Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 16

“How could you hit a client like that?”

Mark chastised Josh, sounding exasperated. Josh watched in silence as Seth bandaged him. Isaac stepped forward.

“C wasn’t the only one getting hit, was he? If Josh got hit this much, then it was a fair exchange.”

It was true. Josh had thrown the first punch, but Chase hadn’t just taken it lying down. As proof, Josh spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva. Isaac wrinkled his face upon seeing it and muttered,

“To beat someone up like this.”

“Hey, hey, didn’t you see Josh beating C like a dog?”

Mark pointed out. Seth, who had been silent until then, murmured,

“It was quite refreshing.”

Mark, too, fell silent for a moment. Even he couldn’t deny that feeling. Isaac chimed in from beside him.

“Still, he didn’t use a spinning kick, did he? That’s letting him off easy. Imagine if Josh had decided to kick him properly, what would have happened to C by now.”

Suddenly, Josh recalled something his taekwondo instructor had said to him. Your legs are long, which is good, but they’re too terrifying.

Henry, who heard the news late, threw down his packing and rushed over, blurting out,

“Why didn’t you hit his Adam’s apple?”

“Do you want me to actually kill him?”

Josh said, sounding incredulous. Henry, uncharacteristically, shut his mouth. Thanks to that, everyone could understand his true feelings.

“I’m going to watch the CCTV. It’s all recorded, right? What time and minute should I start from?”

Henry asked, as if looking for viewing highlights. He hadn’t been this excited since last summer, when he lost a fortune gambling, only to realize belatedly that it was a scam, and spent days scouring Las Vegas, eventually finding the gamblers and beating them like dogs. Josh called out to Henry, who was turning away, changing the subject, and handed him a bag of popcorn.

“Three minutes in the microwave.”

“Oh, man, thank you so much.”

Henry, uncharacteristically touched, gripped Josh’s hand tightly. Under the starlight of trust and expectation in Henry’s eyes, Josh felt an overwhelming burden and forced a smile. Henry, excited, left, saying, “I should get a cola too.” After Henry disappeared, Isaac spoke.

“He won’t say he’s quitting for a while now, will he?”

“He should be fine for a while.”

Mark sighed, as if troubled.

“For now, everyone, take a rest today. Tomorrow, whether it’s C or Laura, I’ll talk to them calmly. By now, they must realize the problem is serious… about the contract issues, and future expenses.”

He turned his gaze to Josh and added,

“Go on.”

Only then did everyone disappear to their respective places. Fortunately, Josh was scheduled to rest that night.

“Ouch, ouch.”

After a quick shower, as he lay down, his body belatedly began to ache. Chase was no ordinary opponent either. With his strength combined with his temper, he had clearly intended to throw punches. Fortunately, he hadn’t formally learned martial arts or how to fight.

Feeling a dull fatigue and pain spreading through his body, Josh let out a low groan. It would probably hurt more starting tomorrow.

Let’s think about that tomorrow.

Josh closed his eyes and thought. Anyway, if my mind is this peaceful and relieved, isn’t that enough?

“Oh, Josh. Did you sleep well? How’s your body?”

Josh, who came out of his room around lunchtime, ran into Isaac, who was walking by. He nodded at the readily offered greeting, and Isaac immediately approached and began walking alongside him. Suddenly curious, Josh spoke.

“How was C after that?”

Isaac answered nonchalantly.

“Nothing special. He’s probably still asleep.”

“Really?”

Just as he was secretly wondering how badly he was hurt, Isaac blurted out,

“I should have hit him more.”

To Isaac, who spoke with uncharacteristic sincerity, Josh replied with equal earnestness.

“If I had, I’d be in custody by now.”

Isaac said nothing more. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate at his waist. Checking it, he saw it was Seth.

“What’s up?”

He asked as soon as he answered the phone, and the other person paused briefly before speaking.

[C wants you in his room.]

“Me? Why?”

Surely he’s not going to start another ridiculous brawl.

To Josh’s unspoken thought, Seth replied in a still reluctant tone.

[I don’t know, he just said to come no matter what.]

“Should I go with you?”

Isaac asked, watching him hang up the phone. Josh glanced at his face, full of concern, and shook his head indifferently.

“No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

He finished his words readily and walked away with long strides. Henry’s words, ‘Why didn’t you hit his Adam’s apple?’ briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed them.

Before he knew it, Josh had reached Chase’s door. But he couldn’t knock immediately. He took a short, deep breath, then raised his hand and knocked.

There was no answer from inside. He called me, so he must be waiting. Josh made up his mind and opened the door.

The room was already neatly tidied. It was obvious that the owner of the room hadn’t done it himself. The cleaning staff must have been there in the interim.

Regrettably, all the artworks and decorations that had filled the walls and empty spaces were gone. Now, the only things in the room were Chase, the bed, and a folding chair. But even so, Josh felt that was enough. After all, only Chase was visible to his eyes.

He was sitting on the bed, waiting for Josh. He was dressed in extremely ordinary clothes, just a pair of well-worn jeans and a T-shirt, as if he wore them often, yet to Josh’s eyes, he looked as if he had put on the finest clothes from his wardrobe. Of course, anyone would have thought so. Chase was perfect.

Except for the dark bruise around his eye.

Chase frowned and stared at Josh. From the moment he opened the door and appeared, Chase’s gaze had been fixed on him, unmoving. The persistent gaze was burdensome, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Josh deliberately stopped at a distance, far away. Just in case he needed to open the door and run away immediately. If he beat Chase like a dog again, he would surely be left penniless.

Chase was silent for a long time. He just glared at Josh. Josh, who had been waiting for his tightly shut lips to open, finally spoke first.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“Why didn’t you come find me?”

At the immediate retort, Josh blinked.

“Come find you where?”

“In my room.”

Chase gnashed his teeth.

“You fucking bastard, shouldn’t you have come to me as soon as morning broke? What were you doing, dawdling around, only crawling over now?”

At the unexpected words, Josh’s mouth hung open, unable to speak.

“You were waiting for me? Why?”

“Can’t you tell?”

Chase growled through clenched teeth, but Josh still couldn’t understand. He just blinked and smiled awkwardly, and Chase immediately slammed his fist onto the bed.

“You have to treat them.”

Only then did Josh’s vision take in the busted lip and the various bruises scattered across his body. However, he still couldn’t grasp the situation.

“…You want me to put medicine on you?”

He asked, half-doubting, and Chase’s face turned menacing.

“Then should I call a lawyer? Do you want to pay with money? Or with your body?”

Josh barely managed to hold back the retort, You said I could hit you. This foul-tempered, petty, yet ridiculously handsome bastard clearly wanted to make him suffer.

Josh clenched and unclenched his fists, looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and then quickly scanned Chase’s entire body with a calm expression.