By Zephyria 
As soon as my body was free, I swallowed a pill behind Vasily’s back, wiping away tears in my mind. This was the tenth one. I had tried my best to endure and save them, yet here I was. I had spent a million won worth of pills just to soothe Vasily’s mood.
Rising from the bed, I spoke to Vasily, who was surveying the wrecked house.
“I’ll be heading back now.”
“Already?”
Already? You’ve been asleep for twelve hours, you bastard.
I barely managed to keep my expression neutral as I looked at Vasily’s face, which was as brazen as a thug’s.
“I’m tired from the continuous guiding. And since it’s late, shouldn’t I go back and get some rest too? Haha…”
“Hmm… I don’t think the elevator is working. Will you be able to make it down to the first floor?”
“Well… I climbed up here by the stairs, so going down should be fine…”
“Shall I help you?”
“…?”
What is he thinking? A sense of foreboding washed over me the moment I saw Vasily’s beaming face.
“Ah, no. I’m fine.”
“It’ll take a long time if you go by the stairs.”
“No, really, I’m fine.”
“Don’t be like that. I’ll help you.”
I waved my hands frantically, insisting I was fine, but Vasily stubbornly grabbed my wrist and led me toward the window.
Crash!
With a single kick from Vasily, the large glass pane shattered instantly. Since it was a high floor, a fierce wind brushed strongly against my face. As the warm air entered my lungs, I felt my frozen body begin to melt. But…
“Wh-what are you planning to do by breaking the window…?”
Is he going to throw me?
Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. Vasily used his ability to create a circular opening surrounded by ice. It stretched long and deep below… looking exactly like a slide…
It’s not what I think it is, right?
I hesitated and took a step back.
“I don’t think this is a very good idea.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“No, not really…”
“How do you know without trying it?”
Vasily suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled. I lost my balance and was dragged along until my legs got tangled, and of all places to fall… I landed right on top of the slide.
I hurriedly clung to the hem of Vasily’s trousers.
“W-wait a moment, I apologize!”
“Hm? For what?”
“If you’re doing this because you’re still upset…”
“It’s not that.”
Not that, my ass!
As I hurriedly tried to stand up, a hand landed on my shoulder.
Press.
A steady force pushed me backward.
“Then I’ll see you at the bottom, Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
“Aaaagh!”
The figure of Vasily waving me off from the entrance of the slide grew smaller and smaller. The last thing I saw was a smile of amusement on Vasily’s face. It was the bright expression I had occasionally seen since my regression. However, nothing but curses flowed from my mouth.
“Dammit! Why is it so fast…!”
Perhaps because it was a slide made of ice, there was absolutely no friction, and the speed was insane.
First, I struggled just to survive. I tried to stop, tried to slow down, but because it was so slippery and the slope was so steep, nothing went the way I wanted.
Furthermore, I had started sliding while facing Vasily. This meant I was going down backward.
Fortunately, my struggling eventually got my legs facing downward, but I was immediately hit with regret as it felt like I had only increased my speed. This was practically a roller coaster without safety bars.
The speed was so intense that I couldn’t even breathe properly. With a pale face, I waited for the exit to appear, when suddenly a sinister premonition hit me.
Wait… if I land at this speed, I’m not going to ‘land’—I’m going to be crushed into a pancake the moment I hit the ground!
Feeling the terror of death, I tried even harder to stop. As if mocking me, the speed didn’t decrease in the slightest.
“Vasily, you son of a bitch!”
I screamed and cursed Vasily with all my might. Seeing the endless series of curved sections, it seemed I was spiraling down around the building.
Whoosh—
Then, my body soared into the air. This hellish slide had finally come to an end.
‘Ah, I’m dead now.’
I squeezed my eyes shut, but the place I was thrown into was someone’s firm embrace. Feeling arms wrap around me so strongly that my body throbbed, I slowly opened my eyes.
“…Esper Vasily.”
It seemed Vasily, who had arrived before me, had caught me. Curses came to mind the moment I saw his face, but I held them back, fearing my heart would jump out of my chest if I opened my mouth right now.
“Was it fun?”
“Would it be fun for you?”
No, it was terrifying.
“You must have enjoyed it a lot. Maybe I should have ridden down with you.”
“Ha… enough. Please let me down.”
The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs shook violently.
Regardless, Vasily now had a face that looked completely satisfied. That was probably just a minor… revenge.
“I’ll be heading back now.”
After straightening my disheveled clothes, I bid farewell to Vasily. As I started to leave, dragging my weakened legs to catch a taxi, Vasily stopped me.
“Leaving already?”
“Yes.”
“Want to take me with you? As you can see, my house is a water park.”
“….”
This guy is determined to invade my house. But that must never happen. I cannot let Vasily into my only sanctuary.
“I know you have other houses besides this one.”
“Oh dear, how did you know?”
When I calmly refused, Vasily acted disappointed. What a load of crap. We lived together for six years; did he think I wouldn’t know that much?
I brushed Vasily off and climbed into a taxi alone. Vasily looked at me with a pitiful expression from outside the taxi, but I ignored him and told the driver my home address.
“Sigh…”
I watched the high-rise building where Vasily lived fade into the distance and leaned my exhausted body against the seat. As soon as I get home, I’m taking a hot shower and sleeping. Looking at the time, it’s almost morning, so I’ll have to get ready for work after only a few hours of sleep…
Boom!
I had just closed my eyes when a sudden roar erupted from behind. The taxi screeched to a halt, and my body lurched forward.
“W-what was that?”
The roar was still echoing. When the taxi driver and I both looked back in surprise, we saw the 60-story hell-slide collapsing.
Seen from a distance, its majesty was even more imposing. It was structured like a giant dragon coiled around the building. So, I actually rode that thing down…
Ugh… I think another nightmare will be added to my list starting today…
* * *
I caught a cold.
It would have been strange not to catch a cold after spending half a day in a house full of ice. Moreover, there were more people on the waiting list than usual today. It meant I had been guiding without a break.
But finally, the time to leave work was approaching. I could go home after guiding one more person and writing the report.
Feeling a headache slowly creeping in, I quietly took some medicine in the breakroom.
A creepy, red pill the size of a finger joint. Because of its size, my throat still stung after taking it. As I frowned, swallowing the fishy taste rising from my stomach, Vasily suddenly popped his head out from behind me.
“Are you sick?”
“Ack!”
Startled by Vasily’s sudden appearance without a sound, I hurriedly moved away from him.
“Why do you just appear out of nowhere like that! You scared me!”
“You’re the one who didn’t notice I’ve been behind you for a while, Guide-nim.”
“Yes, yes, I’m sorry for being hard of hearing.”
Does he think everyone is an Esper like him? Forget it. Arguing with him would only tire me out.
“What is that medicine?”
Oops. Come to think of it, he saw me taking the pill. I stole a glance at Vasily. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to know what kind of medicine it was…
“It’s cold medicine. I’ve felt like I’m coming down with a cold since yesterday…”
“Hmm… really?”
Vasily stepped closer and stared intently at me. What is it… did he realize it’s a pill used for illegal suppression chips?
I swallowed hard in tension, and suddenly, Vasily pressed his forehead against mine.
“Indeed, your forehead is hot.”
“W-who measures a fever like this!”
“Is this not how? Everyone does it this way in Korean dramas.”
I rubbed my face, trying to calm my bewilderment. Then again, it’s hard to expect normal behavior from Vasily, who likely never built normal human relationships. It was impossible to demand common sense from someone who had probably never experienced a minor illness.
“Does it hurt a lot? Your face is red.”
I shook my head, pushing away Vasily as he leaned his face in again.
“I took medicine, so I’ll be fine soon. Anyway, what brings you here? As you can see, I’m not in good condition, so I don’t think I can provide guiding.”
“Hmm… I did come to request guiding… but looking at Guide Kwon Gi-dam’s condition, that would indeed be too much.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
I was about to refuse the guiding and send him away, but Vasily placed his hand on my forehead. Ah, it’s cool. My eyes closed involuntarily. Vasily’s cold hand seemed to soothe the fever on my forehead.