By Zephyria 
Vasily seemed quite dissatisfied with my answer. But what was I supposed to do? I’m an office worker now. I can’t take time off work for something like this.
I left the house with Vasily. However, the floor was slippery. Looking down, I saw that the hallway Vasily had frozen yesterday had melted, leaving the floor in front of the entrance a sea of water.
I pressed my hand to my forehead. I had forgotten to clean up.
“Ah… I’ll have to wipe it when I get back…”
“Don’t worry about it. I did it, so I’ll send someone to tidy it up.”
When I muttered softly, Vasily volunteered to handle it. Since he was offering to do a tedious chore for me, I saw no reason to refuse and nodded.
We took the car to the nearest emergency room. It was crowded with patients from Monday morning. After waiting for a bit, a doctor soon approached.
When I rolled up my sleeve to show the frozen area, the doctor gave a nonchalant diagnosis.
“It’s a mild case of frostbite, and since emergency treatment was administered quickly, it will heal soon as long as you apply the ointment well. I’ll prescribe an ointment for frostbite; just apply it morning and night.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The examination was over in an instant.
Actually, it wasn’t serious enough to come to the emergency room, but I was dragged here by Vasily’s stubborn insistence that a general clinic wouldn’t do. He claimed there might be aftereffects since it was caused by an Esper’s ability.
However, contrary to Vasily’s worries, I had never experienced aftereffects during my time as a Guide. There were times when I suffered frostbite, but because I had a sturdy constitution, I healed quickly after applying medicine and getting plenty of sleep. But since I couldn’t tell Vasily this, I had no choice but to follow him to the hospital.
“…”
As I turned around after receiving the prescription, I saw Vasily still staring at me from a distance.
“How long are you going to stay like that?”
I had told him to wait in the car since I would be treated alone, yet he insisted on coming only to stand far away and watch. Thanks to that, people were whispering, and the attention was no joke. Since it was a hospital and there were many patients, I felt self-conscious about causing a nuisance in real-time.
Without a word, we returned to the parking lot and I climbed into the car as usual. Checking the time, it seemed I would be able to arrive just in time for work.
“…How is the injury?”
“They said it’s mild frostbite, so it’ll heal soon.”
“I’m sorry. Sometimes I can’t control it.”
Since when did Vasily start apologizing? I already knew that if I touched him when his condition was poor, I might freeze. If anything, it was my fault for being careless despite knowing that.
“It’s fine.”
I answered shortly and looked away. It was time to head to the association.
I arrived at the Guide Association just in time for work.
Thinking he would drop me off in front of the main gate as usual, I was preparing to get out of the car, but for some reason, the car drove straight into the parking lot and parked. Why is he turning off the engine?
Well, maybe he thought he’d just park here and walk since the Esper Association is right next door. Thinking that, I opened the door and stepped out without much thought.
“Thank you for the ride. I’ll be going now.”
I turned around after giving a polite greeting, but the familiar sound of dress shoes followed closely behind me.
Surely he’s not following me.
…Please let it be a no. He might have business at the Guide Association, or there might be a meeting here.
However, because he walked so close, eyes were drawn to us from all directions.
Intending to get Vasily to leave, I deliberately stopped walking. But Vasily stopped at the same time.
Feeling the footsteps go silent, I wiped my face with my hand. Damn it… he really was following me…
“…Esper Vasily.”
“Yes?”
“I’m asking just in case, but are you following me right now?”
“That’s right.”
Vasily answered with a beaming smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I frowned at the sight.
“Why are you following me?”
“Hmm… a field trip?”
“…I don’t understand why Esper Vasily would want to take a field trip to see the work of a temporary Guide.”
“I’m curious about what Guide Kwon Gi-dam does.”
Field trip, my foot. It’s obvious he’s following me to interfere with my work; what could he possibly be curious about? There’s no way he doesn’t know that the work of a temporary Guide consists of nothing more than sitting in a chair and guiding all day.
I wanted to say that and kick Vasily out, but I barely held back, put on an awkward smile, and tried to coax him gently.
“The work of a temporary Guide is just sitting and guiding all day, so it will be boring for you, Esper Vasily. It would be a waste of your time… aren’t you busy?”
“Fortunately, I’m free today. And don’t worry. Guide Kwon Gi-dam has never been boring to me.”
Facing Vasily, who showed no sign of backing down, I stole a glance at the time. It was true that I left home early, but because we stopped at the hospital, it was almost 9 o’clock. If I didn’t hurry to tag in and head to the guiding room, I’d be late…
Damn it…
In the end, with Vasily stuck to my heels, I headed straight for the office.
As soon as I opened the door and entered the office, gazes converged from all directions. The presence of that shimmering silver hair was far too great. People buzzed while looking at Vasily, then flinched upon discovering my half-dead face.
I sat down and quickly finished the preparations for temporary guiding. To avoid disturbing the other employees, I hurriedly gathered the necessary documents and moved straight to the guiding room.
“Sigh…”
As soon as I sat in the guiding room chair, a sigh escaped me.
I’m already exhausted, and it’s only 9 o’clock… I fell into despair, denying reality.
A narrow, quiet space. The reason the guiding room felt even more suffocating today was because of Vasily, who had taken a spot on one side.
Vasily was sitting on a cot, nonchalantly looking around. Despite having been here often before, he was surveying the guiding room like someone visiting for the first time.
The mere fact that Vasily was there was burdensome, but the bloodstains smeared across his chest made the atmosphere even more gloomy.
It was almost time for the first Esper to enter. Would it be okay? I glanced at Vasily sitting to the side and then looked anxiously toward the door.
Click.
The door opened, and an Esper appeared. However, before even crossing the threshold, he spotted Vasily and stopped dead in his tracks.
“…”
“…You may come in.”
I wanted to tell him he could ignore the person behind me, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak because of Vasily’s presence, staring with wide eyes from behind my back.
Eventually, the Esper hesitated, stepped backward, and closed the door and left. And he never returned…
“Is the guiding already over?”
“…How could that be possible?”
I shut my mouth, not knowing how to answer.
The morning shift that began like that was, quite literally, a total wipeout. Every Esper who entered thereafter did a U-turn as soon as they spotted Vasily. After that happened about three times, the morning session ended.
I was exhausted despite doing nothing.
As I trudged out of the guiding room, Vasily followed me with a light step.
I turned my head slightly and asked him in a low voice.
“Aren’t you bored?”
“No. Just looking at Guide Kwon Gi-dam’s expression is entertaining.”
…He was actually enjoying this.
Throughout the three hours of morning guiding, far from looking bored, Vasily didn’t even yawn once. I had planned to coax him into going home if he seemed bored, but it seemed even that would be useless.
As I turned the corner in that state, I locked eyes with Jo Woo-yeon.
“Ah, Gi-dam-ssi. Lunch—”
Jo Woo-yeon’s voice grew smaller. As if he had belatedly discovered Vasily following me, his mouth gradually closed.
“I’ll eat separately today…”
“Okay…”
Seeing my haggard face, Jo Woo-yeon seemed to grasp the situation immediately and let me go without a word.
I left the association building, but I could still hear the footsteps following me. Without looking back, I asked.
“Are you going to have lunch with me too?”
“Yes. What do you want to eat?”
Vasily answered as if it were obvious. I let out a deep sigh and pondered the menu.
Going far was a hassle… and taking Vasily to the cafeteria? That was obviously impossible. Moreover, the thought of having lunch with Vasily made my appetite vanish.
“Then let’s just have something simple, like sandwiches.”
Since it was lunchtime, delivery would take a while, so I started walking with the intention of visiting a shop. I figured we could get them to go and eat in Vasily’s private room. While thinking this, I tried to cross the crosswalk, but every passing person was staring this way.
Tsking at the focused attention, I realized that since it was a time when many civilians were out on the streets, the interest was no joke.
“Esper Vasily, could you please follow me in a way that’s less conspicuous?”
“Hmm… that’s a difficult request.”
Right, it would be a difficult request. Tall, silver-haired, a foreigner, and handsome. Not to mention, there isn’t a single person in Korea who doesn’t know Vasily.