Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 45

Seeing Mark disappear into the distance, Josh readily got into the driver’s seat. Suddenly, Chase’s voice came from behind.

“What are you doing? You said the car can’t be used.”

He was standing right next to him. Josh glanced up at him and replied mechanically.

“Yes, but I was checking if anything still works. Emergency calls for rescue might still work.”

He pressed various buttons, checking the status. When he tried touching the monitor, fortunately, it flickered and the screen came on. It wasn’t perfect, but it seemed useful.

Josh patiently manipulated the flickering screen. After setting the intermittent and broken signal as best he could, he looked up to see Chase looking down at him with an annoyed expression. Josh spoke.

“I’ve sent a signal for now, so if someone detects it, they’ll come for rescue.”

“Who?”

“…”

Josh was about to explain various emergency systems but then stopped. He, too, was annoyed and tired.

“Someone will come.”

“…”

After a moment of silence at the unenthusiastic reply, Chase cursed and began to kick and hit the car wildly. Since it was already scrap metal and not his car anyway, Josh just let him be until he got tired and stopped.

Thinking that he unusually missed Pete today.

When night fell completely, a chilly wind blew, causing their body temperature to drop rapidly. Josh opened the trunk to find a blanket. Despite his expectations, it contained only a few tools and nothing particularly useful. Fortunately, there was a blanket.

Josh, who had inadvertently shivered, grabbed the end of the blanket, unfolded it in one go, draped it over his arm, and headed towards Chase.

He opened the door on Chase’s side and looked into the car, and Chase immediately glared at Josh. Josh held out the blanket and spoke.

“Cover yourself, you’ll be cold.”

As he said, the desolate plain, with only sparse trees and grass, was swept by a cold wind as soon as the sun set. If left as they were, their body temperature would surely drop, but all they could do was huddled inside the car with the blanket. Even then, the car’s rear window was completely shattered, letting the wind blow straight in.

But Chase only glanced at the blanket, then turned his head away again. Josh quietly looked down at him, then turned around and forcefully unfolded the blanket. He felt Chase’s gaze on him. He pretended not to notice and draped the blanket over his own shoulders.

“Ha.”

From behind, Chase let out an exclamation of disbelief. Josh ignored him and savored the warmth provided by the extra layer of fabric.

He exhaled, and a white puff of breath formed and then disappeared. Suddenly, a strange sound came from behind Josh, who was frowning. He quietly listened, then glanced back. Chase, who was only wearing a jacket over a thin shirt, shivered, his teeth chattering from the biting wind.

“Damn it.”

He cursed slowly and ran a hand through his hair. His long, elegant fingers were pale and trembling slightly. Chase bit his lip, turned his head, and met Josh’s eyes.

“…”

“…”

For a moment, they looked at each other without a word. Josh simply watched as the color slowly returned to Chase’s face, which was pale from the cold. Chase covered his mouth with one hand, and then his entire face flushed red.

An unfeeling wind swept over the man’s flushed face. His luxurious blonde hair fell over his neat forehead, making the skin under his eyes even redder. His bewildered, trembling purple eyes seemed to shift to one side in embarrassment, then his long eyelashes fluttered above them.

Josh, whose gaze had followed the line from his well-defined nose to his lips, saw a trembling sigh escape through the slightly parted lips, and at that moment, he couldn’t help but take off the blanket from his shoulders and hand it over.

This man would live well his whole life just with his face. What good was personality anyway? Josh genuinely thought so. Wasn’t he himself unhesitatingly giving away the only warmth that had been wrapped around his shoulders?

Chase didn’t refuse this time. Of course, he didn’t readily accept it either. Josh silently draped the blanket over his shoulders, as he looked elsewhere, pretending not to notice. He didn’t forget to wrap it snugly around his neck, just as he would for Pete.

Only then did a faint warmth settle on Chase’s face, and his trembling subsided. He leaned comfortably against the seat, having boldly claimed the blanket without any effort. The moment Josh saw that, he paused.

Wait, was I playing?

He realized it belatedly, but it was already too late. Chase, who had brazenly propped his long legs on the passenger seat’s backrest, closed his eyes. To Josh, who was dumbfounded, he added one more word.

“Close the door, you useless bastard.”

“…”

Josh silently obeyed him. The cold wind brushing against his back felt even more desolate.

He woke up about an hour later, startled by a sudden chill that swept through his entire body. Josh, who had been dozing in the driver’s seat, blinked his stinging eyes and checked the watch on his wrist. Then he turned his gaze to the rescue signal on the monitor, which was blinking even more faintly than before.

The signal, which flickered like a firefly and then disappeared, did not reappear for quite a long time. He sighed. He glanced back, and Chase was buried deep in the seat with his eyes closed.

Was he asleep?

Perhaps that would be better. Josh barely managed to resist the urge to brush away the hair that had fallen onto Chase’s pale forehead. He lowered his gaze from the long-shadowed eyelashes, and slightly parted lips came into view. After staring at his profile for a while, Josh quietly got out of the car.

“…!”

A biting wind struck his entire body. It was quite cold inside the car with the broken glass, but it was nothing compared to facing the night wind bare. Thanks to it, he snapped wide awake. This was not the time to be lost in Chase’s face.

Josh shivered once, then quickly started jogging in place. He had to raise his body temperature somehow. He immediately used a very simple and familiar method. He instantly dropped to the ground and began doing push-ups.

“…99, 100.”

He moved his arms frantically, quickly reaching the number, then sprang to his feet. His back was hot, and his whole body felt warm. He finally felt the cold receding. He roughly shook his head to clear his disheveled hair, then started jogging in place again.

He kept moving to maintain the body temperature he had barely raised, when he suddenly felt a strange sensation. When he turned his head, he met Chase’s eyes, who had somehow opened them.

“…”

His steps slowed, and then Josh stopped completely. A cold wind whistled past his ears.

“…”

“…”

For a moment, they said nothing to each other. Josh felt embarrassed, as Chase’s expression seemed to find him pathetic. He awkwardly scratched his head and grinned. Chase frowned. Josh quickly reverted his expression, but it was already too late.

“What’s so funny, you crazy bastard?”

Josh was tired of apologizing, so he just shut his mouth. He looked away again and moved around to raise his body temperature, when Chase, who had been quietly watching him, spoke.

“What are you doing now?”

“Can’t you see? I’m running because I’m cold.”

His tone had become automatically curt, but Josh didn’t bother to correct it.

What was strange was Chase’s reaction. For a very brief moment, he paused. As if he was flustered. That can’t be, Josh thought. Why would that bastard be flustered?

He ignored Chase and continued his exercise. Chase was not at all pleased with it.

“Hey.”

“…”

“You bastard, can’t you hear me?”

Finally, he opened the car door and threw the empty water bottle that was rolling on the floor, forcing Josh to stop his movements and look back at him.

“What is it?”

Josh made no effort to hide his annoyance. Chase opened his mouth, but had nothing to say. And rightly so, the only reason he had caught his attention was one thing: he was simply displeased at being intentionally ignored.

Josh subtly frowned, seeing Chase hesitate, having nothing to say. Chase didn’t miss that reaction.

“You, too, do you have something to say?”

At his brazen retort, Josh wanted to tell him to stop. But what actually came out of his mouth was something entirely different.

“How do you remember me?”

“What?”

This time, Chase frowned. Only then did Josh realize what he had said. Chase just stared at him without a word. This time, too, he might avoid answering. Perhaps it wasn’t a big reason, so he just brushed it off.

While thinking of various rational conjectures, Josh hoped Chase would confirm them. Chase just looked at him silently.

If I say the reason I remembered that man’s face was because of a dream, he’ll surely look at me dumbfounded.

Chase frowned, looking at Josh’s face, who was silently waiting for an answer. He had experienced such gazes countless times before. This time wouldn’t be much different.

Even thinking that, Chase didn’t feel the need to explain and satisfy Josh’s curiosity. If he told him that, he would have to talk about the dream, and why should he be so kind?

Because of a dream about someone whose face he couldn’t even remember.

Chase bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. His memory was still hazy. Both then and now, he couldn’t be sure of anything. More than anything, why was he suddenly dreaming about something from several years ago now?

Chase irritably ran a hand through his hair.

It’s just a silly dream.

Just as he concluded that, a howl suddenly echoed not far away. Chase’s face instantly hardened, and Josh instinctively turned his body to check his surroundings. There was another presence besides them. Feeling the eerie killing intent throughout his body, Josh carefully sensed their presence.

It took some time to identify them. The identity of the dozen or so animals, glowing eyes in the darkness, tensed like Josh, was soon revealed.

It was a pack of coyotes.