By Zephyria “Oh, ah, yeah.”
Koi hurriedly took out the money for the drinks from his pocket and placed it on the table. Ashley, who had checked the bill brought by the employee, took out his card and returned it to her. Koi felt his heart pounding as he watched Ashley readily circle 20 percent of the tip written on the bill.
The tip is more than my lunch.
Koi, who could count on one hand the number of times he had eaten at a restaurant where he had to give a tip, was shocked and his heart was racing like crazy. Didn’t Ashley feel like it was a waste to give such a big tip?
“Um, where do you live?”
Koi, who couldn’t help but ask as they left the restaurant, received an answer from Ashley, who was walking towards the car he had parked.
“Over there.”
Koi followed the direction he pointed with his fingertip and was dumbfounded. It was an enormous wealthy neighborhood with a security guard at the entrance, and the entire site took more than three hours to drive around. Ashley Miller lived in the largest and most luxurious mansion on top of the hill.
So that’s why he gives such big tips without a second thought.
Ashley said to Koi, who was dumbfounded,
“If you were a girl, I’d give you a ride…”
Koi hurriedly shook his head at the deliberately blurred ending.
“No, it’s okay. Let’s part ways here.”
“Okay, then.”
Koi hurriedly grabbed him as he was about to turn around as if he had been waiting for it.
“Um, you have to give me your email address.”
“Ah… right.”
Ashley paused for a moment, nodded, and held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
“Huh? Oh.”
He handed over his cell phone without thinking, and Ashley skillfully typed on the keyboard before returning it to Koi.
“You don’t even have a password on it?”
“There’s no one to look at it anyway.”
Koi checked the phone number and email address that Ashley had entered and then looked up. He naturally thought it was Koi’s turn this time, but Ashley didn’t seem to have any intention of handing over his phone.
“You send me an email first. Then I’ll send you a reply. Is that okay?”
“Um…”
He felt something was off, but he didn’t have anything to point out. Instead, Koi hesitated and nodded.
“Okay.”
Before another awkward moment came, Koi spoke first.
“Then bye, Ash. I’ll send you an email.”
Ashley, who was about to turn around after a simple greeting, paused. He looked around and then looked down at Koi again.
“Where’s your car?”
“Ah.”
Only then did Koi realize the meaning of his actions, and he endured the embarrassment and replied.
“That’s it, that’s what I came in.”
At the end of Ashley’s gaze, following Koi’s hand, there was only a dilapidated bicycle. The silence that followed was only a few seconds, but Koi felt like he had seen into Ashley’s mind.
“You don’t have to give me a ride, it’s in the opposite direction from your house anyway.”
Ashley crossed his arms with a serious expression, saying, “That’s true.” Koi was unexpectedly surprised to see him contemplating. He clearly didn’t even know Koi existed until this assignment. How kind of him to worry about the return of a classmate he had only talked to for about two hours because of an assignment.
What doesn’t this guy have?
Just as he was feeling absurd again, Ashley suddenly came up with an idea.
“Then let’s do this.”
“Huh?”
Before he could even think about what it was, Ashley took off the jacket he was wearing. And he put the jacket he had taken off around Koi’s shoulders. Amused by Koi’s face, who was looking up at him with wide eyes in surprise, Ashley lightly added,
“It’ll be a problem if my assignment partner catches a cold.”
Of course, it would be. It’s the same for me. It would be a big problem if I caught a cold. But wouldn’t it be a problem for you if you caught a cold? Of course, the probability of me catching a cold is much higher than you. Look, you’re so big and your chest is so thick, but I’m so small and weak. Do you remember the Greek mythology we learned last semester? If you were a god, you’d be Apollo. I’d probably be the grass trampled under your feet, or rather, the aphid attached to that grass. Wow, the god took off his clothes for an aphid. Isn’t that amazing? Corner Niles, you must have used up all your luck in your life!So many thoughts raced through his head, but not a single word came out of his mouth. As night fell, the hot air of the day seemed to vanish, and a cool breeze swept over him, making his whole body shiver. The thin short-sleeved T-shirt revealed his arms, which had grown cold and shrunk from the late chill, when Ashley’s jacket offered a soft warmth.
Koi felt the warmth of the jacket draped over his shoulders and blankly looked up at Ashley. No one had ever taken off his clothes for him before. No matter how cold, no matter how lonely, he always had to endure it alone. And that wasn’t all. Ashley smiled at Koi, a smile as warm as the jacket, and said,
“Much better.”
A gust of wind ruffled Ashley’s blond hair. He swept back the platinum blonde strands, looking annoyed, and they tangled between his long fingers. For some reason, Koi felt like crying at that moment.
“…Thank you.”
He muffled his greeting, afraid his voice would crack. The streetlight in front of the still-lit store illuminated them, and in the silence where even their breaths couldn’t be heard, they stood quietly, gazing at each other. Somewhere, a faint throbbing seemed to echo. Koi stared up at Ashley, mesmerized.
Ah, so this is what it’s like to fall in love.
The realization struck him suddenly. If either Ashley or Koi had been a girl, Koi would have definitely 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 see why you’re so popular.”
He muttered softly, and Ashley, hearing him, let out a cheerful laugh. Even his laughter makes my heart flutter. Ashley said to Koi, who was staring blankly up at him,
“Thanks for the compliment. See you later, Conan.”
In that instant, all the fantasy shattered. Feeling inexplicably annoyed, he blurted out,
“It’s Koi, Corner Niles.”
“Okay, Coil.”
Ashley, having his way until the end, climbed into his Cayenne. The van, as big and cool as its owner, made a smooth engine sound and soon pulled away.
Koi stood there for a while, watching the car disappear into the distance, before turning around. He got on his old, beat-up bicycle and headed home, thinking with a lighter heart than when he had come to the restaurant.
Ashley was a much more pleasant and nice guy than he had expected. The assignment would be no problem, and he had a pleasant feeling that all his worries would be solved at once, making him smile. The only flaw was that he kept getting his name wrong, but that was something he could easily overlook.
He decided to worry about how to return the jacket later. For now, he wanted to enjoy the good feeling he had. He didn’t often feel this uplifted.
As he pedaled home, happily replaying his conversation with Ashley, Koi suddenly remembered.
Should I become a lawyer too?
*
The optimistic mood didn’t last even three days. Koi stared at Ashley’s email, which remained unread, with an anxious expression.
What the heck is going on?
Koi clutched his head and stared intently at the monitor. He glared at it for a long time, but the situation didn’t change. The problem was that Ashley hadn’t been coming to school since that day. If he could at least see him, he could confront him, but there was no way to even meet him.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Koi picked up his cell phone. He had been putting it off and putting it off, but now he had reached his limit. If he put it off any longer, he wouldn’t be able to finish the assignment on time.
How many other assignments do I have to do besides this?
After taking a deep breath, he quickly typed a message to Ashley and sent it.
[Ashley, it’s Corner Niles. Remember? We were supposed to do the Spanish assignment together. I’ve sent you an email three days ago, what’s going on? If you’re reviewing it, send me a message. We need to decide when you’ll reply and when to schedule our next meeting. You know we don’t have much time left. Please hurry, I’m begging you.]
He typed out the rather long message in an instant and sent it, then sighed. He felt a sense that something would be resolved for a brief moment, but as soon as that moment passed, a new torment began. Now he had to worry about when Ashley would read the message.
I should have just done one or the other.
Regret washed over him, but it was already too late. In the end, Koi spent another day clutching his churning stomach.