AAGULT Ch 44

Chapter 44

“……I’m sorry. Truly.”

“……”

Jaeha checked to see if Jiwon had carefully hidden himself inside the long locker. His voice, strained and choked as he offered his apology just before the door closed, carried pain he couldn’t fully conceal. He forced the corners of his lips up into a strained smile, as if to say it was okay, and then shut the storage room door. Only then did a bit of the tension start to release.

“Hoo…”

Now that the person he was responsible for and had to protect was out of immediate danger, the strength drained from his body, and he began to tremble intermittently. Even the breaths he exhaled to steady himself quivered, which showed just how on edge he was.

He closed his eyes and opened them again. Fear was still fear—but if he didn’t keep it together, his neck would end up between a tiger’s jaws. After all, there’s that saying: even if you enter a tiger’s den, as long as you stay calm…

Jaeha reloaded the gun, rested his finger on the trigger, and began climbing the stairs slowly. It was hard to believe he’d already fired the gun twice. Like stuffing your stomach with something unbearably spicy—at first it hurts, but then suddenly the pain fades into numbness—his fingertips felt numb and stiff, as though he had no sense of touch. His mind felt foggy, like he was drifting through a dream.

His grip on the gun weakened. He adjusted it. He should have worn gloves. His hands, damp with sweat, kept slipping on the weapon. What if he dropped it? Would it fire and hit his own foot like an idiot…? Even in this dire state, he found room in his mind for such utterly useless thoughts.

As he ascended the stairs, the thunderous noise grew louder and louder. So loud that the staircase itself shook, making it hard to maintain balance.

“Ugh…”

The building trembled so violently that he collided with the wall. He struggled not to clench his finger around the trigger. Was the building going to collapse? If it did, the people downstairs would be in serious danger… But the Association must already be aware of the situation. It had to be fine… right?

His anxiety made him glance over his shoulder repeatedly, but he soon reached the top of the stairs and forced himself to focus again. The door at the top seemed damaged, maybe from the impact the building had been taking—it was slightly ajar, with light slipping through the gap. He leaned against a blind spot, tilted his head, and peeked through. Beyond the crack, he saw people moving in a rush.

“……”

He held his breath.

“Move in!”

“Find the entrance!”

What entrance? The hallway filled with agents in white uniforms and tactical gear characteristic of the Association, moving in formation as they followed orders. It looked like they were checking every door and room. Jaeha clicked his tongue. No good. There were too many people outside; he couldn’t even begin to assess the building’s structure, let alone slip out unnoticed.

To avoid the approaching agents, he carefully began to descend the stairs again. It seemed like the best plan was to hand Jiwon over to the Association and then find a quiet corner to hide in until Eunyul arrived.

He quieted his presence and stepped as silently as possible down the stairs. He believed he could manage it.

If only that voice hadn’t come from beyond the door.

“It should be around here…”

“……!”

“Was Bong Sejun captured?”

“Yes!”

How could he be hearing that voice here? Startled, he whipped his head around.

Boom.

Perfect timing—or rather, horrendous timing—the building echoed with another loud crash. His body, still tense, swayed, and the gun slipped from his hands. It was loaded, so his nerves spiked in alarm. He turned with a horrified expression to see where it had fallen.

“Ah…!”

Startled, he instinctively kicked the loaded gun. Fortunately, it didn’t fire, but—

Thud,

thud,

thud…

The gun bounced down the stairs, each impact echoing in waves. Jaeha cursed his own stupidity, his foolishness, his recklessness.

‘Please, just let it slide. Please…’

The noise, while echoing, wasn’t actually that loud compared to the chaos and commotion throughout the building. So he clamped his mouth shut and pressed himself against the wall, trying to stay as still and quiet as possible.

But unfortunately, luck had never been on Jaeha’s side.

The firm footsteps from beyond the door suddenly stopped.

“Ah…”

A faint sigh reached his ears. It was quiet, yet for some reason it rang crystal clear. It was the voice of the man he loved. It gave him a strange feeling.

“……”

The door creaked open with a long, slow groan.

From several steps below, he simply stared blankly up. The light spilling through the widening door was blinding to eyes that had adjusted to the dark, forcing him to squint.

Bathed in light stood a man in a pristine white uniform. It was the first time Jaeha had seen him in the Association’s outfit. It fit perfectly, tailored to show the length and elegance of his tall frame. Even then, a stupid thought crossed Jaeha’s mind—how good it looked on him. He had hoped never to see him in that uniform, and yet…

His neatly trimmed hair swayed slightly as he tilted his head. Backlit as he was, his face wasn’t clearly visible, but the strange angle of the light made his eyelashes and eyes shimmer like dewdrops. Jaeha couldn’t read his thoughts. But one thing was clear—even without mind-reading, Jaeha could see that the man genuinely looked confused.

“Peekaboo.”

He smiled. Jaeha couldn’t tell whether it was forced playfulness from being bewildered, genuine amusement, or something else entirely unknown to him.

It was probably the former. He was always a kind, thoughtful person…

“……”

“What are you doing here, Jaeha?”

It was Aiden.

Up until now, Jaeha had deceived him—pretending to be an F-rank Esper, pretending to be an ordinary person. And now, instinctively, he realized he had ruined everything between them. He squeezed his eyes shut. His head throbbed painfully.

“Come up.”

Meanwhile, Aiden was… delighted.

Things hadn’t been going well, and his unresolved emotions about Jaeha had put him in such a foul mood that he joined the raid just to vent. Crashing a meticulously planned operation others had worked hard to set up made him petty and shameless—he’d just showed up to snatch the glory. Maintaining appearances with a bit of fake politeness, he joined the sweep of the building, taking down Black Dragon members as he went.

As the President of the Guide Rights Association, clearing out illegal guiding facilities wasn’t strange. He occasionally let his personal feelings fuel more violent takedowns. Finding Jaeha here was pure luck.

“Quickly now.”

It felt like he’d stumbled upon an unexpected treasure. Jaeha shouldn’t belong to this organization—so why was he here? Aiden didn’t know, but he was glad to see him. There stood the man, pale and wide-eyed like a horror movie scene, mouth covered and cowering in the stairwell.

And then Aiden thought—oops.

‘Peekaboo’ was out of character. Totally not something his persona would say. Aiden quickly manipulated his facial muscles—lowering his eyebrows, biting his lips painfully. Like someone betrayed by a lover who’d lied about being a civilian, now finding them deep within enemy lines.

It worked beautifully. The man below him looked utterly crushed by guilt.

The tangled mess of feelings that had been irritating him no longer bothered him. The situation was simply… amusing.

Since he was already caught, Jaeha seemed to give in and slowly climbed the stairs. Aiden gestured to his fellow agents, who were watching with confusion. They caught on quickly and walked past the two, continuing the sweep for Black Dragon remnants.

“Aiden… ssi…”

Aiden took a sweeping glance at Jaeha, now fully out of the emergency stairwell. It might have looked like he was trying to reject the reality of Jaeha’s outfit.

But the truth was a bit different.

‘Damn…’

The black turtleneck clung tightly, showing off a subtly muscular body. Not overly built, but enough to see. As he leaned forward while climbing, the shirt folded slightly beneath his chest, hinting at definition. The harness bit into his sides. Aiden already knew what that body looked like under the clothes, having undressed him a few times before.

It hadn’t been long since Jaeha infiltrated this group—he had no injuries or dust—but his fine, black hair was slightly disheveled. His face, faintly damp with nervous sweat, was pale.

Aiden was used to seeing him in a crisp white shirt and a plain apron like a bartender. With his neatly styled hair. That made this appearance all the more striking.

It was almost like he was wearing a costume for some kinky roleplay…

So, yes. He admitted it. He was staring because he was turned on.

Aiden wanted to skip straight to plotting how to seduce this man again. But his cunning mind reminded him this situation was ripe for exploitation. He’d learned from experience that playing the long game yielded better results. So he forced a pained smile, brows drawn in sorrow.

Though his consciousness and thoughts were split thanks to a support Esper, and though his position meant he couldn’t clearly study Jaeha’s face, it seemed like the man couldn’t even read such blatant thoughts.

Aiden wondered how much his level had dropped by now.

“I didn’t expect to run into you here…”

“……”

“You’re with Black Dragon?”

“Aiden-ssi… that’s…”

Jaeha, who had been silent like he had a mouthful of nails, finally called Aiden’s name in a choked voice. Aiden gave him a moment, as if inviting him to explain. But Jaeha said nothing. Or rather—he couldn’t.