everything happened so fast. If I’d had time to prepare, I might’ve ended up asking Seunghyuk everything myself.

Even if I tried to beat around the bush, he would’ve seen through me immediately. And then, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.

“Please think of it as a vacation in Texas during your school break.”

“Texas? I thought you said L.A.?”

Yesterday at the café, Junghan had said I’d be staying in a hotel in L.A. during the break.

“Ah, right. After parting ways with you yesterday, I gave it some more thought. I /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ realized L.A. might be too risky. Lexington’s headquarters are there, and there’s a large Korean-American population. Given how well-known you are among Korean circles in the States, word might spread too quickly. I hope you understand.”

Junghan rambled out an explanation, watching my reaction carefully.

“But Texas is just as lovely as L.A. The natural scenery is stunning, with many famous national parks. And the villa you’ll be staying at has a breathtaking ocean view. It’s one of the most beautiful properties I own.”

Honestly, I didn’t care where it was. I wasn’t going on vacation. I was running—running from Joo Seunghyuk.

L.A., Colorado, Minnesota—it didn’t matter. Hell, it didn’t even have to be the U.S.

But if it was Texas... there was one thing that bothered me.

“Isn’t Joo Taehan currently studying abroad in Texas?”

In the original novel, the chairman realized earlier—because of me—that Seunghyuk was his biological son. He’d sent his troublemaking second son, Joo Taehan, off to study in Texas, and even seven years later, he still hadn’t called him back to Korea.

Even there, Taehan kept causing scandals—acting like a fool and stirring up gossip. He even went around saying he’d reawakened as an S-rank Esper and that someone like Seunghyuk was nothing compared to him.

He used to lie and say he was a B-rank, but now the delusions had escalated. Must’ve been his inferiority complex toward Seunghyuk.

His outrageous claims even made it into the news, though they were quickly scrubbed—probably by Sungan’s PR team.

Some conspiracy theorists claimed the chairman was hiding Taehan’s reawakening so he could pass the guild to his real son. Total nonsense.

In the original, there was never any mention of Taehan reawakening. Just like I would never suddenly manifest as an omega, Taehan would never reawaken as S-rank.

People and relationships might change, but a person’s rank, traits, and disposition?

Those never did.

Anyway, after that incident, Taehan had clearly fallen out of favor. The whispers about him returning after undergrad quietly died, and word eventually got out that he’d enrolled in grad school in Texas.

Only Espers could inherit guild leadership. No matter how much the chairman trusted his eldest, Joo Junghan—he was a non-Awakened. He could never be a guildmaster.

On the other hand, despite being a total wreck with pathetic mana, Taehan was an Esper. That alone gave him the bare minimum eligibility to succeed the Sungan Guild.

Of course, as long as Seunghyuk existed, Taehan’s chances of leading the guild were practically zero. But even that 0.000000001% made him Seunghyuk’s only real rival, and people watched his every move.

Even I had heard of him, despite not keeping tabs.

But that only lasted until undergrad. Once he faked the “reawakening” scandal, got stuck abroad, and was forced into grad school, public interest dropped off completely.

No one even knew what he was doing these days. But one thing was certain—he was still in Texas.

In the original, Taehan was the trash who wouldn’t stop harassing Lee Yeonsu.

He probably hadn’t changed. He’d do anything—dirty, vile, manipulative—to get his hands on an S-rank Guide.

I didn’t want to so much as brush sleeves with him.

“Ah... yeah, Taehan’s over there too...”

When I brought him up, Junghan gave a strained smile.

“I heard you had some unpleasant history with him back in the day. But that was when you were both kids. He’s changed—he’s reflected, matured.”

If he’d really changed, he wouldn’t have staged that reawakening stunt.

How could he say such nonsense with a straight face?

I guess even Junghan was biased toward his own brother. The way he subtly tried to defend Taehan made me all the more uneasy.

“Executive Director, we’re not sharing accommodations, right? I really don’t want to run into him.”

“Haha, of course not. I would’ve told you in advance if that were the case.”

His laugh rang out, bold and smooth—just like a politician’s. And it only made me more nervous.

There were plenty of high-ranking officials who laughed like that, made promises like that, and then conveniently forgot them later.

“Texas is seven times the size of South Korea. Even if you’re in the same state, there’s nothing to worry about. The villa is in Houston, and his university is in Austin.”

Distance didn’t matter. The problem was whether Taehan would come looking for me.

In the original, he was obsessed with the idea of forming an exclusive contract with an S-rank Guide. He envied Seunghyuk for having one and wanted it for himself—right up to the end.

And as far as I knew, Houston and Austin weren’t that far apart.

If he wanted to, he could easily make the trip.

But I didn’t want to argue every detail, so I kept it simple. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Still, please don’t tell him I’ll be there. I don’t want to run into him under any circumstances.”

“Haha, of course. Sounds like he’s seriously pissed you off. He really is an immature brat. I apologize on his behalf, as his brother.”

“There’s no need. You don’t need to apologize for him.”

And anyway... if someone deserves that apology, it’s Seunghyuk—not me.

I don’t know what kind of conversations went on between them these past seven years, so I can’t speak for that.

“Still, thank you for saying so. Oh—while you’re in Texas, I’d love to show you our lab facilities.”

“Lab?”

“Yes. There’s a special research site affiliated with Sungan down there.”

“You mean Sungan Pharmaceuticals?”

The founding chairman had abandoned the tradition of passing the company to the eldest son. Instead, he gave the guild to the younger Awakened son, Joo Wontchan, and handed Sungan Pharmaceuticals to his firstborn, Joo Gyeongchan.

Back then, new drug development around mana and matching rates was booming.

People dreamed of a future where even regular humans could become Espers—where pills could boost rank or improve compatibility.

Maybe the chairman hoped his eldest could overcome the limits of being unawakened through science.

When the miracle material Jeokrunhwa emerged, mana and matching-rate research accelerated. But in the end, every Jeokrunhwa-based drug failed. Sungan was no exception.

The Jeokrunhwa craze, which had swept the globe, ended in disillusionment.

And with it, the hope that rank and matching could be bypassed with science disappeared too.

After Joo Gyeongchan died in a drunk-driving crash, the company passed—not to his young son—but to his brother, Chairman Joo Wontchan.

Later, when Junghan came of age, Wontchan returned Sungan Pharmaceuticals to him.

That happened in the original too.

Though in the novel, Junghan was also meant to inherit Sungan Hospital, Sungan Electronics, and Sungan Heavy Supernatural Industries.

(He didn’t, because Seunghyuk sabotaged the succession.)

But now, Sungan Pharmaceuticals was all that was left.

The chairman had publicly named Seunghyuk as heir, and expected Junghan to assist him as a loyal brother. Junghan didn’t seem to mind.

In the original, he often said that if they were going by merit alone, Seunghyuk was more qualified.

He wanted Seunghyuk to inherit the business.

So right now, Sungan Pharmaceuticals was the only company Junghan had real control over.

“No, not that. This lab belongs to the Sungan Guild—an unofficial research facility.”

“Ah, I see.”

“It’s top-secret. Even most of the guild isn’t aware of its existence. And normally, outsiders can’t enter at all. But for you, Guide Yeonsu, we’re making a special exception.”