TGIC Ch 135

Chapter 135

“Damn it!”

In the empty bathroom, I kicked the wall in frustration.

A matching-rate examination—now, of all times?

A precision examination could only be conducted after it was reported to the Association. Which meant the moment the test ended, the matching rate would be immediately submitted to the upper bureau.

In other words, the fact that I was an S-class Guide—and that our matching rate was ninety-one percent—would be made public to the entire world.

If that happened, I would be bound to Vasily completely.

No matter where I went, I would be identified as his Guide. I would become someone who couldn’t even leave the country without him.

People wouldn’t remember me as Kwon Gidam anymore—they would remember me only as Vasily’s Guide.

And everywhere I went, that label would follow me.

…Was this what Vasily had been aiming for?

“Haa…”

I splashed cold water on my face and forced my breathing to settle.

Fine. The matching-rate exam was something I had planned to do eventually anyway.

What infuriated me was that he had decided everything on his own without consulting me—and that even though he already knew my rank and matching rate, Vasily still insisted on carrying out the test formally.

Since it had already come to this, it would be better for me to act confidently. The more anxious I appeared, the more Vasily would enjoy it.

I had done nothing wrong—there was no reason for me to tiptoe around him.

I left the bathroom and returned straight to the doctor’s lab. I yanked the door open; Vasily, sitting leisurely in his chair, turned to look at me.

“You came back sooner than I expected.”

“Let’s go. Let’s do the examination.”

“I thought you ran away because you didn’t want the test. Changed your mind already?”

“When did I ever say that? It’ll take a long time, so I simply went to the bathroom.”

I responded with a calmness that surprised even me. Vasily’s lips curled in satisfaction as he rose from his seat.

“Great. Shall we?”

On our way to the evaluation room, Vasily looked… delighted. No—more accurately, he was clearly in an exceptionally good mood.

I couldn’t understand what was so enjoyable about confirming results he already knew.

When we entered the examination chamber, researchers were already waiting. But the way they looked at us—specifically, at him—was far from welcoming.

It reminded me of six years ago, the first time I had undergone precision testing. I leaned toward Vasily and whispered quietly,

“How many tests did you take for the atmosphere to be like this?”

“The results have never been good.”

At his answer, a memory surfaced.

I once saw a Guide being carried out on a stretcher from in front of Vasily’s private room—severely frostbitten.

Only now did the researchers’ reactions make sense. Most Guides probably couldn’t endure Vasily’s wavelength. They likely collapsed long before the hour-long test was complete. After witnessing that again and again, no wonder the researchers were not thrilled to see us.

I entered the inner room where the resonance-measuring equipment was set up and removed my shirt. As the researchers attached the sensors, I glanced out through the transparent glass.

The attending physician was speaking with someone—judging from the formal suit, he looked like an Association official. He must have come to observe the matching-rate exam of an S-class Esper.

Soon, the sensors were in place, and the researchers stepped out.

“Ready?”

“Do I look like I’m guiding for the first time?”

“You looked nervous.”

Vasily extended his hand toward me. I scoffed lightly and placed my hand atop his pale, almost frost-white palm.

The first stage was simple physical contact—just holding hands. There was nothing to tense over.

Or so I thought…

Vasily laced our fingers together tightly. Feeling the firm knots of his joints pressing between my fingers, I asked quietly,

“What are you doing?”

“If we want an accurate result, we should do it properly. If we accidentally lose contact, we’ll have to start the test all over again.”

What a convenient excuse.

Before I could comment further, the large machine connected to the sensors lit up red and began operating.

How long were we supposed to hold hands? It had been six years—I barely remembered. The only time I’d been through this was right after we were matched, before regression.

Sitting on my feet would get uncomfortable, so I settled onto the chair beside me, chin propped in a slouched posture. Vasily took the other chair.

Only the intermittent mechanical beeps filled the room.

I glanced nervously at the people behind the glass. Vasily spoke first.

“If you want to ask something, you can. No one outside can hear us.”

He must have noticed my checking the surroundings. Since we couldn’t be overheard, I asked him directly:

“Why did you go into rampage mode?”

That question had bothered me since I first heard about it.

He had never lost control in those six years. Even without proper guiding due to the suppression chip, he shouldn’t have reached that point.

“Because Guide Kwon Gidam left me.”

“I told you—I was only going to get the suppression chip removed.”

“And you really think you would have come back?”

Vasily’s cold eyes held mine, and I instinctively looked away.

…That was all it took? Just that?

It made me wonder—had the rampage six years later also been because I told him I wanted to quit being his Guide?

I had said that line often enough, but back then, I’d meant it more than ever. I had planned to illegally cross into a nearby country if I had to—anything to escape him. Vasily must have sensed I was being more serious than usual.

“If you treated me better, you wouldn’t have needed to worry about me running away.”

“I thought I treated you well. It was Guide Kwon Gidam who kept avoiding and running away from me.”

“…”

Fair. I had no argument. I’d even implanted the suppression chip myself just to avoid meeting him.

Still… he really had changed a lot after regression. If I hadn’t remembered my previous life, I might have stayed by his side without complaint.

The only reason I kept him at arm’s length was because of what I remembered from before.

[Please proceed to the next step: embrace each other.]

The voice from the speaker cut into the heavy atmosphere. I immediately shifted the subject.

“Let go of my hand.”

“Alright.”

Noticing I was avoiding the question, Vasily’s lips curved again. I quickly pulled my fingers free and turned my head before he could see my expression falter.

Carefully, so as not to disturb the attached sensors, I wrapped my arms around him. A cold wave enveloped me, and his wavelength slowly seeped into my body.

Being like this… it felt like it had been a long time.

Before he rampaged, we had minimized guiding for the sake of removing the suppression chip, and everything that happened after I lost my memory felt like a long, surreal dream.

Actually guiding like this—it felt like ages since the last time.

“No matter what you think, I really was planning to come back.”

I murmured softly and continued,

“When I suggested we go to China together to get the chip removed, if you’d just come with me, none of this would’ve happened.”

“You don’t need to go all the way to China to get it removed.”

“You’ve been working nonstop since coming to Korea. It wouldn’t have hurt to take a short break. It was for your sake too, you know…”

I muttered irritably. Vasily asked in a surprised tone,

“Just the two of us?”

“It’s too late to regret now.”

I snapped, turning away.

Vasily fell silent for a long while, as if hearing something he hadn’t expected. Then finally, he spoke.

“…Then shall we go now?”

“There’s no chip to remove anymore. Why would we go?”

“No—I mean to America. There should be childhood photos at my house. You were curious last time, remember?”

Vasily tried persuading me, referring back to a conversation we had before.

America—meaning the place where his family lived.