TGIC Ch 63

Chapter 63

“Then why were you avoiding me?”

“…Because I’m just an ordinary C-rank Guide, and you’re an S-rank Esper, Vasily. It’s only natural.”

“You avoided me for that reason?”

Vasily asked again, as if he couldn’t understand. He seemed to have more difficulty accepting the fact that I was uncomfortable around him than the reason I had implanted the suppression chip.

Well, from his perspective, he had gone out of his way to speak politely—something he didn’t usually do—pretending to be friendly while approaching me, only to be met with wariness and defensiveness. It probably didn’t make sense to him.

Just then, the guiding session, which had lasted about an hour, came to an end.

As I felt the area around the suppression chip begin to throb, I instinctively reached into my pocket to take out the medicine. But the moment I held the packet in my hand, it was suddenly gone. Turning my head, I saw Vasily already examining the medicine he had snatched away.

“Esper Vasily?”

“What?”

“…Please return that medicine. I told you I get headaches after guiding.”

Trying not to let my irritation show, I spoke as calmly as possible despite the pounding in my head.

Still, Vasily only stared idly at the medicine. With no sign of returning it, I reached toward the packet in his hand. But he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his chest. I tried to pull away after colliding with his firm body, but his hand moved to the back of my neck and held me there.

His cool fingers brushed against the hot skin that had flared up.

“Have you ever endured it without taking the medicine?”

“…No, I haven’t.”

“Then try holding out this time.”

My face twisted at the absurd suggestion.

“The suppression chip won’t cool down until I take the medicine. Are you telling me to just wait around while my brain cooks?”

“I’ll help with that. If I can cool it down faster than the chip heats up, doesn’t that solve the problem?”

Vasily answered seriously as he gently touched the back of my neck. It was clear he had no intention of returning the medicine.

Clenching my teeth to suppress the anger boiling inside me, I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Don’t pull this crap. Give me back the medicine.”

“No.”

Vasily answered instantly.

“Now that I finally have a Guide, do you think I’m just going to let you depend on some sketchy drug?”

“Give. It. Back!”

“If it gets really bad, I’ll return it then. But we can at least try, can’t we?”

Just as I was about to shout, Vasily gripped the back of my neck. His hand, colder than usual, settled on my skin.

“Ugh!”

Startled, I flinched and froze up, but Vasily spoke.

“Don’t tense up. I’m not freezing you. I’m only channeling my ability into my hand.”

He whispered softly, as if to reassure me.

His fingers, as cold as ice, pressed gently against the back of my neck. The suppression chip, reacting to the chill, grew hotter in resistance. With the icy energy and heat clashing inside my body, my head spun.

The world whirled before my eyes. As I lost my balance and staggered, Vasily, still holding my wrist, let go. But instead of pushing him away, all I could manage was to grip his collar and barely stay upright.

Vasily supported me with one arm around my waist while his other hand remained on the back of my neck. In his gaze as he looked down at me struggling to breathe, I could see a flicker of satisfaction.

“Shit…”

In the end, I was the only one suffering, while to Vasily, this was just an extension of the guiding session.

The bigger problem was that Vasily had been right. His ability was indeed cooling the suppression chip faster than it could overheat. I could feel the searing skin gradually returning to normal temperature.

But the headache was a separate issue. My vision was spinning. At this rate, I’d collapse before the chip even fully cooled.

“E-Esper Vasily. This won’t do. Please… return the medicine.”

“Hmm… The chip’s cooling nicely, though.”

He murmured leisurely, then, seeing how I was about to pass out, gave a slight nod.

“Well, I guess we have no choice. Here, take it.”

As soon as I got the medicine back, I tore open the packet and swallowed it dry, not even bothering with water. Leaning on the sofa with my eyes closed, I waited for the medicine to kick in.

Thanks to Vasily cooling the chip beforehand, the calming effect came faster than usual. When I touched the area around the chip, I felt that the skin was cool.

“Haah…”

“Feeling better now?”

“It would’ve been fine if I’d just taken the medicine on time.”

I added shortly, unable to hide my displeasure.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

I was sick of being toyed with by his hands. When I made my discomfort clear, Vasily smiled faintly and looked down at me in silence. Meeting those silver-gray eyes that stared at me emotionlessly, I clenched my teeth.

As soon as I returned home, I moved my belongings into the room where I had changed earlier in the day. From today on, regardless of what Vasily said, I planned to use this room as my own.

As night fell, I pulled the blanket over myself and lay down on the bed. I realized once again how much more comfortable a mattress was compared to a sofa and quickly fell asleep.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I sensed someone near me. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head to see Vasily standing by the bed. Startled, I forced myself to stay calm and asked,

“What’s going on?”

“There’s a call. A gate has opened right in the middle of the road at Gwanghwamun.”

Ah, another gate… No wonder he was dressed in outdoor clothes so early in the morning.

Of all times, it had to be a call at dawn. Just hearing that made me lose all desire to go. At least Gwanghwamun was relatively nearby, so I considered it a small blessing as I began to sit up—until a sudden realization struck me.

‘Wait, do I even need to go?’

Before the regression, I had to accompany Vasily to every gate because he forced me to go with him. But this time was different. I wasn’t entering the gate, so there was no reason for me to follow him to the site.

I lay back down again.

“Well, have a safe trip. I’ll keep sleeping.”

“Weren’t you just about to get up?”

“You imagined that. Hurry and go.”

Waving lazily from under the blanket, I tried to dismiss him, but Vasily didn’t budge and continued looking down at me. Regardless, I turned my back to him and closed my eyes.

“What if you run away again while I’m gone?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be right here until you return.”

“That’s no good.”

“W-Wait…! What are you doing?!”

Before I could finish my protest, Vasily lifted me up along with the blanket, bundling me tightly and cradling me in his arms.

“Alright! I’ll get ready right away, so please put me down!”

“Too late.”

“No! At least let me change clothes before we go!”

“There’s no time. We have to leave right now.”

In the end, I was carried out of the house, wrapped like a roll of gimbap in the blanket. I struggled desperately, but there was only so much I could do when swaddled. No matter how hard I fought, Vasily never let go.

He passed through the front door and headed for the elevator. This lunatic seriously intended to take me to the gate in this state.

He laid me in the passenger seat, still wrapped in the blanket, fastened my seatbelt over it, and closed the door.

This was my chance. I tried to wriggle out of the blanket, but the seatbelt made it difficult. I had barely managed to get one arm free when Vasily got into the driver’s seat, and by the time I had regained partial movement, the car was already moving.

“……”

Staring up at the dark sky in resignation, I asked him,

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I can head to the gate with peace of mind.”

“Sigh…”

Before long, we arrived at Gwanghwamun.

Beyond the restricted access line, a large sinkhole was visible in the middle of the road. It wasn’t hard to guess that the gate’s entrance lay beneath it.

They must have called Vasily in a rush, fearing that if the gate wasn’t cleared before the morning rush hour, the chaos and danger in the area would worsen.

“Wait in the car for a bit. I’ll wrap it up quickly and be back.”

With that, Vasily got out of the car.

I stayed behind in the passenger seat. Since I’d been dragged out against my will, I wasn’t even wearing shoes, and wandering around in pajamas near the scene wouldn’t look good either.

Yawning widely, I watched Vasily walk toward the gate. It was the middle of the night—normally I’d still be asleep—so fatigue was hitting hard.

I tried to recline the seat and get some shut-eye, but it was too uncomfortable to actually fall asleep. I had left my phone on the bed… How was I supposed to kill time until Vasily came back?

As I stared blankly out the window, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

Maybe I should start organizing the events that are coming.

If I had remained a temporary Guide, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in dangerous situations. But now that I was with Vasily, there was a high chance I’d experience the same events I had before. I needed to prepare in advance. And if I could prevent tragedies from happening again, like last time, that would be even better.