It was Ash!
The first call since he left for the East Coast. A rush of joy and longing welled up in his chest. He hurried to press the button—but then the pile of condoms ca back into view. Koi froze in place.
The ringtone kept blaring. Koi stared at the phone screen for a long while. This was the first ti he hadn’t picked up right away after seeing Ashley’s na. It took him a mont—and a great deal of courage—to finally press the call button.
“Phew, phew...”
He took two deep breaths out loud before, with a trembling hand, he finally accepted the call just before it went to voicemail.
“H-Hello?”
— Koi?
Ashley’s voice ca through imdiately from the other side.
— Did sothing happen? Why’d you take so long to pick up?
Ashley’s tone was clearly filled with concern, and Koi felt a surge of guilt. He coughed hurriedly to clear his throat.
“I-I was just... working, so I didn’t notice.”
As soon as he heard Ashley’s voice, the icy grip in his chest lted completely. Replaced with a swelling warmth of affection, Koi cautiously continued.
“Were you... busy?”
Why didn’t you call ?
Hearing his own voice betray that little bitterness, he quickly clamped his mouth shut. Of course he must’ve been busy—he was eting his parents for the first ti in a while.
Koi hadn’t been able to call either because it was hard to gauge when Ashley would be free with his family. Plus, the three-hour ti difference actually did complicate things more than expected. Ashley had probably been in the sa situation.
I was waiting for Ashley to call first too... and still got upset.
Feeling bad again, Koi opened his mouth to rephrase—but then heard a sigh from the other end. His whole body tensed up instantly. Is he mad at ? His heart pounded nervously, but then Ashley spoke.
— Sorry, Koi. Things were just really hectic over here.
“Oh...”
His voice was much calr than Koi expected. So he wasn’t angry. Relieved, Koi felt guilty again. Ashley wasn’t the type to get annoyed over sothing like this, and yet he’d doubted him.
Koi, ashad, cautiously asked,
“Were there... a lot of things to deal with, with your parents?”
— Well, sothing like that.
Ashley’s answer was vague. Koi was curious, but didn’t want to pry—it felt rude to dig into soone else’s family matters. Instead, he changed the subject.
“You must be tired. But I’m sure your parents are happy to be with you, right?”
Ashley didn’t respond right away this ti. The strange silence made Koi flinch, but then Ashley answered.
— I don’t really know what they’re thinking.
“Oh...”
Koi mumbled, confused. The reaction sounded a bit cynical, and he didn’t know how to respond. He was clearly flustered—but once again, Ashley stepped in to save him.
— How about you, Koi? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Koi nodded quickly, then belatedly added,
“Hey, thanks, Ash. Because of you, work’s been going really well.”
— Really? You okay?
“Yeah.”
Koi nodded firmly.
“The work’s easy, and they pay a lot. I an, compared to my last job, I work way less, but I get paid way more. Thanks to you, I can retake my college exam and...”
He stopped mid-sentence. It took a bit of courage to say the next part.
“Our... wedding fund, too.”
He mumbled it in a tiny voice, his face flushed bright red. On the other end, Ashley laughed—not mocking, but clearly delighted. Koi blushed even harder.
“Wh-Why are you laughing?”
— Ah, Koi.
Ashley whispered through a lingering smile.
— I want to kiss you.
Koi’s heart took off running. He clutched his chest and struggled to speak.
“M- too...”
I miss you, Ash.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The words nearly burst out of him, but he held back. If he said that, he felt like he’d only make it harder for Ashley. Ashley was probably holding it in too—so Koi had to be strong as well.
He took a deep breath, and then Ashley asked,
— What were you doing? Cleaning?
“Uh, yeah.”
Did he just guess based on the ti? Koi wondered and replied.
“I just finished cleaning the pool and ca inside.”
— You’re working again? Even though you did the pool?
Ashley asked, confused. He had given clear instructions: only one task per day. Just how much were they making Koi do? He held back the urge to say sothing and waited for Koi’s answer. Koi hesitated, then said,
“That was the only assigned job, but I wanted to do more...”
— Why, though?
Ashley clearly didn’t understand. Naturally—Koi understood, but this situation was special.
“Because I like you...”
He rushed to add it, and then Ashley went silent. Sensing he’d surprised him, Koi blushed and mumbled,
“You said it yourself—that you’d like the house to be clean when you ca back. So...”
— So you’re cleaning the house? Even though no one asked you to?
“N-Not a lot. Just... like, one or two rooms...”
Ashley went quiet again. How was he supposed to respond to this? He’d only told Koi to work at his house so he could rest and not overwork himself, but now he was creating new chores for himself.
All for him.
Ashley was happy, and also touched, and also a bit overwheld. A ss of emotions twisted together, and he couldn’t find the words. Clearing his throat, he steadied his voice and gently asked,
— So, what are you cleaning right now?
“Uh, um...”
Koi answered quickly.
“Y-Your room.”
— My room?
“Yeah.”
When Ashley asked again, Koi nodded.
“When you co back, you’ll want to rest here first, right? So... I clean your room every day.”
Only then did Ashley realize what Koi had ant by “one or two rooms.” His room and one more—that’s what Koi had been doing. This was Koi’s way of expressing affection. Ashley decided to accept it and said,
— I see.
The warmth in his voice reassured Koi. His mouth moved on its own «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» before he could stop it.
“But why do you have so many condoms?”
— ...What?
Ack!
Koi swallowed a silent scream and slapped his hand over his mouth. He could practically see Ashley’s frown from the other end of the call.
“I-I an, it’s not, I didn’t an to—I was just trying to clean behind the table, and it tipped, and the drawer opened, and I didn’t an to look—!”
Flustered, Koi tripped over his own words, and Ashley let out a low chuckle. Instead of feeling angry or embarrassed, Koi felt relieved.
He’s not mad.
Letting out a quiet breath, Koi hesitated for a mont—then gathered the courage to ask,
“Um... those, did you buy them? In your size?”
— Yeah. Why?
Ashley admitted it so easily that Koi felt foolish for getting so nervous. All the tension drained out of him, and his tongue loosened.
“They’re just... really big. I was kind of shocked.”
— It’s not that big. About erkat size?
Ashley jumped at the chance to ss with him again. But Koi had already seen the real thing—it wasn’t so easy to convince him now.
“erkats are small and cute.”
— No, Koi. You’ve never seen one in person, right? Have you?
“Uh, yeah.”
Koi nodded without thinking.
“I’ve only seen pictures.”
— Then trust . Mine’s erkat-sized.
Then he shalessly added,
— Small and cute.
Koi didn’t reply right away. Ashley smirked, thinking Koi’s brain was probably working overti trying to process what he just said—but then Koi spoke.
“You’ve never seen a erkat either, have you?”
The suspicion dripping from Koi’s voice made Ashley freeze. His brain now had to do the scrambling. Ashley scrambled for a save and tried to sound casual.
— I have. Why?
“There’s no way a erkat is that big. That’s an anaconda. You’re ssing with again, aren’t you?”
— No, Koi. Seriously.
Now Ashley was the one getting desperate.
— Mine really is a erkat. I swear. Koi, you don’t believe ?
The disappointnt in his voice was genuine. A mix of frustration that his joke hadn’t worked, and sadness that Koi didn’t trust him. It slipped out honestly, and Koi faltered.
“...Really?”
— Yeah, seriously.
Ashley insisted, voice firm.
— It’s a erkat.
“...Hold on.”
Koi made him wait and quickly pulled out his phone to search. erkat. erkat size. And he found it.
Including the tail: 50 centiters.
The mont he read that, Koi quietly accepted it.
“...I guess it could be a erkat.”
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