AAGULT Ch 77

Chapter 77

“This is, uh, how did this—… No, it’s really been a while!”

The shock from the article he had just seen had left Jaeha feeling a little down, but his spirits suddenly lifted. Jaeha quickly stepped into the room and stood before him.

“Have you been doing well?”

“Of course…!”

He had been doing far better than he deserved. He was being treated, fed, not beaten, and even receiving daily guiding. In fact, the pallor that had once marked his face had visibly improved, even more so than during his time in the illegal guiding facility—a fact that the Seong Dowon Guide could confirm with his own eyes, prompting a faint smile.

“I was worried… I’m so glad.”

Before entering the glass-encased matching machine for the formal test, Seong Dowon gave Song Jaeha a light hug. Caught off guard by the unexpected gesture, Jaeha awkwardly returned the hug and lightly patted his back. It was a brief, gentle embrace, and they soon parted. But to Seong Dowon, the moment was rather special.

Not too long ago, the last memory he had of Song Jaeha was of someone so terrified of guides that he flinched at even the thought of physical contact. And yet now, even if awkwardly, he had accepted this touch. To Seong Dowon, that alone felt like a huge step forward.

Moreover, although the contact had been brief, Seong Dowon could roughly sense Jaeha’s condition. Thankfully, his waves didn’t feel nearly as horrid or volatile as they had before—nothing that warranted worry of an imminent rampage. It was a definite improvement.

Some might question why he was concerned about a villain met on the frontlines, but back then, Seong Dowon had genuinely worried about him.

Having infiltrated illegal guiding facilities on several occasions, field guide Seong Dowon had never encountered a villain as peculiar and kindhearted as Song Jaeha.

Jaeha probably had no idea how the world perceived someone who was forbidden from guiding espers. The pain and stress must have been unimaginable. And yet, despite all that, he had done everything he could to respect and support the guides. No one among the guides was unaware that the severance pay handed out when the guiding facility shut down had come from Jaeha’s own pocket.

In fact, the facility Seong Dowon had originally infiltrated wasn’t Zone A-5. He had been transferred there solely because someone noticed how much he resembled Song Jaeha. Watching that creepy obsession from up close had been anything but pleasant. Still, he had known—there was something more hidden behind that bizarre fixation.

After Baek Beomwoo’s base had been raided, Seong Dowon had returned to the Association a little earlier than originally planned. To be honest, he had never imagined that Song Jaeha would end up being ‘rescued’ by the Association, safe and sound. He had been sure that Baek Beomwoo would never willingly let Jaeha go.

Still, he couldn’t show that doubt openly. Seong Dowon smiled calmly.

“I was worried myself… You didn’t get caught? When did you return to the Association?”

“…So you really did know I was a guide affiliated with the Association.”

“Ah… It hasn’t been that long since I found out. Guide Kim Jiwon—”

At that, the Seong Dowon Guide chuckled, wrinkling his nose slightly as if to say “I figured.” He clearly wanted to talk more, but just then, the staff member sitting at the desk outside the matching machine hesitantly spoke up.

“Um… Is it alright if we begin soon?”

“Ah, yes! I’m sorry.”

Jaeha quickly apologized. It was a habit formed from years of unconscious deference.

Before stepping into the matching machine with Seong Dowon Guide, Jaeha glanced at the monitor in front of it. On the screen were rough profiles of the two of them, including photos, personal details, and their ranks. Beneath each photo, there was also a large graph.

‘So that’s the wave.’

He had never visualized his own wave with his own eyes before, so it felt very unfamiliar. The graph was made up of jagged lines, and even a layman would gasp at how twisted and complicated Jaeha’s wave looked. Compared to the fairly smooth graph next to it—belonging to Seong Dowon Guide—his was downright dreadful.

At a glance, the matching rate didn’t seem like it would be high. While the middle section of Jaeha’s graph was at rock bottom and the right side spiked sharply upward in total chaos, Seong Dowon Guide’s line hovered steadily in the middle. Overall, his line remained lower than Jaeha’s.

Still, Jaeha had never expected nor hoped for a high match rate, nor had he even imagined being tested for compatibility with a guide. So without any complaint, he entered the matching machine.

More than the match rate, what preoccupied his mind was the constant thought of Aiden. Jaeha shook his head to dispel the image. He lifted his gaze. Seong Dowon was sitting across from him.

Beep—

“If you’re ready, you may begin guiding.”

“Alright.”

With a light mechanical chime, Jaeha quietly accepted the guiding he’d grown used to receiving over the past few weeks. Inside the matching machine, in the now-separated space, two screens appeared.

They were the same as the ones outside the machine. The profiles of Seong Dowon Guide and Jaeha, along with graphs depicting their respective wave patterns, were displayed. As if updated in real time, a blue line began to rise slowly from beneath the red wave graph representing Jaeha’s pattern as the guiding flowed in. Jaeha’s line crackled erratically like static electricity, while the blue line shimmered beneath it. However, the calm blue line never quite touched the jagged wave. It simply swayed gently beneath it.

Seong Dowon Guide’s guiding felt very familiar to Jaeha. It was the same guiding he had been receiving through his boss for the past few months.

“……”

Strangely enough, it didn’t feel like the salvation it once had. In fact, and it might’ve been a bit rude to say, but the sensation was… closer to tasteless. That made it easier to stay rational. It felt similar to the guiding he had recently received from Guide Mingyeol.

“Jaeha-ssi. Did you know?”

“Yes?”

His reply was delayed by a beat, as he was focusing on the sensation of the guiding flowing in. When he raised his head and looked at him, Seong Dowon was staring intently at Jaeha’s face before finally speaking.

“We’re family.”

“…What?”

“Technically, we’re sixth cousins. I found out when I was looking into your information. I thought you were dead.”

“…”

The word family felt so foreign to Jaeha that he missed the timing to respond. It didn’t feel real.

He had always known they looked alike. That’s why it had always felt strange whenever his boss had insisted on having him guided by Seong Dowon, even playing the sound of his guiding for him.

“Your mother was my grandmother’s cousin. She had you quite late in life.”

“…”

“This whole matter is still confidential, so I haven’t told the rest of the family about you. But once the trial begins, there won’t be a choice.”

“Why…?”

“Because I’m going to testify at your trial.”

He couldn’t focus at all on the guiding that was quietly permeating his body. The rush of information slammed into the back of his head like a hammer.

Was he going to testify for him at the trial? To help reduce the sentence?

“Ha…”

He furrowed his brows and let out a sigh without realizing it. It wasn’t out of resentment, just sheer mental fatigue.

“I know it’s difficult. But if my grandmother finds out, she’ll definitely want to meet you. She was deeply saddened after… that incident. Even now.”

“Okay…”

– You may stop the guiding now.

“Ah, yes.”

As the matching machine gave a soft alert, the staff member operating it from outside spoke.

Seong Dowon Guide smoothly withdrew his guiding. Jaeha was still dazed, but rather than letting all the information continue to gnaw at his mind, he pushed it all into a corner of his brain. He did have a distant relative—a family member—and while that was a fuzzy, heartwarming fact, there were more pressing matters at hand.

“Ah…”

“Was the result not good?”

The staff member operating the machine tapped a few buttons and let out a small sigh. As he and Jaeha stepped out of the matching machine, Seong Dowon Guide asked calmly, as if he had already anticipated it. The staffer offered a sheepish smile and answered with an awkward tone.

“19%.”

“…Lower than expected.”

The minimum required matching rate for forming an exclusive pair, rather than a team guide, was 60%. That result was shocking enough to Jaeha.

“Did you say 19%? Could there have been an error?”

He had somehow endured for quite a while with that guiding. In truth, what Jaeha had received wasn’t even a direct guiding. His boss had received the guiding, and Jaeha had survived by touching him.

So even though his standards had risen since then, he never imagined the rate would be this low. Even now, accustomed to Aiden’s guiding, if he had been told “You’re paired with Seong Dowon Guide,” he could have accepted it without complaint and with satisfaction.

The staffer said nothing, offering only an embarrassed smile. It was Seong Dowon Guide who explained the situation.