By Zephyria 
“More importantly, what brings an Esper to visit a patient?”
“Is it strange for me to visit? I’ve come a few times before.”
“You… have?”
Gi-dam’s expression twisted subtly. Seeing the reaction that suggested he didn’t remember at all, Vasily feigned a look of disappointment. He wondered if Gi-dam had already forgotten their second meeting.
“Well, it worked out. I had something I wanted to say anyway.”
“What is it?”
“I want to terminate the exclusive contract.”
Vasily paused. He had intended to grant any request Gi-dam might have once he woke up, so these words were entirely unexpected.
Vasily’s expression instantly froze cold.
You came back on your own two feet, and now you say you want to leave?
“What do you mean? You want to terminate the contract.”
“Exactly what I said. I never want to be caught up in a rampage again, nor do I want to guide you, Mr. Esper.”
“…….”
At Gi-dam’s resolute attitude, Vasily fell silent.
Is he serious? No… he must have spoken impulsively. Because…
“But Guide Kwon Gi-dam, you came to find me yourself.”
“Do you think I did that because I wanted to? If I hadn’t stopped you there, we both would have died like dogs!”
“Even if I were to die, I would have died alone. You think Guide Kwon Gi-dam would have died too?”
“Ha, then do you think I could have escaped the Gate alone in that situation?”
…Gate?
As the conversation continued, questions piled up one by one. They were clearly talking, but it felt as if they were speaking different languages.
To confirm the sense of incongruity he felt, Vasily posed a question.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, tell me what happened before you lost consciousness.”
“Yes… why would you…”
“Now.”
As Vasily pressed for an answer, Gi-dam frowned, let out a deep sigh, and continued.
“You suddenly went into a rampage inside the Gate, and I got caught up in it. You know this, so why are you asking?”
Gate.
He hadn’t misheard. Since a moment ago, Gi-dam believed he had entered a Gate.
Vasily fell into thought for a moment.
Was it memory confusion due to the shock? No… it was a different kind of thing.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, what is today’s date?”
“I was told I’ve been unconscious for about a month; do you really think I’d know today’s date?”
“The last date you remember is fine.”
“……The 25th.”
“No, start with the year.”
When the question was asked precisely, Gi-dam’s expression became peculiar. His gaze seemed to ask why on earth he was asking such a thing.
“December 25th, 2031.”
The moment he heard the answer, the corners of Vasily’s mouth slowly curled upward. The doubt he had harbored for a long time was finally becoming a reality.
Reading the uncontrollable euphoria in that smile, Gi-dam flinched. Vasily belatedly composed his expression and spoke.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, it is currently 2025.”
“What… what do you mean…”
“See, I was right, wasn’t I?”
Vasily pulled up the calendar on his smartphone and handed it to Gi-dam. Gi-dam looked at the date in bewilderment and became greatly agitated.
“H-how did this happen…”
“It seems your memories are confused due to the accident. Oh, and while it’s true that you were caught up in my rampage, the location wasn’t a Gate. It was my house.”
Gi-dam looked extremely confused. Because he hadn’t grasped the situation yet, it seemed Vasily’s words weren’t even registering.
Gi-dam’s face repeatedly turned pale and then ghostly white. Since it seemed to take time for him to accept his situation, Vasily waited leisurely. He was in a better mood now than ever before.
“How is your body?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then prepare for discharge. Let’s leave the hospital right now.”
As Vasily nonchalantly turned his gaze away, Gi-dam snapped his head up and shouted urgently.
“Before that, answer my question first—”
“Your memory doesn’t seem intact, so let’s talk about that again once your memories return, Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
“…….”
Since Vasily postponed the answer using Gi-dam’s condition as an excuse, he couldn’t argue. Gi-dam likely knew as well. That the best thing to do right now was to stay quiet and assess the situation.
After completing the discharge procedures, Vasily led Gi-dam out of the hospital room. Because Gi-dam lacked strength in his legs and couldn’t walk properly, Vasily had to support him.
Gi-dam seemed quite humiliated by the situation, but Vasily was very satisfied. For the record, the offer to carry him was firmly rejected before they left the room.
Since Gi-dam had no clothes to change into, he ended up going home wearing his patient gown. As soon as he stepped out of the warm hospital room, Gi-dam shivered at the cold air that greeted him.
Vasily immediately took off his jacket and draped it over Gi-dam’s shoulders. As the heavy suit jacket softly wrapped around him, Gi-dam looked up at him in surprise.
“Why this…”
“Wear it. You’ll catch a cold.”
Gi-dam’s mouth hung open in bewilderment. Or rather, he looked like he was in shock.
Just then, a bright voice intervened between them from a distance.
“Gi-dam-ssi!”
Vasily’s expression crumpled upon spotting a familiar face. It was a man who had once been Gi-dam’s colleague. Because he had been stuck to Gi-dam’s side every time Vasily went to see him, Vasily remembered his name despite not wanting to.
…Was his name Jo Woo-yeon?
The gaze of Vasily, whose quality time was being interrupted, sank coldly. However, Jo Woo-yeon failed to notice and spoke to Gi-dam with delight.
“I heard you were hospitalized, but I didn’t know you were at this hospital! Are you okay now? Ah, I was visiting a friend who got hurt a few days ago—”
“Excuse me…”
Gi-dam cautiously cut off the brightly chatting voice.
“I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong person.”
“What?”
“If you’ll excuse me…”
Gi-dam finished his sentence and bowed politely.
Jo Woo-yeon was greatly flustered. Even Vasily, who was watching, was surprised enough to look at Gi-dam.
A moment later, Vasily quietly covered his mouth to hide the twitching corners of his lips.
This… is quite good.
“W-wait a moment…”
“I’m sorry, but my Guide says he doesn’t know you.”
Vasily blocked Jo Woo-yeon’s arm as he tried to grab Gi-dam. After seeing him act close to Gi-dam every time, seeing him get coldly brushed off was immensely satisfying.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Gi-dam’s memories didn’t return like this.
“Shall we go, Guide Kwon Gi-dam?”
Vasily said, gently wrapping his arm around Gi-dam’s shoulder. Gi-dam glanced at the frozen Jo Woo-yeon and nodded. They left the scene, leaving a stunned Jo Woo-yeon behind.
* * *
Even in the car on the way home, Gi-dam held onto Vasily’s smartphone, staring at the date and denying reality for a long time.
Though his mouth was tightly shut, looking at his shaking pupils, Vasily could tell that countless thoughts were racing through that small head. Therefore, he couldn’t let his guard down. Gi-dam occasionally surprised him in extraordinary ways.
Gi-dam sighed and placed the smartphone down next to the driver’s seat.
“Thank you for letting me use it.”
“Do you believe me now?”
“Yes, well…”
Gi-dam nodded, turning his gaze away with a complex expression. However, Gi-dam wasn’t the only one who had assessed the situation during that time.
‘Six years…’
Does he have memories of spending six years with me?
One could think that a nerve connected to the brain was damaged, causing a mental abnormality, but the circumstances suggesting Gi-dam knew the future were too clear for that.
Before even awakening as a Guide, he anticipated being matched with Vasily and avoided him while having a suppression chip implanted, and he knew information about Gates that hadn’t even opened yet.
He had appeared out of nowhere at the scene of a Gate opening to save children and prevented an accident where a hotel almost collapsed. If he listed all the suspicious behaviors, a single book wouldn’t be enough.
Looking at Gi-dam, who sat in the passenger seat in confusion, Vasily quietly curled his lips upward.
There was much to be done. He had to uncover the true nature of the incongruity he had felt until now, before Gi-dam’s memories returned.