Prologue
That day, the sky was unusually clear. Usually, the sky above the laboratory was filled with gray storm clouds, or it was that humid, oppressive weather right before the rain.
Perhaps because of that, the deep blue sky was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but marvel at it—and then, below it, I saw Calisten smiling at me, and he looked so incredible that I was completely mesmerized.
Crimson eyes and jet-black hair.
A perfectly sculpted, prominent nose that seemed too precise to have been made by a single god, broad shoulders forming a right angle, and a solid, muscular upper body.
Even though he was wearing a shabby lab coat, unlike the other test subjects, he seemed to radiate light.
But what did that matter?
He was Calisten—the insane male protagonist of the BL novel rated 19+, a man so deranged he would destroy the Arsène Laboratory, where espers were trained, and kill everyone here. Including me.
It was the first time I had seen him smile so closely.
A shiver ran down my spine, but for some reason, I couldn’t look away. It wasn’t just fear—it was because I felt like these words could only be said now, or never.
“Calisten.”
“Yeah.”
His deep, low voice resonated in my ears. Even his tone was perfectly deep, just like his shoulders that stretched straight at a right angle—absolutely flawless.
“I—I like you!”
“…What?”
“I like you!”
My heart raced, maybe because I was seeing Calisten’s flustered expression for the first time. I worried: What if he thinks this is some ridiculous lie? But I opened my tightly shut eyes.
He still stood there, clearly unsure of what to say.
Calisten opened and closed his lips, hesitating repeatedly. Then, as if making a decision, he finally spoke.
“I’m a man.”
Right, I’m a man too…!
I absentmindedly fiddled with the necklace around my neck.
“So I like you even more!”
But it was too late to take back my confession.
I stood in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes. Then, he glowed with a bright liveliness in his gaze. It wasn’t a dark emotion like anger—it was a dazzling beauty filled with hope.
“I’m serious!”
