By Zephyria Ashley whispered in a low voice. As if telling a very secret secret.
“You have to buckle your seatbelt properly.”
Even then, Koi was still blinking with a blank face.
“Uh, uh?”
Ashley smiled.
“It’ll be a disaster if there’s an accident.”
“Uh…”
Koi watched blankly as Ashley moved away from him and straightened up. As he watched, Ashley started the car and drove off. In the smoothly moving car, Koi slowly came to his senses. Soon after, his face turned red.
What was I thinking!
Surprised, he slapped himself on both cheeks in succession.
“Koi? What’s wrong?”
Ashley, flustered, took one hand off the steering wheel and grabbed Koi’s hand.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Uh… uh, uh.”
Koi stuttered, feeling his tingling cheeks.
“Well, just, well.”
After opening his mouth several times, he barely managed to mumble in a faint voice.
“It’s nothing… sorry.”
Even so, Ashley held Koi’s hand for a while and glanced at his face. Judging from the way he was seriously checking his condition, it was clear that he was worried about Koi.
I have to change the subject quickly.
Koi racked his brains like crazy to come up with a topic. Then, miraculously, the customer from the store came to mind. That’s it.
“Hey, what’s the name of this car?”
Hoping that Ashley would take the bait, Koi waited anxiously. Fortunately, Ashley didn’t hesitate and took the bait.
“Aston Martin.”
He continued, now fixing his gaze on the front.
“It wouldn’t be right to take a van on a day like this.”
Thank goodness.
Koi was relieved and asked with a slightly more relaxed heart.
“Did Father come?”
“No, it was in the garage.”
Koi briefly thought of his house at the nonchalant answer. Thinking about the always-closed door of the huge garage, it was a plausible story. Of course, there must be other cars in there besides this one.
“Do you have a lot of cars?”
How many are there? Now curious, he asked, and a smile appeared on Ashley’s lips.
“I’ll show you next time. If there’s one you like, let’s take it for a drive together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Ashley, who readily answered, changed lanes and asked.
“Do you have a favorite car?”
At the sudden question, Koi hurriedly racked his brains.
“Uh… Jaguar?”
In fact, that was the only expensive car name he knew. If it hadn’t been an animal name, he wouldn’t have even remembered that. His heart pounded nervously, but Ashley, still looking ahead, said, “I see.” Huff, he secretly sighed in relief, but then Ashley asked again.
“What model?”
“Uh…”
This time, he was speechless. He needed to know something to be able to improvise, but since he didn’t know anything, it was natural that he had nothing to say. Koi squeezed out his meager knowledge and barely managed to answer.
“Just, a classic car…”
At the small, faint voice, Ashley readily nodded.
“Okay, I’ll bring it next time.”
“Yeah,” Koi nodded in relief, but then he was startled and turned to look at him.
“You have a Jaguar too?”
“Can you get me some water from the glove box over there?”
Ashley suddenly pointed in front of Koi. Koi turned his head to follow where his hand was pointing, then hurriedly opened the glove box and took out a bottle of water. Koi, who was about to hand it to Ashley as it was, paused and asked.
“Should I open it for you?”
“Thank you.”
Koi was happy at Ashley’s answer and opened the bottle. “Here,” he said, handing it over, and Ashley grabbed the steering wheel with one hand and drank the water straight from the bottle. Koi, watching him still looking ahead and putting the half-empty bottle in the cup holder, was surprised to see the car entering the freeway (* a type of highway in Korea).
“Are we going far?”
Koi, who thought they would only be going to the next neighborhood at most, was surprised. Ashley nodded and answered.
“An hour? An hour and a half?”
“That far?”
At that distance, they would be going to the city center. Where on earth are they going? Koi was inwardly anxious, but he trusted Ashley and reassured himself.
Ash would never do anything bad to me.
While trying to calm his pounding heart, he couldn’t help but be curious. He secretly took out his cell phone and checked his location, then tilted his head. It was his first time coming this far, so he had no idea what would come out if he went in this direction.
Ashley couldn’t help but try to suppress the crumbling corners of his mouth as he watched Koi’s serious face as he worried and racked his brains, unable to find an answer.
Koi, you’re so cute.
How wonderful would it be if I could hold him all day and roll around on the bed? Imagining biting and licking Koi’s whole body, a deep sigh flowed out involuntarily. He involuntarily tightened his grip on the steering wheel and deliberately turned on the music.
[Put your XX in my XX and suck on my soaking XX.]
Unfortunately, the first song that came on was a popular song famous for its vulgar lyrics that listed all kinds of sexual acts. Ashley immediately pressed the button to turn it off.
Silence fell in the car in an instant. Neither Koi nor Ashley spoke. But Ashley, who glanced at Koi, quickly cleared his throat when he saw him with wide eyes and an open mouth.
“Koi, aren’t you hungry?”
“Huh? Uh?”
Koi was startled and turned his head. Ashley continued, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.
“Just hold on a little longer. Let’s stop by here first and then go eat. We can get some simple snacks here too.”
“Oh… okay.”
Koi nodded, but on the other hand, his heart was pounding like crazy. The memory he had briefly forgotten because of the terrible song came back to life.
Why did I imagine such ridiculous things?
It was embarrassing and his face felt hot, as if it were burning, even when he thought about it again.
To think that Ash would kiss me.
It was really absurd. How could I dare to think such a thing?
Ash might be so dumbfounded that he would get angry if he knew.
He was sweating behind his back, but he pretended to be as nonchalant as possible and fiddled with his cell phone. Please, don’t let Ash hear my heartbeat.
*
Wow…
Koi’s eyes widened as he exited the freeway and entered a regular road. It was his first time in a place like this. Beautiful and handsome people came and went frequently on the clean and glamorous streets, and the stores lined up were all clean and full of glamorous designs. Even the ground that countless people stepped on was shiny and glossy. Koi felt like he was suffocating.
Ashley stopped the car in front of one of the stores. He wondered why the awning was lowered on the display window, unlike the other stores, but Ashley, who got out of the car first, opened the passenger seat door. Koi, realizing that he had been넋을 놓고 until then, hurriedly got out of the car.
“Th-thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ashley, with a soft smile, wrapped his arm around Koi’s back and pulled him towards him.
“Let’s go in.”
“Huh? Uh, uh.”
Koi nodded absentmindedly. A large bodyguard was standing guard in front of the door, and as soon as he saw them, he stepped aside and opened the door. That wasn’t all. He even smiled as he looked back and forth between Ashley and Koi.Koi, not knowing what was going on, was led into the store by Ashley. Until then, he only thought Ashley had something to buy.
“Hello, Mr. Niles. Welcome.”
Mr. Niles?
Koi was startled by the sophisticated woman who greeted him with a bright smile as soon as he entered the store. Calling a mere high school student ‘Mr.’ But what was even more surprising was Ashley’s attitude towards her. He calmly accepted her words and opened his mouth.
“Hello. It’s been a while. How have you been?”
After a light handshake, Ashley turned and pointed to Corner.
“This is my friend, Corner Niles. Koi, come closer.”
While he was blinking in confusion, she turned her gaze to Koi, smiled, and greeted him.
“Hello, Mr. Niles. I’m Joanna Mondavi. Nice to meet you.”
The only people who used the title ‘Mr.’ for kids their age were history teachers, who were ridiculed as old fogies among the students. Of course, Koi thought of him as a god, and he liked the title ‘Mr. Niles’ that he used to call him, but he never imagined hearing such a title outside.
While he was standing there blankly, Joanna, after exchanging simple greetings, turned and led them.
“This way, please. You contacted us in advance, so we have the products ready. You’re going to dinner afterward, right? Ah, that restaurant is very famous. You’ve chosen a good place. Please, sit here. Shall I prepare some simple drinks and snacks while you look around?”
Koi was once again impressed by her skill in continuing the conversation smoothly. That wasn’t all. Everything in sight was sparkling and glamorous. Even the employees standing at regular intervals were all handsome and sophisticated people who caught his eye. Koi, who was looking around absentmindedly, stopped when he saw the sofa Joanna pointed to.