TGIC Ch 71

Chapter 71

Because it was too dark, I turned on the light next to the bed first. Only after the room lit up did my surroundings come into clear view.

“Why the light?”

“It’s too dark to see clearly. You just got stitched up—if I accidentally touch your abdomen, that would be a problem.”

“Hmm… well, that would be an issue in its own way.”

He chuckled as if amused, likely recalling what had happened at the Association, but I ignored him and glanced around the room.

Blackout curtains were drawn so tightly not even a sliver of moonlight could slip through. The windows must have been closed too—there wasn’t even the sound of wind. Vasily’s hair was still damp, as if he had just taken a shower.

It was clear he intended to fall asleep comfortably while receiving guiding. He had thoroughly prepared himself. If I had succumbed to the soft temptation of the blanket earlier and fallen asleep, I would’ve gotten an earful.

Ah, but this bed is just as soft as the one in my room.

Dragging my exhausted body, I climbed onto the bed.

The warm sensation of the fluffy blanket against my body made me lie down without even realizing it. Just resting my head on the pillow for a moment almost knocked me out cold.

I managed to keep my eyes open, barely holding on, when Vasily peered down at me with just his face poking out from the blanket and asked curiously,

“Aren’t we going to start guiding?”

“…I’m just going to lie down for a moment—can’t you just take the guiding passively?”

Vasily looked down at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But seriously, I couldn’t get up even if I wanted to.

It wasn’t only Vasily who stayed up all night. I’d lost sleep too. My sleep-deprived body was on the verge of striking at any moment.

“Well, I guess I have no choice. I’ll let it slide just for today.”

With a soft sigh, Vasily wrapped his arms around me from behind.

His cold, firm body pressed against my back. The blanket, cooled to a comfortable temperature by the chill radiating from him, felt like heaven itself.

At that moment, I stopped caring how the guiding would proceed. I simply wanted to sleep. Closing my eyes, I exhaled deeply.

Just as I was about to drift off, Vasily spoke.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, you said we didn’t have any trust between us.”

I wondered what he was suddenly talking about… then realized.

It was something I’d said to him yesterday. Now that I thought about it, I had been angry at his behavior and said that to him.

After deliberately damaging himself just to receive guiding, he shamelessly declared he would head to the Gate again. Thinking of how he said that brought down my mood.

I didn’t regret what I’d said—it was the truth, after all. So, I quietly affirmed him without opening my eyes.

“Well, I wasn’t wrong, was I?”

“That’s exactly why I want to try building the trust you talked about.”

At his words, I frowned. What on earth was he planning now to be saying something like that? A bad feeling surged through me, and I abruptly sat up, warning him as I looked at him lying beside me.

“Don’t try anything—”

“See? I just said I wanted to build trust, and you’re already suspicious. How are we supposed to get along like this?”

“……”

Vasily interrupted me and continued on with perfect composure. I had no response and closed my mouth.

“There’s no hidden meaning. I just want to make an effort so that Guide Kwon Gidam can try trusting me—even a little.”

“And what does Esper Vasily get out of that?”

“You.”

Vasily answered without a moment’s hesitation.

My reflection was clearly mirrored in his faintly smiling eyes.

The moment I saw that look, I realized everything he had just said was sincere. And yet, fully trusting Vasily wasn’t something I could do so easily. Part of me still suspected that even this behavior might be an act, so I couldn’t bring myself to believe him outright.

“If the only guide who can withstand my energy waves trusts me… then from my perspective, that’s more than worthwhile.”

“That’s…”

“And if we come to trust each other, we won’t even need something like a contract anymore.”

It wasn’t a wrong argument. Though I doubted that day would ever come.

“…Well then, try your best.”

Saying that, I lay back down beside Vasily.

Maybe because I had briefly lost my temper, the fatigue weighed on me even more heavily. If I fell asleep now, I doubted I’d be able to wake up after guiding was done in an hour…

As I shut my eyes tightly and rubbed at my furrowed brow, Vasily asked,

“Guide Kwon Gidam. You look really tired—what do you think about increasing the guiding level to finish faster?”

It was such a transparent suggestion. He had barely just declared he wanted to build trust—was he already up to something? I gave a dry laugh and asked back,

“Is this also part of your trust-building plan?”

“I’m only suggesting it for your sake, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

So sly. But honestly, as he said, it would be far more reasonable to kiss him for a short while and then head back to my room to sleep, rather than lie here in contact for an hour.

Besides, I had already intended to do mucous membrane guiding back in the hospital room, so continuing it here instead…

Dragging my heavy body up, I looked over at Vasily. He lay there, still in the same position, waiting for me.

I reached for the lamp casting a soft light at my side—but withdrew my hand. Darkness meant nothing to an Esper. Turning the lights off would only make me more nervous in the dark.

“Then, I’ll begin the guiding.”

Instead of answering, Vasily simply curled his lips into a smile. I slowly leaned down toward Vasily, who was lying quietly on the bed.

At first, our lips touched lightly.

The sensation was cold and soft, unfamiliar. As I rubbed gently, adjusting to the coolness, I eventually took his closed lips between mine. Vasily parted them in response, deepening the kiss.

The faint sound of our lips brushing echoed softly. I could faintly feel the sensation of subtle energy waves flowing in with his cool breath.

“……”

Each time our lips lightly brushed, I could feel Vasily parting his lips, calmly waiting for my tongue. This time, it was my turn to meet that expectation—but after hesitating for quite a while, I eventually squeezed my eyes shut.

‘…I really can’t go as far as using my tongue.’

Having always conducted guiding under pressure, trying to initiate it voluntarily made my body freeze up. Though our lips were already touching, I thought it would be better to just revert to basic contact guiding.

I eventually decided to stop and pull away—but the moment our lips separated slightly, a large palm cupped the back of my head. In that instant, Vasily pulled me into a deeper kiss, and my lips were completely overtaken.

“Mm…!”

I quickly closed my mouth, but Vasily’s tongue swiftly slipped through the gap. His cold tongue grazed mine, found the soft flesh inside, and wrapped around it without hesitation.

Lips collided and tongues entwined. Even when I clenched my teeth, he ignored it and leisurely explored the inside of my mouth. A wet sound escaped my throat along with a stifled moan.

“Nngh… Vasi—!”

Just as I tried to push him away with force, his lips parted from mine. Sensing my opportunity, I quickly pulled away from him.

“…Is this your idea of building trust, Esper Vasily?”

“I got the feeling Guide Kwon Gidam was about to stop, and I acted without thinking.”

Vasily didn’t bother making an excuse. Since it was true that I’d tried to stop the guiding, I had nothing to say in return.

“I’ve done the guiding now, so I’ll be going.”

I wiped my lips with the back of my hand and moved to get off the bed, but Vasily caught me a little faster.

“Just stay until I fall asleep.”

“I gave you the mucous membrane guiding, as requested.”

“It was too short. And you tried to stop halfway. Stay just a little longer.”

Vasily wrapped his arms around my waist and fell silent. His firm grip suggested he had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

He likely hadn’t slept well recently due to insomnia. I remembered how he always fell asleep quickly whenever I guided him—so he’d surely doze off again soon.

I had only planned to lie next to him until he fell asleep, but the sound of his even breathing beside me gradually made my eyelids grow heavier too.

Unable to resist the drowsiness tugging at me—after not sleeping a wink last night—I ended up falling asleep right there in Vasily’s bed.