By Zephyria 
“……!”
With a short intake of breath, an urgent hand pushed against his shoulder.
In an instant, his arms felt empty. As the warmth vanished, his body temperature began to drop rapidly. Feeling the cold energy flowing from his heart and spreading through his body, Vasily slowly opened his eyes.
Turning his head, he saw Gi-dam staring at him from the edge of the bed with trembling eyes. Gi-dam was hurriedly feeling his own body to check if his clothes were intact, appearing as though he had no memory of last night’s events.
Vasily sighed and sat up.
“What are you doing over there, Guide Kwon Gi-dam?”
“Didn’t you clearly state that you wouldn’t receive guiding? Why on earth was I held in Esper Vasily’s arms!”
“Don’t you remember? You were the one who burrowed into my arms first, saying it was hot, Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
“T-that’s impossible……”
Gi-dam’s pale face suddenly flared red. It seemed something had come back to him.
Muttering that it couldn’t be true, Gi-dam soon bolted out of the room as if escaping. Listening to the rapidly receding footsteps, Vasily let out a short laugh and climbed out of bed.
It was a morning no different from any other, yet this was the first time his body had felt this light. The pain of frozen blood flowing through his veins and the throbbing headache had vanished. He even had the illusion that the faint trace of Gi-dam’s wavelength floating in his body was conveying warmth.
Even the sunlight pouring through the window didn’t bother him. Just by sleeping while holding Gi-dam for a single night, he was in the best condition he had been in since his awakening as an Esper.
As expected, he must not let Gi-dam slip away. He had to stay by his side for the rest of his life.
Vasily leisurely put on his suit, tidied his hair, and fastened his watch. After finishing his preparations, he went to find Gi-dam, only to be greeted by a gaze full of wariness.
“Get dressed. We’re going out.”
“……Is it a Gate?”
“No, we’re going to the association. I have a meeting.”
“I understand.”
At the mention of the association, Gi-dam’s wariness softened slightly.
Vasily shifted his gaze and quietly scanned the interior of the room. Aside from a few pieces of furniture, it was empty, without a single piece of simple luggage.
It was only natural since Gi-dam had thrown away everything he owned, but for some reason, Vasily didn’t like it. It felt as if he might abandon this place and leave at any moment.
The moment Vasily took a step to enter the room, Gi-dam quickly blocked his path.
“I need to change my clothes, so please leave.”
“You could just change in front of me—”
Slam!
The door closed before he could finish his sentence. Although he had been kicked out of the room, Vasily turned around without regret.
Stepping into the living room, he saw the sunlight streaming through the window and spilling over the sofa. After staring at the light for a moment, Vasily sat in the spot where the sun hit most directly.
The strong sunlight settled upon his skin. It had been a long time since he had been able to withstand the sun without issue. He had always avoided the sun because even a slight touch felt like his flesh was boiling.
Now, however, it felt warm and pleasant. Was this why the expressions of people walking under the sunlight looked so happy? Indeed, such warmth was enough to naturally lift one’s mood.
He gently curled his palm, but as expected, he couldn’t grasp the warmth of the sunlight. Vasily withdrew his hand, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes.
Just then, he heard the sound of Gi-dam coming out of the room.
Entering the living room, Gi-dam spotted Vasily sitting on the sofa and approached him with quick steps.
Thinking that he was coming to wake him, Vasily waited for him with his eyes closed. However, Gi-dam passed right by Vasily, headed for the window, and without hesitation, closed the curtains.
The warmth pouring over his face vanished in an instant. Opening his eyes and turning his head, he saw Gi-dam standing there, holding the curtains. As Vasily blinked and looked at him, Gi-dam spoke.
“Don’t you hate the sunlight?”
Only after saying that did Gi-dam seem to realize the strangeness of his own action and flinch. Before the flustered Gi-dam could leave the spot, Vasily reached out and grabbed him.
“Did you block it for me?”
“N-no…… I suddenly remembered you saying something like that……”
“Is that so?”
“It seems my memories are returning bit by bit.”
He didn’t seem to realize that the more he flusteredly made excuses, the more obvious it was that he was lying. But it was fine. That wasn’t what was important right now.
“Mmph……”
Vasily grabbed Gi-dam’s chin and kissed him just like that. He had intended to wait until Gi-dam adapted to his memory loss, but there was no way he could endure it when his Guide was acting like this right before his eyes.
The moment their lips touched, Gi-dam’s body stiffened and then began to tremble slightly. But even this trembling felt like it was urging him on today.
“Ba, Basil…… ngh!”
While Gi-dam’s body was rigid, his lips allowed entry far too easily. Vasily wrapped his tongue around the one calling his name and sucked on it wetly.
As he toyed with the tongue and lightly swept the roof of the mouth, Gi-dam shuddered violently and gripped his shoulders. The jacket crumpled in Gi-dam’s hands, but Vasily didn’t mind.
Even though he kissed him so softly, Gi-dam’s trembling showed no sign of stopping.
He felt sorry for the terrified Gi-dam, but Vasily had no intention of stopping. The more they kissed and mingled their tongues, the worse his thirst became.
Since the suppression chip that interfered with guiding was gone, he thought he could be satisfied with light contact for the time being, but he was mistaken. How could he possibly endure it with such a sweet being right in front of him?
The more he touched Gi-dam, the hotter his body became. His heart, which should have been nothing but cold, began to beat rapidly.
“……!”
Unable to hold back, he tilted his head and kissed him deeply, as if to devour him. In response, Gi-dam’s grip tightened immediately.
Crunch.
Vasily paused at the sound of flesh being bitten. The stinging pain felt on his tongue and the taste of blood spreading in his mouth made the meaning clear.
The eyelashes of the tense Gi-dam fluttered, and his Adam’s apple moved sharply.
Unfortunately, there was one fact Gi-dam didn’t know. This kind of pain only served to excite him further. However……
“Haa……”
Vasily slowly pulled his head away. As their lips parted, blood trickled down Gi-dam’s chin.
“Let’s head out now.”
Vasily wiped the blood from the corner of Gi-dam’s mouth and took a step back. It was a pity, but it seemed best to stop here for today. If he went any further, Gi-dam might actually lose his breath.
After leaving the house with Gi-dam, Vasily headed straight for the conference room upon arriving at the association.
Starting today, he planned to repeat the events that had occurred before the memory loss so that Gi-dam could recover his memories.
He couldn’t just sit still and wait for the memories to return. The words he had told Gi-dam were fabricated, but as they moved around together, something was bound to come back to him.
“Hello, Esper Vasily. We have prepared everything after receiving word that you would be coming with your Guide.”
As Vasily entered the conference room, the people inside stood up to greet him. One of them guided Vasily and Gi-dam into the room.
“We have prepared seats over there.”
Two chairs were placed side by side in the spot with the best view of the screen displaying the meeting materials. After staring at them for a moment as if dissatisfied, Vasily pointed to one of them and spoke.
“Remove one chair.”
“Pardon? Then where will the Guide……”
“I will stand behind.”
At Vasily’s remark, Gi-dam answered instead, as if he were used to it. Seeing Gi-dam’s attitude—avoiding eye contact and stepping back with an expression that said ‘I knew it’—Vasily’s mood soured.
“No, sit on my lap.”
Gi-dam’s face turned pale. It was a miraculously identical reaction to the first time he had heard those words.
“What…… did you just say?”
Gi-dam asked back, doubting his own ears. Vasily sat down, offered his lap, and explained kindly once more.
“I said sit. On my lap.”
“Have you finally gone mad?”
“No. This is also for Guide Kwon Gi-dam. We have to bring back your memories.”
“What on earth does me sitting on your lap have to do with recovering my memories?”
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam often sat on my lap when attending meetings.”
“What kind of ridiculous lie is that……”
“A lie? Some of the people in here probably know.”
Gi-dam tried to ignore Vasily’s words, thinking it was nonsense, but for some reason, the surrounding atmosphere became solemn.
Not even the sound of paper flipping could be heard. Feeling that the sudden silence was strange, Gi-dam looked around.
A few people who made eye contact with Gi-dam cleared their throats and looked away. Even the employee who had guided them to their seats awkwardly avoided his gaze.
Gi-dam’s expression gradually hardened. It was because the meaning behind their reactions was far too clear.