L*ck Me If You Can

Chapter 198

When Koi woke up, he was alone. As always, Ashley had already gone to work and was nowhere to be seen.

“...Ah.”

As he got out of bed, a groan slipped from his lips. His lower body hurt more than usual today. Ashley hadn’t even been particularly rough, which made it all the more strange. Tilting his head in confusion, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. Frowning, Koi closed his eyes and slumped back onto the bed.

Was he feeling unwell?

It was the first time he’d felt like this, and anxiety crept in. He sat there for a while, taking deep breaths to calm the dizziness. Once it subsided, he cautiously stood up.

The house was as quiet as ever. The familiar loneliness returned to him. Koi slowly made his way to the kitchen. As always, Ashley had left a note in the same spot.

Koi, you don’t need to clean today. Just rest.

Beneath the note were documents for a medical examination. Seeing his name printed at the top, he assumed he was supposed to fill them out.

He was relieved not to have to clean. Today, he really did just want to rest. After calling downstairs to ask for a meal to be brought up, Koi sat down and began to fill out the forms. The questions were routine—had he ever had surgery, any family history of illness, things like that. He hesitated briefly before checking “Unknown.” Other than his father’s cancer, he didn’t know anything. He listed both of his parents as Betas.

Halfway through the paperwork, he changed his mind. Deciding to eat downstairs instead, he called the front desk to cancel the meal and headed for the elevator.

“Good morning, Mr. Niles.”

Koi nodded at the friendly greeting from a staff member and followed their lead to a seat by the window.

Hoo.

He let out a short sigh as the server handed him a menu.

“We’ve just gotten in a nice tea. Would you like to try it?”

Koi nodded. He couldn’t tell much difference in taste anyway, so it didn’t matter to him.

While waiting for his meal, he sipped the tea and stared blankly out the window. His body still felt sluggish, and it wasn’t improving. The weather was clear, and he’d slept well—so why did he feel like this? He was pondering that question as he raised his teacup when—

He felt someone approach. Without asking, the person pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. Startled, Koi turned to look—and his eyes widened in shock.

The person sitting across from him was so beautiful, it made Koi wonder if he was dreaming. Silver hair grazed his shoulders, and a long, graceful neck extended beneath it. His deep green eyes were fixed on Koi. His neat nose, high cheekbones, and soft jawline, topped off with lips red as ripe cherries, were captivating. His long lashes matched the silver of his hair, and his skin was flawlessly white, without a single blemish.

It was hard to believe such a person existed—but Koi recognized him. It was the angel who had sat naked on the balcony smoking a cigarette. And now, here he was, sitting right in front of him. Was this really happening?

He was human after all.

Reaffirming the obvious truth, Koi looked over his face again. Even though he’d seen him naked, something felt off about defining his gender. Maybe that was because angels didn’t have one.

Even though he clearly was human, Koi couldn’t shake the dazed feeling. And despite this being only their second meeting, Koi felt a strange familiarity. A sense of ease, almost like seeing an old friend. It caught him off guard. What was this feeling?

As Koi stared blankly, the man narrowed his eyes and greeted him first.

“Hello.”

Contrary to his angelic appearance, his voice was low and husky. The unexpectedly chilling tone made Koi flinch, and the man continued.

“You’re hiding it well. Such a good boy.”

Koi didn’t understand what he meant. His way of speaking, as if he were much older, left Koi even more confused. They looked like they were around the same age—maybe he just aged well?

“Um... Sorry, but how old are you?”

Only after asking did Koi realize how rude that might’ve been. He quickly closed his mouth, but the man simply smiled and asked in return,

“How old do I look?”

“Uh...”

Koi hesitated, unsure how to respond. Just as he was about to speak, the man answered for him.

“Definitely at least ten years older than you.”

An awkward silence followed. Koi had no idea what was going on, and just stared as the man smiled again, his sweet face dazzling enough to make Koi lose his focus.

“I was told we’d recognize each other, but I didn’t believe it. You’re the first of our kind I’ve seen. You too, right? We’re rare—unbelievably rare. I thought I’d never run into another one in my life...”

Speaking as though he were the only one in on the story, the man pulled something from his pocket. As he placed a cigarette between his lips, Koi opened his mouth to protest—but a staff member approached and politely intervened.

“Sorry, sir. This is a non-smoking area.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The man, cigarette still between his lips, looked up. Koi held his breath, nervous. But then the man spoke.

“It’s fine as long as I don’t light it, right?”

He smiled, holding the cigarette between his fingers. Surprisingly, the staff member softened their expression and replied, “Yes, that’s fine.” They even asked if he needed anything else before turning and walking away. Koi blinked in confusion at their retreating figure.

The man spoke casually, as if nothing unusual had happened.

“People are kind to ‘us.’”

He said it as if it were perfectly natural. But what caught Koi’s attention was something else.

“‘Us’?”

Repeating the word the man had used, Koi watched as he smiled faintly.

“You know, right? If you release just a little pheromone, anyone will fall under your spell.”

Koi had no idea what he was talking about. As he stared blankly, the man finally seemed to notice something was off. He frowned slightly.

“What’s wrong? You’re acting like you don’t understand a word I’m saying. We don’t need to be like this with each other.”

Again, he used the word “we.” Koi couldn’t make sense of it. How could someone like him—an angel—be lumped in with Koi?

Still clearly confused, Koi hesitated before finally speaking.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t understand... What do you mean, we’re {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the same? What does ‘us’ mean?”

The man sat silently, cigarette in his mouth, staring at Koi. He didn’t even blink, and the intense gaze made Koi increasingly uncomfortable. After a long moment, the man leaned back in his chair and frowned.

“I just showed you we’re the same. You don’t have to be so guarded. We’re on the same side.”

“Pheromones?”

Koi was even more confused now. From the tone, he could tell the man had released pheromones—but that was all. He still had no idea why this man was acting this way toward him.

“I’m a Beta. I don’t understand what you mean by pheromones...”

At that, the man looked utterly exasperated.

“There’s no need to pretend even in front of me.”

He clearly didn’t believe Koi. Frustrated, Koi asked again,

“You keep saying ‘we,’ but what kind of connection do we even have? Please explain—I really don’t understand.”

The man stared at him without saying a word. Koi held his gaze, refusing to look away. After a long silence, the man, who had looked skeptical up to now, suddenly grew serious. He stared at Koi like he’d finally realized something and muttered under his breath.

“...My god. You’re serious?”

He took a drag from the cigarette, realized there was no smoke, frowned again, and exhaled sharply. Then he spoke.

“I finally meet someone like me, and it turns out he’s a damn idiot who doesn’t even know what he is.”

“...What?”

Koi’s expression twisted at the insult. The sense of familiarity he’d felt earlier began to fade, replaced by a growing discomfort at the man’s rudeness. How could he say something like that to someone’s face?

But the man didn’t seem to care. With an indifferent look, he continued speaking.

“So you really believed you were a Beta your whole life?”

“I am a Beta. That’s what the tests said...”

“Forget those crap tests. They don’t pick up on us anyway.”

With another sigh, the man lifted his head and delivered the bombshell.

“You’re not a Beta. You’re an Extreme Omega—just like me.”