Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 94

Haah, haah.

Koi returned to the motorhome, breathless. He had lingered for too long, repeating kisses several times, not wanting to part.

Finally, at the very last moment, Ashley made the decision, seeing him reluctantly move his unwilling steps. If he didn’t, his father would surely find out. The time would come when he would reveal it himself, but definitely not now.

“Koi, I’ll walk you home.”

Koi gasped and shook his head as Ashley detached himself from the car and strode towards him.

“Ah, no. I’ll go alone, I can go alone!”

“I don’t want to part with you.”

Ashley confessed honestly. He wanted to walk with Koi even just to his house to delay their parting. Of course, Koi felt the same way, but reality wasn’t so sweet.

“It’s embarrassing, you know.”

Koi confessed with difficulty.

“My house, we’re really poor. I don’t want to show it.”

Having finally confessed, Koi made up his mind and looked up at him.

“I’ll go alone. This time, I’ll really go.”

Koi desperately suppressed the urge to jump into Ashley’s arms again and hastily turned around. This time, he didn’t look back and ran at maximum speed.

When he finally returned home, fortunately, his father hadn’t arrived yet.

He entered the darkened motorhome and rushed to the shower room. In the shower room, which was barely enough space for one person to stand, he took off his clothes under the pouring water and started washing them first. He scrubbed the shirt with soap and his hands, then finished washing his pants and underwear in the same way, before finally starting to wash himself.

Even though he had showered at school, he soaped his entire body twice and washed his hair again.

Just as he turned off the faucet, he heard the sound of the door, followed by a presence. His father had returned.

Koi held his breath and stood still, listening intently. If his father was drunk, it was better not to show himself.

Belatedly, he realized he had rushed in and hadn’t brought a towel or a change of clothes.

He looked around in a panic, and then heard footsteps outside, which soon stopped nearby. Koi pricked up his ears, stopped moving, and sensed the presence outside.

He even forgot to breathe. His heart pounded wildly. His whole body froze with fear. At that moment, Koi squeezed his eyes shut and called out Ashley’s name deep in his heart.

Help me, Ash.

“…Ahem.”

As he desperately repeated the name, his father’s throat clearing was heard from outside the thin shower room door. Koi flinched and froze again. After a brief pause, his father spoke.

“Koi, are you showering?”

Hearing his father’s voice, Koi flinched. He was momentarily dazed by the completely unexpected situation. His father, waiting for his answer, called him again.

“Koi?”

“Uh, uh, yes, yes.”

Stammering in embarrassment, he hastily answered, then hugged the roughly washed clothes to his chest and opened the shower room door.

His father was standing some distance from the door, waiting for Koi. He frowned when he saw Koi, soaking wet.

“Are you okay, Koi?”

“Uh, uh, yes.”

Koi, who had given the same answer again, hastily added,

“I-I’m fine. P-please shower, I’m all done…”

Koi hurried past him, then pulled a towel from a drawer and quickly rubbed himself dry. Belatedly feeling a chill, he quickly put on his old sleeping shirt and shorts.

Then he picked up the wet clothes again and went outside. Only after roughly hanging the clothes on the clothesline did he finally feel a little more clear-headed.

He doesn’t seem to have drunk…

Koi hesitated, then looked back at the motorhome he had just left. His father’s silhouette flickered in the dimly lit house.

Gulp, he unconsciously swallowed hard, but he had no other choice. He moved his reluctant steps cautiously and went inside.

His father, who had been standing there for a while, could be seen moving in the dim light. Koi stopped briefly at the door and watched him.

His father seemed to pace under the light for a while, then finally disappeared into the shower room.

Now’s my chance.

Koi hastily entered the motorhome and immediately lay down on his bed, pulling the blanket over his head. His heart continued to pound.

The sound of water from the shower room particularly loudly hit his ears.

His father came out not long after. He paused when he found Koi curled up on the bed but said nothing.

He just watched silently. Koi became uneasy again at the unusual silence.

…Hmph.

Suddenly, he heard his father sigh.

Soon, footsteps were heard, followed by a clinking sound.

He had thought, for once, that his father hadn’t been drinking, but it seemed he had taken out a bottle of alcohol as soon as he returned.

But that didn’t last long either. His father, who always got completely drunk and passed out, got up from his seat without even drinking two glasses of the poured alcohol.

Only after he went to his own bed and lay down did Koi finally relax his entire body.

<Are you okay, Koi?>

His father’s voice belatedly came to mind. It was so strange that he would ask him such a question.

To him, Koi was like air. Even if he was in front of him, it was as if he wasn’t there, and the only times he ever dealt with Koi were without exception when he was drunk and violent.

So Koi always tried to stay out of his sight and lived as if he didn’t exist. He had only one wish.

To become an adult and live independently soon. College was also one of his many ways to become independent. If his grades were good enough, he could get scholarships and various benefits.

If his grades were good, that is.

A small sigh escaped him as he recalled the college entrance exam he had messed up. It’s okay, I can take it again. I’ve been diligently saving money.

Of course, all that money was for his independence. It was nowhere near enough for college tuition, but it would probably be enough to pay the rent for a crumbling house. Or he could buy a car. Even an old, worn-out car would allow him to live in it and commute to work.

Then I won’t have to see my father again.

It wouldn’t be long before he would have to fall asleep in such fear. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to sleep. But as he closed his eyes, his thoughts naturally drifted elsewhere.

I called Ash’s name.

His heart began to pound cautiously.

As he recalled the name he had unconsciously called out while trembling alone in fear in the shower room, his heart pounded, and he naturally became breathless.

Before, there was no one to call in times like this.

Thinking back to the past days when he had no choice but to helplessly wait for his father’s beating to end, this situation felt like a dream. Now I have someone I can call.

Ash, Ash, Ash.

The more he repeated the name, the more his heart pounded and the more he wanted to see him.

They hadn’t been apart for long, but he already missed him so much.

This is why people live together when they fall in love, I guess.

Koi felt his face flush and curled up his entire body. It felt as if his whole body was vibrating with his pulse.

After graduation, could I live with Ash?

*

I have to get married.

Under the pouring water, Ashley thought with a serious expression.

After sending Koi off like that, he came home alone and immediately headed to the shower room, but only one thought filled his mind.

Propose to Koi. That’s the only way we can stay together without parting.

That was also the only way he could protect Koi. If they got married, he wouldn’t have to agonize over whether to confine Koi or not. The meaning of a wedding ring was, after all, confinement.

Koi will be completely mine.

Just the thought made him feel good. He liked the fact that he could legally rescue Koi from such a dangerous environment, but most of all, he liked the fact that they wouldn’t have to part anymore.

We’ll be together from morning till night.

Thinking that, he felt an intense pleasure that made his head tingle.

Ashley closed his eyes and let the water wash over him, unable to control the corners of his mouth from turning up, a wide smile spreading across his face.

How perfect a system marriage was.

He really liked this system created by humans. Since he was also human, he planned to actively utilize this system.

And Ashley, without order, began to think about where to buy wedding rings, where to go for their honeymoon, and so on, eventually imagining the two of them spending their old age in a quiet two-story house in the countryside with a dog and a cat, and then fell asleep.

*

“Hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm.”

Koi woke up in the morning, humming a tune that flowed out naturally, nodding his head as he got ready for school.

He had never known that mornings could be so exciting and pleasant. All the mundane things like washing his face, changing clothes, and packing his bag made him feel excited.

His steps were light, and he kept smiling.

He checked his face in the mirror. He was embarrassed to see his cheeks flushed, but he didn’t dislike it. He hurried to leave the house, but suddenly his father called him from behind.

“Koi.”

At that moment, his happiness instantly vanished. Koi belatedly realized what he had forgotten. His father was still sleeping in bed.

He stopped dead in his tracks, then hesitated and slowly turned his head. His father, half-risen in bed, was looking at him. A suffocating silence flowed.