TGIC Ch 8

Chapter 8

Today was my first day back at work since being discharged from the hospital.

Thanks to Vasily’s unnecessary comment during the interview, I had become something of a celebrity, despite having only joined the organization recently. On my way to the office, a team leader from another department—someone whose face I barely recognized—struck up a conversation and wouldn’t let me go, leaving me drained from the start of the morning.

As soon as I sat down, I instinctively reached for coffee. Across from me, Jo Wooyeon peeked over the partition.

“Gidam, are you feeling okay? You’ve already taken the bandages off?”

“Yes, I’ve fully recovered.”

“You’re pretty sturdy… I feel like you should’ve awakened as an Esper instead of a Guide.”

“Exactly.”

I agreed with that sentiment. If I was going to enter Gates anyway, then at least as an Esper, I wouldn’t be getting dragged around by Vasily.

Though I hadn’t seen my coworker in a while, we couldn’t talk for long. It was a Monday, after all, and the flood of temporary guiding requests began right at 9 a.m.

No sooner had I returned to work than I was swept up in a whirlwind of activity. I didn’t even have time for bathroom breaks as I guided one Esper after another, and before I knew it, the entire morning had passed.

After finishing a one-hour temporary guiding session with a D-rank Esper—my last appointment before lunch—I was just about to head back to my desk when my supervisor called me from across the room.

“Gidam, someone’s requested a designated guiding session. Want to take a look?”

“A designated guiding?”

“Yeah, it’s when an Esper selects a specific temporary Guide. You’re allowed to decline, so if it seems like a weird one, don’t feel pressured to accept.”

“Ah… I’ll check it out.”

I tilted my head curiously as I returned to my seat. I hadn’t been a temporary Guide for long—why was I already getting a designated guiding request?

I booted up my computer and logged into the work system. A notification indicated that there was one designated guiding request. When I clicked it, a familiar face appeared on the screen.

“…Vasily.”

My mood plummeted instantly.

Even in a photo, his cold expression pierced through the screen. I had assumed he would’ve lost interest by now—clearly, I was mistaken. For him to go as far as requesting a designated session just to see me… I bit my lip hard.

Next to Vasily’s name, there was a reject button. I was sorely tempted to click it, but I held myself back. As a temporary Guide, I didn’t have the authority to refuse an S-rank Esper’s request. And even if I did reject it, Vasily would undoubtedly find some way to seek me out.

What’s more, if I obviously tried to avoid him, Vasily might find that suspicious and pursue me even more aggressively. Rather than risk provoking his curiosity, it was better to go along with his whims and let his interest fade naturally.

Click.

The soft sound of the mouse button marked my resignation, and my face darkened. Vasily’s name was automatically added to my schedule.

I recalled how he hadn’t visited me even once since the first day at the hospital and prayed fervently that he was simply too busy to come today as well.

But my hope was crushed spectacularly.

“It’s been a while, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

I had deliberately arrived thirty minutes late, yet there he was—Vasily—greeting me in the guiding room without the slightest hint of displeasure. My face faltered despite my efforts to maintain composure.

“Hello, Esper Vasily.”

I forced a smile as I greeted him, still unable to understand why he was here.

It was 1:30 p.m., a full thirty minutes past our scheduled time, but Vasily had waited patiently for me.

‘I thought he’d have left by now.’

Vasily was normally obsessive to the point of neurosis about punctuality. I had expected him to leave if I was late, offended by the delay. That plan—to make him leave on his own—had failed completely.

To think he waited thirty minutes for a mere C-rank Guide.

I sneaked a glance at Vasily to gauge his mood. He appeared to be smiling, but I still couldn’t read his expression or his thoughts.

“You’ve taken off the bandages. Are you all healed?”

“Yes. There’s a scar, but otherwise I’m fine.”

“Then I suppose we can do contact guiding today?”

He asked with a smile. The moment I heard his question, I instantly regretted nodding without thinking.

‘Contact guiding?’

The last time, it had only involved holding hands, which was tolerable. But this time, things were different. The thought of having to guide him in close physical contact—possibly even in an embrace—triggered a deep aversion within me.

It was as if my legs had frozen. Just the idea of approaching him made my body resist.

Still, I couldn’t back out now. Forcing my stiff limbs to move, I slowly approached and sat across from him.

At least we were in a guiding room—if something went wrong, I could count on the ceiling cameras to alert someone. Nervously, I glanced up toward the camera—only to see it encased in a lump of ice like a hanging icicle.

“W-Wait, why is the CCTV…?!”

“Oh, that? I don’t really like being watched.”

“You froze it?! You can’t just do that!”

“It’s fine. I got permission from the Association. See? No one’s coming.”

Just as he said, there was no sign of anyone rushing in. Normally, even a slight disruption to the CCTV feed during a guiding session would be treated as an emergency, prompting security to intervene—but everything was eerily quiet.

“Are you scared?”

“…”

“You’re trembling.”

Vasily asked softly. I was so tense I couldn’t speak. My heart pounded faster, and I could tell he noticed.

“I was just… a little startled.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything. I’m only here for guiding.”

I tried to sound calm, but my trembling voice betrayed me. Vasily offered a gentle smile, as if to reassure me—but his eyes weren’t smiling at all. My heart dropped.

I clenched my teeth, recalling how ruthlessly he used to take in guiding. I had no idea when this feigned kindness would give way to his true nature.

Perhaps because our matching rate had dropped, he hadn’t shown any signs of obsession yet—but I couldn’t shake the fear that it might change at any moment. That anxiety gnawed at a corner of my mind without pause.

The guiding room was small, containing only a chair, a small table, and a cot. There was nowhere to escape to. The security cameras were useless. The only thing I could rely on was the fact that the room’s soundproofing was very poor.

Guiding began under the suffocating tension.

“…Before we begin, I’ll go over the guidelines.”

Temporary guiding was a little different from regular guiding. Espers were strictly forbidden from initiating physical contact with the temporary Guide, and unnecessary touch was not allowed.

Many Espers complained that this rule was excessive, since contact was inevitable anyway—but it was a basic safety protocol meant to protect the Guide. Because no one could predict what a poorly guided Esper might do, the rule also allowed Guides to refuse service if anything felt off.

“You’re not allowed to touch me, and you can’t initiate any unnecessary physical contact either.”

“Even that’s not allowed? How strict.”

Vasily looked displeased but eventually nodded and waited obediently for me to make the first move.

Gulp.

I swallowed nervously and reached out with a trembling arm.

I could feel his gaze from above, pressing down on me. That pressure made my body freeze even more as I carefully placed my hand on his back.

The moment I touched his firm body, a familiar chill spread through me. Thanks to the suppression chip, it didn’t hurt like before. Instead, a cold sensation seeped into me, settling near my heart.

As I wrapped my arms around his back, his icy breath touched the nape of my neck. Goosebumps broke out, and I instinctively flinched. He felt like a massive wall—hard and merciless, threatening to crush me.

Even the slightest movement from him felt like a threat. I felt as though I might freeze solid at any moment with just a flick of his hand. Images of the people he had killed flashed through my mind one by one.

But he remained still.

Contrary to my expectations, Vasily quietly received the guiding without doing anything suspicious. I had prepared a full escape plan in case he acted out—but now, with him barely moving, I felt only confusion.

Did he really just come for the guiding?

Still, I couldn’t understand why he was insisting on receiving guidance from me. I focused all my senses, but the sensation of the guiding was faint. Vasily must have been aware of that too.

I recalled the information I’d looked up on Vasily before coming to the guiding room. He currently had no dedicated Guide.

Vasily’s resonance was as cruel as his personality. His sharp energy could freeze people instantly, and I’d often suffered from frostbite even in the summer.

That was probably why he had never been able to find a Guide who could withstand him. But he was an S-rank Esper—he should at least have had a backup Guide he could request when needed, even if the matching rate was low.