Kiss Me if You Can-Chapter 16Vol. 2 .2

“There must have been a reason. The paparazzi have their problems too. How can you just take pictures of other people like that? There’s such a thing as privacy.”

“Mom!”

Emma shouted again in disbelief, but her mother quickly lost interest and changed the subject casually.

“If you’re ready, bring it out. Josh is about to come down. I forgot to tell you to show me the album, you know what I did?”

Emma could only let out a sigh of shock as she watched her mother mutter to herself while glancing up the stairs.

*

*

Josh opened the door to the room at the end of the hallway and went in.

“This is Pete’s room.”

Chase stepped carefully into the wide-open door. Pete, who had been on Josh’s shoulder and riding the horse until then, seemed to feel secure as he entered his room and began to wiggle his hips as usual.

“Sit down.”

Josh offered Chase a chair next to the bed and began to search through the children’s bookshelf. Soon, he pulled out an album.

“This is a picture of when he was born. This is the hospital.”

Josh explained, flipping through the pictures one by one. The first time he held Pete, the time they went to the park together, the first time Pete started crawling, all the records were there. Chase listened to Josh’s words one by one, staring intently at the photos that passed by as if they were engraving their retinas. He didn’t even breathe, as if he was afraid that he might miss a single word Josh said.

“Jason.”

Pete, who was sitting on Josh’s shoulder and looking at his own photos with him, suddenly pointed to one. It was a photo of Pete, younger than he is now, holding his beloved stuffed dog. Josh paused for a moment and then answered, “Yes.”

“It’s Jason.”

Pete was silent for a while. He didn’t even wiggle his hips. Chase’s heart grew heavy at the sight of the boy just staring at the photos. Josh said casually, as if he knew how Chase felt.

“It’s not your fault.”

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

He then flipped through the album. Pete hesitated but didn’t make a fuss. Josh continued.

“You can buy a new stuffed dog next time. I forgot, should I buy a stuffed tiger this time?”

Josh asked, pulling Pete’s small body close and kissing his cheek. Pete still kept his eyes fixed on the album as he answered.

“Dogs, dogs.”

“… … .”

“Pete likes dogs.”

The boy emphasized once more, but neither Josh nor Chase could respond to his words.

“Ahem.”

Josh coughed after a few seconds.

“Pete, I have something to tell you. It’s very important.”

“Huh?”

Pete quickly turned his attention and looked at Josh’s face. Josh grabbed him and put him down on the floor. Chase had a vague idea of ​​what he was going to say, but he couldn’t make a hasty judgment. So instead of opening his mouth, he pretended not to notice his excitement and waited for Josh to speak. Josh looked into Pete’s eyes and opened his mouth.

“Pete, you’ve met this guy before? Do you remember him?”

When Josh carefully began to speak, Pete turned his head as he said. Chase, who was nervous inside, met the boy’s gaze. Chase realized that his expression had frozen for a moment, but it was too late. The boy flinched and suddenly jumped into Josh’s arms.

It’s okay.

Before Chase could be disappointed, Josh spoke first with his lips.

I like you.

Josh had said the same thing when he first met Pete. Even then, Pete was busy avoiding Chase by burrowing into Josh’s arms. Of course, Josh knew about Pete, but did he really like him? Chase lost confidence.

Josh turned his attention back to the boy as he saw Chase’s dejected expression.

“Pete, we met before. Don’t you remember? I saved you.”

Josh had no choice but to pull out his last card.

“The day we lost Jason.”

Pete reacted for the first time to those words. Pete, who had just raised his head from Josh’s arms, blinked.

“Yeah.”

Josh nodded.

“That’s him, Pete. The hero who saved you.”

Chase felt embarrassed by the word hero and quickly coughed. The boy looked back at Chase with a confused expression. He blinked several times, then turned his face back to Josh and suddenly stuck out his mouth.

“Lies.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Lies, your hair color is different.”

Only then did Josh realize why Pete had been so shy. Chase had dyed his hair black at the time to film a movie, but after filming was over, it had gone back to his original blonde color. This inevitably confused the boy, and as a result, Pete didn’t recognize Chase.

For a moment, Chase and Josh were speechless. They didn’t know how to persuade the child. Who would have thought there would be such an unexpected obstacle? They had barely broken down the wall between them and the child, but now they were back to square one.

“… … I should have kept dyeing my hair.”

“No, I like your blonde hair.”

Josh immediately denied Chase’s lament. Chase smiled bitterly, but his eyes turned back to Pete. Josh thought for a moment about how to overcome this situation. Even if he didn’t think he was the hero of the day, Pete definitely had feelings for Chase. Josh knew better than anyone else. Above all, this reaction that kept digging into Josh was proof. Pete had reacted the same way when he had met Yeonwoo before and when he had first met Chase at the amusement park.

That’s right.

Josh, who had thought that far, let Pete go. He grabbed the child who was struggling to hold him again, made eye contact, and asked.

“Pete, be honest. Do you like Chase?”

“… … ?”

“That guy.”

When Josh made a short nod, Pete also turned his head. Their eyes met again, and suddenly Pete started to struggle.

“Ugh, ugh.”

“Okay, okay.”

This time, it was clear. Josh held Pete and opened his mouth to Chase.

“It’s because you’re pretty.”

“Huh.”

Josh added seriously to Chase, who was dumbfounded.

“This is what happens when you meet someone whose looks you like. You’ve done this before, trust me.”

Josh emphasized again and asked Pete this time.

“Am I right, Pete? Be honest.”

“… … .”

“Pete.”

When he called his name once more, the boy slowly turned his head and looked at Chase. The child’s face was flushed red, whether it was because of the struggle or for some other reason.

“… … pretty.”

After a long time, Pete muttered. And then he buried his face in Josh’s shoulder again. Josh looked at Chase with a proud face. Chase asked, still half-heartedly.

“Does that mean you like me?”

Instead of answering, Josh turned his attention to Pete.

“Pete, you have to answer.”

“… … .”

“Pete.”

This time, Pete finally responded after calling his name again. However, Josh and Chase could clearly see him. He nodded slightly. Only then did Chase sigh in relief. Josh smiled at Chase as if to say, “Okay?” and patted the child’s round head. Chase just looked at them without saying a word. Josh looked at Chase’s unfiltered, bitter expression and thought for a moment before looking up.

“Chase.”

Just as he was about to speak, there was a knock and the door opened. Emma suddenly looked up, glanced around the room, and fixed her gaze on Josh.

“What are you doing? Come down and have some tea.”

Josh stood up while holding the child, and Chase also stood up. The mother who was waiting in the living room exclaimed, “What a lovely scene!” when she saw them appearing with the child.

“It’s such a lovely scene. Isn’t it, Emma?”

Josh just smiled awkwardly at his mother’s words. He didn’t check Chase’s expression. Emma, ​​who followed him, answered nonchalantly as she passed Chase and Josh and sat down in her seat.

“Well, the three of you didn’t look bad together.”

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

“I should have taken a picture.”

The mother sat down with regret. Josh, who was holding Pete, followed by Chase, sat down, and the mother who had been waiting opened her mouth.

“Isn’t Pete really cute?”

She continued to speak without hiding her affection, her eyes unable to take their eyes off the back of the child’s head.

“I don’t know how happy I am because of him. He is so lovely, and his heart is so beautiful. Josh often goes out to work and we can’t meet often, but he really endures it well.”

She stroked the child with admiration and muttered to herself as if talking to herself.

“I wish I could have seen Pete grow up.”

“… … yes.”

Chase paused and answered.

“I wish I could have.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to him at that. Chase was just looking at the child. He tapped his fingers on his thighs as if he wanted to touch Pete, but he couldn’t actually reach out. Even Emma felt a little sympathy when she saw him. Her mother hurriedly drank her coffee and looked away. She broke the silence with a huff and spoke to Chase.

“How did you meet Josh? Seriously, we were so surprised when Josh suddenly said he was bringing Pete’s dad, weren’t we?”

“Yes.”

Emma nodded at her mother, who turned around as if asking for agreement.

“Besides, I never could have imagined it would be you.”

She deliberately stretched out the words to emphasize the sarcasm, but no one paid attention to her. Her mother laughed and waited for Chase’s reaction. It was Josh who answered.

“I told you before that I found out while I was guarding.”

“Hold on, isn’t that different from what you’re saying?”

“It’s the same.”

As soon as Chase interjected, she immediately responded, “I see.”

What is this stupid conversation?

Emma looked at the three of them with a distorted face, but she was still alone. Her mother continued.

“So what happened? Did you fall in love with Josh at first sight and then fall in love when you met him again?”

Her mother’s eyes sparkled as if she wanted a romantic answer. But Chase denied her words again.

“I didn’t remember at first.”

Another awkward silence fell. Josh thought he was being unnecessarily honest. Maybe it was because he lacked social skills. Anyway, it was impossible to learn it now, so Josh added an explanation instead.

“But you recognized me, right? That means you remembered me.”

Chase thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

“You were too handsome to be a bodyguard, so you remembered me.”

“I see.”

His mother continued with a bright smile.

“Josh looks just like his father. We fell in love at first sight. Don’t they say that soulmates recognize each other at first sight?”

She looked back and forth between the two with an incredibly affectionate face.

“You’re the same. We recognized each other, but the timing wasn’t right. But we ended up together like this.”

“It’s a happy ending.”

Emma finished speaking, but her tone was extremely indifferent. She continued to dislike her mother’s sudden change in attitude. Josh and Pete’s weakness for faces was all due to their mother’s genes. She thought and spoke up.

“There was a fuss here and there. What happened? That paparazzi incident.”

“Hey.”

“Emma.”

Even though her mother and Josh stopped her at the same time, Chase’s expression didn’t change much. Emma raised her chin to meet the gaze that was staring straight at her. However, Chase was thinking something completely different from what she had expected.

She was dumbfounded when she remembered how she had misunderstood Emma and Josh. She understood why Josh had been so shocked.

They really look alike.

According to her mother, it seemed that the genes inherited from her father had been passed on to Emma and Pete. Chase felt a strange feeling as he looked at the similar faces. The strangest thing was that, despite all that, the only thing that made Chase’s heart race and made him want to kiss her right away was Josh’s face.

“That paparazzi.”

Chase opened his mouth, meeting Emma’s fierce gaze glaring at him. Everyone’s attention was focused on him.

“He had been following me for a while, but he wouldn’t listen even though I warned him several times. It was an important day for me, so I was quite sensitive, but he blocked my path and kept pressing the shutter, so I couldn’t stand it. I told him to get out of the way, but he didn’t listen at all. He even provoked me by telling me to hit him.”

“That’s why I did as he said,” Chase concluded. His mother, who had heard that far, covered her cheek with one hand and exclaimed in admiration.

“Oh, that’s right.”

She continued with a face full of sympathy.

“Violence is bad, but there are unavoidable situations. The media is not fair, after all, and only shows one side of the story.”

Emma said nothing more and took a sip of her cold coffee. Her mother continued to talk about how narrow-minded and hypocritical the media was before finally changing the subject. And after a few more meaningless conversations, Josh got up to put Pete to bed.

“Would you like to go with me?”

When he asked Chase, he immediately got up. Josh naturally held Pete in one arm and extended his free hand to Chase. His mother watched them holding hands and climbing the stairs together with a pleased face.

When they were left alone, his mother let out a satisfied sigh.

“I’m so glad Josh met a good person. And he’s Pete’s dad, so that’s great.”

“I guess it’s good in your eyes, Mom. If you say ten, ten is trash.”

When Emma said bluntly, her mother’s eyes widened.

“Trash. That’s harsh, Emma. To such a good person.”

Emma felt the urge to reveal all the misdeeds and abusive language Chase had spewed out on set, in his private life, and even on the red carpet, but there was just too much. She was exhausted just thinking about it, so she finally had no choice but to say this.

“A pretty face doesn’t mean a good person, Mom.”

To Emma’s comment, his mother shook her head, “Oh, Emma.”

“The face is the mirror of the soul.”

*@Punhap*

Josh carefully placed Pete in the crib and straightened his back after confirming that the boy was fast asleep. He glanced to the side and saw Chase staring down at Pete. Even though the boy was asleep, he couldn’t readily reach out. It was clear that he was afraid of being rejected.

“Chase.”

Josh opened his mouth quietly. It was a few seconds before Chase turned to look at him. Josh made a suggestion to him, who seemed to have barely turned his eyes away from Pete.

“Want to spend a day alone with Pete?”

“… … What?”

Chase froze in surprise. Josh continued.

“I missed the chance to talk to you earlier, but isn’t the best way to get close to him the more time you spend with him? Then Pete will naturally accept the fact that you’re his dad. … … I thought we got to know each other last time, but we’re back to square one.”

“If you dye your hair again… … .”

“I can’t do that.”

Josh firmly drew the line. Chase, embarrassed, closed his mouth, and Josh softened his tone and added.

“You can’t dye your hair your whole life anyway. You don’t know what color your hair will be when we start filming next time. You have to get used to it yourself.”

His words were correct, but he couldn’t help but feel impatient when he thought about Pete who kept hiding.

“… … I wish I could remember.”

Chase looked down at Pete and muttered.

“If only I had remembered that day from the beginning… … .”

If only Chase had stayed by Josh’s side since she became pregnant with Pete. He could have seen all the images in the album. He could have run to Josh and hugged him when he was having a hard time because of the pregnancy, when he went into the operating room, when the baby woke up at night and cried.

If only.

He wouldn’t have avoided me now.

Chase’s expression as he stared blankly down at Pete was devastated. Josh could see right through him what he was thinking without him having to say anything. Because of that, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was the one who took that opportunity away from Chase. Even though he couldn’t have imagined that their relationship would end up like this.

“It’s okay, Chase.”

Josh opened his mouth.

“You can start now. Pete will get used to you in no time.”

He stroked Chase’s face affectionately.

“You’ll be a good daddy.”

Chase didn’t say anything. He just grabbed Josh’s hand and kissed his palm. But that was enough for Josh. Josh quietly walked out of the room, his footsteps muffled, and a question suddenly occurred to him.

“What was that important day?”

“What?”

Chase blinked as if to say something. Josh explained.

“The day you had a fight with the paparazzi. By the way, didn’t you get sued or anything? You were badly hurt?”

“Your lawyer will take care of it.”

Of course.

Josh nodded inwardly at her indifferent answer and asked again.

“What day was it?”

Josh couldn't help but wonder why he was so sensitive after being quiet for a while. Chase glanced down at Josh and opened his mouth.

"It's a secret."

Chase smiled at him who blinked and walked down the stairs first. Josh, who was left behind, twisted his face and spread his hands, but Chase didn't say anything else.

He suddenly stopped walking at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. He thought he would say something, but his expectations were wrong. Chase looked up at Josh and spoke.

"When can you spend time with Pete?"

He asked as if nothing happened, but Josh didn't miss the tension. Anyway, Josh knew he wouldn't say anything more, so he gave up.

"Well, your schedule comes first. I guess you're busier than Pete, right?"

When Josh came down the stairs, Chase asked again.

“Pete doesn’t have a schedule?”

“Well?”

Josh pretended to be indifferent, seeing the mischief in his purple eyes.

“If you tell me the date, won’t you adjust it by a day?”

“Oh, please.”

Josh sighed as if praying to Chase.

He burst out laughing. Chase smiled and tilted his head. Josh closed his eyes and accepted his kiss. Chase leaned back against the wall, and Josh leaned against him. They shared a secret kiss in the secluded space under the stairs. Through the open kitchen door, the sound of wind chimes swaying in the wind could be faintly heard.