Chapter 6
The fragments, now receiving even stronger force than before, instantly burrowed deeper and began penetrating further.
“Kugh!”
My head dropped, and my vision flickered. The arms supporting my body suddenly gave out.
Boss looked down at me, then bent his knee and grabbed my chin. My vision was gently lifted, filled entirely with him.
“Don’t close your eyes.”
My blurry vision gradually cleared at Boss’s words. I forced my eyes open as they kept trying to close on their own.
Boss’s orders were absolute. I had to carry out any command he gave. I tensed the muscles around my eyes. His figure, which had been wavering like water, began to come into focus.
“Remember this pain clearly. What you’re feeling right now.”
I followed his words while taking deep breaths. I traced the heat spreading from my back, following it upward. The pain I’d been trying not to consciously feel became intricately perceptible. It felt like thousands of needles stabbing into me.
“Because that’s how you survive, Kay.”
Boss’s eyes creased gently. I filled his field of vision completely. With nothing else contained within it—only me in his sight.
That’s why I found this time both painful and precious. Because I could be remembered by Boss, even if just a little more.
“…Ugh!”
Boss’s finger pressed on a fragment embedded in my back. As a suppressed groan burst out, he pulled the fragment free in one motion.
“You’ll remember, won’t you?”
A faint heat clouded Boss’s eyes. What could that mean? I gazed steadily into his eyes, trying to find the answer.
But only for a moment. I soon looked away. There was no point in figuring it out.
“…If that’s what you want, Boss.”
I could do anything if he wanted it. No personal feelings involved. That’s how absolute Boss was to me.
He was everything in my life, the only light shining in my tainted existence.
That’s why he was someone I couldn’t help but love.
Even if Boss killed me, I could take pride in still loving him.
Because it was him.
Because he was the one who had saved my life.
For a Boss like that, I wouldn’t regret giving up this insignificant life.
“…”
His smile broke at my blind answer. The broken fragments created silence instead of a smile.
A moment of silence filled the space. In the room where only the ticking clock could be heard, Boss’s lips slowly opened.
“With this, you won’t reveal this method even if the enemy captures you, Kay.”
His hand holding my chin withdrew. At the same time, the fragments embedded in me were pulled out.
“Urgh…”
An undisguisable groan burst through my gritted teeth.
“Because you’ll remember this pain.”
There was nothing wrong with the voice that fell low. I was the one who needed to remember pain more than anyone else. I could understand that fact now.
The pain I’d learned from him over the past ten years flashed through my mind. Whips, needles, metal implements—countless tools I couldn’t even count anymore had torn through my body.
At first, I was busy screaming. I hated Boss for inflicting violence on me. He was someone I’d trusted so much. It was unbelievable that such a person would use violence against me.
But gradually, I had no choice but to understand. That it was all because of my ability.
A superpower different from the werewolf ability—I had regeneration.
“Your ability has duality.”
Duality. A word I’d heard countless times from Boss. The regeneration ability was certainly useful. It instantly reduced any wound to nothing.
As proof, even the wounds Boss inflicted were gradually healing. They’d be completely healed in five minutes.
For an organization member whose daily life involved injuries, an uninjured body was bound to be advantageous. Even if your opponent became incapacitated, you could continue the battle.
Especially since I also possessed the werewolf ability. Having both strength and healing power, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was invincible in battle.
But the greater the ability, the greater the drawback.
“It’s an incredibly good ability for allies, but the moment it falls into enemy hands, it becomes poison.”
My ability was bound to be the worst situation if I was captured by enemies.
“A hostage that doesn’t die… What delicious prey that would be.”
Boss’s muttered voice sent a chill down my spine. His eyes sank ominously.
In Alice, it was a rule to execute any member who disclosed information to the enemy. For an organization operating in the shadows, the security of classified information was paramount.
Usually, when captured by the enemy as a prisoner, one chose suicide rather than disclosure. The intention was to preserve the organization’s honor rather than being executed after revealing information.
Occasionally, some would disclose information, but that was something only done by low-level members. Members with considerable years of service never did such a thing.
While maintaining honor was a factor, the bigger reason was Boss.
He knew well how to inflict pain worse than death. That’s why everyone thought it would be better to commit suicide rather than meet him and die in the worst possible way.
Therefore, even if enemy organizations or Peace captured a member, there was nothing they could extract. From the beginning, there was no need to worry since the information low-level members could leak wasn’t particularly valuable.
But I was different. An executive of Alice. The power that title held was immense. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I knew all the information about the organization.
Accordingly, enemies of Alice wanted to capture executives alive. If only they would speak, Alice would collapse instantly.
But it would be meaningless if they died without opening their mouths after capture. That’s why I could only be prime prey.
Because my body didn’t die. It was a body that regenerated even if limbs were torn off or it was burned. It was only natural to target a body that couldn’t even die.
That’s why I was receiving this training—almost like torture. Even if captured and tortured by the enemy, I couldn’t succumb to pain.
“I… understand.”
It was a fact I knew all too well. This too was my choice. It was Boss who gave me the choice when I was breaking down from the torture.
‘If you give up being a member, you can live without knowing such pain, Kay.’
Wiping the blood flowing down my face, that’s what he’d said. That I didn’t have to know this hellish pain.
Every minute and second of my existence, I’d wanted to die. To me, Boss’s words were like a fantasy.
A fantasy that actually existed.
‘Choose, Kay. Will you live as a member of the organization? Or will you live as an ordinary person?’
But I couldn’t grasp that fantasy. The moment I accepted it, Boss would discard me. He might not throw me back in that garbage dump, but I would no longer be able to see him.
I didn’t want that. Even if my body shattered, I wanted to stay by Boss’s side. If I could be by his side, I could endure this pain.
That’s why I chose to live in the organization. I didn’t mind if my body became like a rag. Because I could be with him.
I’d never regretted that decision, not even once.
“Since you’re an important figure in the organization, I’d have to retrieve you, Kay, but…”
Before that, you shouldn’t open your mouth.
Boss’s words overlapped with my thoughts. My submerged consciousness awakened.
I silently accepted Boss’s words, spoken almost like a whisper. My ability was a useful piece for the organization.
That piece should die where it would bring benefit to the organization, even in death. Not die a dog’s death at the hands of the enemy.
“The moment you open your mouth, I have no choice but to activate the device around your neck.”
His hand moved toward the choker around my neck. My body stiffened at his careful yet forceful touch.
This was truly the last resort. The final measure in case I might open my mouth.
A bomb was embedded in this choker. If activated, it could easily dismantle my body.
A method to prevent me from speaking—not of my own will, but by force. Even I couldn’t speak if my body was dismantled. Regeneration would also take quite a long time. I might not die since it was an S-class ability, but perhaps in that moment, I would wish for death.
“I don’t want you to live with severed limbs because you carelessly ran your mouth, Kay.”
Because what followed would be nothing short of hell.
His red eyes creased warmly, but I knew how fleeting that warmth was.
I couldn’t adhere to the organization’s principle of being executed the moment information leaked. So a more special rule applied to me. A rule that, in some ways, was more terrifying than death—living with severed limbs.
Boss was probably worried about that. If my hands and feet disappeared, I would be just a useless piece. From his perspective, it would only be an annoyance.
“So, Kay. Remember as much pain as possible.”
Yet why did these words sound warm to me? For Boss, it was just one of many passing remarks.
But I couldn’t miss even that one statement.
“Understood?”
I obediently opened my mouth at his demand for a response.
“If it’s your order, Boss.”
I was foolish and stupid like this. But even knowing it, I just couldn’t discard these feelings.
I couldn’t stop these emotions.
***
It was a dark room without a single light on. Among the computers filling one side of the room, a figure was rapidly moving their fingers.
Clickity-clack— Clickity-clack—
His gaze was fixed on a monitor screen. The background of the real-time streaming video was a conference room.
Watching Kay being trained by Boss, he narrowed his brows. As the situation came to an end, he crunched the candy in his mouth with a sharp crack.
