Standing a few steps away, Vasily waited for me, deliberately exposing openings as if to say he would let me strike first.
In that case, I wouldn’t hold back.
Now that he was off guard, this was my chance. I charged straight toward him and leapt into the air, channeling all my weight into my foot before swinging it down hard.
Thud.
A dull sound rang out — my kick landed cleanly.
I’d aimed at his immobilized right arm, but Vasily caught the attack easily, his gaze calm, as though he’d expected it. He could’ve dodged or blocked properly if he’d wanted, but he didn’t even twitch.
So he thought my attack wasn’t even worth avoiding? The thought stung; my brow twitched.
The moment my foot hit the ground, I quickly jumped back to widen the distance. I braced for a counterattack — but Vasily only brushed at the scuff mark on his suit as if nothing had happened.
Not even a hint of damage. Watching that same relaxed face, I clenched my teeth. I was the one who attacked, yet the one hurting was me. My foot throbbed — it felt like I’d kicked a boulder.
How the hell was I supposed to beat a monster like this?
I’d thought giving him handicaps would give me a fighting chance, but I’d been delusional. His very body was a wall that no human could surpass.
Even back then, when we’d sparred during training every day, I’d never beaten him once. I thought this time might be different — he didn’t know my attack patterns, and I knew his movements — maybe I could find a small opening. But…
Anyway, he’d said all I had to do was knock him down.
It was too early to give up. I forced my mind to think quickly. Maybe I should go for his legs instead — break his balance. If I struck behind the knee and shoved him down while he staggered, I might just manage it.
With that plan in mind, I moved in again.
This time I went lower, faster. Vasily still didn’t move. So he was planning to let me land a couple of hits? The thought that he was humoring me made my mood plummet.
Change of plans — if he was really going to just stand there, I might as well aim for that smug face of his.
When I reached him, I straightened from my low stance and swung a punch right at his face. But even with the sudden direction change, Vasily only tilted his head slightly, letting my fist glide harmlessly past.
So he didn’t like getting hit in the face, huh. I’d half expected that miss.
As my punch sliced through empty air, I immediately dropped a hand to the ground, twisted my body, and swept my leg back — driving my heel into the back of his knee.
The hit connected perfectly. For the first time, Vasily’s balance wavered. Now!
Without hesitation, I grabbed his arm and yanked with all my weight — but his pull was far stronger. My body was dragged straight toward him.
“Urgh!”
It felt like being flung through the air. I braced for impact, thinking I’d hit my head on the floor — but a solid arm wrapped around my waist.
When I came to my senses, I realized I was in Vasily’s arms — in a pose that looked like we’d just finished some dramatic tango.
Huff, huff… I gasped for breath and looked up. Vasily’s eyes had curved into half-moons. A faint blue shimmer flickered in his silver-gray gaze — excitement.
Our faces were too close. My ragged breath brushed against his skin.
Vasily stared down at me for a moment, then slowly said,
“Surrender. I lost.”
“…”
His sudden declaration drained all the strength from me.
Haa… I sighed deeply and slipped out of his hold, dropping heavily to the floor to steady my breathing.
Right. This had never been a fight I could win. If I’d actually beaten Vasily, they’d have made it the nine o’clock headline special. Maybe that’s why the letdown hit harder — I’d actually hoped, for a second, that I could win.
But even more disappointing was how out of shape I was — completely winded from just that. Guess I’ll need to double my workouts…
Vasily reached down, helping me up from the floor, and asked,
“So, what’s your wish?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“That’s anticlimactic.”
If I’d beaten him fair and square, I would’ve named something right away. But under these circumstances, it just felt awkward. Maybe later, if my suppression chip gets exposed, I could use that wish to make him let me go. Not that it should ever come to that.
Still, it felt good to move around again. Working as a temporary guide was nice since it meant avoiding Gates, but sitting around all day doing guidance work wrecked my back. My future self would’ve strangled me for whining about an easy life.
“Guide Kwon Gidam, I think the arm you hit earlier hurts… Mind giving me some guiding?”
“Don’t lie.”
“It’s true… I feel like it’ll get better if you guide me.”
I could see right through him, but I just laughed it off. I didn’t have anything urgent to do anyway. Maybe I could indulge him this once.
“All right. Let’s go to your private room, Esper.”
As I said that, I looked down, ready to take off the combat suit — but one glance at the tangled straps made me give up immediately. After all, it’d been a while since I wore one; the snug pressure actually felt oddly reassuring.
“…”
Besides, some Espers were murmuring and staring our way. Vasily didn’t like being a spectacle.
As expected, a wave of cold energy spread from his direction — his mood souring by the second. We’d better get out of here before someone froze to death.
“I’ll take off the suit in your private room. Let’s go.”
“Fine.”
We left the training hall and entered the Association building. Just as we were talking about our spar, heading toward his room, an Association staffer came running from down the hall.
“Esper Vasily!”
The urgency was clear. Vasily looked ready to ignore him, but since I’d stopped walking, he reluctantly did too.
Panting, the staffer bowed quickly.
“G–Good afternoon, Esper Vasily. An A-class Gate just opened near Seoraksan. Monsters are spilling out nonstop — you need to get there right away…”
At the name of the location, my chest went cold. So it was now. This was around the time I saw my first civilian casualty.
That memory was still sharp.
It was right after Vasily and I returned from a month-long overseas dispatch. Almost immediately, we were sent to an A-class Gate that had opened domestically. It had burst without warning in a mountain village, and I remembered the damage being severe.
By the time Vasily and I arrived, countless monsters had already escaped the Gate. They were scattered all across the forested area, impossible to track individually — so Vasily froze the entire region.
But there had been those who couldn’t get out. A pair of young siblings. When we inspected the area after the Gate closed, confirming there were no monsters left, we found them. Already gone.
“…”
That day, the guilt carved into me never faded.
Maybe this time I could save them. I knew the place, I knew the time. But the problem was how. A mere guide sneaking into a sealed Gate zone to rescue two children — not exactly easy.
“I’ll have to take that guiding later,” Vasily said quietly after hearing the report. He gave instructions to prepare a helicopter and started walking off. I watched him, then grabbed his arm.
“Esper Vasily.”
He turned to look at me.
“Can I use my wish now?”
“Now? That’s… a bit inconvenient—”
“Please take me to the Gate.”
Vasily frowned. Clearly, he didn’t like the idea.
“…It’ll be dangerous.”
“I’ll just stay in the safe zone, won’t I? You’ll probably need guiding afterward anyway, so I’ll wait on-site.”
“…”
I met his eyes and spoke firmly. In the past, he’d been desperate to drag me into Gates; now, just asking to be near one made him reluctant.
“Aren’t you scared? There might be monsters.”
“With Esper Vasily there, nothing dangerous will happen. Or… are you saying you can’t protect a single guide?”
“Then that’s fine. It won’t be an issue.”
Somewhere between flattery and provocation, I’d hit the sweet spot — Vasily smiled faintly and agreed. Success. I grinned and followed him.
We moved up to the rooftop, where a helicopter was already waiting. Boarding immediately, we lifted off toward the Gate site.
Seoul spread out below us, shrinking as we climbed higher. My ears popped — a feeling I hadn’t missed.
Across from me sat Vasily. Watching him stirred a strange unease. I’d worked so hard to escape his orbit, and yet here I was again, pulled right back in. Was this really the right choice?
Still, there was one thing I knew for sure: if I let this chance pass, I’d regret it all over again.