AAGULT Ch 81

Chapter 81

He rolled his eyes upward to look at him. Even under the warm light, his obsidian-like irises did not shift to brown. They remained purely black—black in its truest form.

“Or are you anxious I might become obsessed with you?”

“Well…”

Well, nothing. He simply wanted to avert his gaze because the words hit too close to home. The ability to read someone’s mind was supposed to be his, not Aiden’s. So why did this guide act as if he could peer straight into someone’s heart?

“I feel like your obsession would be cute, Jaeha.”

“…I’m technically an Esper too, Aiden. If you treat me too kindly like this, I might end up obsessing over you in a really bad way…”

“Ah, that’s exciting.”

Wasn’t that an incredibly dangerous thought to have for someone in a position as vulnerable to exploitation as a guide? Like an adult sternly warning a child not to take candy from strangers, Jaeha grabbed Aiden’s face and tried his hardest to harden his expression into something menacing.

“Aiden, you shouldn’t be excited about that.”

He had to make him understand the seriousness of it. An Esper’s obsession was not something cute or sweet.

“Excited or not, every day… calling… clinging… begging for guiding, getting mad if someone else gets guided…”

“And then?”

“And then…”

Ah, crap. How do Espers usually express obsession again? Maybe because he had always been the one cowering at the Esper’s feet, desperately seeking a handful of salvation, it was hard for him to get a clear idea. But he had to convey the seriousness to Aiden no matter what. So, he chose the most provocative word he could.

“I might even… rape you.”

Non-consensual, coercive sex had indeed become one of the more serious problems between Espers and Guides. And since Aiden was the president of the Guide Human Rights Association, he should be well aware of that issue. Merely bringing up such a possibility made Jaeha feel guilty. He was afraid Aiden would be disappointed in him. But even so, he forced himself to look at him.

“…”

“Ahem… hehe, ahem… Right.”

Aiden was smiling.

“Aiden. I’m serious.”

“I took it seriously. You’re right—I forgot that Jaeha might be the perverted one here.”

“…”

Being called a pervert by a pervert, as always, didn’t feel great. As Jaeha’s face twisted slightly, Aiden eventually burst into a carefree laugh.

“So, what was your plan? Replace me with that old man and do everything with him instead? Wow, that’s some next-level perversion.”

“No!”

Jaeha was horrified and denied it right away. He never had any intention of doing the same kinds of things with Mr. Lee Do that he did with Aiden.

“I-I was just thinking we could hold hands… no, wait—besides, Mr. Lee Do is already married…!”

“So, you were planning to pair with him?”

“…”

Caught off guard, Jaeha couldn’t answer. Aiden raised a single eyebrow and promptly got up and sat down on Jaeha’s lap. It was a bold move—like a prince demanding to be held like a princess.

“Aiden…!”

Worried he might fall, Jaeha instinctively supported his back, and Aiden wrapped his arms around Jaeha’s neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Honestly, Aiden’s build was larger than his, so to embrace him, Jaeha had to spread his arms quite wide. The matching device didn’t exactly offer spacious room, so it oddly reminded him of a closet.

“It can’t be helped. Jaeha, you have to be my Pair.”

With his head resting comfortably on Jaeha’s shoulder, Aiden purred with satisfaction. His voice was a whisper, his breath brushing the nape of Jaeha’s neck and making him instinctively want to shrink away.

“…Why?”

“Because I’ve already done all the behind-the-scenes work.”

“…”

“With the power of authority.”

How’s that? Isn’t your boyfriend a little bit irresistible?

He gave Jaeha a light, ticklish kiss on the cheek as he whispered softly. Jaeha felt like crying, though for an entirely different reason than before. But he managed to hold back a sigh, at least.

“Th-the results are out! One hundred percent! My god, we absolutely must report this to headquarters…!”

“Ta-da. So? Are you in love now?”

But upon hearing the voice of the researcher outside, frantically fiddling with equipment and shouting with excitement, Jaeha could only sigh with a groan.

He was happy, yet conflicted.

He hadn’t realized it at first, but the number—100%—felt alarmingly unreal.

It was the kind of thing that could cause academic papers to be revised, theories to be reexamined, and even well-respected experts in Guide resonance studies to pull their hair out in disbelief. The only comfort was that the information hadn’t been widely disseminated yet. As of now, only the Korean Guide Association and the Esper Association knew. They had immediately issued a gag order, and so the result of Aiden and Jaeha’s match rate test remained known to only a select few.

Surprisingly, people weren’t as fixated on the 100% figure itself as they were on the fact that it had seemingly come about entirely due to Aiden’s own will. Perhaps because of that, a strange form of support and attention began to pour toward Jaeha—the object of Aiden’s fickle affection.

First, the level of the housing that had been promised to Jaeha under the Esper Association’s residential support program was suddenly upgraded. His originally assigned 12-pyeong studio was replaced overnight with a 36-pyeong apartment with two rooms. For Jaeha, who had barely anything but his body as luggage, the space felt uncomfortably spacious.

Maybe because he was to become Aiden’s Pair, even his treatment at the hospital—where he had been visiting regularly for detox support and to restore his rank—began to change. The medical staff’s attitudes subtly shifted to a more respectful and kind tone.

He wasn’t sure it was okay to put it like this, but… it felt like he was a commoner who had risen in status after a single night with a royal.

“Congratulations, Song Jaeha. As of today, you’ve officially recovered to Grade E.”

“…Thank you.”

About a week had passed, and Jaeha had officially recovered from Grade F to Grade E. It was a quicker and smoother recovery than expected. It should’ve been something to celebrate, but Jaeha wasn’t sure he could call the emotions he felt pure joy.

“I’ll need to revise the report. Your recovery is going much faster than anticipated.”

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely. It’s only a matter of time before you become Guide Aiden’s Pair. Congratulations again.”

“Haha…”

Yeah, if you say so.

Only later did he learn that the “behind-the-scenes work” Aiden mentioned had been quite meticulous. Apparently, Aiden had worried that the chairman might go back on his word—after all, he was trying to pair a criminal with a currently low-ranked Esper who might never reach Grade A. So Aiden made a direct contract with the association. A deal that would force them to pair him with Jaeha no matter what, with no room to back out.

The contract was this:

Aiden would assist in clearing five gates as requested by the chairman. These would be one-time support missions, not ongoing obligations. However, if he were to become Song Jaeha’s Pair, any gate entered by Jaeha would naturally be a joint mission, so exceptions would apply. In return, the association was to make all possible efforts to ensure that the Pairing with Song Jaeha would succeed.

At a glance, it seemed like a deal that was generous to Aiden. But remembering that it was Aiden we were talking about—it was clearly a huge loss for him.

And all of it was undeniable proof that Jaeha had become a burden to him. Even if Aiden didn’t feel that way, even if it was the outcome he wanted… the fact remained unchanged.

Jaeha, weighed down by guilt over the burden he placed on Aiden, finally came to understand the mysterious emotion that had been tormenting him lately.

“Do I seem too amazing? Is that why you think you shouldn’t dare love me?”

“Or are you afraid you might become obsessed with me?”

Aiden had been both right and wrong. The reason Jaeha had unconsciously avoided his confession wasn’t because of those things.

The real issue was that everything had been built on the assumption that he could one day become a Grade A Esper again.

“…”

A sudden thought struck Jaeha.

If I never become a Grade A Esper again… would Aiden still stay with me?

“Ah, could you roll up your sleeve? Since your rank has changed, we should update your blood sample too.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jaeha rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm to the doctor. He absentmindedly continued his thoughts while inhaling the now-familiar scent of disinfectant and feeling the chill of cotton against his skin. Even as the needle pierced his flesh, his mind was in turmoil.

Aiden liked him. …He said so. But if that affection wasn’t truly for him, but for his value as an Esper—what then? That thought filled Jaeha with quiet disappointment.

Jaeha would have liked him even if he weren’t a guide. He simply liked the person named Aiden. Of course, he couldn’t deny that the catalyst had been guiding. But to say it was only guiding that made him like Aiden—Aiden was far too good a person for that.

But… it didn’t seem like that was the case for Aiden. Given how he used guiding, outer advantages, and the power of authority as tools of seduction—it felt like his affection was based on everything but the core of who Jaeha was.