Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 37

All his senses felt dulled, as if paralyzed, but his heart beat especially wildly. He wanted to turn his head, but he couldn’t. Helplessly, Duncan could only stare at him.

Somewhere, the click of a camera shutter was heard. He didn’t know if photos were being taken during the interview or if the photographer instinctively pressed the shutter without any script. But it was certain that everyone held their breath when Chase ran his cigarette-holding hand carelessly through his soft blond hair.

At that moment, Duncan thought. Even if a war broke out to possess this man, I would understand it at this very moment.

At the same time, he realized the sense of defeat he had just felt and gritted his teeth with rising anger.

Is it over by now?

Josh entered the studio without hesitation. He had just finished his rounds, checking the office and the rest of the building for any dangerous objects or people, as assigned. For him, it was a good opportunity to avoid Chase’s pheromones. He opened the door with a subtle expectation, and the interviewer was saying his goodbyes.

“…Thank you for joining us today. Do you have any final words for your fans?”

Josh walked along the wall, making as little noise as possible. He was fully prepared to move instantly if necessary.

“Well…”

Suddenly, Chase Miller’s voice reached his ears.

“I hope many people will come to see my new film.”

“Of course. If it’s a Chase Miller film, it’s a must-see. I’m personally very much looking forward to it.”

Unlike Chase’s tone, which seemed annoyed, the interviewer’s reaction was enthusiastic. Is this the end? he thought, but there was one more stage left.

“There’s a joint interview.”

The manager, who had been waiting on the side, whispered. Josh nodded, saying, “Ah.” Should I look around one more time? He subtly tried to leave, but the door had already closed. He was stuck leaning against the wall, waiting for the interview to end.

“…Then, how do each of you feel about your respective roles…”

The interviewer continued with friendly questions. Mark stood close to Chase, ready to spring into action if anything happened. Isaac and Henry were guarding the car, and Seth was in charge of the hallway. In case of an emergency, Seth would also join, but for now, it was mostly just Mark and Josh.

It was enough manpower. If only Chase didn’t cause a scene.

It’ll be over soon, just hold on a little longer. Josh thought, taking out a candy and putting it in his mouth. He slowly rolled it around, waiting for Chase’s scent to dull, when Duncan spoke.

“…Honestly, isn’t a character who lives a boring life, corrupts themselves, and then ends their life too common? It’s an intense role, but it can only be a supporting one. You might not remember since it was a long time ago, but Mr. Miller also played a similar role before, didn’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right. It was my debut work.”

As the interviewer agreed, Duncan laughed mockingly at Chase.

“It was truly amazing. Thanks to it, I learned a lot this time. Thank you.”

“Is that so? What in particular did you learn from?”

Since Chase didn’t speak, the interviewer continued the questions. But Duncan still kept his gaze fixed on Chase and spoke.

“Ah, I thought, ‘I shouldn’t act like that.’”

The air in the room instantly froze. Chase still looked at him with an emotionless, doll-like expression. Duncan continued speaking.

“To make a movie, you have to act. But Mr. Miller didn’t act; he just revealed himself as he was. I thought, ‘Is this just a hidden camera prank of Chase Miller?’”

Exactly.

As expected, Duncan mercilessly provoked Chase. He secretly gloated because this was precisely why they had conducted the interview with Duncan. The magazine also wanted to create an incident and gain attention by utilizing Chase Miller’s star power.

The interviewer subtly glanced at Chase. Now that the situation was unfolding as expected, he felt a little afraid. He anxiously waited for a reaction, but he couldn’t find any emotional fluctuation in Chase. He just silently stared at Duncan.

Is the provocation too weak?

Duncan and the interviewer had the same thought simultaneously. Duncan was annoyed, and the interviewer’s fear subsided a little. Duncan continued speaking.

“Actually, I even thought that Mr. Miller might be more suitable for my role. After all, you don’t even need to act; you can just come and breathe, right? It would be very easy for Mr. Miller, and who would say anything? He just came and showed us his daily life. Oh, there was one part in that movie where I thought, ‘This is acting.’ He didn’t take off his clothes.”

“That’s right, I heard all such scenes were deleted from the script from the beginning.”

The interviewer chimed in. Duncan nodded with a laugh.

“Unfortunately. Other rookies couldn’t even imagine revising the script, but as expected, the Miller family is amazing. Or is it possible because he’s an extreme Alpha? Or because he’s an extreme Alpha and a Miller?”

He cunningly insulted Chase. He was continuously implying that Chase’s current position was not entirely earned by his own power.

You would never have gotten this far if you weren’t an extreme Alpha of the Miller family.

Duncan was saying that with his whole body. And to add insult to injury, he added,

“Oh, of course, I’m just saying this. Surely Mr. Miller didn’t just breathe and come this far with no ability or effort, only by born luck, did he? Right?”

Haha, he laughed heartily. However, Josh, who was watching him, gradually turned pale.

Chase’s scent grew stronger. His expression hadn’t changed at all, but Josh could tell Chase was displeased. He quickly took out two candies, threw them into his mouth at once, and crunched them loudly.

I wish he’d stop now, Josh thought, but Duncan continued to provoke Chase.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Miller? Surely you’re not flustered because I’m telling the truth, are you? Oh, don’t be disheartened. Everyone knows it, what can you do? What can you do if Mr. Miller was born with incredible luck? Besides, extreme Alphas are overflowing with money and women, aren’t they? Well, if you don’t have sex, pheromones build up and cause problems, so it’s a good rationalization, isn’t it? Speaking of which, there were rumors that someone from the Miller family had sex with a dog, surely he didn’t do it with a dog because he had no partner. Well, people have various tastes, so I understand everything. It could happen, there are even dogs that prostitute themselves in Denmark, aren’t there? If you go there, it must be heaven. Of course, I’m just joking.”

And he burst into laughter again, “Wahahaha.” He seemed to be lost in his own joke, but no one laughed at that moment.

“Mr. Conrad.”

This is too much, the interviewer thought inwardly. He subtly gave a worried look, and then Chase, who had been silently staring at Duncan until then, suddenly let out a “Ha,” a sigh.

Everyone instantly held their breath and looked at him. Duncan also stopped laughing, but he didn’t look scared. Instead, his cheeks were faintly flushed with anticipation that Chase was finally responding to his provocation.

Chase slowly rose. The pheromone scent overflowing from his entire body clearly revealed his anger. The interviewer thought he might leave the studio, but he was wrong. Chase walked straight towards the chair where Duncan was sitting.

It was less than ten steps, but each quiet click of Chase’s shoes as he moved echoed eerily in everyone’s ears.

Finally, when he stopped in front of Duncan, a hint of tension appeared on Duncan’s face for the first time. No one could guess what Chase was about to do. Josh subtly glanced at Mark.

Is he going to hit him?

Mark shook his head as if he didn’t know. But it was definitely certain that they had to prepare for a sudden situation. Josh quietly approached them. His gaze was fixed solely on Chase, unable to even blink.

Chase slowly bent at the waist. Someone covered their mouth with a hand and let out a small gasp. When the tension overflowed and reached saturation, something unbelievable happened.

Chase kissed Duncan.

“…!”

No one could speak. Everyone stared at them in shock.

The same went for Duncan. Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, his entire body stiffened, unable to react. It was hard to even grasp if what was happening was real.

However, it was neither a dream nor an illusion. As proof, the sensation of the tongue that entered his inadvertently parted lips was too distinct.

The sweet scent muddled his mind. Duncan lamented the fact that he was a Beta. If I were an Omega, I could have slept with him.

This beautiful man.

Crunch.

A dull sound echoed from inside his ear. Duncan blinked, momentarily bewildered. Chase slowly straightened up. Duncan, looking up at him blankly, was puzzled. Chase’s splendid face was drenched in red blood.

Precisely, from his mouth to his chin.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Ughhhhhh!”

Screams of horror erupted from all directions. Duncan unconsciously spat out something that had filled his mouth. Simultaneously, the transparent floor was stained crimson. Only then did Duncan realize.

That half of his tongue had been bitten off.

Above him, as he covered his mouth with a hand in horror, Chase whispered,

“Say more, you fucking bastard.”

For the first time, Duncan’s face was filled with terror. As his manager frantically called an ambulance and chaos erupted everywhere, Chase began to laugh. Soon, Chase’s sharp laughter filled the studio. People stared at him in terror, but he laughed and laughed. As if Duncan’s state was unbearably funny.

Watching him laugh madly, tilting his eyes and bending at the waist, Josh broke out in a cold sweat and turned pale.

A heavy silence hung in the room. Everyone except Seth, who was in charge of the monitoring room after returning home, gathered in the reception room, but even after a considerable time, no one spoke. Josh guessed they were all thinking the same thing.

Sure enough, after a long while, Isaac spoke. His voice was lower than usual.

“I’m too scared to work.”

“Yeah.”

Unusually, Henry agreed with Isaac. And he didn’t even swear. Of course, that only lasted for a minute.

“What if that crazy bastard tries to kill us? Fuck, he was being carried into the ambulance, and wow, fuck! They covered his mouth with a towel, and that towel was crimson. No, fuck, honestly, is that even possible? Biting off half a person’s tongue, is that even possible, fuck! That crazy bastard is going to kill someone like that. Ah, seriously, fuck!”

He swore “fuck” five times in a row. But no one told him to restrain himself or that it was too much. They just silently agreed. Henry buried his face in his hands and hunched over.

“If only I hadn’t lost that money… Ah, that damn bastard.”

With a final lamenting curse, he fell silent. Silence descended again. Mark closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. The horrifying sight he had witnessed still lingered in his mind, but he couldn’t show any sign of it. After all, he had to reassure his team members and defuse the situation. He cleared his throat and then Mark spoke.

“It can’t be helped, this is our job. It’s better that Chase Miller is the perpetrator, rather than us failing to protect him.”

“Is that supposed to be comforting…”

Isaac blurted out in irritation but soon shook his head with a sigh. He also knew that Mark had few words and choices in the current situation. Everyone knew. That was the problem.

“We can only pray for the security team to return soon.”