AAGULT Ch 72

Chapter 72

As expected, he hadn’t been able to attend university. He had prepared quite diligently for the college entrance exam and achieved a fairly decent score, but it wasn’t good enough to receive a scholarship. He couldn’t afford to pay the tuition in full. And truthfully, tuition was a distant dream—he had even spent all of the support money he had received upon leaving the facility.

“I hope you can get a scholarship.”

“A scholarship?”

“Usually, kids who weren’t adopted when they were young and end up studying all the way through the orphanage… um, they tend to struggle financially.”

“Ah.”

Aiden nodded as if he hadn’t thought of that, then turned the question back to Jaeha.

“Jaeha-ssi, you didn’t go to university?”

“I couldn’t.”

“If you had gone, what would you have liked to study?”

“Hmm…”

Jaeha trailed off. He had imagined countless times what he would study if he went to college, but he had imagined so much that he couldn’t settle on a single answer.

“I don’t know. What did you study in college, Aiden-ssi?”

In the end, he gave up on answering and returned the question. He had heard in passing that Aiden was from a good family—it certainly showed—and had assumed he naturally went to university.

“I didn’t go to college either.”

“What?”

That answer came as a surprise. He turned from looking straight ahead to face Aiden. Their eyes met, and Aiden smiled bashfully.

“I manifested as a Guide when I was five.”

“Ah…”

“There was no such thing as college for me. I barely made it through middle and high school just to fill the required time. I was working for the Association.”

“…”

He didn’t know what to say. It felt awkward to offer comfort, and it was difficult to relate.

But Aiden simply chuckled lightly and said,

“Still, I felt at ease.”

“…Why?”

“I have an older brother—he’s quite a bit older than me.”

Following his words, Jaeha tried to picture what his brother might be like. So he had an older brother. Just knowing this person he liked had a family member made him curious.

“My brother didn’t want me to go to college.”

“…”

Why? Could he ask?

As his curiosity swelled, Jaeha realized this was the first time he was hearing something personal from Aiden. It felt strange.

Had they ever talked like this before? No, they hadn’t.

Noticing Jaeha’s silence, Aiden gave him a faint smile as if to reassure him.

“It’s just… my brother wanted me to remain a Guide. That’s all.”

“I see…”

Jaeha parted his lips slightly, then went ahead and asked what he had been wondering. He was curious.

“If you had gone to college… what would you have wanted to study?”

Aiden hesitated. Sitting inside the wardrobe, shadows cast vague lines across his face. It looked beautiful, so Jaeha kept staring.

Regardless of that, the man answered brightly with a laugh.

“Archaeology, maybe? I dreamed of becoming a restoration specialist.”

“A restoration specialist?”

That didn’t seem to suit him at all. Something like business or economics seemed more fitting. But Aiden burst into a clear laugh, as if he found that thought amusing.

“I’m actually a very diligent and inquisitive person. You have no idea how passionate I am.”

“Yeah, sure…”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

Aiden grabbed Jaeha’s face with one hand and puckered his lips like a fish.

“I beebew yoo.”

Jaeha mumbled with distorted speech, and Aiden tilted his head and gave him a light peck. As he smiled slyly, the air brushing past his lips tickled Jaeha’s skin.

Whether it was because the tension in his body had melted away or because Aiden had shared something personal for the first time, Jaeha’s lips began to loosen like an unlocked lock. It was a trivial story, but he wanted to tell it.

“To be honest, I started bartending kind of against my will…”

“Yeah?”

“But I think I ended up enjoying it. The job itself, I mean.”

At first, he had only known about soju and beer, but as he learned more about the job, he found parts of it fun. Of course, since he practically ran the bar alone, the hardship overshadowed everything else.

But each time he conquered a colorful and complicated recipe, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment. When customers enjoyed his cocktails or shared lighthearted chats with him, it relieved his stress.

Despite being a short and seemingly worthless confession, Aiden, who had been quietly listening, eventually opened his mouth in a playful tone.

“You know, when I first saw you…”

When he first saw him? Ah, back then. Jaeha recalled the moment Aiden came running in response to Guide Kim Ji-won’s SOS. That winter night, dressed in a black coat, entering with the scent of the cold wind clinging to him.

“I was in a really bad mood.”

“Yeah…”

He remembered. It was because he had read Aiden’s emotions.

“But when I saw your face, all the irritation disappeared. You were just too cute.”

“…”

If he kept hearing things like this, wouldn’t he eventually come to believe he was cute? A strange unease passed through him, but he didn’t want to interrupt Aiden’s words, so he stayed quiet.

“If you hadn’t been cute, I was planning to order three Ramos Gin Fizzes in a row out of spite.”

“…Huh?”

“Be grateful for your face.”

Aiden grinned mischievously and kissed Jaeha’s cheek again. Jaeha, however, couldn’t focus on the kiss this time. He was too shocked by Aiden’s audacity.

Ramos Gin Fizz? That was arguably the cocktail bartenders hated to be asked to make the most.

First, you had to combine gin, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar syrup, cream, egg white, and soda water and dry shake it. Then add ice and do a wet shake—good heavens. Just the shaking alone took 10 minutes. Not at once, but three in a row? Just imagining it was horrifying.

“…Aiden-ssi, I think you’re worse than I imagined.”

In many ways… he really wasn’t the gentle, kind person people described in rumors.

“You’re so mean.”

“Ha…”

Though Aiden whined, Jaeha paid him no mind. It was just funny—Aiden’s expression, the fact that two grown men were crammed into a tiny wardrobe like this, the whole situation.

For the first time in a while, Jaeha laughed freely, without carrying any of the burdens in his heart. There was no awkwardness, no pain, no self-consciousness behind that laugh. He simply felt good.

And he realized this laughter had been brought about solely by Aiden’s doing. So, as he let out that refreshing laughter, he leaned his head against Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden widened his eyes in surprise, but Jaeha was too busy laughing. Haha. When was the last time he laughed without any worry?

“Because you’re cute, I’ll let it go.”

Then Aiden also laughed. Smooch, smooch. He gave light kisses on Jaeha’s cheeks. The warmth of those smooches tickled him, making Jaeha laugh even more—freely.

Feeling uplifted, Jaeha began to steel his resolve. Of course, just trying harder wouldn’t bring back his lost memories, so it wasn’t much help.

Still, he began to deliberately bring up topics he had avoided before.

“My mom… and dad.”

He had rarely used the words ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ before, so the words came out awkwardly, carrying awkward syllables.

“Do you happen to know? You said my mom was an Esper, and my dad was a Guide.”

Even as he asked, he thought it was unlikely Aiden would know. Even if Espers and Guides were rarer than regular people, there were still thousands of them in Seoul alone. But unexpectedly, Aiden paused to think and then answered slowly.

“I don’t know much about your mother’s side. But I did see your father a few times. I think we even entered a Gate together once.”

“…”

“He was a pretty good guy. I only saw him when I was little, though.”

“I see…”

Hearing about his parents—people he had never even imagined—twisted something inside him.

“Now that I think about it, it’s strange. If I entered the orphanage at age seven, that means I lived with them before that, but I have absolutely no memory of them…”

The fact that he hadn’t even thought this was strange before made it even more bizarre.

In any case, while the man quietly and patiently listened to his lament, Jaeha reached out and held his hand. Though they had been cramped together in this tiny wardrobe, with their bodies half-folded and pressed together, he didn’t feel stiff or uncomfortable.

While holding Aiden’s hand, he slowly felt the now-familiar sensation of guiding… then suddenly straightened up. He had realized something.

“Jaeha-ssi?”

Ah. Why hadn’t he thought of it?

Jaeha twisted his body, which had been leaning against the wardrobe wall, and looked at Aiden. He recalled the Christmas market they had walked through together.

“Aiden-ssi. Please guide me.”

“…What?”

Aiden blinked, trying to process the situation—his lips even parting slightly in surprise. It was the first time Jaeha had ever actively requested to be guided.

Though he knew Aiden’s surprise was about something else, Jaeha also realized how it must have sounded—like someone walking into a fancy restaurant and, just because they knew the owner, demanding a free meal. So he opened his mouth to explain the reason clearly and objectively.