As I drew near the office, I could hear voices.
“…so that guy seems off, no matter how you look at it, meow.”
“Cough, cough!”
…For it to be this audible. It was at the level of hearing the conversation right up close.
Even if there'd been no problems so far, isn't this too careless? The first floor was a café, so it'd be wise to be more careful about it.
Knock knock.
Go Sangwon announced our arrival with a knock. A voice came from inside.
“Come in, meow!”
When Go Sangwon opened the door, a scene different from the businesslike hallway came into view.
It was a room mixing antique decorations with modern furniture. A red carpet was laid across the floor.
The room was dark, so I couldn't see in detail. Maybe that's why, overall, it had a chilly atmosphere—like a ghost might appear—rather than a cozy one.
At least today, unusually, a small light was on atop the desk. Was it because there was a visitor?
Right, that man wearing a half-mask, seated in front of the desk. That's the Boss. And the cat was…
?
Why's it over there?
The Boss has a cat-fur allergy.
Go Sangwon, who'd been at my side, hurriedly dashed out and snatched up the cat on the desk.
The cat thrashed, insisting its report wasn't finished. Only after Go Sangwon brought up treats did it settle obediently into his arms.
“Then.”
His task done, Go Sangwon bowed his head toward the Boss.
He exited with the cat and shut the door. Now there were only two of us in the office, me and the Boss.
The Boss wordlessly leafed through documents and puffed cigarette smoke.
I stood quietly.
Open my mouth first and there's no telling what nitpick I'd be caught on.
The Boss of six years ago could be subtly different from the Boss I knew, so I had to be even more careful. His tastes, his rage triggers, things like that…
Maybe because I couldn't see his face, I hadn't felt much difference so far, though.
If I had to find a difference.
He doesn't cough much.
No sooner had I thought it than the Boss began to cough violently. And even so, he stubbornly refused to let the cigarette out of his hand.
He's going to choke to death at this rate.
I wanted to open a window at least, but I couldn't draw the curtains without the Boss's permission.
It was the moment I passed the desk and approached the Boss's side to pour him some water.
Something sliced through the air right beside my face and flew past.
Thunk.
An ashtray struck the wall and shattered into pieces. Shards of broken glass clattered down to the floor.
Seeing it, the cat's voice came back to me like a flashback. The words I'd heard before falling into the Gate.
“You've been gone four days, meow! The Boss is looking for you, meow! He's real mad, meow!”
Hm…
“He's real mad, meow!”
…
The Boss turned his chair toward me.
“What did you do?”
“Sorry?”
A calm tone, as if he'd never thrown an ashtray.
I asked back reflexively, but there was no explaining a second time.
I realized he was asking about the period right after the regression, when I'd been out of contact.
“…”
“The thing is.”
I opened my mouth as if it were nothing at all, as much as I could manage.
I couldn't explain that I'd briefly lost my mind because I'd regressed.
What the cat had relayed was probably the story after I left the house. The only one who knew what happened during those four days holed up in my room was me.
My mouth felt parched, so I licked my lips.
“The thing is, I'd collapsed because I was sick. I'm sorry.”
I know it's a flimsy excuse.
“Man, the cold going around lately is so brutal. The fever was so bad I felt like I'd fallen into the fires of hell, I swear.”
A low voice muttered.
“A cold, huh…”
Purple eyes glinted between the mask. Feeling a chill, I covered my twitching mouth with my sleeve.
“You don't answer calls because you're sick?”
“The truth is, ahem, cough, kek, cough cough! Kuh.”
Maybe my internal injuries hadn't fully healed, because blood mixed into my coughs. While I was at it, I clawed at my chest with a bloody hand, milking the fake illness.
“P-pardon, cough, pardon me.”
I gently rubbed at my mouth with my thumb to smear the blood around.
“It might be pneumonia, no, tuberculosis even-”
“What did those guys pull on you?”
“Those guys… you mean? Cough.”
“Atlas.”
“!”
Why's that name coming up here?
“Boss.”
Bang!
The Boss slammed the desk as if to say shut up.
“…”
“What did you do that let you walk out without laying a hand on those guys?”
I'd honestly rather he interrogate me about being out of contact. Contrary to my wish, the Boss started rattling off words about Atlas like a machine gun.
“Turns out the guild leader's a Hunter who held an officer's post at the Association.”
“That's…”
It was news to me. Anyway, get tangled up with the Association and you really do get mistaken for a traitor. In my panic, I stepped a few paces forward.
“It's a misunderstanding, Boss.”
But the other wasn't looking at me. His eyes were turned toward the ceiling. He was clearly ten seconds from his eyes rolling back.
“Did you collude with Yeom Hajae, perhaps?”
“Collude? What kind of preposterous, ah, haha…”
When he makes such an absurd conjecture, no words to counter it even come to mind. I gritted my teeth. Even then, the Boss's muttering didn't stop.
“Whining that you were scared, even…”
…Just how much did it tattle?
The cat that had ratted on me from one to ten became detestable.
“Why so quiet? Make your excuse, Seo Sinwoo.”
“…”
He says that, but it's obvious he's already reached a conclusion in his head.
To think Yeom Hajae, of all people, would be a human connected to the Association.
It seemed he'd even been told the full contents of the conversation I'd had with Yeom Hajae… Honestly, I don't even remember well what I'd babbled to Yeom Hajae.
In a situation where I couldn't recall the minor details, a half-baked excuse would only invite anger like before. So there was only one way.
Thump.
Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees.
“…”
Let's flatter him with everything I've got. Somehow, I have to let him know I'm still on your side.
That alone is the way to calm this paranoiac.
The time had come for my knees, lighter than a feather, to step up.
As it happened, the cigarette in the Boss's hand had burned down to a suitably short length.
The ashtray was gone too, so I approached below the Boss and politely held out my hand.
I waited a bit, but there was no reaction. The eyes turned to the ceiling wouldn't come down.
Was he so pissed he didn't even notice the cigarette burning away?
His condition was bad. I'd have to use a more aggressive move.
Gauging his mood carefully, I licked the top of the black glove. Grinning like a real halfwit is the key point.
The so-called become-a-dog tactic.
If I could, licking the shoe would be better, but the shoe might not get the feeling across as well.
Drawing on the memory of how he'd loved it whenever I acted like a real dog…
Lick, lick.
When I licked away diligently, the Boss finally looked at me.
His gaze was as cold as ever.
But his body was honest. Two glove-covered fingers gripped my tongue firmly. I obediently stuck my tongue out, letting his touch lead me.
Had I succeeded in diverting his attention?
“The mutt's gotten better at this…”
The Boss pressed down on my tongue, then fiddled with it.
About the time the hand-play dragged on and the feeling turned strange.
Ptoo.
A cold liquid touched my tongue.
I barely kept my face from scrunching up.
As good as my stomach is, this is a bit…
Just spit it on the floor.
While I was thinking that, the cigarette had come right up to my face. Thinking I'd get a cigarette burn left on my face, I flinched for a moment.
Thankfully, the hand holding the cigarette went toward my tongue.
Sssz—.
Along with an acrid smell, the cigarette went out.
This ill-mannered Boss had not only spat on someone's tongue but put out his cigarette on it, too.
Maybe the saliva acted as a protective layer, because it didn't hurt as much as I'd thought.
As I quietly waited for the next move, the Boss suddenly yanked my tongue hard.
“Kak…”
“Those guys don't even know you're this worthless piece of trash, do they, hm?”
The Boss jammed his fingers haphazardly into my mouth. The cold leather, digging in roughly, crushed the tender flesh.
My jaw was wrenched open until it ached. It was only when the base of his fingers caught on my teeth that the intrusion was blocked.
“Guk… ugh, kkng…”
The fingers filling my mouth poked at my throat, making me gag.
Something was thrust all the way to the back of my throat. My throat, gulping on reflex, accepted it.
“Heuheut… hahaha.”
The Boss let out a strange laugh. It was a signal that he was in a good mood.
I could feel the saliva I hadn't managed to swallow running down my chin.
The instant I really was about to throw up, the Boss pulled his hand out. Between the receding hand and my mouth, saliva stretched long, then snapped.
Looking at the glove glistening with slick liquid, the Boss pressed his fingers together and pulled them apart, playing.
“Disgusting.”
That's my line.
The Boss wiped his dirtied hand carelessly on my face and turned his chair.
“…”
When I shut my mouth, a bitter taste finally registered.
My tongue was sore and my face was damp. Thinking about it now, what I'd swallowed earlier was definitely the cigarette butt.
Even in the midst of it, the Boss was letting out a strange laugh all on his own.
My mood was foul, but the situation felt roughly settled, so I was relieved.
Seeing how his mood lifts over something like this, he is soft.
The Boss took a fresh glove from a drawer and changed it out. Then he put a cigarette in his mouth and scanned his surroundings looking for a lighter.
Just then, a lighter that had fallen under the desk came into my view.
“Goodness, stay seated, Boss.”
I lifted myself halfway and promptly lit his cigarette.
But the Boss, who'd been grinning, instantly went stone-faced.
What he'd thought up on his own again, I don't know. An eerie voice like nails scraping a chalkboard shot out.
“Don't give me orders.”
It was a clear warning.
“Ah, I'm sorry.”
I quickly apologized with an easygoing smile. And for some reason, I got kicked in the shin.
Fuck, I told you that broke…
Even the part that had barely mended seemed to crack again.
I ended up half-forced back into a seated position.
While I was wondering when to bring up the jewelry box, something dropped to the floor with a plop.
It was a white half-mask. Similar in form to the one the Boss was wearing.
“Next week's already the 10th anniversary… kak, cough…”
The 10th anniversary. Was he talking about the Association's founding event?
The Boss continued, wringing out his voice.
“It's a place where all kinds of vermin gather, so that guild leader will surely come too…”
From coughing constantly, the cigarette he'd barely smoked grew short again.
I quietly held out my palm. The Boss ground the half-finished cigarette out on it, looking down at me.
“I'll give you a chance.”
It was a sentence with the front and back lopped clean off. Even so, with my long career as a slave, I could understand.
It meant: go to the 10th anniversary event and kill Yeom Hajae yourself.
