TGIC Ch 51

Chapter 51

“Gidam-ssi, I heard you worked out all day yesterday too?”

“Ah… yes. Somehow, it ended up that way…”

When I came to my senses, I realized I had unknowingly been training with the same intensity as when Vasily used to push me after work.

Yesterday, I kept working out at the Guiding Association’s gym even after work until an employee kicked me out, saying it was closing time. Someone must’ve seen that and told Jo Wooyeon. I felt a little embarrassed.

I really should start adapting to a normal life now.

But it’s not easy. Even though it’s been quite a while since I returned, my mind still hasn’t accepted the fact that I no longer need to enter gates.

While I was gathering the documents needed for guiding and getting ready, it had already become 9 a.m. I should probably head over to the guiding room now.

As I stood up, the office buzzed with murmurs. What’s going on? The atmosphere felt similar to when Vasily showed up, so I instinctively turned my head toward the entrance.

But what I saw wasn’t Vasily. The ones who entered and looked around the guiding room were… armed Espers from the association?

They looked ready to enter a gate at any moment. In that kind of getup, it was only natural that people were unsettled. It didn’t seem like they were here to receive guiding, so what on earth was going on? Did some dangerous Esper criminal escape or something…? One of them made eye contact with me.

Why does it feel like they’re coming this way?

A sense of foreboding crept over me.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, we’ll need you to come with us.”

A familiar line. Last time it was a kidnapping, and this time the problem was that they were actually from the association.

“Um, may I ask what this is about…?”

“We can’t explain here. It’s urgent, so we ask for your cooperation.”

“……”

I felt the urge to grab my neck and collapse. But I was far too healthy for that.

I figured staying here would only draw more attention, so I obediently followed them outside. The atmosphere suggested that if I refused, they would’ve dragged me out anyway.

As I walked alongside them, I thought:

It’s got to be because of Vasily, right?

I could more or less guess why they were looking for me. If they were calling for me, it was probably about guiding… but it didn’t feel like Vasily sent them. I knew him better than anyone. He wasn’t the type to send someone else to fetch me.

It seemed like the association had summoned me on their own, probably unaware that Vasily and I were completely done. But if I showed my face now, it would surely only worsen his mood.

“Just to clarify—if this is about guiding Esper Vasily, then we have a problem.”

“Sorry, but we’re only following orders to bring you in.”

“No, I mean, you need to inform your superiors first…”

Silence. It didn’t look like they intended to listen, no matter what I said. Well, they were just following orders too, I guess. Still, I had to try persuading them.

I let out a sigh and spoke.

“My compatibility rate with Esper Vasily is only four percent. Even if I try guiding him, it won’t be very effective. And a few days ago, we had a serious conflict. If he sees me now, it’ll only make him more upset.”

“……”

“Then at least share the situation with me. Is it serious?”

Changing the question finally got them to respond.

“There are currently no available guides nearby. We need someone who can calm Esper Vasily until another guide arrives… and you’re the only one who can be around him for extended periods without issue. That’s why we were ordered to bring you.”

No available guides nearby? Just how many guides had collapsed while trying to guide him for them to say that?

“We’ve arrived. Please step out.”

After all that, we had only driven to the Esper Association building right next door. Honestly, we could’ve just walked here, but I appreciated the courtesy. If I had been escorted out by Espers on foot, the flood of attention might’ve exhausted me before I even met Vasily.

Oh, whatever. Figuring they wouldn’t listen anyway, I just got out of the car. Cleanup wasn’t my job anyway. After they experienced Vasily’s killing intent for themselves, the association people would surely never summon me again.

I was relieved this happened before I transferred to a regional branch. If this had occurred after I moved, strange rumors might’ve spread, and that would’ve caused all sorts of trouble.

I followed them without resistance. At first, I thought we were heading to Vasily’s private room. But when we passed the functioning elevator, I immediately sensed something was off.

We moved into a corner of the building, and then a hidden elevator appeared.

I froze.

I had never been on it, but I’d heard about it often back when I was Vasily’s guide. This was… the elevator that led underground to the association’s surveillance zone for Espers on the verge of going berserk.

I frowned and asked,

“Is Esper Vasily currently on the verge of going berserk?”

“Not quite, but it’s close.”

Of course. If Vasily had truly lost control, the entire area would’ve frozen over and an emergency alert would’ve been declared by now!

Only then did I grasp how serious the situation was. My face turned pale. Just what had Vasily done to end up like this? And how many guides had collapsed trying to guide him? The thought alone made me dizzy.

Wow, in the worst-case scenario… I might have to remove the suppressant chip?

My hands started trembling. I might soon have to weigh the lives of tens or hundreds of thousands of Seoul citizens against my own. I thought things were over between me and Vasily, and yet here we were—entangled again.

It seriously feels like the world is lying to me. There’s no way something like this would happen at this time otherwise.

The elevator, which went straight to the bottom level, moved so fast my ears popped. I hadn’t even finished mentally preparing when the doors opened.

Why does it already feel cold…? It was my first time at the lowest level of the association, so I looked around as I stepped out of the elevator. Vasily was still farther in, not yet in sight.

I felt a bit relieved. But I had to brace myself again soon.

“Guide, please put this on.”

One of the Espers who brought me handed me something. I instinctively took it, and the heavy weight made my arm falter for a moment. Looking down, I saw it was a combat suit for Espers.

…The situation must be serious if I need to wear this.

“Do I really have to wear it?”

“It’s a minimum safety measure.”

“Sigh…”

Without complaint, I quietly changed into it. The familiar discomfort and weight of the suit enveloped me.

Still as damn uncomfortable to wear as ever.

As I grumbled internally and put on the combat suit, the Espers beside me looked at me with curiosity. Ah, I realized it late. The method for putting on an Esper’s combat suit was complicated, and for a mere guide like me to suit up so smoothly must’ve seemed odd to them.

I considered fumbling with it now, but the situation was urgent, and pretending at this point would be more suspicious. So I finished putting it on.

Once I was fully geared up, they handed me cold-weather equipment used for gates. I silently wrapped it around myself.

“Then, let’s move.”

I moved deeper in with the Espers. A thick metal door opened, and what looked like a freezer room unfolded before my eyes.

This must’ve originally been a normal isolation chamber.

Now it was a frozen warehouse, covered in ice on all sides. The walls and floor had already been overtaken by frost, and even the air looked like it was about to freeze.

Still, I expected Vasily to kick me out the moment the door opened, but surprisingly, it was quiet. Feeling something was off, I looked around and saw Vasily lying on a bed placed in the center.

“He’s asleep?”

“He was administered a sedative an hour ago and lost consciousness.”

…So he wasn’t asleep—he lost consciousness?

…I wasn’t sure whether that was a relief or not. If Vasily had been awake, just seeing my face would’ve soured his mood and made it impossible to even approach him.

I came expecting to be kicked out, but now I was stuck having to perform the guiding. If he truly began to lose control during the process, then I might actually have to use the suppressant chip…

I shook my head vigorously. It wasn’t time to think that far ahead yet.

“Then I’ll go in—”

“……”

“Guide-nim?”

One of the Espers tried to guide me farther in, but my legs wouldn’t move.

This situation… the scenery reminded me of when I died inside a gate. Ice everywhere, and Vasily just a few steps away. If I went in now, I felt like my senses would gradually fade until I froze to death, just like back then.

At that moment, warmth surged beside me. Turning my head, I saw a barrier of fire enveloping the surroundings.

A fire-type Esper, huh. Thanks to that, my body warmed, and my frozen muscles began to move again.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Let’s go in.”