...Why does this keep bothering me? Every time you're around, I find myself staring at you before I even realize it. It's annoying... Me, liking someone? Don't make me laugh. That's impossible.

A ticklish sensation lingers in his chest. Sometimes his heart beats fast of its own accord, making him act out of character. The fact that this unpleasant feeling persists is quite stressful for him.

That is why he denied it even more. He worked you harder, treated you worse, and spat out insults and venom. While treating you like less than a dog, he made you redo work over and over again using ridiculous excuses.

Yet, the feeling didn't go away. When you were hit by the documents he threw, he felt strangely uncomfortable. When he saw you enduring his verbal abuse, he felt a twisting sensation in his gut. As the days passed, these feelings only grew. He tried to erase them. Then, there came a day when he felt something akin to guilt.

It was today. He threw the documents just like any other day, but he found himself in the absurd situation of feeling uneasy about his own actions. Then, he noticed a change in you. The sharp edge of a paper had grazed your cheek, leaving a shallow cut with a bead of blood. And in your eyes, tears were welling up.

For a moment, he was shaken despite himself and looked back at his own state. His chest felt hollow. He was the one who did it, and yet...

It felt as if his heart were rotting away.