The first strategy: annoying him with constant, trivial updates.

“I’m at the convenience store, but I can’t decide between tuna mayo and Jeonju bibimbap.”

Seunghyuk told me to report everything I did. But if I really started reporting everything, even petty things like this, it’d wear him down.

“Don’t eat stuff like that—get a proper meal.”

“But I want a triangle kimbap~ 🐣”

I even added a cutesy emoji to raise the annoyance factor.

Even the kindest person would eventually start thinking, “Why are you telling me this?” This was useless information.

“Wanna eat together?”

“Can I?”

The second strategy was deliberately making spelling errors. Not enough to be obvious, but just one mistake every ten lines or so.

“You’re at the West Wing right? I’ll go their, so wait for me.”

He replied immediately. He must’ve noticed the typo—but still, no reaction.

But just like clothes soaking slowly in a drizzle, I was sure it would wear him down eventually.

Still, I couldn’t relax. Even during meals, I continued the final phase of my plan.

“Seunghyuk, did you know Canada’s capital is Ottawa? I thought it was Toronto this whole time.”

Apparently, people lose feelings fast when their partner shows a lack of basic general knowledge.

To be honest, I didn’t really care about trivia. The idea that some knowledge was labeled “common sense” and some wasn’t felt arbitrary. And judging someone's intelligence based on that? Not a fan.

But since most people hated it, I decided to use it.

Especially since Seunghyuk seemed particularly sensitive to that sort of thing.

He saw me as a brainy type—so every time I broke that image, the disappointment would hit harder.

“Wanna go to Canada over break?”

“...Huh?”

“Let’s visit both Toronto and Ottawa.”

...That’s not what I meant...

“Th-that sounds good, but isn’t Canada best in winter?”

“Then let’s go over winter break.”

“Uh-huh...”

“Can’t wait. I hope break comes soon.”

Seunghyuk beamed brightly.

Even though I’d just exposed that I didn’t know the capital of Canada, he didn’t seem even slightly fazed.

Is this really working? It has to be...

***

I figured it wouldn’t show immediately, but he’d gradually grow tired of me.

“Bought a black pen and pink highlighter at the stationery store.”

“Good job. Need anything else?”

“Nope. Heading to the library. Debating whether to borrow 3 books or 5.”

“Why?”

“If I take 5, it’ll probably be too heavy.”

“Borrow as many as you want. I’ll carry them.”

...but after more than two weeks, it was still zero effect.

Even when I sent completely pointless messages, Seunghyuk never once got annoyed. He didn’t even point out my spelling mistakes.

“No, you’ve got training. And I’m gonna take a while picking books.”

“I’ll wait.”

“Okay.”

...Maybe Seunghyuk really doesn’t care?

Even if I spammed him, made dumb typos, and lacked basic knowledge... maybe he really still liked me?

Does he actually... love me?

No. No way.

[Do you love me, Seunghyuk sunbae?]

In the original, when Kim Jun asked that question, Seunghyuk replied:

[Love? As if I’d be capable of something like that.]

He’d sneered coldly as he said it.

Seunghyuk never loved Kim Jun—not even at the very end. When Kim Jun broke down in tears, he’d only pretended to care, just to shut him up. But it wasn’t real.

Because of his traumatic childhood, Seunghyuk didn’t believe in love.

So there was no way he’d feel anything deep for someone he only hooked up with once.

I finished borrowing my books and walked out of the library.

“I’m outside the library. Got my books. Heading to the dorm now. So focus on training.”

“Hyung.”

Just as I was sending the message, I heard Seunghyuk’s voice.

“Seunghyuk...”

“Give me the books.”

He took them from my hands.

“How are you here already? Weren’t you in training?”

“It’s fine.”

He replied casually, glancing at the books.

“Romance of the Three Kingdoms, huh.”

“Yeah. I watched a Chinese film yesterday—you know, the one where Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei become sworn brothers under the wisteria tree? It made me want to read the novel.”

“......”

Seunghyuk’s expression stiffened.

“Hyung. That’s not right.”

“It’s not?”

Wait... is he a Three Kingdoms purist or something? And he couldn’t tolerate me getting Peach Garden Oath wrong? Or was this just the final straw?

Either way, this might finally be working after two weeks.

Maybe he’d snap /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and dump me right here.

I looked at him with hope bursting in my chest.

“No. It wasn’t a wisteria tree. It was a peach tree—just like you.”

He kissed my cheek.

That moment, I knew.

This plan had failed.

Even if it wasn’t some elaborate act—even if I genuinely didn’t know basic facts—Seunghyuk wouldn’t lose interest.

Why the hell can’t I get dumped?! What makes me so different from original Yeonsu? I’ve got the same face, same rank, same secondary gender!

“Seunghyuk...”

“Yes?”

“You’re really... okay with all this?”

“With what?”

“...Even if I’m dumb. Even if I’m ignorant?”

I asked, desperate and resigned. Did it seriously not bother him?

“It doesn’t matter.”

His answer was heartbreakingly matter-of-fact.

“I didn’t even know pinky promises were a thing. Did you think I was stupid back then?”

“No...”

“Same here. I like you, no matter what kind of person you are. As long as you don’t leave me.”

He held my hand tightly.

His eyes were gentle—so gentle, like a child’s. Looking into them, I suddenly felt like I was the cruel one, the bad guy, trying to leave him.

He pulled me close and kissed me. It was a sweet kiss—one you could never give someone you were tired of.

And just like that, my grand plan to get dumped by Joo Seunghyuk ended in total failure.

***

It was mid-June. It felt like the new semester had only just started, but finals were already around the corner.

In just four months, the original story had been completely derailed. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Not just with me and Seunghyuk—main couple and main bottom, too, could barely look each other in the eye without snarling.

It wasn’t a love-hate thing. It was just... hate. Contempt, disgust, loathing. And it only got worse with time.

At this point, I didn’t even hope for them to get together anymore. I tried to get dumped by Seunghyuk regardless of the original plot—but failed, and failed hard.

Far from breaking up, the pressure to get married just kept ramping up.

As if that wasn’t stressful enough, another problem surfaced.

“I’m broke.”

Seunghyuk had forbidden me from doing guiding part-time. So I’d been living off my savings.

But now, even that was running out. I still had one term deposit left, but there were only three months left till it matured. It felt like a waste to cash it out now.

Sure, I had a ring on my finger worth as much as two buildings. And there was more than 100 million won in my account. Plus a black card with an unknown limit.

But all of it belonged to Joo Seunghyuk. I couldn’t use it freely.

I sighed and stared at the fancy food laid out in front of me. Anyone looking would probably scoff: “What kind of broke person eats at a place like this?”

Seunghyuk had stepped out to take a call from Chairman Joo. Ever since we first slept together, we’d been inseparable—but this was the first time he’d ever gotten a call from his father.

He’s taking a while... Must be something serious.

The food’s going to get cold. But I didn’t want to eat alone.

Should I start looking for a different part-time job, other than guiding? Maybe there’s something Seunghyuk would be okay with.

I pulled up my browser, and a headline caught my eye.

“Park Geonwoo Conquers Akar Gate! Returning to Korea!”

Geonwoo hyung’s already coming back?

Startled, I clicked the article.

In Korea, all ability users were required to enter the Academy once they became adults. But there was one way to avoid it: overseas deployment.

Not every country in the world had the means to deal with Gates.

Low-income nations couldn’t afford to support high-level ability users. So most high-level talents born in those countries ended up changing nationality.

As a result, when high-level Gates opened in these countries, there was no one to stop them—and Gate Breaks occurred frequently.

Gate Breaks spread fast and often impacted neighboring countries. After the S-rank Gate Break in Africa caused global damage, the World Ability User Association designated Gate-dense regions and low-income nations as deployment zones.

Korea, being a member of the Association, sent its share of ability users abroad every year.

If a new adult went on deployment, their time there counted toward the Academy curriculum—and they could skip enrollment.

The Academy’s curriculum was designed for mid-tier users, and high-rankers had long complained it was useless for them.

Some high-rank students grumbled that they’d rather train through deployment than waste time at school. But none of them actually went.

Deployment meant surviving in godforsaken places where clean water was a luxury. Even if the government paid you, it was nothing compared to the suffering involved.

Some people went anyway, determined to help—but even the most selfless avoided Africa.

Africa was a land of monsters, death, and countless fallen Espers.

Not just Koreans—ability users from other countries avoided it too. Some governments even used it as a form of exile for criminals.

But Park Geonwoo volunteered to go.

He gave up a guaranteed future, comfort, and mountains of money as an S-rank Esper.

And with his incredible achievements, he rose to global hero status. Korea reported on his exploits daily.

And now... he’d conquered the Akar Gate.

The Akar Gate had been the spark that ignited the “Africa Gate Break Crisis,” giving it special significance.

I already knew Geonwoo would conquer it—it was in the original plot. But I didn’t expect it to happen this fast.

Originally, he was supposed to take down the Akar Gate in August, spend a month recovering abroad, then return for the real start of the second semester and the main storyline.

But now he was already on his way back?

The timing of the conquest could’ve moved up—but why return without resting?