By Zephyria 
I looked around the darkened room after turning off the lights and returned to the bed.
As I slid under the covers, I felt Vasily, who was lying beside me, make a move to get up. I hurriedly reached out and grabbed him.
However, what I felt in my hand was a body thicker and firmer than usual. After kneading and groping it for a while, I finally realized.
It was his thigh…
“…….”
A brief silence followed.
“U-uh, it was too dark to see.”
I babbled, having grabbed the wrong spot. I didn’t know why an excuse jumped out of my mouth, but I felt like I had to say something to break this suffocating atmosphere.
The only saving grace was that Vasily was wearing clothes.
“……Let go of me first before you speak.”
“I’ll let go once you lie back down in bed.”
A short sigh was heard in the darkness. I could easily guess his expression without even checking. No doubt he was looking down at me with a pathetic look on his face.
The mattress shook gently as Vasily lay back down.
In the meantime, I blinked hard, trying to adjust to the dark. Finally, objects began to form in my vision, which had been nothing but black.
As soon as my sight returned, the first thing I did was turn my head to look at Vasily. Lying flat on his back, he still had his hand on his head, as if his headache hadn’t subsided.
“Is your headache that severe?”
“That is none of your business, Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
“I can’t fall asleep peacefully on my own while you’re like that.”
Using the excuse that I couldn’t sleep because of him, I shifted my body closer to him, intending to provide guiding. Because the bed was so wide, it took a while before I finally reached him.
“Just be quiet and go to sleep while receiving guiding.”
I lay down with my back turned, pressing my body against Vasily’s arm.
Because of that, I couldn’t see Vasily’s face, but I felt a cold body temperature behind my back. I blinked quietly and focused on the cool energy flowing into my body.
I waited for a long time in that state, but Vasily did not fall asleep. A strange tension flowed between us as he lay still, not even making a sound with his breath.
He must be pouring with sleep, so why is he still holding out? I abruptly sat up and turned to look at him.
“Does this level of contact not make you sleepy? Then I’ll give you stronger guiding.”
I got on top of Vasily’s body, acting annoyed. I sat perched on his firm lower body and looked down at him. The sight of Vasily looking up at me with a frown stimulated a strange sense of conquest.
“Don’t do anything foolish and get off, Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
“I don’t want to.”
Ignoring his words, I took off my shirt. However, the moment I tossed my pajamas aside, my vision spun.
“Ugh!”
Thump. Vasily flipped his body and slammed me down onto the bed.
Pinned to the bed, my wrists were grabbed roughly. A groan mixed with pain escaped me instinctively at the grip that felt as if it would crush my wrists.
Pretending not to be in pain, I barely managed to curl the corners of my lips and asked Vasily, who had pounced on me, sarcastically:
“Have you finally decided you want to receive guiding?”
“……No. Sorry, but I have no intention of playing along with Guide Kwon Gi-dam’s plans. So just sleep quietly. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”
A blue light flickered in his eyes. Was this a threat that he would use his abilities on me if I didn’t listen? I let out a laugh, finding it absurd.
One moment he was playing tricks, saying he’d receive guiding, and now he’s refusing it while even threatening me. Frustrated that I couldn’t understand his unpredictable behavior, I threw out a question.
“Then let me hear the reason. Why on earth are you refusing to sleep?”
“…….”
Vasily’s mouth remained tightly shut. Right, he’s always like this when he’s at a disadvantage. Since I hadn’t expected an answer anyway, I didn’t even feel hollow.
The moment I turned my head with a scowl, an answer finally came.
“Because I feel like if I close my eyes for a moment and open them, Guide Kwon Gi-dam will have disappeared.”
“…….”
“Yes, as if…… you were never here from the start.”
Since my head had been filled with nothing but thoughts of making Vasily sleep and escaping, I felt a sharp prick of guilt. Pretending I wasn’t, I shifted my gaze away and grumbled.
“I’m not some gust of wind; would I really disappear in that short time?”
“Then let me ask one thing too. Why is Guide Kwon Gi-dam so desperate to provide guiding right now?”
This time, Vasily asked the question. I remained silent for a moment before answering.
“It’s because I was worried.”
Vasily paused. Seeing his low, sunken eyes quietly turn toward me, I continued.
“Do you ask that knowing what state you’re in, Esper? Even for an S-Class, I know that problems arise if you can’t sleep for this long.”
“…….”
“Guiding isn’t working properly because of the suppression chip, but I am Esper Vasily’s dedicated Guide. Isn’t it natural for me to be worried?”
It wasn’t a complete lie. The reason I wanted to remove the suppression chip was to provide him with proper guiding in a healthy state.
Since becoming Vasily’s Guide, I had been doing my best in my own way.
There was no more entering Gates, nor was there any more forced physical intimacy. In a daily life that was peaceful to the point of boredom, all I did was provide him with ordinary guiding.
But strangely, the more time I spent with him, the more my hatred faded. Though I didn’t want to admit it, I had even begun to find it fun to spend days that were never quiet with him.
I thought that, as Vasily had once said, trust had slowly sprouted between us. That was probably why I was overwhelmed with deep disappointment when Vasily rejected the proposal I had made after long deliberation.
“…….”
I felt the strength binding my wrists gradually weaken. Just as I was about to pull my hands away, thinking I might have bruises tomorrow, Vasily suddenly collapsed on top of me.
“Cough!”
Is he finally trying to kill me? Panicking and struggling, I barely managed to poke my head out from his embrace.
I was able to breathe by avoiding the pressure, but the power of his three-digit weight pressing down on me remained. I groaned, pushing hard against Vasily’s shoulder.
“You’re heavy, so move. Do you even know your own weight… Esper Vasily?”
I shut my mouth, realizing something was wrong. Looking at Vasily’s state, it seemed sleep had finally overtaken him.
Though his heavy body pressed down on me and made it hard to breathe, I lifted my arm and patted his broad back. Then, I whispered quietly.
“Get some deep sleep while receiving guiding today. In exchange, when you wake up tomorrow, you’ll have to let me draw two liters of your blood.”
Vasily’s laughter echoed in the dark room. Before long, the sound of steady breathing reached my ears.
* * *
My eyes snapped open.
Did I fall asleep without realizing it? I hurriedly checked the time. Fortunately, it was still early morning.
I was terribly tired from having slept so little, and I even felt the onset of a cold, perhaps due to the hot suppression chip. But there was no time to dawdle. I had to leave while Vasily was asleep.
I looked at Vasily, who was sleeping while hugging me from behind. Seeing his comfortably closed eyelids and peaceful expression, he seemed to be in a deep sleep.
Since he had finally fallen asleep after being unable to for so long, he wouldn’t wake up easily. I crept out of the room, muffling my footsteps so that he wouldn’t wake up.
As soon as I returned to my room, I took my medicine and picked up the bag I had packed in advance. I was about to leave the house, but for some reason, my feet wouldn’t move.
“Sigh……”
I let out a deep sigh and ruffled my hair.
If I disappeared like this without a word, Vasily would surely run wild like a madman the moment he woke up. I went back to the room and looked for a post-it note and a pen.
Click, click.
I held the pen and agonized for a long time. It was just a message saying I was going to China for a bit to turn off the power of the suppression chip, but even that was hard to write.
[I’ll be back soon after resolving the suppression chip.]
In the end, I put the pen down after writing only the short business.
Returning to Vasily’s room, I quietly walked to the bedside. Vasily was still fast asleep.
I stuck the post-it note on the pillow I had placed in Vasily’s arms in my stead and looked down at the scene.
‘This should be enough.’
At least I had done everything I could. I had tried to persuade Vasily to go to China with me, and I had provided guiding all night before leaving. Now, it was up to Vasily to wait for me.
I headed to the entrance again. The ice covering the front door was melting, and water was dripping. Because the weather had turned chilly, it hadn’t melted completely, but I managed to break the ice and open the door by pushing with force.
Before leaving the house, I looked back one last time.
Farewell, you bastard.