LMI 19

“…Cough, cough.”

I woke up from a violent cough that shook my whole body. The pain I had ignored spread throughout my body, but it was better than having nightmares.

Haa, haa.

I took a breath and slowly opened my eyes. It was bright before I fell asleep, but the sun was already setting. The fever was still there. A sigh came out automatically at the burning cheeks and drooping body. It was when I closed my eyes again. Suddenly, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.

…What is it?

Ashley closed his eyes and listened. His senses were dulled by the fever, so he couldn’t be sure at first. But it was true. Just as his consciousness was about to fade, he heard a clear sound. It was the sound of footsteps walking down the hallway.

Is it an employee? He thought for a moment, but soon denied it. Even if he had been unconscious for more than a day, the setting sun proved that it couldn’t be. The employees come early in the morning, finish their work in the morning, and go back. If that was the rising sun, it was too early, and if it was the setting sun, it was too late. Besides, they were on vacation. The conclusion was that there was an uninvited visitor.

A thief?

Ashley thought as he lay there. If he was healthy, he would have found an ice hockey stick and swung it around, but now he was too lazy to do anything. He hoped they would take whatever they wanted and let him sleep. Even if the whole mansion was Sarahzed, the man wouldn’t care. But if Ashley disappeared, he might care a little.

Ashley was the man’s child, and a possession.

Just like ‘he’ who gave birth to Ashley.

The footsteps were getting closer. If he was a thief, he would be busy searching here and there, but he wasn’t doing any of that.

The approaching footsteps seemed to indicate that his destination was Ashley’s room.

…Could it be the man?

When the disgusting purple eyes came to mind, the door burst open.

Ashley consciously took a deep breath. If it was the man, that disgusting sweet scent would enter deep into his lungs.

But after bracing himself for the unpleasant feeling, he took a deep breath, but he didn’t smell anything. Ashley realized that all he could smell was the faint scent of the fabric of the blanket he was covering himself with, and he went back to his previous guess.

It’s a thief.

Ashley buried himself deeper in the bed, hoping that he wouldn’t threaten him with a weapon and make a troublesome demand for valuables.

Take it all. Just don’t touch me.

That was all Ashley wanted, but the odds were fifty-fifty. He had to think about what to do in the worst case scenario.

Take it all. Just don’t touch me.

That was all Ashley wanted, but the odds were fifty-fifty. He had to think about what to do in the worst case scenario.

He waited with his eyes closed, but unexpectedly, the thief didn’t readily enter the room. Maybe he was looking around from outside the door to see what was there.

But with a creak, a loud noise, Ashley soon realized why. The stupid thief was holding the doorknob and waiting to make as little noise as possible. As proof, as soon as the loud noise rang out, he heard him gasp in surprise.

Is he just a petty thief?

Ashley thought, still with his eyes closed and half-asleep. If he was such a clumsy guy, he wouldn’t be able to take things properly. He’ll probably leave, he thought, and decided to just go to sleep. He was almost successful in falling back into his drowsy consciousness.

Creak.

The sharp sound rang out again, forcibly pulling him out of his sleep. Deep wrinkles formed on his severely frowned brow. Again, the petty thief stopped moving.

Ashley ignored it and tried to fall asleep. But this time, too, he failed, and when the door slammed open again, Ashley almost screamed at him to just open it and come in. He would have done so if he didn’t have a fever that was making his whole body boil. But in reality, all he did was close his eyes, distort his face, and let out a faint groan.

Fortunately, he didn’t hear the door anymore. Instead, he heard another eerie mechanical sound. Squeak, creak, squeak. It wasn’t as loud as before, but it was still annoying.

What the hell is he trying to steal that’s so great that he’s making such a fuss? As Ashley gritted his teeth, the sound stopped.

After a while, he felt a suppressed presence. He could feel someone walking on tiptoe, carefully crossing the room and approaching Ashley’s bed.

Ashley didn’t move until then. The petty thief seemed to be trying to check on the person lying on the bed, which was bold of him. He couldn’t take it anymore. The moment the petty thief gently lifted the sheet that covered his head, Ashley suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“You son of a bitch, enough is enough…!”

He shouted in a hoarse voice, knocking the surprised petty thief down on the bed. The thief was smaller than he thought. Ashley could easily break one or two of his bones if he wanted to.

What surprised him was the thief’s identity. Ash looked down at the familiar face staring at him with wide eyes in disbelief.

“…Koi?”

A locked voice barely squeezed out of his vocal cords. Koi, who had been blinking blankly until then, nodded awkwardly.

“Yeah, it’s me. …How have you been?”

The words he had formally added after seeing Ashley, who was clearly not ‘well’, faded away. Ashley stared blankly at Koi and then coughed belatedly.

“Ash!”

Koi shouted in panic and hurriedly got up. Perhaps because he had relaxed after learning the thief’s identity, Ashley collapsed on the bed.

“Ash, are you okay? Oh no, you must be in a lot of pain!”

It’s your fault.

Ashley wanted to say it, but he couldn’t make a sound because of the cough. Koi, who was looking at him worriedly as he continued to cough painfully, hurriedly got off the bed.

“Ash, I brought medicine. Eat some, and some soup.”

Ash, who was shaking all over from coughing, barely opened his eyes and realized what that strange mechanical sound was. It was the sound of the cart that Koi had brought.

“The kitchen is huge.”

Before Ashley could ask, Koi spoke first and ladled the soup he had put in the pot into a bowl.

“It’s vegetable soup.”

“Get rid of it.”

Ashley said immediately. Koi, who had paused, hurriedly turned around, poured the soup he had ladled out back into the pot, opened another pot, and repeated the same action.

“It’s cream soup.”

“……”

Ashley looked at Koi in disbelief, even in his feverish and dazed state. When he looked behind him, he could see four pots on the cart.

“I didn’t know what you would eat, so I bought all kinds.”

Koi said, blushing. He didn’t forget to add that he would remember that he didn’t eat vegetables. Ashley just blinked as he lay there. He didn’t have the energy to speak, let alone think. Koi looked sad, perhaps because he felt sorry for Ashley, and then stirred the soup, scooped it up with a spoon, and held it out.

“Come on, Ash. Eat some.”

Ashley moved only his eyes, looking at the spoon and then back at Koi. Koi said, not hiding his pity.

“You have to eat at least a little to get your strength back. Let’s eat and take medicine, okay? Then you’ll get better soon.”

“Come on,” Koi said, holding out the spoon again, his ears not moving at all. Ashley felt strange when he thought that he was genuinely worried about him.

“Okay, come on.”

After hesitating, he opened his mouth, and Koi carefully put the spoon in, poured the soup in, and then took it out again. Ashley swallowed it with difficulty, watching him wait to scoop up more soup and put it in.

“Does it hurt?”

Koi reacted immediately when he saw Ashley frowning. His sore throat was so bad that he couldn’t do it anymore. When he shook his head at Koi, who was holding out the spoon again, he became depressed, but soon put down the bowl and held out a glass of water and medicine this time.

“Eat some medicine, come on.”

Ashley blinked as he lay there, then staggered and got up. That was what he needed most right now.

“This is a fever reducer, this is for phlegm, and this is for a sore throat.”

Koi, who explained each one, put pills and capsules in Ashley’s palm. He didn’t forget to warm the water lukewarm. Ashley, who couldn’t help but frown every time he swallowed water, finally sighed after emptying a cup of water. His throat was terribly sore, but at least his thirst was quenched.

As Ashley was about to lie back down on the bed, Koi rushed over and supported him. Even though he didn’t think it would help much, Ashley slyly leaned his head on his thin shoulder. He felt good because his T-shirt that touched his forehead was cool.

“Go to sleep, Ash. You’ll feel much better after you sleep.”