This time too, it had changed—just slightly from the original. If it had changed completely, I could’ve forgotten about the source material altogether and lived on, but this kind of vague difference only made it harder to ignore.

“You were looking at some other bastard’s face in that short moment?”

At the cold voice, I turned my head. Joo Seunghyuk was looming over me with a chilly gaze.

Just a little while ago, he’d seemed to be in a good mood, but now it had suddenly turned violent. Did something happen with Chairman Joo?

“Th-that’s not it, it’s just... Geonwoo-hyung succeeded in the Akar Gate assault.”

“Geonwoo-hyung...?”

“I mean Park Geonwoo, the S-rank Esper.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. And sounds like he’ll be coming back to Korea soon.”

“You happy?”

“...Huh?”

“Are you happy Park Geonwoo’s coming back? You two must be close.”

Every word dripped with ice. For some reason, it gave me déjà vu. In the original story, Joo Seunghyuk had also bristled like this when it came to Park Geonwoo.

Don’t tell me it’s the same this time too? That it’s not because of the phone call, but because Park Geonwoo is bothering him?

But Seunghyuk had no interest in Park Geonwoo this time around... Right, even in the original story, he hadn’t.

From a young age, the two had constantly been compared just because they were both S-rankers, but Seunghyuk had never shown much interest in Geonwoo.

Sure, their personalities were polar opposites, so they did butt heads now and then, but it wasn’t like he hated him as a person.

But the situation changed drastically once Kim Jun got involved between them.

Kim Jun’s first love had been Park Geonwoo. And Park Geonwoo, despite Kim Jun being a lower rank, grew fond of his hard work and sincerity.

As the two grew closer, Joo Seunghyuk started to go insane.

But this time, it was different. There was no entanglement with Kim Jun like in the original. Seunghyuk had no reason to dislike Park Geonwoo.

“It’s not like that, it’s just... You know how I used to be assigned to Geonwoo-hyung a lot when I was younger. So of course I’m happy. It’s been a while. Even if it’s someone you weren’t all that close with, it’s nice to see them again after a long time. And two years ago, Geonwoo-hyung actually saved my life...”

“Geonwoo-hyung, Geonwoo-hyung... Lee Yeonsu, why are you saying such revolting things with that pretty mouth of yours?” 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Joo Seunghyuk’s thumb pressed down on my lips. Mana flowed from his fingertip, making my lips sting. But I was too overwhelmed by the look in his eyes to even say it hurt.

“Your voice is dripping with honey. Do you like him that much?”

His quiet voice carried a chilling killing intent. Had he ever been this angry before? It was different from when I guided Sunwoo-sunbae—this rage wrapped around him like a living thing.

“N-no. It’s not like that, Geonwoo-hyung is just—”

In that moment, our lips collided. This wasn’t like before. It wasn’t lust. It wasn’t affection. He bit down on my lips violently, as if telling me to shut the hell up.

The mana flowing from Joo Seunghyuk’s hand wrapped around my throat. In an instant, it spread across my entire body and began to constrict me. The whole world turned pitch black. The sharp metallic scent of blood filled my mouth in the darkness.

On the way back home after dinner, I stared out the window the entire time.

“Are you mad?”

Joo Seunghyuk asked while driving.

“No...”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I really wasn’t mad.

I was just... frightened. Realizing all over again what kind of person Joo Seunghyuk really was.

Even if it was only for a brief moment, his mana had completely overwhelmed my entire body. If he’d wanted to, he could’ve torn me apart without a second thought.

Joo Seunghyuk wasn’t just a twisted yandere. He was an S-rank Esper—and the man who had killed me in the original story.

“Then say something. Anything.”

As if offering my body wasn’t enough, now he wants me to talk, too... But when a yandere demands something, you give it.

I looked up at the crescent moon rising in the sky.

“...The moon’s pretty.”

“Don’t say crap like that. Makes me jealous of the moon.”

This lunatic. He’s actually insane.

Then what the hell am I supposed to say? I was still racking my brain, staring out the window, when he asked me again.

“Do you regret it?”

“...Huh?”

“Back during the mock battle. Do you regret saving me? Do you ever think you should’ve just let me die?”

“No. Why would I think that?”

I wasn’t the kind of person who would wish death on someone. No matter who they were.

“Then maybe you’re thinking, ‘a guy like that should’ve never been born.’”

“......”

His voice was unexpectedly self-mocking. It was so unlike Seunghyuk that I turned to look at him. And the moment I did, I was at a loss for words.

Since when had he had that expression?

I hadn’t looked at him since the kiss, so I hadn’t noticed how his expression had changed.

Right now, Joo Seunghyuk looked just like a child.

Seven years ago—when I turned down his exclusive Guide contract—he’d had the same exact look on his face.

***

The moment I guided Joo Seunghyuk, I realized it—this world was the one inside the novel.

I was disoriented and overwhelmed. I couldn’t tell what was a dream and what was real, what was fiction, who that man from the publishing house in my memories had been—everything felt terrifying and confusing.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you crying?”

As I flailed in the crashing wave of memories, Joo Seunghyuk’s voice reached me.

‘Was I crying...?’

Barely coming back to reality, I looked at the boy standing in front of me.

“Hey! D-don’t cry. You’re a guy, why are you crying over something like this?”

“......”

Even now, he looked as pretty as a doll. His words were harsh, but there was something like a wounded rabbit about him—I couldn’t just leave him alone.

And yet this child... would kill me?

“I said stop crying!”

Flustered, Joo Seunghyuk dashed out to the living room and came back with a box of tissues.

“Here, wipe with—ah!”

In his rush back, Joo Seunghyuk tripped on something and fell flat, dropping the tissue box. It flew right out of his hands—and smacked into my face.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”

Secretary Ahn burst into the annex with a shout.

“As if using violence on Young Master Taehan wasn’t enough, now you’re harassing the Guide too?!”

Joo Taehan must’ve tattled to her. That’s why she was here now—to scold him.

Joo {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Seunghyuk was still drenched in orange juice. If she’d seen that, she would’ve known he was the one who got attacked by Taehan. But instead, she scolded only the younger Seunghyuk as if it were a one-sided incident.

If I hadn’t known the original story, I would’ve been confused. But now I understood everything.

Why young Joo Seunghyuk lived alone in the annex. Why the adopted son, Joo Taehan, could openly bully the biological son, and why even the secretary treated the youngest master with disdain—it all made sense now.

“That’s not it. He wasn’t harassing me. He was just trying to give me tissues.”

“There’s no need to defend him.”

“It’s not that—”

“The Chairman is here. Let’s go.”

Secretary Ahn grabbed my arm irritably. So she was looking down on me for becoming Seunghyuk’s Guide. She must’ve always resented me, but she’d hidden it well. Then again, with a poker face like hers, she probably had everyone fooled.

Now I could see her true face clearly, too.

For the moment, I followed her into the main house. In the reception room, Chairman Joo and Esper Do Hyeokjin were seated.

Once I sat across from them, Chairman Joo didn’t even greet me—instead, he asked Do Hyeokjin directly.

“What do you think?”

Do Hyeokjin stared at me intently. Was he trying to sense my mana?

They must’ve called in an S-rank Esper to assess whether I was useful or not.

“He looks promising. I won’t know for sure until I guide him, but...”

“That’s a relief.”

Chairman Joo responded indifferently. He didn’t seem remotely interested, even though this was about appointing an exclusive Guide for his S-rank awakened son.

He didn’t evaluate me himself. Didn’t even bother to meet my eyes properly.

“Can we go ahead with the contract?”

“Yes.”

Once Do Hyeokjin answered, Chairman Joo finally looked at me.

“I heard Seunghyuk was rude. I apologize. That kid’s always had a violent nature.”

He criticized Joo Seunghyuk. The secretary must’ve come in here before me and reported what happened earlier.

“That’s not true. He wasn’t violent or rude.”

“You don’t need to cover for him.”

He spoke coldly, with no trace of affection for his youngest son—even one he’d obtained with such difficulty.

But of course. I only knew this because I’d read the original story.

Chairman Joo Wonchan had loved his wife. Even if it had started as a political marriage, his feelings had been sincere. But his wife, Choi Sunghye, hadn’t felt the same.

She had someone she truly loved. But because of her father’s opposition, she was forced to marry Joo Wonchan.

The reason she hadn’t gotten pregnant during the marriage was because she was taking birth control pills. She didn’t want to have a child with a man she didn’t love. Even Chairman Joo’s unwavering devotion couldn’t move her heart.

A little while after Chairman Joo adopted his nephew, she happened to reunite with her former lover. And she fell in love again.

To others, it looked like an affair—but to Choi Sunghye, it was her one true love.

She stopped taking the pills. And when she realized she was pregnant, she ran away with the man.

It was never fully certain whose child it was. But she believed with all her heart it was the child of the man she loved.

Yet just before giving birth, the man disappeared without a word. That’s when she realized she’d been betrayed.

For her, it had been love—but to him, it had been nothing more than a fling.

Choi Sunghye wanted to abort the baby. Whether it was her husband’s child or her lover’s, she didn’t want it. But labor came early, and she died giving birth alone.

The child left behind was sent to Chairman Joo.

Chairman Joo wanted to raise the baby as his own. Everyone around him criticized it as foolish—said the child was clearly the son of her lover. But even with so much opposition, he registered the child in the family. He couldn’t give him the family’s generational syllable “Han,” so he named him “Joo Seunghyuk” instead.

He deliberately never had a paternity test done—he wanted to avoid the truth.

Joo Seunghyuk looked just like his beloved wife. For him, that was enough.

Then one day, Secretary Ahn brought Chairman Joo a DNA test result between him and Seunghyuk. The results showed no match.

Chairman Joo crumbled. All the resentment he’d buried toward his wife erupted at once—and all that anger turned toward Seunghyuk.

Had he lived in ignorance, he might’ve kept believing. But now that he knew the truth, Seunghyuk was no longer his son. He was just the filthy blood of the man who’d stolen his wife.

From that day forward, Joo Seunghyuk’s life was steeped in darkness.