By Zephyria “Ash didn’t do anything wrong.”
Koi shook his head, turning pale.
“It’s my fault. I…… hurt Ash.”
“10 years ago. So what’s the reason why you couldn’t kiss Julie and backed away? Unless that bastard did something to you…….”
Ariel stopped there. Koi was startled by her eyes, which were gradually widening. Ariel, seeing that reaction, opened her mouth with conviction.
“Oh my god, you met Ash.”
Unable to lie, Koi just bowed his head. Ariel, seeing that, let out a sigh like a sigh, swept her hair back haphazardly, and opened her mouth again.
“What happened? How did you meet?”
“That’s…….”
Koi struggled to tell her what had happened. Ariel, who had been listening with a serious expression, finally spoke when Koi closed his mouth.
“So that’s all there is to it with Ash? You decided to be friends?”
“Y, yeah.”
When he nodded, Ariel frowned and looked at him.
“……Are you okay, Koi?”
“Huh?”
Seeing Koi blink, Ariel continued seriously.
“You worked hard for 10 years just to meet Ash. But are you really okay with that?”“Uh…”
Koi hesitated, seeing the genuinely worried look on his friend’s face, and then answered.
“Yeah, well, it can’t be helped. Like you said, it’s been ten years. Just the fact that Ash didn’t get mad at me and said we could be friends again… I should be… grateful…”
“Koi.”
He couldn’t finish his sentence, his voice trailing off. Flustered, Ariel hurriedly pulled out several paper napkins and handed them to him. Only then did Koi realize he was crying again, and he quickly dabbed at his eyes to wipe away the tears.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Ariel readily accepted Koi’s apology. She simply stared at him for a moment before calling over a passing employee and ordering more Beer.
“What about you? Need anything?”
Koi just shook his head at Ariel’s question. After the employee left, Ariel spoke again.
“Did you tell Ash? That you worked yourself to death for over ten years just to meet him?”
“Why would I say that?”
Koi was startled and vehemently denied it. Seeing her friend like that, Ariel’s frustration boiled over, and she raised her voice sharply.
“Of course, you should have! Ash needs to know how much you suffered.”
“There’s no need to go that far…”
“You should have told him.”
Ariel spoke firmly to Koi, who continued to back away.
“If you had told Ash, he would have known you still liked him, and then you wouldn’t have had to listen to that bullshit about being friends.”
Ariel’s attitude was firm, but Koi’s thoughts were different.
“I can’t do that.”
Koi said definitively, which was rare for him.
“It was my choice and my will to come here, no matter how many years it took. Ash doesn’t need to feel responsible for that, and I don’t want him to. Think about it, how tiresome would it be if someone you broke up with a long time ago saved up money for over ten years just to see your face? I’d be creeped out.”
Even after seeing Koi shake his head repeatedly as if he were terrified just imagining it, Ariel didn’t back down.
“Still, if Ash knew you still liked him, he might change his mind…”
“I’ll never let him find out.”
Koi strongly denied her words again.
“It would be so burdensome for Ash if he has no feelings for me and I told him I still liked him.”
“Koi.”
“Even if Ash doesn’t have anyone officially, he might have someone he likes… and if that’s the case, I’d just be in the way.”
He continued before Ariel could speak.
“I know you’re saying this because you care about me. I really appreciate it, Al. But just being friends is enough for me. I’m grateful to Ash for saying that.”
Koi smiled, saying he meant it, but his eyes were still red and swollen. Seeing that, Ariel simply closed her mouth. An awkward silence fell, but thankfully, the employee brought the Beer. Ariel chugged down the cold Beer and slammed the empty bottle on the table with a thud.
I can’t forgive him.
Ariel glared at Koi with a furious expression. How dare he make my sister cry?
And there was something else she was upset about. She hadn’t told Koi, but Ashley had been engaged around the time he graduated from college, but the engagement was broken off. She didn’t know how deep their relationship had been, but Ashley had tried to marry someone after breaking up with Koi, and they had definitely had that much of a relationship.
On the other hand, Koi had only ever had eyes for Ashley, from the beginning until now. He was like that in high school, and even after graduation, he was so busy making money that he couldn’t even think about anything else. There must have been women who liked him as his appearance gradually changed, but he wouldn’t have noticed at all. Just look at how he ruined his date with Julie. He must have done something clueless.
Of course. You need experience to develop a sense for things.
Ariel couldn’t stand the thought that Koi hadn’t even been on a proper date at his age, while Ashley had done everything he wanted to do while they were apart.
“Koi.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Startled by the sudden call, Koi immediately answered. Ariel looked at Koi with a more serious expression than ever before and opened her mouth.
“I have a favor to ask. Can you do it for me?”
Koi’s face brightened instantly. This was a first. Ariel was asking him for a ‘favor.’
“Of course, anything.”
Koi answered readily. He was ready to jump up and lie on the bed to prepare for surgery before Ariel could even say, ‘I need your liver right now!’ Ariel felt the urge to grab Koi by the neck and shake him, yelling, ‘Stop being so gullible!’ but she held back and instead put on a kind smile and said,
“Thank you. First, contact Julie and apologize. You know you were rude, right?”
“Ah, yeah. Of course. I was going to do that anyway.”
Koi answered honestly and nodded. He was about to apologize to Ariel as well, but she spoke before he could.
“It’s not that you didn’t like Julie, right? You knew you were going on a date.”
“Uh… yeah.”
Koi hesitated before confessing honestly.
“I didn’t know at first, but Ash said it was a date…”
And he even bought me clothes and told me to have a good time.
Seeing Koi’s eyes welling up with tears again as he said Ashley’s name, Ariel quickly pulled out a paper napkin and handed it to him, muttering to herself.
“What the hell is he up to, that bastard?”
“Th-there’s nothing like that.”
Koi, who had somehow understood that she was cursing Ashley, said hastily. Seeing Koi taking Ashley’s side in that state, Ariel’s stomach twisted.
“I’ll be honest. Ashley Miller is a snake with a black heart. You never know when he’ll stab you in the back.”
“No, Ash doesn’t deceive people or anything like that. He doesn’t betray people.”
This is for real.
Finally, unable to hold back any longer, Ariel gritted her teeth and glared fiercely.
“Koi, that bastard dumped me for you while he was dating me.”
Suddenly, the tears disappeared from Koi’s eyes, and his eyes widened. Koi, who had turned pale in an instant, stammered and apologized urgently.
“S-sorry. Sorry, Al.”
“I’m not asking you to apologize.”
Ariel snapped at the repeated apologies. It was that guy who did wrong, but Koi was apologizing for no reason, which made her even angrier.
Huff, Ariel sighed and composed herself before speaking.
“Anyway, I understand. That’s beside the point, so I’ll ask for the next favor.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Koi quickly straightened his posture and prepared to listen. He looked like he would accept anything Ariel said. Seeing the tear stains on Koi’s face, Ariel smiled at him and thought.
Ashley Dominique Miller, I’m going to make you cry tears of blood.
※ The rights to this work belong to the copyright holder. Copying, reproducing, modifying, or distributing this work may result in criminal penalties and civil liability.
(153)============================================================