AAGULT Ch 41

Chapter 41

 

It was, in truth, all because of Jiwon. Because of him, Jaeha had started meeting Eden regularly, and now he was being hit by a tidal wave of pain. So wasn’t this enough to say he had fulfilled his loyalty to Jiwon? With this justification, Jaeha lightly took a step back. He avoided the child’s hand without difficulty.

[No, — no, please……!]

Their eyes met. Perhaps it was because the child’s rank had dropped, or maybe it was simply too dark to see his eyes clearly, but it was hard to read his thoughts. However, there was no need to pile on more guilt, so Jaeha deliberately turned away and reached out to gently restrain the child without hurting him.

Thud. The child fell. Jaeha climbed on top of him and pressed down steadily. Carefully, without causing pain or injury…

“Ugh, n-no! Please! I have to find my brother!”

Beep. Beep-beep—

Despite the early hour, the call was connecting properly. Holding the child like this made it clear just how skinny he was. And he hadn’t noticed it before, but there were deep, dark bruises scattered all over his body. Jaeha instinctively recalled what he knew about Guide Kim Jiwon’s background. A pair of brothers relying on each other, a father addicted to gambling. It explained a lot.

Beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep.

The longer the ringtone echoed, the more Jaeha’s conscience sharpened its blades and pierced his already tattered insides. Director Kang usually answered his phone quickly, but perhaps because it was so early in the morning, he wasn’t picking up.

“Hic, hick…”

The boy struggled hard for a while, but Jaeha was fairly tall and solidly built. With that weight bearing down on him, the child must’ve realized he had no hope of escaping. Maybe he thought that instead of helping his brother, he’d handed him over to the enemy’s hands. Unable to contain his anguish, he began to tremble and cry, looking utterly miserable as he sniffled and sobbed.

“……”

Seeing that scene head-on, Jaeha, unsurprisingly, began to soften. Though he had tried not to hurt the child, he still felt deeply sorry for subduing a young kid who had reached out for help with force.

Just like this, maybe… Director Kang wasn’t answering anyway… Perhaps pretending nothing had happened would be better. He had already looked the other way once when it came to Jiwon, so doing it a second time might not be that hard. He had lied to the boss countless times already and had made the mistake of meeting Eden several times. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to just grit his teeth and look away one more time…

As conflict surged within him, the grip holding down the child slowly loosened. But somehow, the boy noticed that as well—

Click.

-Hey. Why. It’s the middle of the night. Is it urgent?

“……”

Of all times, Director Kang answered the phone right then.

Startled, Jaeha instinctively tightened his grip, which had momentarily gone slack. Pinned beneath him, Juwon had his face turned into the floor and was looking up at him.

[Please……]

“……Um, Director…”

-If you called, then talk.

[Please… please… my brother…]

The quiet sobbing voice was fragile. So young. Jaeha suddenly thought, What was I doing at his age…? He had never received such terrifying threats from adults. He just used to get beaten by the older boys at the orphanage. And during those times, he had always hoped that some adult around him would offer a bit of help. And now, what was he doing?

Ah, shit…

He shut his eyes tightly. In the end, once again, the foolish and soft-hearted Jaeha made a choice he would regret.

“I… I missed you, sir…”

-Huh?

“Just wanted to say hi…”

-…….

Even though he wasn’t a psychic with precognition abilities, he could see his future clearly.

-You idiot. Guess you haven’t been hit hard enough…

“I love and respect y—”

Click.

He could already see himself getting beaten to a pulp by Director Kang on a rainy day…

Despite the flurry of flattery, the call was cut off before he could finish. Clutching the now-disconnected phone, Jaeha held back the urge to cry his eyes out.

“…Here, calm down first and drink this. It was cold outside, right?”

“Thank you…”

He let the boy go and trudged to the counter to rummage through the fridge. Most of the drinks in the store were cold, and not suitable for a shivering child, but he managed to find some milk, warmed it in the microwave, and added honey.

“I’m sorry. Did it hurt a lot?”

“I’m okay… I’m the one who’s sorry. For causing you trouble.”

“No, it’s not a big deal.”

It was a big deal. But Jaeha had no intention of whining or blaming a kid who had just entered middle school. Instead, he offered a faint, awkward smile and tried to comfort him. Still, having glimpsed the bleak future that awaited him, his own exhaustion showed through his pale face, and it was unclear whether he succeeded in soothing the child at all.

He handed the boy a cup of steaming milk. The boy hesitated, but took it. The school uniform peeking through his worn, thin jacket looked a size too big, likely a hand-me-down.

The boy—Juwon—sipped quietly and glanced at Jaeha with sideway glances.

Jaeha stood at the bar table, waiting patiently for him to calm down, for his tension to ease.

“Um… so, your brother isn’t affiliated with the Association, right?”

“That’s right…”

“You found out who the Association agent was, didn’t you? But… you’re not going to report him, right?”

He seemed worried that, because of him, someone who had been undercover might have been discovered and come to a bad end. Though Jaeha was neck-deep in his own problems, he nodded with forced nonchalance just to reassure the boy. Only then did Juwon visibly relax, his shoulders sagging. It was both touching and strange how readily he trusted his answer.

“If you don’t mind, could you slowly tell me what happened? When did Guide Kim Jiwon disappear?”

“When was the last time you were in contact with my brother?”

Even though he’d relaxed, it seemed he hadn’t let down his guard. His response, answering a question with a question, was impressively sharp. Jaeha had no reason to keep secrets, so he responded honestly.

“It was about a week ago. I’ve been busy since then…”

“I last heard from him three days ago.”

“Did you notice anything strange? Before he stopped answering?”

“……”

Jaeha was trying to recall if the store had hand warmers when he noticed the child still had pale fingers from the cold. Just then, Juwon finally spoke.

“Money… He needed money.”

“……Money?”

Jaeha was taken aback. He handled payroll for Zone A-5 staff. Since the staff had to take a sudden break, he had ensured they were compensated with paid leave, and he distinctly remembered giving Kim Jiwon a generous sum. Had it not been enough?

The boy let out a sigh far too heavy for his age and spoke again.

“Our father caused trouble again… and loan sharks came to the house.”

“……”

Oh. There really was nothing he could say to that. The world was full of misfortune. This boy was only in middle school…

“So… I tried to stop him as best I could, but I think he went to another facility…”

Another illegal Guide facility? Jaeha frowned. Moonlighting was forbidden here. Their organization was hostile to most others that ran illegal Guide facilities. If upper management found out, Guide Kim Jiwon would be immediately dismissed.

When Jaeha’s face showed a flicker of displeasure, the boy clammed up, so Jaeha made an effort to look kind and gently asked,

“Do you have any idea which facility it might be?”

“……”

Juwon quietly shook his head, looking utterly dejected. While Jaeha didn’t know the full story, he could guess that the brothers had gone through hell together. The boy’s deathly pale, near-lifeless face spoke volumes, and Jaeha couldn’t help feeling anxious in response.

Still, Jaeha had no idea where Jiwon might be, either. He had a few suspicions, but he couldn’t go there himself.

“He said it was a commute-style setup like here. But he hasn’t been home in three days. He’s not answering calls either…”

As Jaeha fell silent, thinking, the boy’s once-held-back tears returned to his voice.

“Can I… ask you something?”

“Yes, yes…”

“Why didn’t you go straight to the Association? Why come here? It’s dangerous.”

“……”

The boy’s grip on the mug tightened. It seemed the tension that had just been relieved was returning. Jaeha realized too late how foolish his question was. He already knew the answer.

“Was it because you were worried Guide Kim Jiwon might be punished for working illegally? Did you think maybe, if the agent stationed here saw his circumstances, they might show some leniency?”

“……”

His silence was as good as a yes. Juwon’s lips pressed into a line, and then, after a long pause, he gave a small nod. He was truly brave. Jaeha had never seen a kid step into a criminal organization out of concern for their sibling’s future. At that age, he’d just cried when the older boys at the orphanage hit him…

He agonized over what to do. Why did it have to be him…?

He desperately wanted to help the boy somehow, but there really wasn’t much Jaeha could do. So once again, he justified it to himself: just not reporting to Director Kang was already a big help.

“…I’m sorry.”

The words came out weakly, his voice cracking slightly.

He would just comfort him for now, see him safely to a main road on his way home… That was all he could do.

“…Don’t worry too much. He’ll come back soon.”

“…What?”

“He’s a Guide. A valuable asset.”

He couldn’t meet the boy’s gaze and answered while quietly lowering his eyes.