AAGULT Ch 52

Chapter 52

 

The ominous chill creeping up the back of his neck was unmistakable, more intense than usual. He felt it like a fog, slithering beneath his skin. Objectively, he knew he was being too careless and overly optimistic about Aiden. Deep down, he understood that no matter how gently he viewed him—how softly he imagined him—Aiden was stronger and far less kind than he seemed.

But still, even so…

“Jaeha.”

Aiden smiled gently and let go of him without hesitation. Even though his body was released, Jaeha remained frozen in the position Aiden had pulled him into, gazing up at him.

“…Yes.”

As he answered, a hand touched his cheek, as if in praise. Not only because of that, but because he was so used to this kind of touch, Jaeha leaned into it unconsciously. Aiden brushed his tidy hair back, as though petting a small, adorable dog.

Those pitch-black pupils reflected nothing.

[You can hear what I’m thinking right now, can’t you?]

And so, even with everything exposed, Jaeha couldn’t bring himself to flee. He could only stare dumbly and nod.

Seeing his affirmation, Aiden smiled even more deeply. Jaeha couldn’t escape the thought that he was completely, utterly screwed, but there was nothing he could do.

“I thought it might be the Black Dragon Syndicate, but that doesn’t seem right.”

“…”

“I’m guessing it’s Baeksan.”

Now that Aiden had figured out even his affiliation, denying it would only make him look pathetic. Jaeha nodded calmly, and Aiden leaned down. Their foreheads touched. Their hair mingled.

“Are you going to run again?”

“…No.”

“Mmm, but I don’t believe you.”

“…”

He had no excuse. It hadn’t been voluntary, but he had run from Aiden. And he had never made any active effort to turn himself in or flee from the organization.

His breath brushed Jaeha’s skin as he laughed, their faces so close that their noses brushed. It tickled. Jaeha wrinkled his nose in reflex, wanting to scratch it.

“Seems like Baeksan has a teleporter.”

“…”

“And it looks like you’re valuable enough to command that Esper at will…”

As though worried Jaeha might collapse, Aiden cupped the back of his neck entirely and gently kissed him—soft pecks that fell one after another. His hands, though elegant, were large, and his thumb slowly stroked the side of Jaeha’s neck. Soon, it might trail to his throat.

Aiden parted his lips slightly and gently scraped Jaeha’s lips with his own before slipping his tongue inside. The kiss came out of nowhere, in the middle of an interrogation, and Jaeha, stunned, briefly thought of locking eyes with him to read his intent. But then, exhausted from trying to gauge his every move, he simply shut his eyes tightly. Aiden’s laughter vibrated against his skin.

“Ha…”

As his thick tongue swept along the inside of Jaeha’s mouth, Aiden pushed something small and hard into him with the tip of his tongue. Something rigid and angular—tiny.

“Urgh…”

“Swallow it.”

“…”

With his eyes half-lidded, Aiden commanded arrogantly. Before Jaeha could even grasp what it was, the chilling command made him swallow it. It was smaller than a pinky nail, so it didn’t feel unpleasant going down. His throat moved. Aiden traced his Adam’s apple with his thumb. Confirming it had gone down, Aiden tilted his head and kissed him again, as though in praise. Now more accustomed to kissing him, Jaeha opened his mouth slightly wider.

Squelch, smooch… The embarrassing sound of saliva mixing filled the bar. Even though they had tangled their bodies thoroughly just that morning, Jaeha was still stiff with tension. But hesitantly, he responded to the kiss. Aiden smiled and pulled back slightly.

“Geez…”

“…”

“Dating is really hard, huh…”

Their foreheads remained touching as Aiden chuckled softly. At a glance, he seemed completely unbothered by the fact that Jaeha was a criminal. That’s why, whenever Jaeha saw his face, he couldn’t help but cling to futile hope.

“…”

Not knowing what to say, Jaeha only stared at him in confused silence. Finally, he lifted his body. Aiden smiled gently and began to explain, kindly as ever.

“If I don’t take care of that Esper first, I think I’ll lose you again no matter how many times I catch you.”

“…Take care of?”

“I’ll be right back to get you.”

Whether Jaeha understood the explanation or not was a separate issue. Was he talking about taking out Eunyul? Why? And how?

Just as that question formed—

“…!”

Suddenly, a thick arm shot out from the empty air behind Jaeha.

Like a hook snatching its prey, the arm wrapped around Jaeha’s neck and yanked him back with terrifying strength.

“Huh…?”

There was no warning, no sign. The sneak attack completely broke his balance. As he teetered backward, his dazed vision caught a glimpse of the arm around his throat. Something flashed red—hair?

Through the swaying strands, Jaeha could see Aiden standing tall. A soft light enveloped his body. That’s when Jaeha realized it was Eunyul trying to whisk him away.

“Perfect timing.”

Aiden drew a gun from his hip. The moment it was aimed, he pulled the trigger.

Bang.

Bang!

“Ghk…!”

“Eun… Yul…!”

Even with Jaeha caught in the grasp, Aiden didn’t hesitate. Whether he didn’t care if Jaeha was hit, or was simply confident enough to hit his mark precisely—it was unclear. What was certain was that Jaeha felt no pain.

In a crash, Jaeha and Eunyul fell together.

“…!”

Eunyul’s teleportation always required at least five seconds between uses. Fortunately or unfortunately, he hadn’t lost consciousness. In that critical moment—just before their bodies struck the floor and just as Aiden pulled the trigger again—

“…”

—They disappeared.

Bang.

The bullet struck the empty floor, smoke curling gently from the hole it left behind. Aiden lowered his gun and clicked his tongue.

“Tch.”

Left alone in that space, he twisted his lips in displeasure and let out a sharp cluck.

Chasing them wouldn’t be difficult now. He’d made him swallow a tracker. That meant he could now track the organization’s base—and strike Baek Beomwoo more easily. Even if they made him spit the tracker out, the first teleportation location would have been logged.

Still, the fact that what he wanted had slipped from his grasp—again—was getting on his nerves.

What the hell was it about that guy that pissed him off so much?

He was just an idiot. Just cute. That was all.

So why… why the hell…

“Eunyul! Eunyul…!”

“…”

Jaeha knew immediately that he had been transported to the headquarters. He had no idea how Eunyul knew he was about to be arrested—whether he’d come voluntarily or had been ordered to.

They’d barely rolled across the floor before Jaeha sprang to his feet. He quickly approached Eunyul’s crumpled body. Eunyul wasn’t responding. He was completely unconscious.

Something was wrong. Why had he passed out?

The wounds weren’t serious. The first bullet had grazed his side. The second had hit his arm directly. For an ordinary person, it might be fatal. But Espers could recover even from limbs being torn off by monsters. This was considered a minor injury.

“…!”

At the sight of his limp body, Jaeha panicked. He reached out to check Eunyul’s condition—only to suddenly recoil in alarm. He jerked his hand back in a rush. Something had touched his hand—something subtle and overwhelming—and he feared being affected by it. He even took a step back.

Shit.

Aiden’s guiding energy was filling Eunyul’s body. So dense and invasive it was almost violent. Even if someone claimed Eunyul was a Guide, not an Esper, Jaeha might have believed it.

Even without placing his hand directly on him, the guiding was so overwhelming that it took his breath away. In the process of shaking Eunyul awake, Jaeha nearly succumbed to it himself.

What terrified Jaeha even more was that, no matter how much he thought about it, there had been no physical contact between the two. He still didn’t know why Eunyul had suddenly appeared at the bar or how he managed to snatch Jaeha and teleport immediately—but there had been no touch between them.

How was such intense guiding possible without any physical contact?

Was it because Aiden was an S-rank Guide? Could all S-rank Guides do this—do that?

It was terrifying. It wasn’t just impressive—it was overwhelming. If what Jaeha was thinking was true, then Aiden could overtake someone completely with guiding alone, in mere seconds, without even touching them. No Esper in the world could counter that. No matter how powerful.

Even Eunyul—an A-rank Esper with the rare and unique ability of teleportation—had a wave that was known to be hard to guide. And yet, Aiden had subdued him instantly?

All that Aiden had done to Jaeha until now was child’s play. He must’ve been holding back because Jaeha had rejected his guiding. He must’ve only been letting him taste it.

“–Song Jaeha.”

“…”

And so, kneeling by Eunyul’s head, Jaeha sat in a daze—completely missing the moment a massive shadow loomed over him, ready to consume him.

“…”

Slowly, he looked up. The figure was standing so close he had to tilt his head all the way back—almost craning his neck—to see him.

Now, Jaeha was within that man’s shadow. Even a single strand of his hair lay within that domain. He couldn’t even think of escaping it.

Jaeha began to tremble. The reason was an infinite, all-consuming fear.