By Zephyria 
Ashley, who had been looking straight ahead, turned his gaze to glance at Koi. In that moment, Koi felt his heart drop and gasped for breath.
“Why?”
Ashley asked after a pause.
“Do you want me to do it too?”
“No. No, no.”
Koi shook his head vehemently. As if that wasn’t enough, his lips trembled before he squeezed out the next words.
“If you get naked in front of others… I think I’d be sad.”
Ashley asked again at the voice that had barely escaped.
“Sad?”
“…Angry.”
Koi hesitated before speaking. Only after saying it did he realize it was his honest feeling. Ashley getting naked in front of other people—just the thought of it made his world go dark.
Even if they were his sisters and close friends, this wasn’t right.
The thought of his friends cheering and going wild for a naked Ashley made it even more wrong. Koi steeled himself and spoke.
“I don’t want you to get naked in front of other people. Only get naked in front of me.”
At his uncharacteristically firm tone, Ashley’s eyes widened for a moment in surprise. Looking forward again, he soon returned to his usual self and replied.
“Alright.”
Just as Koi sighed in relief, Ashley said something unexpected.
“Then you don’t wear a wedding dress either.”
“Huh?”
Startled, Koi turned to look at him, but Ashley kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead as he continued.
“You said you were going to match outfits with the bridesmaids, right? A tuxedo is fine. We’ll be wearing them at our wedding anyway. But a wedding dress is a no.”
“Uh…”
Koi’s mind went blank for a second, and he could only make a dazed sound. A wedding dress isn’t something you take off, though? Isn’t this different…?
He managed to think that far, but Ashley’s next words made his mind stop completely.
“You should only show me what you look like in a dress.”
Ah.
Only then did Koi understand. Because I told Ash to only show his naked body to me, Ash is saying this to me in return.
Even though a wedding dress and being naked were still two different things, he was somehow convinced. Nodding, Koi replied, “Okay.”
“I won’t wear it. …But you won’t either, right?”
The bridesmaids had all decided to match their outfits. This meant that everyone, man or woman, would wear a dress once and a tuxedo once. The original plan was for Ashley and Koi to join in, but if Koi was backing out, then Ashley had to as well. That was only fair, Koi thought. At that, Ashley frowned and said.
“I never planned on wearing one in the first place. You guys were the ones who came up with that stupid event.”
“My friends aren’t stupid.”
Koi immediately retorted, but the response he got was indifferent.
“Right, the gorillas are the stupid ones.”
It was a dispiriting answer, but Koi had gotten the result he wanted anyway. He leaned back comfortably in his seat and let out a sigh.
“I thought you were going to get naked too, since all the gorillas said they would.”
As he casually brought up the past topic, Ashley suddenly slowed the car. Just then, stopped at a red light, Ashley turned to look directly at Koi and spoke, his face full of displeasure.
“Koi, I’m not a gorilla.”
“What? Koi and Ash are backing out?”
The friends, who heard the news early the next morning, all reacted in surprise. At their shocked cries, Koi nodded, embarrassed.
“Ash and I decided to only show each other those kinds of things. Ash is backing out of the ice hockey team’s stripping thing, too…”
His words didn’t quite make sense, but his sisters understood with their hearts.
“That’s how it should be, you’re right. A couple needs to have their own special thing.”
“You two are the main characters of the day, anyway. You should do what you want and not do what you don’t want.”
“Yeah, it was just an event we made up for fun anyway. Let’s just enjoy ourselves!”
Koi’s heart warmed at the consideration of his friends, who soon nodded and patted his arm and back.
“Thanks, everyone. For understanding.”
Give me a break.
Ariel looked at him with a deep frown but didn’t say the words out loud. It was obvious what had happened. Ashley Miller had undoubtedly played his innocent sister for a fool again with that glib tongue of his. With Koi, it probably wouldn’t have even taken a minute; it must have been a piece of cake.
In what world was wearing a wedding dress the same as stripping for an event at a bachelor party?
Ariel had an ominous feeling that things like this would happen often in the future, which unsettled her, but there was nothing she could do about it now. In any case, as long as Koi was happy, that’s what mattered.
Besides, Koi doesn’t seem to think there’s anything strange about it at all.
If he himself was satisfied, then it was fine. Ariel changed her mind and switched the topic.
“So, all that’s left is the rings, right? What do you think? Did you find any you like?”
He had been looking at designs on and off while preparing for the wedding with Bernice. Koi took out his phone and showed his friends a few of the designs he had picked out.
“I saved a few, but they look different in person…”
“Oh, this one is pretty!”
“Isn’t this one better? I like simple things.”
“We have to match Koi and Ash’s tastes, not yours.”
“Have you tried them on? They look different when you wear them.”
As his friends gathered around, chattering and offering their opinions, Koi listened intently, nodding his head and saying, “Yeah, yeah.”
It was late afternoon when they went to look at rings. The other group had gone sightseeing under the vice-captain’s lead, and Ariel accompanied Koi as their representative. They had all put their heads together and narrowed down the ring designs to three.
“This is the last place, right? Choose carefully, and if you’re not sure, we can go back to the beginning again.”
To Ariel, who spoke as seriously as if it were her own business, Koi nodded with a grateful “Okay.” Thanks to having made a reservation, they were shown to their seats immediately without having to wait.
“Is this the item you were looking for?”
The employee, who had left after seeing the photo, returned and showed them a ring in a box. Koi carefully lifted the box and showed it to Ariel.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm… can he try it on?”
“Oh, of course.”
The employee, wearing gloves, took out the ring and held it out. With a trembling hand, Koi slipped the ring onto his finger and gazed at it.
“How is it?”
Ariel asked from beside him, but Koi let out a sigh before answering.
“This is it.”
“Really? You like it?”
Koi nodded and replied, “Yeah.”
“This is what I was looking for. I have to get this one.”
“That’s great.”
Ariel congratulated him sincerely with a bright smile. Koi smiled back at her and said, “Thanks.” After carefully taking off the ring and placing it back in its case, Koi asked the employee.
“How much is this one?”
“Let me check for you.”
The employee took out a tablet, tapped the screen, and soon showed it to Koi. After confirming the design, Koi’s gaze dropped to check the number, and his smiling face froze. Ariel, who was looking at the screen beside him, was also at a loss for words.
“Excuse me, just a moment.”
Ariel, the first to regain her composure, asked for a moment of privacy with a smile.
“We have something to discuss amongst ourselves, could you please give us a moment?”
“Yes, of course. Please, take your time. Are you alright on drinks? Shall I bring you more refreshments?”
“No, we’re fine. Thank you.”
With a wave of her hand, Ariel managed to send away the overly kind employee.
“How much money have you saved? Can you afford this?”
“Ugh…”
Instead of answering, Koi clutched his head with both hands. The number was out of the question. The money he had saved up so far couldn’t even buy half of the ring.
“I’m screwed, totally screwed!”
“Koi, Koi.”
Ariel quickly tried to calm her friend down and continued.
“It’s not like there are no other options. Let’s think about it first, okay?”
Letting out a sigh, Ariel seemed to think for a moment before making an incredible suggestion.
“How about this? You borrow the money you’re short from Ash. And you can pay him back slowly.”
“From Ash?”
Koi looked at her in surprise at the unexpected name, and Ariel nodded.
“Yeah, if you tell him you’re short on money to buy the wedding ring, Ash will probably offer to pay for it himself.”
“But…”
“Right, so you tell him then. That since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime ring, you want to buy it with your own money. So ask him to lend it to you. Then you can just pay him back, right?”