By Zephyria 
Vasily looked down at his palm with a grave expression, seemingly shocked that the guiding had suddenly stopped working. I knew the reason, but I didn’t feel like telling him the truth so readily.
A sudden surge of mischief took hold of me, and I spoke nonchalantly.
“It seems the matching rate has changed.”
“…….”
“Guiding will be useless for the time being. If the matching rate doesn’t return even after the suppression chip is removed, then the exclusive contract will be considered null and void…”
The moment I mentioned the exclusive contract, Vasily’s eyes turned cold. A rough hand gripped my neck in an instant.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, unfortunately, that will not happen.”
“Ugh!”
“Did you think I would let you go just because some matching rate dropped?”
A force strong enough to choke the breath out of me tightened around my neck. Vasily scratched my neck fiercely and spoke in a chillingly sunken voice.
“Keep this in mind. No matter what happens, Guide Kwon Gi-dam cannot escape me.”
The hand gripping my neck grew rapidly cold. Seeing a blue light flickering in Vasily’s pupils, I spoke hurriedly.
“I was just saying it… There’s no way the matching rate could change!”
The fact that a matching rate, once determined, does not change was basic common sense that even an ordinary person would know. I thought Vasily would realize my words were a joke and laugh it off, but it seemed he had taken them seriously.
Only then did the strength in Vasily’s hand slowly loosen. I gasped for air and burst into a coughing fit.
My hand trembled slightly as I felt my neck to make sure it was intact. I truly thought he was going to hurt me. For a moment, fear surged over me as the image of his past self overlapped with the face of the man who had just been strangling me.
The atmosphere turned frigid in an instant. A long silence stretched between Vasily and me.
Vasily stepped back without a word and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He didn’t seem to have anything left to say to me, yet he showed no sign of leaving the room. His silent gaze made me feel uneasy.
Because the room temperature was high, the chill emanating from Vasily’s body rose like white smoke. Every time the frosted air brushed against my skin, I became acutely aware of Vasily’s presence standing in the corner of the room.
“If you’re just going to stand there, please leave. It’s cold because of you, Esper-nim.”
I tried to kick him out using the cold as an excuse, but Vasily responded by reaching out and turning up the heating.
Click, click, click.
The sound of buttons being pressed echoed in succession. After adjusting the indoor heating until the temperature could not go any higher, Vasily stared at me as if telling me to come up with another excuse.
No… I didn’t mean for him to raise the temperature that much… But I couldn’t change my story and say it was too hot now. In the end, I struggled to fall asleep while dripping with sweat.
* * *
I tossed and turned before opening my eyes. The silence of the early dawn filled the room.
Suddenly realizing that my forehead felt cool, I raised my hand. As I felt my forehead, a cold, half-frozen wet towel touched my fingertips.
Blinking my sleep-filled eyes, I slowly turned my head. I saw Vasily sitting a short distance away. He was sitting on a chair he had brought from somewhere, watching the sun rise beyond the window.
Sitting in the bluish light of dawn, Vasily’s figure appeared overly surreal. His silver-gray eyes, gazing into the distance, were calmly sunken, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
“Are you awake?”
Feeling my gaze, Vasily looked at me. I nodded slightly so the towel wouldn’t fall off and asked in a raspy voice.
“Have you been like that all night…?”
“I was concerned because Guide Kwon Gi-dam was groaning.”
The reason I was groaning was likely because of the heat. The room was boiling as if it were a kiln. I didn’t even need to check to know that my entire body was drenched in sweat.
It was simply amazing that Vasily, who hated heat, had stayed in a room with the heating on in the middle of summer for so long. Still, he looked far more composed than I did, perhaps because he was regulating his body temperature with his ability.
I silently checked my condition. My stiff body felt much lighter. Was it thanks to the medicine, or because the wet towel Vasily placed on my forehead had brought down the fever?
Thinking that both likely played a part, I spoke quietly.
“Esper Vasily. Guiding should work now.”
Since the fever had dropped and the body aches had subsided to some extent, guiding should be possible again. I extended my hand outside the bed and asked.
“Would you like to check?”
“…….”
I reached out to him as if telling him to take my hand, but Vasily stared at me for a while before turning his gaze away without taking it.
“Sleep more. I’ll take you to the hospital when it’s light out.”
Recalling how he had frozen with a grave face when guiding didn’t work, I had tried to kindly let him verify it, but it seemed he no longer needed to.
I didn’t push further and placed my hand back on the bed. I figured he must have verified it when he placed the towel on my forehead.
When I asked him to turn off the heating, Vasily silently stood up. I closed my eyes, listening to the quiet sound of his footsteps. The cool air flowing from somewhere led me back into a dream.
* * *
Once I started taking the medicine prescribed by the hospital, the body aches disappeared quickly. However, since I wasn’t completely recovered, I planned to avoid any strenuous movement for the time being.
On my way back from the hospital, I also bought a new, state-of-the-art smartphone. And I buried my deceased old smartphone deep in a drawer.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, are you ready?”
“Ah, yes. Let’s head out.”
I hadn’t planned on going to the association for a while, but today was Friday, so the situation was a bit different. It was the day I regularly received an injection to prevent the suppression chip from adhering to my skin. Additionally, I planned to request an MRI a week early to check the progress.
Fearing there might be reporters, I timed my arrival at the association for lunchtime.
Fortunately, I managed to make it up to my private room without encountering any reporters. As I leaned back on the sofa in relief, Vasily looked at me with a puzzled expression. Having not seen the chaotic scene where reporters packed the association lobby, he didn’t seem to understand why I was avoiding them to this extent.
But I knew. If reporters, who were unaware of Vasily’s true nature, swarmed him like bees and shoved cameras and microphones in his face, a scene as precarious as walking on thin ice would unfold.
I had to save the reporters’ lives from Vasily and, at the same time, do my best to ensure that Vasily’s actions didn’t ruin my peaceful life.
As I was wiping away tears at the reality that no one recognized my blood-sweating efforts, someone knocked on the private room door.
“Hello, Esper-nim. Could you please attend a meeting for a moment?”
It seemed they had rushed to find him as soon as they heard Vasily had arrived at the association.
It was likely because of the incident a few days ago where Vasily attacked an S-class Esper from China. The association must have been waiting anxiously for Vasily to arrive so they could find out what happened and resolve the situation.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, do you want to go to the Attending Physician right now?”
Vasily openly ignored the association employee who had come for him. He treated the person as completely transparent, as if no one but the two of us were in the private room, to the point where I felt embarrassed on their behalf.
The employee, realizing their situation, looked at me awkwardly.
Sigh… I let out a quiet sigh as I looked at the employee, who looked quite young. Usually, high-ranking employees came to find Vasily, but it was obvious that this time they had dumped the role on the most expendable rookie.
In the end, unable to ignore the employee’s pleading eyes, I spoke to Vasily.
“Esper Vasily, please go to the meeting. I’ll go to the Attending Physician in the meantime.”
“Let’s go together. You need a guardian…”
“Do I look like a child who can’t even get an injection alone? I’ll hear the test results and relay them to you, so you go and explain the situation properly.”
“…….”
When I cut him off and chased him out, Vasily looked at me with a gaze full of dissatisfaction. I didn’t avoid his gaze and stared back steadily.
Vasily stood up, not hiding his displeasure. I gave him a casual wave as he left the private room while I remained on the sofa, then slowly stood up.
Now, shall I head to the Attending Physician?
Thinking that Vasily would have reached the meeting room by now, I turned off the lights and left the private room. After locking the door carefully, I headed for the elevator and locked eyes with an employee walking from the opposite direction.
I knew instinctively. They’ve come for me this time.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi, could you come with me for a moment?”
“I understand.”
I nodded as if I had expected it, seeing the employee speak to me with a troubled expression. I had felt uneasy from the moment Vasily went to the meeting room with a dissatisfied look, and it seemed he had finally caused some trouble.
Even before the regression, I had been summoned every time Vasily caused a problem, so I was now accustomed to the role of cleaning up the situation. Assuming it was the same this time, I followed the employee obediently.
Following the employee’s guidance, I arrived in front of a small meeting room. Seeing them open the door as if telling me to enter alone, I stepped inside.
The interior was excessively quiet. As I entered, feeling puzzled, a strange sense of incongruity washed over me. For a meeting to be in progress, there was only one person. Of course, judging by the jet-black hair, it wasn’t Vasily.
Sensing an unusual situation, I looked at the man sitting opposite me. A young man with long hair swept back and tied in a single ponytail. He wasn’t wearing a changpao, but I recognized him at a glance. It was the very person who, along with Vasily a few days ago, had turned the area near the Gate into a wasteland—Huai Yan.