Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 205

Ariel, who was sitting in the living room reading a book, sprang up at the faint ringing of the doorbell and headed for the door.

“Welcome back, did you do well today? What did Julie say…?”

Ariel’s voice gradually faded. Koi walked past her and went straight into the living room. The smile disappeared from her face, which had been curious and welcoming, and Ariel hastily followed Koi.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

She watched anxiously as Koi poured a full cup of water in the kitchen and gulped it down. After wiping his wet mouth, Koi finally spoke.

“Ariel, I have something to ask you.”

“Uh, uh-huh. Tell me, quickly.”

Ariel stammered, which was rare for her. To Ariel, who waited with a frown, a bad premonition gripping her, Koi asked in a low voice.

“Did you know that Ash was engaged?”

Ariel was instantly flustered and speechless. Koi mumbled in a hollow voice at her reaction, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

“You knew.”

Ariel tried to say something but soon gave up and lowered her gaze. Unable to meet Koi’s eyes, she hesitated and then spoke.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”

“You should have told me! You knew!”

Koi rarely expressed such strong emotion.

“You knew I’ve been looking at only Ash for over 10 years and came this far, so why…?”

Koi, who had said that much, covered his face with both hands. He let out a boiling sigh and apologized in a desolate voice.

“I’m sorry.”

His voice was muffled by his hands, his pronunciation unclear. But Koi continued, still covering his face.

“I know it’s not your fault. It’s me who came this far, not caring if Ash had someone else. …I should have known that even if he’s alone now, he could have had someone in the past.”

He poured out his words between trembling breaths.

“Ash told me, he always said it was only me.”

“Koi.”

“He said there was only me, just like me, he only liked me, so I, if he hadn’t said that, I, this… this…”

“Koi.”

Ariel hastily embraced her friend and quickly confessed.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner… You were so happy, I couldn’t tell you. It was a long time ago, and I didn’t think you’d find out like this. I knew Ash was deceiving you… but you were so happy, I thought maybe Ash’s feelings had changed… I’m sorry, Koi. I’m really sorry.”

Koi was still breathing heavily, his face buried in his hands. For a while, Ariel just held him. Koi, who seemed to have somewhat composed himself, finally spoke.

“Is there more?”

He continued in a very hoarse voice.

“Is there anything else you know that Ash is hiding from me?”

Ariel didn’t answer immediately. She swallowed dryly and hesitated, saying, “That is,” then sighed and confessed.

“Ash doesn’t love you.”

Koi showed no reaction at all. He remained frozen for a long time, then slowly lowered the hands covering his face and looked down at Ariel. Shock and bewilderment were clearly visible on his face.

“…What did you say?”

At his question, whispered in a cracked voice, Ariel honestly revealed everything.

“I knew you were meeting him again, so I went to ask that bastard what his intentions were. That’s when Ash told me directly. That he wished for your happiness only to make you equally unhappy. …To be precise, he said this.”

Ariel took a deep breath and repeated his words verbatim.

“The higher you climb, the greater the impact when you fall to the ground.”

Koi’s shallow breaths stopped entirely. Seeing her friend frozen, his eyes wide, Ariel poured out what she had kept in her heart until now.

“Koi, that bastard told me too that he loved you. But I believe that if you truly love someone, you can never think of making them unhappy. That’s not love.”

Koi still showed no reaction. Looking at his face, blank with shock, Ariel coldly presented the reality.

“He might still be obsessed with you, but Koi, obsession doesn’t always stem from love. People can be obsessed with those they hate too.”

Silence fell. Ariel waited for Koi’s reaction, then cautiously spoke.

“Um, Koi. If I hurt you…”

“Wh-who was the person he was engaged to? Do you know?”

Koi interrupted Ariel and asked rapidly, as if spitting out the words. Ariel hesitated and replied.

“Not much, but…”

She dragged out the time as if organizing her thoughts, then finally sighed.

“I heard she was an Omega. But her scent was almost nonexistent, so she was practically a Beta.”

Of course. Because he has convulsions when he smells Omega pheromones.

As Koi mechanically thought, Ariel continued.

“Her father runs an oil company, so she’s incredibly rich. She’s an only daughter, and he dotes on her immensely, I heard. Ash’s family probably considered that aspect a lot too. Those kinds of people arrange marriages among themselves.”

Ariel unconsciously winced, suddenly remembering the expression Ash’s father had when he saw her in high school.

“People date whoever, but they marry within their class.”

She spoke without much thought, but belatedly closed her mouth, though it was already too late. Ariel, flustered, tried to salvage her words, but nothing came to mind.

“…I understand your point.”

After a long time, Koi spoke in a deeply subdued voice.

“I’m going to rest now. Thank you for telling me.”

“Koi…”

Ariel called his name, but Koi didn’t answer and went into his room. Ariel, left alone, sighed, then roughly scratched her head.

Closing the door, Koi lay on the bed and stared blankly at a dark corner of the room for a long time.

“The higher you climb, the greater the impact when you fall to the ground.”

“People can be obsessed with those they hate too.”

“People date whoever, but they marry within their class.”

Ariel’s words kept echoing in his ears. Mixed with Ash’s voice whispering that he loved him, his mind was a mess. Not knowing what to do, he simply closed his eyes. He spent the night feeling helpless, and when he finally managed to think, dawn was breaking.

& & &

He waited anxiously for time to pass, then picked up his phone around the time everyone would have gone to work and called Ash. He had a glimmer of hope, but no one answered. He finally made up his mind and went to Ash’s house, but was stopped at the entrance.

“Mr. Miller is not currently here.”

The doorman who always let Koi in happened to be off that day. Blocked by a man with a stern face, Koi couldn’t get inside easily. He pleaded and begged for a long time, but he couldn’t even step foot in the lobby, let alone get on the elevator.

Koi accepted the bleak reality and, as a last resort, racked his memory and dialed Bernice’s number. He couldn’t trust a memory from only one encounter, but when he heard the cold voice he knew from the other end, he almost collapsed in relief.

“Yes, this is Bernice.”

Hoo, he let out a trembling breath, then spoke with difficulty.

“Hello, um, this is Connor Niles.”

His voice cracked, and he quickly cleared his throat and continued.

“I, I called to ask about Ash’s condition. No one’s home… When will he be back?”

Bernice didn’t answer immediately. He felt as if she was choosing her words, though it seemed unlikely, when she spoke.

“I can’t say yet. He’s undergoing tests.”

“Tests?”

He asked in surprise without realizing it, and Bernice replied in her usual businesslike tone.

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you? That there’s an error in his memory. You must know what that means, don’t you? It means there’s a problem with his brain.”

Koi felt his shoulders tense up automatically and cautiously asked.

“Is it very serious…?”

Could an Extreme Omega’s pheromones be that fatal to an Extreme Alpha? Bernice spoke to him, suddenly feeling anxious.

“We need to do more tests. I can’t tell you anything more for now.”

He wanted to ask which hospital, but she wouldn’t answer. He bit his lip tightly, and after a short pause, Bernice added.

“You should prepare yourself. Junior might be very different from the person you knew.”

“…How?”

Koi asked, but Bernice evaded the answer, saying, “Well.”

“Anyway, I warned you.”

Koi retorted in a stiff voice at her cold tone.

“No matter what happens this time, I won’t break up with Ash.”

His entire body trembled with tension as he uttered the resolve he had been repeating to himself. To Koi, who unconsciously held his breath, she said.

“I have no intention of stopping you. Nor do I have the right.”

Koi felt a sense of futility at her indifferent answer, which contrasted sharply with his firm resolve. He exhaled briefly, and Bernice’s voice reached his ears.

“Whether you break up again or not depends on your will. If you have nothing more to say, then…”

“W-wait a minute!”

Koi urgently stopped her. Confirming that the call hadn’t ended, he quickly added.

“Please, please contact me when Ash wakes up. Please.”

“…I will.”

She hung up after a brief farewell. Koi looked down at his phone for a while, then found his unconsciously clenched fist and slowly opened his hand. His palm was clammy with cold sweat.

Haa, he let out a trembling sigh, then finally relaxed and turned his head. He went back to the doorman who had turned him away, earnestly asked him to contact him when Ash returned, and offered a crumpled 10-dollar bill as a tip. The doorman, with a mask-like smile, said he understood. He politely declined the tip.

That evening, Koi thanked Ariel and then returned to his old basement room. Fortunately, the room was still there thanks to him consistently paying rent.

He thoroughly cleaned the dusty room, took a shower, and then fell asleep. And from the next day, he immediately started working busily at part-time jobs.

Meanwhile, the test results from the hospital he went to with Ariel came back, and as expected, his type was Beta. No pheromones had ever leaked out either.

It doesn’t matter what my type is.

Koi thought as he diligently worked. In fact, it’s better if I’m a Beta. Because Ash has convulsions from Omega pheromones. He tried his best to think positively.

Time continued to pass. It had been almost two weeks since he had seen him.

When we meet again, this time, I’ll propose first.

Even while working, his thoughts were entirely filled with Ash.

They were in love, and it didn’t matter who proposed first. Anyway, Ash hadn’t proposed yet, so he wouldn’t have any right to complain if the opportunity was taken from him. He thought it was even better that he had gained time to save up for a ring. Every night, Koi fell asleep holding his phone, which received no calls.

Pant, pant.

Koi ran frantically through the streets. Bernice’s voice kept echoing in his mind.

“Junior has been discharged. He’s expected to return home today. You can keep waiting for Junior’s call, or you can go home and wait.”

At her usual businesslike voice, Koi unconsciously shouted, “Thank you!”

“Um, why did you contact me?”

He stopped his feet, which were about to run immediately, and asked cautiously. Bernice still replied in a cold voice.

“I’m a person who keeps promises.”

The call ended there, but Koi had no intention of dragging it out further. He canceled his pre-arranged work and, while transferring between subways and buses to get to Ash, he was restless with impatience.

Is Ash okay?

Bernice hadn’t said anything special, so he must be okay, he soothed himself, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Why didn’t he contact me all this time?

Even if Ash had just woken up, he was worried, and if not, he didn’t know why.

It’s okay, I’ll be able to see him soon.

Koi belatedly realized he had forgotten the ring but quickly changed his mind. He could buy the ring later. Or he could go with Ash to buy it. Right now, the first thing to confirm was Ash’s condition.

Hoo, Koi took a deep breath, then as soon as he got off the bus, he started running. He sped wildly towards the incredibly tall and luxurious building overlooking the park.