What do you mean we “shared our virginity”?! You’re not even a virgin!

I barely held back from shouting in rage.

“Then what should I call you?”

“Call me ‘Seunghyuk-ah.’”

“...What?”

‘Seunghyuk-ah’?

That was what Lee Yeonsu used to call Joo Seunghyuk in the original novel.

Joo Seunghyuk had demanded Yeonsu call him “Student Joo Seunghyuk” or “Esper Joo Seunghyuk,” but Yeonsu insisted on using his name, stubbornly flaunting their closeness.

And the result was a miserable death.

And now he’s asking me to raise a death flag? 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

I clamped my mouth shut in terror, and he leaned in, rubbing my earlobe and whispering into my ear.

“You kept calling me that all night last night.”

I flinched and stepped back, and he lowered his gaze in what looked like sorrow.

“Is my name too hard to say? Is the pronunciation difficult? Should I change it?”

“No, that’s not it—”

“If it’s hard for you to say, I’ll change it. What name do you like?”

He turned like he was about to run off to the courthouse that very moment. Startled, I grabbed his sleeve.

“It’s not hard!”

“Then should I change my last name? Is it because you hate my family name too much to say it?”

This psycho... And how the hell would you even change your family name?

Wait. No—if it’s Joo Seunghyuk, he probably could pull it off.

“No, I don’t have any problem with your last name either.”

“Then why won’t you say my name?”

“...Because we’re not really close enough for that, are we?”

I asked cautiously. His eyes glinted sharply.

“Are you denying what happened last night?”

“N-no, I’m not denying it...”

“Hyung, I’m someone who treasures virginity like my life.”

You?

I quickly lowered my head to hide my dumbfounded expression. He reached out and lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes.

“If you toyed with something as precious as my life... even if you’re Lee Yeonsu, I can’t forgive that.”

Black mana oozed from his hand and coiled tightly around my throat.

With the flick of a finger, he could slice my neck clean off.

“O-of course I would never do that.”

The icy pressure on my neck froze my body and tongue alike. But I forced myself to speak—for survival.

“I... I value virginity too.”

“Really?”

“Y-yes. Of course.”

My voice trembled uncontrollably. Even though I was acknowledging what happened last night, the black mana didn’t release my neck.

“Hyung, why are you talking so formally? Drop the honorifics.”

“...Okay.”

“Not ‘okay’—say ‘yeah.’”

“Y-yeah...”

I was too scared to resist. I did exactly as he said.

“Call me ‘Seunghyuk-ah.’”

“S-Seunghyuk-ah...”

“Good job.”

His eyes softened and he gave a pretty smile. The black mana around my neck finally dissolved.

“Let’s go, hyung.”

The hand that had gripped my chin slipped naturally around my waist. That touch was oddly sensual.

I might not have any sexual experience—or maybe I do now?

Anyway, I didn’t have any memories of sexual experience, but I’d guided plenty of Espers before. Some had tried to escalate things under the pretense of deeper guiding.

So based on those experiences, I could instinctively tell what Joo Seunghyuk was about to do.

“Um, sorry, but... I’m not feeling well today. My back hurts, and I... I think I need to rest today...”

Trying to drop the honorifics made my speech awkward—like I was just cutting off the “-yo” at the end.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t know. Is it really bad?”

He seemed to understand why I was in pain and looked genuinely innocent, like he hadn’t expected it.

Watching him like that left me speechless. Innocent? That’s another lie.

“Then I’ll get going—”

“I’ll walk you to the dorm.”

“No, it’s okay!”

“‘Okay’?”

“I mean—no! No, it’s fine!”

I quickly corrected myself.

“I can go alone.”

“...All right.”

When I repeated myself, Seunghyuk reluctantly withdrew his arm from around my waist.

***

As soon as I shut the door, I gasped for breath.

I had no idea how I got from the West Hall to the dorms.

All I could remember was running like hell for my life.

Those cold, heavy eyes looking down at me. That iron grip crushing my chin. The black mana tightening around my throat.

I wasn’t an Esper, but I’d faced danger more than once while working as a Guide.

Still, I’d never felt fear like that before.

I really almost died. If he’d been serious, my head would be rolling on the floor right now.

Why is he acting like this? Wasn’t he just mocking me? What the hell is he thinking...

No matter how much I racked my brain, there was no way a normal person like me could understand the mind of a yandere obsessive.

“Ugh... Woongie...”

I grabbed the puppy plushie on my bed and hugged it tight. It wasn’t the real Minwoong, but it was soft and cute enough to calm me down.

Knock knock.

Who could that be?

The Academy for Ability Users originally had 100% dormitory residency, but ten years ago the rules were changed—now students could choose whether to live on-campus or off.

This was Dormitory Building 1, where only S- and A-ranks lived.

It had the best facilities of any dorm, but most high-ranking ability users were sponsored by corporations or major guilds from a young age, so they usually lived off-campus.

The sixth floor, where I stayed, was reserved exclusively for S-ranks. But I was the only S-rank who actually lived in the dorms, so it was practically my own private floor.

So it was almost unheard of for someone else to come up to the sixth floor.

“Who is it?”

A delivery?

Normally, when a package arrived, the security office would scan it and bring it to the room.

“It’s me.”

The voice tried to sound innocent, but made every hair on my body stand on end.

“J-Joo Seunghyuk...?”

“You should call me ‘Seunghyuk-ah.’”

“...Seunghyuk-ah.”

The fear from earlier still lingered, and I called his name without hesitation.

“I feel so happy when you say my name.”

How can you force someone to say it and then act touched?! I’ll never understand the logic of a yandere.

“S-Seunghyuk-ah... what brings you here?”

“You said you weren’t feeling well, so I brought you medicine.”

“...You didn’t have to.”

This was the kind of kindness I absolutely didn’t want.

“I caused it. Of course I have to.”

“......”

“Aren’t you going to open the door?”

He sounded polite, almost logical—but the undercurrent of threat was unmistakable. I started to wonder if he’d break the door down.

I had no choice. I opened it.

In the brief moment before the door swung open, countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

Why is he here?

No way he actually brought medicine. Did something I said earlier piss him off? Is he here to finish me off?

Maybe he’s finally getting revenge for the contract I refused seven years ago.

I slipped my hand into my pocket. The national “Central Ability User Control Center” had issued me a tool for emergencies, just in case—since I was an S-rank Guide. If I pressed the button, Espers stationed at the school and the Center would deploy immediately.

The problem was whether I’d survive long enough for them to arrive...

I trembled as I stared at the door. The moment it opened, and Joo Seunghyuk appeared in view, my eyes widened.

His forehead was beaded with sweat, and in his hand was a plastic pharmacy bag—completely out of place for an obsessive yandere.

He really went to the pharmacy for me...? It was below freezing outside. For him to be sweating this much... just how fast did he run?

“Thank you...”

Feeling guilty for doubting him, I bowed slightly, and Joo Seunghyuk hugged me tight.

“It’s only been a little while, but I already missed you.”

“Ugh...”

His 191-centimeter frame pressed down on me and nearly snapped my spine in half.

“Ack, sorry!”

When I groaned, he immediately pulled back and apologized. For a moment, he seemed like a clueless oversized puppy—it was kind of cute.

No—wait. Cute? What the hell am I thinking? This guy’s a psycho obsessive!

I didn’t even need to reference the novel. Just going by the number of Espers and Guides he’d injured so far, he was clearly a dangerous lunatic.

“I’m fine.”

“There you go being formal again.”

“...I’m fine.”

“You should take your medicine. Let’s go in.”

“Yeah...”

He’d bought the medicine. I couldn’t just shut the door in his face. I nodded, and Seunghyuk came inside.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?”

“Yeah...”

“I brought porridge. Hurry and eat.”

I noticed another paper bag besides the pharmacy one—he must’ve picked up porridge too.

“You really didn’t need to do all this.”

“I’m the reason you’re hurting.”

He gave a gentle smile and grabbed the foldable table beside my desk, setting it up.

He placed the plastic container of porridge on top.

I usually ate there anyway, but watching Seunghyuk treat my things like they were his sent chills down my spine.

“It’s abalone porridge. Eat up.”

“Okay...”

I stared at the porridge in silence.

There was a similar scene in the original.

Joo Seunghyuk had drugged Kim Jun’s food with a sedative and locked him up in his house.

His hobbies were kidnapping and drugging.

There’s no telling what might be in this.