AAGULT Ch 119

Chapter 119

Jaeha arrived three minutes before the meeting began. Coincidentally, support Espers dispatched from overseas and auxiliary personnel from each division entered in groups just then, and the Espers who were already waiting for the next meeting exchanged awkward greetings with them. Before long, the conference room became crowded. Brief introductions and greetings were exchanged here and there. Finally, the Association President entered the room.

Naturally, the atmosphere settled, and everyone’s attention turned to the podium. The meeting, once started, proceeded calmly and smoothly, but the seat next to Jaeha remained empty.

That’s right—Aiden never returned, even after the meeting had begun.

Jaeha became increasingly anxious, like a student who keeps glancing at the empty seat next to them because their friend has skipped class. However, the Association President only briefly glanced at Aiden’s empty seat. As if he had anticipated Aiden’s absence all along, he continued the meeting as if nothing had happened. Then, during a brief pause, he quietly looked toward Jaeha and made a request.

[Could you relay the contents of the meeting to him later?]

At the thought that reached him quietly, Jaeha silently nodded. They were living in the same house for the time being anyway. Passing along the message wouldn’t be difficult.

After the Association President’s brief address, the participants moved to their assigned teams and sat down to hear details regarding tactics and strategy.

The leader of Team 5, which Jaeha was assigned to, was a middle-aged male Esper, whom he had briefly been introduced to during a previous meeting. That man—the one who had entered a gate over 20 years ago, survived, and was still active as one of the four remaining veterans. Like Aiden, he reportedly had no memories related to the gate whatsoever.

He seemed accustomed to the role of team leader and, though curt, spoke to others in a composed manner that lacked any oppressive presence.

After delivering a concise briefing, he coordinated the remaining details and went over the necessary equipment list with the team. The meeting concluded without any particular incidents.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you, you too!”

Jaeha stood up. He greeted the teammates he’d be working with in the gate, and gave a nod to Lukas, who was waving at him from afar with a friendly look. He was just about to leave when—

“Esper Song Jaeha. Do you have a moment?”

“Yes, sir.”

He quickly turned, nodding as if it were only natural. Jaeha took another look at the man. He was familiar from occasional media appearances.

Unlike the stern and gruff Kwon Ido or the charmingly handsome Seo Taegun, he looked… just like an ordinary middle-aged man. It might be a bit narrow-minded to judge by appearance, but his warm features reminded Jaeha of the friendly shop owner next door to a bar he used to frequent, which put him at ease.

“It’s nothing serious.”

The man smiled awkwardly. He looked like he was debating whether to offer Jaeha a seat but ultimately seemed to decide the matter could be handled briefly and spoke calmly.

“I noticed you seem to be acquainted with Lukas Schmidt, the Esper from Germany. Did you know each other beforehand?”

“Oh, no. We met during the break earlier… Just exchanged a few words.”

“I see. Well, the thing is…”

The man hesitated as if unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say. It was odd for someone to hesitate this much over a topic with someone they’d just met. Then he finally spoke.

“It seems there’s no suitable guide for Esper Lukas Schmidt. A request for guide support was submitted when he was dispatched to Korea, but the only unpaired guide who is expected to exceed a 30% compatibility rate is Guide Ye Aiden.”

“Ah…”

“I heard a direct request was sent to him, but apparently, Guide Ye Aiden hasn’t even read the message.”

Jaeha could roughly guess what the man wanted to say. Even though they weren’t formally paired yet, Aiden had already spread word that they would be soon, so even if the request were made professionally, he was probably still sensitive about it. In Esper-guide pairs, it was usually the Esper who showed more obsession with their guide.

“Of course, the final decision lies with the guide, but the rule is to at least inform the Esper and get a response. Would you be able to pass that along?”

There had been a similar situation before. Esper Jung Iseok had made a personal request to Jaeha. At the time, he hadn’t passed the message along to Aiden, out of a childish sense of jealousy and an emotion he hadn’t even fully understood.

“Yes. I’ll let him know when I see him.”

This time was different.

“Alright. Thank you.”

…It wasn’t as if he didn’t feel a twinge of jealousy. Jaeha had already guided Aiden and knew just how kind and gentle he could be—how he could become that kind of person. And that was the problem.

It made everything feel meaningless.

How would a typical Esper react if their perfect guide went off to guide someone else? Just thinking of Aiden’s public position gave him the answer.

He was the president of the Guide Human Rights Association.

Obsession, stalking, kidnapping, assault…

The methods some Espers used to claim their desired guide were often deeply unreasonable. And yet, Aiden was someone who used those behaviors to his advantage.

‘So after becoming the president of the Guide Rights Association… he told the guides this.’

‘If you want to fuck them, seduce them with guiding and crush them. Use guiding to blackmail and manipulate them.’

‘Pretending to be pitiful works. Exploiting their weaknesses works. Self-harm threats are great too… Whatever it takes to gain the upper hand. Get your hands around their throats…’

Well, that was… admittedly… an exceptionally extreme approach. But in any case, Aiden was someone who knew how to use his position.

Jaeha was probably one of the people who had been used that way.

It wasn’t particularly upsetting or surprising. As always, Jaeha accepted his situation with composure and gave up quickly. That part of his personality was largely shaped by experience, though some of it was innate.

“Then I’ll be going now. See you in four days.”

“Alright. Get plenty of rest. I know it’s a lot of pressure to start with such a difficult gate. I’ll do everything I can to help, so hang in there.”

“Thank you!”

The team leader lightly patted Jaeha on the shoulder. Jaeha gave a bright, cheerful smile and left the meeting room.

What crossed Jaeha’s mind just then wasn’t particularly deep. It was just a passing thought—that maybe sorting out the aching emotions of a first love wouldn’t be as painfully difficult as he had imagined.

 

Jaeha returned home right away. The second meeting had gone on for several hours, so by the time he arrived, it was already 7 p.m. Having attended a trial early that morning and gone straight into the meeting afterward, he hadn’t eaten a single meal all day and was feeling quite hungry.

“Aiden?”

“…….”

“Aiden, are you in your room?”

He noticed Aiden’s shoes were lying haphazardly in the entryway, so he bent down to straighten them neatly. As he stepped into the house, he called out, sure that Aiden was inside. But when no answer came, he headed straight toward Aiden’s room. Even without the shoes, he would have been certain Aiden was in there.

[Jaeha’s home…….]

He heard the thought.

It was such a weak and limp voice, like someone who was ill, that he began to worry.

“Aiden, did you eat dinner?”

[I’m screwed.]

“…….”

He knocked lightly on the door, then cautiously opened it. The room was dark, and the blanket on the bed was noticeably lumped up. For some reason, it reminded him of a sulking elementary schooler, and he let out a soft chuckle despite the situation.

“I’m coming in, okay…?”

[I shouldn’t let you…….]

Jaeha stepped carefully into the room. Aiden only stirred beneath the covers and didn’t say a word or try to stop him. Reassured, Jaeha sat by the head of the bed.

“You didn’t eat, right? You need to eat.”

[I messed up. I’m so screwed…….]

“…I don’t have an appetite.”

So the rose-colored glasses were still on. Far from being annoyed, Jaeha found it a little endearing. A few strands of his well-kept hair were sticking out from the blanket, and the way he had curled up raised the height of the blanket into a mound that rustled with every small movement. Jaeha reached out and awkwardly patted the top of the blanket.

“Umm, I came back from the meeting.”

“…….”

[He must think I’m an idiot now.]

“I brought the meeting materials for you, too. I’ll leave them on your desk.”

“…….”

[What do I do? What do I do?]

“You’re not going to look at my face?”

[I’m a fool……]

It didn’t seem like he was really listening. But the more Jaeha stayed, the more Aiden seemed to spiral into panic. It felt like it would be better to just finish what he came to say and give him some space.

[Idiot, scumbag, moron, useless bastard……]

“Also… I heard that an Esper dispatched from overseas submitted a guiding request to you. Apparently you haven’t checked the message yet… They asked me to pass that along.”

“…….”

Aiden’s thoughts came to a sudden halt. Jaeha gently withdrew his hand from the blanket mound to give him some privacy.

“Well… get some rest. I’ll go make dinner.”

He smiled awkwardly and stood up. As the pressure lifted from the mattress, the bed returned to its original shape and the blanket rustled loudly as it collapsed. Just as Jaeha turned his head to leave, he had to stop at the unexpected commotion beside him.

“I don’t want to.”

Aiden had suddenly emerged from under the blanket and grabbed Jaeha’s wrist. His hand was warm, as if it had been tucked away for a long time.

“I only want to be guided by you…”

His hair was tousled from being buried under the blanket, and his eyes were swollen and puffy from crying. As Jaeha looked at him, taking in that sight, he slowly opened his mouth.

“…….”

Jaeha was momentarily at a loss for words.

That’s right. Aiden had been under the covers crying.