TGIC Ch 25

Chapter 25

As soon as I was free, I secretly swallowed a pill and inwardly wiped my tears. That made ten in total. Even though I’d held out and tried to use them sparingly, it was still like this. I had spent a million won’s worth of pills just to soothe Vasily’s mood.

Rising from the bed, I spoke to Vasily, who was surveying the wrecked house.

“I’ll be heading back now.”

“Already?”

Already? It’s been twelve hours since you fell asleep, you bastard.

I barely managed to keep a straight face as I looked at Vasily, who glanced back at me with the shameless air of a thug.

“I’m exhausted from all the guiding. And it’s late, so I should head back and get some rest too. Ha ha…”

“Hmm… I doubt the elevator is working. Can you make it all the way down to the first floor?”

“Well… since I climbed all the way up, going down shouldn’t be a problem…”

“Should I help you?”

“…?”

What is he thinking? The moment I saw the smile on Vasily’s face, a bad feeling swept over me.

“Ah, no. That’s quite alright.”

“The stairs will take a while, though.”

“No, really. I’m fine.”

“Don’t be like that, I’ll help you.”

Despite my frantic refusal and frantic waving of my hands, Vasily firmly grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the window.

Crash!

With a single kick from Vasily, the large glass pane shattered in an instant. We were high up, and the fierce wind slammed against my face. As the warm air entered my lungs, it felt like my frozen body was finally thawing. But then…

“W-What are you going to do after breaking the window…?”

He’s not planning to throw me out, is he?

Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case. Vasily used his powers to form a circular ice tunnel. It stretched downward—a long slide, it seemed…

No way. He can’t mean what I think he means, right?

I hesitated and took a step back.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“It’ll be fun.”

“No, not really…”

“How would you know if you haven’t tried it?”

Vasily grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. I lost my balance and tripped—and, of all places, landed right on top of the slide.

Desperately, I clung to the hem of Vasily’s pants.

“W-Wait! I apologize!”

“Hm? For what?”

“If you’re doing this because you’re still upset…!”

“That’s not it at all.”

The hell it isn’t!

I tried to get up in a panic, but his hand came down on my shoulder.

Firmly.

A steady pressure pushed me backward.

“Then I’ll see you at the bottom, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

“Aaaaah!”

Vasily’s figure, bidding me farewell at the entrance of the slide, receded rapidly. The last thing I saw was his face, lit up with an amused smile. It was that bright expression I’d occasionally seen after returning to the past. But the only thing spilling from my mouth now was profanity.

“Damn it! Why is this so fast…?!”

Because it was made of ice, there was no friction whatsoever, and the speed was absolutely insane.

I flailed desperately to survive. I tried to stop myself, tried to slow down, but it was so slippery and steep that I had no control at all.

To make things worse, I’d started sliding face-up, meaning I was going down backwards.

Fortunately, after struggling a bit, I managed to get my legs pointed downward—but it seemed to only speed me up, and I was filled with instant regret. This thing was basically a roller coaster with no safety bar.

The speed was so intense I could barely breathe. With a pale face, I waited for the exit to appear—but a sense of foreboding struck me.

Wait a minute… At this speed, the moment I hit the ground I won’t land—I’ll splatter.

Gripped by the fear of death, I tried even harder to stop myself. But the speed didn’t drop in the slightest, as if mocking my efforts.

“Vasily, you son of a bitch!”

I screamed and cursed with all my might. Judging by the endless curves, I was apparently spiraling around the building as I fell.

Whoosh—

At that moment, my body was launched into the air. The hellish slide had finally come to an end.

‘I’m going to die now.’

I squeezed my eyes shut—only to find myself landing in someone’s firm embrace. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling the strong arms that held me tight enough to make my body ache.

“…Esper Vasily.”

It seemed Vasily had arrived before me and caught me. The moment I saw his face, curses welled up, but I held my tongue, afraid my heart would burst out of my chest if I opened my mouth.

“Was it fun?”

“Would you find that fun?”

No, it was terrifying.

“You must’ve enjoyed it a lot. Maybe I should’ve ridden it down with you.”

“Ha… Never mind. Just put me down.”

As soon as my feet touched the ground, my legs started trembling like crazy.

At least Vasily looked completely satisfied now. That whole ordeal was probably a trivial… act of revenge.

“I’ll be going now.”

After straightening my disheveled clothes, I gave Vasily a quick farewell. I dragged my exhausted legs toward the street to catch a taxi, but Vasily stopped me.

“Leaving already?”

“Yes.”

“Can I come with you? As you can see, my house is a flood zone.”

“….”

This guy seriously wants to barge into my place now. But that could never be allowed to happen. I could not let Vasily into my only sanctuary.

“I know you’ve got other places besides this one.”

“Oh no, how did you know?”

Vasily pouted in disappointment at my calm refusal. As if. After living together for six years, did he really think I wouldn’t know at least that much?

I shook him off and got into the taxi alone. Outside, Vasily gave me a pitiful look, but I ignored him and gave the driver my home address.

“Sigh…”

I leaned back into the seat, watching as the high-rise where Vasily lived receded into the distance. The moment I got home, I’d take a hot shower and go straight to bed. Judging by the time, it’d soon be morning, and I probably wouldn’t get much sleep before I had to prepare for work…

Bang!

I’d barely closed my eyes when a loud crash rang out behind us. The taxi came to a sudden stop, and my body lurched forward.

“W-What was that?”

The rumbling continued. Both the driver and I turned around in shock—and saw the sixty-story hellslide collapsing.

From a distance, its scale was even more staggering. It looked like a giant dragon had coiled itself around the building. So I actually rode that thing down…?

Ugh… That’s another nightmare added to the list starting today…

I caught a cold.

Honestly, it would’ve been strange if I didn’t get sick, after spending half the day in a house full of ice. And to make matters worse, there were more clients than usual today. In other words, I’d been guiding nonstop.

But at last, the end of the workday was approaching. Just one more client to guide and a report to write, and I’d be free to go.

Feeling a dull ache building in my head, I quietly retrieved some medicine from the break room.

It was a thick, unsettling red pill the size of a fingertip. Because of its size, my throat still stung every time I took one. I grimaced as I swallowed down the bitter aftertaste rising from my gut—when suddenly, Vasily appeared behind me and peeked over my shoulder.

“Are you sick?”

“Gah!”

Startled by Vasily’s face, which appeared without a sound, I recoiled away from him in a panic.

“Why would you just pop up like that? You scared the life out of me!”

“I’ve been standing behind you for a while. You just didn’t notice, Guide-nim.”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry for my bad hearing.”

Did he think everyone was an Esper like him? Forget it. Arguing would just wear me out.

“What’s that medicine?”

Oh, right. I’d forgotten I’d been caught taking it. I glanced nervously at Vasily. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to know what kind of pill it was…

“It’s cold medicine. I think I’ve had a cold since yesterday…”

“Hmm… I see?”

Vasily stepped closer and stared directly at me. What now…? Did he figure out that it was the kind of pill used with illegal suppression chips?

I gulped nervously—and suddenly, Vasily pressed his forehead to mine.

“Yep, your forehead’s hot.”

“W-Who checks for a fever like this?!”

“What, that’s not it? That’s how they do it in Korean dramas.”

I rubbed my face, trying to calm my embarrassment. Well, it was probably too much to expect normal behavior from Vasily, who had never formed proper human relationships. It was impossible to expect common sense from someone who had likely never experienced even minor illnesses.

“Are you very sick? Your face is red.”

As Vasily leaned in again, I pushed him back and shook my head.

“I’ve taken medicine, so I’ll be fine soon. More importantly, what brings you here? As you can see, I’m not in good shape, so I don’t think I can guide you right now.”

“Hmm… I did come here to request guiding… but seeing your condition, I guess that’s not possible.”

“I’m relieved you understand.”

I tried to turn him away after refusing the guiding, but Vasily suddenly placed his hand on my forehead. Ah… it’s cool. My eyes closed before I knew it. Vasily’s cold hand seemed to soothe the heat rising from my brow.