# Chapter 92
He unwrapped the packaging and neatly transferred the cake onto a plate, grabbed a fork, and opened the door. Fortunately, Kay hadn’t specified exactly what kind of cake he wanted. There were basic varieties like chocolate or whipped cream, but if he had wanted something like cheesecake, Boss would have needed to go out.
Of course, he hadn’t prepared other options because he was half-certain Kay wouldn’t mention specific types anyway. But Kay was currently in a state where he hated him. So there was also a possibility that he might deliberately request food that wasn’t to Boss’s taste just to create an opportunity to escape. Fortunately, there had been no such signs so far.
“Here you are.”
Kay, who had expected it to take much longer, quickly looked up. He couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Boss returning so quickly.
“Are you using mind reading or something?”
Both now and before, whenever he said something, Boss would deliver it within five minutes. His responses were so unusually fast that it wouldn’t be strange to call him a mind reader. Kay stared at him, half-dumbfounded, while Boss smiled gently and shook his head.
“Nothing like that. I’ve just prepared everything that Kay might like.”
Particularly now, he showed many similarities to his younger self. That’s why Boss had bought everything that Kay had liked as a child. And whether Kay knew it or not, his tastes were extremely simple. Sweet things were the only things he actually preferred. Everything else was all the same to Kay, so he rarely made specific requests.
Books, clothes, internet—he had no interest in them and would just accept whatever was given to him. While Boss thought this was characteristic of Kay, he also felt sorry. He had ended up confining Kay rather than broadening his world. He should have given him more diverse experiences beyond just organizational work.
A faint wrinkle appeared between Boss’s brows as he regretted this. But even that expression disappeared instantly when Kay looked at him.
Kay stared at Boss’s somehow awkward smile and then quickly turned his head away. Then, as he had done so far, he started sniffing the food. After bringing his nose close to the plate, seemingly judging it to be safe, he carefully cut into the cake with his fork. The cross-section revealed layers of whipped cream and strawberries stacked on sponge cake.
Kay’s eyes sparkled momentarily at the appetizing sight. He stabbed a piece of cake and quickly put it in his mouth. The sweet and fluffy texture made Kay unconsciously smile in delight. But soon his mouth stopped. Kay’s gaze turned toward Boss.
“…I guess you didn’t make this yourself.”
It tasted good, but it was a taste he had experienced somewhere before. If Boss had made it, it should have been his first time trying it. Boss smiled at him as if it couldn’t be helped.
“I have my limitations too.”
He had never made desserts since he never ate them himself. If Kay wanted him to, he would try, but wouldn’t that just end up ruining Kay’s taste?
Whether Kay understood his words or not, he tilted his head slightly before moving his mouth again. After chewing and swallowing, he continued putting cake into his mouth. Seeing him eating deliciously with the plate on his knee, Boss couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
At that sound, Kay looked up at him with raised eyebrows.
“What’s so funny?”
“You look like a hedgehog.”
Despite Kay’s sharp words, Boss didn’t stop laughing. Wasn’t he just like a hedgehog, with his spines raised, on guard? And the fact that he was eating so well despite that—Boss couldn’t help but laugh. Kay, who had been glaring at him, quickly finished the rest of the cake and muttered.
“…You’re really strange.”
“I suppose so. I never thought the day would come when I’d laugh at such useless thoughts.”
A person is just a person. Boss had always wondered about people who said someone resembled something other than a human. Even if something else came to mind, it wouldn’t change the essence of what they were. Why would they say such meaningless things?
But that thought itself was wrong. There was no need to give this statement deep meaning in the first place. He just said it because it came to mind. Boss could understand that fact now.
“Even so, I won’t like you anymore.”
But to Kay, everything seemed like pretense. Boss nodded as if it were natural when Kay clearly drew a line.
Kay’s words were natural. The fact that he no longer liked him remained in his mind as if it were engraved there. This wasn’t about trying to change Kay’s heart. He just did it because he wanted to.
“I know.”
“I mean it.”
“Yes, I remember that.”
But despite those words, Kay’s expression didn’t soften. He should have thought it was obvious when Boss said he hadn’t forgotten. Yet somehow, a feeling of pain kept arising. Kay gripped the blanket tightly, moving his fingertips. His downcast face contained both confusion and resentment.
He had long forgotten why he liked Boss. Remembering would only eat away at him. Memories no different from parasites gnawing at his heart were better erased.
But whenever Boss approached him warmly like this, his emotions reacted first.
His restless heart was filled not with cold, bitter hatred, but with warm, deep excitement that spread through him. Was this why he had liked Boss? Had he come to like him because of this occasional affection?
Even knowing it was an illusion that wouldn’t last, he unconsciously wanted to lean on it. He wanted to pour out all his broken inner thoughts.
Even to himself, he seemed truly foolish.
How could he still not come to his senses and be so easily swept away by this mere affection? If Boss was a wave, he was exactly like a beach. A beach waiting for the waves without being able to move. And when that wave approached, he would inevitably get wet.
Being in a position where he couldn’t escape and was quietly waiting for waves that could come at any time.
“Let me know anytime if you need anything else.”
It was pathetic. But what was even more pathetic was himself, responding to each and every word from Boss. Wasn’t he waiting for him like this? Pretending to push him away while waiting for the affection Boss gave him. How unsightly was that?
There was a sound of the door closing. As soon as Boss left, Kay buried himself under the blanket. Gripping the blanket tightly and not coming out, the atmosphere around him was filled with loneliness and desolation more than ever before.
Although it was a room with warm air circulating, today it felt especially cold, Kay thought.
* * *
In an empty conference room, Fenil and Alex were facing each other. She had called him because she was curious about the progress. He frowned, not forgetting how Fenil had dumped Kane on him last time and left. But that was only for a moment; eventually, Alex sighed and began to explain everything.
“It’s sort of working, right?”
Fenil smiled with satisfaction when he mentioned being able to detect superpowers. But at her smile, he shook his head.
“But there’s no sign he can use his ability.”
He had thought controlling the superpower would just be a matter of time since he could detect it. But contrary to his expectations, Kane was struggling to use his ability. Especially in the last few days, there had been no progress, as if they were walking in place. It must be most frustrating for Kane, so Alex hadn’t said much, but he was equally perplexed.
At this rate, it might take more than a month to control the ability.
Before, it wouldn’t have mattered, but now Boss’s patience wasn’t likely to be that long. Moreover, while Kane seemed fine now, there was no guarantee. They couldn’t ignore the possibility of side effects the longer the possession lasted.
“What could be the problem?”
If he knew the reason, he could at least give advice, but he just couldn’t figure it out. For him, he could use his ability simply by deciding to use it. It had naturally come to mind when it manifested. There were occasionally cases like Kane where someone didn’t realize it, but he had never seen it firsthand. Therefore, currently, Alex could only watch without finding a proper solution.
“Maybe we should find someone else now… No, that could lead to discovery.”
After contemplating briefly, he let out a deep sigh. It was a sigh filled with Alex’s frustration. Fenil stared at him for a moment, raised one corner of her mouth, and spoke.
“Try teaching him more diligently with your only strength—being a pushover.”
“Pushover? And I am already teaching him diligently.”
Alex looked at Fenil with a tired expression at her ridiculous words. When would she ever fix that way of speaking? Or would it ever be fixed? This was why he couldn’t talk to Fenil for long. He always ended up getting irritated.
“I’ve never had the same experience as Kane-ssi.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be able to control his ability if we just wait a little.”
“How do you know?”
Alex asked Fenil, who was making bold claims. He didn’t know what confidence she had, but he was the one teaching Kane. Alex couldn’t help but be dumbfounded since she hadn’t even seen Kane since that day.
Fenil responded to Alex’s skepticism by pounding her chest and flashing a hearty smile. Her action made her crimson hair flutter in the air.
“I anticipated this and thought of a method.”
She hadn’t actually thought of anything. It had just occurred to her. But she fabricated her words as if she had been working hard for a long time to help Kane use his superpower.
Not knowing this, Alex misunderstood that Fenil had also been seriously thinking about the problem. Looking at Fenil as if seeing her in a new light, he asked with expectation.
