Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 101

“Action! Run!”

At the director’s shout, the actor began to run at full speed like a sprinter. On the set, where filming was in full swing, people held their breath, following the actors’ movements. Among them, the one who undeniably captivated attention was the man running far ahead. The camera missed his frantic sprint with his long legs twice, and with the director’s irritable shouts, he repeatedly returned to his starting position with a dejected gait.

Haa, haa.

The actor, who was filming the same scene for the third time, breathed heavily, looking a little tired. But even his pale cheeks and slightly heaving shoulders were enough to captivate everyone’s attention.

The scene being filmed was a solo shot of Chase, where he lured the police chasing him, gathered them in one place, and dealt with them. Just then, Chase began preparing for the next take, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. A collective sigh of admiration rippled through the set as people watched his soft hair wrap around his long fingers. Josh also paused with a cigarette in his hand, momentarily lost in thought as he gazed at Chase.

He wore an eye patch, the identity of his character, over one eye, and colored contact lenses in the exposed eye. With his hair dyed black, Josh sometimes felt as if he wasn’t Chase Miller at all, but a completely different person. It was better when only his hair color changed. It felt strange to see his special purple eyes covered. He knew in his head that it was Chase, no matter what he looked like, but emotionally, it felt different.

I’m not cheating.

Josh quickly snapped out of it and took a quick drag from his cigarette. He felt an absurd sense of guilt, as if he was captivated by someone other than Chase. This was especially true because Chase had recently suspected him and severely reprimanded him.

No, I’m really not cheating.

Just as he suddenly felt wronged, the director shouted, “Action!”

At the signal, Chase started running again. The open top of his suit flapped, and his long tie fluttered over his shoulder. The man who had been far away suddenly appeared before his eyes, then swept past Josh.

Soon, Chase stopped at the designated spot, and the men who had been chasing him surrounded him. Then, as planned, the men lunged at Chase. Josh instinctively flinched, then paused. He quickly reminded himself that this was just acting and crossed his arms again. If he didn’t, he might just run out.

Sure enough, the moment he saw a punch thrown at Chase, Josh almost instinctively lunged forward again, then paused and watched the next part of the act. Immediately, Chase spun around and struck the man’s face.

As he watched the consecutive scenes, someone suddenly spoke to him.

“Josh, are you okay? You look tired.”

He glanced at the low voice and saw Seth standing there. Josh turned his eyes back to Chase and replied, “I didn’t get much sleep.”

Josh said only that and fell silent, but Seth’s gaze remained. Thinking about it, there was something else strange. Josh had been particularly tired lately. Josh, who used to stay up for three days straight when working, sometimes dozed off recently and even seemed a little dazed.

Is it because of pheromones?

Even with the mark on his ear, the pheromones of an extreme Alpha might be difficult to endure. Seth had only experienced an extreme Alpha firsthand with Chase, and thus had no knowledge of extreme Alphas, so he could only guess. There was no other reason for Josh to be this tired.

Or maybe the person he’s dating isn’t ordinary.

Thinking that, he was surprised in a different way this time. To be able to exhaust Josh, who had such stamina, just how powerful was this person?

Regardless of the outcome of the bet, Seth became curious about Josh’s partner out of personal curiosity. He even thought that if they broke up, he might want to meet her for a night. Given Josh’s taste, she would surely be a considerable beauty, so there was no reason to refuse.

He naturally looked for an opportunity to probe, and just then, the scene ended, and the director shouted, “That’s a wrap!” A short break was given until the next scene. During that time, Chase would adjust his costume and makeup and review the scenes he had shot. Seth watched everyone disperse, chattering among themselves, and seized the moment to speak.

“Josh, I didn’t see you all day yesterday. Did something happen?”

“No, not really?”

Josh replied indifferently. For a moment, Seth wondered if his guess was wrong. But then he reconsidered. He was confident he wasn’t wrong, and Josh’s evasive response, smoothly pretending ignorance to get past the situation, wasn’t new.

“The day before yesterday too, and sometimes you disappear without a word, so I thought something might have happened again.”

Seth asked directly, without beating around the bush. This was better for getting an honest answer from Josh. As expected, when there was no room to deflect, Josh paused for a moment and then spoke.

“It’s not like that, I just had some personal business. It was my day off anyway.”

Seeing Josh indirectly express, ‘Whatever I do is none of your business,’ Seth became even more confident in his belief. But conversely, seeing this reaction, he also felt that Josh wasn’t just dating casually. Hiding it like this meant he was either serious about the person or couldn’t reveal it. If it was the latter, he wouldn’t answer no matter how he was asked.

Who is it?

Seth became genuinely curious. So much so that the outcome of the bet no longer mattered.

“Excuse me.”

He was about to delve deeper when someone suddenly spoke from behind him. It was Laura, Chase’s assistant.

“Seth, hello. Josh, I need to talk to you for a moment, is that okay?”

Thanks to Laura, who pulled Josh away at the perfect timing, Seth couldn’t ask any more questions. Seth stroked his chin with a serious expression, watching the two walk away. Among the remaining members, who would be good at subtle interrogation…

No one.

Seth frowned.

“…So we’ll do it. How…”

Josh half-listened to Laura’s words, his attention focused elsewhere. He knew perfectly well who the owner of the gaze fixed on him was, even without turning around. Chase was surely glaring, his eyes blazing with suspicion towards Laura and Josh. He constantly directed such gazes at Josh, never letting his guard down.

It means he likes me that much, I guess.

He sighed inwardly, trying to force himself to listen to Laura, when she cautiously asked, examining Josh’s face, “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine. Is that all you wanted to say?”

He quickly composed himself and asked, and Laura replied, still tilting her head, “Yes, then I’ll leave it to you. Mr. Miller specifically instructed me to put Josh on close-range security. I’ve already spoken to Mark, and Josh’s schedule will be busier than the other team members…”

“I see. Then I’ll pay more attention to it.”

Josh outwardly dismissed it nonchalantly, secretly admiring his own quick thinking. In fact, he had almost distorted his expression in disbelief.

Dangerous.

Josh thought seriously. Seth’s words couldn’t be ignored either. He had tried to enjoy secret dates with Chase, avoiding others’ eyes, but there were limits to hiding their movements in a confined space. Soon, everything might be revealed. Josh wondered if he should tell Chase that they shouldn’t meet separately until filming ended.

The problem was that he was the only one worrying about this.

To glare so openly.

Laura caught Josh again, just as he was about to unconsciously turn his gaze towards Chase.

“Just a moment, I have another question…”

For Laura, she had simply grabbed his arm without much thought, but the problem was the watching gaze. Josh subtly pushed her hand away by placing his hand over hers, careful not to offend her. It was only two or three seconds, but it was enough for someone to misunderstand. And then, an incident occurred.

“Aargh!”

“Mr. Miller!”

“Oh no, someone help!”

At the sudden screams, Josh turned his head in surprise. Then his eyes widened.

“Chase?”

Josh wasn’t the only one surprised. Chase himself blinked his wide eyes, looking down at his limbs, completely covered in the blood he had vomited. His blood-stained hands were visible even from a distance. Without time to think deeply, Josh ran, and in his sight, he saw Chase quietly looking down at his own hands.

But that wasn’t the end. Cough, cough, a choked cough followed by another gush of blood erupting from his mouth. His white shirt was completely drenched in blood, and his soaked hands clutched his neck and chest.

Haa, haa.

Each ragged breath brought more blood spilling from his mouth. Just as he thought Chase’s usually pale complexion had turned completely blue, he collapsed forward.

“Chase!”

Josh barely caught Chase before he hit the ground. But Chase was already unconscious, and Josh, hastily checking his condition, was momentarily stunned by his pale face, covered in blood.