Chapter 68 - Blindness

 

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The Truth Behind the Gaze

 

 

"Is something wrong?" Kotaro asked, noticing his tense expression.

 

"... It's nothing, just… something feels…"

 

This place was as familiar as his own home. Yet, he felt it—that gaze—closer than ever.

 

There are guards at the training hall, and Arisugawa is there as well… If we return quickly…

 

"Let's go… let's head back," he said, urgently tugging at Kotaro's hand.

 

"What's wrong? You don't look so good."

 

"Just hurry… please…!"

 

As Suno took a few hurried steps, pulling Kotaro along, a dark figure emerged at the foot of the bridge over the garden pond.

 

His breath caught. But the figure was only a man in a black suit and sunglasses—one of the guards. Suno almost exhaled in relief, but then a strange sense of unease crept over him.

 

Under normal circumstances, his guards didn't approach him outside of scheduled outings. There were no plans to leave tonight; this was his private time. So, why was this man here at such an hour?

 

He knew this man's face well; one of the bodyguards assigned to him since he succeeded the family head. The bodyguard had been dispatched from a contracted security agency—a Beta, in his late thirties, unmarried. His background had been thoroughly investigated.

 

They had exchanged few words in the past, limited to basic directions on the rare occasions they shared a vehicle. So why was he here…?

 

"... What do you want?"

 

Kotaro stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Suno, his voice cold and suspicious. Suno gently touched his back, saying, "Wait a moment," and took a step in front of Kotaro.

 

"Do you have some business with me?"

 

"You appear to be in distress, Mr. Suno."

 

The man spoke in a low voice, removing his sunglasses.

 

In that instant, a thick, sickly, oppressive air seemed to seep out from him. Every hair on Suno's body stood on end, his spine frozen with fear.

 

His small, sharp eyes gleamed with a sinister light, framed by his hard, square face. Though his expression remained eerily blank, his gaze alone held a disturbing intensity, slithering over Suno's body like a snake. It was the same unsettling feeling he'd sensed at the airport, and at the party.

 

"Wh… why…"

 

Kotaro noticed the tremor in Suno's voice, his expression hardening. He shielded Suno with his own body, his white shirt standing out starkly.

 

"It must be quite troublesome to be followed by such a man," the bodyguard sneered. "Allow me to handle this disturbance for you."

 

The bodyguard's voice crawled like venom as he stepped toward them, one slow step at a time. Kotaro maintained his defensive stance, gradually backing up with Suno in tow.

 

The bodyguard, though a Beta, was much larger than Kotaro. If he decided to use force, neither of them would come out unscathed.

 

Suno, shaken and terrified, wracked his brain for a way to defuse the situation, desperate to avoid dragging Kotaro into this dangerous mess.

 

But before Suno could act, Kotaro spoke, anger simmering in his voice.

 

"You were watching us, weren't you?"

 

"Yes, I was watching. My duty is to protect Mr. Suno."

 

"Duty? Don't make me laugh. Since when does stalking your employer fall under your 'duty'?"

 

"Stalking? …How amusing."

 

The bodyguard's lips curled into a menacing grin. Slowly, he reached into his inner pocket and drew out a butterfly knife.

 

With a deft flick, the blade gleamed, its edge glinting cruelly in the dim light. Suno's eyes widened, and Kotaro's body grew tense, the danger evident.

 

"So… you're the stalker, aren't you?"

 

"Kotaro…! Run! Now!"

 

"Stay behind me!!"

 

Suno tried to urge Kotaro to escape, but Kotaro's firm voice held him back. Shielding Suno, he took slow steps backward. But the opposite side of the bridge led only to a small island in the middle of the pond; they would be cornered there with nowhere to run.

 

The bodyguard's depraved grin lingered as he approached with a lazy, unhurried gait.

 

"So… you're an Alpha. Must be nice, isn't it? As an Alpha, you get to claim a beautiful Omega like him without any trouble at all."

 

"Judging from the way you're talking, you must be a Beta."

 

"Yes, that's right. We Betas… we're always left out. No matter how close a captivating Omega might be, we're left to just sit back and watch, powerless. From the moment I first saw Mr. Suno, his beauty and allure ensnared me. I fell in love in an instant. But back then, you were in line to become Aoi Kunishiro's partner. Of course, I couldn't touch you… so I bottled up my desire, restrained the urge to embrace you for so, so long."

 

The light began to fade, and the garden was slowly sinking into darkness. Dim mercury lamps flickered on here and there, their soft glow reflecting off the bodyguard's knife, heightening Suno's anxiety.

 

All he wanted was to get Kotaro out of here. His dread toward the stalker was overtaken by the urgent need to protect Kotaro.

 

No matter how much Kotaro had trained in martial arts, there was no way he could overpower an armed man. And Kotaro was still a high schooler. If something happened to him, Suno couldn't begin to imagine how he would bear the responsibility.

 

The bodyguard craned his neck to peer at Suno from behind Kotaro. Suno felt a chill run through him, and the guard flashed that same vile smile.

 

"But then, when I heard you were no longer a candidate to be Aoi Kunishiro's partner… I realized—I would be the one to protect you from now on. And yet, everywhere you went, Alphas hovered around you, never leaving me a chance to get closer. So, I decided to convey my feelings to you… from the shadows. Heh… letting you know that I'm here, watching over you, and that I'm the only one who truly cares…"

 

"Your… 'feelings'? So, all those stolen things, the blank letters, the strand of hair you sent… that was all you?"

 

"Of course. And you understood, didn't you? 'Just an overflow of unexpressed feelings they can't put into words,' you said. It's true…! You are indeed as kind-hearted as I imagined."

 

"…This is so messed up… So then, at the Shindo family's party… the one who attacked me was…"

 

"Ah… that night."

 

The bodyguard spread his arms wide, hugging himself as if enraptured, his voice a disturbing murmur.

 

"You knew, didn't you? That I was the one sending those letters. So you slipped away, alone, inviting me in, didn't you?"

 

"…What?"

 

"I could see it right away. You were glancing at me in the car, weren't you? It was a signal, wasn't it? 'I'll make time to be alone… come take me'—wasn't that what you were telling me?"

 

"…W-What are you even talking about…?"

 

"I was so thrilled, so excited, that I may have been a bit rough, but you felt it too, didn't you? You poured out that sweet scent, dancing alone on the stage… it was as if you were begging to be held. Ah… you're really not as reserved as you pretend."

 

The guard's deluded words, spoken with such self-assurance, filled Suno with overwhelming revulsion.

 

Memories of the fear and sickening sensations from that day on stage, when he was attacked, surged back with clarity. But alongside them, a fierce, searing anger he'd never known before flared within him.

 

Using his position as a bodyguard, he had instilled fear in Suno and his staff, attacked Suno, injured him, and taken away his performance. And now he was pointing a knife at Kotaro. Suno clenched his teeth, his glare fixed harshly on the bodyguard.

 

Yet the man merely continued to smile smugly, clearly reveling in his words and actions.

 

"Someone like me could satisfy you far more than this kid. Isn't he just a burden? Always clinging to you, aren't you tired of it? You've been waiting for my help, haven't you? Even now, hasn't he been causing you trouble? Poor thing… come here, and let me take care of everything for you."

 

He spread his arms in an exaggerated gesture, his voice dripping with self-indulgence, clearly intoxicated by his own delusions.

 

Dark emotions whirled within Suno, yet he saw no way out of the situation. His fists quivered with frustration and rage, and then Kotaro, who had been standing protectively in front of him, took a step forward.

 

"Listen here, there's no way Masami would ever fall for a scumbag like you. It's about time you face reality, old man."

 

"…W-What did you say?"

 

Suno's eyes widened at Kotaro's bold taunt. Kotaro shot him a quick look, saying firmly, "Don't move from here," before stepping toward the bodyguard. Suno instinctively reached out to grab his shirt, but Kotaro was just out of reach.

 

"If you've been watching us, then you should know by now. Masami chose me. You were never wanted from the start."

 

"…Hah… Quite a mouth you've got. Kids should stay out of grown-up matters."

 

"I'll never forgive you for harassing him and nearly assaulting him. What you've done was just selfish. You're a full-blown criminal. You're old enough to know that, aren't you?"

 

"…You… insolent little…! Do you have any idea how long I've been by his side, protecting him…!!"

 

"Protecting? Don't make me laugh. You're nothing but a spineless stalker. If you've got a problem, then come at me, you gutless creep."

 

The moment Kotaro boldly spat those words, the bodyguard's gaze turned vicious. His lips, which wearing a mocking smile, twisted into a grimace, quivering with rage.

 

"You… you… little brat! Just because you're an Alpha… don't think you can talk down to me! I'll kill you!"

 

The bodyguard's tone turned crude as he raised the glinting knife and lunged at Kotaro with a fierce roar.

 

"Kotaro…!!"

 

Suno tried to move closer to Kotaro, but a sharp pain in his ankle sent him to his knees.

 

The man swung his knife in quick, unpredictable motions, shouting incoherently as he slashed at Kotaro. Watching the guard's deranged face, Suno's body locked in terror.

 

—If he gets stabbed by that knife… he won't make it out unscathed…!

 

"Kotaro!! No!! Stop…!!"

 

The instant Suno cried out, Kotaro and the bodyguard collided.

 

After a tense silence, a few droplets of blood fell onto the pale gravel beneath them, dark in the faint light.

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