Kiss Me if You Can-Chapter 11Vol. 2

“I think it’s better to be careful when you first start than to get a divorce later on, Josh.”

Josh looked at his mother with a bewildered expression.

“Emma, ​​even if that’s true, you don’t trust me even with your mother?”

“No, that’s not it. I trust everything else.”

You’re saying you don’t trust women.

Josh was dumbfounded. Chase is a man, or that I’ve already thought about it, or that I’m thinking about marriage, so how could you just say that? Many things came to mind, but all the will to say them disappeared. Instead, Josh concluded firmly.

“Then trust me again.”

“Okay… … .”

His mother closed her mouth, as if she had nothing more to say. An awkward silence fell between them as they drank their lemonade in the calm afternoon sunlight. Josh, who had downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, stood up.

“I’ll go buy a pipe.”

“Oh, Josh. Do you want to buy a mailbox too? It’s old, so I think it needs to be replaced.”

His mother followed suit and stood up. Josh nodded, saying, “Yes,” and then picked up Pete, who was already eating his third cookie.

“Pete, do you want to go with Daddy?”

He asked, stealing the cookie and placing it on a plate. Pete’s interest quickly changed and he hugged Josh’s neck. His mother came out to the front of the house to see him off as he got into the car, but she didn’t talk about marriage anymore.

Josh drove leisurely down the quiet street with Pete in the baby seat in the back seat. There were few cars on the street and almost no people. Josh felt a strange feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity at the completely different scenery from the East.

Oh.

Suddenly, he saw a road in his sight and impulsively turned the steering wheel. After driving a little further, he came across his high school. There were no children coming or going, as if it was a class. Josh stopped the car for a moment and stood there, but before the school security officer noticed something suspicious and approached, he started the car again.

Thinking about it, it had been a long time since I had seen my old school friends. Did they still have their contact information? Josh thought as he drove. If not now, there would be no chance to meet them.

He felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t do something. Just spending each day blankly was not in his nature. He praised himself for the good idea and picked up the pace.

“Hey, you’re alive? How long has it been!”

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Tommy, who had patted Josh on the shoulder with a loud shout, slapped Josh on the arm again with a twinkle in his eye as soon as he sat down across from him. Josh smiled as he saw Tommy, who had gained some weight but still had his old face.

He had called them in advance during the day and made an appointment at a chain bar that everyone was familiar with. Of course, Pete had left the car with his mother.

Tommy had been a player on the same football team in high school, but after graduating, he went to college and became an engineer. It was surprising that he still had a lot of muscle. Josh looked around Tommy’s body and said,

“You must be working out a lot.”

“You need to take care of yourself. My wife hates fat guys.”

Oh my, Tommy shook his head and asked,

“You’re a bodyguard these days? Hey, so you meet celebrities?”

“What, that’s true.”

“Hey! This guy!”

Tommy repeated the same words again and hit Josh’s arm hard, laughing. Tommy, who hadn’t been very good at language even in school, would sometimes repeat the same words when he got too emotional. This time, his word seemed to be ‘this guy.’ Josh smiled bitterly as he watched him repeat ‘this guy’ again in admiration. Just then, the door to the bar opened and a tall, slender man came in. Tommy waved when he saw him.

“Hey, Ed! Here!”

“Tommy! Josh!”

He happily crossed the store and hugged Josh. After patting him on the back and exchanging greetings, Josh turned his head and stopped. Two familiar women were standing behind Ed. Ed awkwardly opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.

“Oh, remember? My sister and brother. I told you I was going to meet them today, and they insisted on seeing each other’s faces… … .”

“Josh, it’s been a while.”

“How have you been, Josh? Wow, you’re still handsome.”

The sister and brother rushed to greet Josh. Josh smiled and shook their hands in turns. The two of them blushed and smiled without fail, just like Josh had seen before. Ed, who had been looking at them with a disapproving gaze, blurted out.

“You came out to see me, leaving behind your husband and everything, right?”

“Oh, really?”

When Josh asked in surprise, Ed’s older sister and younger brother immediately opened their eyes wide and started to grab Ed like a mouse.

“You can see your husband today and tomorrow! How long has it been since Josh!”

“Then, the same! Is your husband and Josh the same? Josh is Josh!”

If it was a secret place, Ed must have gotten hit several times. After confirming that Ed was turning his head away with a distorted face, they turned their attention to Josh again. They quickly smiled brightly and spoke.

“I don’t mean to interrupt your time, Josh. I just wanted to say hello.”

“Yeah, I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry, Josh. Oh my, nothing has changed… … .”

The words left a lingering impression like a soliloquy and disappeared. Josh hesitated for a moment and then suggested.

“Would you like a drink each? I’ll buy it.”

“Oh, really? Can I sit down?”

“Then I’ll go with the non-alcoholic one. I brought tea.”

The women sitting on either side of Josh looked up at him expectantly as if they had been waiting. Ed made a fierce expression and pretended to slit his throat with the back of his hand, but it was too late. They each drank a non-alcoholic cocktail and chatted for an hour before getting up. Of course, they didn’t forget to take a picture of themselves with Josh on their phones before leaving.

“It was nice meeting you, Josh.”

“Please call me again, please.”

The two exchanged regretful greetings and left the store. Only after Ed confirmed that they had closed the door and left the store completely did he start to protest to Josh.

“Why did you buy me alcohol for no reason!”

“Sorry, but I can’t just let the girls go.”

“Josh is sweet on girls.”

Tommy shook his head as if he couldn’t help it. Edgar grumbled after him.

“You’re going to get in big trouble if you treat all the girls like that.”

“You’re not going to treat all the girls like that.”

Despite the fact that there was a clear line, his friends didn’t agree. Josh said, looking at him with distrustful eyes.

“Really, if that were the case, I would have married anyone a long time ago.”

Taking a sip of his non-alcoholic beer, he added casually, “Oh.”

“I was going to tell you anyway, I’m getting married soon.”

“What? Marriage?”

“You? Josh Bailey?”

“Wait, is that a mark on your ear?”

Tommy opened his eyes wide at the belated discovery and pointed. Josh realized belatedly that he had forgotten to cover his ears, but it didn’t matter anyway. After all, most people in this neighborhood who knew Josh would know that he had manifested as an omega. Ed shouted after him.

“Really? Is this the mark? Wow, this is the first time I’ve actually seen it. I thought he was just injured!”

“Are you marrying the person who has the mark? No, omegas sometimes get multiple marks… … No? Is this really the same person?”

Ed and Tommy’s reactions were not much different from those of their family, so Josh unconsciously furrowed his brows. If they found out that Josh had a child, they would run out into the street and yell at every passerby.

Josh later remembered why he hadn’t contacted his schoolmates. It was because he didn’t want to talk about Pete. This time, Josh’s marriage alone caused a huge uproar. Ed especially. Tommy was already married and had a child, but Ed was single. He swung his fists in the air several times with a shocked face.

“How could you do this? You betrayed me too!”

Ed, whose forehead had already receded that far, wrapped his thin scalp around it.

He gulped down his beer, repeatedly shouting “No!” as he belatedly realized there was no alcohol there, and his face twisted, but he couldn’t get too drunk thinking about the car outside. Then, he sighed and opened his mouth as if he had given up.

“Who’s the other person? An alpha?”

“Um, well.”

Josh mumbled something. Tommy, who seemed to be reliving the shock until then, barely opened his mouth.

“Alpine women aren’t common, but who wouldn’t you meet?”

“That’s true.”

Tommy and Ed lightly toasted by clinking their beer bottles together, and then each gulped down their own. Thinking about their mother and Emma’s reactions, it didn’t seem necessary to say that the alpha was a man, so Josh didn’t explain any further. Tommy, who had downed half of his beer in one go, put down the empty bottle and opened his mouth.

“But you have to be careful. If we get divorced, it'll be a headache."

"By the way, did you hear? Josh, you don't know? Dick just got divorced for the second time and filed for bankruptcy."

Tommy's face twisted at Ed's words.

"Not once, but twice, and we told you to be more careful."

"You should be careful even once, what are you talking about?"

With that, Ed and Tommy glanced at Josh. Josh sighed in disbelief.

"Are you trying to say that I'm acting impulsively right now?"

"I'm saying that being careful is good."

"Yeah, I don't know about other people, but you."

Josh stared blankly at the faces of his high school classmates whom he hadn't seen in years. Who knew his reputation would be like this.

Even though his opponents changed often, he thought he did his best every time.

He twisted his face, feeling aggrieved.

“Why don’t you go up on top of a building and scream?”

Ed hurriedly waved his hand at Josh’s words.

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, if you do that, people who are going to break up will break up anyway. Remember Megan? When she got married, there was no fuss about “I love you on a plane” or something, but she got divorced after a month.”

Tommy nodded again with a serious face.

“Anyway, if that’s what you chose, I should support you. Do your best.”

“Are you going to introduce us too? Where are you going to get married? I heard you went to the East Coast, but you moved here?”

Ed changed the subject. Josh vaguely mumbled.

“We haven’t decided that far yet. We’re definitely getting married.”

The two looked at each other as he added a trailing remark on purpose. I was waiting, thinking that he might say something negative again, when Tommy suddenly suggested.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Do you want to play a game together this weekend? How about it? Are you busy?”

“Game? Where?”

Josh asked in surprise. It was obvious what he was suggesting. They were all players on the same high school football team.

“We can use the empty field at school on the weekend. I’ll get permission in advance. It won’t be hard since we’re all graduates.”

Some of the guys had turned pro, but they were all living ordinary lives now. It wasn’t bad to get together and have a blast after a long time. Above all, Josh was so bored right now and needed something to focus on. After ordering a new beer and lightly toasting with his neck, Tommy said.

“Hey, it still feels weird. You’re getting married.”

Edgar, who had just taken a sip of his beer, suddenly started giggling. As Josh and Tommy looked at him with a puzzled look, he opened his mouth with a face that seemed to be dying of joy.

“I should tell those idiots, hehehe.”

There was no need to ask who the ‘idiots’ were. Josh and Tommy quickly changed the subject while drinking beer.

*

*

When he finally got home, all the lights in the house were off. Josh entered the house through the door connected to the garage and headed toward the kitchen through the dark living room.

It wasn’t hard to find things in the kitchen dimly lit by moonlight. Josh poured a cup of tap water and drank it all at once, leaning against the sink and staring into the darkness for a moment. He checked his phone, but there was no call he was waiting for.

It had been nearly two weeks, so filming must have ended. What happened after that? He must have been receiving treatment.

He was curious about the progress, but there was no way to know. The security team, including Mark, were busy with work, so it was difficult to contact them first, and even if they did contact them, it was questionable whether they would easily tell him about the client. Maybe they didn’t know the real situation either. Josh had no other choice but to wait helplessly for the call.

Suddenly, he felt a craving for a cigarette. He remembered that he hadn’t smoked a single cigarette since he came to his mother’s house. After thinking for a moment, he quickly pulled himself away from the sink and went out into the garden through the attached door.

The pack of cigarettes was half empty. Josh took out one of the remaining cigarettes and put it in his mouth, lighting it skillfully. The flame of the lighter flashed for a moment and then quickly formed a stable shape. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, and the scent of nicotine that he had tasted for the first time in a long time made his head dizzy for a moment.

Was it similar to when Chase poured out pheromones?

Josh, who had vaguely recalled the memory, shook his head. It couldn’t be. He smiled bitterly, but his expression soon disappeared. He stared blankly into a corner of the dark garden, slowly releasing the smoke he had inhaled deeply.

… … I miss you.

Josh stood there for a while with a half-burned cigarette between his fingers. Soon after, he went into his room and lay down on his bed, but there was no news of Chase until the weekend.

*@Punhap*

As always, the weather was wonderfully clear. Tommy, who had called Josh the day before to confirm the arrangement once more, said in an excited voice.

[Everyone is here, it’s great!]

After eating a light breakfast and playing with Pete for a bit, Josh left home and decided not to worry about Chase today. There was no point in being anxious since he was just waiting for the results to come in.

The school parking lot was empty because it was a holiday. There were a few cars here and there, but the purpose was obvious. Josh got out of the car and headed straight to the football field where they used to run around.

“Josh!”

“Oh my god, how long has it been?”

“Hey, how come you’re still the same?”

Everyone who found him greeted him eagerly. Shaking hands with some, hugging others, patting others on the back, Josh matched each of the faces he hadn’t seen in a long time with the ones in his memory.

After graduation, there was another guy who had manifested as an Alpha. Wilson, who had been the ace of a rival school’s football team before Josh manifested, was one of them. I heard that he had left for another city after manifesting. Anyway, they were all stories from their energetic childhoods. In addition to Wilson, Chuck, who had been on Josh’s team, was also the same. He hesitated and stood a little distance away, but when he saw Josh’s mark, he was relieved.

“You said you were getting married, but you got the mark first?”

Chuck asked curiously. The guy’s ears were clean. Josh answered vaguely.

“That’s it. Don’t worry, you won’t be swayed by your pheromones.”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

Alphas often take medicine to prepare for ruts. Just like many omegas who don’t necessarily take medicine, Alphas were no different, and this guy seemed to be one of them. However, the scent of pheromones he gave off had no effect on Josh. There was only one scent that drove him crazy.

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Josh, who was about to lose himself in thought again, quickly changed the subject.

“Are you all prepared? I said I’d lend you the ball, so there’s no need for a referee, right?”

As they each put on the protective gear they had brought in the car, they felt like they had gone back to their school days. The team tossed a coin to divide the team, and the positions were the same as they had in high school. Josh was the quarterback.

“Okay, everyone ready?”

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Everyone exchanged glances and nodded excitedly at Josh’s question. The members were all excited about playing in a game they hadn’t played in a long time. They tossed a coin to decide the order of attack, and then stood in their respective positions and waited for the game to start. Josh’s team attacked first. Josh waited for the defense team to throw the ball. And then the game started right away.

“Run!”

“Catch it, Dean!”

“That kid, don’t do that!”

They started running like crazy here and there, yelling. Other guys rushed over the guy who caught the ball, and the attacker who barely made it forward started the next attack.

Running across the field required a lot of stamina. He was blocked several times and sometimes dropped the ball he was trying to pass.

“Hey, you guys. Are you really serious about this?”

Tommy said, taking a short break, catching his breath. Tommy was no exception. Josh turned his gaze straight ahead after seeing the faces burning with competitive spirit that he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“I’m serious too.”

“Me too.”

Everyone agreed with Tommy. Once the game started, they absolutely could not lose. They started running with cheers that echoed through the quiet school on a holiday. But this time, they could not break through the defense. Swears and sighs flowed out, and they regrouped again. In the next attack, they barely made it over the line.

“Josh, can you do that?”

Ed asked casually. Josh knew what it was without having to ask. They had broken through the defense together several times and won the game back then.

“Try it.”

Ed smirked at Josh’s short answer, glancing at him. Tension spread among the guys standing in line. Soon, the ball flew in, and the big guys collided with each other.

“Josh!”

Ed caught the ball, shouted, and passed it high. Josh started running like crazy, chasing the ball flying in a long arc. As he avoided the guy blocking his way, someone immediately rushed to grab his waist. As expected, he turned his body and dodged.

Another guy blocked Josh’s path. Josh shoved him hard with his shoulder.

“Run, run Josh!”

The guys on the same offense team shouted and worked hard to block the defense. Josh barely managed to shake off the guy who was tangled around his waist and ran away in an instant. Soon after, he crossed the line, and the guys on the same team cheered and shook their fists.

“Touchdown!”

“Hey, Josh! You’re still useful!”

“Hey, this should have destroyed K High School back then!”

They were running here and there, hugging Josh and shouting in joy. They were so intoxicated with the sense of victory they had felt for the first time in a long time that they didn’t notice the stranger crossing the field at all.

The visitor walked straight toward them without any hesitation. The well-maintained grass completely drowned out the sound of his footsteps, and the excitement even erased his presence.

“Uh.”

Suddenly, Tommy turned his head and belatedly discovered the man. However, he had no time to do anything. Almost at the same time, the man grabbed Tommy’s chin and pushed him away, and he fell out with a single scream.

Before he could even fight back, the man grabbed Josh’s shoulder and pushed away several large men who surrounded him. Josh, who had been playing with his friends for the first time in a long time and was completely relaxed, had not noticed the situation until then. Suddenly, his shoulder was grabbed and he was roughly turned around, and he instinctively threw a punch.

A creepy sound of bones cracking echoed. Josh, who had been shaking his frozen fist, suddenly stopped. A sweet scent that he had forgotten for a while came from the gorgeous blond man wearing a dark blue suit that did not match the stadium at all. The scent that usually lingered faintly around him, however, was strong enough to make him furrow his brow at this moment. At his feet lay a pair of dark sunglasses, shattered and scattered, having just been hit by a punch.

The man who had been punched in the face out of nowhere slowly straightened up from his crouch. When he straightened up completely, everyone, including Josh, looked up at him. The man, who was six inches taller than Josh, looked down at him and spoke in a low voice.

“Bailey.”