By Zephyria While going to Ashley’s car parked, Koi felt like he was being dragged along for some reason. Of course. Ashley was holding his hand tightly and walking ahead, and Koi was following behind with reluctant steps.
He felt uncomfortable with the big hand holding his hand and tried to slip his hand away, but Ashley noticed and grabbed it tightly. Surprised, he looked up, and Ashley said, still looking ahead.
“I told you I wouldn’t let go.”
The words, “I won’t run away anymore,” came up to the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. In reality, he was a criminal caught red-handed just now. Koi couldn’t help but lower his head again, feeling that his words were not trustworthy.
He felt uncomfortable and awkward in this atmosphere, but on the other hand, he felt relieved by the warmth of Ashley’s hand holding his hand. Is this what friendship is like? Does he always feel like this, with his feelings going back and forth and several emotions mixed up at once? Koi didn’t know. Ashley was his first friend.
Maybe I’m going through a late puberty.
Koi thought. He was past that age, but he had learned that such changes could happen even in adulthood. Puberty involves not only physical changes but also a rapid emotional turmoil. What he was experiencing now was exactly that.
Maybe Manifestation and puberty are similar.
It was a pretty plausible idea. Anyway, both involve big changes. Most people experience it before puberty, but sometimes it comes out in adulthood. So maybe puberty is like the Manifestation that Beta experiences in some ways? It would be fun to write a paper or essay about this.
Unexpectedly, finding a topic for his essay was good. But the escape from reality was only up to that point.
Koi carefully watched Ashley’s expression. He was still looking away, so he couldn’t see his expression. Ashley hadn’t looked back once while dragging Koi along.
He must be very angry.
Koi was terrified. Of course. Anyone would be dumbfounded and angry if someone ran away as soon as they saw them. Besides, Ashley had stayed at school until now to wait for Koi’s results even though he didn’t have training today, so Koi’s attitude was like stabbing him in the back.
Maybe he wasn’t waiting for me.
Suddenly, another thought occurred to him. No, he said he was waiting for me. He quickly shook his head to shake off the negative thoughts, but the doubt that had arisen once didn’t go away easily.
What if he was waiting for me but also waiting for Ariel?
Wouldn’t that make sense? Koi became anxious again. He could hear about the pass or fail from Ariel. If he failed, he wouldn’t need to keep practicing, so it would be over, and if he passed, he would take Koi home as always.
Maybe he was trying to reconcile with Al on this occasion.
That’s it, Koi’s eyes widened. No wonder, he’s already tired from training every day, but it was too much kindness to even teach Koi how to skate. Ashley was Koi’s first friend, so he didn’t know the limits of friendship, but if he put himself in Ashley’s shoes, he would have done the same. If Ashley needed Koi, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.That’s right, that’s what happened.
The suspicion turned into certainty. Helping a friend, making up with his girlfriend, what a great idea. It was good for Al, too. He was also helping Al by getting Ashley’s help.
This is really working out.
Koi lowered his gaze gloomily. But why did he feel like this?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out the answer this time.
“Here, get in.”
Ashley, who had already arrived at the car, let go of the hand he had been holding and opened the passenger seat door instead. So he heard that I passed. Koi thought. Ashley asked him, hesitating and unable to move easily.
“I said, get in.”
“No, well.”
Many words came to mind, but what came out of Koi’s mouth was the most useless.
“I have to take my bike…”
“It’s in the car.”
Ashley cut him off.
“I’ll bring it.”
Because he urged him to hurry, Koi couldn’t resist any longer. Eventually, he wriggled and folded himself into the passenger seat, and Ashley closed the door. Soon after, there was a click, and the car door locked.
“Huh, huh?”
Koi, who was flustered and looking around, raised his head, and Ashley showed off his smart key as if to show it off, then turned around and walked away quickly. Koi just stared blankly at his back with wide eyes.
No way.
Flustered, Koi grabbed the door handle. But the door only made a rattling sound and wouldn’t open.
What’s going on?
He couldn’t understand. Is it possible that the door won’t open from the inside? Does it even have such a device here? No, it’s possible to install it if you want, but why is it here?
Koi, who was looking around urgently, tried to open the door several times but failed. Eventually, he had no choice but to accept reality.
Ash has imprisoned me.
*
It didn’t take long for Ashley to return to the car. Ashley, who returned as quickly as he had gone, carrying Koi’s bicycle on his shoulder, opened the trunk, loaded the bicycle, and returned to the driver’s seat.
“Okay, Koi. Talk to me.”
Ashley, who had locked the car door again, turned to Koi. The inside of the Cayenne, which had felt endlessly wide until now, suddenly felt suffocatingly narrow. He leaned back without realizing it, and Ashley frowned at the sight. An uncomfortable silence flowed.
“…Koi.”
After a while, Ashley opened his mouth. Koi was inwardly nervous, but the emotion in Ashley’s voice was something other than anger.
“Koi, did I scare you?”
“Huh, huh?”
At the unexpected question, Koi stuttered without realizing it. Ashley said to Koi, who was blinking rapidly.
“Why did you suddenly run away? You were trying to run away again while coming here, weren’t you? Why did you do that? Did I do something wrong?”
“Uh…”
As unexpected words continued, Koi was flustered and his head went blank. He felt like he had thought a lot while coming here, but he hadn’t expected this at all. Ashley frowned as he looked at Koi, who was just blinking.
“Could it be such a big mistake that it’s hard to say?”
“What… No, absolutely not!”
Belatedly, Koi shouted and shook his head wildly. He finally stopped only after feeling dizzy, and he gasped for breath and denied it again.
“That’s not it, Ash. It’s not because of that.”
“Then?”
Ashley’s face became even more serious. He had made him misunderstand with a pointless act. Koi was filled with regret, but now it was more urgent to clear up his misunderstanding than to blame himself.
“Well, um, that is.”
Koi was flustered and chose his words, but it wasn’t easy. How could he explain this feeling that he couldn’t even understand himself?
Thankfully, Ashley waited patiently for him, who was at a loss and couldn’t find the words. How could Ash have so much patience? Realizing his respect for him and his own patheticness at the same time, Koi took a deep breath.
“Well.”
“Yeah.”
Once he opened his mouth, Koi soon made eye contact with Ashley. He was listening to him with endless sincerity.
It’s okay.
Koi’s anxious heart gradually calmed down. He can tell Ash, he thought. Ashley wouldn’t laugh at him no matter what he said. He took another breath and finally confessed.
“I think I’m going through puberty.”
After finishing speaking, Koi closed his mouth. Ashley was still looking at his face. For a few seconds, he showed no reaction.
“…What?”
After a long time, Ashley’s reaction, distorting his face, was just this. It couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t understand what he had just heard at all. Puberty. They were in 11th grade. It was more absurd than Ariel’s words that she would ward off bad luck by dressing a man as a woman.
But Koi seemed to have his own conviction in his guess. Listen, he began to list the reasons why he thought so with more enthusiasm.
“They say it comes even at a late age. Like Manifestation, of course, it’s a mutation after 20 years old, but anyway, I think I’m like that.”
“You Manifestated?”
“No, I’m going through puberty.”
Koi said forcefully.
“I mean the Manifestation that Betas experience.”
“Haa…”
He tried his best to listen to him seriously, but he couldn’t understand what he was saying at all. Ashley, who let out a deep sigh, paused for a moment, lost in thought, and then looked back at Koi.
Until then, Koi was inwardly nervous and waiting for Ashley’s reaction. Looking at that face, Ashley couldn’t just dismiss it as nonsense. He decided to try to understand Koi as much as possible.
“Then what’s the reason you think you’re going through puberty?”
Ashley asked as seriously as Koi. Koi opened his mouth, saying, “Uh.” Just as he was about to answer, Ashley’s face, looking at him, suddenly filled his vision.
At that moment, Koi’s face turned bright red.