By Zephyria It was still all gibberish. Koi blankly stared at his profile, then belatedly asked in surprise.
“Ki-Kidnapped?”
Ashley nodded at the automatically raised voice.
“Let’s go to Mexico like this. Let’s live together.”
“W-Wait, just a minute, just a minute.”
Koi urgently interrupted him. He didn’t know what he was talking about. Why was this happening all of a sudden?
He vaguely remembered Ashley bursting into the Motorhome. He remembered Ashley knocking his father down and kicking him several times, beating him violently. He was worried about his father, but at the same time, he felt relieved and lost consciousness…
“F-Father?”
When he belatedly asked, looking pale, Ashley spat out harshly.
“Leave him alone, that son of a bitch.”
Koi paused for a moment when he heard the curse directed at his father, but soon opened his mouth.
“No, that’s not right. Um, the phone… you didn’t bring my cell phone, did you?”
When he asked, habitually groping over his pocket, Ashley frowned and glanced at him.
“Are you worried about that man right now?”
Koi answered Ashley, who was bursting with frustration, with a sigh.
“Of course… what if Father dies…?”
Then Ashley would become a murderer. Assault and murder are clearly different. In the worst-case scenario, if he were to be tried, it would not be easy to defend him, even if Ashley’s father was a wealthy and capable law firm owner and lawyer. Koi couldn’t calm down at the thought of Ashley going to jail.
“Ash, do you have a cell phone? Lend it to me. Quick, I have to call 911.”
“Leave him alone, let him die.”
“Ash.”
Koi couldn’t bear his frustration and confessed.
“What am I going to do if you become a murderer? Going to Mexico isn’t everything…”
This time, there was no answer. Ashley seemed to think for a moment, then sighed, changed his grip on the steering wheel, took his cell phone out of his pants pocket, and tossed it lightly toward Koi. Koi caught the cell phone with both hands and hurriedly dialed 911 to report the incident.
“…Yes, yes. Um… um, I don’t know. Yes, he was drunk and fell, and he seems to be badly injured… Yes, yes.”
Koi mumbled vaguely and hung up the phone, taking a deep breath. For now, his father would be taken to the hospital. He regretted not being able to check his condition properly.
But if his father didn’t die, it would be taken into consideration. Ashley used such violence to save Koi.
Hoo, Koi took another deep breath and turned to look at Ashley. He was still looking forward and driving the car. Had he calmed down a little? Koi hesitated and carefully opened his mouth.
“…Thank you, for letting me call.”
When Koi thanked him, Ashley, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth.
“When you testify to the police later, tell them I’m the kindest kidnapper ever.”
It was a nonchalant tone, but Koi smiled. He was momentarily flustered by the unexpected situation, but when he saw Ashley joking as usual, he felt relieved.
“It’s my first time being kidnapped?”
When he pointed it out slyly, Ashley readily accepted the words.
“I’m the kindest of the accomplices.”
“Accomplices? Where?”
Was Bill or other friends also involved?
Ashley said to Koi, who was flustered and glancing at the back seat.
“Ashley Miller, Ash Miller, A.D. Miller…”
“What’s that?”
Koi burst out laughing, then felt the pain in his face and soon closed his mouth. Ashley immediately turned to look at him, but Koi raised his hand to indicate that he was okay, shook his head, and gave him a small smile. Ashley’s expression turned cold for a moment, but soon he continued the joke as if nothing was wrong.
“Be sure to testify that Ashley Miller was the kindest.”
Koi’s heart warmed at the fact that Ashley was continuing to say ridiculous things to reassure him.
“I’ll say my favorite person is Ashley Miller too.”
“That’s not allowed.”
Unexpectedly, Ashley refused firmly. When Koi blinked in surprise, he said, still looking forward.
“That’s Stockholm syndrome. It won’t help your testimony at all.”
Koi immediately protested, feeling wronged.
“It’s true, it’s not Stockholm syndrome, I really like Ashley Miller.”
Then Ashley frowned and muttered to himself.
“This is troublesome.”
“Why?”
What was it this time? When Koi asked anxiously, Ashley glanced at the back seat as if to show off, then lowered his voice and whispered.
“Ash Miller is jealous.”
“Hahaha, ouch.”
Koi burst out laughing again without realizing it, then groaned and covered his face. Ashley stopped joking and asked with a serious expression.
“Are you okay? Just bear with it, I’ll go in as soon as I see a pharmacy.”
“N-No. Don’t worry.”
Koi hurriedly shook his head.
“This is nothing. Really. I’ve been beaten worse than this… Thank you, Ash. For helping me.”
It was fortunate that Ashley came before he was beaten any more. When Koi belatedly thanked him, Ashley was silent for a moment, then muttered to himself.
“…Because I stupidly lost consciousness.”
“N-No, that’s not true!”
Koi hurriedly shook his head.
“You did your best. It’s not your fault you’re not feeling well… It’s okay, really. It just looks like this, it’s not serious.”
What he was really worried about was his father. He didn’t even get to check how badly Ashley had beaten him. Was the report late…?
Koi became anxious again, but there was no way to check now.
He could only hope that nothing had happened to his father, when suddenly Ashley’s arm came into view. When he saw the injection mark on the inside of his arm, he remembered something he had forgotten. Immediately, his face turned pale.
“What’s wrong?”
Ashley immediately asked, noticing Koi’s change. Koi couldn’t take his eyes off his arm and opened his mouth.
“Um, you… how’s your body? Are you okay? Did you get all the Pheromone out?”
“What? Ah…”
Ashley’s eyes, which had followed Koi’s gaze down, returned to the front.
“I’m okay, it’s just an injection.”
He said it casually, but in fact, the aftereffects were serious. He forced himself to suppress the nausea that had been rising in his stomach since earlier, and added in a voice that was as nonchalant as possible.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing.”
If Koi noticed his abnormality, he would be anxious again. Ashley was the only person Koi could rely on right now. He absolutely had to be okay.
Despite his efforts, Koi still looked worried. He opened his mouth and closed it, then lowered his head and continued to look anxiously at Ashley, as if there was a reason why he couldn’t feel at ease. Ashley asked.
“What’s wrong? If you have something to say, say it. It’s okay.”
Koi hesitated for a moment at the words he had said as lightly as possible, then opened his mouth.
“Um, Father’s secretary said… you collapsed because you couldn’t control your Pheromones well.”
“I’m okay now that I’ve had the injection.”
Ashley tried to brush it off, but Koi didn’t fall for it.
“Um, I looked it up… there wasn’t much information about Extreme Alphas, but um, there was some information about Pheromones…”
The fact that he kept trailing off made him feel uneasy. Koi swallowed hard and finally opened his mouth to Ashley, who was silent.
“About how Extreme Alphas get rid of Pheromones, um, I mean… they have some kind of party.”
For a moment, Ashley almost closed his eyes. He certainly would have if he hadn’t been driving. Fortunately, he got through the crisis, but he couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the steering wheel.
When he didn’t react at all, Koi finally said what he had been holding in his heart.
“Um, are you going too? To… get rid of Pheromones.”
“Koi.”
Ashley gave a bitter smile and looked at Koi.
“I’m still a minor. I can’t even drink alcohol, so there’s no way I can go to a party like that.”
“R-Really?”Koi widened his eyes and asked. Ashley let out a laugh as if he was dumbfounded.
“Of course, why would I lie? Besides, I have a boyfriend.”
Koi’s doubtful heart gradually subsided at the meaningful gaze directed at him. Seeing him replace it with trust and gradually relax, Ashley also felt relieved.
Thank goodness.
Ashley inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Because Koi was timid, it took him a while to ask the question, which allowed Ashley to maintain his composure and fabricate his words.
He thought he had overcome the crisis, but he was wrong. Koi hesitated and opened his mouth again.
“Um, then…”
“Yeah?”
Ashley, who had asked back without much thought, was once again taken aback by the next question.
“How do you deal with accumulated Pheromone? You’re not sleeping with me…”
Ashley was speechless at the unexpected words.