Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 40

With a subtle tremor, Josh looked down. The explosion was just beginning. Starting from the end of the building, explosives began to detonate in quick succession, just seconds apart.

The acrid smell of gunpowder and rising smoke stung his eyes. Josh urgently blinked his eyelids repeatedly, yet he didn’t take his eyes off the building.

Large and small explosions continued. It was a smooth situation by all accounts. Soon, Chase and Naomi would run out of the building. Josh glanced at his wristwatch. About 5 minutes had passed since the explosion began. No sign of movement was felt within the black rising smoke of the explosion.

It wasn’t just him who felt something was wrong this time.

“…Aren’t they late?”

Mark whispered softly. Josh was thinking the same thing. He turned his head, and Mark simultaneously looked at him.

Josh quickly planned his route so he could run if necessary. He simulated in his mind the possible location of Chase, the time it would take to run there, and how to rescue him, and then he let out a small gasp, “Ah.”

As if sensing his thoughts, Mark muttered beside him.

“I’ll take one side.”

“Yes.”

Josh nodded nervously. Mark subtly swallowed the director’s reaction, but he waved a hand as if to soothe his anxiety.

“It’s okay, there’s still time. Right? We need to hold out longer for the shot. You told Chase clearly, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Both actors have filmed scenes like this more than once or twice.”

There was nothing they could do when the explosion specialist staff member agreed. Mark looked back at Josh, shook his head, and ordered him to wait a little longer. Josh reluctantly stared at the building nervously, clenching and unclenching his fists several times. Meanwhile, the explosions continued in a chain reaction, and the building was already half collapsed.

“Chase!”

His mind briefly returned at the woman’s shout, buried in the sound of explosions. When he stared blankly, Naomi, with an anxious face, looked up at him.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong? Can’t you hear me?”

It was a common occurrence when filming explosion scenes. Momentary hearing loss and mental disorientation were also routine.

It’s no different from usual, so why is this happening?

Chase looked down at her, puzzled. But she clearly looked anxious somehow. To be precise, she seemed worried about him.

“We have to go out now, after the next explosion.”

Naomi said with a tense face, unlike usual. He already knew that. He was just waiting for the right timing. But why?

“Chase!”

Naomi shouted again. Chase flinched as she suddenly grabbed his arm and shook him violently.

…Huh?

For a moment, he was bewildered. A different scene unfolded before his eyes than what he had seen just moments ago. In just one or two seconds, more than half of the building had disappeared. He blinked, unable to believe it.

“We can’t wait any longer, we have to go now.”

Naomi urged in a fast tone, then abruptly grabbed Chase’s arm and started running. But that was a mistake. Chase, suddenly dizzy, simply collapsed.

“Chase!”

Naomi screamed, her face pale. Behind them, explosions continued to reverberate. Black smoke rolled and rushed towards them like a demon. Naomi looked around helplessly, not knowing what to do.

What should I do? Should I run away alone? But we have to escape together. What about the movie?

Suddenly, she thought of her dog waiting for her at home. Even when her husband left, that child stayed by her side.

“Mickey…!”

When she called her dog’s name before asking for help, Chase, who had barely regained consciousness, stumbled to his feet. The smoke was rushing right behind them. One more explosion, and it would swallow everything with the flames.

Just then, Chase snatched Naomi by the waist.

Anxious murmurs continued here and there. Smoke rose terrifyingly, and explosions continued, but there was no movement inside the building even after time passed. A slightly agitated atmosphere flowed. Only the director and the explosion staff stared impassively ahead. But perhaps even they couldn’t find the right timing to stop.

“Mark.”

Josh, unable to bear it any longer, called his team leader’s name. Mark frowned in embarrassment and opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He was also unable to make a judgment. If they were doing it correctly and he rashly intervened and ruined the scene, how would he take responsibility? Of course, Josh also shared that concern.

However, he was not without experience in explosions. On the contrary, he had undergone training and real-world experience many times over the years. It was clear that the current situation was going wrong.

When another explosion occurred, Mark made a decision. He ignored the thought of what if he ruined the scene and was charged with enormous compensation. Saving them was the priority now.

“Let’s go in, Josh.”

“Yes.”

Josh immediately replied. Just as he was about to run towards the pre-determined route, someone suddenly shouted in surprise.

“Oh!”

Both flinched and focused their gaze in the direction he was looking. A glimpse of a person’s figure appeared through the black rising smoke. Perhaps it was a hallucination. But he had already missed the timing. In an “Ah,” the last explosive detonated. When he turned pale for a moment, someone threw themselves through the smoke and flames.

It was Naomi who screamed and jumped out. And behind her, Chase appeared.

Sighs of relief flowed from everywhere. Naomi landed safely on the mat spread on the ground. Chase also hit the ground right after. Above them, a tremendous explosion roared with flames, and the building instantly began to collapse.

“Cut!”

At the director’s shout, the staff immediately rushed to put out the fire in the building, and the actors’ assistants and managers gathered around to take care of them.

“Naomi, are you okay?”

“Why did you come out so late? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Oh my god, I was so worried. But the scene seems to have turned out great.”

Words of encouragement and comfort followed, but Naomi still just blinked, her face blank. With soot on various parts of her beautiful face and her hair completely disheveled, she barely managed to get up and suddenly looked back. Chase was slowly brushing off the dust from his clothes. Still with an emotionless face.

“Naomi?”

Her assistant called her name again as she briefly fixed her gaze. Naomi soon came to her senses and blinked.

“Just a moment.”

She excused herself to those around her and quickly headed towards Chase. Chase, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped, blocked by Naomi.

“I’d like to talk for a bit, if that’s okay?”

She deliberately smiled and looked around. Everyone’s gaze was on Chase, as if asking what he would do. Chase indifferently looked down at Naomi and gave a short nod. People around them stepped back a few paces. Naomi opened her mouth, careful not to let her voice leak to others.

“What happened? Do you know you almost died just now?”

She pressed him with a rough tone, as if emotions had belatedly surged. But Chase still showed no reaction. At his emotionless gaze, merely staring at her, Naomi grew even more angry.

“I don’t know where your mind is, but please focus when we’re filming. Don’t cause trouble for innocent others. When I think about how I almost got caught up because of you…”

She shuddered once, recalling the black smoke that had surged in. Nevertheless, Chase showed no sign of agitation. His consistent blank expression was enough to make Naomi exasperated.

“What on earth is wrong with you? You seem completely out of your mind.”

She sighed in disbelief and ran her hand through her hair.

“We got through this safely this time, but if you act like this again, I won’t let it go, understand?”

“…”

“…Ha.”

In the end, Naomi was the first to give up, exhausted. “You bastard,” she cursed, and turned away. Along with the thought that Chase, Grayson, and all those Miller family members were all worthless.

“Mr. Miller, are you okay?”

Laura, who had rushed back after waiting for Naomi to leave, asked. She was curious about what they had talked about, but that was all she could say. Because no answer would come from Chase’s mouth.

As expected, he said nothing. But contrary to her expectation that he would ignore her and walk away, Chase stood still in his spot. Laura became inwardly anxious.

“Um, Mr. Miller…?”

It was when she cautiously called his name again. Suddenly, Laura realized that his condition was strange. His usually pale face was unusually devoid of color, appearing almost bluish. Feeling a bad premonition, Laura instinctively reached out her hand but hesitated. With her hand awkwardly suspended in the air, she observed Chase’s condition.

“Mr. Miller, are you okay?”

It was when she asked once more. Suddenly, Chase’s breathing quickened and his pupils dilated widely. Laura’s eyes widened in surprise, and Josh, who was watching, as well as other staff members, looked at him in confusion.

“Mr. Miller, are you alright?”

“Mr. Miller!”

“Wake up! Someone call an ambulance…!”

They shouted urgently from everywhere, surrounding him. Meanwhile, Chase clutched his chest, squeezing out unpleasant gasps from deep within his throat, breathing heavily. Josh pushed through the crowd and rushed towards him. The moment he reached out his hand, his breathing suddenly stopped. Josh shouted.

“Mr. Miller…!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Behind Laura, who screamed with a pale face, Josh urgently grabbed Chase. At the same time, Chase’s knees buckled weakly, and he lost consciousness.

“Chase!”

Josh called his name and shook the shoulders he was embracing. But with his pale face tilted to one side, he showed no reaction at all.

“…Yes, yes. I see, yes.”

Listening to Laura’s brief replies, Josh looked down at Chase. Chase hadn’t regained consciousness until they hastily brought him to the trailer and laid him on the bed. Mark insisted they go to the hospital immediately, but Laura refused.

“Contacting his primary doctor is the priority. You know, it would be problematic if it turns out that Mr. Miller is taking medication.”

At her warning, the bodyguards couldn’t say anything. They had no choice but to lay Chase on the bed as she instructed and wait for her to finish her call with the doctor. Josh just stared at Chase’s face, which was paler than usual.

Finally, after a brief greeting, Laura hung up the phone.

“She said it’s an overdose.”

Josh unconsciously frowned.

“An overdose?”

“Yes.”

Laura nodded to Josh, who had repeated the same words.

“She said these symptoms occur when there’s too much medication. Just in case, I also checked with Naomi, and she said it was like that during filming earlier. He suddenly zoned out and couldn’t focus, almost causing a big accident… I didn’t go into detail, just asked if anything strange happened during filming, so please be careful about this part.”

Laura added a warning and then sighed.

“The symptoms must have been showing for a while, but I didn’t know. Steward, his primary doctor, said that Mr. Miller had been warned before about taking too much medicine and that he knew this would happen. He said he’d run some tests and then reduce or change the dosage of the medicine. He also said that Chase is only alive after taking this much medicine because he’s an extreme alpha; if he were a normal person, he would have died ten times over by now.”

“…Could the side effects of the medicine be related to peripheral nerve stimulation? I mean, he filmed an explosion scene, so he must have been more excited than usual, right?”

Josh carefully chose his words to present his reasoning, and Laura tilted her head for a moment before shaking it.

“That’s probably not it. He seemed half out of it even during filming. It’s like the precarious fuse finally snapped.”

“So, it was just bound to happen.”

Laura nodded at Josh’s conclusion.

“Yes, so you don’t need to feel responsible.”

Josh didn’t smile at her smiling face. Laura, feeling awkward, quickly checked the time and then spoke.

“I need to discuss this with his manager, can I leave it to you? If anything happens, call me. I’ll come right away.”

“Alright.”

“Please take good care of him.”

Laura smiled once more and then left the trailer. Only Josh and Chase remained in the trailer. In the silence, Josh sighed and turned around, then stopped dead when he saw Chase’s face.

His breathing had calmed down peacefully, but his pale complexion remained. It was as if everyone would believe it if someone had placed a corpse there.