I love Joo Seunghyuk.

Come to think of it, I’ve liked him for quite a long time. That’s why I would get irritated just watching a movie where an Alpha leaves a Beta to run off with an Omega, and why I felt uneasy when reading a fairy tale with a similar plot.

Because I loved Joo Seunghyuk, I was afraid of being abandoned by him. And every time I sensed even the smallest sign that he might leave, I got so scared that I tried to run away first.

I didn’t want to be abandoned by someone I loved ever again, so I tried to leave before they could.

If I could only smell Joo Seunghyuk’s pheromones, I could give up all the comfortable life I now had as a Beta. That’s how much I wanted him.

I’d loved Joo Seunghyuk for so long that I couldn’t understand why I was only realizing it now.

Why hadn’t I noticed? In my previous life up until now, I’d never dated anyone, never even liked someone. I’d been too afraid of abandonment, too overwhelmed just trying to live, to have the luxury of feeling something like “love.”

So from the start, I had locked my heart tightly away so that kind of feeling could never take root.

Even in this life, I’d been obsessed with avoiding the original novel’s plot...

Falling for the obsessive mad dog from the original who might kill me was unthinkable, so I refused to acknowledge my own feelings and kept looking for answers in all the wrong places.

How foolish. Forget Kim Jun—I’m the real “Clueless One.” Who am I to talk about someone else lacking awareness...

I looked at Kim Jun, who was sitting in front of me.

Now that I’d finally realized my feelings, maybe it was already too late...

***

“Yeonsu sunbae!”

When class ended and I was heading out of the lecture hall, Kim Jun called my name and came after me.

Seeing his bright smile made a surge of anger rise in me.

He really had some nerve. We were at least fairly close as senior and junior, weren’t we? How could he spend the night with my boyfriend?

And if something had happened between the two of them, he should have told me! At the very least, he could have looked a little sorry! How could he just smile like nothing happened?

Kim Jun, this guy was more shameless than I thought.

“Why?”

“...Huh?”

“I said, why did you call me?”

“Oh, um, I just wanted to say hi...”

He trailed off awkwardly, looking flustered by my cold tone.

The moment I saw him watching me cautiously, I came to my senses.

What was I even doing right now...?

There’s something I never understood when watching melodramas or romance novels.

When a spouse or lover cheats, some characters blame and resent the other person in the affair more than their own partner.

It was the same in Guide’s Swamp. In the original, Lee Yeonsu never said a word to Joo Seunghyuk, but clung to blaming Kim Jun or Aaron instead.

And now here I was doing the exact same thing.

Even if those two had gotten deeply involved, the one I should be confronting was Joo Seunghyuk.

If I lashed out at Kim Jun blindly out of jealousy, that would mean I was walking the same path as the original Yeonsu.

I calmed my jealousy-filled heart and looked at Kim Jun.

“Sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind. I wasn’t mad at you. I’m sorry.”

“N-no, it’s fine!”

“Jun-ah, I need to talk to you. Can you spare some time?”

“Yes, sunbae...”

***

I took Kim Jun to a guiding room in the West Hall.

Most joint training happened in the KR Hall or Central Hall, and guiding sessions were held there too. Even if an Esper had trouble during training, guiding was done in the East Hall, so the West Hall guiding rooms were rarely used.

That made it a good place for a private conversation. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

When I opened the door, it was just as I expected—empty. Still, to be sure, I went into the innermost room of the guiding rooms.

When I shut the door, it was just the two of us in the small space. Kim Jun sat fidgeting, staring at the floor.

Was he worried I was going to grill him about Joo Seunghyuk? Seeing him like that made me uneasy too.

“Jun-ah, why don’t you sit over here?”

The room had separate chairs for the Esper and the Guide. I offered him the slightly bigger chair for the Esper. He nodded and sat down. As I took the Guide’s seat, I felt his gaze on me. When I turned to look at him, he quickly averted his eyes.

Was that because of my cold words earlier? Or really because of Seunghyuk? I was curious, but dragging this out would only make us both more anxious.

I spoke up immediately.

“I have something to ask you.”

“Yes, sunbae, go ahead.”

“It seems like you’ve been spending a lot of time with Joo Seunghyuk lately. Is something going on?”

“What?! Oh, um...”

Kim Jun’s eyes went wide, and he looked at me before dropping his head again.

So there really was something between them...

I wondered if maybe I’d misunderstood. Even if they met at night, it could have been by chance, or maybe just a senior-junior talk. I held onto that faint hope. But that thread of hope was unraveling fast.

“It’s fine, just tell me honestly.”

“Well... Joo Seunghyuk threatened me.”

“...What?”

Threatened? I’d braced myself for a melodramatic love triangle, but out of nowhere came a word straight out of a thriller.

While I was still stunned, Kim Jun went on.

“He told me to stop approaching you, came to me at night and told me to switch classes immediately, and not to take any lectures with you!”

“......”

So when Seunghyuk asked me how long he had to wait... did he mean until Kim Jun changed classes...?

“And he told me not to come within a hundred meters of you!”

“......”

No matter how big the campus was, a hundred-meter ban was basically telling him to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ drop out.

What the hell had that lunatic been doing?!

“I was so happy when I finally got into the same class as you...”

Kim Jun’s pent-up frustration poured out in a rush.

“Sorry...”

I could only apologize quietly. There was nothing else I could say to him.

Not only had Seunghyuk made an outrageous threat, I’d gone and doubted Kim Jun on top of it. I had no excuse.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“Sunbae, why are you dating a guy like that? All Espers are trash, but Joo Seunghyuk is seriously insane!”

Yeah, I knew Seunghyuk was insane. So why did I like him so much? Why was I even smiling at the thought that he’d threatened my junior over me?

“Even if I’m a Guide, I’d be better than that guy—!”

Bang!

The door burst open with a loud crash, and Joo Seunghyuk strode in.

“Hyung.”

“Seunghyuk...”

“Why are you here with this bastard?”

His glare locked on Kim Jun. Black mana flared, cold and dangerous, as if it might crush him at any second.

Even someone as mana-insensitive as Kim Jun could feel the killing intent, freezing in place without a word.

“Seunghyuk, what are you doing?! Stop that mana right now!”

If this kept up, Kim Jun would get seriously hurt. I shouted urgently, but the mana only grew stronger.

“Seunghyuk!”

“...Fine.”

Reluctantly, he drew his mana back. Kim Jun’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the spot.

“Jun-ah, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah...”

He nodded dazedly. Seunghyuk stood there with arms crossed, staring down at him with a look that said he’d gladly finish him off right now.

This was going to turn into a real disaster.

“Jun-ah, I’m really sorry about today. I’ll apologize again later.”

I grabbed Seunghyuk’s hand and hurried him out of the guiding room.

***

Hand in hand, we headed for the dormitory—our space, even more private than the guiding room.

We’d decided to live together at Seunghyuk’s place starting in the second semester, but since I hadn’t officially moved out yet, the room was still available.

I unlocked the door with my fingerprint, and the familiar sight inside greeted us.

It was the first time I’d been here in over three months. I could have come anytime I wanted, but the memory of leaving like I was running away had stuck too strongly. I’d even worried that being here would make Seunghyuk sad, remembering that time.

“Hyung, why are you looking after that guy?”

But seeing him now, brimming with anger, I felt oddly relieved. At least it didn’t seem like he was thinking about when I left.

I met his gaze. His unusually large, clear eyes glittered with jealousy and obsession.

Not a bit different from first semester. Thinking he might have changed had been such a pointless worry.

“I wasn’t looking after him. I just had something to ask.”

“What does that bastard know? If you have something to ask, you can ask me!”

“I heard you threatened Jun to change classes.”

“...Yeah.”

He admitted it without hesitation.

“But it wasn’t a threat, it was a negotiation.”

Apparently he didn’t even realize it was wrong.

“What kind of negotiation?”

“I told him if he switched out of any class with you and stayed quietly at least a hundred meters away from you, I’d let him keep attending the academy.”

That’s a threat, you lunatic.

I’d thought maybe it could really have been a negotiation, but it was pure, undiluted intimidation.

“Why would you do that?!”

“Because that guy’s trying to make moves on you! Pretending to be drunk and pulling crap, taking all the same classes!”

“He really was drunk at the start of the semester. And since you’re both Guides, it’s not strange if some classes overlap.”

“Hyung, why do you keep taking that bastard’s side?”

He looked genuinely aggrieved. And I couldn’t understand—why did I like someone like this so much?