Joo Suhyuk broke the silence first.

True to the protagonist of this world, he quickly composed himself and spoke in a friendly tone.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. What were you doing?”

Normally, I would have noticed immediately if someone approached, but just now I hadn’t.

Maybe because I was focused, I unconsciously didn’t feel Joo Suhyuk as a threat, so my instincts didn’t activate.

Even if Andain or the kids from our class had appeared like that, I wouldn’t have reacted properly.

I answered, almost defensively and unlike myself.

“You don’t have to apologize. I was thinking about the picnic.”

“Our class hasn’t decided yet. Where is Class 0 going?”

“Hongcheon, Gangwon Province.”

Since the picnic location was deeply connected to the demon world scenario, it wasn’t a lie.

Once the conversation started, it flowed naturally.

Joo Suhyuk told me about Class 1’s picnic plans.

Our class quickly gathered opinions, and thanks to Mingrin’s proposal, the plan was easily solidified, but Class 1 was different.

Currently, the homeroom teacher of 2nd grade Class 1 was Kim Shin-rok, who had many fans in that class, so various opinions were flooding in, as if everyone wanted to satisfy their own desires.

‘Did so many people want to go with Kim Shin-rok?’

The situation looked a bit complicated, but I wasn’t worried.

Because the class president and vice president hadn’t officially been handed over by the student council officers, Joo Suhyuk and Andain still led that class.

With those two leading, minor problems would be solved quickly.

As we talked about the picnic—selecting the location, securing transportation, managing class funds—the conversation quickly became lively.

Joo Suhyuk had the ability to steer conversations and quickly erase awkwardness.

It was unfortunate that this ability often didn’t work well with Andain, but here it worked very well.

Because it stemmed from his genuine nature, not calculated, he sometimes caught people off guard without malice.

“Yi-shin, you really look at me kindly. No wonder those rumors spread and people envy me.”

I was caught off guard.

Listening carefully to those words, I must have unconsciously relaxed my face and eyes.

Feeling this drained, hearing the word ‘rumors’ just now from Joo Suhyuk affected me badly.

‘Joo Suhyuk heard those rumors too...?’

For a moment, my knees weakened and I staggered.

Before I could regain balance, Joo Suhyuk reached out and held my shoulder to support me.

Before I could say thanks, he recalled a moment from the past and spoke.

His eyes, recalling the past, softened even more.

“I remember when we first talked. If you hadn’t caught me then, I would have fallen hard. Remember?”

There was no way I could forget that moment.

How could I forget the day I spoke with the protagonist of this world, Joo Suhyuk, whom I had only seen through a screen?

Not only that, but that day was the first time I saved him from danger.

I prevented Joo Suhyuk from being humiliated in front of Andain, who had fallen for him at first sight.

Compared to the scheming of the mastermind inside Plumago and the resulting crises, it might seem trivial, but to a teenager, it was a big crisis.

I had no idea how satisfying his words of thanks sounded that day.

“Of course I remember.”

“Haha, I was really grateful then. Did you help because you somehow knew I was going to fall?”

I regained my balance, but Joo Suhyuk’s hand didn’t leave my shoulder.

Though he spoke jokingly, it was clear that question wasn’t thrown out lightly.

He even tightened his grip as if determined to hear my answer.

Considering his intelligence, insight into the mastermind’s plans, and the information he had gathered so far, I knew why he was asking that.

“When you went alone to stop the Dream Auction, you didn’t have any allies like the Ho tribe, right? I kept thinking about how you got the information, but I couldn’t find an easy answer. So I hypothesized that you ‘already knew’.”

Joo Suhyuk deduced that I was ‘that word’s’ existence, and based on information that I cooperated with the Ho tribe.

As a son of the Joo-oh Group, he understood the behavior of the Hwangmyeong Group and inferred how the Ho tribe acted toward me.

If I had acted in cooperation with the Ho tribe from the start, the Dream Gate would have been resolved in a completely different way.

It made sense that Joo Suhyuk came to that conclusion.

“If you gained special powers starting from the practical entrance exam, that fits. The ability to know parts of the future and use the appearance and powers of others, right?”

I couldn’t hide it since he already heard about ‘that word’ and I appeared once in Seong Guk-eon’s form.

In fact, I had come into this world at the moment of the exam with special powers, so what he said was all true.

I had no intention to lie, so if ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) I tried to evade the topic, it would only cause confusion and misunderstanding.

And Joo Suhyuk was not just a playable character I had to protect, but an ally to fight against the mastermind.

So I simply agreed.

“That’s right.”

“I see. Thanks for telling me!”

Smiling like sunshine, he made me feel thankful instead.

I was grateful just for his smile, but at the same time, felt a moment of guilt.

I was awkward, swayed by trivial meaningless rumors, but he had carefully and seriously deduced everything and struggled to confirm it with me.

I felt ashamed of myself but proud and overwhelmed by Joo Suhyuk’s brilliance.

However, his next words drained my strength again.

“And you like me, but you like Dain and the others too, right?”

If Joo Suhyuk hadn’t held me, I would have swayed badly.

Why was he talking about something that seemed related to that rumor again?

Of course, I couldn’t deny it because it wasn’t wrong.

“I seriously thought about why you like me so much and why you’re happy for my growth. Oh, and since I know you like other kids too, I considered that. The nuances of your affection are a bit different.”

Did we really need to analyze that deeply?

His noble spirit and curiosity were commendable, but I wished he wouldn’t dig too deep into that matter.

But the title hero didn’t stop.

His gaze was serious and unwaveringly fixed on me.

“The one you especially like is the one you can borrow power from, right?”

That was true—I regarded playable characters as special.

Beyond admiration, it sent a chill down my spine.

In Plumago, there was no one like me, so no one saw scenes of such brilliant deduction, but in reality, he had that much ability.

To reach such a conclusion based on my slightest glance or emotion was truly fitting for a flawless protagonist.

I was embarrassed yet glad and honored to be the subject of that deduction.

Unable to properly express that feeling, I simply agreed.

“That’s right. Sorry I couldn’t say before.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize for digging in on my own.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Not easy. But you like senior Yeom Jun-yeol a lot. Thanks to that, I got many clues.”

Maybe because I revealed a big secret, I felt even closer to him.

Listening to his excellent deductive reasoning made conversation flow more naturally.

Joo Suhyuk hesitated for a moment and then asked.

“...You can use my form and my powers, right? Then can you use flight magic too?”

He looked troubled.

Recently, Joo Suhyuk lost in martial arts even when using flight magic.

If I used the player’s trajectory, he would have lost even more.

Since he didn’t know exactly how many characters I could control, maybe he felt the gap between us more.

“That’s why I understood why you hadn’t asked for my help before. I guess I was overconfident in my own powers without realizing it.”

He was smiling, but looked lonely.

It was surprising that instead of feeling frustrated or despairing, he reached a different emotion.

Before he hid the brief loneliness that flashed, I unconsciously opened my mouth.

“Even if I borrow your power, I can’t use flight magic.”

“Huh?”

“The you I knew couldn’t use flight magic. You’ve grown beyond that. If I use only your powers, I might lose.”

He opened his eyes wide, as if he hadn’t expected that.

Believing in the possibilities I had seen, I spoke confidently.

“You’ll continue to grow in ways I can’t predict or imitate.”

At my words, Joo Suhyuk showed a childlike expression of surprise and delight.

Though he got along well with peers, he had a mature side, so that face looked unfamiliar.

Then he smiled brightly like the sun and said.

“Thanks, I’ll live up to your expectations, Yi-shin!”

I wasn’t sure if that was something to thank for, but I couldn’t spoil his joy.

I smiled along and kept talking.

Soon it was time for the next class, and we had to move, but unwilling to part, we talked while walking together.

When discussing my secrets, both Joo Suhyuk and I were cautious about eavesdroppers, but while walking and chatting about things typical high school classmates would talk about, we didn’t care.

But a familiar voice caught my attention.

“Hey...?”

It was when we parted ways in the hallway to different elective classes.

Moon Sae-ron was standing in the hallway, gripping her device’s camera.

She was projecting holograms, seemingly checking the Eunkwang High’s comprehensive bulletin board.

Several screens were open at once.

One of the posts included photos, and in the pictures were me and Joo Suhyuk walking together.

‘Who took this? It came out well.’

I didn’t like that I took up half the screen, but Joo Suhyuk’s face, smiling without a shadow, was impressive.

As I thought to check and save that post later, Moon Sae-ron shouted with a stunned expression.

“Hey, get a grip!”

Suddenly, the class bell rang.

Amidst the ringing, the excited Moon Sae-ron started yelling something.

“I know what’s being said between Class President Joo and you...”

“Yi-shin, Sae-ron. It’s time for class.”

But Moon Sae-ron’s words were cut short.

Luckily, the next class was with Gong Cheong-hwon.

His gaze stayed on me, as if watching whether I would run away instead of entering the classroom.

Eventually, Moon Sae-ron backed off, and one of the Tigers who arrived first in class, Hwang Ji-ho, said something.

Hwang Ji-ho spoke with a teasing tone.

“Jo Yi-shin, I knew you’d do that.”

What did he mean by ‘knew you’d do that’?

Had the White Tiger heard about Joo Suhyuk?

For now, I decided to focus on class.

Only after class ended did I understand why Cheong-ho sighed then.