TGIC Ch 80

Chapter 80

 

The image of him quietly moving his hands to avoid the sunlight that had settled on their backs came to mind. I had long known, during the six years we spent together, that Vasily disliked sunlight.

“…Is that because of your ability?”

“Who knows? I’ve been like this ever since I awakened, so probably.”

Come to think of it, this was the first time Vasily had ever spoken about himself. Despite having spent six years together, I had never once heard any personal details about him.

Right now, for some reason, it felt like he would answer whatever I asked.

“When did you awaken, Esper Vasily?”

“When I was nine, I think. It’s been so long I can’t remember the exact time.”

Vasily’s childhood… I couldn’t picture it at all. That Vasily had once been small and cute? Hard to imagine.

“So you did have a childhood, Esper Vasily.”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you a picture later.”

Though I’d said it sincerely, Vasily only let out a quiet laugh in response.

I tried and failed to imagine his younger days; it seemed more likely he had been born from shattered ice, looking exactly as he did now.

Still, if there were pictures, that meant someone had taken them—probably his family. I realized I had never heard anything about them, so I asked,

“Is your family abroad?”

“Yes. They run a business in the United States.”

Vasily went on to explain about their business. He even mentioned the company’s name, which was so famous that anyone would recognize it; stunned, I asked,

“Then why become an esper…? Wouldn’t it be better to join the business?”

“I became an esper to find a guide.”

Right—Vasily hadn’t found a guide overseas, so he came to Korea. He had to periodically release the cold energy building up inside him, so becoming an esper had been his only choice.

Besides, the job suited him perfectly. I couldn’t picture him doing anything else. True, he’d probably make a good model or actor, but I suspected he’d be instantly ruined by personality scandals. I ended the thought there.

Though the rain made the air damp, an oddly peaceful and soft atmosphere lingered. Hard to believe this was the same person I hadn’t seen all weekend. In that relaxed mood, we arrived at the Association.

Returning to our private office after a week, we were greeted by a mountain of documents piled high on the desk.

“What’s all that?”

I asked Vasily, who was leafing through the papers. After flipping a few sheets, he answered blandly,

“Requests for cooperation.”

“All of them?”

I stared at the stack in disbelief. It seemed work had piled up during the week I’d taken off.

I closed my mouth and turned away from the heap of papers. In the past, I would’ve checked each document carefully to plan the schedule—but not anymore. None of this concerned me now. All of it was Vasily’s responsibility to review and decide.

His duties were diverse—gate raids, capturing monsters for research, attending internal and external events, overseas missions.

As I didn’t recall going abroad around this time, there wasn’t much I needed to care about. Losing interest quickly, I collapsed onto the sofa in comfort.

I was trying to sort out my tangled thoughts from this morning’s dream when, suddenly, the sofa dipped beside me. Then Vasily’s head landed on my lap.

I frowned as strands of bright silver hair spilled across my thighs.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Resting.”

“And why are you resting on my lap?”

“My head hurts. I need guiding.”

I scowled down at him as he shut his eyes in perfect ease. Asking for guiding when he hadn’t even gone on a gate mission?

I was staring at him incredulously when I noticed his complexion wasn’t good.

“Did you not sleep again?”

No wonder he looked drained. He must have spent the weekend sleepless. I hadn’t realized because he’d been strangely compliant.

Vasily’s silence was answer enough. So he had gone without rest. He could’ve just asked for guiding over the weekend instead of avoiding me—why bother dodging me at all?

“In that case, let me guide you properly. Sit up first.”

“Mm… No.”

“You plan to receive guiding like this?”

“Yes.”

He showed no intention of moving, lying there with his head pillowed on my thigh. I stared at the ticklish strands brushing against me, then gave up on persuading him.

Well… my leg might fall asleep, but if I could use this to count toward his guiding quota, there was no reason to refuse. The contact was lighter than usual anyway, which made it easier.

But an unforeseen problem arose: every time I looked down, Vasily’s face flashed images from my dream.

Worse, the spot where he rested his head was… far from ideal. Determined not to think about it, I fixed my gaze firmly on the window outside.

Knock, knock.

Just then, someone rapped on the door. Startled, I jerked my head toward the firmly closed door.

If anyone came in and saw this scene, misunderstandings would be inevitable. Sure, it was only guiding—but no one else would see it that way.

I hurriedly tried to push Vasily’s head off my lap. But he stiffened his neck, leaning inward, and his head drifted dangerously close to an even more compromising position. In a panic, I shouted,

“Someone’s here—get up!”

Click. Before I even finished my sentence, the door swung open.

“Esper Vasily, may I come—”

“…”

I froze, still wrestling Vasily’s head off my lap, and met the eyes of the person entering.

The face was familiar. After a moment, I remembered where I’d seen him: during the West Sea Gate strategy meeting, he had witnessed me punching Vasily in the stomach.

Now, seeing Vasily resting his head on my thigh, he looked utterly shocked.

Well, yeah. It must be confusing, seeing something that looked so tender. To be caught giving Vasily a lap pillow—humiliation and shame flooded me.

The staffer quickly composed himself and spoke,

“Hello, Esper Vasily. We couldn’t reach you, so I came in person. Have you checked today’s schedule?”

But even after hearing why he had come, Vasily didn’t move. His tightly shut eyes radiated sheer disregard.

“Uh… Esper? You really need to attend this morning’s meeting…”

The staffer, sweating nervously, continued his plea.

Suddenly, intense cold swept the room, frost creeping rapidly along the floor until it reached the man’s feet. Ice erupted with such ferocity it seemed ready to freeze everything in its path, stopping only inches from his shoes.

“Gah!”

The man stumbled backward, barely spared from instant frostbite.

“Vasily!”

Startled, I shouted his name, and only then did Vasily slowly open his eyes. Looking at my horrified face, he spoke casually,

“What are you so surprised about? I didn’t kill him.”

He acted as if I were overreacting.

So much for him being unusually docile—no, this was Vasily in peak irritability, enraged by the interruption to his guiding.

I supposed I should be grateful he hadn’t outright killed anyone. This was the man who could pierce a distant monster’s skull in one shot; missing his target wasn’t in his nature. He had probably held back because I was watching.

“Esper, do you have a meeting scheduled?”

“…”

He had clearly seen the documents earlier, so he definitely knew. Yet Vasily pressed his lips shut in stubborn silence. I couldn’t help sighing.

“Go to the meeting. I’ll resume the guiding afterward.”

If I sent him to the meeting now, his irritation would inevitably spill onto the attendees—but skipping it wasn’t an option either. It might involve urgent discussions about a gate raid. The fact that someone had personally come to fetch him meant it was absolutely necessary.

“It’s not that important. I don’t have to attend.”

“Then I’ll go instead and relay the contents to you.”

“…”

After six years of attending meetings together, taking his place once wouldn’t be a problem.

I genuinely meant to attend in his stead, but Vasily exhaled a shallow sigh and rose from my lap.

“…Forget it. I’ll go. Guide Kwon Gidam, wait here.”

Surprisingly, he changed his mind easily. Probably because if I went to the meeting, there’d be no one left to guide him.