L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 100

Even while working his part-time shift, Koi’s face showed no sign of cooling down. He never knew buying condoms could be this humiliating. Then again, he’d never had a reason to buy them until now, so of course he didn’t know.

Ashley’s probably done this a bunch of times, huh?

“Ah.”

As his thoughts reached that point, a new one suddenly struck him.

Wouldn’t Ashley already have condoms?

“Of course he does!”

Koi shouted without meaning to and clutched at his hair. Ashley had dated plenty of girls before Koi. He definitely had experience, and in that case, condoms were a given. A guy as well-mannered as Ashley wouldn’t dream of doing anything without them.

“No, still... if you’re a guy, you should be the one to take care of that kind of thing.”

Koi muttered to himself, repeating the advice his grandfather had once given him when buying condoms. Ashley might not have any on him, right? There’s always that weird jinx where you don’t have one exactly when you need it.

And wouldn’t it be kind of weird if he used the condoms he bought for another girl with me?

A tiny bit of hope lifted his chest for a moment—but right after, he scowled and muttered,

“Still better than being embarrassed later.”

Aaaagh, he groaned again and buried his head in his hands. No matter what excuse he tried to make, it was still a dumb move. Thankfully, he’d gone to the next town over. If he’d bought them here, like he first thought...

The CCTV was pointed right at the register. Anyone could’ve seen what he was buying. He almost bought them at the store he worked at without thinking, but changed his mind and left early to head to the next town. Seriously, thank god he did.

That decision alone was enough to make him want to pat himself on the back.

Anyway, it’s not a bad thing to be prepared.

Trying to reassure himself, Koi brought a hand to the pocket of his pants. He felt the bulge of the small box and immediately flushed again, heart pounding.

This is really happening.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t calm down. He fidgeted nervously, shifting his weight, flapping around—when suddenly, his phone rang. The caller ID said it was the owner of the shop.

“H-Hello?”

He hurried to answer, and a gruff voice snapped at him from the other end.

—What are you doing over there? You're driving me nuts.

Apparently, the owner had been watching him through the CCTV. Koi instinctively looked up at the camera, then quickly averted his eyes.

“J-Just... stretching, sir. W-What’s up?”

He fumbled for an excuse, and the owner answered in a bored tone.

—Thanksgiving’s coming up. You're working, right?

“Huh?”

Koi echoed without thinking, and the owner pressed again.

—It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do. You’re working, yeah?

He wasn’t exactly wrong. Koi always worked part-time during holidays like this, so it made sense for the owner to assume he’d be free again.

But this year was different.

“Actually, I, uh... have plans.”

—Plans?

The owner paused, then asked again, clearly surprised. Koi straightened up and replied confidently.

“Yeah. I got invited to a friend’s house.”

A boyfriend, actually.

Koi’s face flushed at the unspoken addition. He smiled without meaning to, and after a short silence, the owner hesitated, then asked,

—So... you’re really not working that day?

“Right. I’m taking the day off.”

There was a pause. The silence was starting to feel uncomfortable when the owner finally spoke, sounding like he didn’t like what he was about to say.

—...Even if I pay you extra?

The offer caught Koi completely off guard. He’d never once been offered a single extra coin for working overtime. This was a first.

“Uh...”

For a second, Koi wavered. But then he gathered his resolve. Ashley was more important than money. That scale tipped so clearly in one direction that he answered with conviction.

“I’m fine. I’ll be taking the day off.”

—Haaah...

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The owner let out a long sigh, then snapped sharply.

—You’re really selfish. Don’t know how to appreciate anything.

With that, he hung up. Koi stared down at his phone in shock, then shook it off. It couldn’t be helped. He had more important things to deal with.

He reached into his pocket and touched the condoms again, gently brushing the box to calm himself down. Think happy thoughts. There were going to be so many good things coming up.

Just think about Ashley.

When he thought of him, a smile crept onto his face on its own, and his nerves settled. He planned to tell his dad in advance that he’d be sleeping over at a friend’s house.

Lately, his dad had softened a bit. Not that he’d suddenly become warm or anything, but he was drinking less, and when they crossed paths, he’d at least ask if Koi had eaten or how his day had gone. Koi was still too scared to say much beyond “Yes,” “No,” or “I’m okay,” so their conversations were never long. But even that much was a huge relief to him.

It’s all thanks to Ashley.

Ever since they started dating, only good things had been happening. Ashley had to be a gift sent to him by God. Koi beamed and opened his phone’s calendar to check how many days were left.

It’s almost time.

He clutched the phone to his chest and took a deep breath. This was going to be the most exciting, most anticipated Thanksgiving of his entire life.

At least, until Ashley called him out of the blue.

*

“You’re going back to your parents’?”

Koi’s voice jumped an octave in surprise. A deep sigh came from the other end of the call.

—Sorry, Koi. You were really looking forward to it, weren’t you?

“I-It’s okay.”

Koi rushed to comfort him.

—Thanksgiving’s supposed to be spent with family. I’m okay. Really, I am.

“Haah...”

Ashley let out another boiling sigh. Just thinking about leaving Koi alone with that father of his was enough to make his chest feel like it was going to burst. Koi had probably been looking forward to it so much.

And worst of all, he’d gotten Koi’s hopes up himself, only to crush them. He was disgusted with himself.

But he couldn’t ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) defy his father. That helpless frustration he’d felt so many times since dating Koi came rushing back again.

I’m still a minor.

He had no power. No rights. And he had no choice but to endure that overwhelming sense of powerlessness. If he defied his father, there was no telling what the man might do. Ashley was pretty sure excluding him from the team had been a warning.

A show of dominance meant to crush Ashley before he even thought of resisting.

And it worked. Ashley had completely lost the will to fight back. Part of him was now focused on just playing along until graduation. Once he was legally an adult, he’d be free to do whatever he wanted. Even if he had to give up on college, he had to graduate high school—for Koi’s sake.

—I’m sorry, Koi.

He gently repeated his apology, and Koi responded with another quiet, “It’s okay.” Making Koi feel even lonelier on Thanksgiving—he couldn’t forgive himself for that. But the person he hated most was still his father.

—Koi, just this year, okay? Next year, we’ll spend it together. Every year.

“...Okay.”

Koi answered softly.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

—You better.

Ashley nodded, then changed the subject.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

—You’re not doing anything else on Thanksgiving, right? You promised me.

“Uh... yeah.”

Koi hesitated but agreed. If he’d known this would happen, he might as well have accepted that part-time shift... Regret weighed heavily on his chest. Ashley picked up on it and asked,

—What’s wrong?

“Huh? Oh, uh...”

Koi hesitated, then answered as brightly as he could.

“The store owner asked me to work on Thanksgiving, but I turned him down. It’s fine. I’ll take the chance to rest for once...”

He tried to sound like it was no big deal, and after a short pause, Ashley suddenly suggested,

—Then why don’t you work at my house?

“Huh? Your house?”

Koi asked in surprise, and Ashley continued casually.

—There’s a bunch of vacation days starting with Thanksgiving, right? People won’t be around sometimes. What if you handled things for us while we’re gone? It’s nothing difficult—just stuff like skimming debris off the pool or tidying up one room a day.

For a moment, Koi imagined himself trying to clean the entire mansion and went dizzy—but he quickly snapped back.

“One room a day?”

—Yeah. You can handle that, right?

“Uh...”

Of course. But it was almost too easy.

“Does that even count as a part-time job...?”

Koi asked cautiously, and Ashley replied without hesitation.

—Of course it does. I don’t want to come back to a dusty house.

Well, obviously. When Koi pictured the immaculate mansion, always sparkling thanks to daily cleaning by a team of staff, Ashley’s words made perfect sense.

“So, um... when are you coming back?”

Koi asked again, and Ashley went quiet. After a moment—like he was checking something—he replied,

—It’ll be about ten days.

“Ten days...”

Koi muttered without thinking, then quickly cleared his throat.

“Uh, so... where are you going? If it’s your parents’ place...”

A sigh came through the phone, and Ashley answered.

—We’re going to the East Coast.