Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 2

“Haaah.”

After finally throwing out the last of the trash, Koi stretched his back with a sigh. He looked around the store once more, confirmed everything was done, and turned off all the lights. Locking the store door from the outside, everything was truly finished now.

He scurried, almost running, to his bicycle and quickly started pedaling. He had roughly skimmed it earlier, but it seemed his assignment would take quite a while to complete. He might even have to pull an all-nighter. His heart raced, and his feet on the pedals moved even faster. A cool wind sharply brushed past his ears.

The part-time job he had started a few months ago involved working alone at a small store, handling calculations and organizing goods, and then cleaning and disposing of trash when closing time arrived. He was supposed to be paid for the time spent cleaning and disposing of trash, but the owner had never bothered to include it. Koi, finding it difficult to find other work, simply worked overtime as instructed.

Since he worked 30 minutes to an hour past closing time, it was usually close to midnight by the time he got home. There was simply not enough time for assignments and studying.

Koi nervously pedaled faster, rushing through the dark night.

Koi stopped in front of the truck-turned-home, almost throwing his bicycle down, and rushed inside. After quickly washing up, he immediately sat down, turned on his computer, and prepared for his assignment while it booted up. He checked the assignment details on the screen one more time, sighed, opened his notebook, and began roughly organizing his thoughts.

The assignment was to read one of the pre-assigned Latin literature books and analyze it. He had already read the book, so all he had to do was write the essay according to the topic.

For a while, he was so engrossed in the assignment that he lost track of time. Mr. Martinez, the teacher in charge, was very strict about assignments, even more unforgiving about missing deadlines than about shoddy content.

Managing his grades was paramount for his scholarship and for getting into his desired university. Koi rubbed his increasingly blurry eyes and diligently crafted sentences.

Just as he was deeply focused, a loud engine sound suddenly came from outside. It was his father’s old truck returning. Startled, Koi quickly turned off the computer screen and the desk lamp, and jumped into bed. The moment he pulled the covers over himself, the door burst open, and his father entered the old, cramped motorhome.

His palms were sweaty with tension, and his heart pounded. Koi lay still, eyes tightly shut. Every nerve was focused on his ears, tracking his father’s movements.

His father seemed drunk again today. Muttering incomprehensible words, he stumbled around, making a loud noise as he bumped into something. As expected, his father cursed and then started walking again.

A moment later, the sound of the refrigerator door opening was followed by the clinking of glass. As always, he was taking out alcohol from the refrigerator.

“Ugh…”

His father groaned uncomfortably, sat down in a chair, and then began drinking beer. Even though he had already come home heavily intoxicated, he was drinking again.

But for Koi, it was actually a good thing. Today, he wouldn’t force him awake or pick a fight and beat him. After a few bottles, he would soon fall asleep. Then he could turn on the computer again and finish the remaining assignment. It happened often, so the pattern was obvious. Koi just waited for his father to fall asleep.

“Cough…”

Soon, his father, who had been groaning drunkenly, seemed to quiet down and then began to snore.

Koi cautiously peeked out from under the covers, just his eyes, and checked on his father. His father was slumped asleep on the small kitchen table, visible directly from Koi’s bed. Several empty liquor bottles lay scattered on the floor. Koi watched his father for a moment, then carefully got out of bed.

His father was fast asleep, still snoring. Koi endured the ringing in his head and returned to his assignment. He glanced at the clock; it was 3 AM. He decided to finish the assignment within the next 2 hours. Then he could get at least a little sleep. He forced his constantly closing eyes open and began to immerse himself in the assignment again.

“Ugh…”

Startled by a sudden groan, Koi sharply turned his head. His father was still asleep. Phew, he sighed in relief, and just as he turned his eyes back to the monitor,

“Miranda…”

Koi froze, unable to move for a moment. Then he heard a sniffle, and silence returned. His father was still slumped on the table, asleep. He didn’t talk in his sleep anymore.

Koi tried to concentrate on his assignment again, but this time it wasn’t easy. Talk about her was forbidden between them. It was a memory that brought back as much pain to him as it did to his father, so Koi had never spoken her name either.

But his father seemed to still hold her in his heart. Whether it was lingering affection, longing, or hatred. He remembered a time when his father had been drinking and let his true feelings slip.

“If only you didn’t resemble that woman so much…”

Since then, Koi has lived with guilt. After all, all this misfortune was his fault.

Suddenly, he felt a sting in his nose and quickly shook his head. The assignment in front of him was the top priority right now. Koi focused on finishing his writing again.

Haa, haa.

He had finished his assignment by dawn and then fallen asleep, which meant he was completely late. When he opened his eyes, his father was still asleep, slumped over the table, but the sun was already high in the sky.

Startled, Koi quickly got out of bed, hastily washed his face, grabbed his bag, rushed out, and hopped on his bicycle. He pedaled with all his might, noticing that there were far fewer cars lined up than usual.

I’m screwed.

He frantically pedaled, racing madly across the campus. Of all places, the building where his class was held was the furthest away. It was a small mercy that his first class didn’t require a textbook, so he didn’t need to stop at his locker.

Bang! He opened the door, and Mr. Martinez, who was in the middle of class, immediately turned to him. Koi gasped for breath and was about to rush to the empty seat in the corner when he stopped short. Someone else was sitting in his usual seat.

It wasn’t that this situation had never happened before. But of all days, today.

He looked around frantically, flustered, when he unexpectedly met eyes with someone. Ashley Miller, who was sitting in the middle of the classroom as always, smiled. Coincidentally, the only empty seat was right behind him.

Ashley Miller was smiling cheerfully as always, but given the circumstances, Koi couldn’t smile back. He looked around in a panic, but no matter how he looked, that was the only empty seat. The teacher, who had been waiting for the student to sit down, no longer tolerated the interruption to the class.

“What are you doing? Sit down quickly.”

At the teacher’s command, Koi could no longer resist and finally hesitantly walked towards the empty seat. Before turning around, he didn’t forget to grab the printouts the teacher was handing out.

As he sat down and placed his bag on the floor, the teacher resumed the lesson. Koi quickly unzipped his bag, took out his writing tools, and prepared to listen to the class. Then, he finally straightened his back and looked forward, only to find a wall in front of him. It was Ashley Miller’s enormous back.

Why, why, for what reason?

No matter how much he craned his neck, he couldn’t see anything in front. Perhaps it was his mood, but even the teacher’s voice sounded distant, as if coming from beyond a wall.

Now he’s even blocking the path of a civilian like me.

Throughout the class, Koi seethed with resentment, glaring at Ashley Miller’s broad back, but of course, he didn’t notice at all.

“Connor Niles, come here for a moment.”

Somehow, class ended, and everyone was leaving the classroom when Mr. Martinez suddenly called out to Koi. Koi paused, looked back at the students leaving behind him, and approached the teacher’s desk where Mr. Martinez was leaning. The teacher looked at the anxious student standing before him and spoke.

“Do you know why I called you?”

Koi shook his head and replied,

“No. …Because I was late for class?”

If she was going to talk about his tardiness, he planned to plead for leniency, explaining that he had stayed up late for his assignment. As Koi waited nervously, the teacher said with a serious face,

“You didn’t submit your assignment. Did something happen?”

“Huh? My assignment?”

Koi’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected news. The teacher nodded, saying, “Yes.”

“You wouldn’t say you didn’t know the deadline, would you? If you checked the assignment, you would have clearly seen the date written next to it.”

“I-I saw it. I definitely submitted the assignment, but…”

Koi felt momentarily dizzy and stammered. He couldn’t believe that all the effort he had put in, staying up all night, had gone to waste.