AAGULT Ch 4

Chapter 4

 

“Yes, boss.”

Like a cat yearning for catnip, Jaeha resisted the urge to rub his head against the man’s hand and simply looked up at him. Every time he obediently licked his tongue to speak, a stinging pain flared up from the burned flesh.

“Do you know why I do this?”

“……”

He instinctively realized it was related to the question he had always asked himself. It was the very question that had constantly lingered in his mind for the past few years.

Was it because he resented Jaeha’s desire for his guiding? But the boss regularly switched his guiding partners. He wasn’t someone fixated on a specific individual. Or was he simply tormenting him for fun, since he had paid off an enormous debt for Jaeha…?

He looked into the man’s eyes. They were so dark that, except for his own reflection, he could read nothing in them.

“Espers who receive guiding become pathetic.”

“……”

The answer came after a moment of silence and made no sense. What was he talking about now? The man had just received guiding a moment ago, and he did so regularly, quite frequently at that…

“It’s pathetic, chasing after a Guide’s coattails just because of one round of guiding.”

The hand brushing back his hair applied a little more pressure. But it didn’t seem to be from an emotional outburst. His gaze remained icy. Except for a faint sense of satisfaction, it was utterly indifferent.

His scalp slightly pulled, but Jaeha made an effort not to tense up. He knew that the more he resisted or showed signs of pushing back, the crueler the man became.

All espers craved and revered Guides. They offered guiding, a release from pain. It was a given fact—an undeniable truth.

Ordinary people never understood. To their eyes, the flashiness and power of an esper appeared more admirable. But espers, without Guides, were just hollow shells.

That was why so many crimes involving Guides occurred. Compared to espers, Guides were scarce, and esper obsession and ugly jealousy often turned to violence. Jaeha wasn’t exactly in a pitiful situation, but he could understand why the Guide registration rate was so much lower than that of espers, and why a separate human rights association had been established just for them.

“So you… sound different from the others.”

His tone was cautious, noticing that the boss seemed to have quite negative feelings—not toward Guides, but toward espers who blindly chased them.

And yet, as if unaware of his own contradictions, the man smiled faintly as he caught Jaeha’s gaze lingering longingly on the hand dripping with residual guiding.

“And you should be different too.”

“……”

‘I don’t want to be… I want to be guided too…’

He suppressed the childish complaint before it could escape. If he didn’t, his impulsive words might cost him a bruised neck. This man wasn’t someone who forgave mistakes easily.

Still, it was terribly unfair. What the boss was doing now was like gorging on food in front of someone starving, letting all the delicious smells drift out. Could a person survive without food? Sure, maybe for a few days, but eventually, they’d starve to death. Just the same, espers who never received guiding would lose control and die. Everyone knew that. In effect, the boss was starving him to death.

…Of course, such bitter thoughts were themselves disrespectful, and the resentment quickly faded.

“That way, you’ll go crazy for my touch.”

At those words, Jaeha raised one eyebrow in confusion. Wasn’t that the kind of thing people said when doting on a stray dog…? If it were anyone other than the boss, he might’ve blurted out, “Do you like me or something?”

But Song Jaeha knew this man well. The boss would never like him. Back when Jaeha was a whiny, penniless kid crying over losing his subsidy, the boss had already been a composed adult. More importantly, he wasn’t the kind of person who liked… “people.” He found everything laughable, and was always unbothered by it all.

It had gotten better lately—now the Guides walked out on their own—but back then, the Guides often couldn’t even stay conscious until they made it out of the guiding room. It was terrifying. Since the place was illegal, they couldn’t call for an ambulance, and had to summon the in-house doctor. It had happened more times than Jaeha could count.

He was already obsessed over the faint guiding smeared on that hand. If he ever received proper guiding, he’d probably lose it—so maybe this was all a preventive measure.

“……I like you even without that, boss. You’re like a father… or, a big brother…”

“I know.”

Even with those heartfelt words, a subtle probe for some emotional concession, the man remained immovable.

Jaeha truly liked the boss, like a father, like a big brother. If he didn’t, he would’ve run from this damn criminal organization a long time ago. The boss had helped him once when he was broke, and again when he was drowning in debt. How could he not be grateful? He wanted to repay the kindness, no matter what.

Objectively, it was blind and foolish. But in his short life, the boss had become a savior figure he could never disobey.

As he stared up at the man, the boss finally reached his hand out deeper, seemingly satisfied. Jaeha, quick to sense his mood had fully relaxed, closed his eyes and eagerly rubbed his face against the man’s hand.

“Haa…”

As the tension left his body, he felt like the remnants of the guiding were being absorbed even better. Of course, the guiding lingering on an esper’s body was minimal and couldn’t truly soothe his turbulent resonance, but emotionally, it felt like taking the best painkiller.

Jaeha greedily sought out the man’s touch.

His large hands, calloused and scarred from countless fights, were from someone he both resented and longed for. This was the man who guided every esper in the organization—except Jaeha. But for now, Jaeha didn’t care.

While savoring the warmth of the boss’s hand, which was sticky with leftover guiding, a voice dropped onto the top of his head.

“I won’t be coming for a while.”

Thud. His heart sank painfully.

“……How long?”

“Half a year.”

“I see……”

How was he supposed to last half a year without this man? Barely thirty minutes ago, he’d been whining about not wanting to come down here—and now his foggy mind clung to the boss’s presence.

He answered obediently, but the faint pout in his tone surely didn’t escape the man’s notice. Like someone pleased to see a well-behaved dog, the boss let out a subtle chuckle.

“Don’t even think about sneaking off with some Guide while I’m gone.”

“……As if I’d dare.”

“Right. You wouldn’t dare pull that again.”

It must’ve been two years ago, when he couldn’t endure the side effects of the suppression drug any longer and secretly tried to receive guiding from one of the Guides in the facility. That Guide had sympathized with him, given their similar situation.

But the boss caught him first—and punished him severely.

Since then, guiding was the least of his concerns. He’d learned what happened when he fell out of favor with the boss.

Now, Jaeha was someone who always kept his head low before him. He still couldn’t fully let go of his desire for guiding, but more important than satisfying that need was gaining the boss’s approval.

“I’ll have Manager Kang leave a good supply behind.”

“……Thank you.”

He must’ve meant suppression ampoules. Jaeha responded gloomily, stomach already churning at the thought, and the boss pulled his hand away. Without the soft, barely-there guiding that had been comforting him, his body turned cold, and a chill washed over him. It felt like licking the surface of a candy during a fast, only to have it taken away before you could eat it.

Without thinking, Jaeha reached toward the boss’s hand, but the man curled his lips into a crooked smile.

“That’s enough.”

“S-Sorry.”

Snapping out of it, Jaeha quickly pulled his hand back. As the man rose to leave, Jaeha stood too, grabbing the coat hanging nearby and waiting. He draped the coat over the man’s shoulders at the entrance, feeling a bit like a secretary for a conglomerate, which gave him a strange sense of pride.

“Take care.”

“Yes. Oh, Manager Kang said something happened in Zone A-2.”

“Alright.”

Outside the guiding room, the boss’s men were already waiting. Among them were espers capable of spatial movement. Jaeha recognized their faces but had never spoken to them.

Afraid of accidentally making eye contact, he quickly lowered his gaze. One of the red-haired espers with a scar across his eyebrow snorted in mockery. He looked aggressive and intimidating, but Jaeha wasn’t angry or ashamed—he just wished this moment would pass quickly.

He kept his head bowed until they vanished in the blink of an eye. Just to be safe, he stared at the floor for a few more minutes before finally lifting his head.

“Haa…”

Relief made his shoulders sag. He was exhausted. His body felt weak, and sleep crept in. If he lingered here much longer, he might end up knocking on any guiding room, begging for even a scrap of guiding. Tasting it only made the craving worse.

Jaeha hurried through the corridor and up the stairs. After passing several security locks, he finally returned to the surface.

“What time is it…”

Shit. It’s almost opening time. Checking the clock, Jaeha rushed to check the ingredients. There were 30 minutes left until the bar opened.

The tip of his tongue still burned.