By Zephyria 
As the sun gradually set, the surroundings grew dark. I checked the time and looked toward the Gate visible in the distance.
‘It should be about time for them to come out…’
I had arrived a bit early, fearing the conquest might end sooner than I remembered, but it seemed it wouldn’t have been too late even if I had come after sunset. I sniffled, tucking my cold hands into my pockets.
Just then, the area began to bustle. Just as I was about to step outside to see what was happening, the Attending Physician, who had returned to the tent, informed me of the situation outside.
“Guide-nim, they say the conquest is over. Let’s go greet the Esper.”
I nodded and stood up.
Upon arriving near the Gate, preparations to receive the Espers were in full swing. The injured who needed urgent treatment were carried out first, and only after a considerable amount of time had passed did the Espers begin to emerge one by one.
Perhaps because it was an S-Class Gate, everyone looked exhausted. Quite a few were injured, but since three S-class Espers had all entered, the casualties likely weren’t too severe. If only the three of them hadn’t fought among themselves inside, the conquest would have been completed more smoothly.
Soon, Vasily appeared.
His brilliant silver hair fluttered in the strong wind, reflecting the lights illuminating the Gate. Dressed in a suit alone among the Espers clad in combat suits, he stood out unmistakably.
As the Espers emerged from the Gate, the surroundings became hectic, and reporters set off flashes from all directions. Listening to the noisy sound of shutters, I pulled my mask up a bit higher.
“I didn’t expect you to come out to meet me.”
As soon as Vasily stepped out of the Gate, he approached me. Ignoring the Attending Physician entirely, he spoke directly to me. I tilted my hat slightly and met his eyes.
“How did you know? I thought you wouldn’t recognize me.”
“How could I possibly fail to recognize my own Guide?”
“You’re the opposite of me. You looked such a mess that I almost thought you were someone else.”
“My, I’ll have to pay more attention to my appearance when exiting the Gate next time.”
It sounded like a lighthearted joke, but Vasily’s appearance was far from pristine.
Even for Vasily, an S-Class Gate seemed to have been taxing. His suit was drenched in monster’s blood, and ice had formed in various places on his body. His expression was slightly stiff; he didn’t look to be in very good condition.
Out of habit, I began checking his status and noticed something off. His movements were somewhat unnatural, and ice had accumulated particularly thickly around one shoulder.
“Wait… are you hurt?”
I hurriedly grabbed him and checked the area where the neck meets the shoulder.
The area I had assumed was covered in ice due to the aftereffects of his ability looked strange upon closer inspection. Through the ice, instead of a dark suit, a deep red color was visible.
“I can’t fool Guide Kwon Gi-dam’s eyes, can I?”
“No, it’s so obvious, why would… Attending Physician, please check the injury—”
I tried to turn my head to call the Attending Physician, but a chillingly cold fingertip stopped me. He stroked my stiff cheek and spoke slowly.
“Do you know what kind of expression you’re making right now?”
“That’s not what’s important right now! Please get treatment immediately!”
“No, it is important.”
Vasily quietly cut me off and removed the hat from my head. The cool winter wind seeped through the gap, messing up my hair, and the hat fell onto the cold ground with a thud.
His long fingers brushed across the bridge of my nose and pulled down my mask.
Once my face was fully revealed, Vasily curled the corners of his mouth into a faint smile, as if satisfied. He lowered his head slightly, letting our foreheads touch. Then, at a distance so close that even our eyelashes almost touched, he met my gaze and asked.
“Even after this, you’re going to say you don’t love me?”
My lips, which had been about to move, froze. The moment I heard Vasily’s words, my pupils shook violently.
“I, I…”
My mouth went dry. The wavelength flowing through our touching foreheads and the silver-grey eyes quietly staring at me felt as if they were freezing my entire body.
As I stood frozen in confusion, Vasily let out a low laugh and leaned his weight against me.
I felt the strength leave Vasily’s body as he slumped heavily onto me. By the time I realized something was wrong, Vasily had already fainted.
* * *
After that, everything was a blur, and I don’t even know how I ended up at the hospital.
All I remember was that as soon as Vasily lost consciousness, blood began to flow continuously through the ice, as if it had been waiting. I think I stood there like a broken machine, smelling the pungent scent of blood and seeing my palms drenched in it, until I snapped out of it at the Attending Physician’s shout.
Since Vasily had already been the center of attention upon his appearance, the area immediately became chaotic when he collapsed. In the midst of that, all I could do was stay by Vasily’s side, providing guiding as he grew paler and paler during the transport to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Vasily entered the operating room with several medical staff, including the Attending Physician. Left alone, I sat in front of the operating room, staring blankly into space.
Belatedly noticing my blood-soaked body, I took off my outer garment and threw it into the waste bin. Clothes contaminated with monster’s blood and Vasily’s blood couldn’t be worn again anyway.
After some time had passed, the operating room door opened and someone walked out. I sprang up from my seat upon seeing the Attending Physician.
“Ah, Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi. You’ve waited a long time.”
“How did it go?”
“The surgery ended successfully. Esper Vasily will be moved to a private room shortly.”
The moment I heard the surgery was over without issue, the tension released, and I sank back into the chair, letting out a deep sigh and rubbing my face.
“I know you’re tired, but could you provide guiding by the Esper’s side today? It will be a great help to his recovery.”
“I understand.”
I nodded slowly. I had intended to do so even if the Attending Physician hadn’t asked.
Vasily was soon moved to a private room. Seeing Vasily in the spot where I usually lay was a quite unfamiliar sight.
Still, his breathing had stabilized. His wavelength was still unstable, but he would recover quickly if I provided proper guiding.
Holding Vasily’s hand, I focused as much as possible on the guiding. I considered increasing the intensity by bringing our bodies closer, but fearing that the freshly sutured wound might open, I stayed seated beside the bed and only held his hand.
Feeling his piercingly cold body temperature, I quietly closed my eyes. Now that the urgent moments had passed, the tension completely vanished, and fatigue washed over me.
“…Gi-dam.”
While dozing off against the chair, I opened my eyes at the sound of my name. Looking down, I saw Vasily lying in bed, slowly blinking his eyes at me.
“Are you awake?”
“This is… the hospital.”
“Please stay lying down. You shouldn’t move yet.”
The room was dark, with only a small lamp on. Just as I was about to stand up, thinking it would be better to turn on the lights now that Vasily was conscious, he suddenly gripped my hand tightly.
“Don’t go.”
“…I’m not going. I’m just going to turn on the light.”
I explained calmly, but the hand gripping me tightly showed no sign of letting go.
“Esper Vasily.”
“…”
“Vasily.”
Even when I called his name soothingly, there was no response.
Does he hate the guiding being interrupted? Seeing his hazy gaze, it seemed his consciousness hadn’t fully returned, so I left him be for the moment.
When I sat back down, the grip on my hand loosened slightly, but he did not let go until the end.
Perhaps due to the medication, Vasily still looked dazed, so I explained the situation to him until he regained his senses.
“They say your carotid artery was halfway severed. It seems you held on by freezing it in the Gate, but why on earth did you lose consciousness there? You almost died from excessive bleeding.”
“Were you worried?”
“…You’re actually asking that.”
Because the bleeding was so severe, I really thought he might die. No matter how great an S-class Esper is, they are bound to die if all the blood leaves their body.
“I didn’t intend to faint, but the moment the guiding flowed into my brain, my memory cut off. I’ll have to be careful about touching Guide Kwon Gi-dam from now on.”
Vasily murmured like a joke. Given that he was severely injured and had just finished conquering an S-Class Gate, it was plausible that he would faint. Since it hadn’t been long since the suppression chip was removed, it seemed he still found it difficult to gauge the intensity of the guiding.
“Did you get hurt on purpose?”
Even before the regression, if he had come out this injured, there was no way I wouldn’t remember. Since it wasn’t as if Vasily had been careless in the Gate, there was only one reason. He had intended to create a critical situation to check my reaction.
When I asked with certainty, Vasily said nothing and simply curled the corners of his mouth.