TGIC Ch 89

Chapter 89

I pulled the burn ointment from my pocket and held it out to Vasily.

“It’s burn ointment. Apply it to your injuries.”

Vasily stared down at the ointment in silence. He just kept looking at it, to the point that I began to feel awkward from holding it out for so long.

After wordlessly gazing at it for a while, Vasily pushed my hand away.

“…? You don’t need it?”

“Guide Kwon Gidam, you put it on for me.”

The nerve of this guy—he’d just frozen my phone not too long ago, and now he wanted me to tend to him?

I scowled openly at him, but Vasily ignored my reaction and walked over to the bed, sitting down. From the way he made no move to help himself, it was clear he wouldn’t budge until I applied the ointment for him.

And to make matters worse, he was completely naked. Realizing my eyes were the only ones suffering from this situation, I reluctantly tore open the packaging.

When I approached him, Vasily quietly closed his eyes and entrusted his body to me.

Dipping my fingers into the sticky ointment, I brought them to his forehead. Following the red marks, I carefully spread the ointment across the skin—when something caught my attention.

Now that I looked closely… his hair seemed a bit shorter.

“Did your hair get singed too?”

“I was trying to avoid the flames that shot up at my feet, and… well.”

To think he’d managed to burn his hair just dodging a single attack. The grand title of ‘S-class’ might as well be crying.

Clicking my tongue at the thought, I pressed the ointment over the injury a little more firmly, and he let out a faint sound.

“Ouch.”

“Don’t pretend it hurts.”

“How cold-hearted…”

Vasily feigned being in pain. I gave a short, incredulous laugh before my gaze slid back to him.

…Could it actually hurt?

Despite my earlier words, my hand grew gentler, smoothing the ointment more carefully—just in case.

In silence, I traced the ointment over his well-built, solid frame. The burn marks that had been so pronounced just yesterday had already faded significantly. As expected, wounds of this level healed quickly on him; in a few more days they’d be gone without a trace.

I’d always thought as much, but the resilience of an S-class Esper was something to marvel at—sometimes I even doubted we were the same species. Well, this was what it meant to be S-class.

Admiringly tending to his back, I froze when I saw long, jagged claw marks.

…Did I do that?

My pupils flickered violently. No matter how I looked at them, I was undoubtedly the culprit. I must have raked my nails into him with enough force to leave marks even more prominent than the burns.

Judging by his complete lack of reaction, Vasily didn’t seem to realize the state of his back yet. I quickly averted my eyes and muttered vaguely,

“A-all done.”

“Already?”

When I pulled my hands back and stepped away, Vasily sounded puzzled. His gaze drifted toward spots I hadn’t yet covered, but I tossed him the tube of ointment, telling him to do the rest himself.

Only when he rose from the bed did I feel a quiet sense of relief. At last, I could rest. Massaging the heat-aching stiffness in my neck, I glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearing noon.

“Are you going to the Association today?”

“No. I think it’ll be noisy there, so I plan to stay home for the time being.”

I nodded. With news spreading that Vasily had attacked Hua Yan first, the Association was probably in chaos right now, impatiently waiting to interrogate him about what had happened.

And, considering the romance scandal that had been heating up the public for two days now, there were likely swarms of reporters, too. He’d be better off avoiding the place for a while—and by extension, I decided I’d hole up here as well.

Vasily stepped toward the door to leave the room, then stopped and turned back to me.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, don’t you need ointment too?”

“…Huh? What do you mean—”

Following his gaze downward, I suddenly realized the awkward angle I was standing in. My face burned hot in an instant.

“I don’t need it!”

I shoved him out of the room and slammed the door shut.

“Haa…”

Finally alone, I slid down against the door with a long exhale.

Truthfully, I’d been tense the entire time I was in the same room as him. After what happened last night, I couldn’t stop being conscious of him, not even for a moment.

Thankfully, while I was applying the ointment, nothing had happened. Neither of us brought up the fact that we’d broken the contract terms.

But still…

I looked down at my ointment-smeared fingers. It was as if traces of that cool sensation through his skin still lingered at my fingertips.

Feeling a faint turmoil over the subtle shift in our relationship, I curled my hand into a fist.

Lying in bed, I muttered aloud,

“Seems I’ve really caught a bad cold…”

Even though I’d taken medicine and rested well, my condition had actually worsened. My entire body ached from the combined muscle pain and flu-like symptoms.

Even in mid-summer, chills wracked my body, while my forehead burned with fever. It was exhausting just to move, but the dryness in my throat forced me upright.

Dragging my heavy body out of the room, I fetched a bottle of water from the fridge. The water was so cold it felt almost icy as it slid down my throat.

Just a few gulps of it sent shivers through me. Hugging my arms around my trembling frame, I turned to head back to bed—only to come face-to-face with Vasily stepping out of his own room.

“You still don’t seem to be doing well.”

He spoke as soon as he saw me. He must have noticed how terrible my complexion looked.

“Do you think you need to go to a hospital?”

“For now, I’d just like to rest.”

“Alright.”

He didn’t try to keep me there and let me go easily.

Back in my room, I lay down and winced against the pounding in my head. It had been a long time since I’d felt this sick—honestly, fending off a monster and ending up in the hospital had felt better than this.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, I’m coming in.”

After a knock, Vasily’s voice came from beyond the door.

Then the door opened, and a savory smell wafted into the room. I turned my head in curiosity and saw him entering, carrying something in his hands.

“What’s that?”

“Rice porridge. I asked my doctor, and they said Koreans eat this when they’re sick.”

He said this as he set the tray beside me. On it was a plate of porridge.

Judging by the faint sound I’d heard earlier of the front door closing, he must have gone out just to buy it. And rather than serving it in the plastic container it came in, he had thoughtfully transferred it to a plate.

I stared silently at the white porridge, forgetting even that Vasily was watching me. It was warm and soft-looking, generously filled with finely chopped abalone.

Before I knew it, I’d scooped up a spoonful and taken a bite.

“How is it?”

“…It’s good.”

The warm porridge slid gently into my empty stomach.

Memories of the last six years flitted through my mind—times when I’d been sick and suffered alone. Even when I’d been hospitalized after returning from a Gate, or when I’d barely survived a brush with death, I had always been by myself.

For me, being sick had always meant enduring pain alone. Perhaps that was why having someone bring me porridge felt strange—especially when that person was Vasily, who had never once visited me in the hospital before.

“…Thank you. It was good.”

With Vasily watching, I finished the entire bowl. Having filled my stomach and taken my medicine, I already felt lighter than before.

He naturally took the empty dish and left the room.

I stared at the spot he’d vacated for a moment before lying back down and pulling the blanket over myself. I closed my eyes, hoping I’d feel better once I woke up.

Just as I was drifting toward sleep, a cool sensation touched my forehead. I opened my eyes to see Vasily, back again at some point, resting his hand there.

“I’ll cool your fever. Let’s replace today’s guiding with this, alright?”

The refreshing chill of his touch spread over my overheated skin.

I silently marveled at the unfamiliar kindness. As if it wasn’t enough that he’d gone out to buy me porridge, now he was tending to my fever as well. I had never known Vasily could do such things for someone else.

Today, he felt strangely unfamiliar to me—but perhaps this side of him wasn’t so bad.

Then, his low voice murmured:

“…Why isn’t the guiding working?”

I lifted my half-closed eyelids and saw the stiffness in Vasily’s expression.

I understood the reason immediately—it was probably because of my condition. Guiding could fluctuate depending on one’s physical state.

To think that just a bit of fever could prevent me from guiding him… such a thing would have been unimaginable before. But ever since my matching rate dropped due to the suppression chip, I was encountering all sorts of odd situations.

Once the flu passed, things would return to normal as if nothing had happened. I intended to brush it off lightly—until my gaze caught on the unusually grim set of Vasily’s face.