By Zephyria 
After Vasily fell asleep, I think I drifted off at some point while waiting for the ice covering the doorknob to melt.
In my hazy state of mind, something sparkled beyond my closed eyelids. As I slowly lifted my lids, I saw sunlight leaking through the curtains.
What, was it just the sunlight…?
Just as I was about to fall back asleep, I noticed Vasily’s smartphone screen lighting up on the bedside table. Looking closer, I saw that a call was coming through.
Thinking it might be an urgent call requesting Gate support, I quickly woke Vasily.
“Esper-nim. You have a call.”
I shook his shoulder, but Vasily didn’t get up. Or rather, to be precise, he had woken up but was ignoring me with his eyes closed.
This… means he doesn’t want to answer. Fine, do whatever you want.
Leaving Vasily alone, I looked down at the smartphone that continued to ring. Seeing an unsaved number, I felt it was a familiar sequence, and as I searched my memory, I concluded it was the Attending Physician’s phone number.
At this point, it should be fine if I answer.
“It’s a call from the Attending Physician. I’ll just take it.”
Since the signal had been ringing for quite a while, I thought the call would be cut off soon, so I hurriedly pressed the call button without waiting for an answer.
“Hello, Doctor. This is Kwon Gi-dam.”
Ah, is this Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi? Good morning.
“The Esper is sleeping… so I answered on his behalf.”
To be precise, he wasn’t sleeping, but pretending to. As I spoke, I used the hand not holding the phone to firmly push away Vasily’s head, which was clinging to my side.
To think he’s sleeping until this hour… It seems the guiding he receives from Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi is indeed very effective.
The Attending Physician, knowing that Vasily suffered from insomnia, marveled in surprise.
I quietly lowered my gaze to look at Vasily lying beside me. The subject of the conversation had been hugging my waist without moving a muscle from the moment I woke up.
Softly flowing silver hair tickled my side. Wavelengths seeped through the point of contact, and a single ray of sunlight filtering through the curtains landed gently on his closed eyelashes.
It’s peaceful. I don’t want to admit it, but at some point, the moments spent with him became too familiar.
I stared at Vasily for a moment before speaking.
“If you tell me the purpose of your call, I will relay it to the Esper.”
Actually, it’s something the Guide needs to know as well, so I was going to tell you. The results of the analysis of your wavelength and matching rate from yesterday’s test are out. Nothing has changed from what I first told you, so I plan to report it to the association as is. Is that alright?
“Yes. That’s fine.”
Since this is an unusual situation, the association will likely summon the Guide within a few days. I called because I thought it would be good for you to know.
“Thank you.”
After exchanging brief business with the Attending Physician, I hung up.
I looked down and spoke to Vasily, who was still clinging to my waist, pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed.
“Did you hear? The results are out.”
“Mmm…”
“Stop pretending to be asleep and get up now. The sun is high in the sky.”
When I urged him in a firm voice, Vasily finally opened his eyes.
The gaze he cast up at me slowly held not a single trace of drowsiness. Is this really the face of someone who just woke up? I felt a bit bitter, suspecting he had actually been awake before me.
“By the way, how long are you going to call me that?”
When I looked at him as if asking what he meant, Vasily added.
“Isn’t the title ‘Esper Vasily-nim’ a bit stiff, between us?”
“What do you mean ‘between us’…”
“Try calling me Pasha.”
“What is that?”
“It’s my nickname.”
“…”
A short silence followed. I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t hide the cold expression that settled on my face.
“I will absolutely not call you that.”
I firmly refused and pushed myself up. I tried to get out of bed, but the arm wrapped around my waist didn’t budge.
“Let go. I’m going to the bathroom.”
“I’ll let go if you call me by my nickname.”
This bastard?
Normally, I would have scoffed and ignored him until he let go… but right now, the bathroom was a bit urgent. Damn, is it because I drank before going to sleep?
Of all things, Vasily’s arm was pressing against my stomach, making my vision swim. The more I tried to break free, the more strength he put into his thick forearm.
“Wa-wait… I get it, so just loosen your grip.”
As I pretended to accept Vasily’s demand, the pressure on my stomach became significantly lighter. Phew… I took a deep breath to calm myself. Then I thought to myself.
Nickname? Do I look like I’d actually say something like that? I just need to soothe him somehow and get out.
“Come to think of it, you went to bed late yesterday, aren’t you still tired? Sleep more. There are no Gates anyway.”
“Are you planning to run away once I fall asleep?”
“…”
I was seen through immediately. Moreover, with his eyes wide open, it didn’t seem like he would sleep just because I told him to.
Dignity and pride. After weighing the two for a long time, I opened my mouth.
“…Pasha.”
In the end, I uttered his nickname. As the nickname flowed from my lips, Vasily’s eyes curved brightly as he answered.
“Да, мой чёрный кот.”
Kot… what?
An unfamiliar language flowed from Vasily’s mouth. Was it Russian? It wasn’t English, and it was a language I was hearing for the first time, so I had no idea what it meant.
Vasily hugged my waist again and let out a laugh, lightly rubbing his forehead against my side.
“I used to think this kind of thing was childish… but now I finally understand why everyone is obsessed with nicknames.”
The softly murmuring voice tickled my ear. Vasily seemed happier than I expected, which made me feel uneasy, wondering if there was some meaning to his nickname that I didn’t know.
Ugh… regret rushed in quickly, but the important thing right now wasn’t guessing the meaning of a nickname. It was resolving the signal that had been screaming for the bathroom for a while.
“Esper-nim, I called you what you wanted, so let go now.”
“Esper-nim?”
“…Pasha.”
Satisfied, Vasily finally released me. Muttering all sorts of curses inwardly, I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
“Haa…”
A short while later, I came out of the bathroom feeling much more comfortable.
Now that I had handled the urgent matter, my surroundings slowly came into view.
The living room still bore the traces of drinking with Vasily yesterday. A bottle of whiskey and a glass half-filled with liquor sat on the table, and dried spills and empty glasses lay scattered on the floor.
I stepped forward and picked up a glass rolling on the floor.
The cold touch of the glass met my fingertips. I looked down at my hand, cupping the glass in my palm.
Both Vasily and I had changed a lot from the past. I had never once had a memory of sitting side-by-side and drinking with him. I suppose it means the sense of distance has faded that much.
Come to think of it, what did the Russian Vasily spoke earlier mean? The last word was definitely ‘kot…’. My memory of the unfamiliar foreign language I heard suddenly was fragmented.
“What are you doing there?”
While I was using my smartphone to search for it, Vasily, who had approached without a sound, asked abruptly from behind.
Startled, I hurriedly turned off the screen. Did he see it?
“I was cleaning up the alcohol from yesterday.”
“Clean that up later and come to the room. I’m waiting for you.”
“Why should I go back to your room, Esper-nim? Put some clothes on first.”
When I firmly chased him away, Vasily headed back to the room, pretending to be disappointed. I felt a quiet sense of relief as I watched his back as he obediently turned away.
Fortunately, it seems he didn’t see the screen. Just as I put the smartphone in my pocket, thinking I should look it up again later, I heard Vasily’s voice from behind.
“It means cat.”
“What does?”
“The word Guide Kwon Gi-dam was looking up.”
…He saw it after all.
Turning my head with a sour expression, my eyes met Vasily’s as he stopped at the doorway.
“What is a ‘cat’ for a grown man?”
“I thought it suited you. Aren’t you wary and prickly? Ah, the way your eyes turn round when you’re surprised is similar too.”
“When did I…”
Vasily let out a small laugh and entered the room. Left alone in the living room, I wiped my face, which had grown hot.
Damn… why is my face flushing?