LMI 67

• I don’t have my bike.

Ashley, who was getting ready for school in the morning, was startled by Koi’s sudden phone call, but soon smiled.

“Oh no, that’s terrible. What happened?”

He was immediately thinking of countermeasures, but he asked leisurely. Koi hesitated, um, and couldn’t speak easily.

• Um, that is, I think I left it at your house…

“Oh, dear…”

Ashley deliberately sighed loudly. He could picture Koi looking apologetic and not being able to bring himself to ask him to come pick him up, sweating profusely. Ashley stopped teasing him and suggested in a kind voice.

“Okay, Koi. I’ll go over there.”

• Really? Is that okay?

Koi shouted, his face brightening, but then asked worriedly again.

• What if you’re late or something…?

“It’s okay, there’s still time.”

Ashley spat out the toothpaste foam that filled his mouth and continued.

“Can I see you at the place where I always drop you off? It’ll take about 30 minutes from now.”

• U-uh, okay. That’s fine.

Koi answered hastily and added in a small voice.

• Thank you, Ash…

“It’s okay, Koi. Then I’ll see you later.”

After cutting off the phone cheerfully, he quickly rinsed his mouth and came out of the bathroom. Today is a very lucky day. The sunlight is brighter than usual, the wind is soft, and the sky is so blue.

Besides, Koi called him this morning and told him to come pick him up.

He was planning to tell Koi that he would pick him up in the morning soon. It was only natural as a boyfriend if the other person didn’t have a car. Actually, he wanted to pick him up even if he had a car.

Seeing him at school in the morning wasn’t enough. He wanted to see Koi’s face even 5 minutes earlier. He pulled the t-shirt he grabbed over his head and put on jeans and sneakers as usual. He put on his bag and went down the stairs, and his feet couldn’t have been lighter.

Should I start picking him up every day starting today?He whistled as he walked outside, looking around for his bike. The bike was where Koi had said it would be. Except, it wasn’t the old bike Ashley knew.

…Huh?

Ashley was bewildered by the unexpected situation. The bike leaning against the wall of the mansion was brand new, incomparable to the one Koi used to ride. He wondered if this was the right one, but there was no other bike around.

Inspecting it closely, Ashley frowned, a sense of familiarity washing over him. He’d seen this bike somewhere before…

Where was it…?

Just as he was racking his brain, he noticed a cat sticker on the handlebar. It was Ariel’s favorite cat character. Then, his memory returned completely. It was the bike Ariel had ridden before she bought a car.

Why does Koi have this?

Knowing there was no other option, Ashley pulled out his phone and called Koi. After a few rings, Koi answered, and Ashley asked as casually as he could,

“Koi, I think the bike’s different, is it?”

• Ah, yeah.

Koi replied cheerfully from the other end.

• That’s the one. The one with the cat sticker on the handlebar.

“I see.”

Ashley spoke gently, but his expression was anything but smiling.

“I’ll be there soon, Koi.”

• Okay, see you soon.

Koi hung up, oblivious to Ashley’s inner turmoil. Ashley stared at the disconnected call for a moment before dragging the bike to his car parked right in front. Not a trace of a smile could be found on his face as he loaded the bike into the trunk, got into the driver’s seat, and started the car. As he drove towards Koi, all sorts of wild fantasies and jealousy churned inside him.

*

“Hi, Koi.”

Ashley spoke first from the driver’s seat. Koi, who was standing on the roadside where he had parted with him the day before, greeted him with a bright smile.

“Hi, Ash.”

Ah, Koi hesitated belatedly. He felt shameless after the way they had parted the day before.

But there was no time to dwell on it. He was already running late, and the road was getting increasingly crowded, so he couldn’t leave the car parked on the roadside forever.

He quickly opened the passenger door and sat down, and Ash immediately started the car. Sinking into the comfortable car seat, a welcome change from his usual bike, Koi expressed his gratitude.

“Thanks for coming, Ash. I forgot I left my bike behind.”

Ash smiled, looking straight ahead.

“I completely forgot about it yesterday too.”

In truth, it was only natural that they were both distracted. Ash had only recently Manifested, and they had even had a small argument.

〈I like you.〉

Koi’s face flushed as he recalled Ashley’s words. He quickly averted his gaze and tried to think of something to say, but thankfully, Ashley spoke first.

“Did anything happen yesterday?”

“Uh, no.”

Koi stammered unintentionally, then quickly added,

“Nothing happened, I was fine.”

Should he have left it at that? He worried, feeling guilty, but Ashley spoke again.

“What’s with that bike? I haven’t seen it before.”

“Oh? Ah.”

Koi was glad to move on to a safer topic and quickly replied,

“Al gave it to me. The wheels on my bike are broken, so it’s unusable.”

“The wheels?”

Ashley frowned.

“It was still working? That thing?”

“It was working, so I rode it.”

Koi felt a little hurt by the mocking tone directed at the bike that had been responsible for all his transportation needs, including commuting to school, even if it was old.

“It did its best.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Ashley nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. Just as Koi was feeling sorry for his bike, Ashley turned the steering wheel to make a turn and said,

“But how did Al end up giving you that bike?”

“Huh? Uh…”

Koi answered readily.

“I was riding my bike and fell, and the wheels broke. I was dragging it home when Al came out for a jog and saw me… He said if I got into an accident riding that thing, it would be a huge problem for the Cheerleading Team, so he gave it to me.”

“I see.”

Ashley’s response was simple compared to Koi’s long explanation. The misunderstanding was now cleared up.

During the roughly 20-minute drive from the mansion to the place where Koi was waiting, all the wild fantasies that had filled Ashley’s mind turned out to be baseless nonsense and faded away pathetically, but the jealousy remained.

“I should have bought you one.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Koi asked, not having caught the low mutter. Ashley smiled at him and replied, “Nothing.”

“Oh…”

Koi was puzzled but didn’t ask further and looked forward again. As the car stopped at a red light, Ashley tapped his fingers slowly on the steering wheel and fell into thought.

Don’t rush things too much, you’ll scare Koi.

I should just imprison him. Is it too late now?

You decided not to think like that, get a grip, Ashley Miller.

It’s okay to think, isn’t it? You had so many lewd fantasies about Koi last night, what’s with the pretense now?

Koi is so cute, what am I going to do?

That’s right. So let’s imprison him. Then you can do all the things you imagined.

Should I, then?

“Wait, why are you two agreeing on this?”

“Huh? Huh?”

Koi was startled by Ashley’s sudden outburst and turned to look at him. Ashley quickly said, “No, nothing,” and forced a smile. Just then, the light changed, and Ashley started the car, calming himself down again. Watching Ashley, Koi felt a little sorry for him.

He must be having a hard time because of the Pheromones…….

But to even ask him to come pick him up, he really felt pathetic. Why did he forget his bike? Even if he was distracted!

Huff, Koi sighed softly and gripped the strap of his bag, resolving to himself. From tomorrow, I have to make sure not to forget my bike. Forgetting it is unfair to Al, who gave it to me.

“Koi.”

“Ah, yes.”

Koi, startled back to reality by the sudden call, replied quickly, and Ashley said,

“I’ll pick you up from tomorrow.”

“What? No, you don’t have to!”

Koi quickly declined.

“There’s no need for you to go out of your way. It’s okay, I can ride my bike.”

“I’m not okay with it.”

Ashley cut him off. He added casually to the surprised Koi,

“It’s only natural to want to see the person you like for even a minute longer.”

With those words, Ashley smiled at Koi. Koi blinked blankly, his face slowly flushing. He didn’t know what to say. You said you didn’t like me just yesterday, you can’t do this. You’ve crossed the line too much today! Even if it was unavoidable this time, it can’t happen again. Say something, tell him no firmly! Quickly, you slowpoke!

“Um, well.”

“We’re here.”

Just as he was about to speak, Ashley suddenly cut him off. As Ashley said, the school was right there. Before Koi could say anything more, the car made a sharp turn and stopped on the main road in front of the school.