* * *

Yang Heewoon was determined not to give him up, prepared to defend if necessary.

But it wasn’t needed.

The man in white darted past Ye Eunsoo without even slowing down.

Then, he started rummaging through the remains of a collapsed building, which appeared to have once been a hospital.

‘What’s he doing? Rescuing people?’

Standing there blankly, Eunsoo watched the man’s odd behavior with brief curiosity, but his interest quickly faded.

Turning his back on the man in white, Ye Eunsoo strode away purposefully.

Right now, getting Yang Heewoon the medical attention he needed was more important.

Though he’d provided emergency care, Heewoon’s condition was still critical.

He had to find a healing Esper as soon as possible.

“Aah!”

Just as Eunsoo was leaving the scene, holding Heewoon close, he heard a voice behind him, filled with raw emotion.

Recognizing it as a sigh from the man with white hair, Eunsoo chose not to look back.

He didn’t know why the man was acting that way, but it wasn’t any of Eunsoo’s concern.

His one and only was already in his arms.

---

My lifeline was stubborn.

I’d been at the brink—spitting blood, collapsed on the floor, even ready to become a human bomb and blow myself up.

And yet, here I was, opening my eyes once again.

The state I was in wasn’t ideal, though.

I was lying inside a clear medical device, the kind you’d find in an intensive care unit.

Still, there was something comforting.

“You’re awake?”

Right next to me, in a matching medical device, lay Elliot, his entire body wrapped in special restraints that suppressed his powers.

“Ugh.”

“Don’t laugh…”

I was grateful he was alive, grateful that I hadn’t died because of him.

Somehow, the very sight of him calmed me.

His unusual appearance—looking almost like a mummy, stripped of all his usual charm—brought a smile to my face.

He glanced at me disapprovingly and pressed an interior button, sliding out of his treatment pod.

“Are you supposed to be out?”

“Yes. I got good guidance, and the first aid was quick. But you’re definitely not okay yet, so don’t even think about coming out.”

“Alright. I’ll stay put.”

Even without him saying so, I understood.

My body was heavy, unresponsive.

My mind still felt hazy. It felt like I was dreaming, a dream so happy it felt unreal.

I moved my hand, feeling the cold, hard surface of the glass, and let out a sigh of relief.

This wasn’t a dream.

Meanwhile, Elliot pulled a chair up to my pod and sat down in front of me, his expression complicated.

He seemed to be considering what to say first when he suddenly spoke in an excited tone.

“Heewoon, there’s hope. Huimang’s alive.”

Elliot shared news that seemed like a dream itself, leaving me barely able to distinguish reality from fantasy.

He wore a bright, joyful smile.

“The building was half-destroyed, but the child’s location was unharmed. Huimang was in the NICU… we managed to save them along with the other children.”

Huimang survived.

They’d defied fate.

I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply.

“Thank goodness…”

If Yang Heewoon had truly “chosen” to accept me within him, it could only have been for one reason: to save his Huimang.

But it was likely he’d made this choice because he doubted he could do it himself.

He had chosen to alter fate, even if it meant sacrificing his own body.

If that precious child had died, I’d have no face to show Heewoon in the afterlife.

I was truly, so deeply relieved.

“We were lucky. I…”

Elliot, who had been so blissfully happy as he shared the news of the child’s survival, abruptly fell silent.

His face tensed, and his expression grew darker as he lowered his head, looking almost guilty.

Even if it was to save a beloved child, he was still an S-class esper.

Difficult to guide or kill, he was like a ticking time bomb who could spiral out of control, with no one able to subdue him.

Some would argue that a berserk Elliot was even more dangerous than a typical gate.

If the child had been safe to begin with, he should have handled things more carefully.

He hadn’t controlled his emotions and nearly killed me, which he likely felt responsible for.

But I thought differently.

I called his name. “Elliot.”

It took several times before he finally looked at me.

When I saw the soft pink of his familiar eyes, I found myself smiling faintly.

“Huimang’s survival wasn’t just luck.”

It was no exaggeration to say the hospital was right below the gate.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if the building had completely collapsed.

If Elliot hadn’t rushed to the scene, if he hadn’t swiftly subdued the monsters by throwing himself into the fray, if he hadn’t raised barriers and pillars of ice to prevent further collapse, the child’s survival would’ve been nearly impossible.

All of this was because Elliot cared deeply for the child, because he fought for their sake, that we now had this outcome.

I didn’t want him to regret what he’d done.

With that thought in mind, I continued.

“Elliot, you saved them. Thank you.”

At my words, Elliot’s delicate face contorted, like he was holding back a mix of emotions.

“… No, thank you for saying that.”

Eventually, he smiled.

Even as tears welled in his eyes, he looked at me with a happiness that softened his face.

The relief on his face was unmistakable, and I suddenly remembered something I’d wanted to tell him.

“Elliot, there’s something you’ve misunderstood.”

“…What?”

“Well… about Heesoo’s name… the ‘Soo’ part… it’s true that it comes from a name, but… it wasn’t taken from Eunsoo’s name.”

Elliot’s eyes widened slightly.

My guess had been right.

He’d felt hurt, thinking I’d named the child after Eunsoo instead of him after putting him through so much.

“It’s my name.”

“What? But…”

“It’s an old name. The one I had before… before I got my current name.”

To be precise, it was my original name before I’d been drawn into the world of “The Genius Guide’s Melancholy” and possessed Yang Heewoon’s body.

My real name.

It’s no surprise he misunderstood.

My name does sound a lot like Eunsoo’s.

I looked up toward the ceiling.

Being drawn into a dark, high-intensity BL story with the protagonist’s name so similar to mine… it felt like fate.

When I’d first encountered “The Genius Guide’s Melancholy” that similarity had been a big barrier for me.

Even with regular novels, having a character with a name similar to mine makes me uncomfortable.

And this was a high-intensity BL novel.

It’s not the kind of story you just pick up on a whim.

But, as a fan of dark, angst-filled stories with themes of resilience, growth, and happy endings, my tastes were clear.

And naturally, it was hard to find a story that fit them as perfectly as “The Genius Guide’s Melancholy”.

It took a lot of hesitation before I finally took the plunge, practically forcing myself to read it because of how scarce stories like this are.

The numerous explicit scenes made me scream, and though I almost gave up many times, I couldn’t let go because I was a poor, penny-pinching soul.

I had to see the end, the growth, and the happy ending I’d paid for.

Yet, as I got closer to the end, the similarity in Eunsoo’s name took on new meaning for me.

Eunsoo, like me, was an orphan.

A child alone in the world, with no family, no friends, no adults to look at him with warmth.

But he was so different from me. He never let go of what he wanted, even when he had nothing—no family, no friends, no support.

Of course, Eunsoo was a protagonist, a character in a book with remarkable powers I could never have.

But Eunsoo was also a child whose immense talent became a burden that chained him.

Even so, this young man, only just twenty, had never bowed his head.

He didn’t shrink away, didn’t hunch his shoulders.

Even if he felt discouraged for a moment, he ultimately lived boldly, selfishly even, with his chest held high.

He sneered at those who mocked him, shook off his disgrace, and achieved honor.

Even though Jake crushed his school life, he gritted his teeth, studied hard, and made it to college.

He never gave up on any of the three difficult S-class espers he loved.

At some point, I grew to adore Eunsoo.

His fierce determination, his unrelenting grasp on happiness—taking every chance and never letting go—was something I envied and… was thankful for.

Eunsoo became my hero.

“…It feels like fate.”

A fateful connection, built on a series of small coincidences.

And now, with an inexplicable phenomenon like “possession” taking place, wouldn’t it be fair to call it “destiny”?

With a faint smile, I looked at Elliot.

“This will be our secret. As for the child’s name… ‘Hee’ is enough. You can choose the rest of the name, something beautiful.”

Since I’d come to inhabit Yang Heewon’s body, I’d decided to live as him.

I didn’t plan on revealing my real name to anyone.

Yet, as I read Yang Heewon’s memories, I started to feel a bit greedy.

In my previous life, I’d left behind almost nothing.

I probably didn’t even leave a proper grave, fading into the earth or the wind.

So… now that I’ve been given a new life, I hoped I could leave even a small trace of myself, helping Yang Heewon fulfill his wish.

It didn’t matter if no one knew it was my name.

It would be enough if that name lived on through the child, called by someone else.

But when I thought about it, I realized I shouldn’t.

What had I done for the child to claim a place in his life?

Elliot was the one who’d been looking after him.

So… it’s fine.

Leaving only the name “Yang Heewon” would be enough.

Elliot, who had been watching me for a while, shook his head.

“No. We’ll go with that name. It’s a beautiful name, Heesoo.”

“But…”

“I want to name the child after you. This is my wish, too.”

Elliot’s voice was firm, filled with determination.

It wasn’t just out of guilt toward me.

Could I… could I allow myself to want this, too?

After hesitating, I smiled at him again.

“…Thank you.”

* * *