Kiss Me if You Can-Chapter 24Vol. 2

"You went to see Jack, right? With those gorillas! Tell me, what did you do to Jack?"

"Ugh."

The heat in Josh's body made his head ache, and he felt disoriented, but Emma kept yelling. The ringing in his ears grew louder as he closed his eyes and muttered under his breath.

"I didn’t do much. I helped him because he was getting beaten up. We saved him."

"Is that so?"

Emma, speaking with a sarcastic rhythm, suddenly changed her expression, her teeth clenched in anger.

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"Are you serious? Can’t you even get up? Are you going to mess with me today? You’ve been interfering with me, blocking my way at every turn. What’s your problem, you satan, demon, the bean on top of my salad!"

With that, Emma began to unload everything that had been building up, violently yanking the blanket off Josh. As he had been curled up, Josh was suddenly exposed, his naked body revealed.

"Ugh!"

Emma’s eyes widened in shock as Josh’s toned, almost muscle-less body came into view. She quickly turned her gaze away and yelled.

"You pervert! Why aren’t you wearing clothes? Mom! Josh is—!"

Josh was too tired and irritated, but this couldn't be ignored. With frustration, he propped himself halfway up.

"Who’s the one barging into someone’s room and causing a scene? Am I not allowed to take my clothes off in my own room? Huh?"

He yelled, but soon dizziness overwhelmed him. Josh swallowed the curse words and curled back up. Emma, who had noticed his condition, hesitated, then cautiously asked.

"...What’s wrong? Are you sick?"

After confirming he was wearing underwear, she carefully inquired. Josh gritted his teeth, spitting out another curse.

"It’s a cold, now get out! I feel like I’m going crazy."

"...Alright."

Emma, thrown off by his rare response, lost some of her earlier aggression. She realized that if she didn't confront him now, she might never get another chance, but seeing his terrible condition, she couldn’t press him further. Josh had always been healthy, rarely even getting a cold. No matter how bad his fever, he'd bounce back within a day.

She thought it wouldn't last long this time, but something was off. His flushed face, his own words—all signs pointed to a cold, but he didn’t seem to be coughing or feeling chills.

As she turned to leave, she briefly looked back at Josh, who was curled up again in bed. His muscles, perfectly divided along the graceful curve of his back, rose and fell gently with each breath.

...Is he really that sick?

Emma stood there, worried for a moment. Should she bring him some medicine? While she was thinking about it, she suddenly paused.

"...Huh?"

Looking around in confusion, Emma began sniffing the air. Soon, she pinpointed the source of the fragrance and asked, looking toward Josh's back.

"Josh, did you put on perfume?"

Instead of answering, Josh raised his middle finger. A clear gesture for her to leave. Emma, anger rising, chose to hold back and left.

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As soon as she exited the room, the fragrance seemed to fade. It had been coming from Josh, after all.

She had never smelled anything like it before.

Emma was still puzzled as she walked down the stairs. The fresh, invigorating scent filled her with an inexplicable excitement. Having lived in California all her life, she had only seen the snowy winters of the East on TV, but after the long winter, she thought this might be what the first spring breeze felt like.

When he’s better, I’ll ask about the perfume.

She decided, sitting down on the living room couch to watch TV.

Two days passed, and Josh still hadn’t improved.

By the end of the weekend, both their mother and Emma finally accepted that the situation was serious. No matter how much they called, Josh only muttered incoherently, making sounds between sleep and moans, offering no response.

Interestingly, he didn’t seem to be in pain—he wasn’t sweating or struggling. The only thing that persisted was the low-grade fever coloring his body red.

"Let’s have him skip school tomorrow and take him to the hospital... Oh, right. We need to make an appointment..."

His mother muttered worriedly, and Emma couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Suddenly, her father came to her mind. Like Josh, he had been incredibly healthy, never once getting sick, but one day, he suddenly collapsed and passed away.

What if Josh ends up like that?

Fear gripped Emma, and she couldn’t sleep. She felt like she could handle anything if Josh would just get better. Whether he messed up her love life again, or caused trouble with someone she liked, she could overlook it all. In fact, she almost wished he would go back to being that way.

The house, which had barely regained some energy, sank back into silence as Josh remained unconscious. The scent that had once emanated from him now gently spread throughout the house beyond the closed door.