By Zephyria 
He looked depressed, so I gave him some guiding, and now he’s sneakily adding conditions.
I didn’t answer immediately and checked the time. It was almost 7 o’clock. If I went home now, it would be an awkward time for dinner, and I wasn’t in the mood for delivery food or a convenience store lunch box. In that case, perhaps having dinner with Vasily would be better.
“Are we going to the restaurant we went to last time?”
“Yes. It’s close, and the food is at least edible.”
Then again, Vasily is a foreigner. Having been in Korea for only a year, he’s likely still more accustomed to Western cuisine.
Come to think of it, in the six years we spent together, I never once saw him eat Korean food. Thanks to that, I was forcibly banned from eating Korean food as well. It’s truly a pity he doesn’t know the splendor of Korean cuisine.
“I understand. Now, please move. You’re suffocating me.”
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Vasily obediently stood up.
Now I can finally breathe. I rose from my seat and patted my stiff lower back.
The Association building was quiet, as the clock had passed the typical clock-out time. However, as soon as I got in my car and hit the road, I was immediately caught in the rush hour traffic jam.
I arrived at the high-end restaurant near the Association that we always visited and, as usual, entered a quiet inner room.
Since we hadn’t made a separate reservation today, we were given menus. After much deliberation, I ordered the steak course. Vasily chose the same menu.
“…….”
“…….”
After the restaurant staff took the order and left, leaving the two of us alone in the enclosed space, neither of us spoke first.
For some reason, the silence surrounding us today felt bothersome. Normally, it wouldn’t have mattered, but perhaps because of the conversation we had in the private room, my mind was cluttered.
Having spent six years by Vasily’s side without leaving him for a single moment, I thought I knew him to some extent. To think there were still things I didn’t know.
That I was the only guide who could withstand Vasily’s wavelength…
I could finally understand why Vasily didn’t lose interest in me. However, the reason why he drove me so hard during that long period before the regression still didn’t make sense to me.
If I had died, there would have been no one to receive guiding from again, so why did he keep taking me into the Gates? Was it really just to receive guiding whenever he needed it? Understanding him became even more difficult.
After a long silence, the food began to arrive.
We started eating quietly. I was busy stealing glances at him, but Vasily continued his meal calmly, no different from usual.
Eventually, unable to hold back, I spoke.
“Esper Vasily… how can you be so composed?”
“About what?”
“The guide who finally appeared… ended up like that.”
A guide with a high matching rate had appeared, but they couldn’t withstand his wavelength again. They had even collapsed, turning pale, right before his eyes.
Vasily must have repeated this his entire life. If it were me, I would have been devastated as my hopes crumbled, but Vasily seemed unfazed, which instead made me curious.
“I’ve gotten used to it.”
Vasily answered calmly, as if it were someone else’s business. So much so that my slightly frowning face looked more pained than his.
“How have you been managing until now?”
“Once a week, I requested a guide from the Association. After I’d force them to guide me until they were on the verge of death and then sent them back, everyone tried to run away the moment they saw me from the second time onward.”
“…….”
Despite the gravity of the content, he spoke with a smile. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. As I quietly lowered my head, Vasily continued softly.
“But now I have Guide Kwon Gi-dam, right? The matching rate is poor, but if I receive guiding every day, it’s bearable.”
He wasn’t wrong. Because I couldn’t refute it, it was harder to respond.
After hesitating for a moment, I asked.
“What would you do if I refused to provide guiding?”
“…….”
The silence stretched.
Vasily stopped eating and stared at me quietly. I felt myself shrinking under his sharp gaze. Did I ask for no reason? My hand gripping the cutlery tightened instinctively.
“Are you going to refuse?”
“……No.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
Vasily gave a thin smile and resumed his meal.
I shouldn’t bring up things like this, even lightly. I sighed inwardly, thinking I should be careful from now on.
With this, I realized for certain that avoiding Vasily was useless. The matching rate is only 4 percent, but I am the only guide who can properly provide him with guiding. Therefore, there is no way he would let me go easily.
Inserting the suppression chip was indeed the right choice. In this situation, if he found out that I am an S-class guide with a matching rate of 91 percent, Vasily would absolutely never let me go.
Thinking that I must not let the fact that I implanted a suppression chip be discovered no matter what, I stuffed a large piece of steak into my mouth.
* * *
After that day, Vasily did not come to find me.
There were no requests for designated guiding, the frequent visits stopped abruptly, and my smartphone, which used to ring constantly, remained silent. He had acted as if he would cling to me every day, but the reality was total neglect.
Perhaps because of this, the looks from my department colleagues were turning into pity day by day. There were even rumors circulating that Vasily had found a new guide and that I had been dumped.
Who got dumped?
There were many things I wanted to refute, but from the start, everything—from the fact that I was Vasily’s guide to the idea that I was his hidden lover—was nothing but false rumors. If I reacted to every single one of these, I’d only tire myself out. Keeping my mouth shut, I trudged to work at the Association again today.
Then, as the time to leave work approached, the Association released an official statement. It stated that as a result of Vasily’s guiding test, unsuitable parts were discovered during the actual guiding process, and the matching was canceled.
“Wow, that’s great.”
“Congratulations.”
As I prepared to leave, everyone passed by my desk and tossed a word of congratulations.
“I’m so glad, Gi-dam-ssi.”
Even Jo Woo-yeon…
“Haha… I’m telling you, there’s really nothing between us…”
I wondered how our relationship had looked to others all this time; the misunderstanding had piled up quite solidly. Realizing that explaining was useless, I escaped the office as if fleeing.
After leaving the Association, I headed toward the subway station and glanced at my smartphone.
There was no contact from Vasily today either. The last message was a week ago. It felt unsettling that a guy who contacted me every day was suddenly quiet. I stopped my slow pace and looked back at the Esper Association.
‘Should I go visit…?’
I pondered for a moment but soon shook my head. It’s better not to create unnecessary misunderstandings. Despite that, I kept worrying about Vasily, and my steps slowed.
This is all because of the strange things I heard in the private room. Why did Vasily make such a useless expression…
I don’t know. With a cluttered mind, I returned home.
While exercising at home after work, the doorbell rang.
Is it a package? Vasily’s house has basic furniture, but it lacks any daily necessities, so I had ordered many things online. Thinking it was one of those, I ignored it and continued my push-ups.
Before bed, I washed up and looked at my smartphone. Still no contact. I narrowed my eyes at the clean record.
I tossed the phone aside and flopped onto the bed. I don’t get that guy anymore. He’ll probably find another guide on his own, whatever.
“Ah, right. The package.”
As I closed my eyes to sleep, I remembered the doorbell I had ignored earlier. It was a hassle, but it would be better to bring it inside before sleeping. I forced my heavy body up and headed to the entrance.
But for some reason, the entrance area felt a bit cold. It’s usually cool, but today I felt a chilling energy. Is it just my imagination? Thinking nothing of it, I opened the front door…
Clunk, clunk.
The door wouldn’t open.
Did they leave the package in front of the door? I don’t remember ordering anything this heavy… Thinking it was strange, I pushed the door open with force.
The moment the door opened, I heard a cracking sound, and shards of ice showered down through the gap.
Ice?
‘No way…’
Feeling an ominous premonition, I poked my head out. Instead of a package, I saw a person’s long legs stretched out by the door.
Vasily was collapsed in front of the door.
“Esper Vasily?”
Startled, I hurriedly shook Vasily to wake him, but he didn’t regain consciousness. Looking closer, he was bleeding, and the surroundings were gradually freezing over.
If I left him like this, he might rampage. To proceed with guiding quickly, I supported him and brought him inside the house.
“Ugh!”
While supporting Vasily, my arm accidentally touched his hand, and my skin froze instantly. I almost threw Vasily away in surprise, but remembering how he was injured enough to bleed, I gritted my teeth and endured.
After laying him on the bed, I rushed to the bathroom. I immediately filled a basin with warm water and slowly poured it over my frozen arm.