By Zephyria 
Of all times, a kiss scene had to start the moment I turned my head. Flustered by the timing, which felt almost intentionally orchestrated, my eyes darted around rapidly.
This time, I felt a gaze watching me from the side.
I forced my eyes to stay fixed on the screen. I glared at the actors in the movie, urging them in my head to pull apart quickly, but there was no way my voice could reach them.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vasily reaching out toward me. While I was desperately pretending to focus on the movie, I instinctively flinched and avoided his hand at the cold sensation brushing against my lips.
“……!”
I looked at him with wide eyes. In the silence, my gaze met his silver-gray eyes as he looked down at me quietly.
After staring at me for a moment, Vasily gave a thin smile and held up a finger.
“You had some popcorn on you.”
Just as he said, a small popcorn crumb was stuck to the tip of his finger, held up in the darkness. Since Vasily had bought the popcorn but hadn’t actually touched any, it was certainly from my own mouth.
“You could have just told me that with words.”
I felt embarrassed, as it was obvious to anyone that I had overreacted by misunderstanding his actions. Feeling my face flush, I roughly rubbed my mouth with the back of my hand for no reason. Of course, nothing came off.
As I tried to turn my gaze back to the screen while calming my racing heart, Vasily grabbed my chin. Because I had let my guard down, my head was easily tilted up with just a bit of force.
Chu.
“Ugh……”
Just as I thought Vasily’s face was strangely close, our lips met. The moment I felt the soft sensation on my lips, I pushed him away so hard it made a thumping sound.
“Wha—what are you doing……”
A voice of horror escaped me. Flustered, I hurriedly looked around, but fortunately, no one was there. All I could see were the two actors on the screen kissing passionately.
“I thought you were asking for a kiss.”
“As if I would!”
“You had a look in your eyes as if you were longing for it.”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
We bickered in hushed whispers.
It was a huge relief that the theater was empty. If anyone else had been there, they surely would have warned us to be quiet. And then, after the movie ended, they would have added fuel to the fire of the currently hot dating rumors, calling us a nuisance couple.
After glaring at him, I moved as far away from him as possible and started watching the movie again. The film was racing toward its end as the protagonist prepared for the final battle.
After that, the movie ended without me being able to properly follow the plot. It was because I couldn’t concentrate at all, feeling Vasily’s gaze constantly on me from the side. As soon as the ending credits rolled, I jumped up and left the theater.
The cinema lobby had filled up with people in the meantime. Most were families with young children or couples who looked like they had come to see a romance movie.
We’re the only two men. It was already a conspicuous pairing, but his brilliant silver hair asserted itself strongly even under the dim lighting of the cinema.
“Esper-nim, this way.”
Thinking it would become chaotic if people found out Vasily was here, I took advantage of the moment no one was paying attention, grabbed Vasily’s arm, and hurried toward the elevator in the corner.
As if someone had just ridden it up, the elevator was stopped on the floor where the cinema was located. The doors opened as soon as I pressed the button.
I stepped into the empty elevator, pressed the floor button, and rapidly hammered the close button. Soon the doors shut, cutting us off from the outside, and the interior of the elevator became silent.
As I caught my breath, my eyes met Vasily’s. It was then I realized we were quite close.
When Vasily’s lips entered my field of vision, I awkwardly looked away. Perhaps my self-suggestion to act natural worked, as fortunately, my face didn’t flush in the mirror.
A moment later, we finally arrived at the underground parking lot and the doors opened. As I stepped out, I locked eyes with someone standing beyond the door.
I passed by the person, who froze in shock upon discovering Vasily standing behind me, and exited the elevator. I could feel Vasily following me, habitually ignoring the greeting offered by the citizen.
I let out a small sigh and got into the car. I had only gone to see a movie, but I already felt exhausted. Fastening the seatbelt over myself, I spoke to Vasily, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Let’s just go eat dinner quickly.”
“I’ll go to the restaurant we always go to. Is that okay?”
“Fine.”
The restaurant wasn’t far from the cinema, so we arrived quickly. This was a place where I could relax, so I entered the restaurant comfortably.
Here, there was no chance of running into other customers, nor would the staff make a fuss upon seeing Vasily. If I had to pick one downside, it was only that it was a Western restaurant, so there were no Korean dishes.
After ordering the course meal we always had, the appetizers arrived shortly after. Once I filled my stomach with the appetite-stimulating dishes, various courses, including the steak, were finally placed before me.
Finally, I get to chew some proper food.
The porridges Vasily brought were tolerable since the types changed every time, but that was only for the first couple of times; now, I didn’t even want to touch porridge.
I sliced the steak and put it straight into my mouth. As I chewed the tender meat cooked medium, warm juices flowed out.
While immersed in the emotion, I met Vasily’s eyes. Clearing my throat with a cough, I started a conversation about the movie we had just seen.
“How was the movie?”
“It was decent enough.”
“You barely watched the last part, though.”
“It seemed Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi was more interested in me than the movie.”
“I was just looking away for a moment because it was frustrating.”
I clicked my tongue, recalling the sloppy battle scenes in the movie.
“When they were attacked, they should have quickly snatched the gun and dealt with the guy on the far right first.”
“And ignore the enemies right behind them?”
“They were still far enough away, so it would have been fine.”
Vasily and I exchanged opinions on the frustrating battle scenes in the movie. Surprisingly, we communicated well. I don’t know why, but we even started a serious debate.
“Isn’t it better to deal with the enemies closest to you first?”
“No, Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi, you aren’t an Esper. It’s better to prioritize neutralizing the enemies with guns.”
“Are you saying I can just dodge the knives?”
“Well, something like that.”
After talking for a while, I paused. I tried to pick up some food, but the fork scraped the empty plate.
Looking down, I saw the plate had been cleaned completely. It was the same for Vasily. Realizing belatedly that the meal had ended a long time ago, I checked the time.
“It’s already… we should head home now.”
Because the conversation had dragged on, the meal took longer than usual. As we stepped outside, a fairly chilly breeze greeted me.
“Is it autumn already……”
“That’s welcome news.”
Vasily, who had approached behind me unnoticed, answered my monologue.
I turned my head to look back at Vasily. Throughout the midsummer, Vasily had adhered to a three-piece suit, meticulously wearing a shirt, vest, and jacket. Perhaps the weather where his attire wouldn’t seem strange was finally arriving.
Vasily recovered his condition once summer passed. When the strong sunlight and heat subsided, the unstable shaking of his wavelength would also disappear.
Then he’d be able to hold out reasonably well without receiving guiding frequently. Of course, I didn’t know how long Vasily’s patience would last with a Guide right in front of him.
“Are you cold?”
“I think I still have some cold symptoms left. It’s not that cold, so I’m fi—”
As I rubbed my chilled arms, Vasily took off the jacket he was wearing and draped it over my shoulders. Feeling the heavy weight press slightly on my shoulders, I looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Wh—why this……”
I was so surprised that I even stuttered.
“You looked cold.”
“I’m not so cold that I need to take Esper Vasily-nim’s clothes.”
“I’m more resistant to the cold than Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi, so it’s fine.”
Of course, since it was the jacket Vasily had been wearing, it wasn’t warm. Because it held his cold body temperature, the fabric, which had cooled down, wrapped softly around my skin.
It was chilly, but not so cold that I needed Vasily’s jacket, so just as I was firmly refusing and trying to return the jacket—
Before I could pull the jacket off my body, Vasily spoke again.
“If your cold gets worse, guiding might not work again, so just keep it on.”
Once he brought up the cold, I had nothing left to say. Since I had been sick until yesterday, my fever might rise again if I let my guard down for a moment.
Inevitably, I slid my arms into the jacket sleeves. The jacket was oversized in every way—the fit, the sleeves, everything. I could faintly smell the perfume Vasily usually used, and it felt as if I were being embraced by him, which gave me a strange feeling.
Looking down at the clothes that were oversized to the point of looking awkward to anyone, I fell into a state of turmoil.
At this rate, it really feels like a date.