For a while, the two of them just looked at each other in silence. Amid the chatter and noise filling the restaurant, they sat quietly, enveloped in their own muted atmosphere.
It was Ashley who spoke first.
“What did you an by that just now?”
His expression was still dazed. Embarrassed by the reaction, Koi looked away. He felt like a kid again—and had let his guard down, saying sothing he shouldn’t have.
“I didn’t think you’d rember...”
Koi trailed off, uncertain whether he should be glad that Ashley still rembered things about him, or feel sorry for catching him off guard. But the mont had already passed. Ashley had clearly pieced everything together.
“Koi.”
His ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) voice was a little rough when he asked,
“You didn’t put ice in your soda... because you couldn’t afford it?”
Before answering, Koi had to take a deep breath. Just like back then, he knew Ashley couldn’t possibly imagine what kind of poverty that truly ant. It was beyond comprehension.
“Green Bell doesn’t do refills...”
Koi exhaled slowly, finally confessing,
“If you don’t put in ice, you get more to drink.”
Ashley looked completely stunned. Silence returned between them, and this ti it lasted even longer.
“You... You always brought dicine and soup when I was sick.”
Ashley spoke again, his fingers tapping nervously against the table.
“That... was that your lunch money or sothing?”
Koi hadn’t expected him to rember that too. He couldn’t bring himself to answer—he only gave a small nod. Ashley’s fingers froze mid-tap. The awkward silence returned once more. With a sigh and a faint breath, Ashley finally said,
“Koi, did your father... not give you any money at all?”
He barely stopped himself from asking. He didn’t want to crush what little self-esteem Koi had left. Even this was already too much. His own careless actions from the past played through his mind like a never-ending reel.
“Why...”
Ashley spoke through gritted teeth, barely holding his voice together.
“Why didn’t you tell ?”
The sha of having casually taken Koi’s ice, or ordering him hot drinks without knowing why, suddenly overwheld him. A part of him even resented Koi for never saying anything. But Koi answered quietly,
“Because I looked up to you.”
Instead of Because I liked you, Koi chose a different word.
“I was afraid... if you knew how poor I was... you’d start to hate .”
It was a kind of fear Ashley had never known. The idea that soone might hate you for being poor—he couldn’t wrap his head around it. Especially when he’d said over and over how much he liked Koi. Did Koi never believe him? Why would he say sothing like that?
Sensing Ashley’s confusion, Koi murmured,
“I just... didn’t want you to realize how different our worlds were.”
Ashley frowned, and Koi gave a faint, wistful smile.
“You probably wouldn’t understand.”
Ashley remained silent. He was too overwheld to speak—every thought in his head sounded like a stupid question. So silence was the better choice.
Thankfully, the arrival of the food gave them a brief break from the uncomfortable tension. A staff mber placed their cheeseburgers and double cheeseburger sets in front of them, then quickly walked away, leaving the two alone again. Barely three minutes had passed, but Ashley had regained his composure.
“When did you co to the East?”
His tone was indifferent and composed again, just like the first ti they t that night. The coldness in his voice left a hollow in Koi’s chest, but he forced a smile and answered brightly.
“It’s been a few months. I saw Elle too. Did you know? Elle is—”
“A reporter for A-Tis. I know.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Ashley cut him off flatly and took a bite of his burger. Koi, montarily stunned, followed his lead and began eating as well.
He racked his brain, desperate to think of sothing to say, but the timing never felt right. It wasn’t until Ashley had finished his entire burger that Koi managed to speak again.
“Uh... thanks for helping . I an... how did you know I was there? It was the weekend, so I figured... you’d be at the party...”
Koi asked hesitantly, not expecting much. Ashley replied without much interest.
“I was in a eting about a trial. My secretary told the police had called.”
“The police? How did they...?”
Finding out that Nelson had been lying ward Koi’s heart instantly. He suddenly felt like nothing else really mattered—but he still wanted to keep talking to Ashley. So he asked again. Ashley broke a fry in half and wiped his greasy fingers with a cheap paper napkin.
“They said soone wanted to retain as a lawyer. Gave a list of all the people who’d been arrested.”
Koi was surprised the secretary had even reported that. He thought sothing like that would’ve been dismissed outright.
“Wait... are you actually close with Nelson?”
It had been over ten years. Anything could have changed. The idea of Ashley hanging out with soone like Nelson was hard to imagine, but Koi wanted to ask, just to be sure. Bracing himself, he finally brought it up—and Ashley scoffed openly.
“? With that junkie?”
“...Right. Of course.”
Despite Ashley’s cynical tone, Koi laughed like an idiot. Confirming that they had no relationship at all made him feel strangely relieved. But Ashley wasn’t smiling. He was looking at Koi with a piercing gaze.
“Why would you even imagine sothing like that?”
Not misunderstanding, but delusion. The word stung, but Koi answered honestly.
“Nelson said, in the cell, that you’d be the one to get him out.”
“? Why?”
Ashley frowned deeper, and Koi answered cautiously.
“He said you were his lawyer...”
“...Ha.”
Ashley let out a short, irritated scoff. Koi flinched and hurried to explain.
“I don’t know why he’d lie like that. He had to know it’d be exposed quickly... it was a lie, right?”
“If that had been true, do you really think I’d be sitting here eating these cheap-ass burgers with you right now?”
Ashley shot the question back without rcy. Koi felt his face heat up and quickly shook his head.
“No, of course not. I just... couldn’t figure out why he’d say sothing so ridiculous.”
“He just wanted to buy ti, obviously.”
Ashley answered without hesitation.
“It wasn’t a big deal. He probably knew he’d be out by morning anyway. So he lied—figured I was too busy to co in ti.”
“I see...”
Koi nodded slowly, dazed. Still, he couldn't help thinking Nelson had guts. He, for one, could never make up a lie like that with such confidence.
But then, sothing clicked in Koi’s mind—so suddenly that his eyes went wide. Ashley noticed and frowned again, clearly wondering what now. But Koi had to steady himself first. What he was about to ask took more courage than believing any of Nelson’s dumb lies.
“Ash... so that list... when you saw my na... did you co for ? To help ?”
Ashley had been about to bring a fry to his mouth—but stopped mid-motion. Once again, he went silent. But to Koi, that silence said more than any words ever could.
His heart began to pound. The fear that had clung to him for so long—the anxious weight—suddenly vanished. Could it be... that Ashley wanted to see him too? Missed him? Maybe... even more than he missed Ashley?
“Ash...”
“Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Koi had barely managed to say his na when Ashley cut him off in a cold voice.
Koi froze. Ashley stared at him from across the table and continued.
“I just wanted to be sure. I didn’t really believe you’d co all the way out here...”
He stopped mid-sentence.
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