TGIC Ch 35

Chapter 35

“Esper Vasily, I’m sorry, but I’ll guide you another time. I’ve already contacted the Association and requested a guide with a high compatibility rate for you…”

“A guide? What’s the point of something so useless…”

Vasily muttered with a twisted expression. Useless? I had gone out of my way to make the request as a courtesy, but seeing him react like that left me feeling more than a little displeased.

“Come with me, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

“I’m not going.”

“…What?”

“It would be better for you to receive guiding from someone with a higher compatibility rate. If you want me to guide you, I can do it later anytime…”

“Stop spouting nonsense and come with me.”

Vasily cut off my words and gave another command. His expression had turned cold and sharp.

Why was he being so unreasonable? He had to know that receiving guiding from someone more compatible was the logical choice.

I ignored Vasily and bent down again to continue guiding the Esper. But he once again pulled me to my feet.

“Ugh! Vasily!”

“What’s the point of guiding someone like that? They’re useless, not the least bit helpful. You’re saying you won’t guide me because of trash like this?”

…His eyes had clearly turned wild.

What he said wasn’t entirely wrong. Most of the monsters inside the gate had probably been handled by Vasily, with the rest simply cleaning up afterward. Still…

Looking around, it was clear there weren’t nearly enough guides compared to the number of injured Espers. Some were in dangerous condition—if I left now…

“If I step away now, there will definitely be casualties.”

“So what? If anyone complains about Guide Kwon Gidam, I’ll kill them myself. So don’t worry and just come with me.”

“…”

He wasn’t even making the minimum effort to feign politeness. It was obvious he wasn’t in his right mind because of his deteriorated condition. At this rate, it would be safer to get him away from everyone else.

Just then, I spotted Jo Wooyeon getting up after finishing emergency care on another Esper. As Vasily dragged me away, I quickly shouted to him.

“Guide Jo Wooyeon! Could you please take care of this Esper for a moment?”

“Yes!”

Seeing Jo Wooyeon approach and resume the guiding gave me peace of mind. I just hoped the Esper would be okay. The faint breathing still worried me, and I found myself glancing back repeatedly, reluctant to walk away.

Vasily shoved me into the passenger seat and got into the driver’s side. The moment he grabbed the steering wheel, a sense of unease washed over me.

Everywhere Vasily touched was frosting over with ice. Wasn’t this going to lead to an accident?

With growing anxiety, we drove through the dark roads and finally arrived at the Association.

Vasily stepped out of the car first. I unbuckled my seatbelt and glanced at the wheel. The sleek black surface was completely covered in ice. If we had arrived any later, the steering might have locked up, and we could’ve crashed.

If I didn’t want to end up like that, I’d have to be extra careful not to let him touch me during guiding.

Dragged in without even removing my gear, I immediately shrugged off my heavy vest upon entering the private room. Thud—my combat gear hit the floor just as Vasily pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Ugh! Esper Vasily!”

If he touches me now…!

Startled, I shoved him away. One touch from Vasily right now, and I’d end up like that frozen steering wheel.

Still, he refused to let go, arms wrapped tightly around me. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the pain that was surely about to follow. But… nothing happened.

There was no sensation of my skin freezing. Cautiously, I opened my eyes and saw that my body was fine despite being pressed against him. It seemed Vasily was barely managing to restrain his power.

“Ha…”

“Haa…”

We exhaled simultaneously. My sigh was one of relieved release from tension, but Vasily’s was deep and heavy, tinged with satisfaction. I glanced at him warily, puzzled, and asked,

“Esper Vasily, have you not received any guiding all this time?”

“I haven’t.”

I frowned at his response. He could’ve gotten guiding anytime from someone with a better match than me by requesting it through the Association, so why…?

I’d also been avoiding Vasily lately and had declined assigned guiding, assuming he’d received it from someone else in the meantime. But this—this was unexpected.

Naturally, if he didn’t get guiding, his condition would deteriorate. He had brought this upon himself, yet I couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling stirring inside me.

It couldn’t be helped. Deciding to overlook the fact that Vasily had buried his face in my neck, I let my body relax. But the cold breath brushing against my skin sent a chill down my spine.

As I squirmed from the ticklish sensation, Vasily must have thought I was trying to escape, because he tightened his hold on me even more. Ugh… When I groaned, he eased the pressure around my waist a little, but it still wasn’t enough to let me move freely.

“Esper Vasily, at the very least, let’s sit dow—agh!”

Before I could finish my sentence, I was lifted into the air. My body wobbled unsteadily, and in a panic, I grabbed his shoulders for balance.

Vasily strode forward and soon set me down. The soft surface against my back suggested it was a sofa.

But before I could sit up properly, his large frame came down on top of me. Pinned beneath Vasily, I stared at the ceiling over his shoulder and asked,

“Esper Vasily, are you all right?”

Because of our low compatibility, I couldn’t accurately gauge his condition, but I could tell from how cold his body was that he wasn’t doing well. I thought of the smartphone tucked into my vest and continued speaking.

“Wouldn’t it be better to receive guiding from another guide? There should be someone on standby at the Association. We can contact them now—”

“No need.”

Vasily flatly rejected my suggestion. Even in this situation, he was still being stubborn?

He must be out of his mind. Just a little more guiding, and he’d come to his senses and agree to be guided by someone more suitable. Believing that, I silently wrapped my arms around him and began guiding him as he lay on top of me.

It seemed Vasily had realized I wasn’t going to resist, because he gradually relaxed and began focusing on receiving the guiding.

His breathing sounded rougher than usual today.

“….”

Looking closely, his complexion wasn’t good. I found myself unconsciously brushing against the suppression chip.

If it weren’t for the suppression chip, Vasily wouldn’t have been pushed to this extent… Watching him struggle like this stirred a strange guilt in me.

Haa… I composed myself and spoke.

“Esper, are you asleep?”

“…No.”

“That’s good. Take off your clothes.”

Vasily’s body flinched. A moment later, he spoke in a troubled voice.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, we’re not at that stage yet…”

“What are you talking about? I’m saying this because guiding is more effective with skin-to-skin contact. Since our match rate is low, we need to do whatever we can.”

“…”

“Ah, just your upper body is fine.”

Vasily seemed to freeze for a moment, then slowly raised his upper body. The weight pinning me down disappeared, and I could finally breathe.

He removed his jacket and began undoing the buttons on his vest one by one. He loosened his tie and started unfastening his shirt as well.

Rustle, slide. The sound of fabric brushing against skin was oddly provocative. For some reason, it felt more embarrassing than usual today, even though I’d seen Vasily’s bare body countless times.

Piece by piece, his clothing fell to the floor. When his shirt was the last to drop, I found myself unable to lift my head.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, is this enough?”

Vasily called my name as if he had been waiting. I closed my eyes, took a short, deep breath, and removed my own top with feigned composure.

As the cool air touched my bare skin, I turned to face Vasily. His skin was pale as ice. His well-sculpted muscles looked almost indecent in their definition.

I instinctively averted my eyes. Vasily, perhaps growing impatient with the delay, reached out toward me, and I quickly stopped him.

“Please sit still.”

With those words, I climbed onto Vasily’s lap. As I looked at the faint confusion on his face, I quietly pressed our chests together and embraced him. The sensation of cold skin against mine heightened my sensitivity.

“Guide Kwon Gidam?”

“Contact guiding is most effective when the areas closest to the heart are touching. It’s basic guiding knowledge.”

It was definitely true, but for some reason, it sounded like an excuse. Vasily must have thought the same, because a low chuckle escaped him.

It was my first time performing guiding in such a still, intimate way. Was contact guiding always this awkward and flustering? My ears felt hot, and I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his shoulder to avoid eye contact.

Through our pressed chests, I could feel Vasily’s heartbeat—deep and heavy, beating slowly. In contrast, my own heart was pounding like it was being chased.

Damn it, Vasily could probably feel it too… But this damned heart just wouldn’t calm down.