By Zephyria The two of them were having lunch at a cafe after meeting for the first time in a while. Koi, who gave an awkward smile at the hamburger in front of him, quickly pressed the bread to flatten it before bringing it to his mouth. Ariel, who had tilted her head, took a sip of wine and opened her mouth.
“Did you hear what I said? You were spacing out, weren’t you?”
“Huh? Yeah…”
After apologizing, Ariel lightly glared at him and continued.
“Sarah was asking how you’ve been. Would you like to meet her? Don’t feel pressured, I told her you’re getting married soon, and it seems like Sarah is seeing someone these days too.”
“Oh, really?”
He was relieved but also puzzled. Why would Sarah want to meet me? Koi also enjoyed talking to her very much, but he didn’t expect to hear from her again like this. As if anticipating Koi’s curiosity, Ariel added.
“Sarah was very impressed with the conversation she had with you too. She said she got a lot of inspiration from it.”
“Oh… really?”
He was very happy and embarrassed to receive such praise, especially since he was far from being an expert. Ariel said to Koi, who was scratching his head, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“Why don’t you make some time? It’s not a bad idea, it’s not easy to meet a friend who shares your interests, is it?”
Moreover, being able to talk to someone about his longing for the universe was the best thing for Koi. When he cautiously nodded, Ariel readily gave him Sarah’s contact information. Koi, feeling good, checked the phone number and put his cell phone away, and then Ariel changed the subject.
“What was that earlier? What were you thinking so hard about?”
“Cough.”
Koi, who was drinking his beverage, suddenly coughed roughly.
“Are you okay?”
Ariel asked with a frown. Koi raised his hand to indicate that he was okay, but he needed a little more time to catch his breath. Ariel waited for him to calm down and then spoke again.
“You seem to have some worries. If you need anything, tell me, if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Ah, no. It’s not serious…”
Koi shook his head, but his expression darkened again. In fact, he wanted to confide in her, but it would be a disaster if Ariel got angry again and went to find Ashley. In any case, Koi thought that this was a problem between him and Ashley, so they should solve it together, and he said again, “I’m okay.”
“I can handle it. Thanks for worrying.”
When he forced a smile, Ariel frowned, looked at his face for a moment, and then nodded as if she understood.
“If that’s what you think, then that’s what it is.”
Thankful that Ariel readily backed down, he put the hamburger back in his mouth, but she suddenly raised her head as if she had remembered something.
“It wouldn’t be bad to post it on the internet.”
“Cough.”
This time, he really choked and almost died. Koi, who almost threw up the hamburger, quickly swallowed his drink and barely escaped the crisis, and Ariel, who was worried about him, continued.
“What’s wrong with that? It doesn’t matter since it’s anonymous anyway. There are many people living in the city, and no one in the world will know what you’re posting.”
“Ah, no.”
Koi barely caught his breath and said.
“I’m okay, Al. I really don’t want to do that.”
He hadn’t posted a single comment on the internet since that day. It was too traumatic for Koi. But Ariel had no idea why he was so horrified. Of course, she shouldn’t. It was one of the darkest moments in Koi’s short life.
“There are a lot of people who ask about problems with their lovers.”
Ariel said abruptly. Koi was flustered that she had immediately noticed the cause, and she added mischievously.
“Anyone who knows you a little bit will notice right away, don’t worry, I won’t interfere anymore.”
“Oh, okay…”
Koi was embarrassed again and avoided her gaze, mumbling, “Thank you.” Soon, the topic shifted to Bill and Ariel. After Bill finished his vacation and had no choice but to return, the two were in a long-distance relationship.
“He said he’s going to move teams next season.”
“Move teams?”
Ariel nodded with a nonchalant expression when he asked in surprise.
“That’s what he says for now, but you never know what will happen in the future. It’s not easy to move teams.”
Bill is recognized as the best player, so it wouldn’t be difficult. In any case, Koi was impressed that he seemed to have made up his mind this time.
“I’m rooting for you two anyway.”
Both of them were precious friends, no matter which way they decided. They had been through difficult times together. Ariel, who smiled brightly, added kindly.
“Talk to Ash too. Honesty is the most important thing between lovers. Besides, you’re getting married, right?”
“Oh… yeah.”
Koi nodded a beat late.
“I will.”
Ariel, who raised her glass as if to toast, frowned as she was about to drink her wine and asked.
“But are you getting married right away without an engagement? Aren’t you rushing things too much?”
“Oh, well…”
Ariel objected to Koi, who glanced down at his stomach.
“There are many couples who have children and raise them before getting married. It’s funny, getting her pregnant without permission and then getting married right away without an engagement period.”
In many ways, she didn’t like the way he was kidnapping her precious ‘sister’ like this. If it were the old Ashley, it might be different, but the truth was that she still wanted to strongly oppose it, especially with the current Ashley…
But what could she do, Koi liked her so much.
He liked Ashley so much that he had worked hard for almost 10 years to get to this point, and he even had a child. Koi would do anything if Ashley wanted him to. Getting married in a hurry without an engagement might be nothing.
Because she was the one who tried to catch Koi even while damaging her brain.
Thinking about it made her spine tingle. What kind of person does that? If someone was that obsessed with her, she would run away in terror, but it was fortunate for Ashley that the other person was Koi. Koi would have accepted Ashley even if he had to give up everything.
She must have known that, so she did that.
Thinking about it made her even more speechless. Leaving so many good people behind, why did it have to be someone like that…
“Anyway, I don’t like it.”
“Huh?”
Koi, who didn’t understand what she had muttered, asked in confusion. Ariel shook her head, saying, “No,” and emptied the remaining wine in her glass at once.
After that, they talked about wedding preparations. In any case, Ariel emptied her mind and tried to agree with her friend as much as possible, whose cheeks were slightly flushed and who was excitedly talking about this and that. She sincerely hoped that her friend would be happy.
“Haaa.”
Koi, who returned to the condo where he lived with Ashley, suddenly felt tired as soon as he entered the front door and let out a deep sigh. He didn’t usually feel it, but when he suddenly felt tired like this, he realized that he was really pregnant. But other than that, most of the time, things weren’t much different from before, and Koi still had a hard time believing that he was pregnant.
Even now, he tilted his head and stroked his stomach, then suddenly raised his head and paused. There was a box on the table in front of the entrance. As soon as he saw it, Koi guessed what was inside. Of course, he didn’t imagine the exact shape, but he knew enough about what kind of object it was.
Ah…
As expected, Koi carefully opened the box and sighed again. Even then, he stood in the same place for a while, just looking inside the box.
Ashley, who returned at the same time as always, paused when he saw that the house was dark with no lights on. Remembering that Koi had said he was going to meet Ariel today, he frowned unconsciously.
Hasn’t he come back yet?
It was a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time, and Koi liked Ariel very much, so he wouldn’t be able to understand if he lost track of time. He wasn’t very happy about it, though.
Should I go pick him up?
Koi must have taken the subway or bus again today. He had ordered a car as a wedding gift, but he had refused to order a temporary car in the meantime, or to take Ashley’s spare car. The reason why he had left him to take the bus or subway until now was because Koi’s outings were short and he was usually home before Ashley returned. But this time it was different.
Suppressing his impatience, Ashley took out his cell phone and dialed the number. He was going to ask where he was and pick him up himself. Did he not know how dangerous the East was yet? It was when he unconsciously frowned.
♪♪♩♫♬♩♪……
The sound of a cell phone ringing was heard from somewhere in the house.