Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 15

As Josh shouted without realizing it, Chase exhaled a short puff of cigarette smoke and then threw the cigarette out the open helicopter door. People screamed, trying to grab the flying cigarette butt. Chase spoke.

“Goodbye.”

“Mr. Miller!”

Everyone was horrified to see him immediately try to get off the helicopter. The fans screamed as if they were dying, and inside the helicopter, people rushed to stop him.

“Go, Josh! Now!”

Finally, Mark yelled, and Josh frantically steered the helicopter. Behind him, there was a frantic commotion of closing the door and trying to calm Chase down. When the commotion finally subsided to some extent, everyone was battered.

“Haa…”

Seth’s uncharacteristic sigh was heard. The rest felt the same way. But no one dared to show it.

Could there be another personality like that in the world?

Sitting in the cockpit, looking at the setting sun in the distance, Josh fell into deep contemplation.

“I quit.”

Several hours later, after it had become completely dark, Henry, who had driven back in the car left behind, was the first to speak. Everyone had somewhat expected it, so no one was particularly surprised. The secretary, who had been waiting for him even after closing hours, immediately offered new terms, as if she had known this would happen.

“I’m truly sorry about today, Henry. I can’t say this won’t happen again, but we will compensate you for your hard work. We’ll draw up an additional contract…”

“I’m not doing it.”

Henry gnashed his teeth and spat out.

“Am I a beggar? Is money everything? Thinking about how much I suffered today because of that damn bastard, even if you gave me all of America, it wouldn’t be enough. What? Compensate me? How much are you going to give me, you damn crazy bastards…”

“Henry, calm down.”

Isaac, unable to watch Henry’s emotions escalate and his curses erupt, stepped forward to stop him. After all, the secretary was innocently filling in for Chase.

Even so, his anger was undeniably relatable to anyone. His neat face was scratched here and there, his body was covered in large and small bruises, and his hair was disheveled, looking as if it had been torn out everywhere. Furthermore, his tie and jacket were gone, and his shirt was badly torn, barely hanging on his body. Even his shoes, which he was lucky not to have lost, were stepped on and crumpled here and there, clearly destined to be miserably discarded soon.

He was, in a word, a wreck.

A homeless person on a beach after a hurricane would look less miserable than that. Everyone who saw him couldn’t hide their sympathy for Henry. The secretary looked at Mark with a troubled expression, but Mark had no clever solution either.

Of all people, it had to be Henry who was left behind.

Because he was the most bad-tempered among the members, no one dared to provoke him. Leaving aside his constant cursing, he would immediately attack like a dog if his temper was even slightly ruffled, so having worked together for years, everyone tried their best not to upset him. But of all people, Chase had stepped on a landmine.

“Calculate my wages up to today. I’m flying back to Boston tomorrow. If you don’t make it first class, I’ll sue.”

He gnashed his teeth so loudly that it sounded like tearing paper, then immediately turned and left the living room. The secretary looked at the assembled group, her face troubled.

“…This is difficult.”

Isaac was the first to speak.

“We know Mr. Miller looks down on us, but we’re doing our best. But to abandon someone for just a few seconds, it’s not like he didn’t know what might happen… And he could have been picked up at the last minute, but Mr. Miller deliberately kicked him off, didn’t he? Isn’t it natural for Henry to be so angry?”

His protest was calm but entirely valid. The secretary’s face flushed, and she avoided his gaze.

“Of course, I know, but at the time, there were circumstances that made it unavoidable… You know, if we hadn’t left immediately then, Mr. Miller really would have gotten off the helicopter.”

Protecting him was their job, so they had to prevent that at all costs. In the end, Chase had threatened them. The most bitter truth for them was that it had worked and that they had consequently had to abandon Henry.

“Honestly, I even thought we should have just ignored it, whether he got caught by the fans and pulverized or not.”

Seth, who had been quiet until then, suddenly chimed in. In truth, Henry was just unlucky; any of them could have ended up like that, and it could happen again anytime. It was just a matter of who drew the short straw at any given moment.

Laura, the secretary, stood there, her face troubled and at a loss. She had to prevent the security team, which they had barely found, from quitting. However, Laura also knew that their anger would not easily subside. Because of this, she was pitifully flustered, trying her best to appease the bodyguards.

“This doesn’t seem like something Laura can solve.”

Josh, who had been observing until then, quietly spoke. The secretary looked at him in surprise. Josh, having made up his mind, continued.

“Even if you make promises, what good is it if he just ignores them? This needs to be discussed directly with Chase Miller to reach a conclusion.”

“But…”

Isaac chimed in, seeing her visibly troubled expression.

“Josh is right. This incident cannot be overlooked with Laura’s promises or financial compensation. We knew Mr. Miller was self-centered when we started this, but isn’t there a red line?”

“Then what are you going to do? Are you going to confront Mr. Miller right now?”

She snapped. Laura must have been stressed all day and was undoubtedly feeling the strain of the situation. Josh asked expressionlessly.

“Why not?”

Laura blinked in confusion, and Mark also looked at Josh in surprise. After a moment of hesitation, Laura finally gave up and left. Only then did Mark ask Josh.

“You’re going to confront C? Really?”

“Then are we not?”

“Of course we have to, but…”

To Mark, who was clearly reluctant, Josh still spoke expressionlessly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him.”

“You?”

“Are you serious?”

Isaac and Seth also asked in surprise. Mark, who had naturally thought it was his job, blinked in confusion at the unexpected words.

“Why you?”

To Mark’s question, Josh replied indifferently.

“Because I was the one who flew the helicopter and left Henry behind.”

“You couldn’t help it.”

“Even so, there’s still a lingering unpleasantness, isn’t there? And I really hate having to feel this awful because of a choice I had to make against my will.”

At Josh’s uncharacteristically harsh words, everyone fell silent. A moment later, Laura returned, her face uneasy, and urged that only one person go. Mark, relieved yet apologetic, annoyed yet a mix of other complex emotions, sent Josh off.

“Just in case, I’ll be watching on CCTV.”

Isaac said from behind him, as if recalling the time Chase had almost drowned him. Josh chuckled briefly and left the living room, heading towards Chase’s room.

He had just finished showering, and his hair was still wet. The faint sweet scent that always accompanied him mixed with the smell of soap, causing a strange dizziness. Josh deliberately bit down hard on the candy in his mouth, breaking it into pieces, to avoid being intoxicated by his scent.

“What do you want to talk about?”

Chase asked, as if annoyed. Perhaps because he had just showered, a faint blush colored his cheeks.

Damn it, if I hadn’t seen that face, my combat power would have increased by 100,000.

Josh swallowed the rough curse that naturally welled up and tried his best to avoid Chase’s face, fixing his gaze downwards. Then, his eyes were drawn to the long neck and elegant collarbones visible through his shirt, which had a couple of buttons undone. His gaze unintentionally fell, and he caught a glimpse of lean muscles and nipples that were still flushed. It was more provocative than if he had been naked.

In the end, Josh reluctantly turned his gaze back to Chase’s face. He lamented at that moment that he wished he were blind.

“I would like you to apologize for what happened today. And also to prepare countermeasures for the future.”

At Chase’s only reaction, a slight raise of an eyebrow, Josh continued.

“About leaving our member behind. He sustained many injuries because of it. There’s no guarantee that something like this won’t happen again, so in preparation for such situations, we also need to secure our safety…”

“Why is that a problem?”

Chase looked at him with an expression of genuine incomprehension. It was the perfectly natural reaction of someone who had lived a life where sacrificing others for his own sake was a given. Josh tried to be patient and replied.

“If you continue to expend us like that, we can no longer take on this job.”

“Isn’t that your job?”

“Protecting you is our job, but being swayed by your whims or being assaulted is not our profession.”

His tone naturally sharpened. Chase indifferently ran a hand through his hair and looked down at Josh.

“But isn’t it part of your contract to even sacrifice your lives for me?”

“I don’t believe Mr. Miller’s life was in danger today.”

“It’s a matter of perspective, isn’t it? I was truly scared.”

Don’t make me laugh, you bastard.

Josh, unable to control his surging emotions, ended up hitting the wall hard. Thud, a chillingly dull sound echoed. Feeling an illusion of a faint echo, Josh glared at Chase. But this was the limit of what he could do. He tried to control his rising anger and proceed with the conversation as calmly as possible. After all, they had almost died.

He was inwardly suppressing his anger when, unexpectedly, Chase chuckled. Josh, who was about to continue speaking, paused.

“Why are you hitting the wall? Isn’t it me you want to hit?”

“I can’t hit a client.”

To Josh, who was grinding his teeth, Chase showed an unbelievably innocent expression.

“What does it matter? Do it if you want, as much as you like.”

Suddenly, Josh’s ears perked up.

“Oh, I can hit you? Really?”

Chase paused. Seeing his smile disappear, Josh asked with genuine sincerity.

“If you had said that from the beginning, I wouldn’t have bothered with words like this. How many times can I hit you? I shouldn’t hit below the waist, right? Oh, should I avoid your face too? Since you’re an actor, after all.”

Chase merely looked down at Josh, who was asking enthusiastically, saying nothing, as if dumbfounded.

“…Are you seriously going to hit me?”

Only after a long moment did he finally speak. Josh frowned.

“So, I can’t after all? Well, I guess so. It would be troublesome if you got hurt.”

When he unconsciously showed a disappointed expression, Chase’s face twisted.

“If you wanted to hit me so badly, why haven’t you until now?”

Josh gave an obvious answer.

“Because you’re the client. It would be troublesome if I got sued, wouldn’t it? Not everyone has money to spare like Mr. Miller.”

At his blunt response, Chase was silent for a moment.

“So, if I give you a chance, what will you do?”

At the quiet voice, Josh genuinely smiled brightly. Just imagining being able to punch out all his pent-up emotions made his mouth unable to close.

“Of course, I’ll hit you as much as I can. I won’t get another chance like this.”

“Ha.”

Chase let out a short exclamation of disbelief, then immediately scoffed.

“Then why don’t you try it now? If you can.”

Josh gasped, but then asked cautiously.

“Really? And you won’t claim damages from me later, will you? Like saying ‘this part is okay, but this part isn’t,’ and then ultimately nothing is okay.”

To his questions, filled with distrust, Chase snapped irritably.

“I told you to do it. Do whatever you want. You said it yourself, didn’t you? I have money to burn. Do you think I’d be interested in your petty cash?”

“Are you sure?”

To Josh’s renewed confirmation, Chase this time overtly thrust his face closer.

“Go on, hit me. Hit my face or whatever, as much as you want. Why can’t you? Don’t have the guts to do it? Just talk, you idiots like you. You can’t even touch a single hair on my head, but you just run your mouth. Look at you now, you can’t even move, can you? I knew it, it’s always like this. Idiots making ridiculous boasts…”

At that moment, Josh punched him in the stomach.

“…!”

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Chase staggered back. Josh immediately threw another punch, but this time Chase dodged it by a hair’s breadth. Chase grabbed Josh’s flailing arm and pulled him close.

“I didn’t say I’d just take it.”

Following those words, Chase punched him in the side. Josh gasped, stepping back. As he swayed, Chase punched him again, and Josh quickly rolled away to avoid it, simultaneously extending his leg to kick Chase in the stomach. This time, Chase staggered. Josh didn’t miss the opportunity and lunged at him again.

Thwack.

A different sound from before hit his ears. Josh’s eyes widened instantly. He realized he had just smacked Chase across the face, but it was already too late.

Josh wasn’t the only one surprised. Josh had never known a person’s eyes could open so wide until he saw Chase’s. Chase opened and closed his mouth in genuine disbelief, blinked, and then repeated opening and closing his mouth. Josh hastily spoke, trying to salvage the situation.

“…You said I could hit you anywhere, right?”

“You…!”

Madness flickered in Chase’s eyes. What followed was a brawl. When Josh hit Chase in the side, Chase hit Josh in the stomach. When Josh kicked him in the shin, Chase punched Josh in the jaw. A Ming dynasty plate in his room was mercilessly shattered, destroying a piece of human heritage, a Warhol piece hanging on the wall was torn, and Chase’s first Best Actor trophy was smashed to pieces.

By the time his colleagues rushed in to separate them, there was not a single intact object left in the room.