By Zephyria 
I frowned deeply. Was Vasily using this room too? I didn’t even want to know what was inside.
This was the best room, but it couldn’t be helped. Without lingering, I turned around and headed toward the small room right next to it. But once again, Vasily blocked my path.
“You can’t use this one either.”
“Then which room am I allowed to use?”
“…….”
There was no answer.
Deducing his train of thought, my face crumpled. Was he planning to say that every room except his own was off-limits?
Sigh… I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my forehead.
“If you act like this, I cannot stay at your house, Esper-nim.”
“Are you trying to break the contract already? I wouldn’t mind, actually.”
“……It’s not that. How am I supposed to live in a house where I don’t even have a room of my own?”
“That wasn’t in the contract.”
“…….”
I was speechless. His answer made me reflect on whether suggesting a written contract had been a mistake.
I stared at Vasily with a blank expression before stomping into the living room. As I dropped my luggage next to the sofa and flopped down, Vasily asked,
“My room is this way; what are you doing there?”
“I’ll stay in the living room. I can just sleep on the sofa.”
No response came. When I looked at Vasily, he was staring at me with a cold, silent gaze.
Still sitting on the sofa, I looked back at him with a look that said, ‘And what are you going to do about it?’ He was the one who clearly said this room and that room were off-limits. The sofa happened to be large and comfortable enough to serve as a bed, so I figured I’d just stay in the living room.
“I knew Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi was stubborn, but…”
“Enough of that. What are we doing for dinner? I’m hungry.”
I hadn’t eaten anything since Vasily caught me at the airport this morning. Vasily might be fine fasting for a few days, but I’m an ordinary person, and after starving all day, I was dying of hunger.
“Shall we go out to eat?”
“That’s a hassle… Is there nothing at home?”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing but water.”
Hmm… I sat on the sofa, deep in thought. Between rushing to the airport since dawn yesterday and being dragged around by Vasily this morning, I was exhausted. I had a strong desire to just settle a meal quickly and get some deep rest.
My escape had failed in a single day, and whether it was a blessing or a curse, tomorrow was Sunday.
“Let’s just have ramen. I have some things I need to buy anyway, so I’ll pop over to the convenience store for a moment.”
As I decided and stood up from the sofa, I saw Vasily attempting to follow me. I stopped and asked,
“Are you following me to the convenience store too?”
“Yes.”
“……I’m not running away.”
“I don’t know. You’re a Guide who even put a strange device in your neck just to avoid me… I don’t find you particularly trustworthy.”
“…….”
Is he still on about that?
I didn’t mind him following me, but… I looked at Vasily. He was tall, exuded the aura of a high-ranking Esper, and above all, those sharp features and bright silver-grey hair were unmistakably his.
If I went to the convenience store with him trailing behind me, I would surely suffocate under the weight of people’s stares. Unless I wanted to be so exhausted upon returning that I’d collapse before even eating the ramen, I needed a countermeasure.
“Then you can’t go like that.”
“Like what?”
“Do you have any idea how much people stare when they’re with Esper Vasily-nim? I absolutely detest noisy attention.”
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the hat I had worn to the airport. I shoved the hat haphazardly onto his head, leaving Vasily frozen in bewilderment.
Looking at Vasily in the hat, my lips twitched, and eventually, I couldn’t hold it back and burst out laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I guess there are things that don’t suit you too, Esper Vasily-nim.”
It probably wasn’t that the hat didn’t suit him, but rather the absurdity of wearing a baseball cap with a perfectly tailored suit.
With the hat firmly on Vasily’s head, I headed to the convenience store. Just by covering that flashy silver hair, the attention was significantly reduced. People probably couldn’t imagine that the Vasily would be walking around as a fashion disaster.
Upon arriving at the convenience store, the first things I grabbed were a toothbrush and a razor. In my rush to pack, I had forgotten basic necessities.
Realizing there was nothing else to buy, I picked up a bundle of ramen and paid.
On the way back, holding the convenience store bag, a thought occurred to me. Vasily had been in Korea for about a year now; I wondered if he had ever tried ramen.
“Esper-nim, have you ever had ramen in Korea?”
“Yes. Was it right after I arrived? I tried it at a place an association official took me to.”
…Just where on earth did the association official take Vasily for there to be ramen? I couldn’t quite imagine it, but regardless, it was plausible. In fact, it would be stranger if he hadn’t tried it.
As soon as we arrived home, I washed my hands and immediately put a pot of water on the stove to start the ramen.
Vasily sat at the dining table, staring intently at the back of my head as I waited for the water to boil. I habitually ignored his gaze and pondered how many packs of ramen to cook.
I didn’t know if Vasily would enjoy it, but given the current state of my stomach, I could easily clear two packs on my own. Three packs should be about right.
Once the water began to boil, I threw in all the noodles and soup base and checked the time.
“Now we just wait five minutes.”
Saying so, I sat at the table. It felt incredibly awkward to eat ramen facing Vasily. We had always eaten together at high-end restaurants; this was a first… and it was strange that Vasily, for some reason, was waiting to eat ramen cooked by me.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Don’t expect too much. It’s just ordinary ramen.”
Despite my words, the aroma spreading as the ramen boiled was incredibly intoxicating. Perhaps because I had been starving all day, enduring those five minutes was torture.
I kept checking the time and eventually brought the pot over when just over four minutes had passed. It tastes best when the noodles are still a bit chewy.
“I added a bit more water in case you can’t handle spicy food. Also, it’s hot, so be careful.”
As an ice-type ability user, Vasily struggled with hot food. He wasn’t even cute like a cat, yet he had a ‘cat’s tongue’…
“Is it to your taste?”
“Hmm… it’s not bad.”
Vasily gave a calm evaluation. When he spoke like that, it meant it really wasn’t bad. Even though it was just ramen, I felt a strange sense of pride as I picked up my chopsticks. Thus, the two of us polished off three packs of ramen in an instant.
* * *
I had been tired for a while, but after showering, sleep really began to wash over me.
As I lay collapsed on the sofa, Vasily told me I could come to his room whenever I changed my mind and then entered his room. I snorted and stuck to my decision to sleep on the sofa.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t done the guiding yet.’
It would be great to just skip it, but I felt uneasy that he might use it as a pretext to claim I broke the contract. Eventually, I pushed myself up from the sofa and went to Vasily’s room.
“Changed your mind already? That was faster than I thought.”
“It’s not that.”
The moment Vasily saw me enter, he jumped to the wrong conclusion. I shook my head and got straight to the point.
“When should I do today’s guiding?”
“Hmm… I’ll be out of the shower soon, so do you want to wait here for a moment?”
“Alright.”
Vasily went into the bathroom, and left alone, I flopped onto the bed while waiting for him.
Ah… I was already tired, but lying on the bed made me even sleepier… And why was this mattress so plush? The moment my head touched the pillow, I almost passed out.
Thinking about what he might do to me if I were in such a deep sleep that I wouldn’t notice if he carried me away, I desperately fought to keep my eyelids open.
Guiding for more than an hour is forbidden anyway. I should finish this quickly and go back to the sofa to sleep…
Click. The sound of the door opening echoed as Vasily stepped out of the bathroom. Without realizing it, I had closed my eyes while lying on the bed, so I bolted upright.
“Are you finished showeri—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
“Aaaagh! My eyes!”
That crazy bastard Vasily… Faced with a massive naked body without warning, I reflexively covered my eyes.
I had forgotten… that Vasily is a lunatic who sleeps completely naked… I never imagined he would come out stark naked right in front of me…
“Are you an exhibitionist? Put some clothes on!”
I grabbed a nearby pillow and hurled it at him. In the meantime, Vasily must have caught the flying pillow, as I didn’t hear it hit the floor.
While I was clutching my eyes in agony as if I had seen something repulsive, Vasily muttered with a troubled expression,
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam… such a reaction is hurtful…”
“Be hurt and reflect on your actions.”
He really needs to reflect. I almost went blind seeing a ‘third leg’ without any warning.
Vasily approached the bed and lay down. The problem was that he was still not wearing any clothes. The vivid skin tone kept catching the corner of my eye.
“Can’t you please put some clothes on?”
“It’s uncomfortable to wear something while sleeping.”