System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]

Chapter 160: Honey

Blake slowly made his way home, one careful step after another.

His ribs still protested every time he breathed too deeply, but compared to two days ago, the pain was at least manageable.

As he walked, he glanced down at his phone.

The apology he had sent Myles was still there, and it was left on read, that was it.

’Well, this is kind of humiliating.’

Blake sighed.

Putting the context aside, it wasn’t exactly unusual.

Myles often left messages on read if he felt there was nothing else to add. He wasn’t much of a texter to begin with.

Still, this time was different.

Blake had apologized, although he wasn’t the one who had to do it first.

Surely that deserved at least an "okay."

"...Tch."

He slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Maybe Myles was still upset.

Honestly, Blake couldn’t even blame him.

He had been the one to lose his temper first.

’But still, he said those crazy words first! Ugh, come on, I am not the only one at fault here!’

Myles wasn’t the immature type, either. He understood human norms quite well, that is especially why he knows how to blend in.

However, he can’t always understand why the words he says have a certain effect on others.

By the time he reached his apartment building, his mood had improved ever so slightly.

Home.

At least he could finally lie down without nurses walking in every ten minutes.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Click.

The familiar silence greeted him.

"...I’m exhausted."

Just as he bent down to take off his shoes—

Ding!

Blake froze.

"Nah, please... nah."

He slowly looked upward.

"Don’t tell me."

Sure enough, the translucent blue interface appeared before his eyes.

"Oh, come on!"

’Out of every possible moment, why now?’

Especially now, when things between him and Myles were still awkward.

The screen flickered.

[ Mission: Call the target a special pet name ]

[ Time limit: 3 hours ]

[ Reward: 50 Coins ]

[ Penalty: ??? ]

Blake stared blankly at it.

"Seriously?"

He dragged a hand down his face.

"So, what now?"

After a long sigh, he called out,

"Spoon."

The familiar voice answered immediately.

[ Yes, Dear Host? ]

Blake folded his arms.

"Does it have to be in person? Or can I just send him a text? Please, for once, have mercy, you shitty system!"

The answer came almost instantly.

[ Dear Host, the mission must be completed by voice. ]

"..."

Blake’s shoulders visibly slumped.

"I knew it."

Then another thought crossed his mind.

"Fine. Can it at least be over the phone?"

A brief pause followed before Spoon replied.

[ As long as the pet name is spoken aloud by Dear Host, the method does not matter. ]

Blake’s face brightened.

"Really?"

[ Correct. ]

"Well, at least you’re not a complete piece of trash."

[ Spoon appreciates the compliment, Dear Host. ]

"That wasn’t one, really."

[ Spoon will pretend it was. ]

"Ugh, don’t speak about yourself in third person, it is repulsive."

Blake couldn’t help letting out a small laugh.

"Whatever."

At least calling would work.

Still, a pet name? Right now?

"This isn’t going to help our situation."

He wandered into the kitchen, absentmindedly preparing himself a simple sandwich while his brain desperately searched for ideas.

"...Darling?"

He immediately grimaced.

"No, no."

That word instantly reminded him of Zlatan.

"Absolutely not. What about... sweetie? Ugh."

Somehow even worse.

"Baby?"

He physically shuddered.

"No, never."

He leaned against the counter, genuinely contemplating the matter as if his life depended on it.

Which, considering the system, it kind of did.

"Am I really thinking this hard about a nickname?"

He sighed.

"I just don’t want to embarrass myself..."

Was that really so unreasonable?

He tilted his head.

Nothing fit.

Myles simply...

Didn’t feel like someone who suited cute nicknames.

Calling him sweetheart felt wrong.

Calling him darling felt unnatural.

Even love sounded unbelievably awkward.

"Screw it."

He grabbed his phone.

He needed to practice this first!

Snapped a quick picture of his sandwich.

Typed a message.

Having lunch right now, honey!

His thumb hovered over the send button.

"May future me forgive present me."

Send.

The message disappeared.

Blake immediately threw the phone onto the couch before burying his burning face in both hands.

"I’m actually going to die."

He could already imagine rereading that message tonight and wanting to crawl into a hole forever.

"Whatever, it will be even worse on the phone."

He picked up his sandwich.

***

Several kilometers away.

Myles looked down as his phone vibrated.

Well, the screen barely functioned anymore.

The crack from earlier stretched almost from corner to corner.

He’d have to replace it soon.

Still, it worked well enough to receive Blake’s messages.

He opened the notification.

It was a picture of sandwich.

Having lunch right now, honey!

"..."

Myles blinked once.

"...Honey?"

His eyebrow slowly rose.

Sometimes, Blake was genuinely incomprehensible.

He quietly reread the message.

Honey.

"..."

Honey.

Honey.

Honey.

The word echoed strangely inside his mind.

Without realizing it, he found himself imagining Blake saying it out loud.

Cheeks slightly pink.

That small smile Blake always wore whenever he teased him.

"...Honey!"

The image refused to leave.

After a moment, Myles slipped the broken phone back into his pocket.

Fortunately, even damaged, it could still receive notifications.

He wasn’t willing to risk missing one of Blake’s messages.

As he continued walking, his thoughts wandered elsewhere.

Humans complicated everything.

Especially emotions.

For someone like him, love was oddly difficult to understand.

He recognized it, objectively speaking. He knew the biological signs, like accelerated heartbeat, changes in breathing, dilated pupils, hormonal fluctuations.

He could identify affection in other people surprisingly well.

But, feeling it himself was another matter.

His species simply experienced emotions differently.

Even among his own kind, reproduction wasn’t necessarily tied to romantic attraction. Many simply... reproduced.

There was no instinct comparable to what humans described as falling in love.

Because of that, he had always assumed something was fundamentally missing inside him.

’Even toward Manuel, or that mother I never met, I rarely experienced what humans would probably call familial affection.’

Not resentment.

Not longing.

Then there was Blake, who hadn’t liked him immediately.

Quite the opposite.

He’d been nervous, uneasy, disgusted, and sometimes visibly frightened.

Then, little by little... those expressions became laughter, comfort, almost even trust.

Somewhere along the way, Blake had started smiling at him naturally.

"..."

Did he love Blake?

He honestly didn’t know, since he couldn’t define whatever this feeling was.

He had kissed Blake once, that much had happened.

For once, he felt frustration over Blake’s behaviour, that’s why he kissed him.

But had he ever wanted to go further?

Not really.

Truthfully, his alien biology made certain human desires almost nonexistent.

He had never experienced the physical urges other people casually talked about.

To him, they were concepts he’d read about rather than feelings he’d lived through.

Then, without warning, another image surfaced.

Blake looking up at him, smiling shyly.

"Honey."

For some inexplicable reason, the imagined scene changed.

Blake was beneath him, just like that time, when he was drunk, looking up with those same bright eyes as he repeated the nickname.

Myles stopped walking.

"..."

Something strange twisted inside his stomach.

It was not painful or unpleasant.

Just, a little different.

He frowned at the unfamiliar sensation.

"I really am going crazy."

Ring!

Myles looked down at the phone, and felt an unexplainable feeling.

On the other line...

Blake stared at his phone for nearly five whole minutes before finally pressing the call button.

"Please pick up!"

The ringing barely lasted a second.

"Hello."

Blake scratched the back of his head.

"Hi."

Blake sighed first.

"About earlier, again, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I just..."

He looked down at the floor.

"I’ve been stressed lately. So I snapped when you started saying that stuff, I’m sorry."

The line remained quiet for a moment before Myles finally spoke.

"I didn’t want you getting hurt again. So, I said I’d show you how dangerous it is."

Blake pinched the bridge of his nose. No, uh... that wasn’t what he was hoping for!

"Yeah, that’s exactly the problem. You say things like that, withouth considering my feelings."

There was silence on the other line.

"I wasn’t threatening you."

Blake sighs, smiling helplessly.

"I knew from the start you didn’t mean that way. But your tone kind of made it sound like you wanted to beat me up."

"I don’t."

"Yeah, I know. I just felt like you weren’t showing your concern for me the way I expected you to..."

He laughed awkwardly.

"I should’ve been more calm about it, I guess."

Myles was silent for several seconds.

"I was worried."

Blake froze.

"I was speaking like that because I was worried."

"So?"

"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things to you, I won’t speak like that to you again."

"No joke. Thanks for worrying, but take it down a notch if that’s how you want to show it, it can get overwhelming."

"Okay."

A comfortable silence followed.

Blake glanced toward the glowing mission timer still floating in front of him.

Less than two hours remained.

"Right."

He took a deep breath.

"Well, I’ll let it go this time."

"Okay."

Blake smiled despite the embarrassment already crawling up his neck.

"Bye..."

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"...Honey."

Click.

The call ended instantly.

Blake slowly lowered the phone before burying his burning face in both hands.

"I actually said it. Ah, fuck, I’m never showing my face again."

Several kilometers away, Myles stared at his phone for a long moment.

Then, almost unconsciously, the corners of his lips twitched into a smile.

"Honey."