# Chapter 85
The slight doubt that remained was washed away in an instant when he saw his appearance. Being able to transform into a wolf-human undoubtedly meant it was Kay.
Normally, in Kane’s body, supernatural abilities shouldn’t be usable. He wasn’t sure why Kay could transform into a wolf-human. But today was a full moon, so it wasn’t unreasonable that something existed that even he wasn’t aware of.
More concerning was Kay’s appearance. Normally during the full moon, he would transform into a wolf cub. But for some reason today, he maintained a humanoid form. Boss slowly walked forward as he watched Kay standing there blankly, staring at him.
The distance between them began to gradually close.
Step — Step —
His shoes hitting the stone floor echoed throughout the space.
It was then. When emotion began to appear in Kay’s vacant eyes.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Boss’s footsteps stopped at those words. His ears, which had been lowered, shot up alertly. His tail did the same. With his fur standing on end, the emotion Kay was displaying was clearly hostility.
“Kay…”
Seeing Kay in a form he had never seen before, Boss could only call his name. The full moon was a day when inner emotions and instincts were maximized. Because of this, one expresses genuine emotions more than at any other time.
On such a full moon, Kay was showing hostility toward him. This meant that this was the true feeling he had been hiding all along.
“I’m sorry.”
Boss’s eyes, which had been flowing with gentle ripples, curved downward. He didn’t know how to ask for forgiveness. He had countless things he wanted to say, but couldn’t think of anything Kay would want to hear.
“I’m truly… sorry.”
He could have made excuses. That he couldn’t help it either. How could he have treated a Peace researcher well? But what use were such words in front of Kay? No matter what excuse he made, the fact that he had inflicted an indelible wound on Kay wouldn’t change.
Therefore, Boss chose to apologize rather than make excuses. He kept saying he was sorry as he walked toward Kay.
“I know I can’t be forgiven. Still, I’m sorry.”
“I said don’t come any closer!”
But Kay roughly pushed Boss away. Becoming urgent at the shortening distance, Kay swung his sharply honed claws at him. With a clear intent to attack, his nails transformed into a much longer and sharper form, like blades.
An attack driven by emotion could have been easily avoided. But instead, Boss simply embraced Kay as if everything was fine. In response, Kay tried to hastily change his trajectory, but it was already too late.
Thwick—
The long, sharp claws penetrated his abdomen. The claws, having pierced through thick flesh, met the cold air. Warm droplets of blood fell from Kay’s claws. He could feel Boss’s shirt becoming damp.
“…I told you not to come closer!”
He pushed Boss away, sobbing. But no matter how hard Kay pushed, he didn’t budge. Instead, he embraced Kay even more tightly. With that, the claws twisted inside him, causing another gush of blood to flow out.
“It’s okay. You suffered much more than this. I should at least endure this much.”
“Please just let go of me…”
After struggling for a long time, Kay finally managed to pull out his claws. Even at a glance, Boss’s wound looked serious. Blood continuously dripped from his abdomen. Though it seemed he hadn’t hit any vital spots, at this rate, it was only a matter of time before he would die from excessive bleeding.
His bright green eyes welled up with tears. At a loss, Kay dropped his arms. Boss gently stroked his head.
Though he let out a faint groan of pain with each movement, comforting Kay was the priority right now.
“It’s nothing compared to your pain.”
Cold sweat poured out and his body grew cold. But he had blocked the area where blood was flowing due to gravity, so he wouldn’t die immediately. Boss forced a smile and lifted his head.
“So, don’t cry.”
His fingers, which he had raised with difficulty, wiped away the tears that had formed in Kay’s eyes. It was the first time he had seen him cry.
Kay knew that crying wouldn’t change anything. That’s why he didn’t cry.
Yet to shed tears because of him. Even in this situation, he was still worried about Kay.
Kay’s heart grew increasingly complex at his affection-filled smile.
He didn’t know what to do. He just hated the man in front of him so much. He couldn’t forgive him.
That’s why he had attacked him as he approached. To tell him not to come any closer.
But he hadn’t expected him not to dodge. The person he knew wouldn’t have fallen victim to such an attack.
“Why… why are you doing this now?”
It was too late for everything. He didn’t want anything anymore. He just wanted to rest.
But they kept waking him up. Even though they wouldn’t recognize him. The pain from all this time continued to linger in his mind, refusing to leave.
As that hellish pain resurfaced, Kay gritted his teeth and pushed him away.
“I hate you…!”
Boss staggered but managed to regain his balance and looked at Kay. In front of him, Kay shouted like a child.
“It hurt! It hurt so much I thought I’d go crazy! I wanted you to recognize me! But you didn’t! You couldn’t recognize me!”
These were words he would never have said normally. Thinking rationally, he could understand that it wasn’t Boss’s fault.
However, there are things that cannot be accepted even if understood. On the surface, he pretended to understand, but in reality, Kay’s inner feelings were different.
Resentment toward Boss had sprouted without him even realizing it. Those emotions finally exploded today, on the full moon.
“…I’m sorry.”
“I told you not to say that!”
Kay cried out, shouting. Each time he heard the word “sorry,” it felt like his mind was going numb. His hatred toward him began to subside.
This wasn’t right. He should resent him. Yet why did it subside so easily?
Perhaps feeling the injustice of it, Kay began to shed thick tears. Over his figure, in Boss’s vision, the young Kay was projected. It was strange to see the young Kay who had never actually cried. But perhaps the Kay from back then had wanted to cry like this, and the tears he had held back had finally burst forth years later, today.
Kay roughly wiped away his flowing tears and spilled his inner thoughts.
“I actually knew. That you weren’t at fault. That it couldn’t be helped. But still… I hate you so much.”
His ears, which had been raised, were now lowered. His tail, which had been standing straight, had been drooping for a while now.
Seeing this, Boss couldn’t help but smile, inappropriately for the situation.
“That’s natural. You can resent me as much as you want.”
He once again stepped toward Kay. This time, Kay didn’t stop him.
Kay’s face was buried in his shoulder. The black suit became damp, but Boss didn’t even mind. His hand gently stroked Kay’s hair.
“But don’t blame yourself.”
For some reason, Kay felt his heart ease at his touch.
“You’ve been through too much for that.”
It felt like the knot that had been building up until now was melting away. But even in a moment like this, there was one thing that absolutely had to be said. Kay mumbled.
“…I won’t love you anymore.”
At those words, Boss’s hand momentarily paused. Though he didn’t miss that reaction, Kay had made up his mind. To not like him anymore. Though he wasn’t sure if he could cut off this love.
It was a love too resilient to be easily severed. But having made the resolution, perhaps it could be done somehow.
Kay decided to think that way. His eyes slowly began to close. As if sleep was coming due to the released tension, he uttered his final words and closed his eyes.
“Because loving you is too painful…”
Not long after, the sound of gentle breathing could be heard. Boss was finally able to stop his hand that had been stroking Kay.
“It’s okay. Now it’s my turn to love you as much as you loved me for 10 years.”
If he loved him for 10 years like that, wouldn’t there come a day when Kay would like him again? As long as he existed before him, 10 years wasn’t such a long time.
After gazing at him cradled in his arms for a while, Boss carefully embraced Kay. As if the force resisting gravity had weakened, blood began to flow out again with a surge. Even to him, it was certainly quite a lot, but not an amount he couldn’t endure. More important than that was moving Kay to a safe place.
Boss, carrying him, began to move. His gentle gaze in front of Kay instantly transformed. Cold, chilly eyes sank deeply, as if contemplating what was to come.
First, he needed to help Kay return to his original body. From the current situation, it seemed like a possession, so the problem could be solved if the caster resolved it.
But Kay hadn’t been able to return to his original body for quite a long time. He didn’t think he could easily reclaim his body.
“What should I do with him…”
As he thought about possession, he automatically thought of him. The one called Kane who had entered Kay’s body.
Normally, he would have killed or discarded him, but this time he couldn’t. He couldn’t treat Kay’s body carelessly. So for now, he had no choice but to keep him confined in the hospital room. Afterward, he would have to imprison him or something. There was a mountain of things to resolve, but his expression didn’t look too bad.
That’s because the joy of meeting Kay now outweighed everything else. As he thought of him, Boss’s eyes began to fill with warmth.
Kay might not love him anymore, but for now, just being able to see him was enough to make him happy. So much so that he forgot the pain spreading from his abdomen.
Though it should have been heavy, his steps felt light. The tinnitus that had been ringing without a moment’s rest was no longer heard.
