TGIC Ch 88

Chapter 88

“Ugh…”

The moment I tried to stand on both feet, my body swayed violently. My legs wouldn’t hold me, and I nearly collapsed—thankfully, I managed to drop back onto the bed behind me, sparing myself the indignity of falling to the floor.

Leaning against the wall for support, I steadied myself with great effort. I staggered toward my room to take the medicine I had stored there, but something hot trickled down along my thigh.

When I looked down, I was greeted by the sight of my utterly ruined lower body.

“Damn it…”

The semen I had released was dried and caked across my lower abdomen. On my waist and thighs were dark bluish bruises, perfectly shaped like Vasily’s hands.

It felt as though the opening was still stretched wide from how hard he had pounded me. If I bent my waist, I had the distinct sense that the fluid pooled deep inside would gush out. Wiping away the steady trickle running down my thighs was a lost cause, so I simply abandoned the idea altogether.

As I walked, memories of lying beneath Vasily all night, moaning under him, surfaced uninvited, choking me with shame. It hadn’t been “guiding” last night—it had been two lust-crazed beasts rutting without pause until dawn.

This is no time to dwell on this.

I dragged a hand down my face and shook my head. I needed to take the medicine, now. The suppression chip on my neck was so hot it wouldn’t have been strange if it exploded at any moment.

Once back in my room, I immediately chewed up my pills.

“Haa…”

The metallic-bitter taste spreading in my mouth felt almost comforting now.

Lately, it had become instinct to reach for medicine right after guiding. I was so used to the way it dulled the throbbing aches that I took it even when the pain was minor enough to endure.

I knew this medicine was dangerous, but without it, I couldn’t cope. Was this the process of becoming addicted? I had sworn that would never happen to me, but perhaps I had been wrong.

Feeling the drug spreading quickly through my body, I collapsed onto the bed—only to grimace as more semen leaked heavily out of me again. I got up and headed for the bathroom.

“Just how much did he spill…?”

No matter how I scraped it away, more kept coming. I stared, frowning, as the sticky white fluid mixed into the running water and drained away.

It was a familiar sight. What had happened last night might have been worlds apart from the form of “guiding” I once knew, but this part—this aftermath—was exactly the same as before my regression. My head was gradually clearing, and with it came the stark realization: I had indeed lain with him.

As I took care of myself alone, my mind tangled with conflicting thoughts.

We had gone against the contract—explicitly stating that guiding was not to be done through sexual intercourse—and spent the night together.

I had sensed ages before that things were heading in a dangerous direction. And yet, even realizing that, I hadn’t rejected Vasily. Worse, I had even gotten hard first.

If we were to track down responsibility for breaking the agreement, there was fault on both sides. It would be difficult to clearly pin the blame on either of us—and impossible to make an issue of it now.

After drying myself off, I left the bathroom. Despite having taken the medicine some time ago, the aches in my body still hadn’t faded.

No doubt I actually had caught the flu. I had overexerted myself all through the night, my body constantly pressed against his cold skin—hardly surprising. Add to that the fact that this was my first time in this body having sex, and the aftereffects were severe.

There was no way an S-class Esper like Vasily would keep something as mundane as flu medicine in his home… so, regardless of my condition, I had no choice but to go out and buy it myself.

I threw on some clothes at random, pulled a cap low over my head, and stepped outside.

It was hot and humid, yet to me the air only felt warm. For heat like this to feel pleasant… this flu must really be setting in. I decided I’d take the medicine and rest for a day or two as I walked.

I reached into my pocket to look up local clinics—only to find it empty. That was when I realized I had left my phone at home.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue. I had planned to go to a clinic, but now I decided to just buy medicine and return quickly.

Changing my course, I headed to the nearest pharmacy.

“Any cold-and-flu medicine, please.”

“That’ll be 3,500 won1.”

I didn’t even have the energy to choose for myself, so I left it to the pharmacist. They probably handed me whatever sold best. As I was preparing to pay, something on the display caught my eye.

…Burn ointment.

The image of Vasily, emerging from that dense fog with burns scattered across his body, flickered in my mind. When he had been buried under the blankets, I could barely see them, but when I glimpsed him as I left his room, the burn marks were still visible.

An S-class Esper’s healing rate was vastly superior to that of ordinary people. Unless a body part was severed, most injuries healed quickly. I was in no state to be worrying about others—but still, applying medicine to the burns would help them heal faster.

I picked up the ointment and set it on the counter beside the cold medicine.

“I’ll take this as well.”

After paying for both, I stuffed them into my pocket and stepped out of the pharmacy.

My body felt heavier with each passing minute. My only thought was to get to bed, but my legs, trembling and unsteady, moved frustratingly slowly.

…I don’t want to go back.

If I went home now, I’d face Vasily—and I wasn’t sure I could act like my usual self around him. It would be better if we could pretend last night never happened, but the odds of Vasily thinking the same were slim.

Lost in thought, I suddenly found myself at the entrance to the apartment complex.

I had no choice but to go inside. Unlike outside, the air was cool here—which made me shiver. As I stepped into the foyer, I saw Vasily emerging from my room, his expression radiating hostility.

“….”

Our eyes met, and we both froze.

In one hand, he held his own phone; in the other, a brick-like block of ice—my smartphone, I realized upon closer inspection.

Why was my phone in that state?

In the awkward silence, my thoughts raced to piece things together. Then, from beyond Vasily’s phone, a voice could be heard:

—“Esper Vasily?”

“…Hang up. He’s back.”

He ended the call immediately, and the voice vanished, leaving a thick tension between us.

It was only then that I understood. He must have thought I had run away and was trying to track me down.

“Was there a problem?”

“I thought Guide Kwon Gidam had run off without a word.”

As I suspected. I had only stepped out for a short while, but he had clearly misunderstood. How had we ended up like this? Was it because I’d left my phone behind? Or because I hadn’t pushed him away last night?

Come to think of it, my life had already been hopelessly tangled from the very moment I met Vasily. Trying to find the starting point of the mess was meaningless now.

Too ill to keep standing, I sighed briefly and explained.

“I had a bit of the flu coming on, so I stepped out to buy medicine.”

I pulled the medicine from my pocket, holding it out. Only then did that icy, suspicious look in his eyes fade by a fraction.

“Don’t go out again without telling me first.”

“Understood.”

I had gone out frequently before without notice while training, so this sudden possessiveness felt strange—but the look in his eyes promised confinement if I tried it again, and I didn’t have the energy to argue. I simply nodded.

Vasily handed my phone back.

The instant I took it, a chill seeped into my fingertips, and something clattered to the floor. Looking down, I saw small shards of ice scattered by my feet.

I stared at the frost-coated phone in my hands. Trying to power it on yielded only a black, lifeless screen.

Once, it had been a lifeline—now it was nothing but frozen scrap metal.

“Haa…”

A deep sigh escaped me. Vasily spoke.

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

“No need. Please move.”

Brushing past him, I surveyed the state of the apartment. The air was cold—too cold. If I had returned any later, I might have found the entire home encased in ice. We would have had to move again.

Naturally, the worst of it was in my room. The moment I entered, a chill like subzero temperatures made me shiver violently. I hurried to open the window and turn on the heat, but the cold refused to fade quickly.

Afraid my flu symptoms would worsen, I immediately reached for my medicine.

The pharmacist had given me a bottle of liquid formula. Realizing I didn’t need water to take it, I unscrewed the cap and drank it straight down.

A sharp gaze pricked at me from the side. As I drained the last drop and turned my head, my eyes met Vasily’s—he had been watching me take the medicine.

It was then I noticed the faint burn marks on his face. His pale complexion only made them stand out more.

And it wasn’t just his face—red, scorched traces marred his hands and shoulders as well.

The tube of ointment in my pocket seemed to nudge insistently against my thigh, reminding me of its presence.

¹ “3,500 won” — South Korean currency unit, approximately equivalent to2.54 usd