Define The Relationship Novel - Chapter 24

His ambivalent feelings gradually began to subside. Karlyle quietly took out his phone with an expressionless face. The black phone in his palm was filled with work-related messages.

He only replied to private messages that were necessary. It was similar when he was at Eton or university. He only indulged in entertainment when there was a purpose. It was even questionable whether it could be called entertainment.

Karlyle rubbed his phone for a long time before unlocking it. He tapped on the message inbox and scrolled down the list, seeing Ash’s name.

There were only a few messages exchanged with the name Jones. They were all dry messages stating time and place. Ash in text seemed businesslike. Yet, when that man saw Karlyle, he smiled so sweetly it could melt him. He touched him, kissed him.

His hesitant finger tapped the input field. As Luther had said, he needed to talk about the rut. This wasn’t a message sent without purpose. It was a contact with a reason, so it wouldn’t be a bother. Karlyle hesitated for a very long time and finally wrote one word.

[Good afternoon.]

It was a natural greeting. But writing something like this felt incredibly awkward. Karlyle eventually deleted it. He had no idea what to write to start the conversation.

[Mr. Jones.]

The second message he wrote also didn’t quite please him. It seemed very stiff and unfeeling. Even though he had always been told he was that kind of person, it still felt that way. Yet, writing “Ash” seemed somehow undignified. Still, Karlyle deleted the previous message and tried writing Ash’s name once.

Karlyle looked down at it for a while and then shook his head. It seemed better to just call him or talk to him later. His finger moved with that thought.

Karlyle, uncharacteristically walking while looking at his phone, was almost bumped into by someone passing very close by. Karlyle shielded his phone with his palm and moved away.

That must have been why the message was sent.

By the time Karlyle looked at his phone again, it was already too late. The problem wasn’t just that a name was sent. “Ash” was followed by “xx”.

Karlyle knew what this meant. From how the number of ‘x’s at the end of a message slightly changed its meaning, to how it was a sign of intimacy. Usually, such messages were sent between lovers or people who were dating.

Karlyle froze. His heart plummeted. He felt humiliated. Had he ever felt such humiliation before? For Karlyle, who had made mistakes only a handful of times in his life, this was an unacceptable situation. Such a ridiculous mistake?

Forgetting to breathe for a moment, Karlyle tried to think of a way to cancel this message before Ash saw it. Finding a hacker or recalling the message from the carrier would take time. No, maybe it was possible. It was two in the afternoon on a weekday, so Ash was probably working. In that case…

While all sorts of thoughts swirled dizzyingly in his head, someone’s hand touched Karlyle’s waist. At the unfamiliar touch, Karlyle twisted his body. A faint, familiar scent wafted. He saw a familiar jawline and nose. Soon, their eyes met.

“Karlyle.”

Long, downcast eyelashes fluttered. Both gray and blue were visible. It was Ash’s eyes.

“Hello.”

A laughing voice was heard, and then lips touched his cheek. A soft sensation spread across his cheek. Soon, a faint, fragrant breath tickled his earlobe.

“You sent a cute message.”

A pleasant, low voice resonated. His heart began to pound rapidly at the unexpected encounter. It was such a happy coincidence that it made him forget the humiliating situation from moments ago.

His fingers, holding the phone, tightened slightly. Because of the extremely close distance, almost touching his upper body, Karlyle briefly remembered that he was outside. But he didn’t push Ash away.

“…Mr. Jones.”

A slight blush crept in at the belated mention of the message. He briefly averted his eyes, then met Ash’s gaze again and greeted him formally first.

“Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Karlyle. Did you have lunch?”

Ash asked, placing both hands on Karlyle’s waist. As the firm, large hands wrapped around his waist, his throat felt constricted. Karlyle dutifully answered him.

“I haven’t had anything to eat yet. Have you, Mr. Jones?”

“I just came from having lunch with a client.”

Ash pulled Karlyle closer. A soft scent wafted, and their bodies finally touched. Ash was wearing beige cotton pants that revealed his ankles slightly and a navy shirt.

He could feel firm muscles through the thin shirt. Karlyle’s body, or perhaps his consciousness, recalled the sensation of Ash’s muscles without him realizing it. He also recalled Ash’s face as he pressed his body against him. He unconsciously bit his lip slightly. Ash, looking down, saw Karlyle and raised his hand.

“What were you thinking about?”

A finger gently pressed his lower lip. A slight pressure and the finger touching his lip made Karlyle open his mouth slightly.

As he instinctively flinched back, Ash’s other hand held his waist, stopping him. If he stayed like this, he felt he would make a spectacle of himself in the middle of the street.

Karlyle raised a hand and pushed Ash’s stomach away. The movement reminded him of other things in bed, and he clearly felt himself getting aroused, but Karlyle exercised patience and restrained himself.

“The message you mentioned was… sent by mistake.”

“You accidentally typed my name?”

Ash let out a low chuckle that resonated in his throat. Karlyle had no idea how to react to the voice that sounded like he found him cute.

The countless actions and attitudes that had shaped his life lost their meaning in front of Ash. He didn’t know what expression to make or what tone to use towards the person he liked.

Their relationship wasn’t close enough for him to act as he did with Kyle, whom he considered his closest. Moreover, Ash was an Alpha. He had never even considered gaining an Alpha’s favor for anything other than business purposes.

“What brings you to Trafalgar?”

Karlyle decided to change the subject. Ash smiled meaningfully.

“Are you embarrassed?”

It seemed he had no intention of letting it go. Karlyle suppressed a sigh and gave the same answer.

“It was a mistake.”

“You even accidentally added kisses?”

He sincerely questioned why modern people had assigned the meaning of a kiss to the letter ‘x’. Given that such things were only added between intimate relationships, Ash would find it hard to understand why Karlyle had sent it.

In fact, Karlyle disliked abbreviations. Regardless of knowing their meaning, he had never used them with anyone. Therefore, he couldn’t even guess how his message appeared to Ash.

“And twice?”

“My phone seems to have malfunctioned.”

Karlyle barely managed to come up with another excuse. Ash laughed again. His lips touched Karlyle’s ear. This was by no means a normal conversation. His breath caught for a moment.

“I thought you called me because you wanted to kiss.”

“Huh? You like kissing, don’t you?” Ash whispered suggestively. Karlyle couldn’t endure it any longer. He pulled away from Ash and took three steps back.

“I…”

The words “I should go” naturally rose to his throat and then subsided. Karlyle had free time, and he wouldn’t see Ash this weekend. He felt a strong sense of regret at cutting this accidental meeting short. Ash was laughing, seemingly amused, without approaching him.

“You didn’t answer my earlier question.”

On his second attempt, Ash let it go. Ash chuckled briefly, then gestured to the side with his chin and said, “I came to check out an exhibition. We usually handle a lot of exhibition work for Tate and other art museums. While I’m here, I’m also going to check out the BP Award.”

Karlyle followed Ash’s gaze. Now that he thought about it, the National Portrait Gallery’s annual BP Award had started two months ago.

He had maintained a good relationship with BP until a few years ago, but after suffering massive losses in stock due to an oil rig explosion, transactions had been suspended for a while. Since last year, when interactions resumed due to investments related to new energy development, Karlyle had also been invited to various BP events. He knew about the BP Award but hadn’t had a chance to visit.

“Do you visit often?”

“I suppose so.”

Ash said that and checked his wristwatch. The line of his wrist, narrowing slightly from his firm forearm, gave a soft impression. He saw the high-quality, reddish-brown leather and the simple watch hands centered on it. It was a Vacheron Constantin. Ash made an “Ah” sound, sensing Karlyle’s gaze.

“Are you busy, Karlyle?”

Karlyle hesitated. After a short silence, Karlyle replied, “Not at the moment.”

“Oh, really?”

Ash thought for a moment, then his eyes crinkled in a smile.

“Want to see the exhibition together?”

This time, he didn’t hesitate. Karlyle quietly nodded. Ash extended his hand. Karlyle flinched.

“Ah. Sorry.”

Ash laughed. It was a habit. With those words, the extended hand was withdrawn. Before Karlyle could grasp it, Ash lowered his hand.

“Shall we go?” Ash said and turned first. Karlyle watched Ash’s hand for a moment, then followed. Karlyle clenched and unclenched his right hand, which had grasped nothing.

Before entering the exhibition hall, Ash met and spoke with a gallery official. Karlyle waited for Ash with an expressionless face after donating.

Meanwhile, Karlyle picked up items for four visitors due to an excessively strange coincidence. Strangely, people kept dropping things in front of him. They were all Omegas, two men and two women.