Kyle Frost is the first to greet him when he rings the doorbell. As the door opens, Ash is met with blue eyes staring at him. His white face, perfectly fits the definition of beauty, hardens in an instant. It is hard to believe that before opening the door, this face was smiling brightly.
"Why are you here?"
Kyle asks right away with a voice showing hostility. Nick appears from behind.
"Kyle, if you have a visitor, you should say hello first. Are there any troubles finding the way here?"
"Nick..."
Embarrassment shines on Kyle's cold face, he reluctantly glances at Ash and speaks again.
"... Hello."
Then he gets back to the main question immediately.
"So why did you come here?"
"I told him to."
Nick hugs Kyle from behind to stop him from becoming more violent. Like other rare dominant Alphas, his intangible pheromone stabs his whole body heavily. To Ash, Kyle is not a pleasant opponent.
But surprisingly, the faint traces of Karlyle on Kyle's face softens his heart. That makes Ash himself feel a little strange.
"But, Nick... why?"
"I want to meet your brother."
Those words seem to have touched Kyle. While watching Nick's eyes, Kyle looks at Ash with a displeased expression.
"Isn't it all over?"
"It's not over yet."
Saying so, Ash follows Nick into the house. With his red lips pressed, Kyle is forced to follow them.
Nick looks at Kyle as if worried that he will get violent, and Kyle looks like he is trying hard to control himself. Come to think of it, even before Kyle and Nick officially dated, the atmosphere between Ash and Kyle was already like this. Even if Nick didn't interfere, it would only be a matter of time before the two of them continued.
Ash suddenly realizes that his memories of Kyle and Nick now are very calm and casual. He doesn't harbor any feelings for the person he still had in his mind just a few months ago anymore. Meeting Kyle and Nick now simply feels like meeting some old faces by chance.
"What does that mean?"
"There is one meeting left. It's an agreed meeting, so I think I have the right to meet him at least one more time."
Ash says as he follows Nick into the living room. Kyle cuts it off and denies.
"I don't understand why you are saying that after a month has passed."
That's the point.
Ash laughs awkwardly. All of this is unfamiliar to him. At first, he thought things would be fine. But he is wrong. The feeling of loss because he lost Karlyle continues to pile up as days go by and keeps growing bigger. Until today does he realize that.
They met by request, so he thought it would be right for the other person to leave as it was. It's true that he has been really busy with no time to think properly, but if the other person contacted him, he would definitely make time. But the reason he has not done it so far is because he's not sure. Whether he likes Karlyle enough to hold on to him.
"I needed time to think."
At that, Kyle shuts his mouth. After a brief silence, Kyle speaks again firmly.
"... It's late."
"I don't think so."
"No, because..."
Kyle nervously ruffles his hair. The disturbing pheromone filling the air makes Ash feel uncomfortable. Still, he endures it.
"Do you know how much Karlyle has struggled because of you?"
Ash looks at Kyle silently. Hearing that the other person struggled makes his stomach ache. His crying face appears in his mind.
"I don't."
"My brother doesn't laugh often. As a family member, I can count the number of times I have seen his smiling face on one hand."
Nick nods in agreement behind his back. He even adds "It's hard to imagine because I've never seen it."
"He cried, too. In front of me and my father..."
"Did Karlyle... cry?"
At the word crying, both Nick and Ash look at Kyle. Nick makes an unbelievable face. Ash bites his lips, eyes become contorted. As if the inside of his body is clogged with concrete, the pit of his stomach throbs.
Kyle is about to speak again with a sharp expression on his face when he sees Ash's expression. He shuts his mouth. Ash is already worried, but when he hears that Karlyle cried, his heart hurts like it's going to rip apart. It feels as if he has left his child alone by the waterside.
The mere thought of the other person crying without Ash by his side makes him feel painful. Did Kyle or Karlyle's father wipe away the tears, hug him, and kiss him on the forehead or cheeks? Karlyle deserves to be treated like that. At least that's how Ash feels.
"He has been through a lot to organize everything, so if your heart is not yet clear, I don't want you to approach my brother again."
After a heavy silence, Kyle says. There is nothing wrong with Kyle's words.
But Ash has no intention of letting Karlyle go like this. If so, he'll live in the same state like the last few weeks for the rest of his life. No, it could be worse than that. The aftereffects keep coming in like waves and slowly submerge him. And then, the water will swallow him and make him unable to breathe.
"As you know, Mr. Frost... Karlyle doesn't talk much. At least that's all I know."
Ash opens his mouth. Kyle's blue eyes stare at Ash silently.
"He doesn't say anything so I don't know. That everything is that hard..."
Ash smiles with an awkward but painful eyes.
"What does he think of me, what is he thinking, I don't know any of that. Just because you are smart doesn't mean you can know everything."
Ash ruffles his hair. His mouth becomes dry.
"So thank you for telling me."
Kyle is Karlyle's family. It's natural to hate someone who upsets your family member. Karlyle's situation in Kyle's words is more important than Kyle's hostility towards him.
"There are a lot of things I haven't told you. It's a little late to realize that now."
Kyle answers with a suspicious look. His voice is full of disbelief.
"I remember it wasn't like this with Nick at that time..."
As the story is about to go back to the uncomfortable past, Nick intervenes by hugging Kyle from behind. Putting arms around the waist and pulling Kyle into his arms, Nick says.
"Originally, everyone has a different way of approaching, Kyle."
"... Is Nick the same?"
"No, I only love you, so I know nothing except your way of approaching."
Skillfully calming Kyle, Nick looks at Ash and smiles. Then he says.
"You're going to a party with us this weekend."
"Nick!"
Kyle turns around and calls Nick's name in surprise. Shrugging, Nick adds.
"It's Karlyle's engagement party."
Ash blinks. He can't understand what he just heard.
"Engaged...?"
Engagement?
"To be more exact, it's a party with the attendance of the other side's family. Is that right?"
As if to confirm, Nick asks Kyle. This time, Kyle looks at Ash for a moment. His ice-like face is colored in confusion.
Unlike when looking at Ash, Kyle has many expressions in front of Nick. Seeing that figure, Karlyle's face keeps overlapping. He can imagine the youthful smile and tears on the expressionless face.
"Nick... your audacity is lovely, but... isn't it a little too fast?"
"Anyway, if things go well, then it's fine. Don't you want that too?"
"It's still not certain. My intention is..."
Kyle closes his eyes with a sigh and then opens them. In front of Nick, Kyle's expression is so colorful, not sharp and full of life. But the expression Ash has never thought he'd see since the first meeting now doesn't catch his eyes at all.
Since he heard the word engagement, Ash's mind has been fixed on it. All kinds of thoughts rush into his mind, starting with whether this engagement is something that has been planned from the beginning. He also remembers his mother's story.
Looks like what he vaguely thought about the world of aristocrats has actually happened. His mind is wildly shaken. The thought of losing Karlyle forever and the conviction of whether he could intervene in the engagement clash and drown him.
Is it too late?
A few minutes ago he just denied Kyle's words, now things have turned out like this. How foolish, and hopeless. At the same time, he is afraid that he'll ruin Karlyle's normal life. But then the anger at an unknown opponent flares up. Must be jealousy.
However, he doesn't want Karlyle's life to be ruined by Ash himself. Because he knows the story of Phillip Gordon and his mother, who have gone through countless conflicts while sorting things out with the fiancee. It's difficult to give an answer easily. Everything becomes distant as if he's being trapped in an invisible darkness.
Staring at Ash who is blanking out, Kyle says quietly.
"My brother has something to give you."
Before Ash can reply, Kyle turns around. His gaze follows Kyle walking into the living room. Then something catches his eyes. It's strangely beautiful, which he can't fully capture at once.
It's Phillip's painting.
Time seems to have stopped. The sounds around him creep into his ears so slowly that it feels like they have been crushed. The mere act of closing and opening his eyelids is so long and heavy. The trace of the thing Ash has been longing to find his whole life is now right in front of his eyes, he cannot understand this situation.
The painting is as beautiful as ever. His mother in the painting is more alive and shiny than any other artist's. The quiet smile seems to bloom on her lips when she sees him. His mother's face, the face he thought he could no longer recall clearly, is portrayed so beautifully in the painting. His inside is hot and painful, like there is a lump of blood stuck in.
"To be able to give it to you, he had been asking around to find it for about a month."
Kyle's words reach his ears a beat late. As if he was just thrown into the water, he finally regains his consciousness. His mind is awake enough to hear his own heartbeat. Kyle's words are engraved in his head like a tattoo.
Looking at the picture hanging in front of him, Ash smiles. He smiles at it with painfully drooping eyebrows. He clenches his lips that are about to collapse, and tries to keep the smile.
If he didn't do that, he would definitely cry. Karlyle's heart shining in the painting is so precious. Ash had been looking for this painting for so long, and then somebody finally found it to give it to him. He can't even imagine how deep Karlyle's heart is. Ash's heart continues to break and falls apart.
There are so many things he wants to ask. He wants to ask what Karlyle was thinking when trying to give him this painting. He wants to ask how painful Karlyle was when saying the end and then cried alone without Ash by his side. The questions filling his head become painful needles and pierce his heart.
Ash catches his breath. He takes a deep breath and barely keeps the smile on his face. He reaches out and touches the frame's border, trembling slightly. His vision, which has been dyed black by the word "engagement", finally sees the light. It is then that he is completely convinced.
Karlyle Frost loves Ash Jones, without a doubt.
Money is not the problem. The time and the heart that Karlyle must have taken to find this painting, and the moment he remembered Ash prove it. The clear evidence is right here.
"Thank you."
Ash rubs the frame's border. He licks his lips for a while, then pushes the frame back. Kyle looks at him curiously.
"Can you please keep the painting for a little longer?"
"Why should I do that?"
"This is what Karlyle is going to give me, so I'll receive it directly from Karlyle."
And Ash has something to say, too. He wants to say that Karlyle's feelings are not one-sided.
Ash Jones also...
It's just the way Ash wants Karlyle is not the way he has experienced before.
Looking at him with slightly frowned eyebrows, Kyle sighs lowly. His long eyelashes flutter gently. Then, it seems like Kyle has made up his mind, he says.
"I believe that you know the dress code. You need an invitation to get there, so you have to come with me..."
Kyle says one last time as he takes the painting back.
"You can come here by 5 P.M"
"No need to say thank you anymore."
Nick stops Ash from saying thank you again.
"You don't have to thank me, Ash. It's me who made you two meet, so it's my responsibility... Kyle is my destiny partner, so it's right for us to take the responsibility together."
"That's why I have to thank you."
Ash smiles with a more relaxed face than before.
"For giving me the chance to get to know Karlyle."
Nick doesn't seem to agree. It doesn't matter anyway. The fact that people don't know about the Karlyle Ash knows makes him happy. In this world, getting to know a beautiful and lovely man like Karlyle alone is enough. He doesn't want to show Karlyle to anybody.
Now it is Ash's turn to step up the game.