Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 22

“Is there a special reason you live in this house?”

Ashleigh replied to Koi’s question as he parked the car.

“It has a gate, so the security is pretty good.”

He had asked about the size, but got an unexpected answer. Feeling too awkward to ask further, Koi just said, “Oh, I see,” and stopped talking.

Ashleigh smoothly parked the car and got out of the driver’s seat first. Koi also unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, but suddenly turned his head and paused.

“Oh.”

Ashleigh, who had been walking ahead, turned back. At his gaze, as if asking what was wrong, Koi pointed to the back seat.

“Here, the dolls.”

Ashleigh instinctively followed his gaze and soon understood. Koi’s face lit up brightly when he saw the ugly dolls sitting neatly in the back seat, buckled up.

“They’re all going for a drive together.”

“And they’re all properly buckled in.”

“Right.”

Koi laughed aloud. The thought that the gift he had given was always with Ashleigh made him unable to stop laughing. Ashleigh stared intently at his ears, then opened his mouth.

“…Yesterday.”

In a quiet voice, Koi looked up. A gust of wind blew past Ashleigh’s back, ruffling his bright blonde hair. Ashleigh stood some distance away, gazing at Koi, and said.

“Why didn’t you leave?”

It took a moment for Koi to grasp the meaning of the question. As Koi just blinked and stared, Ashleigh continued.

“I was out of it with a fever yesterday, so I grabbed your hand, but you could have just stayed until I fell asleep, right? If you had just left, I wouldn’t have known, so why didn’t you leave?”

Ashleigh added in a serious tone.

“It was the day before your exam.”

Of course, there would be other opportunities, but missing one opportunity was always regrettable for anyone. Many people are too nervous to sleep before an exam. Nevertheless, Koi had simply wasted important time that should have been spent preparing and checking everything to avoid making mistakes, all because he was held by Ashleigh.

Ashleigh was curious about the reason. Koi opened his mouth toward him, waiting for an answer. His face gradually brightened, a full smile gracing his features.

“I promised, Ash. That I’d stay by your side.”

Ashleigh gazed blankly at Koi’s brightly smiling face. A cool wind blew from behind him, sweeping over his entire body. But he felt no coldness at all. For some reason, his face grew hotter and hotter, and his heart began to pound terrifyingly.

Just then, the setting sun bathed Koi’s face in an orange glow, making his brown eyes, looking up at him, shine like gold.

Ah.

Ashleigh quickly covered his mouth with one hand. If he didn’t, his wildly racing heart felt like it would burst out of his mouth.

I don’t believe in promises.

Ashleigh thought. I never believe words like “I’ll be with you.” Because they’re all lies.

But.

Koi’s smiling face filled Ashleigh’s eyes.

But why do your words make my heart flutter so much?

The mansion was as empty as ever. The quietness of the mansion, where no sign of human presence could be felt, made Koi suddenly curious.

“When will the staff come?”

Ashleigh answered Koi’s question simply.

“They’re on vacation.”

“Oh, I see… Then when will they come back?”

“Hmm, next week?”

Ashleigh, who had spoken casually, added.

“They made a few days’ worth of food before they left, so if it’s not enough, you can order delivery or eat out.”

“Oh, I see.”

Koi said that, but secretly thought, eating isn’t the only important thing, is it? It wasn’t hard to imagine Ashleigh reheating food and eating dinner alone in that vast mansion.

“…Me too.”

“Huh?”

Koi, who had mumbled softly, quickly shook his head.

“No, nothing.”

Of course, Ashleigh and he were completely different. How could Connor Niles, who only had Ashleigh as a friend, was constantly busy with school or part-time jobs, fought with flickering lights in a rundown old motorhome while doing homework, and had to pretend to be asleep, holding his breath on a flat mattress to avoid his drunken father, be the same as him?

But soon, it didn’t matter anymore. Because at this moment, he was happy. He decided to forget about the messed-up exam, just for today.

“So when they’re not on vacation, when do they come?”

When he asked again, Ashleigh replied.

“When I’m not here.”

“Why?”

Ashleigh easily explained what Koi was curious about.

“Because it’s a contractual condition for them to avoid encountering me as much as possible.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

Koi was surprised by the unexpected reason and asked again. Ashleigh spoke casually again.

“My father values privacy very much.”

Koi still couldn’t quite grasp it, but he didn’t ask further. There were many people in the world, and just as many ways of life. Moreover, no matter how much he was told, Koi couldn’t understand the lives of wealthy families like Ashleigh’s.

“So they just prepare the meals and leave them?”

Koi asked, following Ashleigh, who was heading to the kitchen. Ashleigh opened the refrigerator door, looked inside, and replied.

“Mostly. If there’s anything specific you want, you can leave a note or tell my father’s secretary.”

“Oh, I see…”

Koi mumbled softly. Ashleigh’s life at school probably wasn’t much different from other students, but outside, there was such a huge difference. Even though it was his second time, the sheer size of the mansion still felt overwhelming, and Koi followed behind Ashleigh.

“Let’s eat dinner first.”

“Okay.”

Koi readily nodded to Ashleigh, who had turned back and spoken, and followed him into the kitchen.

Unlike the kitchen on the second floor, the main kitchen for dining was as vast as the enormous mansion, and there were even four refrigerators. Their designs were all different, clearly indicating different uses, but Koi couldn’t have imagined so many refrigerators in a mansion where Ashleigh lived practically alone.

But perhaps four refrigerators were perfectly normal to fill such a large kitchen. The ovens built into the wall, as well as the countertops, were also incredibly large. The neatly arranged cooking utensils and the countless knives stuck in blocks were as varied as those in a famous restaurant kitchen, and even to Koi’s untrained eye, they looked expensive and luxurious.

Koi, who had looked around the neatly organized kitchen with a gasp of “Wow,” spotted Ashleigh opening the refrigerator door and checking inside, and quickly approached him.

“I’ll help.”

At Koi’s words, Ashleigh didn’t even turn his head, just pulled out a plate and held it out. On the plate, wrapped in plastic wrap, was a large piece of pre-marinated chicken.

“Put it in the oven at 250 degrees for 30 minutes.”

Ashleigh said as Koi read aloud the memo on the sticky note attached to the plastic wrap.

“Put it in the oven, we’ll bake everything at once.”

“Okay.”

Koi, who had secretly been flustered about how to use the unfamiliar oven, nodded in relief.

After that, Ashleigh took out a few more dishes. He skillfully pressed buttons to operate the oven, then checked the food in the refrigerator again while waiting for it to preheat.

“What kind of salad do you like? Shrimp and avocado? Salmon and lettuce? Or chicken?”

“Uh…”

Koi hesitated, unsure what to choose, but Ashleigh took out all three and placed them on a cart. Koi craned his neck, lifted and lowered his arms, and even trailed behind him, but there was no opportunity for him to do anything.

When he tiptoed to get tableware, Ashleigh would smoothly grab them and put them down. When he looked around for forks and knives, Ashleigh would stride over, open one of many drawers, and take out the correct number. Then, seeing Ashleigh take out five bottles of salad dressing, Koi was sure this time he could be helpful.

“Oh.”

Koi, who was ready to take the bottles, froze when he saw Ashleigh turn around, holding three bottles in one hand and two in the other.

I should have just grabbed the necks of the salad bottles.

Koi sighed softly as he watched Ashleigh casually place the bottles, each one hooked onto a thick, long finger, onto the cart. Just then, a ‘ding’ sound indicated that the oven had finished preheating. But even that was Ashleigh’s job.

I’m really no help to Ash at all…