The moment he made his decision, Sihyeon ran forward and grabbed the boy’s sleeve.
“Ah—!”
Startled, the boy dropped his ring. Sihyeon quickly bent down and picked it up for him. Even though the boy’s eyes were hidden behind his hair, it felt like he was looking straight at him. Sihyeon spoke slowly.
“Hey, have you chosen a partner yet?”
“Huh?”
“Sihyeon-ah?”
“Huh?”
One question, multiple responses. None of them were the one he wanted. Fixing his gaze on the boy, he waited. The boy, who had been opening and closing his mouth, slowly shook his head.
“N-no….”
“Then want to partner with me?”
He had no intention of forcing it just to make things easier for himself. The boy looked timid and easily frightened, so he tried to sound as gentle as possible. The boy’s lips trembled slightly.
“Hey, you don’t mean—”
He could hear Lee Hamin muttering from behind, but Sihyeon ignored him.
Was it because of the new class?
The boy hesitated, unable to answer. At this rate, he really would end up partnered with one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Biting his lip, Sihyeon waited. Then the boy suddenly lowered his head. The nape of his neck, faintly visible, seemed a little red.
“I-is it okay… to partner with me?”
“That’s what I should be asking. Are you okay with me?”
Even if you look like someone important in a web novel… there’s still a chance you’re not. So you’re better than the Four Heavenly Kings.
He held back those words and asked instead. After hesitating for a long moment, the boy finally nodded.
Up and down.
A sigh of relief escaped Sihyeon. It felt like the pressure weighing him down had finally lifted.
“I’ve decided—”
After asking for the boy’s understanding, Sihyeon grabbed his wrist and turned his head toward the stunned Four Heavenly Kings. Haeun and Geonwoo didn’t react much, but seeing the other two staring at him in disbelief wasn’t a bad feeling.
A faint smile tugged at Sihyeon’s lips as he slipped the boy’s ring onto his ring finger.
“I’ll go with him.”
His clear voice rang out. Lee Hamin’s face twisted beautifully.
“Are you serious?”
Even Seowoo, who had been smiling the entire time, lost the smile on his face. When Sihyeon nodded, Hamin frowned and looked at the black-haired boy. His narrowed eyes and twitching brows made it seem like he might throw a punch at any moment, so Sihyeon pulled the taller boy behind him.
“Take it.”
Worried someone might snatch him away, Sihyeon quickly handed over his Pairing. The boy accepted the silver ring and hesitated as he looked at Sihyeon.
He kept asking if it was really okay.
To show his resolve, Sihyeon took the boy’s hand. Looking at his long fingers, he hesitated.
Where should I put it?
The middle finger would’ve been best, but the boy’s left middle finger already had his own Pairing. Putting two rings on the same finger felt weird. The right middle finger didn’t seem right either. Pinky was out, and he didn’t like thumb or index.
In the end—
Whatever.
Sihyeon slipped the ring onto the boy’s ring finger.
“Ah….”
A sound—half sigh, half gasp—escaped the boy’s lips. As matching silver rings settled on their ring fingers, a voice chimed from the ring:
“Partner registration complete.”
Only then did Sihyeon relax. He smiled faintly and let go of the boy’s hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“This is bullshit.”
“…….”
He had just tried to create a warm, friendly atmosphere, and one voice immediately dragged it into the mud.
At the blunt curse, Sihyeon frowned and turned toward Hamin. The seventeen-year-old stood there with I’m not happy written all over his face.
“Hey.”
“…….”
“Stop hiding and come out. I don’t think I saw you during the test. Where did you crawl out from?”
Hamin’s cold words were directed at the boy behind him. The surrounding students began murmuring. Thinking about it, Sihyeon didn’t recall seeing the boy on stage either.
It was a reasonable question.
Glancing back, Sihyeon saw the boy flinch under the attention and clutch his clothes like a lifeline. It seemed instinctive—he didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“That’s… because I already took the test last year….”
“Last year?”
Hamin’s eyes narrowed. The boy shrank further.
“I was sick… so I had to repeat a year….”
Sihyeon’s eyes widened.
He’s older?
He had assumed he was younger from how timid he acted. But Sihyeon himself was originally twenty-three—whether seventeen or eighteen, they were all kids. Still, in this body, things were different. Especially in terms of how he should treat him.
“You’re… hyung?”
“…Yeah.”
Switching to polite speech immediately, Sihyeon asked, and the boy nodded. Even though he was taller, the way he hunched made it feel like he was looking up at Sihyeon.
It reminded him of something.
A cat in boots? No—a big puppy in boots.
“Is that… a problem?”
“No, not really.”
If you’re older, I’ll just use polite speech.
Thinking of ingrained etiquette, Sihyeon answered casually. The boy let out a small sigh of relief.
Still didn’t feel like a hyung, though.
“Are you done playing around?”
Why is he so fixated on him?
Since he had been the one to suggest partnering, Sihyeon figured it was his responsibility to handle this. He frowned at Hamin.
A seventeen-year-old speaking casually to an eighteen-year-old—how rude. Very fitting for a typical rude male lead.
As he was thinking that, Hamin stepped closer.
Normally, Sihyeon would’ve stepped back. But this time, he stayed put.
“Cut it out.”
“What did I do?”
Hamin smirked. Annoying.
“Is it your hobby to go after other people’s partners?”
His tone was calm, but the words were sharp. Hamin frowned and looked past Sihyeon at the boy.
He didn’t like it.
Someone smaller hiding behind someone else his size—and Sihyeon choosing that guy over him.
“What kind of class does he even have for you to reject a Dual and choose him?”
“Why should I tell you?”
Honestly, Sihyeon didn’t know the boy’s class either. He could check through the Pairing, but he didn’t feel like giving Hamin what he wanted.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
That was clearly directed at him.
Raising an eyebrow as if to say so, Sihyeon watched as Hamin shifted his gaze to the boy.
“What class are you?”
“…….”
The boy pressed his lips together. His hand trembled where it gripped Sihyeon’s clothes.
He didn’t want to answer.
Frowning, Sihyeon gently pushed the boy’s head down, shielding him with his own body.
The boy was probably around 185 cm. Sihyeon was 172. It wasn’t exactly effective—but at least lowering his head helped a little.
“There’s no reason to tell you.”
“Hah.”
Hamin let out a hollow laugh, like some rich second-generation heir in a drama.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
He should’ve just run away when Hamin first called him.
Now, imagining the aftermath of this, Sihyeon felt a headache coming on. Hamin’s murderous glare had shifted entirely onto him.
Good or bad—hard to say.
And the others weren’t stopping this?
One of the Four Heavenly Kings was practically picking fights, and none of them intervened.
Normally, the female lead would step in—but Sihyeon was already on her bad side.
Everything had gone wrong from the start.
Glancing at Seowoo, Haeun, and Geonwoo, he read their expressions.
Seowoo looked thoughtful. Haeun looked entertained. Geonwoo… unreadable, but clearly not planning to stop anything.
What a miserable life.
He had lost his parents, lived off money his older sister earned, studied like crazy to get into college on a full scholarship—only to be dragged into military service. After that, university life had been hell with endless assignments and grades.
Work, study. Work, study. Then he died in a traffic accident. And now, he’d transmigrated into a web novel.
That alone was unfair enough—but this life was even worse.
It was only the first day of school, and already this many incidents? Nothing went the way he wanted. He kept getting dragged into things he never asked for.
Frustration surged.
This was all their fault. The female lead couldn’t be helped—but the Four Heavenly Kings? He had just met them today. He could’ve avoided getting involved. Yet here they were.
Grabbing the boy’s hand, Sihyeon spoke.
“Hyung, let’s go.”
“Huh? O-okay?”
Pulling him along, Sihyeon headed toward the exit.
The crowd parted once again. This time, it was convenient.
“Kang Sihyeon.”
Hamin called after him. Sihyeon ignored it. He wasn’t turning back this time.
“You’ll regret this.”
The cold warning didn’t faze him.
He already had plenty of regrets.
Not running from Seowoo. Not ignoring Hamin. Not escaping when he had the chance.
He had enough.
“….”
He kept walking. Eventually, Hamin’s voice faded.
More surprising was that Seowoo said nothing—but Sihyeon didn’t care anymore. He erased all four of them from his mind and left the auditorium.
Only after they were outside did he turn to the boy, who had quietly followed him the entire time, still holding his hand.
Now was the right time to ask.
“Hey, hyung.”
“Y-yeah?”
This guy really couldn’t answer without stuttering.
Sighing, Sihyeon decided to fix that someday. For now, he looked at the one person who actually gave him some peace.
At least with him, things wouldn’t be exhausting.
Letting go of his hand, Sihyeon asked:
“I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves yet. What’s your name?”
“Ah….”
Even such a simple question made the boy hesitate. Then, as if making up his mind, he spoke.
“…Ban… Ban Haru.”
“…What?”
Sihyeon’s eyes widened.
“Ban Haru.”
The unfamiliar name felt strangely nostalgic.
His thoughts from just minutes ago flashed through his mind.
Even if you look like someone important in a web novel… there’s still a chance you’re not. So you’re better than the Four Heavenly Kings.
Something felt very wrong.
Very wrong indeed.
