TGIC Ch 109

Chapter 109

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, the day I said I would return to Vasily had arrived.

Since that night when our call ended, Vasily had not contacted me once. They say no news is good news, but unfortunately that saying didn’t apply to him.

Clutching my phone day after day, checking constantly just to see if Vasily had caused trouble, led to my parents finally asking if I had gotten a lover. I immediately denied it, but clearly the misunderstanding hadn’t been cleared up.

Before leaving for home, I said goodbye to my parents, grabbed a handful of medicine, and stepped outside.

“Will Vasily be in his private quarters, I wonder.”

I was on my way back by subway, but changed directions, figuring by now he might be at the Association. The moment I exited a taxi that dropped me off in front of the Association, a sudden heaviness settled into my body.

Ah, I already don’t want to go in. Pushing along heavy steps across the Association lobby, I suddenly heard the urgent pounding of footsteps. Turning, I spotted one employee sprinting frantically in the distance.

Has something happened again? As I stopped to watch, their gaze met mine—and they abruptly changed direction, running straight toward me.

Why are they heading this way?

Flustered, I scanned my surroundings, but there was no one nearby except me. Even as I tried stepping back, the worker kept coming directly for me.

“Guide Kwon Gidam!”

So they really were after me.

Unable to ignore such a desperate cry, I resigned myself, waiting until the employee stopped in front of me.

Panting for breath, they looked up at me as though seeing their savior, and seized my arm.

“You came after getting the call! We need to leave at once!”

“…What?”

Without a single explanation, they began dragging me away.

Is Vasily tearing apart a conference room somewhere? Whatever it was, they clearly needed my help, so I followed without resistance.

But instead of guiding me deeper into the building, the employee hauled me straight outside and shoved me into a vehicle waiting out front. The moment the door shut, the car launched forward on the road, sirens wailing.

That was when I understood something was seriously wrong. With myself being dragged who-knows-where, of course I had to ask.

“Excuse me… But where exactly are we going?”

“Huh? Weren’t you contacted?”

“I wasn’t contacted about anything…”

The employee’s eyes bulged as they clumsily pulled out a tablet. Tapping hastily through files, they finally shoved the device in front of me.

On-screen, a live video stream was broadcasting. The footage showed the middle of an eight-lane highway, reduced to chaos. At first I wondered if a monster had appeared. But on screen, only two figures were moving.

And why, for some reason, did one look like Vasily?

I must have been dreaming. No—that would make this a nightmare.

“…Is the opponent Esper Huai Yan?”

“Yes…”

A heavy sigh escaped me.

The view turned white as snow, then red flames burst across it. Only then did Vasily’s words, that the moment he returned he would “deal with Huai Yan first,” flash in my mind.

I’d known he hadn’t been speaking lightly, but to think he truly went through with it.

“This footage looks like it’s from a civilian. Aren’t you stopping them from shooting?”

“With such heavy foot traffic and so many offices clustered nearby, it’s impossible to block filming entirely…”

So in the end, it was uncontrollable. There were far too many witnesses; the Association had no choice this time. Watching the rapidly climbing view count, I exhaled shallowly.

Somehow the first violent incident between Vasily and Huai Yan had been glossed over. But it would be impossible to cover it up a second time. Should Huai Yan be injured, China would surely demand responsibility.

Meanwhile, on the screen, fire flared brilliantly amid a storm of snow. The road looked as though shaken by an earthquake, wrecked cars strewn across it. There was no way this could pass quietly.

With the siren screeching, our car sped to the site, arriving swiftly. Stepping out, a wall of white fog and heavy dust struck me.

Would this cover the sightlines enough? At least my face wouldn’t be so easily exposed. All the better to swiftly handle the situation and retreat.

“Guide-nim, your protective gear.”

“I’ll enter without it.”

“What? In there…?”

I only nodded calmly. I had never intended on suiting up. Better to save the time and escape with Vasily that much sooner.

In any case, I had espers assigned to escort me, which gave some safety. Among them, I spotted a familiar face.

“Captain?”

“…Hello.”

It was the team captain who had once mistaken me for an esper at a gate site and dragged me around everywhere. I greeted him warmly, but his reply was curt.

The friendliness he had shown on-site had all but vanished, replaced by clumsy awkwardness. Only then did I recall how poorly we’d parted.

It must have been because I hid the truth about being a guide. Running around a field as though I were an esper when I wasn’t—of course he’d feel betrayed. Especially since a guide like me working alongside Vasily would only look completely crazy.

“I’m sorry about what happened then. I never meant to hide that I was a guide—I just missed the right timing to say so…”

“No, I was the one in the wrong, why are you apologizing…!”

When I bowed my head bitterly, the captain hastily waved his hands and ruffled his own hair in frustration, blurting his own apology.

“I’m the one who should be sorry—mistaking you and then overworking you like that…”

That much at least was a relief. Still, now that he knew, that sense of camaraderie would never return. I’d actually enjoyed it back then… so it was a little regretful.

“But Captain, why are you here? I thought you avoided anything related to Esper Vasily.”

“With two S-class espers battling, they said lower ranks were no match, so I was dragged out while I was resting at home.”

“…My apologies.”

As we exchanged words, a tremendous blast boomed just beyond the fog, the ground trembling underfoot. The clash between Vasily and Huai Yan was escalating.

“We’d better restrain the two of them right away.”

Closing the distance was the priority. Setting a foot forward, I nearly slipped, then noticed the road surface cracked with patches of ice.

Carefully moving under the protection of the espers, I began heading toward Vasily. Halfway across, a shadow landed lightly nearby. Huai Yan.

Spotting me ringed by espers, he greeted me brightly.

“Long time no see. What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to take Esper Vasily back.”

“That’s fortunate. I was on my way to a Korean Association interview when he suddenly attacked me—it was troublesome.”

“That schedule… has likely been cancelled.”

“Has it? What a pity.”

From above, the falling snowstorm suddenly cut off. I turned to Vasily, who was glaring at us with an icy gaze. Huai Yan noticed and leaned closer, whispering to my ear.

“Looks like persuasion failed?”

“…Yes.”

I rubbed my face tiredly. Unease prodded me—what if Huai Yan reconsidered his offer of helping with my suppression chip removal? Lowering my head, I murmured an apology.

“I’m sorry. After all the help you promised me…”

“It’s fine. I’m not about to withdraw my support, so don’t worry. Besides, I’m already developing guide-specific suppression chips. I expect there’ll be high demand. Think of it as thanks.”

So he’d already tested their effectiveness.

Nodding at him, I thought—of course Huai Yan was grateful to me. This only opened wider markets for him.

If the effectiveness was proven, illegal suppression chips would see explosive demand from guides desperate to avoid matching with espers. The knowledge would come out in a few years anyway; thanks to me, Huai Yan would be rolling in money earlier than expected.

“I’ll be returning to China soon. What about you, Guide?”

At that, I glanced toward Vasily. Judging from how he had acted so far, I’d likely have to abandon any thought of going with him to China. But I hadn’t abandoned the idea of removing the suppression chip.

“Then I’ll go alone…”

“It’s dangerous!”

Before I could finish, someone shouted and yanked me back. Huai Yan too reacted instantly, shifting aside.

From where he’d just been standing, a sharp frozen spike erupted out of the ground. A moment later would’ve put me in danger too.

Swallowing hard at the jagged ice, I turned toward Vasily. His expression was stone-cold, stalking toward us. Each step froze the earth beneath his feet.

Clearly, my talk with Huai Yan had provoked him.