AAGULT Ch 45

Chapter 45

Aiden orchestrated it meticulously. He calculated where the fluorescent light would shine on him, which angle made his face look prettier, and subtly tilted his head to feign sadness.

He endured the peculiar tickling and irritation of tears gathering on his lashes, holding back until he could time it just right and let them fall all at once. It looked better than having them drip one by one—more striking, more dramatic.

“You must’ve known who I was from the beginning.”

“……”

“Me loving you, confessing that love to you… that must’ve looked laughable to you.”

“Aiden, Aiden-ssi… that’s not it. Aiden-hyung. Please listen to me.”

The building continued to rumble, and the area remained loud with shouts and the crashes of ongoing fights. It was hardly the setting for a melodramatic love quarrel. The fluorescent light flickered as though the power might go out at any moment. Dust fell in clumps.

Just as Jaeha hastily opened his mouth to offer some kind of excuse, a voice broke through from the radio attached to Aiden’s belt with a burst of static. Jaeha fell silent, looking distressed.

—Stairs found in the third hallway. Guides presumed to be below. Proceeding with entry.

—Same with the fifth hallway.

“……”

Aiden pretended to ignore Jaeha and brought the radio up to his mouth. He checked the door behind him without looking directly at Jaeha.

“This is the first hallway. We’ve located it as well. Proceeding with entry shortly.”

“……”

Crack.

Aiden ended the transmission and reattached the radio to his belt. Wearing a pained expression as if holding back a sigh, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. This was perfect. He could use this chance to extract Jaeha to the Association. Run tests, give treatment, and then… Well, who knew.

“I’ll hear the full explanation later.”

“……”

“So… just let yourself be taken in for now. If you have any thoughts for me at all.”

The Jaeha he had come to know would comply without resistance. He already seemed to be in custody against his will thanks to Baek Beom-woo, and no matter how much he had been gaslit, the guilt always showed plainly on his face. There was no mistaking it.

“…Okay.”

Jaeha hesitated, his eyes red as if on the verge of tears, and held out both hands. From the way he presented his wrists so naturally, it was clear he’d imagined this moment many times before. Aiden almost laughed at how cute it was, but he suppressed the urge.

And then it happened.

Boom.

Crack!

“…!”

Aiden quickly turned his head to the side. Someone was standing in the hallway. But before he could get a good look, his view was entirely blocked—by Jaeha’s arm, clad in black fabric. It was a surprisingly masculine arm, thicker than Aiden remembered.

Clang!

Only then did Aiden realize Jaeha was holding a knife. When had he pulled that out? And what exactly had that man shot?

He instinctively understood that Jaeha had used the knife to deflect something that had been flying toward Aiden. His sleeve pulled tight, revealing the deep lines of muscle in his forearm, veins bulging. Jaeha’s jaw was clenched, his brows drawn—he looked… sharp.

Time slowed. Jaeha’s arm snapped back, and a gust of air brushed across Aiden’s face. His hair fluttered faintly in the breeze.

That was when Aiden finally saw the man at the end of the hallway—a Black Dragon gang member, probably a researcher. Whether he was screaming as he got tackled to the ground by Association agents or not, Jaeha’s focus never left Aiden.

“Aiden-ssi…! Are you hurt? Are you okay? Let me see…!”

“I’m fine.”

Something felt off. Really fucking off.

Instinct blared a loud internal alarm. Even as Aiden answered with a grimace, he thought so. Jaeha’s cold hand cupped his cheek.

Aiden looked at him. The teal eyes, dimmer than before, were filled with worry and rage, plain as day. His thick brows and sharp gaze stayed fixed on Aiden, examining him with desperate intensity. The man who had once seemed like a soft, naive fool now looked fucking sexy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Aiden caught a glimpse of the man they had just subdued, breaking free and aiming something again. He could hear the faint air-ripping sound of a projectile. Seriously, what a useless piece of shit.

That was Aiden’s last thought before instinct kicked in—he grabbed Jaeha.

Their balance collapsed, and they both tumbled. Not through the door with the staircase Jaeha had emerged from, but the other door beside it. Luckily, it wasn’t locked. It slammed open with a jolt, not a break.

Thud.

They rolled across the floor together.

“Ugh…”

“Aiden-ssi! Aiden-ssi…!”

Jaeha, caught in the fall, clung to Aiden and yelled. Aiden finally became aware of a sharp pain starting from his neck and a prickling, unpleasant sensation spreading through his body.

“Ugh…”

Must’ve hit his neck. Thank god it wasn’t a bullet. But what was it—was that a dart?

Ah. Tranquilizer. Reading his body’s faint reactions quickly, Aiden deduced it. Having grown up in a wealthy family and awakened as a Guide at age five, Aiden had developed resistance to most mild poisons. This wasn’t a dangerous type. But it wasn’t exactly smart either. He didn’t need to throw himself in like that. For him of all people…

“Let me see!”

Jaeha hurriedly removed the dart from Aiden’s neck. He leaned in as if to suck the poison out—though that was probably just instinct. Aiden felt him draw near. In the background, he could hear the rest of the Black Dragon members being subdued, and vague commotion near the door. He waved off the others nearby and shoved Jaeha off him, who had climbed on top. Aiden might be resistant, but there was no need for Jaeha to ingest any of the tranquilizer.

“Aiden-ssi…”

Jaeha’s face was twisted in worry. To an outsider, it might have looked like he was the one who’d been shot. Though he rarely cried outside of sex, the man now looked like he might burst into tears, pushing Aiden away while checking his condition as if the world were ending.

But fuck, the thing was…

It was kind of a turn-on.

“Could you… back up a little…”

This was bad.

Aiden wasn’t ready to drop the act just yet. They were still tangled on the ground, their thighs pressed tightly together.

So, yeah—getting hard was just… inevitable.

Who told him to be that sexy?

In Aiden’s mind, that earlier moment replayed on a loop. Jaeha whipping out the knife and deflecting the dart aimed at him. The way his muscles stood out, his jaw clenched. The soft flutter of his hair. And the instant switch back to that gentle, puppy-dog expression as he worried over Aiden…

It was fucking perfect.

Irritation started to rise. As Aiden’s face twitched, Jaeha scrambled up. In doing so, their thighs rubbed together, and the bulge of Aiden’s erection was pressed down. Noticing the shape, Jaeha visibly flinched.

Aiden wasn’t particularly flustered or rushed. It wasn’t like he couldn’t spin the situation in his favor. That man was gullible anyway…

As he clenched and flexed his fist to push himself up despite the residual tingling, a flustered voice rang out. A ridiculous and excessive misunderstanding.

“I-It must be an aphrodisiac…”

“…What?”

Even as he responded, Aiden acted and thought by instinct. As if all his senses were wired to that single direction.

It was, as always, a response that was sly, filthy, and cheap.

“That… ngh… I think you’re right.”

Ah…

“Please help me…”

Fucking jackpot.

The A-5 sector that Jaeha managed didn’t use aphrodisiacs, but there were other zones that did. It was a particularly vile tactic.

And since this place was an illegal guiding facility, it wasn’t impossible that the dart Aiden took for him contained an aphrodisiac rather than a tranquilizer. Admittedly, it was suspicious. What lunatic would use aphrodisiacs instead of actual tranquilizers or bullets when fighting off the Association? But what else could explain a boner at a time like this?

He’d been about to cry just from the guilt of Aiden taking the hit for him, but even in this rush, he could still distinguish the undercurrent of Aiden’s emotions—he was confused. Yeah, even if Aiden was some kind of deviant, he wouldn’t get hard at a time like this… probably.

That must’ve been why Aiden was pushing him away. Jaeha realized it immediately. Aiden’s face was flushed red, twisted in what seemed like embarrassment. Jaeha felt guilty all over again.

“Haa…”

“I’ll go find the antidote right away.”

As Aiden panted in apparent pain, Jaeha hesitated over whether to touch him, then carefully helped him shift toward the wall so he could lean more comfortably. Aiden let out a stifled moan, gritting his teeth. His eyes were bloodshot and red. Veins popped along his jawline.

Though he always kept that beautiful face composed, now he was showing his pain without filter. That alone showed how strong the drug must’ve been.

“I’m sorry. It’s all because of me…”

“……”

Jaeha tried his hardest not to look at the bulge in Aiden’s pants.