Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 18

At that thought, he couldn’t think of anything else. Taking the day off from his part-time job the day before the exam even felt like a godsend. Koi left his house without hesitation, stopped by a nearby store, found a few types of instant soup, put them in his bag, and paid in cash. He also bought some simple cold medicine.

I’m coming now, Ash.

As he pedaled hard towards Ashley’s house, his heart felt like it was burning with worry.

Ashley Miller’s house stood on the highest hill in the countryside. The mansion, standing tall with nothing around it, was so enormous that it could be seen from afar at a glance, and to get there, one had to go through rigorous inspections to confirm they were an invited guest. That’s why every morning, cars of people going to work at the mansion would line up, showing their IDs to the security guard and making calls.

By the book, Koi would also have to be confirmed by Ashley through inspection before he could set foot on the country estate. But Koi didn’t want to bother the sick Ashley, and he knew a way to enter the countryside without going through inspection, though he had stumbled upon it by chance.

Though I found it while being chased by Nelson’s gang.

Koi pedaled hard, feeling strange. It was somehow miraculous. All his bad experiences, when intertwined with Ashley, were actually proving helpful. Even Nelson’s bullying was turning out to be beneficial.

As he passed the back gate of the countryside and climbed the mountain, Koi gasped for breath. Even Nelson’s gang had given up, exhausted from chasing him then, so the steepness of the slope was self-evident. Perhaps that’s why the people managing the countryside also wouldn’t have expected anyone to cross over from this side. Thanks to that, he had managed to set foot on the country estate. As he ran with all his might, recalling memories from that time, the sun slowly began to set.

There it is.

Gasping for breath, Koi finally stopped. In the distance, on the hill, Ashley’s grand mansion majestically appeared.

As he stood before the mansion, a different kind of tension set in. Koi swallowed dryly and took a deep breath. The sun was already preparing to set. It had taken longer than he expected.

Koi steadied his trembling heart and moved his wobbly legs to approach the mansion. All around, it was dead silent. At the very top, there was only Ashley’s mansion, and the closest house, if you could even call it that, was the mansion he had passed thirty minutes ago.

Is this all Ashley’s house?

He was envious, but he wasn’t tormented by jealousy. He simply realized how far and distant Ashley Miller was from him. All he could offer to such an Ashley Miller were a few instant soups and cold medicine. Koi scratched his head, recalling the shabby comfort items he had brought.

He might laugh at me.

But he couldn’t just turn back after coming all this way. Koi took a deep breath and cautiously moved forward.

As the mansion gradually drew closer, his heart pounded even harder. The three-story mansion was truly enormous, but there was no sign of life whatsoever. In the quiet mansion’s dark side, Koi felt secretly uneasy.

He’s not home, is he?

It was entirely possible. He might have been suffering alone and taken to the emergency room, or he might not have been as sick as he thought and gone out to play somewhere. He imagined various other scenarios, but seeing the familiar Cayenne parked in front of the garage, he ruled out the possibility that Ashley had left the mansion.

He might have gone out in another car, though.

Seeing only one Cayenne parked in front of the four-door garage, Koi made another guess. Come to think of it, he didn’t know how many cars Ashley had.

First, let’s check.

Koi made up his mind and stood in front of the front door. Phew, he took another deep breath and raised his hand, but it took him a few more seconds to press the doorbell.

Finally, a monotonous melody flowed from the doorbell he pressed with effort. It was ‘Spring’ from ‘The Four Seasons’. He listened blankly, but even after the long melody ended, there was no sign of movement from inside.

Considering the voice that had been so sick, it might have been natural. He took his hand off the doorbell he had pressed as a formality, took a deep breath, and only then grabbed the doorknob of the front door. Just as the ominous thought that it might be locked crossed his mind, the doorknob readily turned downwards.

“Oh.”

Koi, who had inadvertently made a sound, blinked his eyes in surprise at the suddenly wide-open front door and stopped awkwardly. The door was not locked.

Although he had Ashley’s permission, it still took courage to enter. Phew, he took a deep breath and cautiously stepped inside. It was strange that such a large mansion didn’t have a security system. If it did, a loud siren would have been blaring by now.

Maybe Ashley is inside.

Koi thought. Or perhaps he trusted the security of the country estate immensely.

Indeed, who would imagine a weirdo climbing up here from the back road?

And half of it was cycling, and half was walking while pushing his bicycle. Even he himself found his persistence astounding.

At that thought, he felt a bit embarrassed, but since he had come all this way, he wanted to see how Ashley was doing with his own eyes. In fact, just a greeting would be fine. At that point, Koi himself realized it. He just wanted to see Ashley once.

Wow, am I going to become a stalker like this?

Even as he thought that, his steps didn’t stop. Passing through the enormous hall and climbing countless stairs, Koi wondered where Ashley’s room might be. From the outside, the mansion seemed to be about three stories tall. It might even be four stories. Phew, Koi took a deep breath and diligently climbed the stairs, reaching the second floor. Standing in the hallway, he was overwhelmed by the endlessly long distance.

I need to hurry more.

He shook his head to clear his mind and began to move quickly. The first space he walked into with quick steps was a kitchen and bar. The walls were tightly packed with all sorts of liquor, glasses, and other cocktail ingredients. Seeing no empty spaces, it seemed Ashley didn’t drink.

Koi, who had idly looked around inside, inadvertently touched what appeared to be a refrigerator and was startled. The light immediately came on, illuminating the drinks packed behind the glass.

Anyway, this isn’t it.

Koi, who had come out of the comfortable place prepared for drinks and simple meals, headed to the next room. No lights were on anywhere, but the sunlight streaming in through the countless windows occupying one wall sufficiently brightened his vision.

The next room was a movie theater. Seeing the enormous screen hanging on one side of the large space with dark blackout curtains, and several comfortable-looking sofas, Koi exclaimed “Wow,” then quickly closed the door and walked on.

If I keep exclaiming like this, it’ll never end. Let’s hurry more.

He urged himself and headed to the next room.

Koi repeatedly opened and closed several doors like that. The house was enormous, the hallway was endlessly long, and rooms kept appearing no matter how many he opened. He passed a game room with a large pool table, a health management room filled with all sorts of exercise equipment, and a room piled high with arcade game machines, before checking a few more empty bedrooms devoid of any human warmth.

Haa, haa.

And finally, when he found the bedroom where Ashley was sleeping, Koi was completely exhausted.

“You want to go west?”

The man asked, holding a thick cigar in his mouth. Meeting his chilling purple eyes, Ashley suppressed the familiar feeling of disgust and replied.

“I don’t want to be in this house. Anywhere but west is fine too.”

The man narrowed his eyes. Ashley showed no reaction to his familiar cynicism. The man, deeply ensconced in a leather chair beyond the massive oak desk, inhaled deeply from his cigar. Ashley stood opposite him, waiting for his answer.

The silence was long. Longer than expected, almost unbearable for Ashley to endure.

“I have a villa in the west.”

Finally, the man opened his mouth.

“I bought it for vacations, but it’s empty anyway, so staying there would be good.”

Having said that slowly, the man turned his gaze to Ashley. He was waiting. For Ashley’s words.

The man, who had never lost a trial, always demanded a price for everything he did. The price Ashley would pay to get what he wanted was ridiculously cheap from the man’s perspective. It was just a single word. But to utter that word, Ashley had to take a deep breath.

“Thank you… Father.”

The man’s lips relaxed. The suffocatingly sweet scent of pheromones, mixed with the acrid cigar smoke, settled heavily around him.