TGIC Ch 69

Chapter 69

As I stared at the blood pooling on the floor in shock, the Esper who had been watching us finally seemed to grasp the situation. His expression slowly began to sour.

“Wait… don’t tell me this means I’m going to have to take Vasily’s place in the Gate operation?”

Vasily’s condition was clearly serious as he bled profusely, but since things had already escalated, I had to see them through to the end. I put on the most aggrieved expression I could and spoke in a plaintive tone.

“Are you really planning to just leave when it’s your fault his wound reopened?”

“Wow, this guide’s just as crazy as that guy.”

The Esper let out a hollow laugh and ran a hand roughly through his hair. He seemed to have realized I’d done something, but since he hadn’t seen it directly, he couldn’t confront me outright.

The tension hung thick in the air as we locked eyes in a silent standoff. Suddenly, the room grew warm. I felt a surge of heat through my nose and turned my head—standing at the entrance was an S-Class Esper from the Chinese delegation.

He wore a vivid red changpao embroidered with golden dragons. His overwhelming presence drew all eyes to him, even from a distance.

He was clutching his stomach, roaring with laughter. He must’ve been watching the scene unfold for a while. Judging by his reaction, he had probably seen everything—even the part where I took down Vasily.

I subtly scanned my surroundings.

In the distance, the Chinese S-Class Esper was laughing boisterously, Vasily lay helplessly bleeding on the floor, and the Esper who had just tried to provoke us now stood beside us, visibly annoyed that he was being roped into a Gate deployment.

It was… utter chaos, five seconds before a complete disaster.

But the most painful part was the look in the Association staffer’s eyes—the one who stared at me like I was some kind of lunatic. Witnessing me drive my fist into Vasily’s abdomen must’ve been quite the trauma.

It wasn’t fair. I wasn’t a maniac like Vasily… I had no choice. But I couldn’t exactly explain myself either, which only made it more frustrating.

I needed to get out of here before things got any worse.

“I think I should take Esper Vasily to the hospital, so I’ll be going now. I trust you’ll take care of the Gate operation in our stead.”

I made sure to seal the deal with that parting remark to the Esper. I saw his expression twist in visible displeasure before I turned to Vasily.

“Esper Vasily, can you stand?”

“If Guide Kwon Gidam helps me up.”

“…Understood.”

I bent down to support Vasily and helped him to his feet.

A thick, solid arm draped over my shoulder. He was heavy, and I staggered briefly before managing to steady us. Even through the layers of his suit, his body was cold enough to make me flinch.

As I hurried to leave the meeting room, we came face-to-face with the Chinese S-Class Esper standing at the door. The exit was right there, but he and his entourage were blocking the way.

Surely he wasn’t going to pick a fight now?

I looked up at him, tense, but to my surprise, he stepped aside with a polite smile. I thought for a second I met his crimson eyes, curling into a playful smile.

Just before I turned away, he moved his lips as if to say something, but I didn’t catch the words. I figured it was something like “take care,” so I simply gave a small nod and walked past him.

Phew…

Only after we were a good distance from the meeting room did I finally let out the breath I’d been holding. At least I’d successfully passed off the Gate deployment—it was a relief.

“Esper Vasily, I think you can walk on your own now.”

“Hm… Maybe you hit me too hard, I can’t feel any strength in my legs.”

“……”

Vasily didn’t seem intent on leaving my side anytime soon. It was obvious he was faking it, but after what I’d done, I didn’t have much of a leg to stand on. With no choice, I kept supporting him and spoke.

“Let’s head to the Association’s infirmary first.”

“The infirmary? I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“If there’s no record of your hospitalization, the Association might try to send you into the Gate again. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Hmm…”

“It’d be best to get your wound treated while we’re at it.”

Despite clearly disliking the plan, Vasily followed as I led him to the Association’s internal medical center.

Usually, the place would be crowded with Espers returning injured from Gates, but today it was relatively calm. Probably thanks to Vasily having cleared out the nearby Gates. I was glad it meant we wouldn’t have to wait long and approached the reception desk.

“Please write down the patient’s name…”

The staff member at the desk trailed off mid-sentence upon seeing Vasily leaning on me. Her face froze, mouth slightly ajar as if her brain had stopped functioning.

Others waiting behind us began murmuring upon noticing Vasily. Thankfully, the receptionist snapped out of it before the situation escalated and quickly led us to a private room.

“Esper Vasily’s attending physician is on-site today, so I’ll go fetch them right away. Please wait here.”

“Thank you.”

Once the staff member left, the room fell silent.

Good. Having his regular doctor around was ideal. Vasily hated anyone touching his body, but if it was someone familiar, he’d accept treatment quietly. I figured the doctor might be quite shocked to see an Esper who’d been fine on Friday now in such a state.

I sat on the chair beside the bed and glanced over at Vasily.

His clothes were increasingly soaked in blood. The sheets beneath him were staining red, the blot spreading outward. I cautiously pointed to the wound that had been bothering me since earlier.

“Is this… something I did?”

“I tore it open with ice for dramatic effect.”

“…Sigh.”

“Though you contributed a little, too, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

“Urgh…”

When I failed to hide my guilt, Vasily gave a faint smirk. With blood pouring from him like that, his complexion seemed even paler than usual—but maybe that was just my imagination. I cleared my throat and shifted the blame.

“Well, if you’d helped me out earlier instead of standing there, none of this would’ve happened.”

If he’d just frozen the room like usual, we could’ve ended that whole scene a lot more efficiently.

I still couldn’t shake the memory of the staffer looking at me like I was insane. It was the same way I used to look at Vasily from time to time.

“So, when are you going to guide me?”

“…Guide you?”

“My guide wouldn’t just walk away after putting their S-Class Esper in this state, would they?”

I tried to brush it off but ended up falling silent, unable to protest.

“…Fine.”

I nodded and climbed onto Vasily’s lap as he leaned against the bed’s headboard. I was about to begin guiding him when Vasily gently pushed me away and said,

“You need to undress me first.”

“Do I have to do that too?”

“I’m the patient—I can’t move.”

Damn it… Well, I guess I had to take responsibility since I’d brought him to this point. I took off his jacket and vest, then finally reached for the buttons of his shirt.

Why were there so many buttons? I could feel Vasily watching me intently as I undid each one, which made my fingers fumble awkwardly.

At last, I got the shirt off and lowered my gaze to his waist.

He’d said he used ice to tear the wound open… As if to confirm that, the shards of ice that had previously been keeping the wound closed were now shattered and embedded into his skin. The injury had fully reopened, and blood was flowing freely.

“Aren’t you going to stop the bleeding?”

“I’ll have it stitched up soon anyway—just didn’t want to bother.”

“I’ll grab a towel at least.”

His skin, already pale, looked even more drained of color due to the blood loss. I scanned the room for something to use but, finding nothing, was about to stand when Vasily grabbed my arm.

“No need. Just guide me.”

“…If you die of blood loss, don’t blame me.”

“If something like this could kill me, I wouldn’t be S-Class.”

With him saying that, I figured he’d probably be fine. I let out a deep sigh and silently removed my own clothing.

As I lay down on top of Vasily and embraced him, I could feel his blood slowly soaking into me. It was cold, sticky, and slippery.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, you’re really unfazed, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re fine even when you’re covered in my blood.”

Now that he mentioned it, maybe no one else could even touch his blood.

Suddenly uncertain if my body truly was okay, I shifted slightly to check—but Vasily immediately pulled me in tightly. As I let out a strangled groan, his arm loosened just enough for me to breathe.

“……”

A long silence fell between us.

Vasily held me tightly, as if refusing to let me pull away even a little. I stayed quietly in his arms, holding my breath.

Even in contact with his ice-cold skin, even with the chilly pulses emanating from him, I felt nothing alarming.

It was just cold. That was all.