AAGULT Ch 56

Chapter 56

 

“You’ve seen Song Jaeha more than I have.”

After placing Jaeha into a specially prepared intensive care unit and beginning analysis and treatment of his condition, Aiden had not left his side even once. Yet contrary to the Association President’s expectations, Song Jaeha truly didn’t seem to know much. Perhaps once he regained full consciousness and could be properly interrogated, the situation would become clearer, but circumstantially, that seemed to be the case. He was merely a victim of a new suppressant and of an incident caused by Baek Beomwoo in the past, and a gatekeeper at an illegal guiding facility.

To be honest, there seemed to be more information that could be extracted from Han Eunyul, the teleportation Esper who was always at Baek Beomwoo’s side. It was fortunate they had been captured together. …Of course, if asked who was more important to Baek Beomwoo, the President had to admit he suspected the answer would strangely be Song Jaeha.

And…

The President let out a faint groan as he recalled a report submitted a few days ago.

“They say he’s been downgraded to F-rank. Is that true?”

“Yes. Apparently so.”

“Tsk…”

When Song Jaeha was discovered, the room he had collapsed in was scattered with empty ampoules of ability suppressants. On the bedside table, as if meant to be seen, were a rank assessment device marked with [F-rank] and a tracking device placed side by side. From the looks of it, Baek Beomwoo had known the Association was coming and yet had handed over Jaeha—the very person the Association was targeting—without resistance.

“…Maybe we were wrong from the start.”

“About what?”

“Maybe Song Jaeha meant nothing to Baek Beomwoo.”

Otherwise, there would be no reason to deliberately destroy a rare psychic-type Esper and reduce his rank before handing him over to the enemy. Perhaps Baek Beomwoo was mocking them, laughing at how the Association had been chasing the wrong person.

“Maybe he wasn’t a hostage at all—just an inconvenient burden that he dumped on us. …Though I suppose, for antidote development purposes, having another case to study is useful.”

Aiden, who had been staring into space while mulling over that cautious theory, gave a soft laugh. The President turned his gaze to him.

“Seems like you think differently.”

“Who knows…”

“What do you think Baek Beomwoo’s intentions are?”

“Why do you think I would know?”

“Birds of a feather.”

“Wow. That hurt…”

Aiden clutched his chest theatrically. He even let out exaggerated sniffles. The President, watching him emote like he was reading from a script—muttering “sniff” and “ugh” with no real sincerity—felt a headache coming on. Aiden, thoroughly enjoying the sight of the President’s growing discomfort, chuckled and spoke again.

“Baek Beomwoo hates the Association. I’m sure you already know that.”

“……”

“So, he wants Song Jaeha to hate the Association too.”

“…I don’t follow.”

The man sprawled across the sofa sighed loudly with a look of great annoyance. Then he gave a groaning “Up we go,” and sat upright. Looking around the room, he casually tapped a fancy porcelain piece beside the sofa with the tip of his foot.

It was one of the President’s hobbies. He’d taken great effort to acquire it, but after enduring his family’s complaints, had moved it from home to the office. Over time, he’d grown emotionally detached from it. He knew it was valuable, but didn’t cherish it the same way anymore.

“Mr. President, it was hard to get this, wasn’t it? You really wanted it, right?”

“…I guess so?”

The President narrowed his eyes, sensing an odd tension. Aiden smiled brightly. Then, without a shred of guilt or hesitation, he kicked it over.

Crash!

“……”

His unease had become reality, and his “no way” had turned into “of course.” The shattering sound was so clear it practically screamed how expensive it had been. He no longer particularly cherished it, so it was fine—but it was still a shame.

Aiden pulled his wallet from the inner pocket of his tailored coat and placed several bills on the table. The amount was likely far more than the broken porcelain was worth. The President, being who he was, didn’t mind too much but didn’t refuse either.

“Do you still want it now?”

“Not really…”

The once-elegant porcelain had turned to sharp shards in an instant. Broken as it was, it had no value, so the answer came easily. The President, unable to hide his disappointment, answered slowly. Aiden leaned comfortably against the back of the sofa and kindly explained.

“Since it was about to be taken by someone else, you broke it instead. That’s Song Jaeha. Objectively useless, disposable. There’s no reason for the Association to cherish an F-rank Esper, right?”

“…Comparing people to objects is a bad habit.”

He said that, but the President found the analogy apt. And he felt he could now roughly understand how people like Baek Beomwoo and Aiden thought.

“Well, in the end, the Association is still a profit-driven organization, so it’s not entirely unreasonable. Investing in an F-rank Esper brings no return. Whether he can recover his rank or not is secondary—no one at the Association really believes they should invest in his recovery.”

“……”

“Baek Beomwoo expects that Jaeha will be abandoned by the Association and come to feel disillusioned with the organization, just as he has. He’s had enough bad history with the Association to see it that way.”

“Tsk…”

From the President’s standpoint—cleaning up the messes left behind by his predecessors and other corporations—it was understandable how someone from the past generation could now appear as a villain. He rubbed his temples.

“So… something like, ‘If I can’t have him, then no one can,’ maybe.”

“……”

“The difference being…”

Aiden nudged the porcelain shards with the tip of his shoe, then picked up one of the larger pieces between his fingers. Bringing it to eye level, he examined it and spoke in a flat tone.

“You don’t want broken porcelain. But Baek Beomwoo? He’d gladly keep it, even broken.”

There. Now no one else will covet it. Now it’s completely mine. …With that kind of satisfaction, he’d live clutching the sharp pieces close. Even though he’d shattered it without the owner’s consent, he’d be content simply knowing that no one else would desire it now. It was dark and sinister.

Was it pure devotion, or obsession? The latter, the President thought. A beautiful, innocent emotion like love shouldn’t be this sticky and depraved. He couldn’t help but click his tongue with a sickened look. He felt genuine human pity for Song Jaeha.

“Why go that far…”

“Because Song Jaeha likes me.”

The confidence in that voice left the President momentarily speechless. He had read the reports and knew it, but still—what gave this man such brazen self-assurance? Didn’t he feel even a little sympathy for Jaeha? And didn’t Baek Beomwoo have any measures in place against honey traps from his own employees?

“……”

“He probably didn’t like that I was causing unexpected shifts.”

Still examining the porcelain shard between his fingers, Aiden curled his eyes slightly in a smile.

“If there’s one thing Baek Beomwoo didn’t anticipate…”

“……”

“It’d be me. And I do want that broken porcelain. A lot.”

It wasn’t even strange anymore. The twisted obsession with Song Jaeha remained unbroken. Even if the Association pulled its support, this man would gladly pour his own money into returning Jaeha to normal.

“I see…”

Aiden added, his face tinged with a soft blush, as if giddy.

“I think it’ll be fun putting the pieces back together. I used to want to be a restorer when I was little.”

As if. The President was certain—this was probably the first time Aiden had ever used the word “restorer” in his life. Still, he wondered again—what did Aiden even want with Song Jaeha? Was it truly just personal?

“Are you planning to date him or something?”

He tossed the question, laced with genuine curiosity. Aiden immediately covered his mouth in mock surprise, giving the President a look of scolding disapproval, as if to say, “What kind of boomer boss pries into his subordinate’s love life?”

“Are you interested in my love life?”

“For god’s sake, no.”

“Haha.”

In the end, Aiden—as always—didn’t give a proper answer. He just hummed lightly, like he was singing.

Aiden decided there was no need to define an incomprehensible feeling with words. Leaning back against the sofa, he fell into a moment’s thought.

‘On the outside, it really does seem like you’ve got feelings.’

‘…Maybe.’

Whether he actually liked Song Jaeha, he still wasn’t sure. But he was absolutely certain of one thing: if he didn’t at least try dating him, he’d regret it. So, he decided to act. Watching Jaeha linger in Baek Beomwoo’s grasp had turned out to be more infuriating than he’d expected.

“After thinking about it, I think it’s just that Song Jaeha’s cute.”

“Jaeha’s more… striking than cute—”

“I’ll decide that after meeting him again. If he’s less cute, I’ll reconsider then.”

“……”

And so, he remained completely unaware that he had already been thoroughly hooked.

“I’m way better than Baek Beomwoo, right? Don’t you think?”

“You’re both the same…”

“There’s just one thing I don’t get.”

Cutting off the President’s slow reply with deliberate obliviousness, Aiden continued with an odd certainty.

He hadn’t fully defined his feelings, but by setting a clear course of action, he felt immensely at ease. That foul, twisted feeling that bubbled up every time he saw Song Jaeha had started to dissipate.

“Why does Baek Beomwoo obsess over Song Jaeha so much?”