By Zephyria 
After having dinner at the restaurant Vasily and I always visited, we got into the car. Up to this point, it was the usual routine, but the difference was that the place we were heading to now was not home.
“Where shall we go now?”
“Please take me to a hotel near the station.”
After racking my brain and agonizing over it all day, I concluded that the best course of action was to go to the hotel and wait there personally.
Spending a night in a building that was about to collapse. Normally, if someone knew a hotel was going to collapse, they would never do something so insane, but since Vasily was by my side, it would be fine.
“Why a hotel?”
Vasily asked, sounding puzzled. It seemed strange to him that I wanted to go to a hotel when I had a perfectly fine home.
“I just enjoy relaxing in hotels.”
I answered by making up a hobby I didn’t actually have. I couldn’t exactly tell him that a Gate was opening tonight and that dozens of people were scheduled to die because the hotel building would collapse as a result.
“I didn’t know you had such a hobby. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”
Keep what in mind? I muttered inwardly and turned my head away.
Vasily didn’t pry further and started toward the destination. It was strange how readily he accepted my words, but it was a relief. The tension in my shoulders, which had been tight from anticipating his interrogation, finally relaxed.
Before long, we arrived at the hotel. I stepped out of the car as it stopped at the main entrance and looked up at the building.
Seeing it right in front of me, it was larger than I thought. It looked about twice as big as the building I had mentioned to Vasily this morning. The height was similar, but the width made it feel that way.
…It’ll be fine, right? Since Vasily was someone who could freeze an entire Gate on a whim, I believed he could easily handle this much.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, don’t just stand there spacing out. Let’s go inside.”
“I understand.”
As I entered the lobby with Vasily, gazes pierced me from all directions. Suddenly conscious of the dating rumors, I tried to keep a slight distance between us, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.
I could feel the cameras of people’s smartphones pointing our way, but I tried my best to ignore them and look away. Anyway, the sightings of Vasily and me would be buried by the news that the hotel almost collapsed due to a Gate.
I approached the front desk first. The hotel employee looked visibly surprised, as if they recognized Vasily, but I pretended not to notice and smiled kindly.
“Please tell me the name for the reservation.”
“It’s Kwon Gi-dam.”
“You reserved two rooms for one night, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Why are there two rooms?”
While the check-in was proceeding, a puzzled voice sounded from beside me.
“There are two people, so there are two rooms. Isn’t that obvious?”
I looked at Vasily with a gaze that asked if there was any reason we specifically had to share a room. Instead of answering, Vasily quietly shut his mouth. Then, he simply curled the corners of his lips upward without a word; for some reason, that smile was irritating.
“Um…”
The employee looked between us, holding the card keys. Just as I realized the private conversation had dragged on because of Vasily and reached out to take the card keys, a firm forearm wrapped around my waist.
Vasily pulled me close in a friendly manner and whispered in my ear.
“I think one room would be enough.”
“Ugh… what are you doing!”
A cold breath touched my ear. Feeling a soft sensation brush against me, it seemed his lips had touched my skin.
Horrified by his sudden action, I hurriedly pushed myself away from Vasily.
The hotel employee’s eyes widened in surprise, and receiving that gaze, my face went beyond pale to a ghostly white. In the frozen atmosphere, only Vasily was smiling leisurely.
“I-I’m sorry.”
I apologized to the employee, who had frozen after witnessing the shocking scene, and hurriedly grabbed both card keys. Then, I pulled Vasily’s arm and rushed toward the elevator.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief after escaping the gazes that had been felt from all sides. Despite having committed such an act, Vasily was acting composed and relaxed with a nonchalant face.
“Don’t do things like that. I’m already in a difficult spot because of the dating rumors; why would you pour gasoline on the fire?”
“It’s not even true anyway, so what does it matter? Even the association liked it, saying it would help improve my image.”
“…I’m the one who’s bothered. When on earth is the rebuttal article going to be posted?”
“I wonder… in half a year?”
“Half a year is too late.”
“Don’t worry. By the time we announce that Guide Kwon Gi-dam is my dedicated Guide, I’ll make sure the dating rumors are erased without a trace.”
The announcement that the elevator had arrived mediated our fruitless argument.
The assigned rooms were at the very end of the hallway, right next to each other. This was thanks to my prior request to the hotel to assign the rooms this way, so that I could run to Vasily immediately if anything happened.
Upon arriving in front of the rooms, Vasily asked.
“Are you really going to use a different room?”
“Yes. Please get some rest.”
After handing one card key to Vasily, I closed the door without looking back.
As soon as I entered the room, I threw myself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. The plush bed enveloped my body, but knowing the building would collapse tonight, my mind was not at ease. I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink.
Still, it was a comfort knowing Vasily was in the next room. He would be awake all night, unable to sleep as usual. With his terrifyingly sharp senses, he would notice the anomaly and freeze the building before it collapsed.
I only hoped he would remember the question I asked him during the day and not freeze the guests as well.
Knock, knock.
Since I didn’t know how long I’d have to stay awake, I tried to close my eyes for a bit, but then I heard a knock at the door. Who is it? As I hesitantly sat up, a familiar voice came from beyond the firmly closed door.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, open the door.”
“Esper Vasily…?”
I was a bit flustered by Vasily’s voice coming from behind the door.
He shouldn’t have any business with me now, so why is he looking for me? While wondering and about to open the door, I paused.
Could he possibly be trying to drag me into his room?
Since he had seemed dissatisfied with the situation of using separate rooms from earlier, it was a distinct possibility.
“I want to rest now. If you have something to say, tell me tomorrow.”
“….”
When I refused the meeting, no further answer came from beyond the door.
Thinking he had given up, I lay back down on the bed, when suddenly my skin felt chilled.
Crash!
The door shattered with a thunderous roar. Debris flew into the room, and dust from the broken door filled my nose.
“Ugh… cough, cough…”
I hurriedly sat up, covering my nose with my sleeve. In the place where the firmly closed door had been, I locked eyes with Vasily, who was dusting off his hands.
“…?”
The miserably shattered door lay scattered across the floor. Looking at it now, it had been completely frozen and then broken. There was no doubt this was Vasily’s doing.
“W-what is the meaning of this…”
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam wouldn’t open the door, so I had no choice.”
“How is that my fault!”
I was so flustered I lost my words. Having seen him for six years, I should have been used to his behavioral patterns, but Vasily’s crazy antics always exceeded expectations.
I looked around. Fortunately, only the door was destroyed; everything else was intact.
The compensation… I’ll have to tell them to charge it to Vasily.
How should I convey this fact to the hotel? If I explain the situation well, will they let it slide? Of course, I’ll shift all the responsibility onto Vasily, but my conscience stung.
After pondering for a moment, I gave up on the thought. Since the entire building would either collapse or turn into a giant block of ice after tonight anyway, this much probably wouldn’t be noticeable.
Vasily took a step into my room and scanned the interior.
“It looks different from my room… were you planning to sleep in a cramped place like this?”
“A room of this size is sufficient for me.”
It was natural that the rooms were different. I had reserved a suite for Vasily, while I was in a standard room attached to it.
Vasily looked at me, half-lying on the bed, and asked.
“Are you trying to sleep already?”
“I was going to, but thanks to you, I’m wide awake.”
“Don’t lie in such a messy place; come over here.”
I looked around. Because he had broken the door from the outside, all the debris had fallen toward me. Dust had already settled in a thick layer over the floor and the duvet.
It would probably be impossible to sleep in a place like this.
Anyway, the reason I specifically designated the room right next to Vasily’s was to go to him if I felt any strange signs. Thinking that spending a day in the same room wouldn’t be a big problem, I grabbed the hand Vasily extended and stood up.
I brushed the dust off my clothes and entered Vasily’s room.
Even though I had only moved one room over, the atmosphere changed instantly. A spacious living room featured a luxurious table and chairs, and the night view of Seoul was visible at a glance through the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Beyond the hallway, I could glimpse a white duvet, suggesting the bedroom was located there.
“You’re a mess,” Vasily said, picking a piece of dust off my hair.
Whose fault is this? From the perspective of someone who was suddenly buried in dust while resting, it was simply absurd.
“I’ll borrow your bathroom.”
I felt grimy with dust all over my clothes and hair. Thinking I needed to wash up first, I walked toward the bathroom.
Since it’s a suite, the bathroom is dazzling too. As soon as I entered, I saw the bathtub, but I ignored it and headed straight for the shower booth.
“Sigh…”
I let out a shallow sigh as I watched the dust wash away.
I had intentionally booked two rooms because I didn’t want to be with Vasily even in a place like this… to think it was all for nothing.
I was used to staying at hotels. It was routine to go straight to a nearby hotel and start guiding as soon as a Gate conquest ended. In truth, I didn’t want to come with Vasily. I was afraid those sensations from back then would resurface.
But the situation was different now. I didn’t have to be forced in and out of Gates, nor did I have to be guided as if I were being raped.
Brainwashing myself that I would be safe now, I turned off the shower.
Ah, I don’t have any clothes to change into.
As I was about to step out of the shower booth, I realized I had neither underwear nor pajamas. Since staying at a hotel hadn’t been in the original plan, I had left home empty-handed.
Should I buy some underwear at a nearby convenience store? While I was pondering, I spotted a bathrobe hanging nearby.