# Chapter 84
“Ah….”
Boss reflexively let out a groan. His eyes trembled endlessly as if he was looking at something unbelievable. In the space where time seemed to have stopped, the image of Kay looking at him was etched into his mind.
It was a face he had never forgotten. Those amber-colored brown eyes, which had seemed like they would never open again, were now calmly gazing at him. Perhaps startled from just waking up, Kay’s eyes shook violently.
His twitching hands, parting lips, and wandering eyes—all of these confirmed that Kay had awakened. Although Boss had used his ability to resurrect him, he couldn’t help feeling anxious. He had always lived in fear that Kay might never wake up, that he might never hear his voice again.
While Revive was a resurrection ability, it was still a superpower Boss was using for the first time. It wasn’t enough to give him complete confidence that Kay would wake up. So he couldn’t help but worry.
But that ended today. Kay had finally awakened, just as he had wished.
After staring at Kay for a long while, Boss slowly began to move his feet. With each step he took, the distance between him and Kay gradually closed. Soon, his feet stopped in front of Kay.
Hesitantly, Boss slowly raised his hand and gently placed it on Kay’s cheek. He was so cautious that it was like touching a glass sculpture that might shatter at any moment. As he moved his hand, Boss traced Kay’s face. His fingers slid down Kay’s jawline and reached his lips. His thumb brushed against the lips that had always been firmly closed, then touched the corner of his mouth. Through his hand, he could feel the unique warmth and faint pulse of a living being.
The slightly rough skin, the subtly downturned corners of his lips, and the neat features—this was unmistakably Kay. Having confirmed this anew, a faint smile formed on Boss’s lips. Withdrawing his hand, he murmured to Kay as if whispering:
“Welcome back, Kay.”
All the things he had wanted to say had somehow disappeared, and only these few words remained. Boss finished speaking and observed Kay’s reaction. There had been no response so far, but that couldn’t continue once Kay understood the situation.
At Boss’s words, Kay blinked, seemingly confused. Between his fluttering eyelashes, his eyes revealed something close to shock. Kay looked at Boss, then hurriedly looked at his own hands. Boss’s gaze turned puzzled at this flustered behavior so unlike Kay’s usual composure, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.
After confirming his thick-boned, slightly tanned skin, Kay began to touch his face, then muttered as if bewildered:
“What… is this…?”
“You probably thought you were dead, but actually, several things happened.”
“Dead? Me?”
Seeing Kay’s confusion, Boss thought it was because he had died and come back to life, so he tried to reassure him. However, at Kay’s next words, Boss couldn’t help but momentarily hold his breath.
Kay didn’t even remember dying. He surely couldn’t have forgotten. Boss’s eyebrows curved, and he began to stare intently at Kay.
The subtle sense of dissonance continued to exist. The light atmosphere that was unlike Kay, the speech patterns that didn’t match him, and that gaze as if he didn’t know who Boss was—Boss pondered all these things briefly before finally speaking.
“…Are you really Kay?”
The faint tremor in his voice proved that Boss was anxious.
He had to be Kay. There was no way he couldn’t be. Boss desperately hoped he would say that he was Kay.
“…Who is Kay?”
But the words he so longed to hear never came.
* * *
Realizing something was wrong with Kay, Boss immediately called Fenil. Nelaim currently couldn’t use his ability on Kay. In that case, it was better for Fenil to come. She was the only person besides himself who fully understood this situation.
The conversation had been cut off after he showed no recognition of the name Kay. Since Boss had already informed Fenil about his condition, she was able to assess Kay’s state as soon as she entered. After observing him for a moment, Fenil began to ask him a few questions.
“Do you remember who this person is?”
Her hand pointed at Boss. After thinking for a moment, he eventually shook his head.
“Then what about me?”
“I don’t… know.”
“You don’t remember anything?”
If this continued, it would mean Kay had amnesia. But both Fenil and Boss here knew it wasn’t that kind of symptom.
Boss was only guessing based on behavior that seemed strange for amnesia, but Fenil knew who the real Kay was. Because of this, she could easily guess who was inside that body.
She continued to speak to him to confirm his identity.
“You don’t remember dying either?”
“No….”
“Then can you tell me anything that you do remember?”
At her words, he seemed to think for a moment before cautiously speaking.
“…Could I have a mirror, please?”
He couldn’t even make proper eye contact with Fenil and Boss, perhaps feeling awkward. Hearing his almost whispered request, she handed him a hand mirror that had been placed on the bedside table.
“Thank you….”
Fenil carefully watched him as he bowed. If her suspicions were correct, he would show a confused reaction when he saw his reflection.
And just as she had anticipated, he began to show confusion as soon as he looked in the mirror. His eyes moved uncontrollably. His hands trembled visibly, and his mouth couldn’t close.
“This… what is this…?”
He started scratching his hand as if anxious about the reflection in the mirror. It was a sight that confirmed Fenil’s suspicions.
There was no need to think further. The person inside Kay’s body was Kane.
Meanwhile, Boss, unaware of his true identity, was merely anxious about Kay’s sudden change. The unpleasant pounding in his chest wouldn’t subside. It would have been better if it was just amnesia. But that reaction wasn’t like someone who had lost their memory—it was like seeing someone who had become a different person. Boss concealed his feelings and asked him:
“Is there a problem?”
“That’s… well….”
After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke. As if he had resolved to tell the truth, he closed his eyes tightly and began to confess everything.
“Actually, I’m… not the person called Kay.”
“…What did you say?”
At those words, Boss felt as if his heart had sunk. He trembled all over, perhaps out of fear, and Boss barely managed to move his stiffened lips.
“…Then who exactly are you?”
It was something he had feared might happen, but not something he had wanted to become reality. He had waited so long for Kay to wake up. But to say he wasn’t Kay? How should he accept this reality?
As Boss ran his hand over his face, looking troubled, the other cautiously opened his mouth.
“My name is Kane….”
Boss’s hand, which had been on his face, came down roughly. Kane. He knew that name very well. Kane was the person who had been imprisoned in the underground cell until recently. But this person said his name was Kane.
Then who was the person in the prison?
There was no need to continue the train of thought.
“…”
Boss now began to understand everything. The person who had called him Boss when first seeing him. The person who had Kay’s eyes. The reason he could endure despite the painful situation.
It was all because he was Kay.
As soon as this thought occurred to him, Boss hastily rose from his seat. Fenil could guess the reason, so she didn’t try to stop him as he tried to leave.
Roughly exiting the hospital room, he began running toward where Kay was.
The organization members stirred as they saw their Boss’s urgent demeanor, which they had never seen before, but he didn’t even pay attention.
With each step he took, memories of Kay flashed through his mind.
What kind of feelings had allowed him to endure day by day in that place? Boss couldn’t even imagine.
And at the same time, hatred toward himself began to sprout. This time, he had vowed to cherish and value Kay. But once again, he had ruined Kay. If only he had paid more attention to him. If only he had given him a chance to speak, perhaps they wouldn’t have come to this situation.
But he hadn’t done that, and Kay had begun to crumble. He knew that Kay was gradually losing his vitality. Yet because he was a Peace researcher, Boss had even welcomed such behavior from him. But that shouldn’t have been the case.
With a cracking sound, blood began to flow from his lips. His breathing became rough from running without rest. But he didn’t slow down.
He didn’t know how he should face Kay. No matter how he thought about it, approaching him felt like a sin. But even so, he had to go.
Now Kay would no longer smile when he saw him. Those straight eyes wouldn’t look at him, and he wouldn’t hear those worry-filled words anymore.
It was all his doing, no one else’s.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have revived Kay. Because he had revived him, Kay had suffered. If he hadn’t, at least Kay wouldn’t have experienced such pain.
Boss’s footsteps reached the prison where Kay was. What expression would he have when Boss opened this door? In the end, he couldn’t imagine it. His hand, trembling slightly as if afraid, opened the thick iron door.
His gaze directed at the ground slowly rose. And then he saw.
“This is….”
Ears protruding from his head, a tail at his hip—Kane in the form of a werewolf.
No, he should be called Kay now. Boss had no choice but to acknowledge it.
He was undeniably Kay.
