Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 118

Now the biggest problem remains. His colleagues, though confused, seemed to largely accept his words. Of course, that was before Josh pulled out and dropped the hidden bomb. But before he could pull out the bomb, something unexpected happened first. Seth turned to Henry and said:

“Alright, I won, didn’t I? Give it.”

“Damn it!”

Henry cursed, rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a crumpled banknote, and slapped it onto Seth’s outstretched hand with a thud. Mark just laughed, leaving a bewildered Josh, and Isaac merely bowed his head.

What on earth…?

“Josh, honestly, we thought your behavior was strange all this time.”

Seth, after checking the banknote, spoke in his usual calm voice. To Josh, who was puzzled by the unexpected topic, he continued casually.

“Isaac was the first to bring up that your recent behavior was strange.”

Seth glanced at Isaac, then looked back at Josh.

“We were guessing various reasons why, and then we made a bet for fun. As you can see, I won money thanks to you.”

He smiled faintly and lightly shook the banknote held between his fingers. Josh, dumbfounded by the absurd story, looked around, and Isaac nodded with a dejected face, as if confirming it was true.

“I thought you were sick somewhere and secretly going to the hospital, hiding it from us.”

“No way.”

Henry quickly interjected at Josh’s words.

“That’s what I’m saying, that bastard always makes such crappy guesses.”

Mark chuckled behind Henry, who didn’t miss the opportunity to diss Isaac.

“Do you know what Henry said? He said you were addicted to gambling.”

Even hearing that, Henry was unashamed.

“Gambling isn’t as idiotic a guess as going to the hospital, Mark.”

Josh turned his gaze from Henry, who was confirming to Isaac, “You’re the idiot,” and looked at Seth.

“So you bet I was dating someone?”

“Yes.”

Seth grinned. It was a confident smile, as if he knew he would guess correctly. Josh smiled back at him and warned him in a gentle voice.

“You really might get kidnapped and confined someday without a trace, Seth.”

“Me? Why?”

The reason was that he was too quick-witted, but this time even Seth didn’t know the reason. Josh didn’t bother to answer and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I’m glad everyone seems to understand. I thought it would be unavoidable if I got fired in case of anything.”

“No, absolutely not! You don’t have to worry about that, Josh.”

Mark quickly waved his hand, denying it. He added with a softer smile than ever before.

“You can stay as long as you want, Josh. Our company is always open to you.”

“Thank you, Mark.”

The two shook hands, full of trust. Isaac, who had been watching them, inadvertently spoke.

“But Josh, who is the other person?”

Josh paused for a moment, and Mark, as if remembering belatedly, continued.

“Right, where are you holding the wedding? Should we prepare tuxedos too?”

Mark asked in a heightened voice, already excited at the thought of being a groomsman. Caught off guard by the question, Josh belatedly realized he needed groomsmen.

“Yes, I’ll look into what to prepare later and let you know. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to ask you to be groomsmen.”

Josh looked around at his colleagues as if to say it was for everyone. Seth nodded as a matter of course, and Isaac also whispered a small “Yeah.” Henry’s answer was already evident from his sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks, even without him saying a word.

“Who’s catching the bouquet?”

At Henry’s next question, Josh inadvertently frowned.

“Bouquet?”

“Will we need a bouquet? The other person is a papa too, right?”

“Ah.”

Henry immediately looked dejected. Josh thought he was surprisingly a romantic. Henry, a surprisingly delicate-featured handsome man, might look good with flowers. Just as he thought that, Mark spoke.

“You’ll have a lot to prepare for the wedding, so if you have any questions, just ask. I’m experienced, you know. Should I call Janet? I was just thinking of bringing the whole family here for a vacation.”

With the initial promised amount and additional income from contract extensions, they had earned far more than they could have imagined. There was even talk of seriously just living off it for about a year. Mark decided to take a long vacation with his family, Isaac decided to go to Canada, and Seth said he would think about what to do next. Of course, these conversations happened when Henry wasn’t around. Henry, who didn’t know that all the compensation had already been paid, was furious when he heard Mark’s words.

“Why do they give us money in such small increments? That rich bastard.”

Even though Henry complained, Mark pretended not to know. This was the only way to prevent him from losing all his assets in an instant through gambling. And the other members also agreed. Thanks to this, Henry was the only one among them without vacation plans. Nevertheless, he always squandered any money he received on gambling or drinking, so he didn’t suspect anything about the other members’ vacation plans. He vaguely thought that since the other members were all diligent, unlike him, they naturally had savings.

Why does he gamble when he’s so easily fooled?

Josh looked at Henry with a mix of pity and doubt. Everyone felt the same way. Mark casually changed the subject.

“Then I’ll go find lodging for the family. Let me know when the schedule is set, Josh. Isaac, should you postpone going home?”

“It’s not urgent, so it’s fine.”

Isaac replied in his usual calm tone. “Alright,” Mark said, turning his head and adding jokingly.

“But who is the other person? It’s not someone we know, is it?”

“It’s someone everyone knows.”

At Josh’s answer, the atmosphere, which had barely settled, flared up once again.

“What, someone we know?”

“An Alpha? So, a staff member?”

“No, he said he met him when he came to California last time. It wouldn’t be a movie staff member.”

Following a surprised Isaac, Henry spoke, and finally, Seth calmly shook his head. Everyone simultaneously recalled when Josh had last been in California. He might not have come for work. In that case, the possibilities were endless.

“How old is Pete again?”

Guessing based on the child’s age was a fairly credible method. It was Mark who said that, and Josh thought that since he had three children, his mind was naturally geared towards that. As he watched them making various guesses, Josh was about to tell them the answer when…

“Wait!”

Henry, who had sensed his presence like a ghost, cut him off by a hair’s breadth.

“Don’t say it, wait.”

While Josh paused, Henry began pulling banknotes from his pocket.

“Alright, bet. Everyone bet.”

Unlike last time, everyone, filled with curiosity, pulled out money. Seth was about to contribute when Henry suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“Not you, Seth. You bet last time.”

“What?”

To a bewildered Seth, Henry grinned slyly and said,

“Everyone knows who Seth bet on, right?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

Mark nodded, and Isaac also agreed. Seth, who had bet on the least likely person, thinking of his colleagues, was dumbfounded.

“Fine, but don’t forget, if I get it right, the pot doubles.”

Mark, Isaac, and Henry all let out a cheerful laugh at Seth’s gritted-teeth warning.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Of course, if you get it right.”

“Alright, alright, enough. So, who is it? Who?”

Henry, as if there was nothing more to hear, gathered their opinions. After much deliberation, Mark made a vague guess, ‘an Alpha he met during his vacation,’ and Isaac spoke seriously.

“Among the staff who frequented C’s mansion at the time, there was an Alpha. I think he was a coordinator. Most of C’s staff quit, and only a few continued to work, but that man was still there. I’ll bet on him.”

Isaac, who surprisingly had a good eye and memory for people, gave quite detailed reasons for his reasoning. In contrast, Henry, who had no intuition to save his life, seemed to be thinking hard, then said something absurd.

“He said ‘papa’ to trick us. Josh’s partner is a woman!”

The others laughed in disbelief, but Isaac was the only one who found it intriguing. He widened his eyes and said, “Oh, really?” then seriously stroked his chin.

“Well, Josh is always with women.”

Seeing him, everyone except Henry had the same thought.

He’s so easily swayed, that’s why Henry always rips him off.

“Alright, alright, shall we hear the result now? Speak, Josh. Hurry. We’re ready.”

Henry, full of excitement, urged Josh. Seeing his faintly flushed cheeks, it was clear he was genuinely enjoying the situation. Josh thought that if they were enjoying it, that was good enough, even if the moment wouldn’t last long. Josh opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“Pete’s papa is C.”

“…”

A silence longer and heavier than any other that day fell. Everyone stared at Josh, unmoving, like a frozen screen. They only reacted when they could no longer hold their breath, after Henry gasped out a choked breath.

“Wait, what did I just hear?”

He turned around and asked. But the others’ reactions weren’t much different.

“I don’t know, my ears haven’t been good lately.”

Mark also nodded at Isaac’s words.

“There were a lot of explosion scenes on set, you know. If the tinnitus continues, you’ll get hearing loss, so everyone should rest and go to the hospital once.”

Even Seth agreed with him and continued.

“Ah, so that’s why. My hearing hasn’t been good lately either, I should go to the hospital.”

“What hospital is nearby?”

Soon, they shifted the topic to hospitals, chattering about this and that. To outsiders, it might have seemed like an ordinary conversation, but Josh, who had been living and working with them for several years, knew. His colleagues were all in denial.

“I understand why everyone’s acting like this, but you didn’t mishear.”

Josh coldly shattered their illusion. To his colleagues, who turned back to him with pale, hardened faces, Josh reminded them of the harsh reality.

“Pete’s papa is indeed C.”

“…”

“Chase Miller.”

“…”

At his last words, his colleagues had nowhere left to run. Seeing them pale and unable to hide their horrified expressions, Josh averted his gaze in embarrassment.

“Isaac.”

Seth, without looking back and still keeping his eyes on Josh, pulled out the money he had just won and held it out to Isaac.

“I think you won the bet. Josh is very sick.”

Isaac’s gaze shifted from the money in Seth’s hand back to Josh. His face still clearly showed disbelief.

“That’s how it is.”

At Josh’s awkward scratching of his head, Henry, who had been speechless until then, suddenly yelled.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s how it is’!”

With that, he suddenly tore open his packed bag, pulled out a USB, and thrust it forward.

“Look at this, don’t you remember? Don’t you remember how you beat up Chase Miller like a dog? I watched this countless times! I even uploaded it to the cloud and bought three more USBs to save it, just in case I lost it! To savor this satisfying sight for the rest of my life!”

“Wait, what are you talking about? What is that?”

Mark suddenly interrupted with a grim face. Henry belatedly realized his mistake, but it was too late. Mark glared at Henry with terrifying eyes and pressed him.

“Watching the screen is fine, but copying it and keeping it for personal use, and even saving it to the cloud? I thought I’d let it slide, considering what happened last time and that you’d dispose of it when you got tired of it, but does this make sense? My employee stealing client information!”

For Mark, who always prided himself on security as the highest virtue, this was an unthinkable act. Henry, who knew this well, also had no room for excuses.

“No, Mark, it’s not that.”

“What do you mean, ‘it’s not that’! Henry, how could you do such a thing, huh? You’re going too far to mess with me!”

Mark was uncharacteristically furious. In the end, Henry apologized to him several times and, in front of Mark, deleted the data he had saved to the cloud and returned all the extra copied USBs.

“I heard there were four USBs?”

“Huh?”

To a flustered Henry, Mark sternly repeated what he had heard.

“You said you bought three more to save it, right? That means there’s one original left. Hand them all over, before I really get angry.”

As he urged him repeatedly, Henry finally handed over all the remaining hidden USBs. Henry, who had been excited by Josh’s wedding news but was suddenly robbed of his treasure and severely reprimanded, couldn’t help but feel terrible.

Everyone felt sympathy for him as he slumped onto the sofa, his face a complete mess. While it was true that he was frivolous and obsessed with gambling, Mark also knew that he wasn’t the type to steal data or betray a client. If he were, Mark wouldn’t have continued working with him for several years, knowing about his loose private life.

But rules were rules. Even the smallest transgression had to be punished decisively. The members silently watched as Mark, who had personally smashed all the USBs, stomped on them one more time to break them further.

“Don’t ever do this again in the future.”

Mark, who had warned him once more, swept the broken USB fragments into a sealed plastic bag. He intended to burn them outside later.

A heavy silence followed again. Everyone, for their own reasons, couldn’t help but feel disgusted and remained silent. In the midst of it all, Isaac suddenly remembered something.

“Wait, I heard C visited your house last time. Our team was on standby, and only the regular security team went with him, so we just thought he went because you were excluded from security.”

“We were idiots to think he went to comfort him.”

Seth immediately retorted. Indeed, there was no way that Chase Miller would show such consideration to his employee. Josh answered honestly.

“That day, he met and greeted my mother and sister.”

“Huh.”

Mark let out a dumbfounded sigh. Silence fell again. Everyone’s minds seemed to have gone completely blank now.

“Ahem.”

Josh, who had been observing the atmosphere for a moment, cleared his throat. He smiled awkwardly at the members who glanced at him.

“Well, I’ll go for now, I’ll pack my bags later so leave them…”

He was saying something else, but no one heard it. Soon, Josh shook hands with everyone in turn and left the lodging. His last words were, “I’ll contact you.”

Click.

Once the door to the lodging closed, the remaining members finally came to their senses a little. It was Henry who stood up with a sigh. He slowly pulled money from his pocket and held it out to Seth.

“…? What?”

When asked in confusion, Henry replied with a gloomy face.

“You won.”

In his words, Seth realized he had won. Isaac also pulled money from his pocket and gave it to Seth, and Mark followed suit. An unexpected pile of money accumulated in Seth’s hand, but it was the first time money had ever felt so dirty.

“Mark, Henry, Isaac.”

He called the members in a low voice.

“Let’s go for a drink, it’s on me.”

They all left the lodging without hesitation. It was still early, but they ignored it. They felt they couldn’t overcome this shock unless they got completely drunk.

“Mark, do we really have to be groomsmen?”

Seth asked before starting the car. Mark’s face instantly drained of color as the memory resurfaced. Then Henry began to shout.

“Why do you keep blabbing about things no one asked about and cause trouble, why! Josh didn’t seem to even think about groomsmen, but how can we be groomsmen when we know who the other person is? Do I have to see that crazy bastard even after the contract ends, huh? Huh? Huh?”

Mark had no words to calm him down as he screamed at the top of his lungs, flailing wildly. He mumbled, “I didn’t know either,” but that only fueled Henry’s anger. Despite his continuous nagging, no one tried to stop him. Before, they had sympathized with Henry, agreeing with Mark’s stance, but now they felt no sympathy for Mark at all.

Isaac, sitting next to Seth, who was calmly driving straight ahead, stubbornly stared out the window without saying a word. Meanwhile, Henry continued to yell.

Henry badgered Mark, who was now in the opposite position and only bowing his head, all the way to the bar.