“Don’t let your guard down just because this is a mock training. Treat it as real combat and approach it with caution.”

Professor Choi spoke gravely, but to be honest, the atmosphere among the students was pretty relaxed.

‘Mock combat training’ was a pinnacle of modern technology.

Training was conducted in a special space where gates and monsters were recreated to feel almost indistinguishably real. Through mana, students could defeat enemies and use terrain—combat that felt nearly identical to the real thing.

It was the pride of the Esper Academy and the students’ favorite kind of training.

The difficulty of the monsters and terrain could be adjusted based on one’s rank, and above all, it was safe.

Even if you were attacked by a monster, all you felt was a slight jolt—no actual injuries. It was more like playing a game than facing mortal danger.

On top of that, professors and Espers from the Center monitored everything in real-time, and if anything dangerous happened, the training would be stopped immediately. Accidents were nearly unheard of.

After Professor Choi, an A-rank Esper from the Center gave a rundown of the mock training.

It was a clean, efficient explanation, but since everyone except the freshmen already knew the content, barely anyone paid attention.

When the explanation ended, Professor Choi took the mic again.

“Lastly, I’ll now announce the teams who’ll be training together this semester.”

The auditorium fell silent at once.

Depending on your teammates, this supposedly fun mock training could become hell. So of course everyone was tense.

Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the central monitor screen.

White text appeared on the black screen. The auditorium stirred again.

Team 1

S-Rank Esper: Joo Seunghyuk

S-Rank Guide: Lee Yeonsu

F-Rank Guide: Kim Jun

“Joo Seunghyuk and Lee Yeonsu are on the same team? Are they actually dating?”

“Didn’t you see earlier? He hugged him.”

“Maybe it was just guiding!”

“But Seunghyuk was smiling!”

“Then yeah, they must be dating.”

So a hug counts as guiding, and a smile confirms a relationship? I’ll never understand the logic of this world. Or maybe the problem is Seunghyuk’s damn personality.

“Isn’t Lee Yeonsu dating Gunwoo-sunbae?”

“Yeah, I thought so too.”

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

“It’s real. They’ve got tons of matching couple items.”

“No way. That stuff’s just coincidence.”

“Come on, it definitely didn’t look like coincidence.”

Can’t believe there are still people who believe I’m dating Park Gunwoo. That rumor’s been haunting me since middle school.

Please stop. That man is a sub love interest. He’s supposed to fall in love with Kim Jun.

And besides, Park Gunwoo never even liked me that way.

I shook my head, when a new wave of chatter started.

“What the hell is an F-rank doing there?”

“Look at that—an S and an F in the same team. It’s so jarring.”

“This is bullshit. So many people want to be paired with Seunghyuk and Yeonsu—why the fuck is that loser in there? What are the criteria?”

But as the announcements continued, the students’ attention shifted toward finding out their own teammates.

Once the last team was revealed, everyone began looking for their team members and moving to regroup. Team sizes varied: the lower the rank, the more people per team.

Lower-ranked Espers couldn’t rely on mana or special abilities, so strategy and teamwork were considered more important.

So unlike high-rankers, mid and low-rank Espers trained in teams of ten or more.

But even among the elite teams, no one had a team as small as ours—just three people.

“Hello, sunbae.”

I was looking for Kim Jun when he ran up to me first.

“Hi, Jun.”

“......”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong, Jun?”

“O-oh, it’s just... I was surprised you called me by name.”

“I called you that before too.”

I’d called his name when introducing him to Joo Seunghyuk the other day.

“I thought I misheard. I didn’t think there was any way you actually knew my name...”

He scratched his temple sheepishly.

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re pretty famous.”

“Right. Because I’m an F-rank...”

“That’s not what I meant. I have high expectations for you.”

“For... me?”

“Yeah. You’re special. You’ve got a high match rate. Do you not like it when I call your name?”

“No, not at all! I’d be really happy if you kept doing it—uh, I mean, it would be an honor!”

Kim Jun’s eyes sparkled brightly.

It was normal for a senior Guide to call a junior by name, but for him to be that touched—it probably meant he’d been bullied by other seniors too.

“Being on the same team as you is like a dream come true, sunbae. This isn’t a one-time thing, right? We’ll be together the whole semester?”

Even after hearing all the insults thrown his way, Kim Jun didn’t seem the least bit discouraged. I was relieved.

“Yeah, we will.”

“Thank god. I knew it, but I was still worried. I can relax now.”

He sighed in relief and smiled wide. It was a soft, sweet expression.

He had a gentle face, a strong build, and even came off as adorable—I could see why Seunghyuk fell for him in the original novel.

“I’m really, really happy to be on your team, sunbae.”

“Me too. Let’s do our best together.”

“Yes! I’ll work hard.”

When I held out my hand for a handshake, Kim Jun blinked in surprise and quickly scrubbed his palm against his uniform.

He gave a sheepish grin and was about to take my hand when a sharp scream rang out.

Startled, I turned toward the noise.

A group of Espers were lying on the floor—the same ones who’d been gossiping about me and Park Gunwoo earlier.

“Joo Seunghyuk! What the hell are you doing?!”

The head of the Esper Department, Professor Jeon, shouted, but Seunghyuk didn’t respond. He simply walked toward us.

“Take your filthy hand off.”

He slapped away Kim Jun’s hand mid-handshake and grabbed mine tightly.

“Seunghyuk...”

“Hyung, how could you not even wait and let someone filthy touch you?”

He took out a black handkerchief and started wiping my hand. Espers often carried handkerchiefs since monster blood tended to splatter during hunts.

But I’d never seen one that black before.

“Seunghyuk...”

What the hell did you just do to those Espers? I wanted to ask.

But on the Esper side, all they did was grumble, “Fucking ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Seunghyuk, that crazy bastard...” and calmly resumed preparing for training—as if this were routine.

Truly, when a lunatic is publicly certified, it hits different. I looked at the Espers getting helped up, then turned away.

I couldn’t let such a historic day—the day the main character and the main uke formed a team—get ruined like this.

I was about to try calming Seunghyuk down, but Kim Jun, clutching his flushed hand, boldly pushed back.

“No matter how senior you are, don’t you think that was rude?”

Ooh.

I was impressed. As expected of Kim Jun.

He was low-ranked, poor, had no connections, and got pushed around constantly by mid-to-low-rankers—but when it came to the main character Joo Seunghyuk, he never backed down.

Even under confinement and violence, he never folded.

While reading the novel, I often thought: If it were me, I’d be terrified of Seunghyuk. This guy’s amazing.

Now that I was experiencing it in person, he was even more impressive. Must be main uke power—he was fearless.

This was the right attitude.

It was precisely Kim Jun’s fearless defiance that caught Seunghyuk’s attention in the first place.

“The only thing rude here is your lack of skill.”

“......”

But unlike in the original, this time Seunghyuk crushed the main uke’s pride without mercy.

Kim Jun, usually so bold and earnest, clammed up tight.

“All right, all right. Let’s head in. We’re assigned to Gate Chamber One.”

The main character and main uke looked ready to start fighting before the session even began. I deliberately lightened my tone to defuse the tension.

***

As we walked from the central hall toward the gate chamber, I explained the mock training system to Kim Jun.

“There are five gate chambers in total.”

“So only five teams can train at once?”

“Right. Today’s just the first session, so each team gets a short 30-minute slot. Starting next time, we’ll have set time blocks for each team...”

Just then, Seunghyuk suddenly yanked me toward him and coldly snapped at Kim Jun.

“Basic information should be studied via the manual.”

“...Yes, sunbae.”

Kim Jun bowed his head.

Oh yeah, this happened in the original novel too.

Right before their first real combat in second semester, a nervous Kim Jun kept asking questions, and Seunghyuk shut him down with “read the manual.”

Good. This was a good start.

Soon, we arrived at Gate Chamber One.

Of all the five mock training arenas, Gate 1 was the largest. It was typically assigned to teams with lots of members—but despite being the smallest team, we were given Gate 1.

For an S-Rank Esper like Seunghyuk, even Gate 1 probably felt cramped.

“Looks like I’ll be getting guided by hyung today.”

Seunghyuk took my hand and squeezed it.

Even though we’d been sleeping together since the first night, I’d never actually guided him before.

“You’re going to be disappointed.”

“Why?”

“Rank isn’t everything. Matching rate matters too.”

“You worry too much.”

He pulled me into a hug. I glanced toward Kim Jun and gently pushed Seunghyuk’s arm off.

“This is team training.”

“Exactly. So why did some uninvited guest barge in?”

Seunghyuk stared at Kim Jun with open hostility. But Kim Jun wasn’t intimidated.

“Please stop. You’re making Yeonsu-sunbae uncomfortable.”

“What?”

“Can’t you see he doesn’t like it?”

Our main uke really was fearless and sharp, just like the novel described. When it came to Seunghyuk, he had zero tact—fitting for someone dubbed Clueless Jun.

Still, I was shocked he called it out so directly.

“Kim Jun, do you have a death wish?”

“You didn’t deny it, so you must be aware of how you’re making him feel.”

Their interaction was playing out just like in the original.

At first, Kim Jun admired Seunghyuk for helping him. But once he became his assigned Guide, their personalities clashed, and he slowly came to see Seunghyuk’s true nature. Their fights became constant.

Good. Let them fight, just like in the novel.

But why the hell are they fighting over me?!

Erase me from the equation! Go have your love-hate drama without me!!