Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 83

But unlike Josh, Chase wasn’t particularly concerned about eating. He often skipped meals, as Josh had seen, and now he didn’t care about Josh’s hunger. What mattered was that Josh had talked and laughed with another woman right in front of him. Chase had to repeatedly clench and unclench his hands, his knuckles white, to suppress the urge to punch the wall and scream.

Chase finally suppressed his anger and took a deep breath. Josh suddenly tilted his head. It was strange; even though he was expressing such strong emotions, there was no pheromone scent. All he could feel was a faint scent lingering in the trailer.

Come to think of it.

Josh belatedly realized. Since returning to the film set, the pheromone scent emanating from Chase had significantly decreased. He even recalled Mark, who had happily noted that the cost of buying candy had decreased because even Seth and Isaac, who always had candy in their mouths, were eating it less often.

“You.”

“Why didn’t you give me your number?”

He was about to ask what was going on, but Chase questioned him roughly first. Josh, caught off guard, blinked.

“Oh, I didn’t?”

“No.”

Chase ground his teeth. He had always been by his side, so he hadn’t thought about it, nor had there been a need. Now, exchanging numbers felt embarrassing, so instead of apologizing, Josh replied slyly.

“I don’t know your number either?”

“310-447-12XX.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Chase rattled off the numbers quickly. He narrowed his eyes at Josh, who was momentarily stunned.

“Give me your number.”

This was definitely not a joking atmosphere. Josh gave an awkward laugh and said his number. But that wasn’t the end of it. Chase took out his phone, entered the number, and immediately pressed the call button. Josh’s eyes widened as his own phone’s ringtone sounded.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you answering?”

Chase asked irritably. No, why would I answer the phone when the person is right in front of me? Josh thought, but he didn’t want to provoke him. Josh pressed the answer button and looked up at Chase, saying,

“Hello?”

Only then did Chase hang up the phone and immediately commanded,

“Save it.”

Josh silently pressed the save button as he was told. Josh belatedly realized that Chase had deliberately called him in front of him to confirm if it was real.

I guess I deserve to be suspected.

Josh couldn’t help but frown, feeling uneasy.

“I don’t lie.”

But I do hide things.

Pete’s face immediately came to mind, and Josh inwardly added. But Chase wasn’t listening at all.

He was immediately dragged into the bathroom, stripped, and thoroughly examined. Josh was horrified to see Chase sniffing his crotch, burying his nose there, after inspecting him for any marks, including hickeys.

“Your scent is too weak.”

Chase mumbled from beneath him. Thanks to that, I was able to hide it until now, Josh thought inwardly, and said, “Yeah.”

“Didn’t you dislike Omegas because of their scent?”

“Yes.”

Chase gave the same answer as Josh. He then became serious.

“So I…”

Chase, who was about to say something, closed his mouth. Josh was curious but had no chance to ask. Chase immediately pressed his lips against his, and Josh groaned, accepting him as streams of water poured down.

Haaah.

Josh exhaled a sigh with cigarette smoke. Four times in a row was not easy, even for Josh, who had excellent stamina. He had managed to eat something in between, but as soon as the short break ended, it was back to square one. Moreover, he had just barely managed to stop Chase from going for more.

“Give me a break…”

Josh squatted down and buried his face in his hands. He had woken up at dawn, carefully removed Chase’s arm from around his waist, and came outside. There was no way to soothe his bitter feelings without a cigarette.

“Ouch.”

His back, his butt, his joints – his whole body ached. Josh, forced to stand up again, inhaled deeply from the cigarette with a serious expression.

How should I resolve this situation?

He was just waiting for the right moment to bring up Pete, but he was afraid it might lead to the worst possible outcome. Yet, waiting indefinitely worried him about Chase’s condition.

The wrinkles on his forehead deepened. He had never been in such a troublesome relationship. By now, he would have usually backed out. He hated burdensome relationships.

But why is this time different?

Suffering from a headache over a question that had no answer was also completely unlike him. Josh spent a long time just smoking, burdened by his unresolved worries. Eventually, the sun began to rise in the distance.

Ah.

Josh blinked, his face drawn. He saw a familiar figure approaching. It was Mark, coming for the shift change. He waited silently, and when Mark was just a few steps away, he looked at Josh and asked in surprise.

“What’s wrong with your face? Did something happen last night?”

He hadn’t looked in a mirror, but Josh knew what his appearance must be like just from Mark’s reaction.

“No, I’m just tired… Then I’ll go to rest now.”

“Alright, you worked hard all night.”

Josh inwardly agreed with Mark’s encouragement, I did work hard all night. He left a short greeting and was about to turn away when Mark suddenly spoke from behind him.

“Oh, by the way, did I mention that the bodyguard team is returning today?”

“Huh?”

He involuntarily turned around, and Mark continued with a brighter face.

“They’re coming in the afternoon, I heard. Looks like they managed to fill the numbers, thankfully. Isn’t that great? Now we can go home!”

Mark couldn’t hide his excitement, perhaps thinking of his wife and daughters waiting for him. Josh just mumbled, “Oh, yes…” with a bewildered expression.

It was close to noon when Chase received Laura’s report that the bodyguards would be replaced. He had been sleeping late due to his afternoon filming schedule and only woke up when Laura came to find him.

“…What did you say?”

Perhaps still half-asleep, Chase frowned and asked again. Laura patiently repeated the same words.

“They’ve filled all the lacking personnel and will be arriving around the afternoon. The temporary bodyguards will return after completing the handover. There will be no gaps in security…”

Laura kept saying something, but Chase didn’t hear it. Laura, who had finished speaking and was waiting, belatedly realized his reaction was strange and cautiously observed him.

“Um, Mr. Miller? Is something wrong…?”

Chase’s reaction followed a beat later. Laura smiled awkwardly at his startled gaze.

“The bodyguard team is scheduled to be replaced. Is that alright with you, Mr. Miller?”

Chase’s reaction was completely unexpected. Could he really have some kind of relationship with Josh? Laura cautiously speculated, but decided to reserve judgment and waited for his words with an extremely businesslike demeanor.

For a moment, he said nothing. Laura just waited patiently, watching Chase, who was simply sitting blankly, blinking his eyes.

“…”

“Yes?”

When he finally spoke after a long while, Laura couldn’t readily understand him and ended up asking again. Fortunately, before Chase spoke again, she grasped the meaning.

“You mean Josh, right? Should I call him here now?”

Chase fell silent again. Laura somehow felt that he couldn’t make a decision. Perhaps he was still half-asleep. She cautiously opened her mouth.

“Then I’ll call him.”

Chase nodded after a brief pause. Laura gave a short bow and left the trailer. Outside, Henry was on guard duty, patrolling the area.

“He wants Josh called.”

Henry showed no particular reaction to Laura’s words. It was simply because he was interested in no one but himself, but Laura misunderstood, thinking he might be making the same conjecture as her.

“Yes, Josh? It’s Laura.”

Suppressing her curiosity, she made the call and left. Only Henry remained. He glanced at his wrist and saw that the shift change was approaching.

Who was it today?

Henry recalled the schedule, idly wandering around the trailer. Just as he mindlessly changed direction, someone suddenly appeared in front of him. Henry, startled, stopped short and almost cursed before recognizing the familiar face. It was a supporting actress. She smiled and greeted him.

“Hello, I came because I wanted to discuss something with Mr. Miller for the next shoot. Could I go in for a moment?”

Hearing the door open, Chase, who had come out of the bedroom for a drink of water, instinctively turned his head.

“Joshua.”

He called out the name and rushed forward, but then he was disappointed. The person who entered was another bodyguard. He frowned visibly, but Henry, as if expecting such a reaction, said indifferently,

“An actress from the same production wants to discuss something about her role. Will you meet her?”

“Who?”

Even though he wouldn’t know the name, Chase inadvertently asked. Henry told him the name, but he still didn’t remember.

“Send her away.”

“Mr. Miller!”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from behind him as he turned away ruthlessly.

“Wait, you can’t just come in like this.”

“Mr. Miller!”

Henry blocked her, but Becky desperately called out to Chase. To Chase, who instinctively paused, she continued.

“We met at Mr. Pittman’s party before, do you remember? I’m Becky.”

Chase remembered her from the Omega scent emanating from her. But it was by no means a good memory. All the memories came flooding back in detail.

He remembered Josh’s lips that had tried to kiss him, the hand that had wiped his face with a handkerchief, and the gentle gaze that had looked at him. And he realized. Everything had started then. If he hadn’t gone out into the garden then, if he hadn’t smelled the pheromones.

If he hadn’t met Joshua in the first place.

If so, he wouldn’t have known these feelings.

“I don’t know you.”

“What?”

Becky asked back, flustered. But that only annoyed Chase.

“I don’t know the likes of you. Don’t bother me and get out now. What are you doing? Drag her out.”

“Mr. Miller! Wait, please listen to me…!”

“Get out!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Chase yelled.

“Didn’t you hear me? Damn it! There’s no way I’d remember someone like you!”

At that moment, the color drained from Becky’s face. Leaving her stunned and dazed, Chase turned away with curses. Henry tried his best to get her out of the trailer, being careful not to hurt her. Chase ignored their squabbling and immediately opened the closed drawing-room door.

“Chase, stop right there!”

Her desperate cry turned to hatred.

“What?”

Henry’s bewildered voice was heard, followed by an unexpected sound echoing in the trailer.

Bang!

With a loud gunshot, a thud sounded behind him. Chase, who had instinctively stopped, turned around.

It was Henry who had fallen. As he shifted his gaze from the bodyguard groaning and gushing blood, he saw the woman’s face, trembling with a gun in both hands.