Chapter 151 – GOY 151

#151

Joo ​Seung-hyuk ​said ​he ​had ​no ​intention of marrying ​anyone ​but ​me. ​Furthermore, ​there was no possibility ​that ​he was secretly ​pushing for a ​marriage ​with ​someone ​else. ​Since ​the arranged marriage ​between ​Seong ​Han and Lexington ​had completely fallen through, ​that was ​why the ​Necklace of ​Nemesild had ​been ​put ​up for auction ​by Achilles.

“Is ​the success of the ​marriage the problem? What ​matters is that he ​tried to ​marry ​someone else behind your back. And ​putting everything else aside, ​the ​matching ​rate ​between ​you and Joo ​Seung-hyuk makes ​no ​sense. Seven years ​ago, ​it was 48%. The simulation ​results after ​entering ​the Esper Academy ​were ​similar. ​But ​in ​a single ​year, ​it’s over ​90%?”

“Matching rates change…”

My matching rate with Park ​Geon-woo had even ​dropped by 8%.

“They ​do change. But I’ve ​never seen ​a case where ​the ​matching rate between ​two S-Classes suddenly ​jumped by ​over ​40%. This ​is ​abnormal. It’s ​not ​like you ​two ​are ​bonded, right?”

“…We aren’t ​bonded. ​But the ​world ​of ​Ability ​Users is a place where anything can happen. New abilities that never existed before manifest, and some people jump several ranks through Re-awakening.”

“You and Joo Seung-hyuk are different. A matching rate like this is impossible.”

Park Geon-woo continued to sound frustrated. However, I gazed straight into his eyes without wavering.

“When I first awakened, many people said the same. They said a Beta child from a non-ability user family, with not [stolen content]a single manifested relative, couldn’t possibly awaken as an S-Class. They said it [stolen content]was absolutely impossible. Many claimed the testing machine was broken or that I wasn’t my parents’ biological child.”

“That’s because those people were rude.”

“When I didn’t manifest until I became an adult, they whispered again. They said it was suspicious that my mana was too high for a Beta Guide’s limits, and that it was strange for someone who couldn’t even manifest to have such high matching rates with Espers. Some even claimed the Center was manipulating data to promote me.”

“Yeon-soo, you are special. You’ve shattered every common sense of the Ability User world so far. You were an S-Class Guide born into a non-ability user family, and you possessed mana that surpassed the limits of a Beta Guide. Not only is your Guiding ability exceptional, but you can even see the form of mana. Your matching rates with Espers are high. That’s why no one doubted it even when your matching rate with Joo Seung-hyuk rose abnormally. They thought it was possible because it was you. Because Lee Yeon-soo was always special. Nothing you achieve is surprising. And Joo Seung-hyuk took advantage of that.”

There was conviction in Park Geon-woo’s voice.

“Moreover, since people didn’t know about the existence of the Special Red Rune Flower, they had no choice but to believe the matching rate test results.”

“Is it wrong to believe them? Seonbae, you’re the one concluding that he must have used drugs on me just because there’s a Special Red Rune Flower at Seung-hyeok’s villa.”

Hearing my words, he let out a deep sigh.

“Of course, there’s a possibility that drugs weren’t used. Perhaps the matching rate rose temporarily during the process of Joo Seung-hyuk’s Guiding Rejection recovering, or maybe Joo Seung-hyuk manipulated the device to raise the matching rate.”

“Is device manipulation possible…?”

“It’s a machine manufactured by Seong Han. If it’s Joo Seung-hyuk, he might know how to manipulate the measurement results.”

“That’s far-fetched.”

Since long ago, Joo Seung-hyuk had been plagued by rumors that he wasn’t a true S-Class and that Seong Han had simply manipulated the data at a corporate level.

Because Seong Han manufactured the mana measurement equipment, people gossiped without any evidence, saying it wouldn’t be easy to manipulate their own child’s mana levels.

As Joo Seung-hyuk began full-scale Gate Raids and proved his skills, the baseless rumors naturally disappeared, but the conspiracy theory that Chairman Joo could freely manipulate data measured by Seong Han’s equipment still persisted.

“Don’t get worked up. I’m just talking about a one-in-a-million possibility. And no matter how low the probability is, it’s still higher than the possibility of a matching rate between S-Class Ability Users rising by over 40%. Also, the Inspection Division didn’t move based on mere speculation. They even used Jin-hwan to verify that small possibility. Our Inspection Division did its best to prevent any potentially unfair situation.”

“So you set a trap. The excuse that Jin-hwan was almost stolen was just a cover; your real goal was to check our matching rate.”

The sudden S-Class alarm, Park Geon-woo appearing right on cue, and the Chief of Inspection waiting for us.

Everything had been a trap to catch Joo Seung-hyuk. And Park Geon-woo had been conducting the investigation into Joo Seung-hyuk with the Inspection Division for a long time.

Tests measured with Seong Han’s equipment had the possibility of being manipulated by Joo Seung-hyuk. Therefore, they wanted to test our matching rate using Jin-hwan, which no one could interfere with. But since Joo Seung-hyuk wouldn’t comply if they stated their purpose honestly, they planned this play.

“Seeing as you arrested Seung-hyeok immediately, I guess our matching rate was quite high?”

The results from Jin-hwan must have been high, not just the Seong Han equipment. And this meant that it wasn’t a case of Joo Seung-hyuk manipulating the machine or a temporary rise due to the recovery from Guiding Rejection.

The matching rate between Joo Seung-hyuk [stolen content]and me had truly risen by over 40%. Consequently, [Read on Read BL Novels]the Inspection Division, convinced [unauthorized copy]that Joo Seung-hyuk had used drugs, arrested him immediately.

“It was 94%. 94.718.”

“94.718….”

This was a higher figure than the last time it was measured.

Just as Joo Seung-hyuk said, our matching rate hadn’t dropped. Rather, it had gone up further.

“It’s a figure created by drugs, so it’s meaningless,” Park Geon-woo spat coldly before continuing.

“And this wasn’t a trap, but a choice to protect you from a dangerous situation.”

“For my sake?”

“Yeon-soo, think about this calmly once more. It’s not a process of recovering from Guiding Rejection, and no machines were manipulated. And it’s not even a bond—does it make sense for a matching rate to rise like this? It might be different if there were no Special Red Rune Flowers at all, but on top of that, Joo Seung-hyuk is the man who led the development of the Red Rune Flower new drug.”

Joo Seung-hyuk fed me drugs to artificially raise the matching rate….

“Even if you search the whole world, the only case like this is between you and Joo Seung-hyuk.”

No, there is one more person. Kim Joon from the original novel, <The Swamp of the Guide>.

In the original, when Kim Joon’s matching rate with Joo Seung-hyuk was measured via simulation after entering the Esper Academy, it was reasonably high but not extraordinary. However, when the 1:1 matching rate test was conducted in the second semester, the figure rose tremendously, exceeding 90%.

If Joo Seung-hyuk really used drugs, the difference from the original would be explained. In The Swamp of the Guide, he used the matching rate-boosting drug on Kim Joon, and this time, he used it on me.

That’s why every Guide who caught Joo Seung-hyuk’s eye had a dramatically increased matching rate.

“Joo Seung-hyuk fed you a drug to raise the matching rate. When I noticed that fact, he tried to kill you by disguising it as a car accident.”

Park Geon-woo’s words were extremely logical. Moreover, recalling the original story, the likelihood of his hypothesis being correct increased.

Unless it was a drug, there was no reason why the matching rate would rise only for the targets of Joo Seung-hyuk’s obsession.

“That can’t be.”

My head told me that was correct. But my mouth—no, my heart—was saying something entirely different.

“Yeon-soo, it’s an unverified drug developed illegally without permission. Even if the matching rate rises temporarily, we don’t know what side effects it might have. You could even lose your life if something goes wrong.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s even more impossible.”

Joo Seung-hyuk took terrible care of my body.

He was the kind of person who would brew oxtail soup if I felt even slightly cold. He worried and blocked anything that could be even slightly harmful to me, and during his Rut, he felt so sorry for making things hard for me that he wouldn’t let me lift a finger.

A guy like that fed me an unverified, dangerous drug? There was absolutely no way.

“There’s no way Seung-hyeok would do something bad to me.”

“You still trust that bastard even in this situation?”

“Yes.”

I trust him.

I don’t know about the obsessive yandere Joo Seung-hyuk from the original, but the Joo Seung-hyuk I know was never that kind of person.

“Yeon-soo, you’re being deceived by Joo Seung-hyuk. Everything about that guy is a lie!”

Park Geon-woo shouted, unable to contain his frustration.

“What does that mean…?”

“Joo Seung-hyuk’s skills might be fake too. He hid and monopolized the existence of [visit our site]the Special Red Rune visit our siteFlower. There’s a possibility that his rank and mana were also created by the Red Rune Flower.”

“That’s impossible.”

Joo Seung-hyuk had stopped a Gate Break and defeated the boss all by himself. He had displayed unimaginable abilities from the moment he first awakened.

Chairman Joo had also called him back to Korea because he saw the utility in Joo Seung-hyuk’s immense power. The blooming of the Red Rune Flower on Abite Island happened after that.

Therefore, saying Joo Seung-hyuk gained power from the Special Red Rune Flower was completely reversing cause and effect.

“That’s not all. There’s a rumor that Joo Seung-hyuk isn’t actually Chairman Joo’s biological son.”

“……”

“They say he’s the child of Chairman Joo’s wife’s affair, which is why he was sent abroad at a young age. Seong Han hides it, but I heard he didn’t even know Hangeul properly until the sixth grade of elementary school.”

“I’m disappointed.”

“Right? The image of the precious youngest son of a chaebol family was all an illusion.”

“I’m disappointed in you, Seonbae. I didn’t realize you were the kind of person who spreads baseless rumors.”

“Yeon-soo, it’s not like that…!”

“I’ll be going now.”

I gave a polite bow and stood up from my seat.

Park Geon-woo had investigated Joo Seung-hyuk with the Inspection Division and already held a strong conviction that he had committed a crime.

No matter what I said, he would only find it frustrating. Therefore, there was no further meaning in continuing the conversation with Park Geon-woo.

I left the meeting room and walked outside. As I put my hand in my pocket to take out my phone, I felt a piece of paper.

‘What is this?’

I pulled out what was in my pocket. It was a note neatly folded in half.

When did someone put this in here? I used my phone and put it back in my pocket when I arrived at the Center, but there was no paper then…. Could it be Seung-hyeok…?

I hurriedly unfolded the note. This was Joo Seung-hyuk’s handwriting. It was a message Joo Seung-hyuk had left for me before he departed.