TGIC Ch 116

Chapter 116

A face radiant with a smile despite blue-tinged lips, and then a body falling weakly without strength.

“…Guide Kwon Gidam?”

That was the first image to meet Vasily’s eyes as his reason returned. Catching the weightless body leaning toward him, he called out the name, but no answer came.

It was the first time—the experience of everything before his eyes turning completely white.

Looking around, the room that had been intact when he entered was now covered in ice. Only then did he realize the cold was emanating from his own body and withdrew his ability.

But it was already too late. Not a trace of warmth could be felt from Gidam’s body, and his face was as pale as a corpse’s.

Gidam, leaning on Vasily’s chest, kept trembling. Vasily quickly understood it was not because of the cold but that his own hand was shaking.

“Guide Kwon Gidam! Are you alright…!”

Breaking the ice that surrounded them, the espers rushed in. Upon seeing Gidam cradled in Vasily’s arms, they froze in place.

Vasily slowly opened his mouth.

“This is…”

Feeling Gidam’s breath fading away, his wavelength lashed out violently. Clenching his teeth and desperately holding onto his last thread of reason, Vasily continued.

“Explain immediately what is happening.”

A fierce murderous spirit flowed strongly from him. As the espers hesitated, the squad leader reluctantly stepped forward to explain.

“Esper Vasily went rampage, leaving us no choice but to rely on Guide Kwon Gidam’s help.”

“…But Guide Kwon Gidam should have already left Korea.”

“He got off the plane before it departed.”

“…”

Silence fell briefly. Vasily tightened his grip around Gidam.

“Esper Vasily, the helicopter has been called. First, we should transfer the Guide to a hospital—”

As the espers approached, Vasily lifted his head and glared.

Shards of ice swiftly materialized around them, encircling the espers. The sharply hewn ice tips were aimed as if they could burst forward at any moment, preventing anyone from coming close to Vasily and Gidam.

Soon the helicopter arrived. Vasily boarded, still holding Gidam in his arms, and a doctor rushing in after hearing of an injured person hurried toward them.

“Esper Vasily! What exactly happened to Guide Kwon Gidam?”

“While the suppressor chip was frozen, Guide Kwon Gidam stopped my rampage and collapsed.”

“Pardon? I couldn’t hear you properly!”

The doctor asked again, unable to hear over the noise of the helicopter.

Carefully pulling back Gidam’s hair that covered his nape, they both froze simultaneously when his neck was exposed.

The area where the suppressor chip was implanted was swollen and red.

There was a possibility that due to Vasily’s inability to control his ability during the rampage, even parts that should not have frozen were frozen. But this was slightly different. The swelling was dark red as if torn from the inside out…

Now that he thought harder, just before regaining consciousness, he thought he could hear a strange sound. It was definitely… the sound of something exploding.

The doctor’s face stiffened as he checked Gidam’s condition inside the shaking helicopter.

“It seems there is a problem with the suppressor chip. The frostbite is also severe, so we should immediately go to the operating room once we arrive at the hospital to examine it.”

Though the doctor continued explaining, the words did not reach Vasily’s ears. He only stared blankly down at Gidam.

After the malfunctioning suppressor chip, there was also severe frostbite. Gidam’s breathing had been thinning for some time, and the trembling of his body would not cease. The anxiety that he might soon stop breathing strangled Vasily’s throat.

Vasily looked down at his own hand. He wanted to envelop the shivering Gidam, but if he touched him, he would only draw more heat away. Had his power ever felt so cursed as it did today?

The moment the helicopter landed on the hospital rooftop, Gidam was rushed onto a stretcher and hurried to the operating room. Vasily tried to follow, but one of the espers who had followed them blocked his path.

“Do you want to die? Step aside.”

“…If you enter the operating room with that murderous intent, the surgeons will be frightened and unable to perform the surgery properly.”

Vasily could not respond. Damn it, that esper was right. Those people trembled and did nothing at the slightest threat… unlike Guide Kwon Gidam.

Vasily could not tear his gaze from Gidam, who was being carried further away.

“…”

Vasily silently watched Gidam lying as if dead in the hospital bed. Beside him, a doctor spoke cautiously.

“We removed as many fragments as possible. Since most of the skin was frozen, it was relatively easy. But there may still be some debris left.”

“Why hasn’t he woken up?”

“It’s probably due to the shock from the device that exploded at the back of his neck. As you know, it was implanted near nerves…”

It was a tired excuse they had heard too often. The doctor, who had repeated the same explanation, noticeably stiffened at Vasily’s expression and then left the room as if fleeing, pretending to give him space.

Left alone, Vasily gently brushed aside Gidam’s hair.

Though the surgical site where the suppressor chip was removed was nearly healed, Gidam remained unconscious.

The hospital room was warm like a greenhouse, and his body temperature had returned to normal, yet Gidam’s lips were still blue. His breathing was weak, relying on an oxygen mask to survive.

There were traces of frostbite all over his body. Thanks to the rapid treatment, there were no severe necrotic areas, but the scars would last a lifetime.

Vasily visited the hospital room multiple times a day, staring silently at Gidam’s eyes closed as if dead before turning away repeatedly. Only the vibrations felt when holding his hand and the faint warmth proved he was still alive.

Days later, Vasily’s expression was cold as he stared at the people before him.

Another interrogation in the guise of a meeting was underway, questioning responsibility for the rampage incident.

Listening to pointless reproaches for two hours, Vasily reached his limit. Instead of these disgusting voices, he longed to lie beside Gidam in the hospital room and rest.

Suppressing his murderous desire with difficulty, his phone rang.

• Esper Vasily! Guide Kwon Gidam has awakened! 

It was the long-awaited news that Gidam had finally regained consciousness.

Vasily overturned the meeting room and rushed to the hospital. Bursting open the door and entering the room, he saw Gidam sitting on the bed surrounded by doctors.

“Esper Vasily…?”

Seeing Gidam’s wide eyes filled with surprise upon noticing him, Vasily stopped in his tracks.

For the first time in nearly a month, looking into Gidam’s black pupils made it feel like he could not breathe. The urge to immediately hold him and feel his warmth surged strongly.

Sensing the gazes around him, Vasily spoke.

“Leave.”

At Vasily’s command, one of the doctors cautiously stepped forward.

“Esper Vasily, the patient has only just awakened and is barely able to communicate. He must be very confused, so we should explain the situation—”

“Can’t you hear me? If you don’t want to die, leave.”

A chilling atmosphere quickly filled the room. The frightened doctors fell silent and quietly withdrew.

With the intruders gone, Vasily approached the bed and embraced Gidam.

Warmth flowed into his arms. The powerful guiding that had been absent while Gidam was unconscious flooded his body.

Was this what the early spring sunshine felt like?

Vasily felt as if he was about to melt from the warmth. He held Gidam more tightly as if determined never to let him go. But…

“Why, why are you like this…?”

Gidam’s body trembled violently.

For a moment, Vasily felt something strange, but he assumed it was because Gidam was still disoriented from waking. The confusion was clearly felt even through Gidam’s guiding wavelengths.

Perhaps because the suppressor chip was removed, Gidam’s emotions came through vividly. If the emotions could be felt so clearly, how high was their matching rate?

As soon as Gidam recovered, Vasily thought firmly that he had to immediately start by testing their matching rate. Then Vasily asked,

“Guide Kwon Gidam, how do you feel physically?”

“…My neck is a little stiff, but otherwise okay.”

His tone was oddly stiff. It seemed his departure had been delayed due to his rampage, and his anger had not yet subsided.

Yet that anger would not last long. Despite everything that had happened, the suppressor chip was removed just as Gidam wanted, and no one else now stood in their way.

“You risked dying by rushing into the rampage scene. It was reckless.”

“…I had no choice in that situation.”

His answer was more arrogant than usual. Yet a faint smile appeared on Vasily’s lips.

He had always liked that shamelessness of his that remained undaunted even before him. Moreover, Gidam had come back for him despite the rampage. What more proof could be needed?