TGIC Ch 137

Chapter 137

If Vasily’s rampage had truly been because of me, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again.

Even if I only stepped out for a moment as I used to, he might misunderstand. And if Vasily went on a rampage every time that happened, even ten regressions wouldn’t be enough to survive it.

It would be best to reassure him first.

“From now on, I won’t leave without saying anything. Even if you don’t see me right away, please wait a little longer.”

“Alright. But don’t expect me to wait that long.”

“And next time, don’t you dare pull something like this. A rampage? Were you out of your mind? If I’d been even a little later, it would’ve been impossible to stop.”

“I was planning to die, since I thought Guide Kwon Gidam had left me.”

Vasily said it calmly. Because I had already witnessed it once, I knew better than anyone that he meant it. And for that reason, I couldn’t brush it off lightly.

“…Why die just because your Guide is gone? You should think about coming to find me instead.”

“You don’t know how hellish life is without a Guide.”

“You’ve been doing just fine all this time. You can’t endure even a short while?”

I grumbled and looked away. When I pulled my head away from his shoulder, leaving a gap, Vasily tightened the arm wrapped around me and asked,

“Why did you come back? You really were going to leave.”

“Are you really the one asking that? You begged me over the phone not to go. I came back because I was worried about you.”

“You’re softer than you look. Does that work on you…?”

“I won’t fall for it next time, so don’t even dream of it.”

Even as I said that, I knew myself—I could never ignore it if something happened to Vasily. If something similar occurred again, I’d probably rush back all over again.

I sighed, thinking of the entire mess caused by Vasily’s rampage.

“You caused the problem by ignoring the easy way to remove the suppression chip. The chip exploded, I lost my memory—what was the point of all that?”

“But I was glad you came back.”

I froze and looked up at Vasily. I hadn’t expected him to say something so directly.

The way his large frame curled in on itself as he rubbed his head against my shoulder—it seemed sincere.

I was the one who ended up flustered by his clumsy affection. My hands hovered awkwardly, unable to find a place to rest.

Then I remembered—others could see us like this.

Sure enough, when I turned my head, I saw startled faces staring from behind the glass. Even the Association staff had returned at some point. The attending physician in particular couldn’t hide his shock.

I understood. If I had lost my memories and someone did this to me, I’d think it was a nightmare and beg someone to wake me up.

Among the frozen onlookers, I was the first to snap back to reality. I shoved Vasily’s shoulder insistently.

“That’s enough. Don’t you realize people are watching?”

“Then I’ll make it so they can’t.”

“How would you—”

The instant I saw his sly smile, an unfamiliar fear crept up my spine.

“Wait, don’t—!”

Before I could stop him, a sharp cracking noise rang out as the glass dividing the room frosted over entirely. A thick layer of frost coated it until it became completely opaque.

I pressed a hand to my forehead.

Beep—

To make matters worse, one of the machines began emitting a strange alarm. Vasily must have discharged his ability; the surge of wavelength seeped into the device and destroyed it.

“Damn it! It’s broken! We’re not going to have to redo the entire test from the beginning, are we…?”

As I panicked at the shrill alarm, someone grabbed my chin. I looked up, guided by the faint pressure—and Vasily’s face was right there.

His eyes were lowered. I paused, caught off guard by his long lashes before a cold breath brushed my lips.

“Ngh…”

In spite of myself, my eyes shut tight.

Darkness fell—and then something soft enveloped my lips.

A brief brush, then a cold, damp tongue traced along my lips.

I didn’t know what I was thinking—

But I opened my mouth and let him in.

The moment I didn’t resist, Vasily kissed me deeper as if he had been waiting. His tongue pushed in without hesitation, and I reflexively bent backward.

“W-wait, Vasily—”

I stepped back, thinking I’d lose my balance, but he must have thought I was trying to run. His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me flush against him.

The impact knocked several sensors from my upper body, sending them dropping to the floor.

But no one stopped us. The machine was already broken, the test officially halted.

The only sound filling the room was the aimless beeping of the malfunctioning device as Vasily and I continued to kiss.

Each brush of lips, each tangle of tongues—

All I could think of was the confession that had lingered in his murmurs right before my memories returned.

It made sense. His kiss wasn’t like usual.

It wasn’t rough.

It didn’t feel like being devoured.

It wasn’t a predatory kiss driven by the desire for guiding.

It felt purposeful—gentle—as though the kiss itself was the goal.

A kiss lovers might share.

“Mmph… hh—”

Vasily’s tongue wrapped around mine with relentless precision. He gave me no room to breathe, as though he refused to let even a single breath escape.

As time passed, the kiss only grew softer. So gentle it made my chest tingle.

The longer it lasted, the more erratically my heart pounded. Maybe it was because of how strangely careful his kiss was—or because his confession kept echoing in my mind.

Maybe both.

So I convinced myself that was why I couldn’t push him away.

When only a few sensors remained attached to my body, his lips finally parted from mine.

Vasily looked down at me quietly.

The hard frost that always lived in his gaze—was completely melted. Not a trace of coldness remained.

Before I could meet his eyes fully, I turned away instinctively. My hands fumbled to remove the remaining devices one by one, pretending composure I didn’t feel.

“If you’re done receiving guiding, let’s go. We’ve been inside too long—they’re probably worried.”

I grabbed my shirt and put it on hurriedly. As I buttoned it, I heard his voice from behind.

“You know I wasn’t trying to get guided.”

“…I’ll head out first.”

Wiping my damp lips with my sleeve, I stepped out.

I walked as steadily as I could, acting as though nothing had happened—but not a single person met my eyes.

A strange silence hung in the air.

As though they all knew exactly what had happened inside.

There wasn’t a camera, was there?

Panicked, I glanced around at the monitors—but none showed the interior of the room. And the speaker system was one-way; they shouldn’t have heard anything.

Vasily followed me out a moment later.

The instant he stepped into the room, he sensed the atmosphere and walked up to me with a smile tugging at his lips.

“You buttoned your shirt wrong, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

“Ah…”

“And your hair’s all messy…”

He reached out to fix my hair. I slapped his hand away and ruffled it myself. My face felt burning hot; even after I fixed my buttons and straightened my clothes, I couldn’t lift my head.

Soon after, the attending physician approached to explain.

“Although the examination was interrupted, we gathered enough data.”

“What are the results?”

“Assuming Guide Kwon Gidam truly is S-class, the matching rate calculates at 91 percent. Your wavelength will be sent to the analysis lab for a formal re-evaluation. Is that alright?”

“It’s fine.”

I nodded without hesitation.

Now that Vasily already knew my true rank, there was no reason to hide it anymore.

Rather, it would be better to acknowledge it and enjoy the advantages that came with being S-class.