By Zephyria Suddenly, he snapped back to his senses. Koi was startled and almost stepped back, but he only flinched because Ashley was holding his arm. The heart that had been so excited until just now was beating fast for a different reason.
“I, do I smell?”
Koi stammered and asked Ashley, who had raised his head. Ashley answered nonchalantly.
“Yeah.”
And he added as if it were obvious.
“Koi smell.”
“I smell?”
Koi’s voice rose in shock. This time, Ashley readily nodded.
“Yeah.”
Flustered, Koi hurriedly asked.
“Uh, what kind?”
He was waiting anxiously, and Ashley, who seemed to be thinking for a moment, answered, “Hmm.”
“A delicious smell?”
“Huh?”
As he blinked blankly, Ashley smiled. The head that had been frozen until then slowly began to move, and belatedly Koi realized that he was joking.
“What’s that?”
To Koi, who finally burst into a comfortable laugh, Ashley frowned and said seriously.
“I’m serious. I always want to eat Koi.”
Koi still laughed and shook his head.
“No way, not me. I don’t taste very good.”
Ashley tilted his head to one side and looked down at Koi.
“Really? I think you’d taste good.”
Ashley bent down again. This time, his lips touched the spot where his breath had touched before. Koi was surprised and froze at the unexpected situation, and Ashley opened his mouth and bit his neck.
“Ouch.”
In fact, it didn’t hurt at all, but a small scream reflexively leaked out. Rather, the spot was so ticklish that he wanted to quickly back away, but because he was still held in Ashley’s arms, Koi could only shrug his shoulders as much as possible.
“Don’t do that.”
As Koi said urgently, Ashley slyly bared his teeth. He bit his neck gently, as if biting into a soft marshmallow, and remained still for a moment. Koi was ticklish and somehow embarrassed, so he struggled to push him away.
“Stop it, really. It’s ticklish.”
It was so easy to grab the hands that were pushing his shoulders and keep them from moving. If Ashley wanted to, he could hug Koi right here. Koi wouldn’t even know what he was being subjected to.
But Ashley resisted the urge and raised his face. Of course, he couldn’t resist sucking hard on his lips before taking his teeth off.
Ashley, who was satisfied with looking down at the red mark he had left on his white neck, turned his gaze to Koi’s face. Koi was blinking his eyes with a dreamy face, as if he was dreaming. As expected, he didn’t seem to know what was happening at all. Ashley deliberately smiled and asked.
“Can I eat more?”
Hot, Koi, who belatedly came to his senses, hurriedly answered with a flushed face.
“No way. I’m not food.”
He hurriedly escaped from his arms and ran to the warehouse that was being used as a dressing room. He didn’t even say wait a moment or I’ll be right back.
Watching the warehouse door close with a loud bang, Ashley slowly stroked his lips with his thumb. The sensation he had felt just now vividly revived.
“Ah…”
Still with his finger on his lips, he sighed.
“I want to eat more.”
*
It was 15 minutes later that Koi came out. Ashley knew full well why it had taken so long, even though he was only wearing his usual stained and stretched-out shirt and old jeans, but he pretended not to know and feigned ignorance.
“Wow, I thought you were going to dress up a lot.”
“S-sorry.”
Koi hurriedly apologized. He scratched his head in embarrassment, but soon his mind went blank at the sight of Ashley.
Ashley, who usually wore comfortable T-shirts and jeans, was dressed completely differently today. The bluish shirt had a few buttons undone, and his ankles were visible below the dark green slacks that were close to gray. His shoes were also sepia-colored loafers instead of his usual sneakers.
His hair, which he always styled with wax, was naturally down today, and even the large black sunglasses that covered his eyes suited him so well. And with a light gray jacket on top of that, it was the first time he had seen Ashley like that.
“What’s wrong?”Ashley asked with a smiling face. Koi blinked blankly and said,
“Uh, well… you look a bit different today.”
“Is that so?”
Ashley only said that, but he was inwardly pleased with Koi’s reaction. He had been sharpening his sword for this moment since he went to bed the night before. Dressing up like a peacock like this wasn’t really his style, and he would never do it unless it was related to Father, but this was an exception. If Father’s secretary found out about this, he would report it to him immediately.
What does it matter? He’s reporting everything anyway.
Ashley decided to focus on the pleasure of the moment. After coming out of the store together, Koi locked the door and quickly approached Ashley, who was waiting.
“What are the others doing? Are they having fun?”
Is it okay for the host of the party to be out here like this? Ashley suddenly took Koi’s empty hand as he wondered. Pretending not to notice Koi’s surprise, he walked towards where he had parked the car and answered.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been there.”
“Is that okay?”
Koi tried to concentrate on the conversation, but it wasn’t easy because he kept getting distracted by Ashley holding his hand. Ashley knew very well that Koi was flustered and didn’t know what to do, but he pretended not to notice and said,
“I told Father’s secretary, so he’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, I see.”
Koi answered, but his head wasn’t really working properly. His heart would have been pounding just from holding hands, but Ashley looked so cool today. He’s always cool, but he can be even cooler than that. Koi was impressed, but at the same time, he felt guilty, wondering if he deserved to be next to such a cool Ashley.
His puffed-up chest sank, and he became dejected. He tried to subtly pull his hand away from Ashley, but it was held even tighter. Ashley grabbed Koi’s fidgeting hand to prevent him from escaping and deliberately asked,
“What’s wrong, Koi?”
“Huh? Uh…”
Koi, who was about to say it was nothing, paused when he saw the car in front of him. It wasn’t the Cayenne he always saw. He tilted his head, and then Ashley, still holding Koi’s hand, took a smart key out of his other pants pocket and pressed the button. Koi was surprised to hear a light beep and the dull sound of the locked door opening.
“Is this your car?”
“Father’s car, to be exact.”
It was the same question and answer as the customer from earlier, but the atmosphere was completely different. Ash smiled kindly and answered Koi’s question. Koi exclaimed in a small voice, “Wow.” Even Koi, who knew almost nothing about cars, was impressed by the elegant and cool sedan.
“Come on, get in.”
Ashley said, opening the passenger seat door. Koi quickly came to his senses, bent down, and got inside.
The inside of the car was even more luxurious than it looked from the outside. The soft leather of the seat was so comfortable that a satisfied sigh came out as soon as he leaned back. As soon as he sat down, Koi realized that the car he was in now was on a different level than any car he had ever ridden in before. The center console, the glove box, and even the instrument panel were so luxurious and dazzling that his eyes widened. He admired the unbelievable softness of the leather that wrapped around the car’s interior handles, but Ashley came around the car and sat in the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? Uh, uh.”
Koi stuttered, startled by the playful voice. He hurriedly tried to put on his seatbelt, but he kept fumbling, either because he was flustered or because he was overwhelmed by the car.
“Wait a minute.”
Ashley suddenly reached out to Koi, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do. Ashley’s arm went over Koi’s body, who held his breath for a moment. Koi only rolled his eyes and watched Ashley grab the seatbelt strap and pull it. Ashley leaned towards him and buckled the seatbelt himself.
Ashley’s crown came into Koi’s view. His hair, which sparkled like silver threads when exposed to sunlight, was right in front of him. Koi stared blankly at the bright platinum blonde hair.
He didn’t often get the chance to see the crown of Ashley’s head, who was more than 20 centimeters taller than him. Suddenly, he remembered when he had tied his skates for him. And the excitement he felt at that time.
Thump… thump…
Koi carefully raised his hand. He wanted to touch his hair. How soft would Ashley’s hair be? How warm would his cheeks be? His chin, his nose.
His lips.
Then, suddenly, Ashley raised his head. Their eyes met, and Koi froze. Ashley’s eyes narrowed. Koi stared blankly as his lips slowly opened.
He might kiss me.
Koi thought, holding his breath.
He’s going to kiss me.
The breath flowing from Ashley’s red lips tickled his lips subtly.