Kiss Me if You Can-Chapter 12Vol. 2

"The phone?"

Josh turned his head to where his bag had been thrown earlier. Grayson followed the same direction with his gaze. When Josh turned his head back to Grayson, he did the same.

That’s when it happened. Tommy, from behind them, threw a helmet. It flew through the air and hit Grayson’s temple with precision.

It should have hit him.

Still holding Josh by the collar with one hand, Grayson effortlessly swung his other arm. The dull thud of the helmet hitting him echoed as it flew off, landing far away. Tommy, who had acted boldly to help Josh, and the other friends all shared a mix of conflicting thoughts.

I should’ve thrown a punch.

Good thing I used an object.

Unsure of how to handle the situation, they stood around hesitating, but Josh spoke up.

"I’ll accompany you if this is about him. If not, apologize to everyone here."

Grayson was silent for a moment, then stared into Josh’s eyes before speaking in a low voice.

"Follow me."

Without saying anything else, Grayson let go of Josh’s collar, almost throwing him off. Josh staggered back a few steps but quickly regained his balance and stood straight.

Grayson turned around and started walking. Josh’s friends, who had gathered around, started to voice their concern.

"What’s going on? What happened?"

"Josh, is there something wrong? Is there anything I can help with?"

"Who’s this guy? Suddenly showing up. Josh, do you really know him?"

Questions erupted from every direction. But Josh didn’t have the luxury of answering them all. Instead, he mumbled, avoiding the situation.

"I’ll explain later. Sorry, I’ll go ahead."

As he hurried away, grabbing his bag, his friends were left staring at his back in confusion. They blinked in bewilderment, torn between being worried and surprised. After a brief silence, one of them finally spoke up.

"Did you see the color of his eyes?"

"Yeah."

The others nodded with puzzled expressions. They all had the same thought but couldn’t bring themselves to say it out loud. The sweet scent still lingered in the air, subtly drifting around them.

@Funhap

Josh left his car in the school parking lot and got into Grayson’s car. They didn’t exchange a single word until they left the school together. Grayson, who seemed to have driven there himself, quickly took off Josh’s protective gear and threw it onto the back seat. He then got into the driver’s seat and started the car before Josh could even properly close the door. Josh muttered a curse under his breath but held back from saying anything.

When he opened his bag and checked his phone, he found more than thirty missed calls. The twenty most recent ones had no caller ID. Josh didn’t need to ask—he knew that those calls were from Grayson. He forced himself to suppress the fear and anxiety rising inside him and spoke up.

"How did you know about this?"

"I stopped by your place."

Grayson spoke before Josh could finish his question. Josh instinctively tightened his grip on the phone in his hand. Quickly releasing his grip so as not to crush it, he struggled to speak.

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"What’s going on? Is the treatment going well? Is there any problem...?"

Saying it aloud felt like it would make it real, so Josh couldn’t bring himself to voice the ominous thoughts swirling in his mind. He couldn’t even say his name.

Grayson still had no expression. Only God would know what he was thinking. Suddenly, Grayson furrowed his brow, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and lowering the other. The scent of pheromones grew stronger as they drove down a quiet, empty road, and Grayson finally spoke.

"Ruth’s here."

His voice was still devoid of emotion. Josh, waiting for more information, tried to focus, but Grayson changed lanes and continued.

"We barely stabilized the pheromones, but Ruth came and ruined everything. Stewart stayed up for three days straight."

Honestly, Josh didn’t care about Stewart’s situation. Only Chase’s condition mattered. Holding back his urge to press Grayson for more details, he waited as Grayson, in a monotone voice, continued explaining.

"He says he won’t do anything unless it’s you. There’s no other choice, so I came to pick you up."

After a brief pause, Grayson added.

"If we leave him, he might die."

"What did you say?"

Josh was taken aback and instinctively asked. Grayson glanced to the side, as if something was bothering him, but quickly turned his gaze back to the road.

"Stewart said Omega pheromones are dangerous, but he still refuses anyone else. He hasn’t had a drop of water since yesterday."

"..."

"Then he said."

"‘I have my Omega.’"

Josh froze for a moment. Grayson, who had been glancing at him, added,

"I really don’t understand."

"...Then why are you here?"

Josh finally voiced the question that had been nagging him. He couldn’t imagine why Grayson had come to pick him up. It didn’t seem like there was any ulterior motive, but it was hard to believe that Grayson had pure intentions. Grayson didn’t answer right away, and for a moment, he stared ahead, expressionless.

Finally, after a long pause, Grayson sighed heavily. His face, still devoid of expression, seemed to gain a bit of life for the first time. It was the first time Josh felt like he was looking at a real person.

"Chase is my brother."

That was all he said. After that, Grayson didn’t speak again and just continued driving.

"Grayson doesn’t know what emotions are. He’s just mimicking them."

Suddenly, Josh remembered what Chase had said. He agreed with it, but in this moment, he felt differently. The exaggerated, theatrical laughter and tone that usually felt fake now seemed to have disappeared, and instead, Josh found it strangely human. Was it possible that, after mimicking emotions for so long, Grayson might one day truly feel them?

Without any answers, the car continued down the endless road. Josh tried to suppress his unease as he mindlessly fiddled with his phone.

@Funhap

When the car finally reached their destination, it had been over three hours since they started driving. It wasn’t Stewart’s lab or Chase’s mansion. The mansion, standing alone in a tranquil landscape, was unlike what Josh had expected. He got out of the car, confused.

"It’s a temporary place we bought until Chase calms down."

Grayson spoke for the first time since they arrived. The unfamiliar bodyguards scattered around the mansion stood alert, and Grayson didn’t offer further explanation. He walked toward the mansion, and Josh, following behind, was briefly distracted by the massive hall that came into view. The tension and excitement he had felt the first time he entered Chase’s mansion returned, and he paused, taking in his surroundings.

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There was no warmth of people inside the mansion. The bodyguards were probably staying in a separate annex. Only Chase remained in the mansion. The sweet scent that filled the air made Josh’s head spin. He quickly took out a bottle of pills he always carried with him and took a few. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by the pheromones until the situation was resolved. After swallowing the pills dry, he heard footsteps approaching from the hallway.

"Mr. Bailey."

Hearing the familiar voice, Josh turned to see Stewart, smiling brightly as he approached.

"Thank you for making the trip. How have you been? You look well."

His words almost seemed to imply, "You’ve done fine without Chase." Josh could feel his face stiffen as he looked down at him. Stewart casually grabbed his hand for a handshake, but quickly let go.

"You’ve probably heard what happened on the way here? Oh, just in case, I’ve replaced all the bodyguards. Luckily, we managed to find a team that could work temporarily. The old team is waiting for now."

Stewart beamed, proud of his actions. Josh had no intention of offering him praise, but Stewart clearly expected it. Josh, though, didn’t care about that anymore. His only thought was about Chase. It didn’t matter what others thought. His mind was empty, consumed by thoughts of what might happen to Chase.

Stewart continued to babble about how difficult it was to find this secluded mansion, how tight the security was, and what had happened during Josh’s commutes. He even went into detail about a squirrel that came every morning to take acorns from an old tree behind the garden. Josh couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted.

"So, what’s Chase’s condition?"

He didn’t even use the formal title "Mr. Miller." He already knew what was going on, and there was no reason to dance around the subject. Stewart, momentarily surprised, quickly smiled again.

"Sorry, I’ve been rambling."

It seemed like Stewart had waited for Josh to show his limits before speaking. Finally, Stewart wiped the smile from his face and got to the point.

"You’ve probably heard from Grayson. I’m not sure he explained it properly, though."

Stewart glanced behind Josh. That’s when Josh realized that Grayson had been following them silently. Grayson hadn’t made a sound, but Josh’s focus had been entirely on Chase.

Grayson was still walking several steps behind them, his face as expressionless as ever. Josh thought it was better that way. If Grayson had said anything foolish, Josh would’ve had to stop him.

Josh refocused on Stewart as he continued speaking.

"First, we’ve injected nutrients. He’s not fully conscious yet, but as you know, that’s the early signs of memory loss that extreme alphas experience when Ruth arrives..."

The scent of pheromones intensified as they walked down the long hallway. Josh clenched his fists several times to keep himself from losing control. Stewart kept explaining.

"Chase has had this kind of experience before, so it’s a bit dangerous. If this memory loss continues, it’ll cause serious brain damage. The last brain scan was done before Ruth arrived, and... well, it’s really close to the edge."

When they finally reached a closed door, Stewart turned to Josh.

"We thought that if the pheromones affected his brain one more time, it would destroy him, but Ruth arrived."

Josh unknowingly grabbed the doorknob. Stewart, without warning, grabbed Josh’s arm and held him back with a serious expression.

"If you think you can’t handle it, you can stop. If the pheromone compatibility is off, one of you might go crazy."

Josh stared at him blankly before speaking.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

Stewart, surprised, reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. The pack was almost full except for one cigarette. Josh took it, smiled briefly, then opened the door.

Click.

The door closed behind them, leaving Stewart and Grayson standing in the hallway.

After a moment of staring at the closed door, Stewart turned his head. Grayson was still standing expressionless, staring straight ahead.

"So, how was it? Did you feel anything?"

Grayson paused before finally speaking.

"I really don’t get it. Why would you go in there, knowing how dangerous it is?"

Stewart, still smiling, asked casually.

"If Mr. Bailey had said he was leaving, what would you have done?"

Grayson tilted his head slightly before answering.

"Chase wouldn’t like a corpse."