System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]

"Ah, fuck. I should never close my eyes, no matter the hour, at this point!"

Blake immediately sprang into action.

He had barely managed to rest, and now he was paying for it. The moment he realized how late it was, whatever exhaustion had been lingering in his body disappeared. He hurried to get dressed, mentally going over everything he needed before leaving.

Thankfully, the hotel was only a ten-minute walk from where he needed to be.

Ten minutes, that should have been plenty, probably. Still, there was no reason to risk arriving even later than he already was.

Blake finished preparing himself and moved toward the mirror. The makeup he’d applied earlier had survived surprisingly well, though there were a few places that needed touching up. He carefully fixed them, restoring the neat appearance he’d had before.

Then he paused. His reflection stared back at him.

The red dress fit elegantly against him, its deep crimson color standing out beneath the warm light of the hotel room. The fabric was smooth and refined, falling neatly along his frame before extending into a graceful skirt. It wasn’t excessively elaborate, but there was something unmistakably elegant about it.

The rich red gave the entire outfit a dramatic quality, especially when contrasted against the black accessories.

At least, that was the theory.

The fabric caught the light whenever he moved, shifting between deeper wine-red shadows and brighter crimson highlights. It made the black heels look even darker by comparison.

His makeup completed the appearance. His eyes had been carefully accentuated, making them appear sharper beneath his lashes, while the subtle color on his lips complemented the red of the dress. His hair had been arranged neatly enough to maintain the elegant appearance he needed.

Blake tilted his head slightly.

’Not bad, actually... I kinda wish I could wear this as a guy!’

That was probably the only thing keeping him from complaining about the ridiculousness of the situation.

He reached down and picked up the black heels, his expression immediately souring.

He slipped them on anyway.

The heels weren’t particularly comfortable, and he was already regretting agreeing to wear them. Unfortunately, looking presentable and being comfortable were apparently mutually exclusive concepts tonight.

He picked up the mask he’d been given and carefully put it on, making sure it sat properly against his face.

Blake gave himself one final glance before turning away from the mirror.

"Let’s get this over with."

He hurried out of the hotel.

The car waiting outside spared him from having to walk the entire distance, which he was grateful for. By the time he arrived at the venue, he had already mentally prepared himself for whatever nonsense the evening had in store.

He stepped out of the car and approached the entrance.

As expected, another invitation check.

Blake handed it over without a word.

The attendant examined it before allowing him through. He entered. Immediately, he was surrounded by the soft murmur of conversation.

There were already plenty of people inside, at least he wasn’t the last to arrive.

Still, the fact that so many guests had already settled in made Blake feel slightly embarrassed. He preferred arriving on time, it was easier to observe people that way.

Now he’d have to enter a room full of strangers while trying not to draw attention to himself.

He quietly made his way toward one of the tables and sat down. The moment he did, he shifted his feet beneath the table.

They hurt, not terribly, but enough to be irritating. Blake glanced downward.

He could simply take the shoes off for a moment.

’No, no, intrusive thoughts, go away...!’

He imagined the sight of himself sitting there in a red dress and black heels while awkwardly rubbing his feet beneath the table.

Not exactly ladylike.

He straightened his posture instead.

’I can endure this, out of all things.’

After bearing a gunshot, what could possibly be worse!

"Are you alright?"

Blake almost raised an eyebrow.

He turned his head.

Maybe he had gotten too used to being called miss. And then he saw him. His expression remained composed, but internally, Blake grimaced.

’That crazy bastard somehow managed to get Asher in here.’

Asher looked just as out of place as Blake felt, though for entirely different reasons. There was something nervous about the way he carried himself, particularly in a room filled with people he clearly wasn’t accustomed to being around.

Blake smiled politely.

"I am, thanks for your concern, sir."

Asher’s face immediately reddened, his fingers fidgeting awkwardly.

"Ah..."

Before either of them could say anything else, a familiar voice interrupted.

"There you are."

Sylvan approached them, looking perfectly comfortable in the elegant surroundings. He placed a hand over Asher’s shoulder.

"Look at that. I meant to introduce the two of you."

Blake’s eyebrow twitched.

’What a piece of work.’

He rose from his seat.

"Who is he, sir? Do you know each other?"

Sylvan gave a small smile.

"This is supposed to be an anonymous event, in a way. But for you, I’ll make an exception."

His hand remained on Asher’s shoulder.

"He is like a son to me."

"I see."

Blake turned toward Asher.

The music had already begun changing in the background, and Blake quickly realized the dancing portion of the evening was about to start.

He’d arrived later than planned.

He glanced toward Sylvan.

’Tsk. Asher might be a bit of an obstacle tonight.’

If Sylvan was planning on speaking with him again, having Asher constantly nearby could make things difficult.

’What if this man holds back in front of him?’

Blake turned his attention back toward Sylvan, preparing to ask him for a dance. Before he could say anything, however, Sylvan suddenly grabbed Asher by both shoulders, and pushed him forward.

"You two will get along. How about you ask her for a dance?"

"U-Uncle!"

Asher looked horrified, while Blake almost facepalme, although he managed to stop himself at the last second.

Asher stumbled slightly before regaining his balance.

"Ah, sorry, sorry..."

He looked at Blake, visibly embarrassed, then slowly held out his hand.

Blake stared at it, then at Asher.

’Well... there is no graceful way to refuse him without basically rejecting his uncle.’

He placed his hand in Asher’s.

"No, don’t apologize."

Asher looked relieved.

They walked toward the center of the room.

The musicians were already playing a waltz, and couples were beginning to move across the dance floor.

Blake adjusted his posture.

He could handle this, dancing wasn’t difficult. At least the other night, it wasn’t.

At least, it wouldn’t have been if his partner knew what he was doing.

The first few steps made that painfully obvious.

Asher was terrible. Not merely inexperienced, but straight-up terrible.

He hesitated before almost every movement, and whenever Blake tried to lead him into a turn, Asher seemed to forget where his feet were supposed to go.

Blake somehow managed to compensate for most of it. Until he stepped directly onto his foot.

"Sorry!" Blake said instinctively.

"No, it’s my fault...!"

Asher looked mortified.

Blake sighed softly.

"If you don’t mind, I’ll explain a little how to dance this. I wouldn’t want to step on you again."

Asher nodded immediately.

"Please."

"Alright. First, don’t overthink it. I did that too, at the start..."

"That may be a little difficult."

Asher looked even more embarrassed.

’Ah, whatever man. You’re a hero for god’s sake, what is the issue with dancing?!’

Blake smiled faintly.

"The waltz has three beats. One, two, three. One, two, three. Don’t try to move too quickly. Let the rhythm guide you."

Asher listened carefully.

"Since I’m leading, you don’t have to worry about deciding where we’re going. Follow my movement instead."

"So if I move forward, you move backward, and if I move sideways, you follow sideways."

Asher nodded.

"R-right."

"Most importantly, don’t look down at your feet."

Asher immediately lifted his gaze.

"Sorry."

Blake gave him an amused look.

"You really do apologize a lot to everyone."

Blake adjusted their position slightly.

"Keep your posture straight, but don’t make yourself stiff. You’re so tense that you’re making your own movements harder."

Asher took a breath.

"Like this?"

"Ah yes, that’s much better."

They started again.

"One, two, three."

Step.

Step.

Step.

This time, Asher followed.

"One, two, three."

His movements were still awkward, but there was improvement.

"Good."

Asher nearly lost his balance.

Blake caught the movement before it became noticeable.

"Careful."

"Sorry—"

Blake gave him a look. Asher immediately stopped himself, chuckling nervously.

"Right... no apologizing."

They continued.

Gradually, Asher began to understand the rhythm. His steps became less hesitant, and Blake no longer needed to compensate for every movement.

Eventually, he was following naturally.

Blake smiled.

"You’re a fast learner."

Asher lowered his head slightly, cheeks still red.

"Thank you."

For a moment, neither spoke. Then Asher glanced at him.

"So, how did you get to know un—that mister..."

Blake understood immediately who he meant.

"Ah. Nothing much. We had a conversation yesterday."

"A conversation?"

"Yes."

"What did you talk about?"

"Nothing deep, really."

Blake continued guiding him across the floor.

"Just a bit of small talk about my family, his job... As you can imagine, really surface-level."

"Ah, yes..."

Asher nodded.

His curiosity hadn’t disappeared.

If anything, it seemed to have increased.

Blake noticed, but said nothing.

The music continued around them, the red of his dress catching the warm light with every turn as they moved across the ballroom.

"Is he someone close to you?"

"That mister? Yes, yes... we’re like family."

"Is that so..."

Maybe, he could made a use of him, after all!