I didn't sleep that night.
The scene replayed in my mind again and again.
"We are friends… and just because we like the same person…"
Like the same person…
The words wouldn't leave me alone.
I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling while moonlight spilled through the tall Academy windows, pale and cold against the stone walls.
Why had that moment felt so familiar?
Not just familiar.
Scripted.
My fingers tightened slightly against the blanket.
"…No way," I whispered into the dark.
Fragments surfaced.
A novel.
A BL academy novel.
Legendary students. Rare magic users. A tight-knit friend group where the strongest mages started to pursue their friend.
All tops were hopelessly entangled around one central figure:
The bottom.
My chest tightened.
Sheng Rui.
The Light Mage.
My favorite character.
The sweet one. The gentle one. The one everyone gravitated toward.
The one I remembered liking the most.
My breath grew uneven.
Wait,
No.
That meant…
I slowly pushed myself upright.
This wasn't just similar.
It was the same setup.
The Swordmaster. Proud, disciplined, outwardly calm but internally competitive.
The Dark Mage. Intense, sharp, emotionally charged.
The Summoner. The mediator. The stabilizer. The one who kept the group together.
And the Light Mage in the center.
I pressed a hand against my forehead.
I never finished that novel.
I remembered being frustrated with the ending.
Or maybe I never even reached it.
The details were blurry. Faces, scenes, tension. I had read so many different novels that they all kind of mixed together. Everything was blurry…
Which meant I had no idea how this would end.
A chill ran down my spine.
Was I… inside that story?
The thought should have terrified me more.
Instead, what I felt was something stranger:
Clarity.
That uneasy feeling I'd been carrying for months suddenly made sense.
The Academy wasn't just an Academy.
And I was…?
What?
A side character? An extra?
I thought back carefully.
In the novel… there had been no Space Mage like me in the spotlight.
They were the only ones who participated in the Rare Magic class.
There had been side characters. Talented students. Background geniuses.
But none of them interfered with the central dynamic.
And the central dynamic was clear:
The tops competing, emotionally, subtly, sometimes dramatically. For the male lead… for Sheng Rui.
But they never truly broke apart.
They were friends first.
Just like Liang Yue had said.
My mind raced.
That fight today…
It had happened in the novel.
Not exactly like this.
But close.
A private confrontation, tension building and escalating. And the cause? Love…
A friend stepping in… a Summoner.
Calling them childish.
My heartbeat quickened.
If that scene already happened…
Then the story was progressing.
And I was here.
Alive inside it.
I exhaled slowly.
But now,
Now I understood why they had always felt strangely familiar.
Why the moment Liang Yue stepped between them, my chest tightened.
Why Sheng Rui's name had echoed somewhere deep in my memory long before I ever met him.
These weren't just talented students at the Academy.
These were the characters.
They were the Legendary Students from that novel…
Sheng Rui, the Light Mage.
Dawei Chen, the Swordmaster.
Liang Yue, the Summoner.
And Yung Yu, the Dark Mage.
This wasn't coincidence.
I wasn't imagining things.
I wasn't drawing wild parallels.
I was inside it.
Inside the story.
I would avoid creating a butterfly effect.
This never ends well in books!
I wouldn't interfere.
I didn't want to become some disruptive anomaly that changed everything.
If this was truly that story, then things would unfold naturally.
And honestly?
I kind of wanted to see it.
From the best seat possible:
As a silent observer.
The next morning, the Academy looked exactly the same.
Sunlight streamed through the corridors.
Students chatted.
Nothing screamed, "You are in a fictional universe."
Well… at least not fictional in the sense that I was actually inside a novel.
Which made it even stranger.
But thinking about all this magic stuff, it kind of made sense.
I mean, I had considered that possibility in the beginning.
But at the same time, even the thought had seemed absurd.
I walked toward the Rare Magic Hall more consciously this time.
The Legendary Students were already inside.
They greeted each other casually.
No visible tension.
No signs of last night's near-conflict.
Sheng Rui stood near the window, light reflecting off his pale hair, his presence warm as ever.
When he noticed me lingering at the entrance, he gave a small nod.
Not distant.
Not intimate.
Just acknowledgment.
I nodded back.
Careful.
Neutral.
Supportive background character energy only.
The Dark Mage stood a little too close to him, and the Swordmaster noticed.
Of course he did. It's about Sheng Rui.
Subtle shift in posture.
There it was.
The tension.
So small most people wouldn't catch it.
But I did.
Because I'd read this before.
My lips twitched slightly.
This was ridiculous.
And fascinating.
During group practice, I stayed focused on my own exercises, occasionally glancing up.
The Summoner caught both rivals' eyes at one point and gave them a look.
Friends first.
Always friends first.
Just like in the book.
Except,
A tiny detail nagged at me.
In the novel…
Wasn't there a moment where someone got injured?
Something that escalated the emotional stakes?
My chest tightened.
I couldn't remember who.
Or when.
Only that something had shifted the balance dramatically.
And I had hated the way it resolved.
That unfinished ending suddenly felt dangerous.
If I didn't know what happened, then I couldn't predict it.
And if something serious was coming…
My gaze drifted to Sheng Rui again.
He laughed at something the Summoner said.
He is so bright…
Beloved by all of them.
I think he was my favorite character. No wonder I felt so drawn to him. He is awesome. Even better in real life.
A strange protectiveness stirred in my chest.
Not romantic.
Just…
Fond.
He had always been kind in the novel, gentle and sunny. Treating everyone with respect, but at the same time being this smart person, who could guess every next step.
Even when the others clashed, he was there to hold them together. I respected and admired that.
If this world truly followed that narrative, then he would be at the center of everything.
And the others would orbit him.
Unless something disrupted it.
I inhaled slowly.
I wouldn't push and I definitely wouldn't interfere.
I would stay in the background.
Encourage quietly.
Cheer internally.
Let the tops fight it out emotionally
and let Sheng Rui choose.
I would not become a catalyst.
But…
If something truly dangerous happened…
My fingers flexed slightly.
I was no longer the powerless reader I once had been.
I had Space Magic and Alchemy…
Control.
I could fold space.
I could stabilize injuries.
I was not helpless.
That thought grounded me.
Maybe that was why I had been placed here.
Not to change the romance.
But to ensure survival.
My stomach flipped slightly.
Unless…
Unless the tragedy I half-remembered involved someone I cared about.
I swallowed.
Focus.
Today, nothing catastrophic was happening.
Today was still just training.
Just subtle glances.
Just tension under the surface.
And I,
I was watching a story unfold from within.
"Lianmei?"
I blinked.
Sheng Rui was looking at me.
"Are you coming? We're starting the formation practice."
His tone was gentle.
Neutral.
Friendly.
I stepped forward.
"Yes. Of course."
As I took my place, I couldn't help the quiet thought that echoed in my mind:
This really is that story.
And this time,
I would see how it ends.