AAGULT Ch 2

Chapter 2

 

Except for the strangely generous and gracious boss, there was no one in this organization who liked him. He had already been beaten to the brink of death by the other organization, and getting beaten again now made him feel dizzy, as if he were about to lose consciousness.

“Hey. Can’t you open your damn eyes properly?”

“Agh, ugh…”

Manager Kang roughly yanked Jaeha’s hair, who was slumped in the corner with his head nearly buried in the floor. His ears were ringing from being on the verge of passing out, so it was hard to understand what was being said. But when he barely managed to open his eyes, a fiery pain exploded across his cheek.

Smack!

“I told you not to look at me.”

“……”

Wasn’t it you who told me to open my eyes properly before…? It felt so unfair, but he knew backtalk would only lead to worse violence. He quickly lowered his gaze halfway and endured it. Seeing this, the manager sighed heavily and let him go.

Even though his body had become somewhat sturdier since manifesting as an Esper, he had a mental-type ability, so it wasn’t like he was particularly strong.

“Whatever. You know we’re building a new place in Sector A-5, right?”

“Yes…”

“Once it’s done, you’ll be the doorman there. We’re disguising it, so learn how to be a bartender.”

A bartender? I don’t even drink much. The only alcohol I know is beer and soju… Also, I’m not even 20 yet… But if I say no here, I might die on the spot. That thought alone made him nod quickly.

“Y-Yes.”

“We’re also setting up a new Guiding facility underground. Your job is to guard the entrance and report if those annoying folks from the Association or the cops show up—get rid of them however you can. If a ‘guest’ comes, send them downstairs.”

“Okay…”

When he obediently responded, the manager, who had been squatting in front of where Jaeha lay on the floor, stood up. Clicking his tongue in displeasure, he rummaged through his pocket and carelessly tossed an ampoule at him.

“…!”

Afraid that the glass ampoule would shatter upon hitting the ground, Jaeha hastily reached out to catch it. Just stretching his arm made his eyes well up with tears—his ribs must have been cracked. But the pain, and even the cold gaze looking at him like he was some kind of insect, didn’t matter. The ampoule felt that precious.

“You call yourself an Esper, huh.”

“……”

Jaeha cradled the ampoule protectively. Seeing this, the manager sneered with a mocking laugh.

Not being an Esper, he couldn’t possibly understand how Jaeha felt. Biting back a surge of emotion, Jaeha clenched his lips. He felt like he might start sobbing.

Guides were incredibly rare. For Espers who lived in the shadows, getting a proper Guiding was even harder than it was for regular Espers. That’s why taking this kind of drug, which barely suppressed their surging power, or receiving Guiding at illegal facilities, was often their only option. According to the Esper Association of Korea, 98.6% of Korean Espers voluntarily registered. It was because the Association provided Guiding support.

Just like the registered Espers, those in this organization also received Guiding. Since the organization already operated illegal facilities, it wasn’t difficult. Plus, an Esper who had received Guiding could use their powers far more efficiently, so there was no reason for the organization not to support it.

“……”

But Jaeha was the only exception.

Nineteen years old and half a year into his manifestation as an Esper, Jaeha had not once received proper Guiding. Just like now, he was occasionally handed drugs that suppressed only the sharpest waves—like a handout.

It was the order of the very boss who had personally brought him into this shadowy world.

Jaeha had never questioned that order. That person had saved him several times and was the only one in the organization who seemed to care about him. There had to be a reason. He was our boss, after all…

Only after the manager left did Jaeha slowly lift his body. It felt like he had a thousand-pound stone on top of him—every joint ached and felt heavy. One side of his face was so swollen from the hit that he couldn’t even open one eye properly.

He twisted off the ampoule’s cap and drank it all in one go.

“Haa…”

Only then did the wave that had been ripping through his insides get forced down, subdued and suppressed. It was like trying to compress liquid in a glass with an impossible force, and just like how cracks would spread through the glass, a sharp, dangerous sensation filled his mind.

“Ugh…”

Once that flimsy peace settled in, nausea hit him. He tensed his stomach tightly and dry-heaved several times. The physical tension amplified his pain so much that he couldn’t hold back the tears, and they began to drip down.

“This is so hard…”

He knew this place was wrong and that he needed to escape as soon as possible. But if he left—what could he even do? He was an orphan, hadn’t gone to college, and had nothing but part-time jobs on his résumé. There was nothing out there for someone like him.

And let’s be honest.

He didn’t have the courage to leave. He had received the boss’s kindness, and he had to repay it. After receiving such overwhelming grace, he couldn’t pretend it never happened. And more than that, he couldn’t trust that this huge criminal organization had helped him purely out of goodwill without expecting anything in return. Of course, comparing the boss to some common thug was unthinkable, but still… that boss, who had always been so kind to him—was somehow…

Somehow, so terrifying that the thought of leaving scared him to death.

“It’ll get better…”

It would get better eventually. Even when he got scammed and lost his support money, he managed to survive. Even when he found himself saddled with a debt he didn’t know about, he still made it through.

He still didn’t know why he had manifested as an Esper. His strange, complicated ability didn’t suit his personality at all—it didn’t help him; it only tormented his mind. But someday, he’d get used to using it. And someday, this sharp conscience stabbing at his heart would wear down and become smooth.

Besides, even though he knew this approach was wrong, his circumstances were still better than those of the Guides working below in the illegal facility.

Humans are selfish like that—no matter how low they fall, they find comfort in knowing that someone else is suffering more.

“I’m really awful.”

If he kept enduring, maybe a chance to escape would come.

Maybe someday he’d be able to pay for all the wrongs he’d committed, eventually… So until then, he just had to hold on.

Just…

 

Just, my ass.

Seven years had passed since then. He had just recently turned twenty-six, and it had been almost six years since he became the bartender at the bar the organization had set up as a front to hide their illegal guiding facility.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Once you become a bartender, the thing you do most often isn’t mixing drinks but wiping glasses. Now he understood why every bartender portrayed in media held a dry towel and wiped down glasses.

Jaeha, who had been wiping a glass, reflexively looked up at the voice calling him. As a result, their eyes naturally met.

[Still got that annoying face, and even his ability’s annoying…]

The chief insulted him casually. Since he knew full well that Jaeha could read his thoughts, it was practically just talking behind his back. If this had been back when he wasn’t yet used to his abilities, he would’ve just sweated nervously and gauged the other person’s mood, but Jaeha had grown a lot since then.

“Chief, shall I get you a Kahlua milk?”

The chief looked like a stereotypical gangster with his burly build, but he had a pretty weak tolerance for alcohol. He usually had just a light beer or some weak, sweet fruit liquor.

As Jaeha teased him playfully, the chief stopped insulting him. With a wave of his hand as if to say that’s enough, he met Jaeha’s gaze again.

[The boss?]

“I transferred the money for the ingredients you mentioned. Go buy what you need.”

He brought up the real topic in his mind while speaking a coded line aloud. These days, with the Association cracking down harder, such news felt rather distant to Jaeha, who only worked the door at the bar. Still, thanks to the troublemakers that popped up now and then, it had become routine to talk in encrypted language even during regular times.

“Okay. I’ll leave it in the ‘storage.’ Thanks, Chief.”

The “storage” referred to the illegal guiding facility below. The boss regularly received guiding sessions at the facility underneath this bar.

Though he operated several other illegal guiding facilities with better conditions, for some reason, he had been consistently visiting the A-5 zone facility managed by Jaeha. Jaeha had once overheard the chief muttering that it wasn’t safe to keep using the same facility, but he pretended not to know anything, lest the blame fall on him.

“When do you think everything will be ready?”

“Mm, I think it’ll be done soon…”

“Is that so. Let me know when it’s all ready.”

[When it’s all done, report that there’s trouble in the A-2 zone.]

“Okay.”

Even if something urgent happened in the organization, the boss’s guiding always took precedence, and his decisions were treated as more important. Knowing this, the chief didn’t take out his frustration too harshly on Jaeha and turned away. After taking a few steps, he stopped and glared back with wide, sharp eyes.

[Make sure you handle it properly.]

“Don’t worry.”

Jaeha grinned and lightly saluted by touching his forehead, which made the chief cringe. It was a little embarrassing, but being bright and playful like this meant he got hit less, so it felt like the right move.

“Tsk.”

The chief clicked his tongue and walked out of the bar, setting off the bell on the door. Only after the chief had fully disappeared did Jaeha release his tense posture and let out a long sigh.

“Haa…”

Why did the boss keep coming here… He grumbled inwardly, even though it wasn’t the boss’s fault.

There were quite a few people in the organization who didn’t like him, and that was scary. Still, when the boss didn’t come for guiding, working as a bartender felt more like living as an ordinary person, which he liked.

…Of course, occasionally, unregistered Espers would show up trying to use the guiding facility below… And every time that happened, he’d be scared to death… He even teared up once or twice…

…Anyway, after sending the chief off, Jaeha resumed his work. He wiped the water-stained glasses with a dry towel. After finishing with the many glasses and just as he was about to check the ice, the bar’s phone rang.

“……”

Perfect timing. Without hesitation, he answered the phone.