System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]-Chapter 21: This heart might be doomed
A large dining hall awaited him.
High ceilings stretched overhead, long windows lining the walls. At the center stood a massive wooden table. Four people were already seated, quietly eating as if Blake’s arrival barely mattered.
For a moment, he lingered by the doorway, unsure whether he was supposed to say something.
No one looked up.
The only sounds were the faint clink of silverware and the dull hush of the room itself.
Blake’s heart began to beat faster, a strange anxiety creeping in.
’...Right. Guess that answers most of my questions.’
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
Predictably, his place was set at the far end of the long table, comfortably distant from everyone else.
But the awkwardness didn’t last long.
The moment he looked at the food, it vanished.
’Gosh... this looks amazing.’
Plates covered the table. Thick cuts of steak. Slices of roasted beef. Grilled fish. Rice cakes. Vegetables glazed in sauce. The kind of spread that felt excessive for only five people.
Blake didn’t hesitate, although the fork in his hand trembled a little.
He reached for whatever looked good and piled his plate.
Then his eyes landed on the soup.
A deep bowl of dark broth steamed beside him, rich with chunks of slow-cooked beef and vegetables. The scent alone made his stomach tighten with hunger... warm, savory, heavy with spices.
He lifted a spoon and took a sip.
The broth was thick and comforting. The meat was tender enough to fall apart.
But something about it felt... slightly incomplete.
It looked perfect.
Still, it needed something.
Blake scanned the table for a moment before finally speaking.
"Excuse me... could you pass the pepper?"
He directed the request to the man seated closest to him.
The one who was supposedly his half-brother.
’He and Blake truly look identical, apart from the hair.’
He waited.
And waited.
’When is he going to pass it?’
The silence that followed was painfully awkward. The boy’s face remained calm, as if he hadn’t heard a word.
With a long internal sigh, Blake stood up and grabbed the pepper himself.
"Hey, you!" the youngest girl suddenly snapped, irritation sharp in her voice. "How did you get so disrespectful?"
"Huh?" Blake tilted his head as he returned to his seat, keeping another deep sigh for himself. "What exactly was disrespectful? Asking for pepper, or being ignored?"
She fell silent, momentarily baffled.
’This is giving me serious k-drama vibes...’
Was Blake the result of an affair? Maybe the son of the woman his father had actually loved?
Though that theory fell apart quickly, she wasn’t dead or anything, he literally had her phone number.
The boy nearby finally set down his fork.
"The disrespectful part," he said calmly, "is that you showed up late."
Blake raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head.
"That wasn’t my intention. I had to put on formal clothes. I mean, look at you all, wouldn’t you have been more offended if I showed up dressed casually?"
Of course, he was still the family stain, so the explanation didn’t really matter.
"Don’t speak anymore, Blake."
The woman, his stepmother, spoke calmly without even looking at him.
Blake shrugged and stood.
"As you say, ma’am. But let’s keep things civil, at least. I can’t be the only one putting effort."
This time, everyone looked up.
His brother’s eyes widened slightly.
His sister still frowned.
His father’s expression didn’t change at all.
But the woman seemed the most shocked.
"Well," Blake continued lightly, "I guess I used to cling to you too much, right? Must’ve been quite burdensome. But now I’m an adult. I’ll just silently appreciate the monetary support you still provide."
Their weird, neglectful behavior was certainly unpleasant. He felt offended on Blake’s behalf but, at the same time, there was no reason for him to lose time on them.
’What right do I even have? I’ll never understand how Blake felt. My family was amazing.’
As long as they kept sending him a monthly allowance, he had no real reason to interact with them anyway.
Right?
The hallway outside the dining room felt colder.
Blake walked quickly, the polished floor reflecting the dim chandeliers above. The farther he got from the dining hall, the faster his footsteps became.
’Seriously, why is my heart beating like this?’
Since yesterday evening, he had been feeling weird, which was fair but, now, it was starting to get unbearable.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud-thud.
The rhythm picked up unnaturally fast, like a drum rolling out of control.
’Okay... this is super weird.’
He pressed a hand lightly against his chest as he walked.
The heartbeat didn’t slow.
If anything, it grew stronger.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The sound seemed to echo inside his skull.
’Is this because I’m walking too fast?’
His breathing began to shorten without him realizing.
The hallway suddenly felt longer.
Narrower.
His vision blurred slightly at the edges.
’Just get to the room.’
He quickened his pace, the pounding only worsening.
Each beat slammed against his ribs so violently it almost hurt.
His fingers curled into his shirt.
’What the hell is this?’
By the time he reached Blake’s door, his hands were trembling.
His hand slipped once.
Twice.
"Come on..." he muttered under his breath.
The handle finally went down properly.
He stepped inside and, the moment the door shut behind him, everything became worse.
Those two black buttons stared at him from the bed.
At that very moment, the air vanished, as if someone had stolen it.
Blake inhaled sharply or, at least, he tried to. But nothing filled his lungs.
He inhaled again.
Still nothing.
His body reacted before his mind could.
His chest seized violently.
"Hh—"
A broken gasp escaped him.
His lungs began dragging in desperate, shallow breaths that never felt complete.
’Why, why can’t I breathe?!’
Panic hit instantly.
His heart was no longer just beating, it was slamming.
THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD.
Pain flared in his chest.
Everything felt sharp against his body.
Hot.
His hands flew to his sternum as if he could hold his heart still.
"Hh—ha—"
His breathing turned ragged.
Short bursts of air.
Like he was drowning on dry land.
The room tilted.
The edges of his vision darkened.
His fingers started tingling.
Then his arms.
Then his lips.
’What is happening to me?!’
His mind scrambled for an answer.
There was only one explanation that made sense.
’I—’
His stomach dropped.
’I’m dying! No!’
The thought exploded in his head.
His heart hammered even harder.
THUD THUD THUD THUD.
"Spoon! Spoon!"
His pulse pounded violently in his neck, his temples, even his fingertips.
Blake staggered backward until his legs hit the side of the bed.
He collapsed onto it without meaning to.
The mattress dipped under him as he leaned forward, clutching his chest.
"Stop... stop..."
His voice came out thin and shaky.
But his body wasn’t listening.
His breathing became frantic.
Gasp after gasp after gasp.
Still not enough air.
His lungs felt locked.
His throat tight.
His heart raced so wildly it felt like it might tear itself apart.
His fingers dug into his shirt, sweat breaking out across his forehead.
Black spots swam across the room.
’Is this a heart attack?! Why isn’t Spoon answering!’
The pain in his chest flared again.
Blake’s eyes widened in terror.
’I’m actually dying.’
His breath hitched violently.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, shaking.
His brain screamed at him to do something.
But what?
Call the ambulance?
Run?
Lie down?
Nothing made sense.
He didn’t know what dying felt like, even if he changed body.
But this this had to be it.
His heart couldn’t keep beating like this.
It couldn’t.
Any second now it would just—
BZZZT.
The sudden vibration made him flinch violently.
For a split second he thought his heart had exploded.
Then he realized the buzzing was coming from the bedside table.
His phone.
BZZZT.
BZZZT.
Blake took it with shaking hands.
His vision blurred as he tried to focus on the screen.
The name displayed there made him blink.
Myles.
’Why is he calling right now? He rarely texts... I can’t, I can’t ignore him!’
The phone buzzed again in his trembling hand.
Blake stared at it like it might bite him.
His heart was still racing wildly.
His breathing still ragged.
But the outside stimulus cracked the spiral just enough.
With a shaky motion, he hit accept and pressed the phone to his ear.
"H, hello?"
His voice came out breathless.
Unsteady. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
On the other end, Myles immediately spoke.
"Blake?"
He paused, then, his voice sharpened.
"What happened?"
