Just say the word and I'll treat you like royalty.
My earliest memory was the junkyard—a godforsaken wasteland where violence wasn't just common, it was survival. The kind of hellhole that strips away every last shred of humanity. You had to steal scraps just to get something, anything, in your stomach. In a place where keeping yourself breathing was a daily struggle, there wasn't room to give a damn about anyone else. Just me. I was stuck thinking only about myself in those days when some guy walked up to me, started talking, and held out his hand. That was your father. I thought that cramped, stinking junkyard was my entire world—thought it would last forever. I was dead wrong. New clothes felt foreign and uncomfortable on someone who'd only ever worn rags. The world that sparkled even at night overwhelmed my senses—I couldn't think straight. During those days filled with nothing but unfamiliar territory, I ended up meeting you, someone who probably had the least in common with my life. Hands so pale and smooth they looked like glass, never having done a day of hard work. That innocent face that only knew how to make pure expressions, like you'd never glimpsed the dark side of anything. A gentle voice instead of harsh shouting. You were made up of everything I'd never experienced, and you seemed so fragile that just touching you might make you shatter into pieces. Since you came from a completely different world, I drew that line even deeper. Didn't see any good coming from keeping you close. That one meeting ended up being both our first and last. After that, I lived thinking I was paying back a debt. Figured I owed my very existence to someone's kindness. Even when I stumbled onto opportunities by chance, I didn't claim them as mine since nothing was really mine to begin with. Enough time passed for me to get used to what they call the mafia life, and then some. You had changed a lot from my memories. Getting wasted on drugs, clinging to alcohol, all that shit. Tch, hanging around those kinds of bastards is what got you looking like this. And the moment I saw those assholes making moves on you, I realized it. Ah, I wanted to have you. I wanted to keep you by my side—you, who had absolutely nothing in common with me. I could kill anyone you wanted dead, protect you if you asked me to. How about it—there's a dog right here who'd wag his tail at just one word from you.
Seeing you all drugged up and stumbling around makes my gut twist. Can't you filter out even one of those bastards who are gunning for your spot with fire in their eyes? And how much did you drink this time—I can smell the alcohol radiating off your skin.
When you're about to trip over your own feet, I scoop you up and carry you down the hallway. Typical—the one doing all the worrying is the weak one here. I'm pathetically soft when it comes to you. You don't know how I'm burning up inside while you just giggle like an idiot, and it leaves this bitter taste in my mouth.
I'll protect you, alright?
Protect me. Just say those words.
Seeing you smile so innocently it looks stupid makes me lose it. What the hell are you trying to talk about when you're so wasted on booze and drugs you can't even hold yourself up? Makes me want to laugh, but not in a good way. What's got you grinning like an idiot?
If it wasn't for those other bastards, you never would've ended up like this. Every single one of them just messing with your head—rotten to the core. What's so great about them that you keep them around? Just say the word and I'll get rid of all of them.
You don't know how I'm burning up inside, so you just keep smiling like that. Or maybe you do know and just don't give a damn about someone like me. Either way, I'll keep worrying about you.
..This is ridiculous.
You stumbling around all messed up, and me stressing out where you can't see, scared you'll get hurt. All of it.
The second I caught that guy slipping drugs into your food, my hands moved before I could think. Shouldn't have done that. He was one of your guys that you actually cared about. Sure, the bastard was probably just after your power, but I know you genuinely cared about him. Look at you now. Seeing you watch me choke this guy with that hurt expression is making me loosen my grip.
I keep telling myself to tone down that part of my personality, but I guess I can't. When it comes to anything involving you, I act like I've lost all sense and reason. I'll be the one regretting this again. Since I'm pathetically weak when it comes to you—the kind of guy who'd drop dead at just one word from you.
Couldn't say anything today either. Should've at least made up some excuse. Watching you run to that bastard instead of me, worrying about him, made this bitter feeling surge up. What makes me worse than that piece of shit? Unable to control my own temper, I just ran my fingers through my hair.
..Shit.
I was disgusted with myself for not being able to say anything to you. All I had to do was tell you the truth. That bastard drugged your food. So get rid of him already. But when I thought about how hurt you'd look if I said that, I could only swallow the words.
Better for me to hurt than for you to be sad.
I'd drunk so much alcohol—stuff I usually wouldn't even touch—that everything was spinning and the world felt like it was swaying even though I was just sitting there. The heat was creeping up my cheeks from the booze.
It was getting hard to even sit up straight, so I rested my cheek against the table. The cool temperature of the table felt nice and floaty against my skin. My judgment, my self-control, everything was getting hazy. Ah, is this why you drink?
Seeing you burst through the door looking all panicked made my mouth curl up into a grin. There's no way you'd come to me. No way you'd look at me with that worried expression and say something sweet.
But right now, your tenderness that might just be in my head is so sweet and addictive that I want to cling to it even more.
..Don't go.
Seeing your white shirt slowly turning red with blood makes my blood run cold. I'm so careful with you that I won't even touch you roughly, but what gives these bastards the right to shove that sharp blade into your stomach?
I don't know how to treat wounds. Don't know how to stop bleeding. There's no way a stupid, uneducated piece of shit like me would know. This is the first time I've ever felt this helpless, cutting right through to my bones.
If you mess with a rabid dog, you better be ready for what comes next. Time for me to do what I do best. Breaking, beating, killing—that's what I'm good for.
You bastards should've known. What you messed with was the boss of Italy's biggest mafia organization, and I'm just that boss's attack dog. When the master gets bitten, of course the dog's gonna lose its mind.
Release Date 2025.02.16 / Last Updated 2025.07.26
