Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 59

At her blunt remark, Koi flinched and denied it.

“H-jalapeños, it’s not that bad.”

It was the best rebuttal Koi could manage, but of course, it had no effect on Ariel. She scoffed, then lightly tossed her tied hair, which had fallen forward, over her shoulder and said,

“Be grateful for even that much. Our club doesn’t even allow peperoncino to begin with.”

This time, she was talking about an unavoidable situation. Everyone scoffed, but for them, it was quite desperate. Ariel continued,

“We also had a lot of internal opposition and concerns before we decided to accept guys. But what can we do? Five people in a row ended up like that, so I guess it’s natural.”

“Five? Not two?”

To a surprised Koi, Ariel gasped, “Ha,” and covered her mouth with one hand. A strange silence fell, as if she had made a mistake, then she sighed in resignation and said,

“It’s five. This was a secret.”

She warned him to keep quiet since he was now a club member, then continued,

“No one wants to join the cheerleading team anymore, and if the numbers keep decreasing like this and the club gets disbanded, what will we do? That’s absolutely unacceptable.”

With a more serious face than ever, Ariel added spiritedly,

“So you have to do really well, got it?”

She poked Koi’s chest with her index finger, pushing him back, and raised her eyes menacingly.

“If you don’t do it properly, I won’t let you off the hook.”

“Ah, okay.”

Koi, who had staggered back, answered unconsciously, overwhelmed by her intensity. Ariel nodded, “Good,” then brushed past him and went outside. She took out her car keys from her pocket and pressed a button, and the trunk of the car parked on the street opened. Ariel turned back and commanded,

“Put the bike in.”

“Huh?”

To his bewildered question, she replied, heading towards the driver’s seat,

“I’ll give you a ride, so put the bike in. Hurry.”

“Oh…”

Before he could say anything more, Ariel got into the car. Koi stood there in a daze, then hastily dragged the bicycle and approached the car where she was waiting.

“I can go by myself.”

“Just get in quickly, I’m tired.”

Ariel grumbled and buckled her seatbelt. Koi hastily loaded the bicycle as instructed and opened the passenger door.

“Th-thank you.”

“Buckle up.”

Ariel took out gum, chewed it, started the engine, and pulled out the car. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, she pressed the remote control on the sun visor to close the garage door, then skillfully made a turn and exited the residential area. Koi sat in the passenger seat, blinking in a daze, and drove towards his house with Ariel. By now, his tears had completely dried.

Ariel’s car reached Koi’s street in an instant. Koi asked her to pull over to the side of the road, carefully took the bicycle she had given him out of the trunk, set it down, and then greeted Ariel, who was still in the driver’s seat.

“Thank you, Elle. Um, can I call you Elle?”

When Koi asked cautiously, Ariel shrugged and said,

“You’re not a friend, but I’ll allow it. It’ll be for a short time, since we’re in the same club.”

“Ah… okay.”

Koi suddenly wondered. Am I Ariel’s friend while I’m in the club?

Of course, he couldn’t ask. Ariel blew a bubble and started the car. Koi stood there, watching Ariel’s car disappear, then turned around. The bicycle’s weight was incomparably lighter than before, but Koi’s steps towards home were heavy.

The spot where Ariel had parked her car was the exact same spot where Ashley had previously parked his car when he had given Koi a ride home. The memory brought back the sadness he had briefly forgotten, which now completely overwhelmed his chest.

Suddenly, he wondered if what he had heard was real. But he knew for sure. He hadn’t dreamed it, nor had he misheard.

He suppressed the sudden prickling in his nose and continued walking. The familiar motorhome was, as expected, dark. He went into the small, empty car, washed himself, and then slowly climbed into bed.

He curled up small, closed his eyes, and surprisingly, quickly fell into a deep sleep without even dreaming.

When Ashley woke up in the morning, he felt terrible. No, in fact, his mood had been at rock bottom even before he fell asleep. He had wandered for nearly two hours but ultimately couldn’t find Koi and returned home.

I should have forced myself to find out his address if I knew this would happen.

He regretted it belatedly, but it was too late. All he could do was go to school as soon as morning came and ask Koi what had happened.

After a restless period, he woke up earlier than usual and immediately prepared for school. That was the only way to meet Koi. Unless he was absent.

He wouldn’t skip school, would he?

He thought as he sat in the driver’s seat. If Koi skipped school, it wouldn’t be a normal situation. Something serious must have happened to him.

You’re okay, right, Koi?

He gripped the steering wheel with one hand and roughly ran the other through his hair in frustration. The drive to school felt particularly long today.

“Ash!”

As usual, Bill spotted him first and greeted him. Ashley, suppressing his nerves, which were heightened by lack of sleep, lightly slapped Bill’s outstretched hand in greeting.

“What did you do yesterday? You look really tired.”

Bill asked, puzzled, and Ashley answered vaguely.

“Nothing much.”

“Oh… really?”

Sensing something unusual, he subtly glanced at Ashley, then quickly changed the subject. As always, Bill rambled on about useless things like his dog and homework, and Ashley just gave perfunctory replies as he walked. His mind was completely filled with thoughts of Koi.

“Ah…”

He unconsciously groaned and rubbed his eyes, and Bill asked,

“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“No, just.”

Ashley trailed off, feeling a burning sensation behind his eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

The pain, which had started some time ago, had worsened recently. He thought it was because he hadn’t slept well the night before, but today, the inside of his eyes ached unusually, to the point of being irritating. He even thought about skipping practice and going to the ophthalmologist, but he knew he’d just hear that there was nothing wrong, so he gave up on that too.

I need to use more eye drops.

He recalled the medicine prescribed by the hospital and continued walking. Near the lockers, the group he usually hung out with was already gathered, chattering. Bill greeted him first, and the others, turning their heads, also waved their arms. Ashley, who had belatedly raised his head, paused.

Among the bustling crowd of kids, he caught a glimpse of the person he was looking for. It was only for a fleeting moment, but Ashley didn’t miss it. Even if a million people were gathered, he would have found Koi in an instant. That’s because, among all those people, only Koi stood out clearly in his vision.

“Just a moment.”

He said, as if tossing the words to his friends, then quickly pushed through the kids and went forward. The group, who had been watching his back, confirmed that Ashley had grabbed Koi and was talking to him, then looked at each other’s faces. They soon brought up another topic, but a lingering question remained in their minds.

Koi, who had ridden the bicycle Ariel gave him the day before, arrived at school earlier than usual. This was because, unlike his previous old bike, which had heavy pedals and constantly deflating tires that prevented him from going fast, the current bicycle was very light and had sturdy tires. He felt like he could use this one for another 10 years or more.

He secured the bicycle, grateful to Ariel, then headed to his locker and paused. The ice hockey team guys were gathered in one corner.

He hastily hunched his body, being as careful as possible not to be noticed. Fortunately, Ashley didn’t seem to have arrived yet. Koi quickly began to pack his bag, trying to get out of there. He opened his locker door, hid his head behind it, and quickly grabbed his textbooks. After frantically stuffing the necessary items into his bag and closing the door again, a shadow suddenly fell over him.

“Koi.”

“Huh?”

Koi, who had let out an involuntary scream, flinched and hastily looked up. And the moment he confirmed that the face of the person he wanted to avoid most was there, his mind went completely blank.

“Koi.”

Ashley, who had called his name again, opened his mouth. With a serious face.

“I’d like to talk for a moment, if that’s okay?”

The surroundings were noisy, but for some reason, it felt deadly quiet around them. Koi swallowed dryly and looked up at him. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way to avoid Ashley. Koi finally nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

No sooner had he spoken than Ashley grabbed Koi’s shoulder and strode forward. Koi had no choice but to practically run, being dragged along by him.