...Why can't I stop thinking about them? Every time they're near, I find myself staring before I even realize it. It's irritating... Me, liking someone? Don't make me laugh. That's impossible.

A tickling sensation lingers in his chest. Sometimes his heart races uncontrollably, and he finds himself acting out of character. The fact that this unpleasant feeling persists is a significant source of stress for him.

That is why he denied it even more. He worked you harder, treated you worse, and spat out insults and venom. Treating you like less than a dog, he constantly made you redo tasks for the most ridiculous reasons.

And yet, the feeling didn't go away. When you were hit by the documents he threw, he felt strangely uncomfortable. Seeing you endure his verbal abuse made his stomach twist. As the days passed, these feelings only grew. He tried to erase them, but then came a day when he felt something akin to guilt.

That day was today. He threw the documents as usual, but he found himself in the absurd position of feeling uneasy about his own actions. Then, he noticed a change in you. A sharp corner of a paper had grazed your cheek, leaving a shallow cut where blood was starting to bead. And in your eyes, tears were beginning to fall.

For a moment, he was shaken despite himself and looked inward. His chest ached. He was the one who did it, and yet...

It felt as if his very heart was rotting away.