By Zephyria Koi was startled by her explicit remark and denied it.
“J, jalapeño, it’s not that much.”
It was the best rebuttal Koi could make, but of course, Ariel didn’t buy it. She snorted and lightly tossed the bundle of hair that had fallen forward over her shoulder, saying.
“You should be grateful for that much. From the beginning, our club prohibits even peperoncino.”
This time, it was a story about an unavoidable situation. Everyone laughed at them, but it was quite desperate for them. Ariel continued.
“There was a lot of internal opposition and concern before we decided to accept men. But what can we do? Five people have become like that, so it’s natural.”
“Five? Not two?”
Ariel covered her mouth with one hand, startled by Koi’s surprise. A strange silence flowed as if she had made a mistake, and soon she sighed as if she had given up and said.
“It’s five. This was a secret.”
She warned him to keep his mouth shut since he was now a member of their club, and then she continued.
“Now, no one wants to join the cheerleading team, and what if the number of members decreases like this and the club is closed down? That’s absolutely not going to happen.”
With a more serious face than ever, Ariel added forcefully.
“So you have to do very well, got it?”
She pushed Koi’s chest with her second finger and glared at him fiercely.
“If you don’t do it right, I won’t let you get away with it.”
“O, okay.”
Koi, who staggered back, answered without realizing it, overwhelmed by her momentum. Ariel nodded, saying, “Good,” and brushed past him, coming outside. She took the car keys out of her pocket and pressed the button, and the trunk of the car parked on the side of the road opened. Ariel turned around and ordered.
“Load the bike.”
“Huh?”
To his bewildered question, she answered as she headed to the driver’s seat.
“I’ll give you a ride, so load the bike. Hurry.”
“O…….”
Before he could say anything more, Ariel got into the car. Koi stood there blankly, then hurriedly took the bicycle and approached the car she was waiting in.
“I can go alone.”
“Just get in quickly, I’m tired.”
Ariel took out gum, chewed it, started the engine, and pulled the car out. She held the steering wheel with one hand, pressed the remote control on the sun visor to close the garage door, and skillfully made a turn to get out of the residential area. Koi sat in the passenger seat next to Ariel, blinking in a daze, and drove towards home. The tears had already dried completely.
*
Ariel’s car quickly reached the street where Koi lived. Koi, who had asked her to park the car on one side of the road, carefully took out the bicycle she had given him from the trunk and parked it, then greeted Ariel, who was still sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Thank you, Al. Um, can I call you Al?”
When Koi asked cautiously, Ariel shrugged and said.
“You’re not my friend, but I’ll allow it. We’re in the same club, even if it’s just for a while.”
“Ah…… Okay.”
Koi suddenly wondered. While I’m in the club, am I Ariel’s friend too?
Of course, he couldn’t ask. Ariel started the car, blowing a bubble. Koi stood there, watching Ariel’s car drive away, then turned around. The weight of the bicycle was incomparably lighter than before, but Koi’s steps towards home were heavy.Ariel had parked the car in the exact same spot where Ashley had previously dropped Koi off at his house. Recalling the memory, the sadness he had momentarily forgotten washed over his heart completely.
He suddenly doubted if what he had heard was real. But he knew for sure. He hadn’t been dreaming, nor had he misheard anything.
Suppressing the stinging sensation in his nose again, he moved his feet. The familiar Motorhome was, as expected, dark. Entering the small, empty car, he washed up and then wriggled into bed.
Curling up into a small ball and closing his eyes, he miraculously fell asleep quickly. Koi slept deeply, without even a dream.
*
When Ashley woke up in the morning, he was in the worst mood. No, actually, his mood had been sinking to rock bottom even before he went to sleep. He had searched for nearly two hours, but in the end, he couldn’t find Koi and returned home.
I should have forced him to tell me his address, even if I had to.
He regretted it belatedly, but it was already too late. All he could do was go to school as soon as morning came and ask Koi what had happened.
After an anxious wait, he woke up earlier than usual and immediately started getting ready for school. That was the only way to meet Koi. Unless he skipped school.
He wouldn’t skip school, would he?
He sat in the driver’s seat and thought. If Koi even skipped school, it wouldn’t be a normal situation. Something big must have happened to him.
Are you okay, Koi?
Anxious, he gripped the steering wheel with one hand and roughly swept back his hair with the other. The road to school felt especially long today.
*
“Ash!”
As usual, Bill spotted him first and greeted him. Ashley, suppressing his nerves that had become sensitive due to lack of sleep, lightly tapped the hand he offered as a greeting.
“What did you do yesterday? You look really tired.”
Ashley answered casually to Bill’s questioning, puzzled tone.
“Nothing much.”
“Oh… really?”
Sensing that something was amiss, he cautiously observed Ashley before quickly changing the subject. As always, he rattled on about his dog, homework, and other useless things, to which Ashley simply responded formally as he walked. His mind was filled only with thoughts of Koi.
“Ah…”
Unconsciously groaning and rubbing his eyes, Bill asked.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
“No, just.”
Ashley trailed off, feeling a burning sensation inside his eyes.
“It’s nothing.”
The pain that had started one day had recently intensified. He thought it was because he hadn’t slept well the night before, but today, the inside of his eyes ached particularly annoyingly. He even considered skipping practice and going to an ophthalmologist, but he gave up on that too, knowing he would just hear that there was nothing wrong again.
I should use more eye drops.
He thought of the medicine he had been prescribed at the hospital and continued walking. Near the lockers, the group he usually hung out with was already gathered, chatting loudly. Bill greeted them first, and the guys who turned their heads also waved their arms. Ashley, who belatedly raised his head in response, paused.
He caught a glimpse of the guy he was looking for among the chattering kids. It was only for a fleeting moment, but Ashley didn’t miss it. Even if a million people were gathered, he would have found Koi in an instant. It couldn’t be helped, because among all those people, only Koi stood out clearly in his vision.
“Just a sec.”
He said to his friends as if throwing the words away, then hurriedly pushed through the kids and went forward. The group, watching his back, confirmed that Ashley had grabbed Koi and was talking to him, then looked at each other’s faces. They soon brought up another topic, but an unsettling question had already taken root in their minds.
*
Koi, who had ridden the bicycle Ariel gave him to school, arrived earlier than usual. This was because, unlike his old, rickety bicycle where the pedals were heavy and the tires constantly lost air, the current bicycle was too light and the tires were sturdy. He felt like he could use this for another 10 years or more.
Thanking Ariel in his heart, he secured the bicycle and headed for his locker, then paused. The ice hockey team guys were gathered on one side.
He quickly crouched down, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Fortunately, Ashley didn’t seem to have arrived yet. Koi hurriedly started gathering his things, trying to get out of there as soon as possible. He opened the locker door and hid his head behind it, quickly grabbing his textbooks. After hastily shoving the necessary items into his bag and closing the door again, a shadow suddenly fell over him.
“Koi.”
“Huh?”
Koi, who had unknowingly let out a scream-like sound, was startled and raised his head. And the moment he confirmed that the face of the person he wanted to avoid the most was there, his mind went blank.
“Koi.”
Ashley, calling his name again, opened his mouth. With a serious face.
“I want to talk to you for a bit, is that okay?”
The surroundings were noisy, but for some reason, it felt like only their surroundings were deathly silent. Koi swallowed hard and looked up at him. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way to avoid Ashley. Koi eventually nodded slightly.
“Yeah.”
As soon as those words were spoken, Ashley put his arm around Koi’s shoulder and strode away. Koi had no choice but to be dragged along, almost running.