AAGULT Ch 9

Chapter 9

 

“…….”

“…….”

It might’ve been the first time. With trembling hands from nerves, he offered the glass of alcohol. He must have been so embarrassed that the redness on the back of his hand was clearly visible from the heat rising there.

He must’ve looked like a mess. One of his eyes was swollen and half-shut, his lips were cracked. Though he had tried to fix his disheveled hair, his whole body looked beaten, dirty, and limping—perhaps even pathetic.

But the man said,

“Is this drink on the house, boss?”

“……Yes.”

“I’m glad.”

He truly received the drink with joy.

The moment the man lifted the glass and brought it to his lips, there was no turning back. It had been done.

The gift Jaeha gave him was a Sex on the Beach.

A peach-scented drink with a tradition: if you receive it as a gift, you must kiss the person who gave it.

Jaeha had thrown it in with a flirt, and even though the man had taken it playfully, Jaeha stood there stunned, unable to process what was happening until the man finished the drink, stood up, reached over the bar counter to cup his cheek, and leaned in to meet his gaze and gently brushed his lips against his.

In truth, it was his first kiss.

Until now, the boss would always provide guiding in abundance, and Jaeha would somehow manage to continue his Esper life by absorbing just a fraction of it.

But now the boss was gone. In a way, it was as if he’d found a replacement. He had said he wouldn’t receive direct guiding, but by staying near and absorbing what the man occasionally leaked, he had essentially agreed to it.

Whatever the reason, he shouldn’t have received any guiding. If discovered, he’d die. But he was too exhausted and miserable. The pain was unbearable.

Still, it wasn’t direct guiding, right? Just picking up the scraps—so maybe it was okay? While he was tangled up in this internal conflict, it was only quite late that he realized he was in the middle of his first kiss.

“W-Wait, mmph…….”

“Haa…….”

Wait a second, is this really okay?

I’m really doing this… with a guy…….

He didn’t particularly insist on any sexual orientation. No—if he were to describe it more precisely, he’d never imagined himself being in a relationship or sharing physical affection with someone.

Unlike how he’d once imagined a kiss might be, the man kissed him with gentleness and courtesy. But he was almost obsessively persistent about not closing his eyes. Jaeha, startled, could only squint slightly and found he couldn’t close them fully either.

And every time their eyes met, he could read the man’s thoughts, so he couldn’t take the kiss as purely tender.

[Fuck. So pretty. I bet it’d be insane if I fucked him.]

[Wanna shove my cock in…… He’d freak out if I bent him over the floor right now. That’d be cute……]

Each time he blinked, those blurry thoughts leaked through his vision. The kiss itself was truly dreamy, and as the man touched him, the mist-like guiding brushed his skin and turned his mind into mush—everything felt hazy.

Not only did the man’s thoughts come through as if he were speaking them aloud through locked gazes, but the images he conjured up unfolded before Jaeha’s eyes like a movie. It was incredibly disorienting to see himself from a third-person perspective.

In the man’s imagination, Jaeha was bent over the bar table, eyes shimmering with tears, turning his head toward the man. And his pants were pulled down—no, worse, something was, uh, something was between his butt cheeks…….

“Gasp…….”

Shit.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe and opened his lips against the kiss to catch his breath, then shut his eyes tightly. The man’s hand wrapped around the back of his neck.

The man tilted his head slightly and poked his tongue out, licking Jaeha’s lower lip teasingly. The split skin stung. His tongue slowly slid into the parted mouth. Though his movements were gentle, the pain from the torn skin was unbearable.

Mixed with blood, the bittersweet taste of Sex on the Beach lingered. It was a familiar flavor from all his cocktail practice, but the way he tasted it now was so unfamiliar that his brows furrowed.

“Why are you so scared?”

The man seemed to notice right away how tense Jaeha’s body had become. He smiled and caressed Jaeha’s cheek with his thumb as if to soothe him. Jaeha fluttered his tightly shut eyes open.

“Does it hurt?”

His voice, at least, was truly gentle. Right—he had never been impolite or unkind. Jaeha was just scared on his own.

Their lips were close enough to brush. When the man leaned his forehead against Jaeha’s slightly feverish one, their hair tangled and brushed together. The warmth of his soft skin brushing against Jaeha’s made him feel ticklish. His gentle breath was fully felt—it felt strange.

“It’s just, uh… it’s my first kiss……. I think I got nervous.”

“…….”

The guiding worked even better than when the boss did it. Lately, this was the best his body had felt. Forget his days as a regular human—it was like he had eaten something delicious and then slept deeply. He felt like he could do anything, filled with energy and desire. The feeling made him laugh bashfully. Then the man’s fingers, which had been stroking his cheek, suddenly stopped. The smooth, supple sensation of the leather glove had tickled him into laughter.

“Is this your first time?”

“Ah, yes……”

Maybe he didn’t like inexperienced people? The fatigue that had been making him drowsy suddenly lifted.

Jaeha hesitated and gently grasped the man’s wrist. Whoa, I can actually feel the texture. He was briefly amazed, but quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

“I, uh, I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner……”

Before he could even finish saying sorry, their eyes met.

The deep black of the man’s eyes shimmered,

[Ah……]

Even without reading further, the satisfaction in them was clear.

[Almost came.]

“If I had known it was your first time, I would’ve done even better.”

“…….”

Jaeha had to work really hard not to let his eyes drift down toward the man’s… waistband. It felt like he’d peeked into someone’s diary without permission. He was mortified.

He’d been dazed during the kiss, but now that it was over, his face was burning red. He could feel the heat rushing up like he had a fever. Even without a mirror, he knew he looked like a tomato.

Realizing how red he was, he quickly shut his mouth and lowered his head. The man’s silence made the embarrassment all the more intense and painful.

Thankfully, though, he didn’t scold Jaeha for saying such a thoughtless thing right after agreeing to the physical contact. ……No, wasn’t it his fault to begin with? He was the one thinking those lewd thoughts…….

“I’m not that much of a bastard.”

“…….”

After putting on the suit jacket that had been hanging on the chair, the man leaned down a little. When Jaeha peeked up, the man kissed the swollen area near his eye. Smack—a loud and embarrassing sound.

“I’ll come again next time.”

“……Okay.”

“We can do it then.”

“…….”

He whispered kindly, but Jaeha was too embarrassed to respond. He just fiddled with his hands and nodded once.

Still, he didn’t forget to see the man off.

Jaeha watched the man’s back as he walked away. He was the witness and the proof of Jaeha’s first act of rebellion. Whether that man would turn out to be the greatest blessing of his life, or its biggest trap—or maybe both… Jaeha still couldn’t tell.

That man had been the first and last customer of that night.

“Yes, I received Jaeha.”

–How was he?

“Cute.”

Aiden walked down the winter street, laughing. It was a bright and clear laugh that didn’t suit the dark alley at all. The person on the phone clicked their tongue lightly.

–Forget that. We need to find the connection to Baek Beomwoo. Things are getting suspicious on his end……

“Yeah, sure.”

He rolled his eyes. Despite his innocent-looking face, he wore a distinctly indifferent expression.

–Did he seem related?

“It’d be weirder if he wasn’t.”

–Really?

“Exactly Beomwoo’s type. He likes ‘em young, even if he doesn’t look like it.”

Aiden chuckled. He was remembering the way that man had screamed ‘It’s my first time’ with his whole body.

The cold wind ruffled his hair lightly. Despite his light clothing, he showed no reaction to the chill. The bar he had just left was tucked deep into the alleys, so there wasn’t a soul in the pitch-black street.

–Did ‘that’ work?

“He definitely couldn’t read me.”

–Then I’ll tell the Registered Esper to apply the blocker regularly. Ahem. But about that Registered Esper……

When the Esper who had helped by drawing a clear line between thought and subconscious—so only select things could be read by telepaths—was mentioned, Aiden’s face twisted slightly for the first time. Clear annoyance and disgust seeped into his expression.

His footsteps echoed against the ground. But it wasn’t just one set of footsteps—it was two. In the deserted street, he raised his head to check the unexpected presence and swallowed down a sigh of irritation.