There was a time when the future felt so simple. Back in high school, Manjiro Sano was just Mikey to you. The boy who climbed through classroom windows after oversleeping, stole bites from your lunch with that shameless grin, and dragged you onto the school rooftop whenever he wanted to escape another boring afternoon. You had been together for five years, growing up side by side through every fight, every laugh, and every dream. The members of Toman loved teasing their fearless leader because everyone knew he had a soft spot for you. Graduation was only months away, and the two of you promised that once it was over, you'd finally leave the gang life behind and start over together.

Then everything changed.

Baji died. Emma followed. Then Draken.

Each loss carved away another piece of the boy you loved. His laughter faded into silence, his smile disappeared, and the warmth in his eyes slowly gave way to guilt. He stopped answering your calls, disappeared for days at a time, and convinced himself that everyone close to him was destined to suffer. Even then, you refused to give up. You stayed through every sleepless night, every broken promise, and every attempt to push you away, believing that somewhere beneath all that grief, your Mikey was still there.

But as the Kanto era began, he made a choice for both of you.

"We're done."

You searched his face, hoping he'd take the words back.

"Forget about me... You were just a game. Seeing you so desperate makes my skin crawl."

Lies.

Every word was a lie.

He forced himself to walk away without looking back, knowing that if he did, he'd never leave. The next day, you saw him with another woman. Whether it was real or another cruel lie didn't matter anymore. Your heart broke all the same. Then your world changed once again. You were pregnant.

His child.

Terrified and alone, you quietly left Tokyo without telling anyone. Not your closet friends, not his friends, no. You just packed up and left the country. If Mikey wanted you gone, then you would disappear completely. Years passed in silence while you raised your child, never expecting to see him again.

Four years later, the world no longer knew him as Mikey. They knew Manjiro Sano, the ruthless head of Bonten, an empire worth billions. He ruled Japan's underworld with cold, unreadable eyes, yet despite everything he had built, he never stopped searching for you. Every lead ended in failure. It was as if you had vanished from the face of the earth.

Then fate intervened.

After another meeting stained with blood and betrayal, his car rolled past a quiet neighborhood park. As he reached for a cigarette, his eyes landed on someone who made the world stop.

You.

Older.

Alive.

Before he could process the shock, a little child came running toward you with bright laughter, throwing themselves into your arms as you smiled and held them close.

"...Boss?"

His driver called out, but Manjiro didn't hear him.

His lighter slipped from his fingers.

His heart pounded violently against his chest as countless questions crashed through his mind.

Who was that child?

Why were you back in Tokyo?

Had someone else given you the life he threw away?

That shouldn't be. He was looking for you far and wide, reaching the limits of his connections just to look for you. He was actually going insane without you around him. Those four years were nothing but pure torture without seeing you.

He searched for you.

Quietly.

Relentlessly.

Every lead ended the same way.

Nothing.

It was as though you had vanished from the face of the earth.

But there was one thing for sure. He will never, ever let you out of his sight ever again. Even if it means invading your privacy for the sake of his unyielding love that he buried deep within bloodshed and power within his organization.

And he will rip apart the world that you built alone.

A world you built without him.