Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 43

He savored the smoothness of the leather-wrapped steering wheel as he drove down the endless road. In the distance, black smoke rose. Seeing it, Josh muttered to himself.

“It seems there’s another forest fire.”

“Is there ever a day without one?”

Seth asked back indifferently. Josh closed his mouth, thinking, “Indeed.”

The sun would set soon. Realizing that it was quite late, Josh roughly estimated when they would arrive.

Everyone would have finished dinner by the time they arrived.

He could ask them to prepare something separately, but he didn’t feel like causing such trouble. They could get ingredients anytime, so grilling some barbecue or sausages would be simple.

How would Chase react if he asked him to have dinner together?

Just as he thought that, an unusual silhouette suddenly appeared ahead. Josh, who had unconsciously frowned, soon understood the situation.

“Mark.”

He immediately reported to his team leader in the back seat.

“It seems there’s been an accident. Someone’s out there.”

“Ignore them and call 911 or something.”

“I’d like to, but I can’t.”

Josh explained calmly.

“One lane is blocked by a car, and the other is blocked by a person. There’s no way to avoid them unless we run them over.”

Only then did Mark lean forward to check the front and let out a groan.

“No choice. Let’s stop and go out to sort things out. We’ll wait inside and leave as soon as the road clears. …The car behind is late, so we’ll have to do it. Good grief.”

“Understood.”

Josh gradually slowed the car. Meanwhile, Mark contacted the team members in the car behind to inform them of the situation.

The dazzling red sunset was fleeting; the sky quickly grew dark. The dim landscape as dusk settled suddenly felt eerie. Josh parked the car some distance away and waited with the engine running.

Seth was in charge of assessing the situation. Sitting in the passenger seat, he unhesitatingly got out of the car and strode with large steps towards the woman and man standing, blocking one lane of the road.

“What’s the matter?”

The woman replied as if she had been waiting.

“Our car suddenly broke down. My cell phone also couldn’t connect, so I had no way to contact anyone, and I was just worried that we’d have to sleep here. As expected, there’s salvation everywhere. Thank you.”

She clasped her hands as if praying and briefly bowed. Seth glanced down at her, then turned his gaze to the man.

“We’re busy right now, so it’s hard for us to directly look at your car, but we can help you contact your insurance company.”

“Ah, it’s nothing big, it just seems like the battery died. Could you just help us with that? It’ll only take 5 minutes… Calling insurance for that is a bit much.”

The man pleaded awkwardly. The woman standing with him also blinked pitifully. Seth wanted to refuse, but it seemed they wouldn’t move if he didn’t agree. Seth irritably ran a hand through his hair, then turned around and headed towards Josh’s car, which was waiting.

Tap, tap.

At the sound of a knock on the window, Josh lowered the window slightly, and Seth immediately spoke.

“They won’t move until we look at the car. I’ll quickly help them and get them to move off the road, so keep an eye out and get out of here first. I’ll follow you somehow, whether by calling insurance or whatever.”

“Should I take a look?”

Seth waved his hand, stopping Josh, who was about to get out of the car.

“He said the battery died, so it’ll be over quickly. Anyway, just be ready to leave immediately.”

Leaving those words, he turned around and approached the couple’s car. Josh raised the car window again and watched Seth, who was moving away.

Seth, sitting in the driver’s seat, began to examine the machinery. If there were no major problems, it would be finished soon.

He was idly tapping the steering wheel with his fingers while re-adjusting the arrival time, when he suddenly felt a strange sensation. He had felt something similar to this before. When was that?

The scene before his eyes was perfectly ordinary. Seth examines the car, and the woman standing around, blocking the road to prevent the remaining group from leaving.

…It’s like that time.

As the memory resurfaced, a chill ran down his spine. Josh urgently shouted.

“Seth, it’s dangerous!”

He almost got out of the car without realizing it, but it was already too late. Seth flinched as if he had heard the shout. And the next moment, the man standing next to him shot him.