Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 127

With that final piece of advice, Mother parted ways with her. Mother’s face looked much lighter when she returned home. Emma felt the same way.

“See? I knew it, Josh couldn’t possibly be sick.”

Seeing her daughter grumble more curtly than usual, Mother simply smiled. Later in the afternoon, Mother called the school to inform them of Josh’s situation and request understanding for his long absence. After agreeing to submit a diagnosis later, she hung up the phone.

Phew.

Feeling as if days of fatigue were disappearing beneath her feet, Mother leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. Now all that was left was to wait for Josh to wake up. The faint scent that had kept her anxious until now, for the first time, reassured her. She only wished for one thing: that Josh would safely complete his presentation and return to being her son.

“…Thirsty.”

Josh vaguely recalled this from beyond his hazy consciousness. His mouth was dry, and he wanted something to drink, but strangely, it wasn’t agonizing.

Opening his eyes was next. He slowly lifted his eyelids, blinked a few times, and then his mind finally returned to him to some extent.

His body, which had been so heavy before he fell asleep, was miraculously light. Feeling as if he could fly, he slowly got up.

“…Huh?”

The absurd lightness he felt was not an illusion. He felt as if his body was floating, like an astronaut drifting in space.

Am I still dreaming?

The moment he slowly moved and got out of bed, his knees suddenly buckled, and he tumbled to the floor. A crash echoed in his ears, but that was all. Josh didn’t even feel any pain.

What on earth…?

He blinked blankly, bewildered, when suddenly, footsteps reverberated from the floor. Through his hazy consciousness, where he couldn’t even properly perceive the passage of time, he barely realized that they were getting closer. Soon, the door opened, and his mother’s inverted figure appeared in his upside-down vision.

“Oh my goodness, Josh! You’re awake!”

More delighted that he had regained consciousness than that her child was rolling on the floor, she ran over, touched, and hugged Josh. Emma followed into the room, and his sister also gasped like a scream, then rushed to Josh as well. Caught between the two women, Josh could only wonder, bewildered, what this situation was.

After some time, Mother, finally calmed down, was the first to release her arms and look at Josh’s face.

“Are you okay, Josh? Does your body hurt, or are you uncomfortable?”

Josh was silent for a moment at her worried question, then he opened his mouth.

“Not really, other than being hungry…”

Hearing his voice trail off weakly, Mother sprang up faster than she had ever done before.

“Mom, I’ll help too!”

Josh blinked in confusion at Emma, who shouted urgently and ran after her.

“Wait, Emma…”

He wanted to say “thirsty,” but only Josh was left. Resigned, he staggered up and headed for the bathroom. After filling his mouth with water from the sink, he finally saw his reflection in the mirror.

“…Huh?”

A man with a furrowed brow stared back at him. It was a familiar face, yet somehow unfamiliar. “What is it?” Josh tilted his head, then suddenly realized.

I need a shave.

He habitually applied shaving cream to his chin, then paused mid-shave.

Somehow, I feel like I’ve shrunk.

His cheeks were hollow, and he had lost some muscle mass. Josh stared at himself in the mirror, suddenly feeling suspicious. He felt like he had slept for a day or a bit more, but he might have slept longer than that. His mother’s and Emma’s reactions, and his own emaciated appearance compared to before he fell asleep, seemed to prove it.

“Josh.”

He was seriously trying to recall his thoughts when the bathroom door suddenly burst open, and Emma poked her head in. Josh, who had almost shaved his face with the razor, swore under his breath.

“Damn it! What if I was naked, you idiot!”

Emma apologized with a completely unrepentant face.

“Sorry. It might be dangerous when you go down the stairs, so I’ll help you. Hurry up and clean yourself, then come out.”

Josh swore once more, then tried to focus on shaving again, but paused.

“What’s dangerous?”

This was the house he had lived in since he was born. Would the stairs suddenly be dangerous now? To a bewildered Josh, Emma paused before answering.

“Because you’ve been asleep for nearly ten days… I’ll tell you the details downstairs, so just eat first.”

With that, she closed the bathroom door, leaving Josh blinking in bewilderment.

Despite having slept almost continuously for several days without waking, as if he had fainted, Josh showed no signs of discomfort, thanks to his natural stamina. He did feel a bit dizzy when going down the stairs, as Emma had warned, but with help, he managed to reach the dining table.

“Come on, eat up.”

In a short time, Mother had cooked an enormous amount of food, as if she had emptied the refrigerator. The table was practically overflowing with thick pancakes piled high like a tower, grilled steak, a bowl full of boiled eggs, thick sandwiches filled to the brim, potato salad, bacon, and even whole roasted corn.

Until then, he had only felt hungry, but the moment he saw and smelled the food in front of him, his appetite suddenly surged fiercely, making his head spin. Josh immediately sat down and began to devour the food. Josh had always been a big eater, but this was the first time he had eaten so much so quickly. Emma and Mother looked at each other in surprise. Josh was so focused on the food in front of him that he didn’t even notice.

He ate so frantically that it was only after he had finished nearly half of his meal that he reached for the maple syrup next to the pancakes. Once he was somewhat full, his eyes finally seemed to open. When he came to his senses, all that enormous amount of food had vanished in an instant.

“Phew.”

Josh sighed contentedly, then finally returned to his usual pace, slowly chewing his food. He seemed intent on finishing all the remaining food. Seeing him, Emma suddenly felt wronged. He eats so much and doesn’t gain any weight, it’s unfair.

Leaving Emma, who was pouting with dissatisfaction, Mother continued to smile as she watched Josh.

“Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’m full. Thank you.”

With his greeting, Josh speared several slices of bacon at once with his fork and brought them to his mouth. Chewing the bacon, he scooped mashed potatoes onto his plate, spread mayonnaise on bread, topped it with potatoes, and put it in his mouth, all while Emma and Mother watched in silence.

Finally, Mother spoke after her son had eaten all the food on the table and she had brought out a chocolate cake large enough for four or five people and coffee for dessert. Even then, she only opened her mouth after Josh had eaten nearly half of the gigantic cake by himself.

“Hmm, Josh. How are you feeling? Nothing strange?”

“I’m good. And I’m full now.”

Josh answered readily. After finishing the meal Mother had prepared, he seemed to have completely returned to his old self. He grinned defiantly, but Mother only gave an ambiguous smile. She hesitated, as if something was very difficult. Josh resolved not to be surprised or flustered by anything his mother said. Depending on the situation, he might even have to comfort her.

Did we go bankrupt?

If they had to put the house up for sale, Mother would definitely be shocked. First, he’d have to look for a house with cheap rent, and oh, right, the coach had talked about a pro team before, should he look into that?

Becoming a football player was just one of his many options, but he thought becoming a pro wouldn’t be bad. More than anything, his life would be stable. As he vaguely considered this, Mother spoke with difficulty.

“Well, you were asleep for a long time, weren’t you? So I was thinking of taking you to the hospital for a check-up…”

Josh also felt a slight unease about having slept for such a long time. But their family wasn’t well-off, and he couldn’t just spend an unknown amount of money on something he didn’t even know if there was a problem with.

“Oh, that’s okay, Mom. I guess I was just really tired.”

In his words, Emma suddenly recalled the memory of Josh before he fell asleep. Clenching her fist under the table, she hesitated for a moment. Should she hit Josh with all her might right now, or should she let bygones be bygones? Unaware of Emma’s internal struggle, Mother spoke.

“No, it’s not that… There’s a reason you slept like that. Because of that, you need to get checked, and…”

“A reason?”

Josh paused at the unexpected words. Perhaps he had already been checked while he was asleep. Surely it’s not an incurable disease or something. He tried to hide his growing anxiety and waited for his mother’s next words. She slowly opened her mouth.

“I think you’ve presented, Josh.”

“Who has?”

“…You have.”

“…”

Josh needed time to process those words. After a few seconds of silence, he frowned and asked.

“Presented? Me?”

“Yes.”

“As an Alpha?”

At that, Mother hesitated for a moment. When he felt a bad premonition, she carefully shook her head, “No.”

“I think you’re an Omega, Josh.”

“…”

This time, he needed even more time. Josh, who had replayed his mother’s words for twice as long, asked again.

“I’m, what?”

“An Omega.”

Emma, who had been watching, suddenly interjected. Mother, flustered, tried to stop her, but Emma didn’t listen and blurted out quickly.

“An Omega, not an Alpha, an Omega! Josh has presented as an Omega, do you understand? An Omega, an Omega!”

Josh felt as if he had heard the word ‘Omega’ almost ten times. He stared at Emma with wide, blank eyes, then slowly turned his gaze to his mother, as if asking what this meant. Mother avoided his gaze and muttered softly.

“Emma’s right, Josh.”

“…”

To Josh, who was again lost for words, as if struck dumb, Mother continued with difficulty.

“Your maternal grandmother was an Omega, so maybe it’s a throwback gene… I don’t know the details, so we should go to the hospital for a check-up and various tests…”

She kept saying something. But Josh heard nothing. There was only one thing filling his mind.

Omega.

Me, presenting as an Omega.

He seemed shocked and couldn’t speak. Seeing Josh’s dazed expression, Emma felt a little pang of conscience. He was going to find out anyway, she thought, but couldn’t help the uncomfortable feeling.

Mother and Emma sat side by side across the table, waiting for Josh’s reaction. But he was silent for a long time, then simply staggered up and left the table. Soon, footsteps were heard going up the stairs, and Josh went into his room. And he didn’t come out until morning.

Late the next afternoon, Josh headed to the hospital his mother had booked. Fortunately, there was an open slot, so he could get examined right away without delay.

On the way, Josh kept hoping that his mother and Emma were wrong. However, after hearing their story the day before and spending several hours scouring the internet and synthesizing the basic education he had received in school, his conclusion was that they were right.