# Chapter 112
Past midnight. It was the time when people had begun to fall asleep. It was no different for Zenon. He moved his heavy body and collapsed face-down onto the bed.
Today, perhaps because he’d been stressed all day, it seemed like he could fall asleep right away. Just as he was about to close his drooping eyes.
A vibrating sound came with light starting to shine. It was light emanating from the phone he had thrown onto the floor.
Zenon, who naturally assumed it was from Peace, picked up the phone with a weary look. If it contained orders to go on a mission right now, he was planning to throw the phone out the window.
“Fenil…?”
But the sender was Fenil, someone he hadn’t expected at all. Zenon frowned at the text filled with various symbols. This was definitely the code they used at ‘Alice.’
Though he was slow due to it being a while since he’d used it, he eventually decoded the message. Unlike the long string of characters, the meaning contained within was brief.
[I’ll save you.]
And Zenon’s breath stopped for a moment.
“…Ah.”
After letting out a short exclamation, he lowered his head. His hair fell softly, covering his face. After staring at the message on the bed for a long time, Zenon finally raised his head.
His face was distorted beyond description.
It was what he had always wished for. But right now, more than anything else, self-loathing was thickly evident in Zenon’s expression.
Covering his face with both hands, Zenon felt like he was falling into a pit filled with disgusting things. It was hatred directed at no one but himself.
While he had given up so early, Fenil said she would save someone like him.
How could he be so pathetic? It made him sick that he was finding relief in salvation that approached him without him making any effort.
He wasn’t like this when he was young. Knowing no one would save him, he didn’t expect it. He lived through the harsh reality alone with tenacity. In a situation where everyone was dying, he survived persistently.
But after meeting the people from ‘Alice,’ he had gradually become accustomed to their kindness. And with that, he began to harbor expectations.
The shameless, ugly expectation that maybe they would save him.
This wasn’t right. He should endure alone as he did before.
But now, that was too burdensome for him.
To the point where he unconsciously expected the approaching salvation, even though he knew he didn’t deserve it.
* * *
Kay stared blankly at the threshold beneath his feet. Though he knew he had to cross it, perhaps thinking he would never return, his feet wouldn’t move easily.
“Should we do this another time?”
Perhaps thinking Kay was nervous, Haylen looked at him with concern.
“It’s fine.”
He had just been lost in thought briefly, it was nothing serious. Kay shook his head and slowly reached out to open the door in front of him.
“Everyone, it’s been a while.”
He spoke after taking a small deep breath. Nothing had changed inside the conference room. Bright light touched the tips of his feet. He felt his mind gradually calming in the warm sunlight.
As soon as they entered, Fenil and Alex, who knew about Kay’s situation, greeted him normally.
“I saw you yesterday, but still, it’s been a while.”
“Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
The ordinary greetings were better precisely because they were so normal. Kay walked to his empty seat with a faint smile. Meanwhile, he observed Melia, who was still standing silently.
She was just staring blankly at him. As if she were seeing someone she shouldn’t see.
Melia’s lips moved several times before she finally spoke. After two attempts at words that didn’t form sentences, she was finally able to speak properly.
“You’ve… woken up.”
Her voice was monotone, but the end of it trembled slightly. Soon after she finished speaking, Melia’s eyes began to water.
“It’s been a while, Melia.”
He tried his best to smile, but that action seemed to stimulate her even more. The teardrops precariously hanging at the corners of her eyes finally fell.
“…I missed you.”
Melia closed her eyes gently with a faint smile.
Melia could tell that she was the only one who didn’t know about Kay waking up, given the too-composed reactions of the others.
But she didn’t feel hurt. There must have been reasons why they had to keep it hidden without telling her.
Right now, she was just happy to see Kay moving and talking. Even though she had believed he would wake up, she had always been anxious.
His stiff body seemed like it would never move again, and his warm skin seemed like it would go cold at any moment. But that anxiety was over today.
Only after confirming Kay was safe could Melia finally smile with relief.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you right away.”
“It’s okay. As long as you’ve woken up… that’s all that matters.”
Kay bent his waist in embarrassment at her tears, but Melia shook her head, telling him not to. After casually wiping away her tears, Melia returned to her characteristic expressionlessness.
It was a surprising change, as if she had never cried, but Kay was familiar with this aspect of Melia, so he could calm himself.
Haylen, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke in a slightly higher tone as things settled down.
“Shall we start the meeting now?”
As he tapped the table, attention began to shift to Haylen. Reminded of the reason they had gathered in the conference room, Kay nodded and sat down. Though his gaze was still directed at Melia, concerned about her.
“First, the issue is whether we should reveal Kay.”
It was when Fenil spoke that Kay finally began to focus. Kay was barely able to regain his senses at the sudden mention of his name. He turned his head to stare at Fenil.
“It’s dangerous.”
“But we can’t keep hiding him forever.”
Melia and Alex expressed their opinions, excluding Kay who was just staring blankly.
“I’m fine with it.”
How many people would not be interested in someone who had come back to life after dying? All kinds of people would seek him out to know the reason for his resurrection.
Of course, there would be no consideration for him in that process. But that was something he had already anticipated.
As Alex said, unless he lived locked away, it was a problem that couldn’t be hidden forever. Kay gave a nod to Haylen, who was silently listening to the exchanging opinions.
“Kay will participate this time.”
At Haylen’s words, Kay nodded to confirm it was his own wish.
Worried that it might just be an obligatory statement and Haylen might be uncomfortable, Kay looked at him. But there was no such negative expression on his face.
The executives gathered in the room all showed unexpected reactions at his gentle smile while speaking. Especially Melia, who had never seen Haylen being affectionate toward Kay, was noticeably flustered.
Just as an awkward silence fell due to Haylen’s unexpected demeanor.
“Then the next issue is how to attack…”
Fenil naturally broke that subtle silence. She trailed off, waiting for responses from the others.
Having returned to the main topic from his thoughts about Haylen, Alex grumbled.
“Not only do we need to rescue Alice, but we also have to deal with the Director, so the job has gotten bigger.”
After counting the tasks to be done on his fingers, Alex eventually waved his hand at the endless list of things to do.
Everyone had already heard about Raymon, the Director of Peace. Therefore, no one expressed opposition to dealing with him.
Of course, facing Peace, a hero agency, was burdensome. But everyone here was also S-class. Among them, there was no one who would be intimidated and back down.
“There’s nothing we can’t destroy, but the issue is how to package it.”
Fenil sighed as she spoke. It was the reason they couldn’t do anything about Peace even when they found out about the inhumane experiments. If all of Raymon’s actions were to be spread, it would cause a huge ripple in society.
Therefore, they needed a justification to deal with Raymon in a convincing way without causing chaos. But such a method wouldn’t just appear out of thin air.
It was the same for Kay. He withdrew his gaze from the others who were each thinking of a method.
Not even being able to reveal what Peace had done… He had considered exposing everything without hesitation, but that would cause other villains to run wild. And they would be the ones to stop them.
Most of them would be insane people, and it would be better to proceed as safely as possible rather than trying to control such individuals.
But they needed a reason to deal with Raymon. They couldn’t attack without any reason—
That’s when a thought suddenly flashed through Kay’s mind. After pondering for a moment, he soon spoke.
“What if we go with the story that we attacked Peace?”
“Become the villains?”
“Yes, since we’re villains anyway, it wouldn’t be strange for us to attack Peace.”
Those who had been thinking on their own showed interest in Kay’s words. Finding it reasonable, Alex even nodded.
No matter how they proceeded, they would still be villains. In the eyes of others, they could only be seen as trash. If that was the case, it wasn’t bad to make the most of that image on this occasion.
But Melia seemed to have something on her mind as she cautiously opened her mouth.
“What about the protagonist…?”
“Protagonist?”
Kay asked back, not understanding Melia’s words. After thinking for a moment, she spoke again.
“Who’s the protagonist at Peace?”
“…”
Though it still wasn’t a clear answer, Kay could catch what Melia meant. She was certainly right.
Even if they attacked and dealt with Raymon, what came after was the problem. If the next Director also had the same goals as Raymon, it would be a meaningless act.
So they needed someone they could definitely trust. A protagonist who could step onto the stage they set up.
