By Zephyria 
“Furthermore, Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi is in a state of memory confusion, believing himself to be an S-class guide. It would be better if he were hospitalized even now…”
“I’ll pass on that.”
Vasily ignored the Attending Physician trying to persuade him and walked away. Upon returning to the lab, he saw Gi-dam sitting quietly in the chair, exactly as he had been before Vasily left.
Vasily’s lips curled upward as he looked at Gi-dam. He had heard the sound of Gi-dam quickly sitting back down in the chair the moment he sensed Vasily returning, after having eavesdropped on the conversation from the doorway, but Vasily didn’t bother to point it out.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, get up. Let’s return to your private room.”
“Understood.”
The Attending Physician tried to stop them, insisting that Gi-dam needed stability, but Vasily ignored the doctor and took Gi-dam back to the private room.
Vasily sat on the sofa in the private room and stared at Gi-dam, who was seated opposite him.
As if uncomfortable with the gaze, Gi-dam kept his mouth shut and lowered his head. He must have been his guide for six years, yet Gi-dam’s body stiffened the moment their eyes met.
‘Come to think of it, was he like this when we first met?’
Gi-dam always grew tense and trembled whenever he stood before him. Even though it had been their first meeting, it was as if he were afraid of something.
Only now did the identity of the dissonance he felt back then become clear. Guide Kwon Gi-dam was afraid of him. Of course, it was the same now.
He could now guess the reason. It was easy to deduce how he must have treated Gi-dam in the future that Gi-dam remembered.
Fear was a method of perfect domination. He must have thoroughly tamed Gi-dam so that he could never escape.
However, he couldn’t just stay like this while waiting for the memories to return.
Gi-dam, who had been terrified of him at first, gradually let down his guard over time. It was likely due to the effect of Vasily hiding his true nature and behaving docilely to get close to him.
Vasily intended to return his relationship with Gi-dam to how it was before. Since he had already lived that way for half a year, continuing to act docile wasn’t difficult. He was certain that if he handled Gi-dam with the attitude he had shown until now, Gi-dam would soon lower his guard and return to his former self.
First, he had to make him accustomed to physical contact. In this state, he wouldn’t even be able to receive proper guiding until his memories returned.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, come here.”
Gi-dam followed the instruction readily, like a dog receiving a command. Standing beside Vasily after rising from the sofa, Gi-dam waited for the next order.
“Sit next to me.”
Gi-dam obeyed this time as well, but he sat with an ambiguous distance between them. Vasily didn’t like that subtle sense of distance.
‘It can’t be helped for now.’ Vasily relaxed his stiff expression and spoke.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, you haven’t heard the test results yet, have you? Are you curious?”
“……Yes.”
At the mention of the tests, Gi-dam finally turned his head, showing interest. He had tried to eavesdrop on the conversation between the Attending Physician and Vasily in the lab, but it seemed he hadn’t heard everything clearly.
In that case, he would be anxious. Gi-dam currently believed that he hadn’t lost his memory, but had instead returned to the past. Therefore, he would be tense, fearing that the fact that he hadn’t lost his memory had been discovered.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam injured his neck while stopping my rampage, and it seems the shock caused some memory confusion. They said there’s nothing wrong with your brain, so rest easy.”
As Vasily continued, Gi-dam showed visible relief. However, Vasily wasn’t finished.
“And they said that to help you recover your memories, it’s best to treat Guide Kwon Gi-dam as usual.”
“What… does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. They told me to act as I did before Guide Kwon Gi-dam lost his memory.”
Vasily continued nonchalantly. The Attending Physician had never said such a thing, but Vasily intended to gradually increase physical contact under the pretext of helping Gi-dam recover his memories to receive guiding.
“So, I’m thinking of spending time with you as usual from now on…”
Vasily shifted his body and sat close to Gi-dam. As the distance closed enough for their thighs to touch, he felt Gi-dam’s body stiffen.
Vasily took Gi-dam’s hand and brought it to his lips.
“E-Esper Vasily-nim…”
Gi-dam gasped and became extremely tense immediately. Since he reacted this way to a light touch, there was no choice but to tame him so that he wouldn’t feel aversion to contact.
After fiddling with the hand, Vasily lightly kissed the back of it. Guiding spread softly between his lips, as if warm water were flowing in.
The stifling thirst was quenched in an instant.
Just by touching, the headache vanished and his mind cleared. The guiding and warmth that flowed through the point of contact melted away the coldness accumulated in his body without a trace.
“Are you saying you did things like this with me…”
“Why? Is it strange?”
“This kind of thing is…”
Gi-dam was flustered and couldn’t find the words. In place of the man who remained silent for a long time, Vasily asked.
“Does it feel like something only lovers do?”
“…….”
Gi-dam remained silent, but reading the affirmation in that reaction, Vasily murmured softly.
“I’m hurt…”
The reaction was better than expected, making him want to tease him a bit more. Vasily hid the curling of his lips while pretending to kiss the back of the hand.
“Did you forget even our relationship?”
“……?”
Gi-dam blinked. At first, he quietly chewed over the meaning of the words without much reaction, but as he gradually understood the intent, his body began to freeze.
“S… Surely…”
Gi-dam’s pupils shook violently. He asked with a look of denial.
“Are you saying we were in a romantic relationship?”
“You don’t believe me? Then look it up. There should be articles.”
Saying so, Vasily let go of the hand so Gi-dam could search for himself. Gi-dam’s face turned pale, and his hands trembled as he pulled a smartphone from his pocket.
After tapping the screen a few times, Gi-dam’s finger stopped, as if he had found an article. As he read down the article, Gi-dam’s eyes widened and were soon dyed with horror.
His black pupils shook miserably. Vasily leisurely waited for Gi-dam to finish reading the article, enjoying the way his expression changed from moment to moment.
“H-how could this happen…”
Gi-dam muttered, covering his mouth. It seemed he had finished confirming.
Judging by the shocked reaction, there must not have been any dating rumors in the past. Was that why Gi-dam had hated them so much and wanted the articles taken down quickly?
He felt that he had done the right thing by leaving the articles without deleting them. Now he could use them in this way.
Vasily smiled with satisfaction as he looked at Gi-dam, who couldn’t recover from the shock. He planned to use this as an excuse to gradually close the distance. If he claimed they were lovers, it would be harder for Gi-dam to feel aversion or refuse as he increased the contact.
Just imagining the expression Gi-dam would make after his memories returned was delightful. The current Gi-dam, who had forgotten all memories of being with him, would have no way to verify whether those words were true.
“Do you believe me now? We are—”
“Ugh…”
However, Vasily couldn’t finish his sentence.
“Uuuugh…”
Because Gi-dam gagged and bolted out of the room.
* * *
“…….”
“…….”
“Um… Esper Vasily-nim.”
Gi-dam spoke cautiously.
From the moment he had covered his mouth and rushed to the bathroom until the moment they left the private room to go home, Vasily had remained silent and hadn’t even glanced at Gi-dam. Breaking the murderous silence to speak first required considerable courage for Gi-dam.
“I am sorry for what happened in the private room.”
“Why is Guide Kwon Gi-dam apologizing?”
“Well… haven’t you been angry since a while ago?”
“I have?”
Vasily let out a short, incredulous laugh. His attitude was one of complete denial.
“That can’t be. Not only did Guide Kwon Gi-dam forget our relationship, but he even gagged and ran out, yet I have never been angry.”
“…….”
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam must be confused because he lost his memory, so it’s only natural for him to react that way.”
“……I am sorry.”
Gi-dam apologized once more, but the speed of the car racing violently down the road did not decrease at all.