Chapter 150

“Be grateful to your mother. The Association couldn’t arrange it, so your maternal side reached out directly to Hallah(Halla/HL Group chaebol). He’ll be here soon, so wait a little.”

“……”

“So, what on earth is going on?”

Jaeha had moved to the boss’s office. In this world, he wasn’t sure what position his hyung held within the Association, but it was clearly something high-ranking. Even barging in while he worked hadn’t left him particularly flustered.

“……”

Jaeha rubbed at the mug he had been given, filled with hot tea. Every time, gestures like this reminded him just how different the “boss” he knew and this world’s hyung were. His boss disliked it whenever Jaeha kept silent or avoided eye contact, but here his hyung was far more patient.

The man waited quietly as Jaeha hesitated. Sitting at his desk, he opened a drawer, pulling out something that clattered. Jaeha glanced over—it was a pill bottle.

“…What are you taking?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know. When I got sick two years ago, you bawled, remember?”

Smiling faintly, he took a white pill, swallowing it before putting the bottle back away. The practiced motion hinted that he had been taking it regularly for a long time.

“…Two years ago?”

The words slipped out clumsily, and the man frowned in confusion. Realizing his mistake, Jaeha shut his mouth quickly, pretending he had known. The man sighed and went on.

“It’s not curable, so I have to keep taking it.”

“What… what was it called again?”

“Blood Crystallization Syndrome. I think it came from lingering traces when I used to be an esper. At least now that I’m not, it’s not dangerous.”

“……”

He returned to his work, no longer waiting for Jaeha’s answers. Jaeha stared blankly, memory flashing back to the Gate—to the time he accidentally scratched his boss’s arm, only to feel skin as hard as cracked stone. He had never thought more on it, but now… could it be that the original boss had suffered the same disease?

Blood Crystallization Syndrome. He didn’t know the specifics, but the name echoed in memory. An esper-only illness, tied to resonance. It literally crystallized the blood.

He didn’t feel pity or guilt at the thought that his boss had a terminal illness. But shock—yes, faint shock. The boss—like a mountain—suffering something fatal?

Had that been why he invented the ability nullifier? To erase his own power? The reasoning was shaky, more speculation than truth, yet Jaeha couldn’t help but consider it.

How much did the Gate boss know? Without exposing memories and thoughts, could he construct such an intricate hallucination?

“……”

He bit down on his lip. He had already been in this world a week. Outside—how much time had passed? Surely only a day remained now before the Gate collapsed entirely. If they couldn’t kill the boss in time, the Gate would seal forever, trapping everyone—Aiden, his father—inside.

Panic flared. His heartbeat thudded painfully.

Is everyone going to die? How do I get out of here?

He realized suddenly he was gripping the mug too hard, setting it hastily on the table before it shattered. The clatter drew his hyung’s gaze.

“Song Jaeha. What’s wrong.”

“……”

“Jaeha.”

He stood and came closer.

“I-I’m… f-fine—”

Sitting beside him, he pulled Jaeha into an embrace. Expecting only a consoling pat on the shoulder, Jaeha froze stiffly when strong arms drew him close. Such embraces he had learned to tolerate from Aiden, but these arms—the weight, the warmth—it all dragged him back instantly to that day.

The day he couldn’t breathe.

“S… Stop. Don’t.”

“It’s alright. Just breathe. In, out—like I show you.”

Did he think Jaeha was hyperventilating? He even tried to lift him onto his lap, and Jaeha recoiled so violently that gooseflesh rose all over his skin. He shoved, panicked.

And there, Jaeha realized it completely.

The boss had failed.

“When the one who hurt and the one who saved are the same person… you can’t forget the hand. You end up following it.”

No. He could not follow. He had seen the light too clearly.

The warmth of a true sun. Gentle, safe, kind. He could not bear the darkness again.

“It works, Jaeha. I know. I experienced it myself.”

“Song Jaeha-ssi deserves to live in the sunlight.”

Pity? Curiosity? He felt none of it here. Jaeha was neither kind nor forgiving enough for that.

Right now, he only wanted Aiden.

“Don’t touch me!”

He snapped, shoving him away harshly—even if it meant hurting a hyung who had done no visible wrong here. For the first time in his life, he struck back violently, shoving at his chest with real force as he shot to his feet.

Crash!

The table jolted with the movement. The mug toppled, shattering across the floor.

“Song Jaeha!”

The man looked utterly shocked, midway rising himself with a furrowed brow when Jaeha bolted for the door.

“Song Jaeha!”

But the moment he flung it open—

“……”

“……”

Thump.

He slammed into someone’s chest.

“Ugh…”

Not hard, but enough to stumble both of them. Bowing his head, instinctively about to apologize—then he smelled it. The familiar breeze. His head jerked up.

“Excuse me.”

Dark eyes scanned slowly before locking onto Jaeha. Their gaze met. A faint, polite smile curved lips; composed, pleasant, unaffected by the collision. He looked at Jaeha as though he were a stranger—nothing more.

“…Should I come back later?”

It was natural. And yet it hollowed Jaeha’s heart. Because the man before him—smiling politely, troubled—was Aiden.

Later, he offered him the drink Jaeha had ordered. Jaeha accepted thanks softly as he took it. An iced americano.

Wrong. Jaeha blinked. Aiden didn’t like bitter. He liked sweet. Too sweet. This was polite courtesy, not the real one.

“I never thought someone from Taerae would want to meet me. My oldest hyung insisted I cancel everything and come running when such an important figure called. I was shocked.”

So—Taerae must be his maternal family’s corporation here. Strange that it wielded enough power to order around Halla’s second son—Aiden himself. Or perhaps it was because this world’s Aiden wasn’t strong enough to resist.

That seemed most likely. The real Aiden would never obey an older brother he despised, never cancel plans meekly.

“……”

“Still, I suppose it means a valuable opportunity to meet someone important. For that, a few schedule changes don’t matter.”

He was smiling, but beneath it—the resentment shone. Not blunt, but there if you looked. His complaint slipped through with professional courtesy, obvious enough for anyone not blind.

Jaeha’s throat clenched.

“It wasn’t Taerae. It was me. I asked to see you, Guide Ye Aiden.”

“Is that so?”

“First—I apologize for disrupting your schedule. I’m sorry.”

Correction first. Apology after. He bowed deeply. Aiden blinked, lifting an eyebrow in mild surprise, clearly not expecting that.

“…It’s fine.”

He drank from his coffee, studying him silently, then accepted the apology with calm grace.

“……”

“……”

The air grew quiet, but not unpleasant. What to say, then?

“So, Song Jaeha-ssi, was it? Tell me. Why did you want to see me?”

Jaeha hesitated… then finally spoke.