Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 6

“Oh, ah, right.”

Koi hastily pulled out money for the drinks from his pocket and placed it on the table. Ashley, who had checked the bill brought by the staff, took out his card and returned it to her. Koi felt his heart pound when he saw Ashley readily circle 20 percent of the tip written on the bill.

The tip is more than my lunch.

For Koi, who could count on one hand the number of times he’d eaten at a restaurant where tips were given, his heart pounded wildly in shock. Doesn’t Ashley feel bad about paying such a huge tip?

“Um, where do you live?”

Finally, as they left the restaurant, Koi couldn’t hold back and asked. Ashley, who was walking towards his parked car, replied.

“Over there.”

Following the direction his fingertip pointed, Koi was utterly dumbfounded. It was an enormous wealthy neighborhood, guarded by security at the entrance, and the entire area took over three hours to drive across. And Ashley Miller’s residence was the largest and most luxurious mansion at the top of the hill within it.

So that’s why he pays so much in tips without a second thought.

To the stunned Koi, Ashley said, “If you were a girl, I’d walk you home, but…”

His words trailed off as if on purpose, and Koi quickly shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. Let’s part ways here.”

“Alright, then.”

Just as he was about to turn away as if he’d been waiting for that, Koi hastily grabbed him.

“Um, you need to give me your email address.”

“Ah… right.”

Ashley paused for a moment, then nodded and held out his hand.

“Give me your phone.”

“Huh? Oh.”

He handed over his phone in a daze, and Ashley skillfully tapped on the keypad before returning it to Koi.

“You use it without a password?”

“Well, there’s no one to look at it anyway.”

Koi checked the phone number and email address Ashley had entered, then looked up. He naturally thought it was his turn now, but Ashley showed no intention of handing over his own phone.

“You send me an email first. Then I’ll reply. How about that?”

“Uh…”

Something felt strange, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what to say. Instead, Koi hesitated and nodded.

“Okay.”

Before another awkward silence descended, Koi spoke first.

“Alright, then, bye, Ash. I’ll send an email.”

Ashley, who was about to turn and leave with a simple greeting, paused. He looked around, then looked down at Koi again.

“Where’s your car?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Koi realize the meaning of his actions, and enduring his embarrassment, he replied, “That’s what I rode here.”

Following Koi’s hand, Ashley’s gaze landed on nothing but a single old, worn-out bicycle. The silence that followed lasted only a few seconds, but Koi somehow felt as if he could see into Ashley’s mind.

“You don’t have to walk me home. It’s in the opposite direction from your place anyway.”

When Koi spoke first, Ashley folded his arms with a serious expression, saying, “That’s true, but…” Koi was unexpectedly surprised to see him contemplating. Ashley clearly hadn’t even known of Koi’s existence before this assignment. For a classmate with whom he’d only talked for about two hours because of an assignment, worrying about his commute home—how kind he was.

What on earth doesn’t this guy have?

It was then that he felt absurd again. Suddenly, Ashley had an idea.

“Then let’s do this.”

“Huh?”

Before Koi could even think about what he meant, Ashley took off his jacket. And he draped the jacket over Koi’s shoulders. Perhaps finding Koi’s wide-eyed, upward gaze amusing, Ashley chuckled softly and added lightly,

“It’d be troublesome if my assignment partner caught a cold.”

Of course, that’s true. It’s the same for me. I’d be in a lot of trouble if I caught a cold. But wouldn’t I be in trouble if you caught a cold too? Of course, the probability of me catching a cold is much higher than you. Look, you’re so big and broad-chested, and I’m so small and frail. Remember Greek mythology from last semester? If you were a god, you’d be Apollo. I’d probably be the grass under your feet, no, an aphid on that grass. Wow, a god took off his clothes for an aphid. Isn’t that amazing? Connor Niles, you must have used up all your luck for life!

So many thoughts raced through his mind, but not a single word escaped his lips. When night fell, the hot air of midday vanished, and a cool breeze swept over his body, making him shiver. Just as his thin short-sleeved arms, exposed and chilled, began to shiver from the belated cold, the jacket Ashley had taken off provided a soft warmth.

Koi looked up at Ashley blankly, feeling the warmth the jacket draped over his shoulders transmitted throughout his body. No one had ever taken off their clothes for him before. No matter how cold, no matter how lonely, he always had to endure it alone. That wasn’t all. Ashley smiled a smile as warm as the jacket at Koi and said,

“Much better.”

Just then, a gust of wind ruffled Ashley’s golden hair. He brushed back his platinum blonde hair impatiently, intertwining it between his long fingers. For some reason, Koi felt like crying at that moment.

“…Thank you.”

He held his breath as he spoke, fearing his voice would crack. The streetlights in front of the still-open store illuminated them in the late evening, and in the silence where not even a breath could be heard, they stood quietly, gazing at each other. He seemed to hear a faint thumping sound from somewhere. Koi looked up at Ashley, entranced.

Ah, so this is what it’s like to fall in love.

He realized it unexpectedly. If either Ashley or Koi were a girl, Koi would definitely have fallen for him. But then he realized: neither of them was a girl, and because of that, this was just a similar feeling, not love.

“…I can see why you’re so popular.”

He mumbled softly, and Ashley, hearing his words, let out a cheerful laugh. Even his laughter made his heart flutter. To Koi, who was looking up at him blankly, Ashley said,

“Thanks for the compliment. Well, Conan, see you later.”

At that moment, all illusions shattered. He felt somehow annoyed and blurted out,

“It’s Koi, Connor Niles.”

“Right, Coil.”

After calling him by his own arbitrary name to the very end, Ashley got into his Cayenne. The van, as large and magnificent as its owner, made a soft engine sound and then smoothly drove away.

Koi stood there for a while, watching the car disappear, then turned around. Getting on his old, worn-out bicycle, he headed home, feeling much lighter than when he had arrived at the restaurant.

Ashley was much more pleasant and nicer than he had expected. The assignment would be no problem, and a pleasant premonition that all his worries would be resolved at once made him keep smiling. The only flaw was that he kept getting his name wrong, but that was easily overlooked.

He decided to worry about how to return the jacket later. For now, he wanted to enjoy this good feeling more. Such exhilarating moods didn’t come often.

As he pedaled excitedly towards home, replaying his conversation with Ashley, Koi suddenly thought,

Should I become a lawyer too?

The optimistic mood didn’t last even three days. Koi nervously stared at Ashley’s email, which remained unread.

What on earth happened?

Koi clutched his head, staring fixedly at the monitor. He glared for a long time, but the situation didn’t change. The problem was that Ashley hadn’t shown up at school since that day. If he could just see him, he’d scold him, but there was no way to confront him at all.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Koi picked up his phone. He had put it off and put it off, but now it was the limit. If he delayed any longer, he wouldn’t be able to finish the assignment within the deadline.

I have so many other assignments to do besides this.

He took a deep breath and quickly typed out a message to Ashley.

[Ashley, it’s Connor Niles. Remember? We were supposed to do the Spanish assignment together. It’s been three days since I sent the email, what happened? If you’re reviewing it, please send me a message. We also need to decide when you’ll reply and when our next meeting will be. As you know, there’s not much time left. Please hurry, I beg you.]

After typing and sending the rather long message in an instant, he sighed. He felt a brief moment of relief, as if something had been resolved, but once that moment passed, a new torment began. Now he had to worry about when Ashley would even read the message.

I should have just done one or the other.

Regret washed over him, but it was too late. In the end, Koi spent another day with a churning stomach.