By Zephyria Ashley just stared at Koi’s face. Koi immediately regretted what he had said due to the sudden tension. If Ashley wasn’t going to say anything, he should have just pretended not to know, why did he bring it up and create this atmosphere?
But if he was the one who had upset Ashley, he couldn’t just ignore it and leave. Above all, it was Ashley who had contacted Koi first, who hadn’t been able to muster the courage, and he had even made time for him despite being busy. If he ruined Ashley’s mood and then ignored it, wouldn’t that be really shameless?
Waiting for Ashley’s answer with a serious expression and enduring the tension, Ashley, who had been staring intently at his face for a while, opened his mouth.
“Are you happy, Koi?”
The quiet voice contained something completely different from what he had expected. Koi was momentarily flustered by the sudden question and hesitated for a moment. Why is he asking that? He couldn’t understand the intention, but he could grasp the meaning. So, Koi answered honestly.
“Yeah.”
He was sincere. Lately, only good things had been happening. It was the first time in his life that he had experienced such a daily life, so he pinched his cheeks every morning with a dazed feeling. He had become friends with a NASA employee he admired, Ashley had contacted him first, and they had even had dinner together. Until he realized that Ashley was in a bad mood, Koi had been happy all along.
Ashley smiled faintly after confirming the truthful expression that had no trace of lies.
“That’s good.”
Koi paused at the sight of his smiling face. Is he really smiling right now? His lips were definitely turned up, and his eyes were narrowed, but Koi felt a strange sense of incongruity. Ashley was smiling, but rather…….
“I hope your date tomorrow is very happy and successful.”
After saying his last goodbye, Ashley pressed a button. The sound of the locking function being released echoed in his ears. This car also had that function. Koi vaguely recalled.
Silence fell. Ashley had said goodbye, and Koi should turn around at this point. But for some reason, his body wouldn’t move easily. Koi hesitated and reached for the car’s handle, but stopped. After making up his mind, he turned around and asked one last question.
“What about you, Ash?”
Ashley looked at Koi. Facing him, who had already returned to his expressionless face, Koi opened his mouth again.
“Are you, are you happy?”
During the not-so-long silence, many things flashed through Koi’s mind. Of course, he’s happy. Ash has a successful life that everyone can see. He has everything. Everyone in the world must be envious of Ashley Miller.
But you know that’s not everything.
A small voice of protest flowed out from within him. More than ten years ago, Koi had made an irreversible mistake. Ashley’s expression at that time never left his mind and had been holding him back all along. If he was given a chance to go back to the past just once, he would choose that day without hesitation. So, if he could only take back the words he had said then, he wouldn’t want anything more.
But that’s impossible. It was even less likely than him becoming an astronaut. Then the only remaining option is not to make the same mistake, isn’t it?Ashley didn’t answer. His face remained expressionless, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking. The silence felt infinitely long. Koi was overcome with regret once more.
“I’m, sorry.”
Suddenly, his chest felt constricted, and his voice involuntarily cracked, cutting the word short. Koi took a deep breath and quickly added, “I asked an inappropriate question. …I’ll be going now, goodbye.”
He blurted out the words as if scrambling to gather them and quickly turned away. He reached for the car door handle, desperate to escape this space.
Suddenly, Ashley reached out and grabbed Koi’s arm.
“…!”
Before he could even register what was happening, he was pulled in, and their lips met. For a moment, Koi didn’t comprehend what was happening to him. His eyes widened, and he froze, even his breathing stopping, but Ashley ignored his reaction and simply rubbed his lips open with his tongue, forcing his way inside.
Friends don’t kiss.
Koi barely managed to recall the thought in his half-dazed state. The thick tongue swirling in his mouth soon wrapped around Koi’s hesitantly resisting tongue.
Rubbing lips together might be okay, right?
Koi blankly thought, but he soon realized.
Using tongues is definitely not something friends do.
Amidst the confusion, the kiss continued relentlessly. Koi couldn’t bring himself to push Ashley away, simply surrendering to his actions.
Maybe things are different in the East.
He vaguely thought. His eyes were already half-closed, and his mind was hazy. Ah, finally closing his eyes, Koi realized.
I’m kissing Ash.
Memories of past kisses and embraces flooded back, causing his entire body to tremble slightly. This kiss wasn’t as sweet or gentle as those times. It was a kiss that seemed to devour him, sucking on his lips, licking the inside of his mouth, and biting his tongue, yet Koi couldn’t suppress his excitement.
He dismissed thoughts like, we decided to be friends, or this isn’t in Ariel’s manual. Before he knew it, he was responding to Ashley’s kiss as he had learned. He diligently rubbed his tongue against Ashley’s, and when their lips parted, he immediately chased after them to continue the kiss. His trembling hand caressed Ashley’s cheek before cautiously moving downwards. Moving his hand along his neck, shoulder, and chest, he blankly thought.
Maybe lawyers kiss like this even as friends…
But even Koi, who had been trying to be as accommodating as possible, couldn’t deny it any longer when Ashley roughly ripped open his shirt and began caressing his chest.
Ash knows better than I do what friends are like.
So what is this kiss, then?
Just as he was thinking that friends would never kiss like this, Ashley lowered his body. With their lips locked even more deeply, Koi, who had wrapped his hand around Ashley’s back, involuntarily let out a deep sigh the moment their lips parted.
The kiss that followed was much gentler than before. With short, pecking sounds like a sparrow picking at seeds, their lips collided and separated, causing Koi to moan as if he were sick with longing.
He thought he felt Ashley smile. But before he could open his eyes to confirm, their lips met again, and, naturally, Ashley’s tongue entered, gently tapping against Koi’s upper teeth.
His heart pounded wildly. Koi couldn’t control his trembling breath and carefully blew it into Ashley’s mouth.
The spacious van felt impossibly small. Ashley, who was trying to climb on top of Koi, stumbled against the console box and cursed roughly.
Koi was just as excited, but he couldn’t help but laugh. As if infected by Koi’s laughter, Ashley also smiled and kissed him again.
Ah, with a short sigh between them, Koi moved the hand that had been resting on his back. As his tension eased, his body moved instinctively. The hand moved as he vaguely remembered, and he felt a firm, muscular body beneath it.
Unable to control his excited breathing, Koi trembled slightly all over. Ashley’s large hand boldly entered his shirt, caressing his chest, stroking his nipples, and then twisting them. Koi gasped, but the sensation was more than just pain. At the same time, Koi gained courage and grabbed him in return.
Suddenly, Ashley broke the kiss and abruptly pulled back. Koi stared at him with wide eyes, bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
The sound of their rough breathing echoed in the quiet car. Koi looked at Ashley with an unreadable expression.
Why is he looking at me with that face?
He realized the answer a moment later. Still panting, Ashley asked, “What… what did you just do?”
Koi couldn’t understand why he was looking at him with such surprise.
“You’re supposed to grab the butt when you kiss.”
You’re the one who taught me.
He felt inexplicably wronged. He always fondled Koi’s butt whenever they kissed, and now that Koi had finally mustered the courage to do as he was taught, he was reacting with shock and making that face.
But Ashley’s thoughts were different. It was true that he often touched Koi’s butt, but Koi would always just squirm in embarrassment and never dared to reciprocate. What was this now?
Ten years is not a short time.
Koi had grown up and experienced many things. He knew that intellectually, but perhaps he hadn’t accepted it emotionally.
Haa, a sigh escaped from deep within his chest. Ashley looked at Koi with a distorted expression and whispered, “This is why I didn’t want to see you.”
Koi’s heart sank in that moment. What did that even mean?
Even after seeing Koi’s bewildered reaction, he didn’t offer an explanation.
I’ll go back to being friends from tomorrow. Sorry for kissing you suddenly.
Ashley wanted to say that, but the words that actually came out were completely different.
“We should cancel our date tomorrow.”
“…Why?”
At Koi’s question, Ashley reached out. Koi flinched at the sudden touch of his thumb on his lips, and Ashley narrowed his eyes.
“What are you going to say with them this swollen?”
He couldn’t see it in a mirror, but the spot where Ashley’s finger touched throbbed, so it must be true. Koi hesitated and mumbled, “I’ll say I got bitten by a bug…”
The thumb that had been stroking his lips paused, then Ashley took his hand away.
“So now you’re calling me a bug.”
“Ah, no, you know that’s not what I meant!”
Koi was startled and shook his head in denial, but Ashley still said indifferently, “Do as you please. It’s up to you whether you go on the date or not.”
Before Koi could say anything, he added with a smile, “If it makes you happy.”
Koi hesitated, unable to speak. He felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking it, and he felt uneasy. Studying Ashley’s expression, he finally managed to open his mouth.
“Ash, do you really want me to be happy?”
“Of course. That will never change.”
He was so sincere. That’s why Ashley could answer without hesitation. With a smile.
“That’s been my only wish since ten years ago.”
There was no trace of falsehood on his face. Koi had no idea what Ashley was really thinking, but he could tell that his words were true.
“…I’ll cancel the date tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Ashley nodded readily after Koi finally confessed, then suddenly took out his wallet. Ashley took out a card and handed it to Koi, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“Get her a gift. If you buy her something expensive, she’ll feel better right away. She’ll forget all about the broken date.”
Koi’s eyes widened in that moment. Even as Ashley saw his eyes wavering in disbelief, he remained still, holding out the card.
Slowly, Koi’s eyes began to sparkle and shine. Ashley watched as disappointment, embarrassment, and other emotions were all mixed together on his always honest face. Then, Koi opened the car door and got out of the car right away.
Thud. Only after hearing the sound of the door closing did Ashley realize that Koi had simply left. Without saying goodbye.
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