AAGULT Ch 88

Chapter 88

Smooch, smooch. A few light kisses like a sparrow pecking at food would’ve been just enough, but strangely, it went on longer. The brush of lips tickled pleasantly, bringing a smile and a pleasant shiver down his neck. Parting his lips slightly, he gently bit down on the soft lower lip and gave it a soft suck.

At the same time, the guiding that always brought Jaeha to his knees surged in. A blissful guiding that felt tailored down to each microscopic cell, meant solely for him. It was an act akin to taming his wavelengths, ensuring he could never become accustomed to anyone else’s guiding. That made it all the more cruel—and all the more joyous. It was like a foolish human secretly savoring the forbidden fruit with delight.

“My dear Jaeha…”

His voice, tinged with slight excitement and overall languor, seeped into Jaeha’s ears. It felt as if all the sounds of the world were fading, leaving only his voice in vivid color. In the daze caused by the perfection of his guiding, his words drilled into Jaeha’s mind and planted themselves deeply.

“You met my brother.”

“……”

In that instant, clarity surged into his consciousness. Half-lidded eyes slowly opened.

“How… did you know?”

“I can tell just by looking.”

[Idiot.]

The thoughts flowed in more easily than before—there was no barrier at all. It meant those thoughts were meant to be read openly. Jaeha’s face involuntarily twisted. Who would be pleased to be called an idiot by someone they liked…?

“I’m not an idiot.”

He grumbled, and the other laughed. Then, instead of teasing, he continued as if simply following up on the conversation.

“How much did you find out?”

He wasn’t accusing him. It was easy to tell that the curiosity in his voice was light and casual.

“……”

Jaeha didn’t want to speak it aloud. He knew what he’d heard earlier from the informant was excessively cruel. He recalled the words whispered to him like a shared secret.

‘The succession battle in the Halla family was apparently no joke. Actually, it was less a battle and more like one-sided suppression.’

The informant, glancing around nervously as if someone might overhear, then spoke with an intrigued expression.

‘It’s something everyone hushes up, but…’

“Hmm?”

But as he prodded again, the lock on his lips came undone on its own.

“Well…”

“Well?”

“Your brother… when you were little… he sent you into a gate…”

“Oh, right. Tried to kill me by shoving me in?”

“……”

So it was true. Even though he hadn’t experienced it himself, an overwhelming sense of desolation crept in like seawater and settled like gloom. Everyone treated it as fact, but due to a lack of concrete evidence—and the towering presence of the Halla conglomerate—no one dared speak up. No one had the courage to fight South Korea’s biggest corporation on his behalf.

“Are you sad?”

But the person who had actually lived through it was gazing up at him with clear eyes. Not only did he seem unfazed, but he actually looked curious that Jaeha was sad or worried for him. Jaeha was momentarily speechless.

“Yes, I’m sad.”

“That’s interesting.”

“…What is?”

He tilted his head slightly and leaned it on Jaeha’s shoulder. Even in that moment, the guiding continued seamlessly, and Jaeha once again realized just how exceptional a guide he was. Most people would lose focus during a conversation, but not him.

“If I acted all sad and broken right now, I could probably score some sympathy points with you.”

“……”

“But seeing how genuinely pained you look, I lost the desire to do that.”

The candid confession, delivered in a flat tone without a hint of performance, struck Jaeha as disturbingly abnormal. The unfiltered words suggested a deep, dark pit lay right in front of his feet. Yet Jaeha—still blinded by the thick veil of love—willingly stepped into it.

Even though he now clearly understood that the man wasn’t as kind, gentle, or lovely as he appeared to be—he couldn’t help but feel as though he were.

“What are you thinking about?”

And strangely enough, he liked hearing those kinds of words from him…

—I wish I could read your thoughts too, just once.

If that was how he felt, then maybe he was abnormal too.

“I was thinking… it’s a relief.”

“What is?”

Jaeha looked down at him. When he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Jaeha’s chin, it made him let out a soft laugh.

“That you didn’t seem too badly hurt by that incident…”

No—more than that, it was because you’re so abnormal. And the fact that I like you despite that, somehow makes me feel like I’m not completely out of line. A base, selfish thought he’d never dare voice aloud. Had he been able to read Jaeha’s mind, he would have surely been disappointed.

“……”

Their eyes met. His jet-black pupils gleamed like obsidian—so lovely. His deer-like lashes fluttered, then curved slightly.

It was truly strange. Just that gentle, sorrowful, beautiful appearance—yet when he curved his eyes like crescent moons, it evoked the image of a sly, coiled serpent.

“I see.”

[Lie.]

“Yes.”

That’s right. Jaeha lied without a trace of guilt.

[Kiss.]

“Give me another kiss.”

[You lying bastard—so fucking sexy.]

His inner thoughts, as always, were the complete opposite of his gentle voice. But as usual, Jaeha didn’t flinch or feel shaken. He simply smiled faintly and kissed him again.

For the first time in a while, he felt truly happy.

“Speaking of which…”

The real conversation began after that. While lazing around in bed, Aiden dropped a bombshell.

“My stupid brother seems to be in contact with Baek Beomwoo.”

“…What?”

It was quite the shocking statement. Jaeha, who had been feeling calm and cozy while listening to the sound of Aiden’s heartbeat behind him, blinked in confusion and turned around. Aiden smiled and snuggled deeper into his arms, so Jaeha cautiously embraced him and patted his back.

“I narrowed down potential locations where they might be manufacturing the ability suppressant. And guess what? One of them is on land my brother owns.”

“……”

“And judging by the circumstances, that one’s the most likely.”

So the boss’s hand really reached that far. It felt strange. Things he’d assumed were entirely unrelated were actually subtly interconnected—he was only just realizing it. Jaeha hesitated, then carefully asked.

“Did you inform the Association President?”

“Not yet. I wanted to check with you first.”

“Check what?”

“Wanna come with me?”

“……”

Jaeha stared at him for a moment, and he grinned. But just because a man smiled prettily didn’t mean that was enough—so Jaeha voiced his practical concerns.

“Can I even go?”

“Why not?”

“Well, I’m… I was a villain under the boss—under Baek Beomwoo’s organization. I haven’t even stood trial yet, haven’t received proper punishment…”

His voice gradually diminished, largely due to the way Aiden looked at him—as if the notion was absurd, as if he were some cute little thing. Unable to hold back his laughter, Aiden let out soft chuckles and pinched Jaeha’s cheek.

“Ow…”

“Aww, poor baby.”

“……”

Jaeha simply closed his mouth in dissatisfaction. Then, belatedly, he realized something—he was strangely at ease.

He’d always been afraid of showing any negative emotion toward Aiden, always careful not to displease him. But here he was, frowning openly without a second thought. That was something one could only do with the confidence that the other person wouldn’t be disappointed in them.

Fortunately, Aiden didn’t look disappointed at all. Rather, he patted Jaeha’s cheek as if to soothe him. Jaeha quickly recovered his mood.

“Power abuse is more powerful than you think.”

“That’s… not a good thing, is it?”

Naturally, Jaeha—who empathized more with the ordinary people suffering from abuse than the abusers—tried to protest timidly. But Aiden didn’t seem to care. He continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard, so Jaeha let it slide.

“Since it’s my brother’s private property, we can’t conduct an official investigation unless we find a concrete reason. But I’m his blood relative, right? Of course, he’ll try to stop me with everything he’s got, but that’s my problem.”

He laid out his plan in a casual, almost singsong tone. The trust he placed in Jaeha left him feeling oddly conflicted. The man was sharing everything with him without an ounce of suspicion.

“So all you need to do is decide whether you’ll come with me.”

“If I don’t… you’ll go alone?”

“Probably?”

Naturally, Jaeha began to worry. He was really going to enter what might be the boss’s base—alone? So small and delicate like that? …Well, if the opponent was an Esper, Aiden could probably defeat them easily, but that wasn’t the issue. It was simply a matter of the heart. Jaeha didn’t want to let him go alone. Even though Aiden was older, it felt like he was the one who had to look after him.

“What about another investigation team…”

“The least suspicious setup is going alone or with one other person. And going with you is the least suspicious option.”

“……”

Given he was already known in the Association as the mysterious Esper who had clearly marked Jaeha as his pair, there was no way his family hadn’t picked up on Jaeha’s presence. In the end, Jaeha nodded. It’s not like he’d wanted to refuse in the first place.

Unless they happened to run into the boss himself at the lab where the suppressants were made… Even so, he had to go. Even if the boss couldn’t defeat Aiden, who was a guide, Jaeha still had a duty to protect his guide.

“Let’s go together.”

Though he’d taken a long time to think it over, Jaeha kept things remarkably simple in the end. Which is why—

“Ah, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from my son.”

“N-Nice to meet you…”

He never imagined he’d be meeting his parents the very next day…