AAGULT Ch 129

Chapter 129

With Ms. Miae’s assistance, their appearance as they approached the supermarket looked even more pitiful.

“……”

Honestly, I couldn’t even begin to guess what to say. The arrival of a guide should have been good news—after all, it solved the team’s lack of guiding—but I couldn’t feel relieved.

Carrying the limp body, Ido silently followed Miae into the supermarket. As he bent slightly to step inside, the arm of the woman he carried dangled limply and swayed. Plop—a droplet of blood fell to the floor.

Jaeha studied Mr. Ido’s face. The man’s expression looked indifferent, but knowing his position, Jaeha only felt more anxious—it was impossible for him to be calm in this situation.

“For now… Ido, lay her down first. Senior—no, Ayoung Esper—check her condition.”

“……”

Ido carefully lowered the woman he had been holding to the floor, almost as if laying her to rest. The slowness and gentleness of his movements made it obvious that there was deep affection in his touch. Jaeha froze, watching him brush aside the blood-soaked, tangled strands of her hair with his rough fingertips. He hesitated—should he wake Gunwoo? But instead, he remained quiet and simply observed.

Naturally, the age gap between the two was apparent. The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, while Ido was in his late forties. But for those who knew their circumstances, this surreal scene was nothing short of heartbreaking.

If the boss had known about the existence and mechanics of this Gate beforehand, then Ido must have known too. He would’ve known that his wife was entering this Gate, and of course, he would have tried to save her.

The result, however, was as clear as day before them now.

“Why is Senior Ayoung—no… what on earth is this…?”

“……”

Miae hurriedly examined the person referred to as Ayoung Esper. Judging by her familiarity with Ayoung, and the way she unconsciously addressed Ido so casually, she seemed to know them both well.

“……”

Jaeha took in the sight of the person he’d only heard of in stories. The woman, dressed in what looked like an older version of the Esper Association uniform—similar in design to the current one but clearly outdated—was beautiful. But she appeared to have sustained severe injuries in multiple places, bleeding heavily. Beyond her pallor, her chest wasn’t rising or falling. She was cold. Simply a lifeless corpse.

As soon as she was laid down, blood pooled slowly beneath her body—an eerie sight that made goosebumps prickle across the skin. Miae cautiously placed her hand against the woman’s neck to check for a pulse, then exhaled a muted sigh.

Lifting her head, Miae looked at Ido. After hesitating, she opened her mouth slowly.

“Ido… I don’t know how to say this, but—”

“I know.”

“…What?”

“I know. That it’s too late to save her.”

Ido accepted, with unsettling ease, that his wife had ‘died once again.’ Kneeling on one knee beside her, he stroked her pale cheek one last time and bowed his head briefly.

“……”

After a short pause, he lifted his face again. It was calm, devoid of any trace of tears—just as it always was. Ido slowly scanned their surroundings before speaking.

“Let’s do what we need to do first. Who’s in the most urgent need of guiding?”

“You…”

The abnormal composure stunned Miae more than anything. Likewise, Jaeha was speechless. With no one answering his question, Ido extended his hand toward Jaeha.

“……”

“Give me your hand, Jaeha.”

“……”

“I won’t bite.”

He added the last part as if it were a joke, but the strained atmosphere made it impossible to take lightly. Both Miae and Jaeha exchanged strange, stiff expressions—was this man really in the mood to joke right now? Or had he lost his mind?

Jaeha hesitated for a long while before reluctantly placing his hand atop Ido’s bloodstained one, pressured by Ido’s quiet insistence.

“Your wavelength is terribly tangled. You haven’t been able to merge with a guide until now?”

“……”

The guiding sensation began to seep slowly into Jaeha’s body, but he remained silent.

“Once the guiding is complete, we’ll move. I know where the rest of the group is, including the Chief.”

“…Do you?”

Neither the Gate, nor the boss, nor Ido—none of it made any sense.

Jaeha couldn’t shake the feeling that countless hidden truths were still buried beneath the surface, waiting to be unearthed.

“Is this kid Jaeha around my age? Do you have a picture of him?”

“No… no picture. He’s five, so that makes him two years younger than Guide Aiden.”

“Just call me Aiden. When we get out, can I meet Jaeha? I want to play with him.”

Aiden, shamelessly perched on his father-in-law’s back, chattered away cheerfully.

As expected of a dad carrying a five-year-old, he did it with ease. With only two guides present and heading toward the espers’ location, his steps were naturally quick.

So this guy dies when Jaeha’s seven, huh? The timeline’s already tangled like this—can’t I change the past? Aiden idly swung his legs in midair as the thought crossed his mind. Even though his ability to function inside the Gate was severely limited, he didn’t feel bad. Actually, he felt… good.

“If we get the chance… we’ll see.”

“Oh, you look like him.”

The quiet laugh sounded just like Jaeha’s. Their faces weren’t alike enough for Jaeha to come to mind at first glance, but when he smiled, the resemblance suddenly hit hard—it was so similar it drew an involuntary gasp of wonder. Even without seeing his face clearly from this position, Aiden couldn’t shake the feeling that even his smile might be the same.

“Hm?”

“Ah… do I look like Jaeha?”

“Come on. You’re about the same age as Aiden—just call me ‘uncle.’”

“You’re too handsome to call uncle.”

“Haha. Jaeha resembles my wife more than me.”

At first, Aiden hadn’t thought much of it. But as more and more similarities to Jaeha popped up like little sugar crystals, he found his heart inexplicably lifting. He’d never understood why people tried to curry favor with their loved one’s friends and family, but now he did—it wasn’t pretense at all. It was simply that being connected to someone precious was enough to inspire affection.

Father-in-law: certified amazing.

Logically speaking, what kind of impressive stories could a five-year-old even have? Still, Aiden wanted to hear about Jaeha’s childhood quirks—things only his parents would know. He could tell Jaeha about them later, right? If they cleared this Gate without ever meeting Jaeha, wouldn’t he be devastated to have nothing to share about his father?

…Okay, fine. Truthfully, Aiden was just curious.

“Does Jaeha have foods he doesn’t like? I hate broccoli. Does Jaeha eat broccoli?”

“He eats broccoli just fine. But he dislikes carrots a little, so we worry about that.”

The man answered readily. Perhaps he felt relieved seeing the boy, who’d looked scared moments ago, now excitedly chatting away.

“What’s Jaeha like? Will he play well with me?”

“Of course. He’ll like you. He’s a bit stubborn sometimes, but overall, he’s gentle… and, uh, cries a lot. Last time, he cried saying there was a monster under his bed… Ah, that’s a secret.”

“Okay.”

Definitely telling him that later.

Barely suppressing his grin, Aiden hummed to himself. He was having fun. The thought that they’d already reached the building housing the espers—guided there by sensing the resonance of their power—felt almost disappointing.

Before Juhyuk could even start climbing the stairs inside, two espers rushed down toward them from above.

Aiden craned his head to see who they were—and instantly grimaced, face twisting like he’d seen something repulsive.

“Guide Aiden! Ah, es ist so schön, dich hier zu treffen! Aber, hä? warum bist du jünger geworden? Wo sind wir überhaupt? Dieses Tor ist total seltsam……”

Guide Aiden! What a delight to see you! But, huh? Why are you younger? Where even are we? This Gate is totally strange…

“Esper Lukas! Don’t rush ahea— Wait, Guide Aiden? Why are you younger? And hold on, that person… why are they wearing an old Association uniform?”

Wasn’t that the esper Jaeha had— (No, never mind, that never happened.) The one with the pretty-boy face who probably whispered to Jaeha to hand me over?

“‘Old Association uniform’?”

“……”

But that wasn’t even the main issue. Because Song Juhyuk muttered something strange:

“‘Younger’? Guide Aiden, what’s going on? Are you… the future team?”

Aiden hesitated only briefly—because he remembered.

‘Enough already. You don’t have to pretend to like me, Aiden.’

Aiden wasn’t an idiot. In fact, he was rather clever.

Honestly, up until just now, he still believed his behavior had been the most effective way to handle the situation. But he also knew that what he did often fell into what people called ‘wrong behavior.’ It wasn’t guilt that bothered him—what mattered was that Jaeha hated it.

“Guide Song Juhyuk, put me down.”

Casting off the playful facade with ease, Aiden’s expression shifted to a reluctant neutrality, his voice uncharacteristically flat.

It was time, he realized, to become the kind of genuine person Jaeha wanted.