TGIC Ch 117

Chapter 117

“More importantly, what brings you here to pay a hospital visit, Esper-nim?”

“Is it strange that I came to see you? I’ve come a few times before.”

“You’ve… been here before?”

Gidam’s expression twisted ever so slightly. Seeing Vasily feign disappointment at his lack of memory, he wondered if he had already forgotten their second meeting.

“Well, that works out. There are things I wanted to discuss anyway.”

“And what would that be?”

“I wish to terminate our exclusive contract.”

Vasily faltered. He had been prepared to grant any request once Gidam woke, but this was completely unexpected.

His expression hardened instantly.

He had returned here on his own two feet, and now he wished to leave?

“What do you mean by that? Terminate the contract?”

“Exactly as I said. I do not wish to be caught up in another rampage, nor do I want to guide you anymore.”

Vasily fell silent at Gidam’s resolute tone.

Was he serious? No… it must have been an impulsive declaration. Because…

“But Guide Kwon Gidam came to find me personally.”

“Do you think I wanted to? If I hadn’t stopped you there, both of us would have died a miserable death!”

“Even if I died, I wouldn’t have let Guide Kwon Gidam die too?”

“Ha! And in that situation, do you think I could have escaped the Gate alone?”

…Gate?

The more they talked, the more questions arose. They were clearly having a conversation, yet it felt as if they were speaking entirely different languages.

To confirm the dissonance he felt, Vasily asked:

“Guide Kwon Gidam, tell me what happened before you lost consciousness.”

“Eh…? Why would I…”

“Immediately.”

Pressed for an answer, Gidam frowned, letting out a long sigh before speaking.

“Inside the Gate, you suddenly went rampage, and I got caught up in it. You know this, yet you ask me?”

Gate.

He hadn’t misheard. All this time, Gidam had believed he had entered the Gate.

Vasily fell silent, contemplating.

Was this confusion due to trauma? No… it was slightly different from that.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, what is today’s date?”

“You think I would know the date after losing consciousness for a month?”

“The last date you remember is fine as well.”

“…The 25th.”

“No, from the year, please.”

The question made Gidam’s expression subtly shift, as if questioning why he was being asked.

“December 25th, 2031.”

The moment Vasily heard the answer, a slow smile crept across his lips. A long-held doubt was finally becoming reality.

Gidam shuddered at the faint thrill he could not hide in Vasily’s smile. Vasily, composing himself, spoke softly:

“Guide Kwon Gidam, it is currently 2025.”

“Eh…? What do you mean…”

“See? I was right.”

Vasily displayed the calendar on his smartphone and handed it to Gidam. Confused, Gidam checked the date, growing increasingly flustered.

“H-How… is this possible…?”

“It seems the accident caused some confusion in your memory. Also, while it’s true you got caught up in my rampage, the place was not the Gate. It was my home.”

Gidam looked utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend even Vasily’s words. His face shifted from pale to greenish as he slowly tried to process the situation. Vasily waited patiently, thoroughly enjoying the moment—he had never felt better.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“Then let’s prepare for discharge. We’ll leave immediately.”

As Vasily casually turned his gaze, Gidam shot up, panicked.

“Answer me first… before that!”

“Your memory isn’t fully intact. We’ll discuss that once it returns.”

Using Gidam’s fragile state as an excuse, Vasily postponed the answer. Gidam could do nothing but accept it. He understood that the best course was to quietly process the situation.

After completing the discharge procedures, Vasily helped Gidam out of the hospital room. Gidam, weak in the legs, could barely walk, requiring Vasily’s support.

It seemed rather humiliating for Gidam, yet Vasily was delighted. For reference, Gidam had firmly refused any offer to be carried before leaving the room.

Since Gidam had no clothes to change into, he returned home in his hospital gown. Stepping out of the warm room, the cold air made him shiver. Vasily promptly removed his jacket and draped it over Gidam’s shoulders. As the heavy suit jacket wrapped him in warmth, Gidam looked up in surprise.

“Why… this?”

“Wear it. You’ll catch a cold.”

Gidam blinked, clearly flustered—perhaps even shocked.

At that moment, a familiar bright voice intruded from a distance.

“Gidam!”

Vasily’s expression tightened upon seeing the familiar face. It was a man who had once been Gidam’s colleague, always lingering nearby whenever Vasily went to see him. He had even remembered his name—Jo Wooyeon, was it?

Vasily’s gaze darkened at the unwelcome interruption, though Jo Wooyeon, oblivious, cheerfully addressed Gidam.

“I heard you were hospitalized, but I didn’t expect you to be here! Are you alright now? Ah, I came to visit a friend who got hurt a few days ago…”

“I…”

Gidam carefully interrupted the chatter.

“I’m afraid you have the wrong person.”

“Huh?”

“Then… goodbye.”

Gidam concluded politely, bowing his head. Jo Wooyeon was visibly flustered. Even Vasily, watching, couldn’t help but glance at Gidam in surprise.

After a moment, Vasily quietly covered his mouth, suppressing a twitching smile.

This is… rather satisfying.

“Wait, just a moment…!”

“I’m sorry, but my guide doesn’t know you.”

Vasily blocked Jo Wooyeon’s attempt to grab Gidam. Having witnessed his persistent, overly familiar behavior toward Gidam being coldly rejected, he felt immense satisfaction.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if Gidam’s memory didn’t return just yet.

“Shall we go, Guide Kwon Gidam?”

Vasily gently draped his arm over Gidam’s shoulder. Gidam glanced at the stunned Jo Wooyeon before nodding. Leaving the dazed man behind, they walked away.

Even in the car on the way home, Gidam clutched Vasily’s smartphone, staring at the date, stubbornly denying reality. Though his lips were tightly sealed, the trembling of his eyes revealed a torrent of thoughts spinning rapidly inside that small head. Vasily could not afford to let his guard down; Gidam had a tendency to astonish him in the most unexpected ways.

Gidam sighed and placed the smartphone beside the driver’s seat.

“Well used.”

“Do you believe me now?”

“Yes… well…”

Gidam glanced away, his expression tangled. Yet he was not the only one who had pieced together the situation.

‘Six years…’

He carried memories of six years with me. One might think his mental faculties were impaired by the neural damage from the accident, but the evidence that he knew the future was too clear.

Before awakening as a guide, he had anticipated being matched with me, implanted with a suppressor chip to avoid me, and yet he knew details about a Gate that had not yet opened. He appeared at a Gate’s sudden opening to save children, prevented a hotel from collapsing, and countless other suspicious actions. Listing all of them would fill a book.

Watching Gidam sit in the passenger seat, bewildered, Vasily allowed a quiet smile to creep across his face.

There was much to do. He would have to uncover the source of the dissonance he had felt until Gidam’s memory fully returned.