Marked

Haewoon, who was sitting beside him, was staring at him with a deeply suspicious look.

Jaeyoung shot him a sideways glance while patting his still-thumping chest.

He wasn’t even an Esper like his brother, yet his hearing was absurdly sharp.

“A high schooler talking about dating?”

“Are high schoolers monks or something? If you want to date, you date.”

Haewoon shot back, irritated by the scolding tone.

“Yeah, okay. Another lifelong single~”

“I’m voluntarily single, alright? I don’t even have time to play games, let alone—”

Jaeyoung looked at Haewoon like he was pathetic.

“Ugh, whatever. Just get ready to bolt.”

Lunch was right around the corner.

For students, the most important thing wasn’t studying or girls.

It was the occasionally amazing lunch menu.

And today was one of those days.

Jaeyoung glanced up to check the teacher’s mood, then stuffed his mechanical pencil and eraser into his pencil case.
He slid one foot out from under the desk.

The long-awaited bell rang.

Even the kids who’d been dozing shot out into the hallway.

The teacher hadn’t even finished saying class was over.

But they hadn’t run far before they were forced to stop.

“What is that?”

Haewoon frowned, his voice sharp.
The front corridor was packed with noisy students.

“Let’s go through Class 2.”

Jaeyoung grabbed Haewoon’s arm and headed for the back door of Class 2.

But the moment his eyes met someone towering above the crowd of heads, he stopped dead.

“Why is… hyung here?”

Following Jaeyoung’s frozen gaze, Haewoon turned and called out.

It was Saheon.

Jaeyoung’s face, having spotted him first, was washed in confusion.

Surrounded by students like a celebrity, Saheon stood confidently.

As if commanding attention were the most natural thing in the world, his expression remained calm.

Standing among students in uniform, Saheon looked more like an adult than ever, dressed neatly and sharply.

“What, did a dungeon pop up at our school or something?”

Dongjun, who had just noticed Saheon, frowned and rapidly tapped his phone.

He looked annoyed that something Esper-related had happened nearby without him noticing sooner.

“It’s way too peaceful for that……”

Haewoon trailed off, clearly unsettled.

Jaeyoung’s heart began pounding harder and harder.

Under Saheon’s intense gaze, he felt like he was standing there naked.

And because Saheon was staring straight at him, the students’ eyes naturally followed.

“Haewoon!”

At that moment, Min-tae shouted Haewoon’s name and waved both hands wildly.

“What’s he doing over there?”

Thanks to Min-tae, Haewoon became the new focus of attention.
He muttered in disbelief.

They’d been running toward the cafeteria together, yet somehow Min-tae had already slipped through the dense crowd.

“Never underestimate the power of an attention seeker.”

Jaeyoung shook his head and added,

“The princess doesn’t even have anything scheduled today. No dungeons near our school, or anywhere in the country.”

Dongjun rambled on, sounding more baffled by the second, as if he’d already checked the schedule.
Jaeyoung flinched and averted his eyes.

It wasn’t like Saheon had absolutely no reason to be here.

This was the school he’d attended before becoming an Esper.

“Maybe he came to visit a teacher since it’s his alma mater?”

“I’d sooner believe he came to see his brother.”

Dongjun immediately snapped back at Jaeyoung’s hopeful suggestion.
Fair enough.

Given Saheon’s habit of saying whatever he pleased, very few authority figures liked Jin Saheon.

That had been true even before his awakening.

“Jin Haewoon.”

At last, Saheon spoke.

Jaeyoung blinked in surprise at the unexpected call.

And then, he witnessed a modern-day miracle of Moses.

The students surrounding Saheon all stepped back, clearing a path.

“Whoa. Guess it really is true.”

Dongjun made a huge fuss like something historic had just happened.
In over ten years of friendship with Haewoon, this was the first time Saheon had acknowledged him first.

“What. Why.”

Haewoon answered gruffly as he walked up to Saheon.

Because Haewoon had dragged him along by the hem of his clothes, Jaeyoung ended up close to Saheon as well.

Something tapped the back of his hand.

Startled, Jaeyoung looked down and saw an arm extending through the gaps between waists.

A very familiar hand, veins standing out thickly, was touching him.

Jaeyoung jerked his head up in shock.

Saheon was calmly scanning the faces of Haewoon’s friends, as if nothing had happened.

But Jaeyoung felt Saheon’s gaze pause on him.

“Study in moderation.

Go to the PC café sometimes. Hang out with your friends.”

It wasn’t his imagination.

Saheon’s eyes were on Jaeyoung.

‘Please don’t make it obvious.’

Jaeyoung glared at Saheon and shook his head slightly.

Saheon twitched an eyebrow in displeasure, but when Jaeyoung shook his head again, he turned away.

“Hyung, did you forget your brother’s a senior? What games?”

“And did you forget you stayed up gaming until dawn yesterday?”

“How do you even know that?”

Haewoon’s voice cracked in shock.

Since Saheon had moved near the center right after awakening, Haewoon had never imagined his brother knew anything about his daily life.

‘That’s because of me.’

Jaeyoung felt oddly guilty.

The night before, Saheon had been hugging Jaeyoung from behind while he played games with Haewoon.

“Are you spying on me? That’s insane. Get a girlfriend if you’ve got nothing better to do.”

Haewoon recoiled.

“You’re one to worry about my love life.”

Saheon tilted his head lazily.
His black eyes held no emotion, which only made Haewoon feel more miserable.

Even as brothers, Saheon felt like someone crafted by picking out only the best genes.

Haewoon, by comparison, was more “pleasant-looking” than handsome.

He was taller than average, but nowhere near Saheon’s overwhelming height.

He didn’t study, so his grades weren’t stellar.

He exercised, but only casually.

With nothing to refute, Haewoon just pressed his lips together.

Jaeyoung patted Haewoon consolingly as he suffered humiliation in front of their classmates.

With the CSAT looming, Sunday was the only day Jaeyoung could breathe.

It was also the only day Saheon asked for Guiding.

Even so, Jaeyoung grew proficient quickly.

At first, he’d struggled just to follow the energy, but now he could actively send it into Saheon’s body himself.

It was probably thanks to being S-rank.

That day, too, Jaeyoung was practicing smoothing Saheon’s uneven power into a rounded flow, his hand resting on Saheon’s chest.

Once that part became routine, Jaeyoung’s thoughts tended to wander.

Saheon showing up at school hadn’t been a one-time thing.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

When Haewoon spotted Saheon’s uncovered face beyond the wall, he buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking.

Aside from the first day, Saheon hadn’t spoken to him again.

After that, Saheon would watch the group from afar, disappear, then reappear again at some point.

He’d only honored Jaeyoung’s request not to startle him by showing up suddenly, but that restraint somehow made his behavior even stranger.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Jaeyoung flinched as a low voice pierced his ear, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Saheon was holding Jaeyoung’s wrist, pulling his hand away.

It seemed he’d reached the Guiding limit he’d set.

“Hyung. Don’t tell me……”

Jaeyoung hesitated, searching for the right word.
Surveillance? Not exactly, since Saheon wasn’t following him nonstop.
Stalking? That didn’t quite fit either.

“I’m monitoring you.”

“Oh! Monitoring—!”

Jaeyoung’s eyes sparkled as he clapped, delighted to have found the answer.

“…Monitoring?”

Then he realized how strange that sounded.
He stared at Saheon, dumbfounded.

“More precisely, I’m monitoring the people who approach you.”

‘People who approach me?’

Saheon’s phrasing made Jaeyoung feel oddly unsettled.

“Five Espers at Cheongyeong High, including students and staff.

Twelve at Jungang High within a two-kilometer radius.

Six at Gaon Girls’ High.

Want me to keep going?”

As if sensing Jaeyoung’s misunderstanding, Saheon elaborated.

He was keeping watch on every Esper Jaeyoung could possibly encounter.

“So you’re going to keep coming?”

Jaeyoung asked, horrified.

“Of course. Until it’s clearly marked that you’re mine.”

Saheon nodded as if it were obvious.

“Hyung. You’re the possessive type when you date, aren’t you?”

Jaeyoung threw Saheon’s own words back at him.

The comparison felt odd, but it was the closest thing he could think of.

If he was like this with just a Guide, what would he be like with someone he loved?

“No idea. I’ve never dated.”

The unexpected answer left Jaeyoung gaping.

Jin Saheon, the object of universal fascination regardless of age, gender, or nationality, being a lifelong single.

It sounded absurd, yet somehow made sense.

“Anyway, if I can’t have you, no one can.”

Saheon emphasized every word, as if carving it into Jaeyoung’s mind.

“Do whatever you want.
It doesn’t look like anyone’s noticed anyway.”

Jaeyoung slumped, as if he had no strength left to argue.

Saheon reached out, cradled the back of Jaeyoung’s head, and pressed him firmly against his shoulder.

Jaeyoung wriggled to find a comfortable position.

This time, strong arms wrapped around his waist.

It felt like being bound by an inescapable snare.

The day they desperately wished would come quickly, yet never come at all, had arrived.

The CSAT.

Min-tae poked Haewoon’s side and pointed somewhere with his eyes.

“Hey, Haewoon.”

There, unmistakably, stood Saheon.

“Oh, come on. He even shows up on exam day?”

Haewoon complained, but still hurried over.

Judging by his flushed cheeks, he didn’t entirely hate it.

“Hello, hyung!”

“You’re here?”

“Eat.”

After confirming that Jaeyoung was there too, Saheon handed something over.

No, he tossed it.

At least, to everyone except Jaeyoung.

The students threw themselves forward to catch it, terrified of what might happen if they dropped it.

“W-What is this, hyung?”

Dongjun asked nervously, eyes trembling.

Could it be a creature? A bomb?

Was Saheon here to discipline them for dragging his senior-year brother around before the exam?

Their imaginations ran wild.

“Hey. Are there even chocolate-shaped creatures?”

Min-tae seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Meanwhile, Jaeyoung realized his item was different from his friends’.

“None reported so far.”

“It’s just chocolate. Eat it when I give it to you.”

Seeing Jaeyoung only fiddling with the wrapper, Saheon snapped irritably.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The students answered like they’d joined the military and shoved the chocolate into their mouths.

Jaeyoung unwrapped his as well.

“Huh? Chewy rice cake……?”

Min-tae, who’d already melted the chocolate in his mouth, muttered as he looked over.