The Boss Wants to Die

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The Boss Wants to Die

[The Evil God’s energy effortlessly ignores the curse placed upon the item.]

This barely registered.

Slipping on the shoes, I darted into the shadowed spaces between buildings.

As I pushed off the ground with a light tap of my toes, my body sprang into the air as weightlessly as a ballerina doll strung on marionette strings.

It was great being able to move around so easily without drawing attention, unlike with the Evil God’s wings.

I skipped lightly from the alley up onto a rooftop, then from the roof onto a weathered streetlamp.

‘First, let’s find Akt.’

Every time I leapt through the air, the chiffon hem of my mini dress fluttered gracefully.

Arriving at what looked like a plaza, I changed back into my black high heels.

This was a town bustling with players ranging from level 40 to 60.

Since this was the stage where leveling slowed down after leaving the low levels behind, there was a large stagnant player base, giving rise to a fairly well-developed commercial district.

I shaded my brow with one hand and peered into the distance.

‘Found him.’

I spotted Akt just emerging from the hunting grounds.

‘Found him sooner than I expected.’

There was still about an hour left before the massage was supposed to finish.

‘Why is he in town already?’

Following my original plan, I began tailing him.

My goal was to shadow Akt and figure out what he liked.

If I didn’t put on a decent act, he would keep suspecting me.

I needed to create an opening and help Michael kill me.

‘Even so, if I want to act the part, I have to know what he likes.’

The condition to make him happy?

It sounded simple enough, but I knew next to nothing about him.

All I knew was that he liked alcohol.

If booze was enough to make him happy, that drunkard would’ve been an incarnation of bliss a long time ago.

‘I wondered what he was doing for a whole hour, and…’

He was sweeping through shops with an utterly serious expression.

Akt seemed to casually browse the racks displayed outside a building before stopping to examine a sleek black one-piece dress.

It was a design rather intimidating for ordinary players to pull off.

A subtle smile stole over his usually detached face.

It was an extraordinarily warm smile, like that of a father fondly thinking of his little daughter back home.

’Nine times out of ten, that’s for me… but why is he making a face like that while picking it out?’

It felt weird.

Frowning, I trailed after him.

A tiara set with red gems that matched my eyes perfectly.

Cute, squishy new accessory items.

Watching him quietly, a sudden epiphany struck, and a light bulb clicked on in my head.

‘Could it be that he wants to be in a romantic relationship?’

Akt and I were practically strangers who merely knew each other’s faces.

For such an affectionate smile to come from a superficial relationship where all we knew was what the other looked like…

Doesn’t that mean he likes my face that much?

So he’s buying clothes that fit his taste to play dress-up with me like a doll.

By my standards, it was a flawless deduction.

‘He did say he fell for me at first sight. Isn’t that why he dragged me out of the Demon Castle? And why he said his only goal was to stay together.’

Once I finished piecing it together, it sounded remarkably plausible.

I headed back to the massage shop.

Then, dressed in the provided robe, I waited while pretending I had just finished my massage.

Before long, the chime rang and Akt stepped into the shop.

“What took you so long?”

“I had a lot to buy.”

Even though every bit of it was clothes for me?

Swallowing my doubts, I took what he held out to me.

It was a chocolate shaped like a squirrel.

Knowing he had agonized for nearly ten minutes over which animal shape to pick, an odd feeling washed over me again.

Naturally, the squirrel was completely to my liking.

‘It’s too precious to eat…’

Like a hamster preparing for winter, I carefully tucked the chocolate into my inventory and stood up.

Akt exchanged a glance with the NPC masseuse and went into the private room.

I pricked up my ears, but the masseuse was apparently a good actor, because the two emerged from the private room without any trouble.

“Did you book a nice inn?”

“It won’t be uncomfortable.”

“Come to think of it, there’s something I need to say.”

I said, pausing mid-stride.

Akt turned back to look at me.

“I gave it some thought while getting my massage…”

“Yeah. What is it?”

“You want to date, don’t you?”

Akt tilted his brow quizzically and said nothing.

Assuming he was at a loss because I’d hit the bullseye, I pressed on triumphantly.

“I’m right, aren’t I? That’s it, isn’t it?”

“…”

“You spouted nonsense about falling for me at first sight, and how your only goal was to stay together. Were we ever acquainted before? Not a chance.”

Tilting his head as he rested his weight on one leg, he seemed to urge me to keep talking.

“My looks were just so~ utterly your type. That’s why you dragged me out of the Demon Castle. So what you want is to play at being lovers! Am I right?”

“Now that’s a fresh reaction.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Shaking his head, he let out a sudden burst of breathless laughter and bent at the waist.

“Hehehe…”

With his hands in his pockets, Akt doubled over in laughter, looking thoroughly infuriating.

Watching him cover his face with his drooping white hair as he kept laughing, I felt a surge of annoyance.

Because the sheer absurdity in his laughter was plain as day.

“If I’m wrong, just say so! What’s with all the laughing?”

Despite my complaints, he simply kept laughing.

“Stop laughing! Hey!”

“Don’t be mad.”

He lifted his head, tears welling in the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard.

His pale cheeks were flushed with a rare touch of red.

“It’s a good approach. You actually thought about how to make me happy. Thank you so much.”

“Right! I went through all that trouble thinking for your sake! And you’re going to be this uncooperative?”

“Sorry.”

He wiped away a tear with the tip of his index finger.

“I like it. It’s a wonderful suggestion.”

“And?”

He took a step toward me.

The world seemed to dim for a moment.

For his broad shadow drew near, engulfing me completely.

“But… are you sure you’re fine with it?”

Wearing a quiet smile, Akt gazed down at me with a gentle expression.

“Even if you have to pretend to be my girlfriend?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

I scoffed.

“I can do anything if it means dying.”

“Anything?”

Finding something hilarious again, Akt doubled over and resumed laughing.

Having responded in all seriousness, I went cold, my fists trembling.

“Do you want to die…?”

Akt laughed so hard he even started coughing.

He looked happier and more joyful than anyone else in this town.

His unnaturally neat hair became tangled and disheveled, and his mild, usually unreadable face crumpled in sheer amusement.

It was an unblemished, pure laugh.

Gone was the lingering, melancholic aura he always carried.

‘Even with this, he’s still not happy?’

If the contract’s condition was fulfilled, the contract safely kept in my inventory would activate on its own.

Yet the contract remained a lifeless, dead shade of gray.

‘Did he give me a defective item or something?’

The anger I had felt quickly turned into unsettling unease.

Because once I realized he wasn’t truly happy, the sight of Akt laughing so hard he could barely breathe began to feel morbid.

“You can do anything?”

He shook his head.

“No, Rowoon. You won’t be able to.”

“Why couldn’t I? What’s the big deal?”

“If I treat you like a lover, you’ll hate it.”

Just as abruptly as he had burst into laughter, Akt suddenly calmed down once more.

He asked quietly.

“What makes a relationship special is physical affection. How far are you willing to go?”

“…”

“Can I hold your hand? Can I wrap my arms around you?”

With his fingertips, his hand caressed the black hair brushing against my waist.

He maintained a sharp distance, only grazing the very tips.

Yet that ascetic distance made the atmosphere all the more sultry.

‘He’s ridiculously sensual, seriously…’

The low voice, the lowered white eyelashes drenched in melancholy, the heat in his gaze…

Everything about him, without exception, made the atmosphere intoxicatingly strange.

My lips felt dry, and the moment I subconsciously flicked my tongue out to wet them, Akt lifted his dark eyes.

“Shall we do everything, just as you said? All of it?”

His dark gaze settled on my lips.

“Starting with a kiss.”

A hot wave that had been churning in my stomach surged upward all at once.

My face flushed hot and felt as though it were melting like a tomato in boiling soup.

Unable to hide my fluster, I covered my mouth with the back of my hand.

Because it felt as if he might kiss me at any second.

As I took a step back, the strand of hair resting on Akt’s index finger slipped free and fell.

Akt’s gaze doggedly tracked its descent.

My heart pounded fiercely.

It thudded so violently it felt as if the rhythm echoed in my throat.

Lost for words, I stood frozen for a long moment.

Fortunately, Akt’s shadow veiled my complexion, allowing me to conceal my embarrassingly flushed face at least a little.

Without pressing me any further, he simply left the widened distance between us as it was.

‘Why am I so rattled?’

I bit my lower lip and rubbed my sweaty palms against my skirt.

‘Is it because I haven’t had a proper conversation with another person for six years?’

I couldn’t keep up with the pace of the conversation.

Now that I’d calmed down a little, I should have answered, but I couldn’t bring myself to part my lips.

His gaze fixed on me was far too scorching.

‘It’s not like I’m a kindergartener who doesn’t know how to make friends!’

I wanted to handle this with poise, but my mind was a haze.

It felt like it would take a long time to regain my senses.

Unable to endure the silence any longer, I blurted out the first words that came to mind.