L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 11

"Haa."

The moment lunchtime arrived, Koi rushed to the cafeteria, only to be met with a long line stretching ahead of him. He let out a deep sigh. After lunch, he had chemistry class—the building was the farthest one from the cafeteria, so he needed to hurry.

Fortunately, the line moved quickly. More students lined up behind him just as fast. Koi inched forward, waiting for his turn, when suddenly—

Whack.

"Ah!"

A sharp blow to the back of his head sent him stumbling forward. He barely managed to regain his balance.

Who the hell—?!

Startled, he turned around and immediately froze. The very group he had spent half the day desperately avoiding was standing right there, glaring at him. Or rather, Nelson was the one glaring—his group was smirking, watching with amused anticipation.

"You really thought you could avoid me forever, you pathetic loser?"

Nelson sneered through gritted teeth. The surrounding students glanced over but quickly backed away. No one wanted to get involved in a fight.

Koi had been through this plenty of times. He knew this routine. But that didn’t make it any less painful. Every time it happened, the isolation hit him all over again.

Would it ever become something he got used to?

Pain never becomes familiar.

Neither do wounds of the heart.

But Koi already knew—this pain, this loneliness, would follow him for the rest of his life.

Just as Nelson grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him away, the all-too-familiar despair set in once again.

And then—

"Koi!"

A voice called his name.

Koi wasn’t the only one who froze. Nelson also stiffened, and his group immediately sucked in a breath.

Koi saw it happen clearly—Nelson’s face, along with his entire gang, suddenly went pale.

No way.

Heart pounding, Koi slowly turned his head.

His eyes widened.

There was no way this was real.

And yet, no matter how many times he blinked, the scene remained the same.

Ashley Miller was standing in line up ahead, waving at him.

In Koi’s stunned field of vision, he saw Ashley casually say something to his friends before turning around.

Everyone else remained frozen in place. Only Ashley moved, striding toward them with confident steps.

The way he walked, unhurried yet purposeful, made Koi feel like he was witnessing a scene straight out of a movie.

No one spoke. No one dared to move.

Not until Ashley stopped in front of them.

All eyes were on him as he slowly raised a hand.

Koi, mesmerized, could only stare.

Then Ashley smiled and spoke.

"What are you doing? Come on. Lunchtime isn’t that long, you know."

His tone was light, almost playful, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

And then, without breaking that same smile, Ashley grabbed Nelson’s wrist—the one that was still holding onto Koi’s collar.

Ashley’s voice remained friendly as he continued, eyes never leaving Nelson’s.

"You need to eat quickly if you want to be ready for the next class, don’t you?"

He was speaking to Koi, but his gaze was locked on Nelson.

Ashley never stopped smiling. But Nelson’s confidence cracked.

The grip on Koi’s collar weakened.

Then, in the next second, Nelson let go.

Stumbling back a step, he glanced at Ashley with wild, darting eyes before quickly turning around and bolting.

His gang scrambled after him without hesitation.

And just like that—the cafeteria erupted into hushed murmurs and muffled laughter.

It was over.

Just like that.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Ashley hadn’t thrown a punch. He hadn’t even raised his voice.

All he did was say a few words and grab Nelson’s wrist—and that was enough to send Nelson running? Nelson?!

Still in shock, Koi slowly lifted his head.

Ashley was looking down at him, the usual easy-going smile on his face.

Suddenly, Koi’s cheeks burned.

"Th-Thanks."

He stammered, flustered.

Ashley simply tilted his head as if it was no big deal.

And to him, maybe it really was nothing.

After all, all he did was take a few steps forward and say a few words.

But to Koi, it was everything.

The fact that someone had stepped in.

The fact that that someone was Ashley Miller.

A literal celebrity had saved him.

This had to be a dream.

To test the theory, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Koi slapped himself—hard.

Smack.

A stinging sensation spread across his cheek.

Ashley’s eyes widened.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"A-Ah, nothing!"

Koi hurriedly shook his head, still struggling to process reality.

And then, something even crazier happened.

Ashley gestured behind him with his thumb.

"Come on. Lunch is gonna be over soon."

"...Huh? Me?"

Koi blurted out in disbelief.

Ashley, who had already started turning away, flashed another bright smile.

"Of course, you, Koi Niles."

Koi blinked.

And then—he ran after him.

He practically had to jog to keep up with Ashley’s long strides, his mind still blank.

Ashley Miller had just taken his side.

Ashley Miller had rescued him.

Ashley Miller had just invited him to lunch.

And this time—

He had said his name correctly.

And that wasn’t all.

When they reached Ashley’s usual table, his friends greeted Koi as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey."

"Yo."

Some waved casually, others nodded, but no one seemed to find his presence strange.

Koi Niles—who always ate lunch alone—was now standing among the most popular six guys in school.

If an angel had come to him last night and told him this would happen, Koi would have assumed it was a demon trying to mess with him.

Because there was no way—no way—this was actually happening.

Surrounded by six guys all as tall and broad as Ashley, the cafeteria disappeared from view. Shadows fell over him as their sheer presence blocked out everything else.

And yet—Koi didn’t mind.

Who needs sunlight anyway?

He was thrilled.

"Go first, Koi."

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

Still dazed, Koi felt himself being nudged forward.

He blinked, realizing he was first in line at the register.

Wait—what?

Was today his birthday or something?

...Or maybe he was going to die tomorrow.

Maybe Death itself had taken pity on him and decided to grant him one amazing day before dragging him off.

But whatever.

He didn’t care.

He felt like he was floating.

Even after sitting down with them, he barely processed anything.

The six of them were loud, laughing and tossing topics back and forth.

So this is what it’s like... to have friends.

His cheeks warmed as he listened in.

“I don’t get it.”

One of the guys was complaining about his grades and how his dad had lectured him last night.

“Babies get praised just for eating and sleeping, right? My sister’s baby literally just lays there and shits himself, and everyone goes, ‘Oh, good job!’”

He sighed deeply.

“I wish I could go back to being a baby.”

“You’re not that different now.”

Another guy deadpanned.

Koi nearly spat out his drink.

But—no one else reacted.

The first guy actually looked serious as he turned to Ashley.

“Why do parents get mad now?”

Ashley, casually chewing his sandwich, shrugged.

“Well, you gotta think about the audience. They've been watching the same performance for over ten years. And ticket prices keep going up.”

Koi almost choked.

But the rest?

They all nodded in agreement.

“You’re such an asshole,” the first guy muttered.

Koi struggled not to laugh.

Then—

One of them suddenly pointed at him.

"Hey. What’s up with that?"

Koi blinked.

"...Me?"

"Yeah. Your ears. They move."