# Chapter 114
The emergency stairway, now closed due to a villain attack, had no surveillance cameras and was rarely frequented by people. That’s why Ben would come here whenever he wanted to be alone.
The cool air and quiet stillness calmed his mind. The complex thoughts that followed one after another gradually washed away. As the feeling of ease increased, Ben quietly closed his eyes.
He had only taken one step forward. And because it was such an awkward step, Ben couldn’t help but regret it again.
Wasn’t there a better way, shouldn’t he have stopped Raymon directly? All kinds of thoughts tumbled through his mind.
Ben knew it was because of Kane’s death. He had tried to prevent Kane from dying.
But he belatedly realized that such shallow help wasn’t enough. It shouldn’t have ended with just giving a note; he should have saved him directly. That remained as a terrible regret.
He was trying to change now, but anxiety kept creeping in that nothing might actually change. Maybe he just wanted to rationalize by saying he had tried.
Therefore, Ben couldn’t be certain that anything he was doing was right.
“What should I do…”
As he buried his head in his knees, floundering in his own patheticness, that’s when it happened.
“You…”
A voice, familiar yet strange, came from above Ben’s head. Ben quickly looked up at the voice that suddenly appeared without any warning.
His scattered gaze found its direction. He inhaled sharply as soon as he identified the other person.
It was none other than Zenon who had spoken to him. The impressive silver hair that always caught his attention when he saw him came into view.
“Ha…”
Meanwhile, Zenon wasn’t pleased with the current situation. From the fact that there was someone in a place he thought no one else would come to, and even more so that it was Ben, he became increasingly displeased.
Sensing that he would only get irritated rather than refreshed, Zenon clicked his tongue and frowned. Then he immediately turned to leave the place.
“Was it you who killed Kane?”
But Ben, who had been staring at Zenon with indecipherable eyes, spoke unexpected words. Zenon’s feet, which were about to move elsewhere, stopped abruptly.
“What if I say it was me?”
Zenon’s monotone voice echoed in the space filled with tension.
“…”
Though he couldn’t see Zenon’s expression, Ben thought he must be in agony. The atmosphere surrounding Zenon was similar to his own.
It was an atmosphere as if even breathing was a sin, buried in guilt.
“…I won’t do anything.”
So Ben shook his head. Unless Zenon had said Kane’s death was deserved, he couldn’t blame the current Zenon.
“Why?”
When Ben didn’t get angry, Zenon frowned and turned his body, seemingly unable to understand.
“Because I have no right to say anything when all I did was watch.”
There was no difference between Zenon and himself. Even if he truly was the one who killed Kane, that fact wouldn’t change. He too had not saved Kane despite being able to.
Watching Ben sitting pitifully with a bitter smile, Zenon opened his closed mouth.
“I didn’t kill him. But I don’t know his whereabouts. He could be alive or he might be dead.”
His tone was still sharp, but the fierce aura had subsided a little. Ben’s shoulders, who had been listening carefully to Zenon’s words, flinched.
“Is that so.”
The possibility that he might not be dead. While feeling relieved, he couldn’t easily be happy. Even if alive, Kane wouldn’t be able to live the same life as before. His personal information had already been exposed to society as a criminal.
He would have to live his life in hiding forever. When he found out Raymon wanted to kill Kane, he hadn’t thought that far.
He just thought Kane needed to be alive.
“Zenon, in the past, we had to follow their orders to survive.”
Therefore, he didn’t need his own thoughts. He just completed the missions assigned to him like a machine.
“So, to avoid death, I never disobeyed orders.”
Although they were the ones who had thrown him into the pit of misfortune, conversely, they were also the reason he could live. They provided food and shelter. Ironically. Moreover, when his abilities first manifested, he desperately wanted to be comfortable, so the option of not obeying orders did not exist.
That way, his range of thought gradually narrowed, and finally, he became this kind of person. Even when trying to change, no clear method came to mind.
Zenon, who had been observing Ben as he sighed, slowly revealed his inner thoughts.
“…Me too. I hated it, but I knew I couldn’t escape. So I started following orders.”
Zenon disliked Ben. Not only did unpleasant memories resurface whenever he saw him, but he was also quite uncomfortable. At first, he thought it was because Ben was Peace’s dog.
He himself knew what kind of treatment he had received when he was a test subject. Yet Ben obeyed Peace. How could he be so stupid? Despite knowing it was an unavoidable situation, he felt betrayed.
But today, Ben had revealed his sincere desire to escape from Peace. If that was the case, the discomfort he felt toward him should normally disappear. However, this incomprehensible feeling grew increasingly larger.
Only now could Zenon understand the reason for his discomfort.
It was because Ben and he were similar.
Not just the past, but also the present where they felt guilt toward the same person. It felt like looking into a mirror. A mirror that clearly showed the weak parts inside himself.
Ben, who knew nothing, asked the silently standing Zenon.
“Can the two of us change?”
It was a voice full of anxiety. A voice afraid that the determination to change might be broken, and that he might return to being a puppet again at any moment.
But Zenon couldn’t give him certainty.
“I don’t know.”
Because he was just as anxious himself.
“But I don’t want to live like this anymore.”
He no longer wanted to submit to them. Although he was someone who could only regret, he wanted to change.
Leaving behind Ben who was staring blankly at him, Zenon frowned and went outside. Being with Ben was still unpleasant.
Creaaak, the thick iron door closed. In the silence that began to surround him again, Ben cautiously opened his mouth.
“I too…”
After numerous worries, the answer was ultimately one.
“Don’t want to live like this anymore.”
It was such a simple answer that all those worries seemed futile.
* * *
As everyone was about to leave the room after the meeting ended, Kay spoke as if he had just remembered something.
“Ah, is it possible to meet Kane-ssi?”
“Then you can follow me. Is that okay, Boss?”
Alex stopped his steps and turned around at Kay’s question. Haylen seemed to consider for a moment before nodding and answering.
“Yes, please go ahead.”
After that, everything moved quickly. Kay followed Alex to where Kane was. Kane was currently living in an officetel that Alex had arranged.
Kay gently opened the door that Alex pointed to and entered.
“Uh…”
Then Kane, who had been reading a book, raised his head to check who it was. After recognizing it was Kay, his complexion turned pale.
“I’ll step outside for a moment.”
Alex, who had been watching the situation for a while, retreated as he closed the door.
In the awkward silence, Kay didn’t know what to say first. Although he had said he wanted to meet, he was originally shy.
As such, he was usually led by others. But this time, Kane was also not particularly sociable. It was only natural that no words were exchanged in this first meeting between two taciturn individuals.
“It’s my first time seeing you like this.”
Kay, who had mustered courage, spoke first. Kane’s shoulders visibly flinched.
“Ah… Yes, YES! That’s right!”
Kane, who opened his mouth hastily while stuttering, rolled his eyes around. He didn’t know how to continue the conversation.
“I came because I have something to ask.”
But Kay didn’t drag it out any longer. Given his serious attitude, Kane also had to be serious.
He swallowed dryly and waited for Kay’s words.
“Have you ever disclosed information about Peace to us?”
“…Yeees.”
Kane nodded cautiously while keeping an eye on Kay. Kay looked at him as if surprised.
“Is your body… okay?”
Kay, who spoke as if it shouldn’t be possible, scrutinized Kane with a persistent gaze.
“Currently, I’m completely fine.”
Kane, not understanding the meaning behind the gaze, simply answered Kay’s question diligently.
Kay found it hard to understand the situation. Ben had clearly said that internal personnel who disclosed Peace’s confidential information externally were made to commit suicide through suggestion. According to him, Kane should already be dead by now.
Due to a belated memory, he had hurriedly come to warn him. But he had already spoken…
Contrary to his expectations, Kane was fine. Kay narrowed his eyes and tried to interpret the incomprehensible situation.
What on earth was going on? Could it be because of the possession? It wasn’t an impossible explanation. Brainwashing is usually engraved on the soul. Therefore, the brainwashing might have weakened or disappeared due to the possession.
Currently, that was the only explanation that made sense. Kay tentatively formed that hypothesis.
In any case, relieved to see Kane safe, he nodded, saying it was fortunate.
“I see.”
