By Zephyria 
Ashley, who had been waiting for the connection tone, slowly lowered his hand and turned off the phone. The ringing also stopped soon after.
“…Koi?”
Ashley slowly moved his feet and called his name. There was no answer, but he could faintly smell the Pheromone. Ashley stepped up three stairs at a time and quickly reached the second floor.
The closer he got to the bedroom, the stronger the Pheromone became. Ashley, who was standing in front of the door, slowly turned the doorknob. The door opened with a small creak, and his vision widened. The light was not on in the room, but the moonlight illuminated the room brightly. And the moment Ashley saw someone sitting alone on the bed, his expression relaxed with relief.
“Koi.”
Calling his name affectionately, he approached Koi without hesitation and kissed him on the forehead.
“What are you doing? Without turning on the lights.”
Ashley could feel Koi wriggling slightly in his arms. Ashley chuckled at the movement to get out of his arms. No way.
“Ah.”
Koi let out a small sound at the arm that hugged him even tighter as if to show off. He was hugged so tightly that Koi was almost out of breath.
“Where are you going?”
Ashley’s voice was full of laughter. Anyone could tell that his voice was full of happiness and joy, but Koi couldn’t laugh along. Rather, the gloomy imagination he had just had suddenly came to him as reality, and his emotions welled up.
“…Koi?”
He sniffled as quietly as possible, but there was no way Ashley would miss the sound. Ashley, who had suddenly stopped, frowned and called his name. But Koi couldn’t answer immediately. He hurriedly swallowed his breath and cleared his throat before finally opening his mouth.
“Why, Ash…”
He should have just stayed still.
Saying something made things even worse. His voice was so hoarse and choked up that he was embarrassed to hear it himself. As expected, Ashley’s reaction changed. Koi, feeling Ashley’s arms around him stiffen, tried to smooth things over, but Ashley asked.
“What happened? Did Al hit you?”
“What are you talking about!”
Koi, flustered, jumped up and denied it without realizing it. There was no way Ariel would hit Koi. Of course, it was a reasonable assumption for Ashley, who had been hit by her several times, but he overlooked one thing. That Koi was Ariel’s sister.
“Al would never hit me… It’s definitely not that.”
Besides, Koi is not a child anymore. Ashley was upset that he thought he was crying because he had been hit by someone like when he was a child. What did Ashley think of him?
Ashley regained some reason at the repeated denials. Reluctantly acknowledging it, he soon came up with another assumption.
“Did you meet Nelson?”
“What? No… No, I didn’t get hit, not by anyone.”
Only after seeing Koi repeatedly assuring him that it was true did Ashley feel a little relieved.
“Then what is it? You were crying, right?”
He paused as he continued to question him. If all the assumptions he had made so far were wrong, there was only one reason.
“…Is it because of me?”
Koi was startled and swallowed his breath at the quiet, subdued voice, unlike before. More than anything, Ashley’s brow furrowed deeply at the definite reaction. If Koi could smell Pheromone, he would have turned pale at the sharp scent.
“You were crying because of me? Koi, is that true?”
“No, no, it’s not that…”
Even if he couldn’t smell Pheromone, he would have understood the situation by now. Koi also noticed and hurriedly shook his head in surprise, but the situation only got worse.
“What do you mean you were crying because of me, Koi. Tell me what happened.”
“No, it’s not that… It’s not that.”
“I said tell me.”
Ashley tried to suppress his voice as much as possible so as not to push him, but his voice was so choked that it made him feel even more afraid. Only after belatedly seeing Koi’s face pale in the moonlight did Ashley barely calm down.
“Koi.”
This time, he opened his mouth with a sigh. Feeling Koi flinch again in his arms, Ashley gently patted him to soothe him.
“What’s wrong? What did I do wrong? Tell me, you have to give me a chance to explain.”
Ashley paused at Koi’s still silent reaction before asking.
“Do you not like me anymore? Are you going to abandon me?”
His voice faded as if he was disappointed. Of course, Koi immediately fell for it.
“No, Ash, that’s not true…! I’ll be with you forever, I’ll never leave you! Even if you get tired of me, I…”
Koi, shouting urgently, raised his head and immediately met Ashley’s eyes. Ashley was still looking down at him with a gloomy expression and asked.
“Really?”
“Of course!”
Koi nodded his head with emphasis. He was ready to do anything if he would just believe him. He waited, trying to calm his pounding heart, and then Ashley smiled.
“I believe you, Koi.”
Koi felt relieved at the arm that hugged him tightly again and hugged him back. Haa, Ashley, who took a deep breath and smelled Koi’s Pheromone, opened his mouth with his nose buried in the crown of his head.
“But why were you crying alone?”
Koi paused for a moment. Ashley held his briefly shaking body tightly in place. There was no room to escape. Koi, also aware of this fact, couldn’t hold back any longer and finally opened his mouth.
“I have a question, Ash.”
“Tell me.”
Ashley responded immediately. Euhm, Koi cleared his throat and spoke with difficulty.
“You still like women, right?”
“What?”
Ashley’s voice rose slightly at the unexpected question. Koi gathered his courage and continued to speak.
“You only dated women before you dated me. The person you were engaged to before was also a woman…”
“What does that have to do with anything now?”
He couldn’t understand at all. He didn’t even remember who he had dated in the past, so why was he hearing this now, and why Koi was crying because of it, Ashley had no idea. Impatient, Ashley hurriedly asked, and Koi clenched and unclenched his fist and barely confessed.
“You like me, but you still like women’s bodies, right? That’s why you keep telling me to wear skirts… Haa, and you even made me wear high heels…”
Ashley didn’t react immediately to the stammering words. Seeing his reaction, as if he had been hit on the head with something, Koi’s heart sank. What is he thinking? Is he flustered that I found out? Is he thinking of an excuse…
“What…”
After a long time, Ashley parted his lips. Soon after, Koi found his face twisted in disbelief.
“Koi, what are you talking about? You want me to want you to be a woman? Me?”
“If not, there’s no reason for you to keep making me wear women’s clothes… You bought me pants too, but they only cover half my butt… Useless…”
As he spoke, he felt unfairly sad. Koi couldn’t hold back his upset and said what he had been thinking about all day.
“Do you… want me to get surgery or something?”
“Koi!”
Ashley was so dumbfounded that he could only say those words. What kind of bolt out of the blue is this? He had been happy every day like a dream, but Koi wasn’t.
Where do I even begin to unravel this?
Ashley, who had tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling in embarrassment, finally let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.
“Koi, don’t think like that. I like you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man, I just like you for who you are.”
“But…”
“Koi.”
Ashley cut off Koi’s words, who was still hesitating, firmly. After confirming that he had stopped, Ashley changed his voice and continued to speak kindly.
“Did you hate me telling you to wear those clothes that much?”
“It’s not that I hated it…”
Koi hesitated and answered honestly.
“I thought it didn’t matter as long as you liked it… But you always make me wear women’s clothes, stockings, and even high heels…”
He paused before adding.
“I wondered if you wanted me to be a woman.”