Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 5

What the hell.

Josh sat on the bed, clutching his head. He had been like this for hours. Ever since he put Pete to sleep, this was the situation. But no matter how much time passed, his thoughts kept returning to the same place.

“…You don’t want to either, do you? Neither do we.”

Mark’s voice flowed into his dazed consciousness. Only then did Mark continue speaking to Josh, who had finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding.

“Actually, this contract came in about a week ago, and we were about to refuse it because we knew everyone would hate it. Ah, but the contract terms are really good. I mean, it’s not easy to get this much compensation… Miller spends money lavishly, you know.”

Of course, he would, with nothing but money and good looks to spare. If his personality were even a quarter of a quarter of a quarter of his looks, everyone would praise him.

Josh inwardly scoffed, recalling the common saying that God, after putting all His effort into creating Chase Miller’s body, was so exhausted that He just threw away his personality. As Josh remained silently unresponsive, Mark roughly scratched his head.

“But you know, as you know, the work is a bit… like that, isn’t it? Miller’s temper isn’t ordinary either. Well, if that’s the amount offered considering that, there’s nothing to say… Why else would a request come all the way from the West? Everyone must have refused it. No matter how good the money is, it’s not Miller, is it? …The money is so huge that I hesitated whether to even ask. But since you’re in urgent need of money right now… Other jobs are too small to be of any help. If you say you’ll do it, it’ll be easier for the other guys to make a decision.”

Josh took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“Did you tell all the other members as well?”

“I called everyone and told them roughly before I came, just the gist of it. They said they’d think about it first.”

He vividly remembered everyone gritting their teeth and cursing at the time, so it was strange to see that the reaction wasn’t bad, unexpectedly.

Is everyone in a desperate situation like me?

Mark added to Josh, who had fallen silent again, feeling puzzled.

“They said it would be about six months at most, three months at least. If the period gets longer, they’ll give additional compensation. …Well, if you’re really desperate, consider even this job. Of course, if you decide, the whole team will go, so don’t feel too burdened…”

He left after saying “Think about it” one more time. Since then, Josh had been wavering, unable to decide what to do.

Why him, of all men?

The answer was obvious. It was rare for someone to be willing to pay that much money for his security. And Josh desperately needed his overflowing money. Unfortunately, that was the reality. No matter how much he thought about it, the outcome was obvious.

As the sky turned faintly bright, he reluctantly accepted the already decided answer. Six months at most. When the contract period ended, he planned to refuse any extension. Mark would somehow find enough people to fill the gaps.

Waiting for Mark’s work hours, Josh called him and first asked what he was most curious about.

“Did you hear from any of the other guys? How many decided to join?”

Surely, not everyone refused. A sudden chill ran down his spine, but fortunately, Mark answered readily.

“Me, Seth, Henry, and Isaac, that’s four.”

It was everyone except Josh. As the tension in his shoulders eased, Mark added.

“It seems Henry gambled again. He said he lost all his money.”

Seth hesitated but accepted after hearing the amount, and Isaac was forced to join because Henry borrowed money from him and lost it all.

“Henry gambled away Isaac’s money, too. Anyway, Isaac, who fell for Henry’s smooth talk, is also part of the problem.”

Josh inwardly thought that it wasn’t just smooth talk, but a certain degree of threat must have been involved too. It wasn’t the first time Isaac had been cleaned out by Henry, unable to resist his vulgar curses and threats.

Well, it’s good for me, though.

Josh sighed bitterly and opened his mouth.

“I’ll go too.”

“Good, that makes five with Joshua.”

The way he deliberately called out his full name seemed to indicate he was immediately writing it down. He seemed to have expected Josh’s answer, so he wasn’t particularly surprised or pleased. Regrettably, it was an obvious choice for Josh too.

After asking about the departure date and a few necessary details, and concluding to check the detailed contract via email, he hung up. In truth, as long as the promised money was paid on time, the detailed contract terms didn’t matter.

Once the decision was made, his subsequent actions were swift. He immediately called his younger sister to tell her he had a new job and not to worry about money. Fortunately, the workplace was about three or four hours’ drive from the house where his mother and sister lived. Thanks to that, he thought he could leave Pete with them and visit on his days off to see him.

“Don’t worry about Pete, Josh. Mom is so happy that Pete is coming.”

Emma said with a bright voice. After hanging up, a sigh escaped him naturally. This solved the biggest problem.

He wouldn’t find out about Pete, would he?

Josh sank into serious thought. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if the truth came out. If he had wanted to, he should have told him when he first found out about the pregnancy. Confessing now was out of the question. How absurd would it be for a child to suddenly appear before his eyes?

Hiding it wouldn’t be difficult. Like everyone else, he would also know Josh as a Beta. Most importantly, he wouldn’t even spare a glance for a lowly bodyguard.

…He doesn’t even remember marking me and sleeping with me.

You’re all mine.

Suddenly, a forgotten phrase came to mind. For a moment, a chill ran through a corner of Josh’s chest, and he unconsciously furrowed his brow.

Since he had to leave the child, he decided to leave first, separate from the others, and then join them when the work began. He also wanted to spend a few days with his family, as it had been a long time since they last met.

He thanked Mrs. Robert for her kindness and promised to keep in touch. She showed clear signs of sadness, hugging Pete tightly. After that, Josh stayed up for several days, barely finishing his preparations to leave, and headed to the airport.

As he boarded the plane, holding the child in one arm and a light suitcase in the other, the flight attendants’ expressions became ambiguous. They looked up at Josh’s face, smiled brightly, then paused upon seeing the child in his arms, and then instantly returned to their professional smiles, repeating the sequence.

Josh placed the child in the seat equipped with a baby seat and wrapped him tightly in a blanket. When he gave Pete a candy, Pete was satisfied and sat quietly without whimpering.

As he put his suitcase overhead, his eyes suddenly fell on the child’s face. The round, plump cheeks chewing on something naturally reminded him of that man.

Was it because he knew it was his child, or because they truly resembled each other?

Josh had to forcibly suppress the uncomfortable curiosity every time, a fact he couldn’t ask anyone to confirm.

The child quickly fell asleep. As Josh wiped the drool that flowed from Pete’s mouth as the candy melted, he suddenly wondered.

Would that man recognize me? Would he even remember me?

He unconsciously recalled what the man had said when they first met, looking down at him, and his brow furrowed automatically. The image that came to mind when he thought of him was always the same.

Arrogant and narcissistic.

Most True Alphas were close to sociopaths, but if they manifested before puberty, there was a very high chance they would grow into psychopaths, unable to experience the rapid emotional changes of the so-called ‘storm and stress period’.

In Chase C. Miller’s case, he was said to have manifested after puberty, which was why he seemed to know what emotions were. The problem was that his emotions were excessively focused on anger.

They say even psychopaths feel anger.

Josh added spitefully. He must be able to act because he feels emotions. No matter how beautiful he was, if he couldn’t act, he wouldn’t have succeeded as an actor.

Well, with that kind of look, even if he couldn’t act, just standing there…

Suddenly, he remembered the chocolate commercial Chase had filmed when he was five. When his debut commercial was released, the entire United States was truly turned upside down. Even now, that chocolate commercial was occasionally talked about. It was such a sensation that even Josh, who was just a young boy, was captivated by it.

How disappointed he was a few years later when he found out he was a boy.

Of course, Josh wasn’t the only one disappointed. All the boys his age who dreamed of romance with a girl felt as if they had collectively suffered heartbreak on a national scale at that time. Along with realizing the truth of life that first loves never come true.

It was the same now. He didn’t need to struggle to memorize scripts or act. Just standing there was enough.

There were times when he wondered why this man bothered to act. But that was before he saw his work.

Chase Miller truly immersed himself in his roles, to a terrifying degree.

Even when filming commercials.

“Oh my.”

He raised his head at a small gasp, and the passenger sitting across from the child was staring intently at the monitor. In the fleeting glimpse of the screen, the man who had just been in Josh’s thoughts was vividly alive and moving. For a moment, he lost himself.

Yes, just like that.