Chapter 23 – GOY 23

#23

“How ​many ​lives ​do ​you ​think you have?”

Joo ​Seung-hyuk’s ​mana ​surged ​violently.

Kim ​Joon was an F-Rank, ​but ​he was still ​an Ability User. ​Even ​if ​he ​couldn’t ​see ​the waves or ​shapes ​of ​mana like I ​could, he would be ​able to ​feel the ​chilling murderous ​intent.

However, Kim ​Joon ​didn’t ​shrink back in ​the slightest ​and boldly countered Joo ​Seung-hyuk’s words.

“Even if you ​suppress me with force, ​you won’t ​be ​able to win Yeon-soo sunbae’s heart, ​will you?”

“Ha.”

Joo Seung-hyuk let ​out ​a ​hollow ​laugh.

It ​would have been ​nice if ​it ​were a smile ​of ​falling in love, as if ​saying, ‘You’re ​the ​first person to ​treat ​me ​this ​way,’ ​but unfortunately, ​this ​was a ​death notice.

It wasn’t a look of affection, ​but the kind ​of smile one ​gives a target for ​execution.

At this ​rate, Joo Seung-hyuk ​might ​actually kill Kim ​Joon.

If the main ​uke dies ​here, ​the original ​plot ​and everything ​else ​will go ​down ​the ​drain.

I hurriedly grabbed ​Joo ​Seung-hyuk’s hand.

“N-no. ​It’s ​a ​misunderstanding. ​I, I like him.”

“You like him?”

Joo Seung-hyuk asked, gripping my hand tightly.

“Yes.”

“Hyung, do you like me?”

“…Y-yes.”

In the heat of the moment, I ended up confessing that I liked the main seme right in front of the main uke.

I felt like the situation was twisting in a strange direction, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch a murder happen, so I nodded unconditionally.

“I’m not uncomfortable. So don’t fight. We haven’t even started yet.”

“Alright. If that’s what Hyung wants, I’ll endure it.”

Joo Seung-hyuk stroked my cheek. The razor-sharp murderous intent finally subsided.

I smiled awkwardly and looked at Kim Joon.

“Joon-ah, can you guys get along without fighting?”

“Yes….”

Kim Joon answered reluctantly. I could feel his dissatisfaction in the way his lips were pressed firmly together.

He may look gentle, but he’s stubborn.

In the original story, that personality drove the relationship between the two to an even more extreme end.

Ding-ring!

Just then, the gate door opened with a strangely cheerful signal.

“Now, let’s go.”

I spoke brightly on purpose as I stepped inside. The two followed me.

The start seemed a bit messy, but it was fine.

As long as Kim Joon provides Guiding to Joo Seung-hyuk, everything will be over.

I will finally be a free man.

---

“Wow, it looks so real.”

Upon entering the 1st Gate Hall, Kim Joon marveled. The way his eyes sparkled like a child’s was quite cute.

Joo Seung-hyuk and I were used to it because we did mock battle training often, but everything must be new to Kim Joon.

“Right? I was surprised when I first came—”

“Hyung, let’s go.”

Joo Seung-hyuk cut me off and pulled my hand. Then, he gave a cold command to Kim Joon.

“You, wait here.”

Unless it’s a special situation, Guides do not directly participate in Gate Raids for their own safety. (And many Espers hate it, saying Guides only get in the way if they’re around….)

However, this wasn’t a real situation, but a virtual battle where safety was guaranteed. Because of that, it was common to strategize by leaving one or two Guides near the entrance for emergencies, while the rest stayed by the Espers’ sides to provide Guiding intermittently.

Since our team only had three members, it was correct for me, an S-Class, to move with Joo Seung-hyuk and provide Guiding, while Kim Joon, an F-Rank, waited at the entrance.

But if that happened, there would be no point in putting the two of them in the same group.

“Um, I’ll be the one waiting today.”

“Hyung?”

“Yeah. My back hurts a bit, so I don’t think I can walk for long.”

“Your back? Ah….”

The corners of Joo Seung-hyuk’s mouth curled up.

I guess he remembers what he did yesterday. Even though I told him it was too much, he didn’t stop.

‘You almost made me die of pleasure, and you can actually smile?’

I unconsciously glared at Joo Seung-hyuk before quickly casting my eyes down. I didn’t want to rebel against the obsessive yandere for no reason.

He’s scary….

But these humiliating days of cowering end today!

Just as I was trying to send the two of them off quickly, Kim Joon asked with a serious face.

“Yeon-soo sunbae, does it hurt a lot?”

“N-no, it’s okay.”

“If it hurts, I could get you some medicine—”

“There’s no time for that.”

Joo Seung-hyuk roughly grabbed Kim Joon by the scruff of his neck and looked at me.

“Hyung, I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful not to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry.”

Joo Seung-hyuk smiled brightly and entered the inner part of the Gate Hall. Kim Joon followed behind him as if being dragged.

Even though I knew it was a hologram, it felt like they were truly entering a gate.

Finally, the original main seme and main uke were spending time alone.

Having completed my mission, I perched on a nearby rock.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped my lips just from sitting down.

At this rate, my back might break and I might die before I even get imprisoned.

Anyway, it’s over now.

Many things happen between Joo Seung-hyuk and Kim Joon in the original story. But the decisive reason Joo Seung-hyuk became obsessed with Kim Joon was Guiding.

Their matching rate was 91%. For an S-Class Esper, meeting a Guide with a matching rate over 80% is considered a blessing, but Kim Joon was over 90%.

Joo Seung-hyuk becomes fascinated by Kim Joon’s Guiding and gradually becomes obsessed with him.

If he receives Kim Joon’s Guiding in today’s mock training, Joo Seung-hyuk will lose his heart instantly.

He won’t even care about someone like me.

Perhaps after receiving Kim Joon’s Guiding, he might demand Guiding from me again. Even so, it doesn’t matter.

After receiving my Guiding, which has a low matching rate, he will only crave Kim Joon more.

From tomorrow, everything will return to how it was.

I felt sorry for Kim Joon, but according to the original story, both of them found their own kind of happiness. Kim Joon loves Joo Seung-hyuk and finds peace in his confined life.

Moreover, based on what I’ve experienced for a few days, Joo Seung-hyuk was a bit more patient than in the original.

It’s probably because many things changed due to that incident seven years ago. The existence of the villainous sub-uke, Lee Yeon-soo, who had constantly provoked Joo Seung-hyuk since childhood, had also vanished.

Even in the dream that felt like a prophetic dream, the relationship between Joo Seung-hyuk and Kim Joon seemed much better than in the original.

If the two of them bond now, they might reach a more moderate ending than the original.

If an extreme situation were to occur, I intend to help as much as I can.

Since I’m practically the one who brought them together, I should at least take some responsibility….

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out, breaking my train of thought. As expected of Joo Seung-hyuk.

Just from the sound of the mana exploding, I could tell how incredible his power was. Even if it was a virtual battle, taking down an S-Class monster in the Gate Hall using only mana without any weapons was simply admirable.

However, even for Joo Seung-hyuk, the S-Class of S-Classes, using that much mana would require Guiding.

After a few minutes, the prolonged explosions of mana grew quiet.

They must be Guiding. The time to be liberated from the obsessive yandere has finally come.

It’s bittersweet. No, it’s not bittersweet, it’s just sweet!

As I corrected the thought in my head, I suddenly felt a massive wave of mana.

“Agh!!”

A scream followed, accompanied by a loud alarm. Simultaneously, the hologram shut off, and the Gate Hall returned to its original form.

The gate vanished, revealing an empty space, and at the same time, Kim Joon and Joo Seung-hyuk came into view.

Kim Joon was collapsed on the floor, and Joo Seung-hyuk was standing beside him, breathing heavily.

Joo Seung-hyuk’s dark mana poured out like a waterfall, covering the Gate Hall.

Could it be a Rampage…?

Startled, I tried to approach, but Professor Choi’s voice could be heard through the alarm.

“Lee Yeon-soo! Get out of the Gate Hall immediately!”

The always dignified Professor Choi shouted with an urgent voice.

Did he really Rampage? If so, Joo Seung-hyuk must have hurt Kim Joon.

Ignoring Professor Choi’s words, I ran toward Joo Seung-hyuk.

“Lee Yeon-soo! Evacuate now! This is an order!”

Professor Choi’s voice echoed loudly throughout the entire 1st Gate Hall.

In an emergency where an S-Class Esper had gone into a Rampage, he was trying to protect me, an S-Class Guide. But I couldn’t do that.

Joo Seung-hyuk glared at Kim Joon and raised his hand high. In his hand, the pitch-black mana had formed a sharp shape, like a blade.

If he swung that, Kim Joon would die instantly.

“Joo Seung-hyuk!”

I called his name urgently.

Joo Seung-hyuk slowly turned his head. His eyes had lost their focus.

I hurriedly grabbed Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand.

The mana leaking from Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand attacked me. Blood dripped from where our hands met, but I gripped him tighter, checking his mana.

Joo Seung-hyuk’s mana was tangled and raging in a mess. At this rate, it would lead to a full Rampage.

In other words, he wasn’t in a full Rampage state yet.

But I couldn’t be relieved. If the mana exploded internally while tangled, Joo Seung-hyuk’s life would be in danger.

I immediately attempted Guiding. As I flowed my mana in, Joo Seung-hyuk’s body greedily devoured it.

He was like this when we mixed bodies, and he was just as greedy with mana.

“Lee Yeon-soo! Stop the Guiding immediately! Lee Yeon-soo! I told you to run away!”

Professor Choi screamed. Then, the dark mana covering the floor bound and tightened around my body, as if telling me not to run away.

“Seung-hyuk-ah, don’t worry. I, I’m not running away. I won’t leave.”

I spoke soothingly and continued the Guiding. As I untangled the mana one by one, I felt a foreign, bright red clump of mana at the very center.

That must be the cause of this Rampage.

I could feel my mana being depleted by the Guiding, and Joo Seung-hyuk continued to steal a portion of it.

I felt my body reaching its limit, but I couldn’t stop here.

I had to remove the cause right now. Otherwise, the mana would explode and Joo Seung-hyuk would die.

Squeezing out my last bit of strength, I pulled out the mana that had been injected like a foreign object.

But the relief was short-lived; [stolen content]blood suddenly visit our siteburst from my [stolen content]mouth. In that moment, my consciousness blurred, and my eyes closed.