By Zephyria 
Gi-dam gripped his seatbelt and turned his head toward the window. A tall building was reflected in his black eyes as he gazed at the dark road.
“It’s actually perfectly fine…”
The building he was looking at was a hotel that had recently reopened after construction. Hearing the small mutter, Vasily asked.
“Do you remember that the hotel almost collapsed?”
“No, I saw it in an article. That Esper Vasily froze the building…”
Vasily, who had been hopeful that Gi-dam had already recovered some of his memories, quickly lost interest.
It seemed he had read the related article while searching for the dating rumors. Then again, the hotel incident was one of the pieces of evidence supporting the rumors, so it was only natural that it caught his eye.
Seeing him surprised that the hotel was intact, it seemed that in the future Gi-dam knew, the building had collapsed. Was that why he had lured him into the hotel under the guise of seduction and gone that far?
Thinking about it now, it was an obvious ploy. He felt absurd that he had almost let it slide without noticing.
“That’s right. I went in with Guide Kwon Gi-dam, and when the hotel started to collapse, I froze the entire building.”
“Why was I there?”
“We were on a date, obviously. Do you believe me now?”
“…….”
Gi-dam remained silent, his mouth shut. He still seemed to be in denial, but Vasily did not press for an answer. If evidence that he had no choice but to believe continued to be presented before his eyes, Gi-dam would eventually have to accept the dating rumors.
The moment he realized the romantic relationship was a lie would be after his memories returned. Until then, it meant that no matter what lie Vasily told, he wouldn’t be caught and could lead the situation however he wanted.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
Vasily called out to Gi-dam, who was stumbling through the front door, still unable to recover from the shock of the dating rumors. Gi-dam stopped with a start, his shoulders trembling, and slowly turned around.
“Come to my room before you go to sleep.”
“Is it because of guiding?”
“No, I won’t take any guiding.”
Gi-dam’s expression, which had hardened in anticipation of an answer that he would have to provide guiding, changed subtly. However, as if a verbal promise wasn’t enough, he couldn’t let go of his suspicion and asked warily.
“Then why are you calling me to your room?”
“Sleep in my room.”
“Yes…”
“We used to sleep together, originally.”
When Vasily added the reason to his answer, Gi-dam’s face turned pale this time. After being unable to speak for a long while, he barely managed to squeeze out a response.
“I… prefer sleeping alone.”
“You have to live as usual so that your memories can return. It might be uncomfortable at first, but you’ll get used to it soon.”
“N-no. I don’t particularly want to sleep with the Esper.”
“That’s strange… Why are you refusing so much? Don’t tell me you don’t want to get your memories back?”
When Vasily asked back as if it were strange, Gi-dam slowly averted his gaze. It was a rare look of embarrassment for Gi-dam, who had always kept a stiff expression since losing his memory.
“……I understand.”
Gi-dam nodded reluctantly. He seemed to think that if he refused any further, he would be suspected.
Vasily whispered softly as he passed by Gi-dam, who had his head hanging low.
“Then, I’ll be waiting.”
Vasily went into his room, finished preparing for bed, and waited, but Gi-dam did not come even after a long time. Since it was expected, he wasn’t particularly surprised.
For a while now, the sound of deep sighs had been leaking incessantly from the direction of Gi-dam’s room. Gi-dam had been agonizing in that state for several hours.
‘He’s finally moving.’
Once midnight passed, he finally heard the sound of Gi-dam leaving his room, as if he had finally made up his mind. The footsteps, which grew closer and closer, eventually stopped in front of Vasily’s room. After a short wait, a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
Creak.
The door opened slowly, and Gi-dam appeared. A t-shirt and suit pants that looked like they were bought from a convenience store. Since he didn’t have pajamas yet, it seemed that such a bizarre fashion choice had been completed.
Whether there had been much conflict before coming here, his fatigue-stained face looked quite haggard. It was evident that he hadn’t wanted to come, but it seemed he eventually came, unable to withstand the encroaching sleepiness.
“You’re late. Are you going to sleep now?”
“……Yes.”
Gi-dam answered quietly and approached the bed. However, instead of lying down immediately, he stopped in front of the bed, looked down at Vasily, and asked.
“Are you really not going to receive guiding?”
“I’m not really in the mood for guiding today. So, Guide Kwon Gi-dam, don’t worry and just go to sleep.”
This time, Vasily was sincere. If he tried to receive guiding from Gi-dam, it was certain that something like yesterday would happen. It was better to just get some sleep while feeling the warmth transmitted through the blanket.
Only after hearing the firm answer that he wouldn’t receive guiding did Gi-dam get onto the bed. Seeing him lie down while keeping a wide distance even on the bed, the expression on Vasily’s face slowly vanished.
Gi-dam seemed to be avoiding him while simultaneously fearing guiding. He still couldn’t guess the reason. Therefore, he had no choice but to observe Gi-dam’s reactions and find the cause.
“Then, good night.”
When he turned off the small lamp he had left on while waiting for Gi-dam, darkness settled in the room.
Gi-dam held his breath and tried to sleep. Vasily also intended to close his eyes at the warmth coming from the other side, but he felt a body trembling slightly through the blanket.
Seeing that his breathing was steady, he wasn’t terrified like yesterday. Seeing him curl up and pull the blanket up to his chin, he seemed to be cold.
“Are you cold?”
“I’m a little cold.”
Gi-dam answered immediately without denying it. However, upon hearing those words, Vasily’s gaze grew colder.
He might really be cold, but… there was a high possibility that he was using the excuse of being cold to try and return to his own room. Gi-dam was quite skilled at lying.
This time, he had no intention of falling for Gi-dam’s acting. Thinking so, he turned his gaze away, but Gi-dam’s slightly trembling shoulders kept catching his eye.
“…….”
Come to think of it, Gi-dam’s physical strength had weakened since he hadn’t been out of the hospital bed for long. It was plausible that the chill leaking from Vasily’s body felt cold.
If Gi-dam caught a cold, it would interfere with future schedules. Vasily sat up, set the heating to the highest temperature, and lay back down in bed.
“Go back to sleep. It’ll be warm soon.”
“……Thank you.”
After a while, the temperature in the room rose, and Gi-dam’s trembling gradually subsided. Once the room became quiet, Vasily turned his head and looked at Gi-dam, who had fallen asleep.
The sound of steady breathing came from the edge of the bed. Contrary to his suspicion, seeing that he fell asleep as soon as the surroundings became warm, it seemed it had been a needless misunderstanding.
It was now time for Vasily to try to sleep as well, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the sight of Gi-dam sleeping peacefully.
Unlike when he was lying in the hospital receiving oxygen and various medications, his face was full of vitality. Although he had lost his memory, the important thing was the fact that he was alive.
Yes, compared to almost losing the Guide he had finally acquired, losing memories was not a big problem. Memories would come back one by one over time, and even if they never returned for the rest of his life, he could just implant the same memories again. The fact that Gi-dam was his Guide remained unchanged.
“Ugh…”
Gi-dam made a strained sound and tossed and turned. Just as Vasily was looking at his deeply furrowed brow, wondering if he was having a nightmare, Gi-dam pressed his body against Vasily.
“Ah, it’s cool…”
Then, as if he could finally breathe, he fell back into a deep sleep.
Vasily looked at Gi-dam, who was burrowing into his arms without a word. Then, he discovered an unusually hot body temperature and a forehead damp with sweat.
This time, the room seemed to be too hot. In the past, he had been scolded by Gi-dam several times for setting the temperature unnecessarily high.
“…….”
Vasily quietly looked down at the round crown of Gi-dam’s head nestled in his arms.
The gesture of unconsciously clinging to him in search of coolness wasn’t bad. A body temperature hotter than usual and guiding flowed in from the point of contact.
It’s warm.
Complex thoughts vanished in an instant, and his mind became calm. The nerves that had been sharply on edge the moment he touched Gi-dam’s feverish body, and the mood that had sunk after pushing away the terrified Gi-dam, melted away without a trace.
He felt like he could sleep soundly today. Vasily wrapped his arms around the back of Gi-dam, who was clinging to him, and fell asleep just like that.