L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 103

— Right?

Ashley responded immediately. Koi nodded and said, “Meerkats are really big, huh.”

Ashley paused. That wasn’t quite the reaction he was expecting.

— ...Aren’t they cute, though?

There was a beat before Ashley asked, and Koi replied,

“Their whole body is 50 centimeters, including the tail.”

This time, Ashley went completely silent. Damn it—stupid idiot! Meerkats have tails! They have tails! He wanted to smack himself in the temple with the palm of his hand but held back, forcing his voice to stay calm.

— If you only count the body, it’s not even half that.

“I think you have to count the tail too.”

— Koi.

Breaking someone’s assumptions wasn’t as easy as it seemed. He’d underestimated Koi. A more meticulous strategy was needed. Ashley decided to retreat for now and quickly changed the subject.

“Size doesn’t really matter, right?”

Come on, say yes. Say yes already.

Ashley silently urged him, but for some reason, Koi hesitated. Catching that strange pause, Ashley frowned and called his name again.

— Koi, what’s wrong? Did something happen?

Ash noticed.

Koi’s eyes widened in panic, his heart pounding in his chest again.

“Well, it’s just...”

His face flushed red as he struggled to confess.

“I... I bought some, too. But, uh, I think I got the wrong ones.”

— What?

Ashley asked again. Koi pushed through his embarrassment and forced himself to say it out loud.

“I-I bought condoms too.”

There was silence on the other end for a while. The awkward pause made Koi rush to continue.

“B-But I think I got the wrong kind. It’s too late to return them, and...”

Ashley still didn’t say anything. Koi started to feel nervous.

“Ash...?”

He called his name cautiously, and finally Ashley spoke.

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— You bought condoms? You?

His voice was full of laughter. That usually low voice of his now sounded a little higher. Koi could clearly hear how delighted he was, and that made him both embarrassed and relieved. He nodded slightly.

“Y-Yeah.”

— Ah, Koi...

Ashley murmured something under his breath. Koi didn’t catch it, but Ashley was desperately holding back a curse. Why am I not there right now? If Koi had been in front of him, he would’ve pulled him into his arms and kissed him all over.

— Koi, you buying those... does that mean what I think it means?

“Uh... yeah.”

Koi swallowed dryly and replied.

“I’m ready.”

— Haaaaa...

A long, deep sigh came from Ashley. He had to fight the urge to run straight to the airport. As he took a few deep breaths, Koi continued.

“Um, but I only bought one pack. I didn’t know you’d need that many...”

His voice trailed off into a sheepish murmur, and Ashley smiled again. But then something occurred to him.

— You only bought one?

“Yeah.”

Koi answered absentmindedly, and Ashley asked in a voice full of mischief.

— So you didn’t buy any for yourself?

“Uh...”

It suddenly hit Koi. Why hadn’t he?

From the other end, Ashley teased him with a grin in his voice.

— Koi, that’s so dirty.

“N-No, I mean, I...”

Koi tried to deny it in a panic, but his brain had completely short-circuited, and no words came to mind. But there was no way he could admit the truth.

He’d been so focused on Ashley—on touching that anaconda—that he hadn’t even thought about himself.

As Koi kept stammering helplessly, Ashley barely held back another laugh. Just imagining Koi awkwardly buying condoms for his sake made Ashley’s heart feel like it would burst.

— What did you say when you bought them?

Ashley asked, and Koi mumbled, unable to speak.

“Um... just...”

— Tell me, Koi.

Koi stood no chance when Ashley begged. In the end, he replied bit by bit. When he got to the part where he mispronounced “condom,” Ashley managed to hold it in—but the moment Koi described how he chose the wrong size, he burst into laughter. Hearing that laugh, Koi’s face turned crimson and he stomped his feet in frustration.

“It’s your fault! You kept calling it an anaconda and I got confused!”

That’s the power of suggestion. Koi had gone to the store thinking about Ashley’s thing and accidentally called it an anaconda out loud. When he remembered the crushing weight of silence that followed, he still wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. But he didn’t stop there—Koi asked again.

“Why do you have so many anyway?”

Just buying one had been a whole ordeal. How had Ashley ended up with a mountain of them?

Ashley answered his question with another question.

— Why do you think?

His voice was still full of laughter. Koi hesitated and mumbled,

“Did you... have that many girlfriends...?”

— Idiot.

Ashley shot back immediately, annoyed that Koi sounded so unsure of himself.

— I bought them to use with you.

Koi’s eyes widened, and he blurted out,

“A-All of them?!”

Ashley chuckled again and said,

— Yeah. Do you get how badly I want to sleep with you now?

I bought one every time I wanted to do it with you. He didn’t say that last part. He didn’t want to actually make Koi faint. Ashley had no intention of putting his boyfriend in danger. There were other things he wanted to do with him.

— Haa...

Unable to hold back the heat inside him, Ashley let out another sigh. Running a hand through his hair, he muttered with a frustrated edge,

— If we weren’t apart, I would’ve told you to try a few things...

“W-What things?”

Koi [N O V E L I G H T] asked in a panic, and Ashley hummed vaguely.

— Next time, come shopping with me, Koi.

He answered before Koi could ask again.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

— What matters is that you pick something you like.

In truth, finding a condom that fit Ashley’s size wasn’t easy. But more than that, Ashley wanted to see Koi, flustered and blushing, trying to choose one out of many. That was what he really wanted.

Koi wondered why his opinion mattered when Ashley was the one using it—but he didn’t get the chance to ask. Voices were rising around Ashley, and the atmosphere on his end suddenly sounded busy. And just as expected, Ashley spoke.

— Okay, Koi. I’ll call you again later.

“Ah, Ash! Ash!”

Koi called out in a hurry to stop him. Ashley answered, “Yeah?” and Koi cautiously asked,

“When will you be back...?”

Hearing his voice wasn’t enough. Koi really wanted to see him. He’d even worked up the courage to buy condoms—and now they were just going to go to waste. Feeling the sadness in Koi’s voice, Ashley answered softly.

— I miss you too, Koi.

Ashley let out a sigh before continuing.

— I don’t know yet. But I’ll come back as soon as I can.

“Okay...”

Koi nodded quietly, trying to hide how disappointed he was.

“Got it.”

Ashley tried to shift the mood, bringing up something else.

— Koi, are you done with work for today?

“Yeah, almost.”

Koi replied quickly this time, then asked in return, a little shyly,

“Um... what about you? What are you doing?”

Ashley answered like it was obvious.

— Shopping for gifts.

“Gifts?”

Was it for his family? Koi guessed. But then Ashley added,

— I’m buying something for you.

“W-What...?”

Caught off guard, Koi stammered.

“You’re... buying a present? For me?”

— Yep.

Ashley’s voice was full of gentle affection as he soothed him.

— So even if you’re lonely, just hang in there a bit. Okay?

He was being unbelievably sweet—and that only made Koi feel even lonelier.

I don’t need a gift. I just need you.

Koi bit back the words on the tip of his tongue and gave a more neutral reply.

“Yeah... I’ll wait.”

That was all he could say. Ashley responded kindly.

— Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.

And just before ending the call, he added one more thing.

— Don’t cheat on me, or I’ll lock you up.

“Wha—”

The absurd threat left Koi speechless, but he didn’t bother responding. Instead, he smiled, looking down at the phone that had already disconnected. Then, overwhelmed by emptiness, he lowered his head.

*

“Um, Mr. Miller.”

Ashley, still staring at his now-dark phone screen, was approached by the manager. He had been waiting quietly while the guest made his private call in the VIP room. Smiling, he said,

“All the items you requested are ready. May I show them to you now?”

At that, Ashley set his phone down and nodded. As if they’d been waiting for the signal, a line of staff walked in, each holding a velvet box filled with jewelry. The manager, arranging the boxes on the table, confirmed politely,

“You said you were looking at wedding rings, correct?”

Ashley gazed down at the rows of rings with a serious expression and gave a casual reply.

“Yes.”