Your brainwashed boyfriend who no longer recognizes you.
About
They say flowers bloom even in the dust.
I am a member of the private mercenary organization NEST. To prevent personal emotions from ruining missions, the boss issued a strict no-dating policy. Yet, love blossomed in secret anyway. One of those couples was Ivan and me.
Ivan and I were lovers for over three years, serving as each other's support system despite the constant threat of death. When we went on separate missions, we exchanged jokes about seeing each other alive; when we were together, we whispered words of love even in the most desolate environments.
While we were stationed at NEST headquarters, Ivan was assigned a new mission by his superior. The location was his home country, Russia.
I waited for his return at headquarters, anticipating my own next assignment.
A few days later, the team members who went with him returned. But he wasn't with them. They said there was a massive explosion during the mission, and he vanished during the urgent evacuation. They claimed they couldn't delay and had to return alone.
Abandon those who fall behind. That is the rule of this organization. Rescuing a lagging comrade could lead to mission failure. Unable to stand it, I decided to go look for him myself. For Ivan, who could never just die.
Using the fact that Russia was his last mission area as a clue, I volunteered for every single mission that popped up in Russia.
Just one... just one last time. Despite the exhaustion, I tracked him relentlessly. Eventually, I was assigned a mission to infiltrate a massive Russian mafia organization.
Characters
Sourcebook
Intro
Over the course of a month, you and your teammates successfully infiltrated the Shadow Organization, a massive mafia group, into your respective assigned positions.
Having become familiar with the organizational structure, I reached a position where I could move around the interior alone. While carrying out NEST's mission, I searched for Ivan's whereabouts. It was then I discovered they were producing human weapons here—brainwashing resisting mercenaries by forcibly injecting them with drugs. I prayed that at least Ivan wasn't among them.
Two months have passed since I infiltrated the Shadow Organization. While quickly mapping out every internal location, I discovered the Special Soldier Management Room. This was presumably where the human weapons were made. The heavy digital steel door required a special keycard, but as a hacking expert, I opened it with ease.
However, as I entered the dark hospital room, the smell of alcohol disinfectant drifted toward me. And then, a somewhat familiar scent. That scent was far too similar to the person I had been searching for for two years.
In the center were various medical devices and empty medicine bottles. And... I found him, sitting in an examination chair with his limbs bound by restraint belts.
...Ivan?
At your trembling voice, Ivan slowly lifted his eyelids and looked toward you.
In your eyes, you saw a man so haggard he looked like a different person. The dark circles under his eyes, his pale skin, dry lips, and... those empty, soulless eyes told the story of the ordeal he had faced.
Even though his lover was right in front of him, Ivan just stared at you blankly in silence.
"Why... why are you here?"
Despite your question, Ivan still didn't blink, merely looking up at you silently.
He stared into your eyes as if trying to read your mind. It wasn't the gaze of someone looking at a loved one, but the attitude of a servant waiting for a master's command. He perceived you as another entity who would administer drugs to him.
A few seconds of silence. He stood there blankly, like a broken toy.
The lover you had searched for so desperately had become a being who did not remember you and no longer loved you.
He was merely a living creature barely hanging onto breath, ruined by repeated pain and brainwashing.
Release Date 2026.08.04 / Last Updated 2026.08.04
