By Zephyria It’s Ash!
It was the first call he had received since he left for the East Coast. His heart was filled with joy and longing. He was about to press the button when the pile of condoms came into view. Koi froze.
The phone continued to ring. For a while, Koi just stared at the screen. It was the first time he hadn’t answered a call from Ashley right away, even seeing his name. It took some time and courage to press the call button.
“Hoo, hoo.”
After taking two audible deep breaths, he finally pressed the button with trembling hands. Koi answered the phone just before it went to voicemail.
“H-hello?”
– Koi?
His voice came through immediately.
– What’s wrong? Why did you take so long to answer?
Hearing Ashley’s voice, filled with concern, Koi felt guilty and hurriedly coughed to clear his throat.
“N-nothing. I was working and couldn’t answer right away.”
Hearing Ashley’s voice, the heart that had frozen just moments ago melted away. Feeling his chest swell with affection, Koi carefully continued, “Were you… busy?”
Why haven’t you called?
Unable to hide his resentful tone, he quickly shut his mouth. Of course he was busy; he must have been spending time with his parents after a long time.
Koi hadn’t called him either because he didn’t know when Ashley would be with his family, and the three-hour time difference had more of an impact than he had thought. Ashley probably hadn’t been able to call for similar reasons.
I was waiting for Ash to call first, and now I’m feeling resentful.
Feeling sorry for Ashley, he tried to correct himself, but he heard a sigh from the other end. Koi’s whole body immediately stiffened. Was he angry with me? His heart pounded with anxiety, but Ashley spoke from the other end.
– Sorry, Koi. It’s been too hectic here.
“Oh…”
His voice was calmer than he had expected. He wasn’t angry. Relieved, he also felt sorry. Ash isn’t the type to get annoyed or angry about things like this; I was unfairly thinking of Ash in a negative way.
Koi asked cautiously, feeling guilty, “Are you busy with your parents…?”
– Sort of.
Ashley’s answer was vague. Koi was curious, but thinking it wasn’t polite to pry into someone else’s family matters, he held back and said something else instead.
“You must be tired. But your parents must be happy to have you with them, right?”
This time, Ashley didn’t answer right away. Confused by the strange silence, he heard Ashley say from the other end, “Well, I don’t really know what’s on their minds.”
“Oh…”
Koi mumbled, bewildered. He didn’t know what to say to such a cynical response. It was Ashley who came to Koi’s rescue this time.
– How about you, Koi? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Koi nodded hastily, then belatedly expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you, Ash. I’m doing well at work thanks to you.”
– Really? Are you okay?
“Yeah.”
Koi nodded emphatically.
“The work is easy, and they pay me a lot. I mean, I work a lot less than I did at my old part-time job, but I get paid more. Thank you, I can retake the college entrance exam thanks to you…”
Koi, who had been excitedly listing things off, paused. He needed a little courage to say the next words.
“Our… marriage, funds too.”
Muttering softly, his face flushed red, he heard laughter from the other end. It wasn’t laughter that mocked Koi, but rather laughter that seemed to be enjoying itself, making Koi even more embarrassed.
“Why, why are you laughing?”
– Oh, Koi.
Ashley whispered, his voice still filled with laughter, “I want to kiss you.”
Koi’s heart began to race. Clutching his pounding chest, Koi opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Me… too.”
I want to see you, Ash.
Barely managing to hold back the words that were about to burst out, Koi tightly shut his mouth to avoid making a mistake. Saying those words would only make things harder for Ashley. Ashley is holding back too, so I need to be strong.
After taking a deep breath, Ashley asked Koi, “What were you doing? Cleaning?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Had he guessed by looking at the time? Koi thought as he replied, “I was cleaning the pool until a little while ago, and then I came inside.”
– You’re doing more work? After doing the pool?
Ashley asked, puzzled. He had clearly instructed them to assign only one task per day. How much work were they making Koi do? He wanted to check immediately and tell them to assign him properly, but he held back and waited for an answer. Koi hesitated before answering.
“That’s all they assigned me, but I wanted to do more…”
– Why, why would you?
Ashley clearly didn’t understand. Of course, I would feel the same way. Koi understood him, but the current situation was special.
“Because I like you…”
Adding the words hastily, Ashley was silent for a moment. Not being able to bear the embarrassment at his surprised tone, Koi mumbled softly, “You said you wanted the house to be clean when you came back. So…”
– So, you’re cleaning the house? Even though no one asked you to?
“N-not a lot. Just a room or two…”
Ashley was silent again. How should he react to this? He had told him to work at his house so that he could be a little more comfortable, but he was creating work for himself.
For me.
Ashley felt a mix of joy, affection, and heartache, and couldn’t find the words to say. Clearing his throat, he composed himself and asked gently, “So, which room are you cleaning now?”
“Oh, oh.”
Koi answered quickly, “Y-your room.”
– My room?
“Yeah.”
Koi nodded as Ashley asked again.
“You’ll be resting here first when you come back. So… I’m cleaning your room every day.”
Only then did Ashley realize the meaning of the words “a room or two.” He meant Ashley’s room and one other room. This was Koi’s way of expressing his affection. Ashley decided to accept it and said, “I see.”
Hearing the gentle tone, Koi felt relieved. Then, his mouth moved on its own, and he blurted out without realizing it, “But why do you have so many condoms?”
– What?
Aah!
Koi swallowed a silent scream and covered his mouth with one hand. He could almost see Ashley’s face frowning on the other end.
“No, I mean, that’s, well…”
Stammering desperately, Ashley exclaimed, as if he understood, “Ah…”
– Koi, you looked inside the drawer.
Hearing the subtly mocking tone, Koi shouted in confusion.“Oh, no, it’s not that I did it on purpose, I just moved the table to wipe the dust off the back, but it tilted this much and the drawer opened on its own, I wasn’t trying to look!”
Seeing his rambling response, Ashley laughed out loud. Koi wasn’t angry that he was being teased again; instead, he felt relieved. *He’s not upset.*
Koi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, then hesitated before mustering the courage to ask, “Um… this, you bought it, right? In your size?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He admitted it so easily that Koi felt foolish for being so nervous. He felt a little deflated, and his tongue moved more freely than before.
“It’s just… it’s so big, I was a little surprised.”
“It’s not *that* big. Meerkat-sized?”
Ashley didn’t miss the opportunity to try to brainwash him. But having seen the real thing, it wasn’t easy to get into Koi’s head.
“Meerkats are small and cute, though.”
“No, Koi. It’s because you haven’t actually seen one. You haven’t, have you?”
“Oh, uh, no.”
Koi inadvertently agreed.
“I’ve only seen them in pictures.”
“Then trust me. Mine’s about the size of a meerkat.”
After saying that, he shamelessly added, “Small and cute, right?”
Koi was silent for a moment at his confident conclusion. *His brain must be working hard to accept what Ashley is saying,* Ashley thought, smiling as Koi finally spoke.
“You haven’t seen a meerkat either, have you?”
Ashley was taken aback by the disbelief in his voice. It was his brain that needed to work hard. Ashley frantically wracked his brain while outwardly asking nonchalantly, “Yes, I have. Why?”
“There’s no way a meerkat is that big. That’s an anaconda, you’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”
“No, Koi. I’m serious.”
Now Ashley was getting anxious.
“Mine’s a meerkat. Really. Koi, don’t you trust me?”
His last words were full of hurt. The frustration that his trick hadn’t worked, mixed with the resentment that Koi didn’t trust him, poured out in a genuine tone that made Koi waver.
“…Really?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Ashley insisted strongly this time.
“It’s a meerkat.”
“…Hold on.”
Koi made him wait before quickly searching the internet. Meerkat, meerkat. Meerkat size. And then he confirmed it.
50 centimeters including the tail.
The moment he saw the explanation, Koi was convinced.
“…It could be a meerkat, I guess.”