Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 32

“Alright. You can come now.”

Ashley said. For some reason, his voice sounded more nervous than usual. Koi felt a fear settle in a corner of his heart and cautiously took a step. Gulp, he swallowed dryly, and finally, when he turned the corner and faced Ashley.

…Huh.

Koi’s eyes widened, and he froze. Ashley, standing a few steps away, was not much different from other times. He was dressed in a comfortable T-shirt and jeans as always, and he was wearing sandals barefoot. His hair, too, was casually disheveled, as it usually was when he was at home. Up to that point, it was as expected. What was completely different from what he had imagined was his face.

Ashley’s face was indeed swollen. However, it wasn’t his entire face swollen from crying, but rather one cheek was distinctly red with clear handprints. There were also scratch marks on his neck.

…A cat?

Koi initially thought so. He had never raised a cat, but he had fed stray cats. It took quite some time for a cat to open its heart, and until then, they would frequently scratch the back of his hand. After some time, they started hiding their claws and hitting him with their paws, which also hurt quite a bit.

Ashley’s face was exactly like that now. It looked like a hostile stray cat had been wary of a stranger and had diligently punched him with its claws out.

If it weren’t for those handprints, he would have thought so.

The clear finger marks were left by a person. Koi, who had been silently looking at his face, cautiously opened his mouth.

“Uh, Ash.”

“Yeah.”

Ashley replied. His lips also seemed a bit torn. Koi hesitated and then asked.

“Perhaps, that.”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ashley said.

“That’s right, Al hit me.”

“Gasp.”

For a moment, Koi involuntarily gasped roughly. Seeing him cover his mouth and roll his eyes, Ashley roughly scratched the back of his head.

“See? It’s not as bad as you worried.”

“Oh, I see.”

Koi stammered. He had to say something, but nothing came to mind. He looked around cautiously and then opened his mouth.

“Uh, um, she must have been very angry.”

“She must have been.”

Ashley spoke as if it were someone else’s business. There was no sense of anger or gloom. Koi hesitated and then asked.

“Um, are you okay?”

“What?”

Koi hesitated and then answered honestly.

“You were dumped by Al.”

“What?”

Ashley reacted the same way he had on the phone. This time, he looked particularly surprised. Ashley, who had frowned and contorted his face, asked again.

“Ariel dumped me?”

At his genuinely surprised reaction, Koi’s eyes also widened.

“Was I wrong?”

Did that mean they hadn’t broken up?

He thought to himself, and Ashley, who had blinked a couple of times, soon returned to an indifferent expression and scratched his head.

“No, you’re right.”

It was clearly a half-hearted response to anyone. He must be in great shock, Koi thought.

“Don’t be too disappointed, Ash.”

Koi comforted him with sincerity.

“I don’t know what happened, but forget about it. It must have been Al’s mistake.”

As he said what he had recalled from his search, Ashley’s face became serious.

“Al is a good person. It was my fault.”

“Uh, huh?”

This wasn’t in the manual.

Koi looked up at him, flustered. Perhaps finding his expression amusing, Ashley chuckled. Instantly, the air around them softened, and the tension in Koi’s shoulders relaxed. Ashley turned first and said.

“Come in, you’re staying for dinner, right?”

“Huh? Oh.”

Koi hastily followed him. Ashley, who had opened the front door and stepped inside, moved aside.

“Welcome.”

Seeing him smile, stretch out one arm, and bow, Koi involuntarily laughed.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

He spoke with utmost politeness and stepped inside, and Ashley closed the door behind him. A low thud echoed hollowly.

Huh?

Feeling somehow strange, Koi turned around. Ashley was standing there, leaning against the door.

“You can’t leave now, Koi.”

He said in an unusually low voice. Ashley’s chilling face was reflected in Koi’s wide-open eyes.

“Because you’re mine.”

…Huh?

He was bewildered by the unexpected situation. What was happening all of a sudden? Ashley trapped me? Why? How?

He stood there, flustered and blank, when Ashley pushed himself off the door. One step, he took a step towards him.

One step, then another. Ashley gradually got closer. His gaze remained fixed on Koi. Koi also couldn’t take his eyes off him.

An unknown tension filled the air. He had to react somehow, but he couldn’t move. He just froze and watched Ashley approach. This was the first time he had seen Ashley like this. With a chilling tension and fear, Koi hunched his shoulders.

Thump…

Ashley slowly stopped. The distance between them was now just one step.

“Koi.”

Ashley called his name in a low voice. Koi watched him lower his head as if mesmerized. In his widely opened vision, Ashley’s face gradually drew closer. Just as he thought Ashley’s neat face looked cold, like a statue made of glass, his breath touched Koi’s ear. It was then that he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.

“Whoa!”

Suddenly, Ashley let out a short exclamation.

“Agh!”

As Koi screamed, startled, Ashley burst into loud laughter. Realizing belatedly that Ashley had played a mischievous prank, he clutched his chest and sighed in relief.

“What was that? You scared me.”

To Koi, who lightly admonished him, Ashley, still smiling, walked ahead.

“Where should we eat? In the garden again, like last time?”

“Uh, oh. Anywhere is fine with me.”

As Koi hastily followed him, Ashley hummed softly and walked. His heart was still pounding from what had just happened, but it was a relief that Ashley didn’t seem too dejected.

But why did he feel a little disappointed?

They decided to eat in the gazebo, just like last time. Koi took charge of the drinks and diligently prepared and carried related items. This time, Ashley brought two kinds of salad, hamburgers, and sandwiches.

“Looks delicious.”

As he admired the hamburger with several thin sticks stuck in it, Ashley sat across from him and picked up a drink.

“You still had mango cola?”

At Ashley’s question, Koi replied.

“That was the last one. I didn’t know what else to bring.”

Ashley poured ice and the drink without much reaction. They finished their meal with little conversation.

After dinner, Ashley made an unexpected suggestion to Koi.

“Why don’t you stay the night?”

“Huh?”

Koi blinked in surprise. Two thoughts simultaneously popped into his mind: should he stay or not? His father wouldn’t allow him to stay out. Of course, he would be angry. Fortunately, when he was sober, his father was at least in a better state, so as long as he didn’t get drunk, that was the extent of it. Still, it was better to quietly go home than take unnecessary risks. The latter was obviously the wiser choice, and he knew it himself.

But Koi’s heart didn’t agree.

“…Yeah.”

Koi nodded.

“I’ll do that.”

[I’m staying at a friend’s house tonight for homework. I’ll definitely be home tomorrow, so don’t worry. Koi.]

“…’ll be home tomorrow, so…”

Koi read his own message aloud, nodded, and then pressed the send button. He immediately turned off his phone. It would be troublesome if his father called him while drunk.

Hoo-woo.

He still breathed with a tremor and clutched his chest, but he couldn’t calm down. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. He repeated the same words several times, but peace didn’t come easily.

Calm down, you’ve already sent the message. It’s too late to regret it now.

“Hoo-woo.”

This time, he let out a deep breath with a sound and went outside.

After finishing the meal, Koi and Ashley entered the mansion together. While Ashley pushed the used dishes into the dishwasher, Koi had gone into an empty room and sent a message to his father. Actually, he had initially tried to call, but his voice was trembling so much that he didn’t think he could speak.

If it’s this scary, why don’t you just go home?

He scolded himself, but the temptation was much stronger than he thought.

Ashley had offered him to stay the night, and he absolutely couldn’t refuse.

Koi resolved himself, but in the end, he couldn’t make the call. Instead, he ended the situation by sending a message and then went back into the hallway.