“Hmm…”
The Man stood before a massive door.
He had been certain he would rarely return, yet here he was, back again within a single day.
‘Good heavens, what a bother this was, all thanks to The Doctor.’
Grumbling to himself, he rapped his knuckles against the door.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Creak…
Opening the door, he saw The Boss, legs crossed, with a cat perched on their lap.
Now that he thought about it, whether it was their first meeting, the next, or even now, The Boss always held the same posture.
‘Did The Boss simply favor such a pose?’
For a fleeting moment, The Man indulged in such idle thoughts before stepping into the room.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of each other lately, haven’t we?”
The Boss inquired, slowly stroking the cat’s chin.
Purr, purr. The cat, clearly content, rumbled with pleasure, accepting the gentle strokes with docile grace.
Even so, the way it held its chin high with such confidence was undeniably adorable.
For some inexplicable reason, upon seeing the cat, The Man’s thoughts drifted to The Doctor.
Was it the fluffy white fur they shared? Or perhaps the similar soft, pliable nature hidden beneath a facade of grandeur?
Either way, the undeniable cuteness remained.
“How is The Doctor? Is she not whining about disliking The Boss?”
The Boss spoke, their tone remarkably gentle and relaxed, quite unlike what one might expect from the head of an organization.
Was this proof of how much they cared for ‘The Doctor’?
After all, he had heard they had been together since the organization’s inception, so it was only natural.
The Man scratched the back of his head lightly before responding.
“…No. She didn’t say much at all.”
As The Man offered his reply, The Boss nodded faintly and murmured.
“Is that so? What a shame… In the past, right after being scolded, she would often lock herself in her room and make it quite obvious she was sulking.”
With their eyes half-closed, The Boss let out a small chuckle, as if lost in memories of the past.
“…The Doctor actually did that?”
The Man blinked in astonishment.
After all, the Doctor in his memories was always brimming with confidence.
She proclaimed herself a genius, acted with audacious confidence, and was a veritable ticking time bomb, unpredictable in every move.
The idea of *that* Doctor sulking and barricading herself in her room…
It simply defied imagination.
‘No, was it truly impossible to imagine?’
In The Man’s mind, the recent scene suddenly superimposed itself.
The image of The Doctor, her face flushed crimson and her words stumbling, when he had inadvertently uttered something akin to sexual harassment.
The Doctor, flailing her small arms wildly in the air, furiously slapping her thighs, her expression a furious scowl…
“…”
Ahem.
In that instant, The Man felt a sudden rush of blood to his lower body. Snapping back to his senses, he vigorously shook his head.
Concurrently, The Boss’s question cut through the silence.
“So, why have you come?”
The Man hesitated for a moment before carefully opening his mouth.
“…The Doctor said she was feeling unwell and asked for some abalone porridge.”
He had wavered, agonizing over whether he should truly voice such a request.
At The Man’s words, The Boss’s eyes widened before they let out a soft chuckle.
“Hmm… The Doctor is unwell, you say.”
Then, carefully setting the cat from their lap onto the desk, they made their way towards the pantry.
They retrieved a well-packaged abalone porridge from the pantry, shaking their head as they did so.
“Honestly, that Doctor is an absolute master at ordering people about…”
The Boss placed the abalone porridge into The Man’s hand, continuing their thoughts aloud.
“She wasn’t like this before, but as she grew, she only seemed to pick up bad habits. It’s a real worry, I tell you.”
“…Indeed, she does.”
The Doctor’s perpetually annoying smirk as she mocked others, her signature mischievous pranks.
He found himself recalling The Doctor’s usual demeanor, always seeming to pick actions specifically designed to infuriate people.
‘Yet, that demeanor was cute.’
‘Yet, that demeanor was likable.’
‘Yet, that demeanor was adorable—’
‘No, what was he even thinking?’
‘Why did his thoughts keep spiraling in that direction?’
Thump.
As The Man struggled to push away his increasingly peculiar thoughts, The Boss’s heavy hand settled onto his shoulder.
“Mob, your role in this is of paramount importance.”
“…”
The Man was momentarily dumbfounded.
The appellation ‘Mob.’ Hearing it from someone other than The Doctor had evoked a peculiar sensation within him.
Just then, The Boss glanced at The Man’s expression, their eyes widening perceptibly.
“That reaction… So ‘Mob’ isn’t your real name, then? The Doctor kept calling you that, so I naturally assumed it was.”
The Man’s lips parted, then pressed shut once more.
He simply lowered his head slightly, swallowing his reply.
“At any rate.”
The Boss shook their head, then spoke again.
“It’s quite rare for that child to show such a degree of interest in you.”
They then let out a soft sigh, continuing their discourse.
“Frankly, I’m not entirely sure what about you has captured their interest, but you must know this.
If The Doctor continues to grow up like this—no, it’s fine if she develops in her own way, but still… it’s not ideal for a child of her age to spend all their time indoors, simply lounging about, is it?
…That’s what I think.
“Furthermore, she is a child brimming with talent, perhaps even too much for our organization. As their Boss, I understand it’s not ideal to make such a direct personal request, but… I wish to entrust this to you.”
“…”
“I am old now, and it is becoming difficult for me to keep pace with the mindset of the younger generation. So, I ask that you look after The Doctor a bit—”
Ding-ding-ding!
The very moment The Boss was continuing their speech, a boisterous ringing sound echoed from somewhere.
It was coming from The Man’s pocket.
He flinched in surprise, hastily pulling out the phone he had tucked away.
‘…How do I turn this thing on?’
Yet, having used only flip phones his entire life, it was highly improbable he would know how to operate a smartphone.
After a brief moment of bewilderment, he unconsciously moved his finger.
As he lightly tapped the phone, it instantly lit up, its screen glowing brightly.
‘So this is how it works.’
In that very moment, a small realization dawned on him as he gazed down at the screen, and The Man’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What is this…?”
Displayed on the screen was a wallpaper featuring a photograph of The Doctor, beaming cheerfully and flashing a V-sign.
Though he had no idea when the picture had been taken, it perfectly captured her distinctively bright and charming expression.
‘…It is rather cute.’
Immediately afterward, his gaze naturally drifted to the very center of the photograph.
The Doctor’s petite frame, and within that diminutive figure, her chest, asserting its presence, drew his attention.
He wasn’t thinking anything untoward; his eyes had simply been drawn there because of the text displayed on that particular spot.
[—Swipe to unlock—]
“…”
Nonetheless, The Man swiped the screen as instructed.
The screen transitioned, revealing a prompt asking whether to accept the call.
There was no need to even wonder who was calling.
[Incoming Call: UnprecedentedSuperGeniusBeautifulGirlDoc—]
Even with the name truncated due to its excessive length, it was instantly clear whose call it was.
‘…Come to think of it, when did she even save my number?’
Despite his bewilderment, The Man pressed the green button to answer the call.
– “Hello?”
– “Not your darling, though?”
“Ugh.”
Just as he anticipated, that familiar, infuriating voice flowed through the receiver.
The Man let out a deep sigh, pressing a hand to his forehead.
– “What is it? Why are you calling?”
– “Oh, nothing much… just, since you’re bringing the porridge, could you also grab some chocolate milk from there? I saw The Boss bought some limited-edition chocolate milk last time…”
– “…That sounds quite significant, actually. I’m not your errand boy, you know.”
– “You weren’t?”
“Hmph.”
It was still that same infuriating way of speaking.
Faced with a voice that, as always, calmly grated on his nerves, The Man once again let out a sigh deep enough to make the very ground beneath him tremble.
It was then.
“…What is that?”
For some reason, The Boss’s voice, now frigid, resonated through the room.
The Boss’s face, which had been gently stroking the cat moments before, was gone, replaced by a terrifyingly hardened expression.
“…What on earth…?”
The Man shifted his gaze, bewildered.
At that moment, The Doctor’s oblivious voice cheerfully streamed from the phone.
– “Oh, it’s The Boss’s voice. Hawing Boss…!”
“…”
Instantly, The Boss’s face began to contort with displeasure.
Then, they slowly raised a hand, drawing the side of their hand across their own throat in a clear, deliberate gesture.
“…”
It was an unmistakably blatant signal to hang up.
The Man instinctively nodded, immediately pressing the glowing red button.
Click… Click…
A suffocating silence descended.
“What was that?”
The Boss’s low voice, imbued with an undeniable charisma and gravitas, made The Man break out in a cold sweat.
Why?
He was utterly bewildered. What on earth had so suddenly and thoroughly angered The Boss?
Was it his attitude?
But he couldn’t think of anything specific.
He kept racking his brain, but no answer came.
“…This is a phone.”
Still, he had to answer, so The Man parted his lips, then, with difficulty, managed to speak.
“I know it’s a phone.”
The Boss’s eyes shone with a cold intensity.
They began to stare at The Man as if ready to kill him.
“Who gave it to you?”
“…The Doctor.”
As The Man, completely intimidated, cautiously offered his reply, The Boss’s eyes suddenly snapped open wide.
“The Doctor?!”
Unconsciously lowering his voice, The Man replied again.
“Yes… Yes, that’s right.”
The Boss’s face twisted in an expression of profound dismay.
And then they opened their mouth, their tone sounding incredibly somber.
“B-but The Doctor… she… she never even… for me…”
“…Pardon?”
At the faintly heard words, The Man couldn’t help but doubt his own ears.
