TGIC Ch 95

Chapter 95

After dinner at the restaurant we frequented together, Vasily and I got into the car. Up until that point, the routine was no different than usual. But what came next was—the destination I had in mind wasn’t home.

“Where to now?”

“Please drive to the hotel near the station.”

I’d spent the entire day wracking my brain, only to conclude that the safest course was simply to wait there on site. Spending the night in a building that was fated to collapse—it sounded insane. Under normal circumstances, anyone who knew would run the other way. But I had Vasily beside me. With him there, it would be fine.

“Why the hotel?” he asked, skeptical. For him, it must’ve seemed odd, leaving a perfectly good home empty to go sleep in some hotel.

“I’ve always liked resting in hotels,” I lied smoothly, inventing a nonexistent hobby. There was no way I could tell him: because tonight a Gate will appear, and in the aftermath this building will collapse, killing dozens.

“…Didn’t know you had such a preference. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Keep it in mind, huh. I turned my head to the window, swallowing the bitter laugh that threatened to form.

Thankfully he didn’t press further. Even his easy acceptance felt strange, but it was a relief not to have to defend the story more fiercely. The tension in my shoulders, braced for interrogation, began to loosen.

Soon we arrived. Stepping out at the entrance, I glanced up at the looming hotel.

Up close, it was even bigger than I’d remembered. Easily twice as wide as the building I had compared it to this morning—though the height was similar, the breadth made it more imposing.

It will be fine… won’t it? Vasily had frozen entire Gates without flinching. A hotel of this size shouldn’t pose any problem for him.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, don’t just stand there. Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

Together we stepped into the lobby. Heads turned instantly, stares sticking to us from every direction. Conscious of the dating scandal rumors, I instinctively shifted a little distance away from him. But it made no difference.

I could feel the smartphone cameras focusing on us. I averted my gaze, pretending not to notice. It didn’t matter. Tomorrow’s stories about Vasily and me being seen together here would be drowned beneath the headlines about a Gate nearly destroying the hotel.

I went straight to the front desk. The staffer who greeted us clearly recognized Vasily, though they forced a professional smile as though nothing were amiss.

“Could you provide the name on the reservation?”

“Kwon Gidam.”

“A two-room, one-night stay, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Why two rooms?”

Came Vasily’s quiet interruption from my side.

“There are two of us. Naturally there are two rooms,” I replied flatly, giving him a look that said plainly: and why exactly would we need to share?

He stayed silent instead of answering, his lips merely curving upward in an irritating smile.

“…Uh…”

The clerk faltered, caught in the tension as they held out the card keys. Realizing we were delaying things, I reached to take them—

Only to feel an arm snake around my waist.

Vasily leaned in close, his voice brushing warm and cold at once against my ear.

“One room is plenty.”

“Ukh—! What are you—?!”

That breath on my skin, that fleeting sensation on my ear—lips. He had definitely brushed them against me.

I jolted away from him, horrified. The hotel employee’s eyes went round with disbelief. My own face drained pale under the mortification, while Vasily alone smiled lazily, wholly unbothered.

“M-my apologies,” I stammered to the clerk, who had gone rigid from witnessing the bizarre scene. Snatching up both card keys, I dragged Vasily with me toward the elevator.

Only when the heavy eyes of the lobby guests were safely behind us could I breathe again. Vasily, of course—the very man who had caused the scene—wore a mask of calm amusement, as though everything were perfectly ordinary.

“Don’t ever pull something like that again. The dating scandal is already trouble enough without you fanning the flames.”

“It’s not even true. So what if people talk? The Association likes it—they say it helps soften my image.”

“…I’m the one who cares! When exactly is the counter article going to go up?”

“Hmm… six months from now?”

“That’s far too late!”

“Relax. By the time the announcement about you being my official Guide is out, the dating rumors will all be erased.”

Our fruitless argument was cut short by the arrival chime of the elevator.

Our rooms were at the very end of the corridor, right next to one another—arranged so that I could run to him quickly if anything went wrong.

At the door, Vasily said, “You really mean to use a separate room?”

“Yes. So rest well.”

I pressed one card key into his palm and shut my own door firmly behind me.

I immediately collapsed onto the bed, eyes drifting up to the ceiling. The mattress cradled me, soft and warm—but how could I relax, knowing the entire building would collapse tonight? Not a wink of sleep lay ahead for me.

Still, it was oddly reassuring that Vasily was right next door. As always, he wouldn’t sleep. His preternatural senses would detect any anomaly, and he’d freeze the structure before it crumbled.

All I could hope was that he recalled my question earlier—that he should take care not to accidentally freeze the other hotel residents along with the building.

Knock, knock.

Just as I resolved to try resting anyway, a sound broke the silence. Someone at my door. Hesitant, I started to rise—then an all-too-familiar voice came through the wood.

“Guide Kwon Gidam. Open the door.”

“Esper Vasily…?”

Surprise colored my voice. What could he want now? There was nothing left to discuss.

I hesitated with my hand at the knob. Could it be—he wanted to drag me into his own room? His displeasure earlier at my insistence on separate rooms suddenly rang alarmingly in my head.

“I’m tired. Whatever it is, tell me tomorrow.”

“…”

No reply came. Perhaps he’d given up. Relieved, I returned to bed and lay back down.

Then I felt it. Cold, against my skin.

Crash!

A deafening sound of splintering erupted. The door shattered into pieces.

Fragments flew inside, dust clouding the air and flooding my lungs.

“Khuhh—! Cough cough—!”

Covering my nose with my sleeve, I scrambled upright. Where the closed door had been, broken ice-scattered wood now littered the floor.

And in its place stood Vasily, brushing his hands casually.

“…?”

The demolished door was frozen, shattered from within. There was no mistaking it—his work.

“W-what the hell is this…?”

“You wouldn’t open the door, so I didn’t have a choice.”

“And how is that my fault?!”

I was lost for words. Six years of living with him, yet his outrageous stunts always defied expectation.

I glanced around. Thankfully only the door was destroyed—no worse damage. The costs… yes, definitely his problem.

How could I even explain this to the hotel staff? Perhaps if I made it clear Vasily was responsible, they’d let it slide? The thought gnawed at me, though in truth I doubted I’d need to bother: by dawn, the entire building would either collapse or be nothing more than an enormous ice block. This damage would vanish in comparison.

Vasily stepped into the room, sweeping his gaze across it.

“…Not like mine at all. And you meant to sleep in this cramped place?”

“This is plenty for me.”

Of course it was different. I had booked him the suite. My own was just an ordinary connecting room nearby.

He studied me half-lying on the bed. “Planning to sleep already?”

“I was. Until you woke me.”

“Don’t bother in this mess. Come over.”

I followed his gaze. The broken door had sent dust and splinters spraying everywhere. They coated the floor, the blankets, even the air.

It was clear—I couldn’t sleep here.

And after all, hadn’t I booked my room right next to his precisely so I could reach him if necessary? Staying in the same room wouldn’t be impossible. With that thought, I let him take my hand and pull me up.

Brushing myself off, I followed him into his suite.

Just one door over… yet the difference was dramatic. A wide living room with a heavy polished table and ornate chairs. Beyond vast glass windows, Seoul’s night skyline glittered. And there—just within sight past the doorway—was the immaculate white bedding of a separate bedroom.

“You’re a mess,” Vasily murmured, brushing dust from my hair.

Whose fault is that, do you think? I gritted my teeth, but bit back the retort.

“…I’ll borrow the bathroom.”

I needed to clean up. Dust clung to my clothes and hair, and discomfort prickled under my skin.

The suite’s bathroom gleamed, decadent and spacious. A large bathtub beckoned the instant I entered, but I ignored it and headed directly for the shower stall.

“Haa…”

As the warm water washed all the grit away, I exhaled.

I’d booked a separate room precisely because I didn’t want to spend the night like this, stuck with him. And yet once again, my resistance was pointless.

Hotels themselves were all too familiar. After raids, going straight to a hotel for guiding had practically become routine. The memories weren’t fond ones—back then, guiding with him had felt like nothing short of assault.

I hadn’t wanted those sensations resurfacing.

But now… things were different. No more forced raids. No more guiding pressed on me like violence.

It’s safe now, I told myself firmly, shutting off the shower.

Ah—right. Clothes.

The instant I stepped out, I realized the problem. I had no change of clothes with me. No pajamas, no underwear. Staying overnight at the hotel hadn’t been in the original plan; I had come empty-handed.

Should I run to a nearby convenience store? The thought flickered, but another solution caught my eye—a hotel bathrobe hanging neatly within arm’s reach.