“Yeonsu!”

At that moment, someone caught me.

“Geonwoo hyung...” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Yeonsu, are you okay?”

Park Geonwoo said he was going to the Inspection Division. He probably had many connections {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at the Center, and above all, since this matter involved him, he might know something about it.

“Hyung, they’re saying Seunghyuk is under suspicion for attempted murder...”

“That’s right. That guy orchestrated my car accident.”

So it was about that after all.

“No. There’s no way Seunghyuk would...”

“Yeonsu, calm down and let’s get out of here for now.”

“But Seunghyuk...”

He’d been arrested. Even though he was more than capable of taking on the Inspection Division Espers, he let himself be captured because he was worried about me—because he knew I didn’t want to see him fight.

“Yeonsu, this is the Hyeonmu Center. It’s a secure facility, so outsiders can’t stay here long.”

Despite Joo Seunghyuk’s sudden arrest, Park Geonwoo was extremely composed. Even though the two of them had no friendship and were practically enemies, the fact that someone he had arrived with was suddenly arrested didn’t seem to surprise him at all.

“Hyung... did you know Seunghyuk was going to be arrested today?”

“Let’s just go.”

“So you did know.”

“Yeonsu, let’s go.”

He avoided answering.

“Hyung!”

Just then, someone opened the waiting room door—it was the Hyeonmu Center staff member who had guided us earlier. She looked at me with an awkward expression, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say we had to leave because I didn’t look well.

“Yeonsu.”

Park Geonwoo kept urging me to go.

“...Okay.”

Either way, with the staff here, I had to leave. But before I could even take a step, my legs gave out again and I sank down.

“Yeonsu, get on my back.”

Park Geonwoo offered me his back, but I refused.

“I’m fine.”

I didn’t want to be carried by anyone other than Joo Seunghyuk. I pushed against the floor and tried to get up. I tried to walk somehow, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.

When I stumbled again, Park Geonwoo supported me. I didn’t like even that, but I had no choice.

Park Geonwoo and I rode in a car to the Inspection Division building.

“This way.”

“Yes.”

He led me into an empty conference room. He seemed very familiar with the layout of the Inspection Division.

“Sit here. I’ll bring you a drink. Is there anything you want?”

“I’m fine.”

“You should have something anyway.”

“I’m not in the mood...”

Until just a short while ago, I’d been thinking I was hungry. Wondering what to eat with Joo Seunghyuk, even happily imagining cooking something for him myself.

But the moment he was taken away by the Inspection Division, my appetite vanished. I didn’t want to eat anything. I didn’t even want to drink.

“Hyung, more importantly, Seunghyuk—!”

“Just wait a moment.”

He stepped out, then returned with a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. Park Geonwoo drank the coffee himself and handed me the tea.

But whether coffee or tea, I had no intention of drinking.

“Hyung, something’s wrong. There’s no way Seunghyuk arranged your car accident!”

I finally managed to get out the words I’d been holding back.

“Calm down and drink.”

“I’m fine. And you know it too—Seunghyuk might be a bit blunt and a little rough, but...”

“Yeonsu, it’s more than a bit or a little.”

“Well... yes, but... Anyway, if he really intended to hurt you, he’d have handled it directly. He would never have ordered something like a car accident!”

Joo Seunghyuk hadn’t orchestrated Park Geonwoo’s accident. When I’d told him about it, he’d reacted indifferently, saying he’d never use such a stupid method.

And he was right. If Joo Seunghyuk truly meant to kill Park Geonwoo, he wouldn’t have chosen such a clumsy approach.

If he really had arranged the accident, he would’ve kept going after Park Geonwoo even after it failed, doing whatever it took to achieve his goal.

If Joo Seunghyuk decided on something, there’s no way Park Geonwoo would still be alive. And he’d never leave things sloppy enough to get caught.

But I couldn’t say that out loud. While I was wondering how to convince him, Park Geonwoo spoke.

“You’re right. If Joo Seunghyuk wanted me dead, he wouldn’t use that method. He could’ve attacked me while we were raiding a Gate, making it look like an accident—there are countless ways. Why bother with something so troublesome?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“But you know, he could have used that reasoning against you. Since no one would suspect him of using such a means, he used it to catch you off guard.”

“No. Seunghyuk would never.”

“Yeonsu, do you trust Joo Seunghyuk?”

“Yes.”

The answer came out before I had time to think. At that, Park Geonwoo’s gaze cooled.

“Even if Joo Seunghyuk manipulated your matching rate?”

“...What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, he showed me a photo.

The place in the picture was filled with the remains of long-ruined buildings, overgrown weeds, and a profusion of bright red flowers. Beyond that stood an opulent mansion completely out of place in the desolate scenery.

I knew it the moment I saw it.

It was a photo of Abite Island, where Joo Seunghyuk had spent his childhood and where we’d stayed together all summer break.

After the Gate Break, the island had become covered in Red Lotus Flame, and Joo Seunghyuk had gone to great lengths to hide that fact. But how had Park Geonwoo gotten this picture...?

“This is Joo Seunghyuk’s island. And those flowers are Red Lotus Flame.”

Park Geonwoo pointed at the photo as he explained.

He not only knew the island belonged to Joo Seunghyuk but also exactly what those flowers were.

“Yes.”

“You’re not surprised there’s Red Lotus Flame on the surface. Did you already know?”

“Seunghyuk told me.”

“That bastard’s shameless.”

His tone was uncharacteristically cynical for someone like Park Geonwoo, who usually presented an upright image.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Yeonsu, then do you know this as well?”

He showed me another photo instead of answering. This one depicted a rather stark gray building, with nothing particularly distinctive about it.

“What’s this?”

“I guess you don’t know. Well, even Joo Seunghyuk probably wouldn’t have told you this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s Seonghan’s Red Lotus Flame research facility.”

“...Red Lotus Flame research?”

“Yes. They’ve started developing new drugs using a special Red Lotus Flame that grows on the surface. Even though Seonghan Pharmaceutical already has research facilities, it seems Joo Seunghyuk set up a secret one. From what I’ve heard, they conducted all sorts of unethical experiments there for the sake of drug development. In particular, they focused on research to raise matching rates—and it seems they finally got results this year. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“...You’re saying Seunghyuk fed me a drug to raise our matching rate?”

This year, the only Guide whose matching rate with Joo Seunghyuk had risen dramatically was me.

Hearing my answer, Park Geonwoo nodded in affirmation.

“That’s right. In fact, from the moment I heard your matching rate with Joo Seunghyuk had suddenly jumped, I suspected Red Lotus Flame might be involved. People talk about Africa being in bad shape, but around the Akar Gate, it was practically a war zone.”

He suddenly brought up the Akar Gate raid.

“Even when the matching rate was poor, you still had to guide to survive. Some Espers and Guides would even pick Red Lotus Flame from the Gate and eat it to raise the matching rate, even if only temporarily. The side effects were so severe that it was a last resort—risking your life—but back then, we were desperate. So when I heard your matching rate with Joo Seunghyuk had improved after Akar was conquered, I immediately thought of Red Lotus Flame. That’s why I rushed back to Korea.”

That was why Park Geonwoo had returned earlier than in the original storyline.

“And then I found out Joo Seunghyuk had special Red Lotus Flame. That’s when my suspicion turned into certainty.”

“So what you were going to tell me last semester was...?”

“I was going to warn you that Joo Seunghyuk might have manipulated your matching rate.”

“But that alone isn’t proof he actually did it...”

When Park Geonwoo had come looking for me in the lecture hall saying he had something to tell me, Joo Seunghyuk had roughly silenced him with mana. I could still picture it vividly, yet different words came out of my mouth.

“That’s not all. While he was dating you, Joo Seunghyuk was also pursuing a political marriage with the only daughter of the president of Lexington Pharmaceuticals.”

“...”

“You’re not surprised. Did you know about that too?”

“Yes.”

“And you still kept dating him?”

“Yes.”

“Lexington is the world’s number one company in Red Lotus Flame research. He betrayed you for the sake of new drug development!”

Park Geonwoo raised his voice as if frustrated. But my view of Joo Seunghyuk didn’t change.

“I heard that political marriage was arranged without Seunghyuk’s consent.”

“And you believe that?”

“Yes. I do. It didn’t end up happening anyway.”