Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 18

An ominous aura filled the mansion. According to Seth, Chase had thrown a chair as soon as he heard Grayson had arrived. Fortunately, he hadn’t thrown it at Seth.

As he escorted Grayson to the drawing-room, Josh was secretly curious about Chase’s reaction, and if what Seth said was true, Chase would be in the worst mood, so he wondered if he should just run away, his mind was complicated.

Knock, knock.

After a light knock, he opened the drawing-room door. A sweet scent immediately enveloped Josh. For a moment, his mind went blank, but fortunately, he quickly regained his composure. He bit down on the candy he was melting in his mouth with a crunch, and his mind became even clearer.

Chase was sitting on the sofa, waiting for Grayson. His light pink shirt had a few buttons undone, and he was wearing white cotton pants underneath. He almost let out a sigh of admiration without realizing it, but he held it back again. Like Grayson earlier, he was wearing sunglasses. The only difference was that earlier it was outdoors, and here it was indoors.

“Chase, it’s been so long! My dear brother.”

Grayson spread his arms wide and tried to hug Chase. Of course, Chase didn’t allow it.

“You damn bastard, where do you think you’re putting your head?”

Chase immediately raised his foot and kicked Grayson in the stomach as he lunged forward. He must have kicked hard, but Grayson only stumbled back, muttering, “Oops.”

Josh’s eyes widened. From his own experience, Chase was no ordinary strong man, yet that was all the reaction he got. Was that man so tough, or had Chase gotten weaker?

But Grayson’s amazingness didn’t end there. As he stumbled back, he suddenly reached out and snatched Chase’s sunglasses. There was no time to stop him. Chase, too, was caught off guard, unable to dodge his hand.

In the bright sunlight, Chase’s face was fully revealed. Immediately after, Grayson cupped Chase’s cheeks with both hands and screamed loudly like a diva singing an aria.

“Oh, my God! What has happened to my brother, who has nothing but his face!”

For a moment, Josh froze. Chase also stiffened. In the chilling silence, only Grayson cried out miserably like the protagonist of a tragedy.

“I told you this day would come! Oh, it’s over. My brother is finished.”

“Damn it, who said it’s over, you bastard!”

Chase yelled and threw a punch. But unfortunately, this time it missed. Grayson, who narrowly dodged it, shook his head.

“I’ve told you repeatedly not to just rush in, but to look at your opponent carefully. You really have nothing but your face. How do you even memorize scripts when you’re so stupid?”

“I’ll kill you…!”

Chase got up from the sofa and threw another punch. Should I stop them? Josh hesitated for a moment. He tensed his body, thinking he would intervene if Chase was pushed back, but Grayson, who again dodged the punch by a hair’s breadth, whispered to Chase.

“I told you to live quietly, Chase. Or do you want to be dragged back home again?”

It was a voice as sweet as pheromones. The low, deep tone sounded soft, as if caressing his ear.

But upon hearing those words, Chase’s face hardened more coldly than ever. Josh had never seen such an expression on anyone. A corpse would have more color. He looked at Grayson with a face as pale as if he had seen a ghost.

To Chase, who seemed unable to even breathe, Grayson smiled broadly, just as he had when Josh first saw him.

“Yes. You’re not an idiot, my brother.”

If one didn’t know, they would have thought he was an infinitely kind older brother. But for Josh, at that moment, he had never felt that man to be so terrifying. He had frozen Chase like that and was smiling so nonchalantly himself.

That man could easily kill anyone. There was no need to even lift a hand.

Just a few words would be enough.

A shiver ran down Josh’s spine. It hadn’t even been an hour, but he felt as if he had seen the man’s true face hidden beneath his mask. Grayson suddenly turned his head to Josh, who was standing still. Josh flinched when their eyes suddenly met. Grayson, with the same smiling face as before, said,

“Could you leave us alone for a moment? We have family matters to discuss.”

And he glanced down at Chase.

“Now Chase should be ready to listen.”

Grayson lightly placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder. And then something astonishing happened. Chase silently sat down on the sofa.

Josh blinked in confusion. Such a docile attitude, like a pet dog that had undergone severe training. And that was the most unfitting description for Chase Miller that Josh had ever seen.

Silence fell again. Grayson sat opposite Chase and looked back at Josh. As if asking what he was doing.

Josh stood there for a moment, looking down at Chase. For some reason, he felt he shouldn’t just leave him there. Can I really leave?

He didn’t know why, but at that exact moment, he saw Pete in Chase’s face.

Once, Josh had lost Pete in the park. It had only been less than 10 minutes, but he felt as if he had gone crazy with a terrifying fear, like falling into hell. He frantically called Pete’s name, retraced his steps, and fortunately found Pete standing there. When he hugged him again, an indescribable sense of relief almost brought tears to his eyes.

It went without saying that if he were to hug and comfort Chase like Pete right now, his teeth would surely fly out. Josh had no desire to get implants at such a young age. Moreover, when the person himself wasn’t saying anything, there was no reason for Josh to remain there, was there?

“…Call me if you need anything, I’ll be waiting in the hallway.”

That was all he could say. He waited for a moment, but Chase remained expressionless and unresponsive. Josh reluctantly turned and left the drawing-room. The last sight of the two of them was still awkward. Josh closed the door with a feeling of unease.

The interior was silent. No one tried to speak first. Grayson, who had been smiling playfully just moments ago, still maintained his smile, merely gazing intently at his brother. Of course, Chase wasn’t smiling at all.

“What happened to your face? You didn’t get hit by a bodyguard for losing your temper, did you?”

Grayson asked, chuckling as if he found it hilarious. Chase gnashed his teeth, barely suppressing the urge to kick him.

“What’s your business here?”

“So it’s true. I’m really disappointed, Chase. You can’t even fight. That’s why I told you repeatedly to get proper training, and to take some steroids or protein supplements.”

The man, who clearly had a solid, muscular body, scanned Chase’s leaner physique and sighed.

“It’s a miracle nothing’s broken.”

“Grayson…”

Chase’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tightly. Grayson, well aware of how sharp his brother’s punches were, stopped teasing him and changed the subject.

“It’s about time, isn’t it? There’s a party, let’s go.”

“I’m not going.”

“Oh, really?”

At the firm refusal, Grayson narrowed his eyes.

“Did I mention? Alex Jr. had a baby last month.”

Chase’s face instantly hardened. Grayson continued, still smiling.

“More accurately, he saw the baby. The female was completely smitten with Alex, and that guy’s quite something, just like Alex Sr.… Ah, you hated dogs, didn’t you? Did you like birds? Birds are useless compared to dogs, your taste is really unique.”

Chase said nothing. He just stared at him, trembling slightly, his face deathly pale. Without even blinking. Grayson added nonchalantly.

“Did you find that guy from back then? Of course, you couldn’t have.”

“…”

“Chase.”

Grayson’s voice became even sweeter and lower.

“If you don’t want to do that again, you’ll have to get rid of your pheromones.”

The pounding of his heart roared in Chase’s ears. Grayson whispered, watching his brother bite his lip, desperately suppressing his gasping breaths.

“So, do you want to go to the party?”

Click.

Josh instinctively raised his head at the sound of the door opening. It was Grayson who came out.

“Oh, you really were waiting.”

He said, sounding surprised. Behind Grayson, Chase’s figure appeared. Josh quickly scanned his entire body, but there seemed to be nothing wrong. Except for his unusually pale complexion that hadn’t regained its color. Noticing Josh’s gaze, Grayson spoke.

“Chase will be leaving with me. No bodyguard needed, right?”

At the unexpected words, Josh looked at Chase’s face again. But he turned away, ignoring Josh. Josh hastily called out to him.

“Mr. Miller!”

Chase paused, then turned around. Seeing his annoyed, frowning face, Josh spoke with difficulty.

“Still, shouldn’t you have a bodyguard? Should I prepare the car?”

“…No.”

“Mr. Miller.”

“I said no! Just leave me alone, stop meddling!”

Chase yelled violently. Josh could no longer persuade him. Chase swore, turned, and quickly walked away, soon disappearing from sight.

Grayson, who was looking in the direction Chase had gone, just like Josh, let out a short whistle. When Josh glanced up at him, Grayson smiled faintly and said nonchalantly,

“He’s just going to change clothes and come down. You guys are more comfortable when he’s not around, right?”

Josh didn’t answer. He smiled, as if he knew everything.

“No matter how much I teach him, he just can’t fix his quick temper. I’m sorry.”

He clearly said he was sorry, but Josh felt no sincerity in it at all. It felt like a mere platitude, like the smiling face that seemed like a mask, as if he had just added it because it was the right time to say it.

Having nothing to say, he just silently watched him, when Grayson suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Oh.

Before he could even react, Grayson grabbed Josh by the nape of his neck and pulled him closer. Josh, taken by surprise, let him bury his nose in his neck and inhale deeply. After sniffing around a couple more times, Grayson finally raised his head.

“You, what are you?”

In a low voice, Josh couldn’t find an answer for a moment. He realized the meaning of the question a few seconds later.

“…I’m a Beta.”

He gave the standard answer. Grayson said, “Really?” and tilted his head. His pheromone scent was originally weak, and he was taking medication, so he wouldn’t be able to tell at all.