AAGULT Ch 19

Chapter 19

 

Hyungjun hesitantly took off his gloves. Then, standing in front of the man who was smiling benevolently and kindly, he cautiously extended his hand.

A rough hand was placed on top of a pale one.

And then, the guiding seeped in.

“Ah……”

So this is what an S-rank guide is like? Hyungjun felt all pain and fatigue melt away just from the lightest touch of his fingertips.

A gentle wave wrapped around his body. The residual heat that had been boiling inside him slowly cooled, and every wound was healed. Even though he had received guiding from another guide affiliated with the Association just a day ago, this guide’s touch embraced him completely, not allowing even a speck of unhealed injury to remain. It was like a mist, enveloping him warmly.

Driven by an unconscious desire, Hyungjun tried to reach out and grab the man’s hand more tightly. But at that moment, he paused.

“……”

“……”

It was because their eyes met.

Eyes as dark as night, devoid of any light, stared at him with terrifying calm. Even though a powerful esper was about to grab his arm, there wasn’t a flicker of disturbance in those black eyes. In fact, there was a hint of boredom and indifference that made Hyungjun flustered.

“……”

Click—like a glass marble rolling softly. There was a faint laugh, so faint it was hard to tell if it was a laugh or just an exhalation. Everything about him radiated disdain.

“As expected, pity is the best tool, isn’t it?”

“…What?”

Then, Aiden, who had looked over Hyungjun’s shoulder and seemed to confirm something, spoke incomprehensibly. Instead of being frightened by the approaching esper, he reached out and forcefully grabbed Hyungjun.

“W-what…?”

Aiden pulled Hyungjun toward him.

Though they were similar in height, Hyungjun was a combat-type esper with a far more rugged build, and the strength in that pull was enough to throw him off balance. He staggered slightly, casting a shadow over Aiden. For a fleeting moment, the thought ‘Could Guide Ye Aiden be trying to…?’ flashed through his mind, but it felt too rude to even consider. The dryness and chill in Aiden’s briefly revealed eyes were too overwhelming.

Hyungjun nearly fell over him, and to a stranger, it might’ve looked like he was throwing himself onto Aiden in a shameless way.

“Hey.”

Someone grabbed Hyungjun, who was about to topple over Aiden, with force.

Hyungjun stumbled to his feet and turned around, flustered. There was a man he didn’t recognize. He wasn’t one of Hyungjun’s teammates, and his face wasn’t familiar.

Because of the gate, this place was under joint control by the Association and the police. In other words, it wasn’t a place where civilians could freely enter. Then who on earth was this man?

Moreover, the grip on his forearm was so strong it ached a bit. Was he an esper? Their eyes met.

He was a rather handsome man. His short, neatly cropped black hair was slightly disheveled, as if he had run over in a hurry. That only made his strong eyebrows and masculine jawline more prominent. His nose was quite high, and the furrow in his brow made one instinctively think he was good-looking.

He was gasping for breath. Because it was winter, visible puffs of white came from his mouth. Why didn’t I notice him running up? Ah, it must’ve been because Guide Ye’s guiding was so…

That was when it hit him.

“Huff, huff…”

Still panting and holding onto him, the man spoke in a clearly reproachful tone.

“You shouldn’t treat a guide so roughly.”

…What?

Hyungjun was dumbfounded.

Jaeha couldn’t believe what was unfolding in front of his eyes.

A gate appeared (｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ I came out as a support guide—could you maybe come meet me here instead of at the original meeting place?

He had arrived at the location sent with that message, and the area was already under control. It was his first time seeing such a scene. With the street emptied by traffic control, he marveled at the glowing gate in the middle of the road. It seemed the boss had already been defeated inside, as the gate had turned gray and was flickering irregularly, about to disappear. People were gathered in front of it, seemingly engaged in something.

Was it okay for him to be here? He was too hesitant to approach the police controlling the area, but they spotted him first. Maybe Aiden had informed them in advance, because they let him in without much inspection. As an unregistered, illegal esper, Jaeha felt relieved.

“The gate has been cleared, and they’re probably receiving guiding. Should be over soon…”

“Ah, yes. Thank you…”

He bowed his head politely in gratitude. From a distance, he could see a group of espers who had emerged from the gate gathering around one man to receive guiding.

He didn’t know how large or dangerous the gate had been, but he had heard that espers affiliated with the Association received guiding support. It was true after all…

“……”

His first emotion was a tinge of jealousy. It was ridiculous to feel that way, given he was a criminal.

Having spotted Aiden, he put his phone back in his pocket and clasped his hands together politely, waiting for his task to finish.

His gaze remained fixed on Aiden. It was out of concern. With so many espers and only one guide?

Of course, he knew Aiden was an S-rank guide, and that he could easily calm the wavelengths of dozens of espers. But he still couldn’t forget that night in the dark alley when Aiden had been harassed. Aiden… and guides in general—they were fragile, delicate beings who needed to be protected. Moreover, all the espers over there were clearly combat-types. Though they were similar in height to Aiden, they were all burly and muscular.

While Jaeha fretted, a police officer standing nearby, perhaps misreading the situation, gave him a kind smile and began explaining.

“The gate has already been cleared. There’s no need to worry too much.”

Startled by the unexpected voice, Jaeha turned to look at the officer. He gave an awkward smile and replied, flustered.

“Ah, yes…”

“Are you an acquaintance of Guide Ye?”

“Uh… I guess you could say that.”

“You must be close. It’s the first time he’s given advance notice about someone like this.”

“Haha…”

Are we close? They’d only shared a few nights together and had only known each other for a month or two. Instead of answering, Jaeha mustered up his social skills and smiled. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, not to leave the officer hanging—

The officer, still watching the gate area, suddenly widened his eyes. As if he’d witnessed something shocking.

“Huh? Wha—?”

“…?”

Jaeha, confused, turned his head to follow the officer’s gaze. He saw Aiden. And the esper standing in front of him.

“……!”

An esper, similar in height but much bulkier, was reaching toward Aiden in a threatening manner. The scene overlapped with the one in the bar alley where Aiden had been grabbed by the collar. Jaeha’s face turned pale.

“T-that’s—!”

He faintly heard the officer trying to stop him, but it didn’t fully register. Jaeha’s body moved on its own. The distance wasn’t too far or too close, and running got him there quickly.

“Hey!”

By the time he arrived, the esper was looming over Aiden threateningly. It looked as if he was about to harm him. Without thinking, Jaeha grabbed the esper’s arm and yanked him away. Then, he saw Aiden, who had been firmly held by that arm, widen his eyes in surprise upon seeing Jaeha. There was a faint hint of relief in his expression, which only made Jaeha’s emotions well up even more.

“Huff, huff…”

He was gasping for air. Being close to Christmas, the cold winter air turned to visible puffs from his mouth. His eyes met the esper’s. In them, he could see amazement at the guiding and confusion at who Jaeha was, confirming that his assumption had been right.

“You shouldn’t treat a guide so roughly.”

“…What?”

The esper looked at him as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, so Jaeha furrowed his brows further. As someone who had worked as a doorman at an illegal guiding facility, he had no right to say it, but why did espers always treat guides so carelessly? Why couldn’t they recognize how precious they were? Espers needed guides desperately, but guides didn’t need espers. That meant it was already an act of gratitude when guides offered their services willingly…

The esper looked so dumbfounded that Jaeha stared deeper into his eyes, trying to determine whether he was genuinely misunderstood or just shameless. Or he would have, if it weren’t for the sound that interrupted—

“…Sniff…”

…Sniff?

Jaeha’s heart dropped with a thud. Forget reading the esper’s intent—he should have checked on Aiden first. He turned his gaze and saw Aiden lightly rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

The startled esper let go of Aiden’s arm and cautiously stepped back a few paces, allowing Jaeha to fully stand in front of him.

“Aiden… I mean, Aiden-hyung, are you okay?”

“…Sorry you had to see that. I’m fine, Jaeha.”

Aiden crinkled his nose slightly as he smiled. His face, tilted up slightly to look at Jaeha, didn’t show any traces of tears, but the weariness and sadness etched on it tore at Jaeha’s heart.

[Scary…]

“I’m used to it.”

Aiden lowered his eyes halfway. His neatly arranged lashes trembled faintly. Between them, his pupils faintly glinted like obsidian. Because he had tilted his head slightly downward, it was hard to read his thoughts anymore—but even without reading them, Jaeha felt like he knew what was inside.

“…Well, the job seems to be over. Shall we go?”

“…Ah.”

“I’m heading out.”

“Ah… Yes, have a good night, Guide Ye. Thank you for your hard work.”

With a calm smile, Aiden gathered himself. Jaeha couldn’t say anything more. He wanted to offer comfort somehow, but given he was someone who also leaned on Aiden’s radial guiding, anything he said felt like hypocrisy—a lie. So, he said nothing.