As I approached the office, I could hear voices talking.
“…so that guy’s definitely suspicious, meow.”
“Cough, cough!”
…I could hear it this clearly? It was like listening to a conversation right in front of me.
Even if there hadn’t been any problems so far, wasn’t this too careless? The first floor was a café, so they should be more careful.
Knock knock.
Go Sangwon announced his 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 where antique decorations mixed with modern furniture. A red carpet was laid across the floor.
The room was too dark to see clearly. Maybe that’s why the overall atmosphere felt less cozy and more like a chilly place where a ghost might appear.
Today, rarely, there was a small light on over the desk. Was it because there was a visitor?
Right, there was the man sitting at the desk wearing a half-mask. The Boss. And the cat…
?
Why was it there.
The Boss was allergic to cat fur.
Go Sangwon, who had been beside me, rushed forward and grabbed the cat off the desk.
The cat struggled, protesting that its report wasn’t finished. Only after Go Sangwon mentioned treats did it settle down obediently in his arms.
“Well then.”
Having finished his task, Go Sangwon bowed his head toward the Boss.
He left with the cat, closing the door behind him. Now it was just me and the Boss in the office.
The Boss silently flipped through documents, blowing out cigarette smoke.
I stood quietly.
I didn’t know what I might get caught on if I spoke first.
The Boss from six years ago could be subtly different from the Boss I knew, so I needed to be more careful. His preferences, his triggers…
Maybe because I couldn’t see his face, but so far I hadn’t felt much of a difference.
If I had to find one difference—
He’s not coughing much.
The moment I thought that, the Boss suddenly started coughing violently. Even so, he stubbornly refused to let go of the cigarette in his hand.
He’s going to choke at this rate.
I wanted to at least open a window, but I couldn’t pull back the curtains without the Boss’s permission.
The moment I passed by the desk to pour him some water and approached his side—
Something cut through the air right beside my face.
Thwack.
The ashtray hit the wall and shattered into pieces. Shards of broken glass scattered down to the floor.
Seeing that, the cat’s voice flashed through my mind like a lantern slide. Words I’d heard right before falling into the Gate.
“You disappeared for four days, meow! The Boss is looking for you, meow! He’s furious, meow!”
Hmm…
“He’s furious, meow!”
…….
The Boss turned his chair toward me.
“What did you do?”
“What?”
His tone was calm, as if he’d never thrown an ashtray at all.
I asked back without thinking, but he wasn’t the type to explain things twice.
I realized he was asking about the period right after the regression, when I’d been unreachable.
“…….”
“Well, that’s…”
I tried to speak as casually as possible.
I couldn’t explain that I’d briefly lost my mind because of the regression.
What the cat had told him was probably only what happened after I left the house. The four days I’d spent shut up in my room—only I knew what happened during that time.
My mouth felt parched, so I licked my lips.
“Well, um, I was sick and collapsed. I’m sorry.”
I knew it was a transparent excuse.
“Ah, the cold going around lately has been really nasty. I had such a high fever, it felt like I was burning in hellfire.”
The low voice murmured.
“A cold, huh…”
Purple eyes glinted between the mask. Feeling a chill, I covered my twitching mouth with my sleeve.
“You didn’t answer your phone because you were sick?”
“Actually, ahem, cough, kkk, cough cough! Kuhuk.”
My internal injuries must not have fully healed, because blood mixed into my cough. While I was at it, I clutched at my chest with my bloodied hand, putting on a show of sickness.
“S-sorry, cough, sorry about that.”
I gently smeared the blood at the corner of my mouth wider with my thumb.
“Maybe pneumonia, or even tuberculosis…”
“What did those bastards do to you?”
“Those… bastards? Cough.”
“Atlas.”
“!”
Why was that name coming up here?
“Boss.”
Bang!
The Boss slammed the desk as if telling me to shut up.
“…….”
“What did you do that you walked out of there without them laying a hand on you?”
I almost wished he’d just interrogate me about being unreachable instead. Contrary to my wishes, the Boss started firing off questions about Atlas like a machine gun.
“The guild master was apparently a hunter who held an officer position in the Association.”
“That’s…”
I hadn’t known that. Either way, getting tangled up with the Association would really make me look like a traitor. In a rush, I took a few steps forward.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Boss.”
But he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were rolled toward the ceiling. Definitely ten seconds away from going completely off the rails.
“Did you make some kind of deal with Yeom Hajae?”
“A deal? What kind of absurd—ah, haha…”
The accusation was so outrageous I couldn’t even think of a rebuttal. I gritted my teeth. Meanwhile, the Boss’s muttering didn’t stop.
“Even whined about being scared…”
…How much did he tattle?
I started to resent the cat for snitching on everything from A to Z.
“Why so quiet? Explain yourself, Seo Sinwoo.”
“…….”
He says that, but he’s clearly already reached his conclusion in his head.
Of all people, Yeom Hajae had to be someone connected to the Association.
It seemed like he’d heard everything about the conversation I’d had with Yeom Hajae… Honestly, I didn’t even remember exactly what I’d said to Yeom Hajae.
In a situation where I couldn’t recall the small details, a half-baked excuse would only invite more anger, like before. So there was only one option.
Thud.
I dropped to my knees without hesitation.
“…….”
Let’s appease him with everything I’ve got. I have to somehow make him understand I’m still on his side.
That’s the only way to calm this paranoid man down.
It was time for my knees, lighter than feathers, to step up.
Just then, I noticed the cigarette in the Boss’s hand had burned down to a decent length.
The ashtray was gone too, so I approached beneath the Boss and respectfully held out my hand.
I waited a bit, but there was no response. His eyes, still turned toward the ceiling, didn’t come down.
Was he so angry he didn’t even notice the cigarette burning away?
This wasn’t good. I needed to try something more aggressive.
Glancing around cautiously, I licked the top of his black glove. The key was to grin stupidly, like a complete idiot.
This was the so-called “become a dog” tactic.
Normally, licking his shoes would be better, but shoes might not get the reaction across as well.
Drawing on the memory of how much he used to like it whenever I acted like a real dog…
Lick, lick.
After I licked diligently, the Boss finally looked at me.
His eyes were still cold.
But his body was honest. Two gloved fingers caught my tongue firmly. I obediently stuck out my tongue, following the lead of his touch.
Had I succeeded in diverting his attention?
“My little dog’s gotten better at this…”
The Boss pressed down on my tongue and toyed with it.
Just as the prolonged hand-play started to feel strange.
Ptui.
Something cold landed on my tongue.
I barely managed to stop my face from scrunching up.
No matter how strong my stomach was, this was a bit—
He could’ve just spit on the floor.
While I was thinking that, the cigarette came right up to my face. For a moment I flinched, thinking I was about to get burned.
Thankfully, the hand holding the cigarette aimed for my tongue instead.
Hiss—
With an acrid smell, the smoke went out.
This ill-mannered Boss had not only spat on someone’s tongue, but used it to put out his cigarette.
Maybe because the saliva acted as a buffer, it didn’t hurt as much as I’d expected.
While I waited quietly for what came next, the Boss suddenly yanked my tongue hard.
“Guh…”
“Those bastards probably don’t even know you’re this pathetic piece of trash, do they?”
The Boss shoved his fingers roughly into my mouth. The cold leather pressed forcefully against my soft flesh.
My jaw was stretched until it ached. Only when the base of his fingers caught against my teeth did the intrusion stop.
“Gh— ugh, kkk…”
His fingers, filling my mouth completely, brushed against my throat and made me gag.
Something was pushed in toward the back of my throat. My throat reflexively convulsed and accepted it.
“Heheh… hahaha.”
The Boss made a strange laughing sound. A sign that he was in a good mood.
I felt saliva I couldn’t swallow dribble down my chin.
Just as I was truly about to throw up, the Boss pulled his hand out. A thread of saliva stretched between his retreating hand and my mouth before snapping.
Looking at his glove, glistening with slick fluid, the Boss pressed his fingers together and pulled them apart, playing around.
“Filthy.”
That’s what I should be saying.
The Boss carelessly wiped his dirtied hand all over my face and turned his chair away.
“…….”
Only once I closed my mouth did I finally taste the bitterness.
My tongue was numb and my face was damp. Thinking about it now, what I’d swallowed earlier had definitely been a cigarette butt.
Even amid all that, the Boss kept letting out strange chuckles to himself.
It felt awful, but the situation seemed to have calmed down roughly, so I felt relieved.
Seeing him cheer up over something like this showed just how soft he really was.
The Boss took a new pair of gloves from a drawer and put them on. Then he put a cigarette in his mouth and scanned around for a lighter.
Just then, a lighter lying under the desk caught my eye.
“Oh dear, please stay seated, Boss.”
I half-rose and quickly lit his cigarette.
But the Boss, who had been smirking, suddenly turned serious.
Who knows what he’d thought of this time. A voice as eerie as nails on a chalkboard came out.
“Don’t give me orders.”
It was a clear warning.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
I quickly apologized with a shameless grin. And for some reason, I got kicked in the shin.
Fuck, that’s where it was broken before…
Even the part that had healed felt like it cracked again.
I was more or less forced back into sitting.
While I was wondering when to bring up the jewelry box, something fell to the floor with a soft thud.
It was a white half-mask. Similar in shape to the one the Boss was wearing.
“Next week is already the 10th anniversary… kuh, cough…”
10th anniversary. Did he mean the Association’s founding ceremony?
The Boss continued, forcing the words out.
“A place where all sorts of vermin gather, so that guild master will definitely show up too…”
Still coughing, the cigarette—barely smoked—had grown short again.
I quietly held out my palm. The Boss stubbed out the half-finished cigarette against it, looking down at me.
“I’ll give you a chance.”
It was a statement missing both beginning and end. Still, with my long career as a slave, I could understand it.
He meant for me to go to the 10th anniversary ceremony and personally kill Yeom Hajae.
