Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 38

“All done.”

“…Yeah.”

Koi hastily cleared his throat, afraid his voice would tremble.

“Thank you.”

“Okay.”

Ashley, who had responded simply, then put on his own ice skates. Seeing him finish the task quickly, unlike how carefully he had tied Koi’s laces, Koi asked,

“How long have you been skating?”

Ashley replied as he went out onto the rink first.

“Well, since I was four?”

“What?”

By the time a surprised voice escaped him, Ashley was already far away. Koi sat on the bench and watched Ashley freely gliding on the ice. After doing a test lap around the wide rink, he returned to his original spot and stood in front of Koi again.

“Alright, you try it too.”

Ashley held out his hand. Koi took a deep breath and bravely stood up. The moment his arms flailed, Ashley quickly caught them.

“Th-thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ashley, who had casually brushed it off, took both of Koi’s hands and stepped back. Guided by him, Koi slowly took one step forward at a time. And then, when he finally stood on the ice with both feet.

“Aaaah!”

“Koi!”

With a scream, Koi immediately collapsed. His whole body slapped against the ice, but fortunately, his hands were safe. It was thanks to Ashley holding them tightly.

“Koi, it’s okay. Here, I’ll hold you, so slowly…”

Ashley bent down and helped him up, gradually assisting him to stand upright. Koi tried to stand up on his own, but his body simply wouldn’t obey his thoughts. Every time he tried to put his foot on the rink, the blade would slip and his leg would slide down, and whenever he barely managed to stand the skate blade upright, it would often fall sideways.

After repeating this a couple of times, Koi completely lost his confidence.

How am I supposed to dance wearing these things?

Can I even get into the cheerleading team like this? What about my extracurricular activity points then? If I don’t get enough points, my college admission will be out of reach. No matter how much I say I don’t have money or it’s hard, being frustrated because of poverty and hardship is a different dimension from not being able to do something because of a lack of ability. Am I going to be frustrated like this, unable to even step foot into college?

Looking at himself, constantly falling and unable to stand properly on the ice even with Ashley’s help, everything seemed like a distant dream. His vision blurred, and his expression gradually hardened. It was then.

“Koi, Koi, Koi.”

Ashley called his name repeatedly. As if to make him snap out of it. Looking into Koi’s face, which had instantly fallen into a panic, he said calmly,

“It’s okay, relax. I’ll help you, you can do it.”

Ashley spoke gently to soothe him, but Koi immediately made a tearful face and shook his head.

“I can’t…”

Frustration at his foolish self brought tears to his eyes. Perhaps because he was in front of the kind Ashley, his emotions seemed to well up faster. All the past events came to mind for no reason, and words full of resentment flowed from his mouth.

“I’m really bad at sports. Why do they have to put something like this in grades and give points? Just as there are people who are good at sports, there are people who aren’t. I can’t make friends, and I’m even worse at moving my body. This is too cruel. Are people like me not supposed to go to college? It’s really too much…”

He was so resentful, embarrassed, and upset that he just burst into tears.

Is just living diligently not enough? Even in a difficult family environment, I’m doing my best, enduring to the point of death, but everyone says that’s not enough. They say I have to do what I can’t do until the very end, but what can’t be done even if I try my hardest, just can’t be done. Look, I can’t even stand on skates that everyone else can ride. What is this? It’s over. I’m completely ruined.

Everything was a mess. While Koi sobbed, Ashley said nothing. He just silently waited for Koi’s crying to subside.

After some time had passed, when Koi was finally exhausted from crying and only sniffling, Ashley slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you feel a bit better?”

“…Yeah.”

Koi nodded. As the sudden surge of emotions subsided, he gradually became more objective, and guilt washed over him. Ashley was busy and tired, yet he took the time for him, and he had acted ridiculously by getting angry and crying. He couldn’t bring himself to look up.

“I’m sorry, Ash…”

When he apologized in a small voice, Ashley shook his head.

“It’s okay, everyone has moments of frustration.”

“Everyone?”

Koi looked up. Ashley burst out laughing at his red nose.

“Yes, everyone.”

Koi knew well that Ashley Miller was not included in “everyone,” but he didn’t complain further. It was no longer a time to cry and throw a tantrum.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I’m okay now.”

After taking a deep breath, Koi said,

“I’ll try again.”

“Good, before that, first…”

Ashley put his hands under Koi’s armpits and lifted him straight up. Koi, who was instantly standing upright, blinked in bewilderment. What just happened?

It didn’t end there. Ashley suddenly picked Koi up in a hug.

“W-what?”

“Wait. Don’t struggle, it’s dangerous.”

Koi, who had unconsciously flailed, hastily huddled his body at Ashley’s warning. Ashley skillfully glided across the ice and returned to their starting point.

“Here.”

Ashley, who had sat Koi on the bench, brought him a bottle of water. Koi thanked him again and took the water, putting it to his lips. He was thirsty from crying so much. After drinking his fill and putting the bottle down, Ashley said,

“Let’s start again once your breathing calms down.”

“…Yeah, thank you.”

“Alright, I know you’re grateful enough to me, so you can stop saying that now. Understood?”

After adding the last words, Ashley looked at him. As if this time, it was time for an answer. Koi hastily nodded.

Different music was playing from Ashley’s cell phone than before. Ashley turned off the music and casually tossed his cell phone aside. The surroundings became quiet again. Koi tried to calm his still-sobbing breaths and opened his mouth.

“How did you learn to skate? At such a young age.”

“Just a trivial reason,” Ashley said.

“My dad made me.”

“Ah, ah…”

Koi tried to imagine his father, a capable but devilish lawyer from the East, burning with educational zeal. Ashley added as if to himself,

“I actually started with figure skating at first.”

“What? Figure skating? You?”

It was an unexpected statement. When Koi shouted in surprise, Ashley laughed.

“Yeah. Why? Doesn’t it suit me?”

“Ah, no.”

Koi asked, feeling bewildered.

“But why did you quit?”

“Well,” Ashley replied nonchalantly again.

“My body kept getting bigger.”

It was a fairly plausible reason. Koi, somehow convinced, changed the subject.

“When did you start ice hockey?”

“Fourth grade. A bit late.”

“Since you already knew how to skate, it was a bit easier, right?”

To Koi’s question, Ashley unexpectedly shook his head.

“No, the skate blades are different depending on the sport, so I had to learn again. So I struggled a bit.”

“R-really?”

As a flustered Koi looked down at the ice skates he was wearing, Ashley answered before a question could even be asked.

“What you’re wearing are figure skates. What I wear are these.”

Ashley demonstratively held up his own skates. He hadn’t noticed before, but the blades of the skates he saw were distinctly different. Seeing Koi, who was curiously examining the blades from various angles, Ashley said,

“Feeling a bit better now?”

“Oh? Oh.”

At his words, he came to his senses and realized his sobbing had stopped.

“I’m okay now.”

“Good, then stand up.”

Ashley smiled.

“You cried your heart out, so now you have to make up for it as much as you cried.”

Wow.

Koi looked at him, feeling the blood drain from his face.

This is why not just anyone can join a sports team.