“Um... would you help me unpack a bit?”

“Yes. Of course.”

I nodded without hesitation.

When I first moved into the dorm, I’d struggled by myself to unpack everything. Having even one extra pair of hands made a huge difference.

“Thanks. Come on in.”

“Excuse me, then.”

I stepped into Park Geonwoo’s room. As expected, the layout was identical to mine. Same school-issued furniture, too.

There were some boxes and bags stacked near the entrance, but surprisingly, it didn’t look like he’d brought much.

“I only packed the bare essentials. Figured it’d be better to buy everything else new. But... maybe I brought too little? I came in a rush...”

Geonwoo rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

“You must’ve really been in a hurry.”

I was sure his return to Korea would be hectic. The government, the Center, the media—none of them would leave the "Hero of the Savanna" alone. He was already being summoned here and there for special lectures and appearances.

In the original story, he’d returned to Korea only after getting plenty of rest abroad, precisely to avoid all this.

But this time, he came back right after clearing the Akar Gate.

“Yeah. Something urgent came up in Korea. I couldn’t waste a single second.”

Was it to set right whatever “went wrong,” like he said earlier?

I didn’t know what it was—but clearly, it was important to him.

What kind of issue could make Park Geonwoo this agitated? I was curious, but I couldn’t ask unless he brought it up first.

“What should I do?”

“Ah, could you start by helping organize the books in that box?”

“Sure.”

“But I should wash my hands first.”

His eyes had fallen on my left hand—where Seunghyuk’s rose drawing still lingered vividly.

“Oh, sorry.”

I bowed and quickly went into the bathroom. But no matter how much I scrubbed, the rose wouldn’t come off. That was the power of a name pen, I guess.

Now that I thought about it, I needed to contact Seunghyuk...

I hadn’t been keeping him updated on my every move lately, but this... definitely needed reporting.

I lathered up again and checked my hand. The rose looked slightly faded now. It wouldn’t come off completely, but I figured this was good enough. I left the bathroom.

Maybe I took too long? Park Geonwoo was sitting by the bed, flipping through an album.

When he saw me, he gestured for me to come over.

I was about to text Seunghyuk—but a short delay wouldn’t hurt.

I sat beside him and looked at the album.

Inside were photos we’d taken at the Blue House.

“Yeonsu, do you remember this day?”

“Yes. That’s when we first met.”

It was on Youth Day—we’d both attended as representative Esper and Guide.

“I was so nervous that day.”

“You didn’t show it at all. Your speech was flawless.”

“I was trying not to mess up in front of you. Honestly, when I first saw you, I froze.”

“Huh? Why?”

Had I done something wrong? I blinked in surprise, but Geonwoo smiled faintly.

“You were too pretty. I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as you.”

“Haha... Aren’t you laying it on a little thick today?”

“I’m not. I’m not even good at flattery.”

He denied it, but I couldn’t believe him. He could shower you in compliments one day, then draw a line the next.

That was just who Park Geonwoo was.

I looked down at the photo. He must’ve liked printing them and storing them in albums.

Seeing our younger selves again after so long brought a strange, nostalgic feeling.

“Oh—there’s Seunghyuk!”

“Seunghyuk?”

“Yeah, here.”

I pointed to a small boy standing off in the corner. He’d come dressed for the occasion, wearing a bright red bowtie—it was so adorable, I laughed out loud.

He looked like a character out of a detective manga. Conan, maybe.

I’d thought he was cute back then too. Seeing him now, he really did look like a doll. Even his grumpy expression was charming. Though if he looked like that now... I’d be terrified.

“Yeonsu.”

“Yes?”

“About you and Joo Seunghyuk... are you two really—”

BANG!!!

The door exploded—no, it shattered. The dormitory door of an S-rank Esper, at the Ability Academy, in the dead of night.

There was only one person in the world who could do that.

Joo Seunghyuk stood in the wreckage, radiating a sinister, suffocating bloodlust.

“...”

He stepped inside without even taking off his shoes. With each footfall, black mana surged violently around him like smoke.

I was frozen in fear, unable to say anything. Then he grabbed my wrist.

“Se—Seunghyuk...”

Snapping out of his daze, Park Geonwoo stood up and tried to stop him.

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

Seunghyuk didn’t answer. He just glared at Park Geonwoo.

“I said, what the hell do you think you’re doing, breaking into someone else’s room?!”

The more Geonwoo yelled, the more violently Seunghyuk’s mana flared.

This was different from before. It wasn’t just anger—it was murderous intent.

He wasn’t just losing control. He was genuinely ready to kill.

“Seunghyuk, calm down!”

I shouted desperately.

“A-and, hyung—Geonwoo-hyung—I’ll get going now!”

“Yeonsu...”

“See you tomorrow!”

I yelled just before being dragged out of the room.

‘Hyung, see you tomorrow. And if I go missing, please come find me.’

I silently hoped that Park Geonwoo could somehow hear the plea behind my voice.

***

Joo Seunghyuk shoved me into his car. The cabin was drenched in thick, black mana.

‘Seunghyuk...’

The name hovered at the tip of my tongue—but I couldn’t say it. The killing aura strangled my voice.

If he so much as flicked a finger, I would vanish without a trace. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

I was too terrified to speak.

His car followed a familiar road, bringing us back to his house.

Without a word, Seunghyuk grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the pitch-black interior.

“Ah!”

Even before the front door shut, he threw me across the floor.

I crashed hard into the cold marble tiles. The impact reverberated through my body.

My elbows and knees screamed in pain—but this wasn’t a situation where I could show it.

“S-Seunghyuk, listen... uhng...!”

I tried to explain, biting back a groan—but he didn’t let me speak.

His teeth dug into my lower lip. The half-healed wound split open again. A sharp, metallic taste of blood spread over my tongue.

Only after a rough, devouring kiss did he release me.

“Seunghyuk, you’ve got it all wrong—!”

“Shut up.”

I tried again to explain, but his voice cut through like ice.

“I said shut up! I’ll destroy everything if you keep talking!”

“...”

There were no lights on, yet I could still feel the madness in his eyes.

“When you started talking about liking someone, falling for someone—I didn’t want to believe it. But it was Park Geonwoo, huh? That bastard. You ran back here because you missed him?”

“N-no! Hyung—no, I mean Geonwoo-sunbae and I just ran into each other at school. He came back to Korea suddenly, so I guess he ended up staying at the dorms.”

“Hah. How convenient.”

He scoffed, but his laughter was laced with a deadly aura. Still, it was the first time he actually listened to what I said.

I had to seize this chance.

“So, I was just about to head back to my room, but then sunbae asked me to help him unpack...”

“Why would you be the one to help him?”

“Be... because I’m his junior...?”

“Haah...”

Another hollow laugh. This was not a good sign.

Things were getting dangerous. I kept explaining, desperate.

“There wasn’t even much stuff in his room. I thought I’d be done quickly...”

“If he didn’t have much, he should’ve handled it himself. Why drag you in?”

His voice had dropped dangerously low. He sounded calm now—but that made it even scarier.

“I’m sorry. I only helped him sort a few books and then I was going to tell you right after. I swear. I was really going to tell you everything—”

“Do you know how fucked up I felt when I saw you with him? My blood went cold.”

“...”

Suddenly, the lights flicked on.

Maybe I’d grown used to the dark, because the brightness made me instinctively squeeze my eyes shut. Then he grabbed my jaw, tilting my head upward.

When our eyes locked—his black, frenzied eyes—I froze like I’d been shackled.

“You always smile around him.”

“...”

I hadn’t been smiling at Geonwoo. I’d been looking at a photo of Seunghyuk as a kid.

But I couldn’t speak under that gaze.

Seunghyuk grabbed my left hand and stared at the rose drawing—now only faintly visible.

“When did you try to wash it off? What were you doing with him? Did you laugh and joke while he smeared his pheromones all over you?”

“Pheromones...?”

He marked me with ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Alpha pheromones?

“You didn’t notice?”

“I-I had no idea. I’m a Beta...”

“Ha. So Park Geonwoo, the gentle, proper, model Esper, marked you without your consent?”

Now I understood why Seunghyuk was so furious.

He could smell Geonwoo’s pheromones on me. But he knew Geonwoo wasn’t the type to mark someone without permission.

So he assumed I let him.

And granting permission to mark someone... meant permission for something far deeper.