By Zephyria 
“It’s all done. Would you like to test it?”
As Koi stepped back and spoke, the homeowner who had requested the repair approached the sink and turned the water on and off to check if it was working properly. Seeing the water flowing smoothly, she nodded and turned to Koi.
“It works great. Thank you. I thought it would take longer, I was wondering if I should eat out tonight.”
Koi smiled back at her bright face and reached out his hand to receive the payment, but hastily hid it behind his back when he saw his hand was dirty with grease and grime.
“Um, excuse me, could I wash my hands?”
“Ah, yes. This way.”
After being led to the washbasin and quickly washing his hands, Koi came out to find the homeowner waiting for him, handing him the repair fee along with a generous tip. Koi smiled broadly and greeted her lightly.
“Thank you. Then, if you have any more problems, please contact me.”
“Ah, excuse me, do you happen to be coming around here again anytime soon?”
Koi, who was about to leave, stopped at the homeowner’s question and turned to look at her. Was there anything else to fix? As he wondered, the homeowner blushed as if embarrassed and said.
“Um, well, I was wondering if maybe we could have dinner sometime…”
Her face was flushed red as she chuckled. Koi, who had been momentarily stunned, realized a beat later.
Could this be… that?
If it were him in the past, he would have said something clueless, but not now. He had gained some very shallow knowledge in the meantime, and he knew that this was a clear sign of affection. He also knew that he had to refuse as politely as possible.
“Thank you for the offer, but I have someone I’m going to marry. I’m sorry.”
Beating around the bush wouldn’t help. Koi believed that being honest and direct was helpful in everything. This time, as always, he spoke as gently as possible, and she quickly waved her hand in embarrassment.
“Oh, no. I see… I thought so, but you weren’t wearing a ring…”
Koi felt even more sorry when he saw her gaze subtly looking down at his hand, thinking that he had unnecessarily confused her.
“There are circumstances… Anyway, I’m sorry.”
Koi apologized once more and added that after-sales service was free if there were any problems. He wanted to make up for his apologetic feelings in this way. Perhaps noticing his thoughts, she nodded and smiled.
“Okay, thank you. Goodbye.”
After barely finishing his greetings, Koi hurried out of the house. Looking at the time, he thought he could get home before Ashley arrived. He slung the tool bag over his shoulder and hurried to the subway station.
“Welcome, Niles.”
As the security guard he encountered at the entrance greeted him, Koi smiled and greeted him as well. He had put the bag down on the floor in the subway, but it was quite heavy to carry on his shoulder all the way here.
I can’t do this for long…
When the child gets bigger, this job won’t be easy either. Adding the weight of the bag to the weight of the child would be considerable, but taking a taxi was out of the question. He couldn’t waste all the money he earned by working so hard on taxi fares.
Should I buy a car after all…?
He thought about looking into used trucks, but that also cost a lot of money. Recalling the market prices for used trucks he had looked at while riding the subway, he sighed involuntarily.
Anyway, I can’t keep working like this, so I need to think about it…
“Hey, you.”
He was thinking about how much more he would have to work to save enough money to buy a ring when he suddenly heard someone calling from behind. At first, he didn’t think it was him and just walked towards the private elevator, but this time a man shouted even louder.
“Hey! You, repairman! Stop!”
Huh?
Only then did Koi stop and turn around to see a man who was shorter than him but had a larger build staring at him with fierce eyes. Koi looked around and pointed to himself, asking with his actions.
Me?
“Yes, you!”
The man raised his chin and flicked one finger, signaling him to come over. Koi hesitated, but reluctantly walked towards him.
“Yes, what’s the matter…”
“How did you get in here? Do you even know where this is?”
The man frowned deeply and blatantly scanned Koi up and down, arrogantly raising his chin and asking. Koi blinked in confusion at the unexpected situation. He had never experienced this while living in Ashley’s house, so his mind wasn’t working properly for a moment.
“Well, I live here…”
Koi carefully started to speak, but the man sneered without listening to the end.
“Who lives here? A cockroach? Oh, did you come to spray insecticide? Or to inspect the sewers?”
“Um… something like that…”
Koi answered without much thought, since that was exactly what he had been doing a little while ago. Then the man blatantly looked down on him and said.
“Then you should have taken the freight elevator. You’re spreading the smell everywhere, your sewer smell.”
The man deliberately sniffed, then grabbed his nose and glared at Koi. Koi was momentarily flustered and didn’t know what to do. Did he smell from fixing the pipes? Koi couldn’t smell, so he had no idea what kind of smell was coming from there. But seeing how much the man hated it, it was clear that he must be reeking.
Oh no, how hard must it have been for the people on the subway.
“Um… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize… I’ll be careful.”
As Koi apologized in embarrassment, the man spat out as if he was dumbfounded.
“How dare you not know your place and try to ride the elevator? Originally, guys like you would never even get to come into a place like this in your life, but somehow…”
The man continued to despise Koi and spew out curses. Koi wanted to go home and wash off the smell that was coming from his body, but he didn’t give him a chance. As he was at a loss, the security guard who had greeted him at the entrance saw them and hurriedly approached.
“What’s going on? Is there a problem…?”
“Perfect timing!”
The man now turned his arrow towards the security guard.
“How are you doing security? Letting even homeless people in. What if I hadn’t found him and stopped him? What if he had harmed the people living here!”
A resident who had just gotten off the elevator glanced at them and passed by. Feeling embarrassed and anxious, he was about to say that he would go back, but the security guard opened his mouth first with a troubled face.
“Um, this person lives here. He’s Ashley Miller’s fiancé…”
The man, who had been freely talking and spewing all sorts of curses about Koi until then, paused. Silence fell in an instant. Koi glanced around and subtly took a step back. At the same time, the two turned their gaze to him, and Koi flinched in surprise and carefully opened his mouth.
“Um, can I go now? It’s almost time for Ash to come home…”
At those words, the security guard glanced at the man’s expression. The man stared at Koi with a pale face, then turned his gaze back to the security guard. At the gaze that asked instead of speaking, the security guard nodded.
“Yes, Ashley Miller of Miller Law Firm. He owns the penthouse.”
The man didn’t say anything more.
“Welcome home, Ash!”
At the sight of his lover’s welcoming face, Ashley relaxed his hardened expression and opened his arms to hug him. Koi smiled brightly and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. He felt relieved and overjoyed as he felt Ashley’s warm body temperature.
I’m happy.
Koi, who was closing his eyes and savoring the warmth, paused momentarily when he heard Ashley burying his nose in his neck and taking a deep breath.
He would have released Pheromone to reassure Ashley at other times, but he couldn’t do that today. Noticing Koi’s hesitant reaction, Ashley rubbed Koi’s ear with his nose and asked.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Um, well, that’s…”
Koi hesitated and carefully asked.
“Ash, do I smell?”