L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 52

The sofa, clearly prepared for customers, was covered in a richly embroidered fabric so luxurious it looked like even if Koi sold everything he owned, he wouldn’t be able to afford even one of its legs. Just imagining himself sitting on that chair made his body freeze.

“Koi.”

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He was hesitating, not even daring to move, when Ashley called his name. Startled, Koi looked at him—Ashley held out his hand. Koi took it cautiously, still confused, only for Ashley to suddenly pull him in with a firm tug.

“Ah!”

Before he even realized it, Koi let out a small yelp—and the next thing he knew, he was sitting on the sofa. Or more precisely, nestled in Ashley’s arms.

“S-sorry!”

Koi quickly pulled away and apologized in a panic, but Ashley simply tilted his head and turned to Joanna.

“I’ll have a Spanish latte. Koi, what about you?”

“Uh...”

Koi blinked, flustered, and quickly replied.

“I-I’ll have the same, please.”

“Understood. Would you like it hot or iced?”

Koi froze again at Joanna’s question. Ashley gave her a smile and answered for «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» him.

“I’ll take mine iced. Make his hot.”

Then he added,

“My friend doesn’t drink anything with ice.”

Should I clear up this misunderstanding already?

The thought crossed Koi’s mind—but the moment he looked up and took in his surroundings, the words got stuck in his throat. Shrinking back again, he only managed a quiet, “Y-yeah, that’s right,” and lowered his head. All he could do was listen in silence as Ashley placed the order.

Even just the fact that Ashley remembered and was being considerate like this made Koi feel grateful. He told himself it didn’t matter whether there was ice or not, and tried to shake it off.

A moment later, another staff member arrived with a wide, long tray. On it were macarons, strawberry tarts, scones, and chocolates, all arranged in a neat line at equal distances. Each was bite-sized, about the same size as a macaron. Seeing these desserts for the first time, Koi was once again struck by how much of the world he didn’t know.

“You must be hungry. Go on, try something, Koi.”

Ashley was the first to offer him something to eat. Hunger finally caught up to him, but he still couldn’t reach out. He hesitated, unable to summon the courage. Watching him closely, Ashley reached out himself.

He picked up a deep purple macaron. As Koi stared blankly, Ashley held it out toward him.

“Here, Koi.”

Ashley smiled at the surprised boy.

“Open up.”

“Uh...”

Koi flushed with embarrassment and glanced nervously around—but thankfully, there was no one else nearby. Once he confirmed they were alone, he straightened his posture.

Ashley was still holding out the macaron. Waiting for Koi to take it.

Koi took a deep breath and cautiously opened his mouth.

As Ashley gazed at the soft red inside of Koi’s parted lips and his delicate tongue, a heat lit up in his eyes. The moment he found himself thinking he wanted to put something else between those lips, Koi closed his mouth around the macaron.

Ashley nearly let out a sigh. He kept his hand steady, watching Koi take the bite. Koi tried to lift his own hand to eat, but Ashley stopped him with his other hand. When Koi looked up at him, confused, Ashley spoke in a low voice—lower than usual.

“Don’t bite too hard, Koi.”

There was a strange breathiness in his voice.

“It’ll hurt.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Koi, who had half the macaron in his mouth, froze for a second before nodding. He’d never actually eaten a macaron before—only seen them. He didn’t quite understand what Ashley meant, but figured this must be how you’re supposed to eat it. He carefully let it melt in his mouth and slowly swallowed it.

“Did you swallow it all?”

Ashley finally spoke after silently watching him finish chewing and swallowing the rest.

“Yeah, all done.”

Koi wiped his lips with the back of his hand. Ashley squinted slightly and smiled.

“Good job.”

Still focused entirely on Koi’s mouth, he asked,

“How was it?”

Koi answered without hesitation.

“It was delicious. Really. Thanks, Ash.”

Koi added sincerely. Ashley was silent for a moment, then asked,

“...You don’t know what I was talking about, do you?”

Koi paused and looked at him.

“You meant the macaron, right?”

Did I say something wrong?

His face clearly showed his worry. Ashley, seeing that, forced himself to act nonchalant.

“...Yeah.”

He turned away, pretending to take a sip of coffee. Guilt and desire surged inside him at the same time. He couldn’t bear to look at Koi’s face.

If you knew what I was really thinking, there’s no way you’d smile at me like that.

Ashley clenched his jaw and bit down hard on an ice cube, trying to push the chaotic thoughts from his mind. Just then, Joanna and another staff member returned with arms full of clothes hanging from a rack.

“Thank you for waiting. Did you enjoy the refreshments?”

Her kind voice made Koi blush as he replied.

“Uh, yes. They were really good. Thank you.”

His ears perked slightly. Ashley made a mental note to take him to a specialty macaron shop next time and let him eat as much as he wanted. He could even tell the housekeepers to make some. But no—better not. If Koi ate macarons while they were alone at home... Ashley didn’t trust himself to stay sane. Thanks to today’s shameful fantasies, macarons were forever ruined for him in an innocent context.

“Today you said you were shopping for your friend, correct? I brought a range of sizes based on an estimate, but I can bring more if nothing fits.”

Joanna’s explanation left Koi momentarily blank. Huh? She’s speaking English, but why can’t I understand a word of it?

Flustered, he looked over at Ashley, who casually replied,

“That’s right. We’re here to get you some clothes.”

“Clothes? Why? All of a sudden?”

Koi blurted it out in a high-pitched voice before quickly lowering his tone to a whisper.

“Why are you buying me clothes?”

He was clearly panicking. Ashley had expected this. He answered coolly,

“Homecoming’s coming up. Did you forget?”

“Homecoming... party?”

Koi repeated the words before finally recalling. Ashley continued, as if confirming his suspicion.

“You’ll need something to wear for it, right? Or am I wrong?”

“Uh...”

Koi was completely thrown off but couldn’t argue. When Ashley had invited him, he’d said yes without thinking, just happy he was asked. But buying clothes...? The ones he was wearing now were already years old, and the rest were in the same condition. Altogether, he probably didn’t even own ten full outfits.

Unable to confess any of that, Koi just hung his head. Ashley spoke gently.

“There’s still time, so we could rent something or shop again later. But you bought the ticket, remember?”

“I didn’t buy it... The teacher gave it to me...”

“Still, you gave it to me, didn’t you?”

Ashley cut him off.

“So I’m buying you clothes as a thank-you. Fair enough, right?”

“Uh...”

The logic made sense, but Koi couldn’t help feeling like something was off. After all, the ticket was free. And compared to the price of these clothes, the difference must be ten—no, dozens of times more. Even knowing Ashley was rich, accepting something like this felt wrong.

“Hey, but Ash, this is—”

“Koi. Everyone has their own version of what ‘the best’ means.”

The sudden shift in tone made Koi fall silent and look at him. Ashley continued.

“For you, the best was the ticket. For me, it’s these clothes. See what I’m saying?”

Ashley kept saying things that sounded perfectly reasonable, yet Koi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. His eyes darted around anxiously as Ashley looked him in the eye and said seriously,

“Koi, why do rich people pay a lot of taxes?”

“...Because they have a lot of money...?”

“Exactly.”

Ashley nodded at his careful answer and pressed on without pause.

“So go try them on. I need to see what fits.”

“Uh? Huh?”

“This way. You have dinner reservations, right? Better hurry.”

“Wait—what?”

Koi stumbled to his feet, glancing between Ashley and Joanna in confusion. Ashley checked his wristwatch dramatically and added,

“Go on, I’ll be waiting.”

Koi flinched, clearly overwhelmed. Ashley called out to him as he followed Joanna toward the fitting room.

“If you can’t manage on your own, call me, Koi.”

“Y-yeah.”

Koi nodded and was practically ushered into the fitting room. Ashley leaned back, crossed his legs, and rested his elbow on the armrest. Slowly cupping his chin in his palm, he whispered,

“I’ll watch every second.”