By Zephyria “The, the pants are too short to wear.”
He made an excuse in a hurry, but Ashley’s expression didn’t change.
“What about the shirt?”
At the sharp question, Koi hesitated before answering,
“That’s a short-sleeved one, so…”
He had bought a fairly loose one when he first got it, so he could still wear it. Of course, it was a little, no, quite small, but the only nice clothes he had were the ones Ashley had bought him over a decade ago, so he had no choice. He had been too busy scraping together every spare penny he could.
Thanks to that, he had finally achieved his goal and come to the East Coast to meet Ashley, but he didn’t want to mention that far. He didn’t want to burden Ashley.
But he seemed to have upset him enough already.
Ha, a sigh suddenly escaped. Startled, he raised his head and noticed Ashley looking elsewhere with furrowed brows.
“It’s yours, so you can do whatever you want with it.”
Soon after, he chuckled and added as if talking to himself,
“I really don’t understand why you still have clothes that don’t even fit.”
“But.”
Koi hesitated before muttering in a trembling voice,
“How could I throw away something you gave me…”
Ashley fell silent again. After a moment of silence, he let out another deep sigh and muttered in a voice that seemed choked,
“You’re really…”
Ashley stopped himself from saying what he was about to say. Anxiously waiting for his next words, Koi couldn’t help but open his mouth.
“Ash…”
“Alright, Koi. Just go now.”
Koi hesitated, but Ashley urged him on with a frown.
“Just get out. I’m tired.”
“O-okay… Sorry.”
Koi had no choice but to apologize and get out of the car. He closed the door and took two steps back, and the car immediately drove off. Watching the car disappear into the distance, Koi stood there for a while before finally trudging home.
I wasn’t expecting anything grand anyway.
As he turned the key to open the door, a loud noise echoed. The small room in the basement of the building was a converted storage space, so there were no windows and a musty mold smell permeated the air. But Koi couldn’t smell, so he didn’t notice it, and he thought he was getting enough sun while working outside, so it was fine. This was the best he could afford with his rent.
Poverty had followed him his whole life. It was nothing new. He just regretted meeting Ashley again like that.
I wish we could have met properly.
He belatedly realized that he hadn’t thought about what “properly” meant. He went to sleep without reaching a conclusion, even after showering and lying in bed.
*
He woke up long after lunchtime. Startled by the sudden ringing of his cell phone, he rubbed his bleary eyes and answered the phone without thinking.
“Hello…”
He mumbled with a yawn, and a voice came from the other end of the line.
– Koi?
“Uh…”
Koi, still dazed, responded blankly, and the other person spoke again.
– It’s me, Koi. Are you still not awake?
It took a few more seconds for him to realize who it was. Koi, suddenly wide awake, unconsciously tried to jump out of bed, only to fall to the floor. After a loud crash, Koi hurriedly grabbed his cell phone again.
“H-hello.”
– Are you okay? I heard a huge noise.
“I-I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. Ash, Ashley? Right?”
Ashley’s frowning face was vivid in his mind even without seeing it. Stuttering, he belatedly confirmed, and a voice mixed with laughter came from the other end.
– Aren’t you a little too quick to confirm?
“U-uh.”
Koi’s face naturally relaxed at the mischievous voice that reminded him of the past. Koi laughed along, and Ashley continued.
– How are you feeling? Are you very tired?
“Ah, no. I’m fine. I slept well. So, what’s up? Why all of a sudden…”
He hurriedly shook his head and asked, and Ashley said from the other end in a still laughing voice,
– You told me to call you.
Of course, he did. But he didn’t expect him to call so soon. Koi was happy but answered honestly.
“I thought you were mad at me…”
Ashley didn’t respond right away. Instead, he casually changed the subject.
– The date is tomorrow, right? If you don’t have anything else going on today, would you like to have dinner together?
“Oh, today?”
Hearing the unexpected suggestion, Koi’s voice unconsciously rose. Ashley continued in his usual relaxed tone.
– Yeah, I happen to have time, and you said you’d treat me to dinner.
Of course, that was true. But Koi had never imagined that Ashley would call first to make plans, so his mind wasn’t working properly. Ashley, unaware of Koi’s stunned reaction, said from the other end,
– If you don’t feel like it…
“No, no! It’s not that, I was just surprised. Really, I’d love to. I’d love to.”
After blurting out his emotions, Koi regained his senses and hurriedly added,
“Thank you for calling me so soon.”
He could feel his face burning up. Helplessly expressing his gratitude, Ashley replied again in a voice filled with laughter.
– You’re welcome. You’re paying for dinner, so I’ll pick the place. I know a decent restaurant.
“Oh, ah, okay.”
The only restaurants Koi knew were cheap places like Greenbelt. A place that suited Ashley’s taste would probably be incredibly expensive. Koi thought, but he soon steeled himself. He would take out all the cash he had. Would he ever get another chance like this? As he was inwardly resolving himself, Ashley asked,
– Should I pick you up at 6? How’s that?
“Uh…”
Koi paused, about to say it was fine. The company truck was at Nelson’s mansion, and he usually took the subway or bus. He would need a car to get to the restaurant Ashley was recommending. Should he rent one? If he looked right now, could he find a decent car?
All sorts of thoughts were swirling in his head when Ashley said,
– You’re paying for dinner, so I’ll take care of the transportation. Is that okay?
“Ah… Yeah.”
Koi thought for a moment and nodded. This much would be fine. They weren’t dating anymore, and sharing responsibilities was something that could happen between friends. In fact, him renting a car to pick him up might be crossing the line. Ashley and his relationship were different from before, so he had to be more careful. Koi steeled himself and opened his mouth.
“Then I’ll leave it to you. At 6 where we parted yesterday.”
– Great.
Ashley readily replied and added,
– Light business attire is fine, so just a shirt and tie. And be sure to wear shoes.
“Ah, yeah.”
Koi glanced at his old sneakers and nodded. As soon as he hung up, he hurriedly prepared the clothes he would wear. The only decent clothes he had were the ones Ashley had bought him a long time ago. He already knew that, so he wouldn’t be surprised. He also had a tie and dress pants, albeit cheap ones.
He also took out the shoes he had put away. He had only worn them a couple of times, so they were still new, but he could see the dust on them. He hurriedly took out a brush and polished his shoes, took a shower, and changed his clothes, and before he knew it, it was almost time for his appointment.
* * *
Ashley’s car arrived right on time. Koi, who was already standing on the street, quickly got in as soon as his Bentayga stopped and locked the door himself.
“Let’s get going, it’s dangerous here.”
Ashley chuckled at Koi’s habit of looking around nervously and drove off. Only after Ashley’s car left the neighborhood and entered the main road did Koi relax.
I should tell him to meet somewhere else next time.
Koi became anxious every time he saw Ashley’s flashy car. The thought that he might run into a robber and Ashley might get shot filled his heart with guilt. That could never happen. Steeling himself, Koi tried to change the atmosphere and spoke brightly.
“Thanks for picking me up. Where are we going?”
Ashley said something briefly, but Koi didn’t understand. Koi just blinked blankly, and Ashley opened his mouth again.
“It’s French. M, O, N…”
Koi hurriedly typed the spelling Ashley gave him into his cell phone and soon understood the meaning.
My pleasure.
“Why did he use French?”
“Because it’s a French restaurant.”
Koi was momentarily flustered. He didn’t know anything about French cuisine. He had once heard that they ate snails, so was that what he was going to eat now?
He quickly searched for the restaurant, but he couldn’t even find a website. Unlike the anxious Koi, Ashley drove without any particular reaction, looking straight ahead. The car squeezed through the crowded weekend roads and headed towards its destination.
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