Chapter 69 – GOY 69

#69

“So ​that’s ​why ​you ​didn’t ​get ​the matching rate ​test?”

In ​the ​original ​work, ​despite being in a ​state ​of obsession where ​he confined Kim ​Joon ​for ​the ​entire ​vacation, ​Joo Seung-hyuk still ​tried ​receiving ​Guiding from Aaron ​when he arrived. It ​was out ​of curiosity ​regarding an ​S-Class Guide.

However, ​Joo ​Seung-hyuk ​rejected Aaron from ​the very ​beginning. Perhaps it was ​because he knew Aaron ​was suffering from Dust ​Addiction.

Joo Seung-hyuk ​stared ​at me intently and then pinched ​my cheek.

“Ah!”

“There you go ​again ​with ​the ​mean ​words.”

“N-no, it’s not ​that….”

As I ​tried ​to sit up ​and ​make an excuse, he pushed ​me back ​down.

“Regardless ​of what that ​bastard ​is, ​I ​didn’t ​get it ​because ​he isn’t ​Lee Yeon-soo. I don’t need anyone other ​than Lee Yeon-soo.”

“…Yeah. ​But how did ​you know?”

“Our paths crossed ​briefly before. ​Our hands touched ​slightly. ​He had absolutely ​no Guiding skill, ​so he ​just ​sent his ​own ​mana immediately. ​It ​was disgusting.”

“I ​see….”

In ​truth, ​there were very ​few ​people who ​could ​completely ​block ​their mana like I could, and most Guides begin Guiding the moment physical contact is made. Some people even wore gloves specifically to avoid that.

However, once one learned how to control mana, it was possible to regulate the amount.

No matter how clumsy or inexperienced Aaron was, he came from a family of S-Class Awakened. He would have learned basic mana control methods.

Therefore, it was unlikely that he would have sent a large amount of mana just from a brief brush.

Then, did Joo Seung-hyuk realize Aaron had Dust Addiction with only a small amount of mana?

Something was strange.

Of course, since Joo Seung-hyuk was an exceptional Esper, it wasn’t strange that he noticed the Dust.

But why didn’t he know in the original work…?

Joo Seung-hyuk had received Guiding from Aaron several times, yet he never noticed that Aaron was using Dust. On the contrary, he had been quite satisfied, evaluating Aaron’s mana as more useful than Lee Yeon-soo’s.

Why didn’t he know back then?

Of course, many things had changed from the original work now. So, unlike in reality, there was a possibility that the Aaron in The Swamp of the Guide hadn’t used Dust. Still, something felt off.

“Forget about that bastard now. You’ll never have to deal with him again.”

“Okay.”

His long fingers dove into my hair. He gently ruffled it and slowly swept it back.

The warm May sunlight and cool breeze, the scent of grass, the pleasant feeling of his hand touching my head….

Forgetting both my embarrassment and the question that had briefly surfaced, I slowly closed my eyes.

Chapter 5

The articles about Aaron [stolen content]and Professor Oh, which had Read on Read BL Novelsbeen reported competitively day after day, gradually died down.

There were no more special updates, and the enraged public seemed to be getting bored, craving a new story.

And the new piece of news they found was the marriage rumor between me and Joo Seung-hyuk.

When I entered the portal site news, it was plastered with rumors of my marriage to Joo Seung-hyuk today as well.

Out of nowhere, the ring I received as a gift from Joo Seung-hyuk had caught people’s attention.

A few days ago, a famous YouTuber who deals with gossip about ability users uploaded a video about my ring.

They claimed, ‘Lee Yeon-soo, who doesn’t wear accessories, is suddenly wearing a ring. This is Joo Seung-hyuk’s proposal ring.’

That video spread through social media, and reporters began writing articles.

Furthermore, specific testimonies emerged.

It was said that Joo Seung-hyuk had commissioned a world-renowned jewelry designer in Switzerland for the proposal ring, and the price of the ring containing a transparent mana stone was rumored to be as high as 2 billion won.

[Joo Seung-hyuk ♥ Lee Yeon-soo, Proposal Ring is 2 Billion!]

[Joo Seung-hyuk and Lee Yeon-soo, Marriage Imminent!]

[Who is the Swiss Designer Chosen by Joo Seung-hyuk?]

I sighed while looking at the top-ranking articles.

‘That’s not a ring made by a Swiss designer. And it’s not 2 billion; it’s way more expensive.’

However, since this ring was the first treasure Joo Seung-hyuk had obtained and he had given it to me after keeping it secret without reporting it to the state, I couldn’t correct the facts.

Honestly, I was anxious that the true nature of the ring would be discovered, stolen contentso it was actually a relief that it was known as Read on Read BL Novelssomething made by a famous overseas jewelry designer.

Though, the fact that the ring was rumored to be a proposal ring was a problem….

‘Should I ask him to sue the reporters who spread the marriage rumors for distributing falsehoods?’

Joo Seung-hyuk had sued the people who left malicious comments on my behalf. The number of people was enormous, and apparently, apology letters were being posted on all sorts of sites.

It seemed he had sued not only for this incident but also for malicious comments posted in the past.

But he probably wouldn’t sue for this. In fact, the moment I said that, I’d enter the second phase of confinement.

Moreover, it occurred to me that the person who leaked these articles might actually be Joo Seung-hyuk.

He hid the truth about the ring while naturally spreading the marriage talk.

I clicked on the number one ranked article.

Proposal ring, Swiss designer, 2 billion…. As expected, the content of the articles was all similar. But I didn’t care, as I hadn’t come to see the articles, but something else.

After taking a deep breath, I opened the comment section.

I had a rule about not looking at comments, but since this was a matter of my life, I had no choice but to check.

If there was a lot of negative public opinion, I could use that as an excuse to talk to Joo Seung-hyuk.

YeonsooWalkOnlyOnFlowerPaths: If it’s Esper Joo Seung-hyuk, I can entrust Yeon-soo to him! Congratulations on the marriage! Stay together forever!

‘YeonsooWalkOnlyOnFlowerPaths’ nim, why are you cursing me while telling me to walk on flower paths!

SuiDropLove: Congratulations, Yeon-soo. And Esper Joo Seung-hyuk, I was touched seeing how you stayed by Yeon-soo’s side throughout this incident. Please continue to protect our Yeon-soo.

I’m telling you, it wasn’t protecting; it was confinement.

codkcodk3: 2 billion? I acknowledge it lol

It’s way more expensive than that….

SturdyGeonwoo: I’m a fan of Esper Park Geon-woo, but I support this. Park Geon-woo’s fans are all congratulating you too.

Now even Park Geon-woo’s fans are supporting this?

ImAPasserby: Is this a clean zone for malicious comments?

Perhaps thanks to the fact that he had sued so many people, no malicious comments were visible. However, even though everyone was supportive and saying only good things, my vision went dark.

More and more people were supporting the marriage between me and Joo Seung-hyuk.

As I sighed, a call came in from my younger sister, Jisu.

‘What is it?’

Jisu preferred texts or messages. She rarely called unless necessary….

“Hello.”

• Oppa.

“Jisu, what’s going on?”

• Ah, it’s nothing much, but there’s something I wanted to ask.

Her voice was extremely cautious.

“Yeah. What is it? Tell me.”

• Oppa, are you by any chance marrying Esper Joo Seung-hyuk?

“…What?”

• Mom told me to ask you. She said if you are, you should bring him over to introduce him….

“…D-do they not oppose it?”

Their son is saying he’s getting married as soon as he turns 21?

• No, she likes it. He helped us last time, too.

When I was hospitalized in Daejeon, Joo Seung-hyuk had contacted my home. And it seemed he told them that I wasn’t actually sick, but that since I had to train if I went to school, he was letting me rest in a VIP room using sickness as an excuse.

Furthermore, when Aaron released the fake articles, he reportedly reassured them that it would be resolved quickly and not to worry.

Since then, my family had completely trusted Joo Seung-hyuk. All while having no clue that I had been subjected to a ‘petit confinement’ at that time.

Now, beyond Park Geon-woo’s fans, even my family supported the marriage between Joo Seung-hyuk and me.

To calm my troubled mind, I headed to the shooting range.

However, even the loud gunshots couldn’t quiet my complicated heart.

‘Am I really getting married?’

No. This isn’t right. Getting entangled with an obsessive yandere is scary enough, but marriage? I couldn’t go all the way to marriage because of one wrong night.

Yet, it wasn’t as if I could just refuse. If I did, I’d be sent to confinement immediately. Not a petit confinement, but real confinement.

All the efforts I’d made to avoid confinement until now would go down the drain.

Isn’t there any way? Is there really no way to politely decline?

The bullets missed the target entirely. I sighed and put down the pistol. At this rate, I was just wasting bullets.

As I left the shooting range and headed toward the locker room, I ran into someone completely unexpected.

“Yeon-soo sunbae.”

“Joon, why are you here…?”

There were many locker rooms at the Esper Academy.

This was because they separated locker rooms considering gender, Guide/Esper status, and even traits. Usually, Alphas and Betas were grouped together while Guides were separated, but the Academy divided them even more thoroughly.

And this place was the locker room exclusively for male Guides and Betas. So, there was no reason for Kim Joon, who was an Omega, to be here….

‘Ah! That’s right.’

Kim Joon had hidden the fact that he was an Omega at first. It was only in the second semester, when the main story of the novel began, that he was revealed to be an Omega. Since he was currently pretending to be a Beta, it was correct for him to use this locker room.

Just as I was about to correct myself, Kim Joon apologized first.

“I’m sorry. I was going to the West Wing locker room, but since it was late, I thought no one would be here….”

“Why the West Wing? That’s far.”

“Lower-ranks aren’t allowed to come here.”

“What do you mean lower-ranks can’t come?”

“I heard that’s the rule….”

Was there a rule that lower-ranks couldn’t use the Central Hall locker rooms?

Discrimination based on rank was rampant at the Esper Academy, and it seemed the locker rooms were one of those areas.

That’s why I had never run into Kim Joon before.

Kim Joon watched my reaction and began re-buttoning his open shirt. He seemed to think I was acting territorial.

“It’s fine. Just take it off.”

“What? What?!”

He looked visibly flustered. Why was he so surprised?

“I don’t care about ranks or anything, so you can just use this locker room. So, take it off.”