Kiss Me If You Can [NOVEL] - Chapter 6
“1. Be sure to call for breakfast after checking the weather. If he orders another meal, you must continue as requested.
2. Never enter Chase Miller’s room, except in clause number 1. Call for permission if necessary.
3. Don’t talk to him first. Don’t answer questions.
4. Do not enter a 5 meter radius *except in special circumstances necessary for safety.
5. Don’t walk behind his back.
6. Don’t walk ahead.
7. Additional details are attached .”
Josh took a fork in one hand and crumpled the paper with the other. There were almost five sheets with additional details. They were informed that they needed to familiarize themselves with the rules, but even the boss, Mark, couldn’t memorize all of this.
“Fuck, is he crazy? I didn’t go to college because I hated reading.”
No one said anything to Henry, who threw the papers he had been handed over. But the next day, after being hit by Chase with his cell phone, resulting in a forehead injury, he memorized all the precautions overnight. Now there was no one who knew precautions better than Henry. The warning he had violated was: ” Do not enter a radius of 5 m.”
“I just walked!”
Henry expressed his anger resentfully, but it was also true that the path he crossed included “a radius of 5 m.” Everyone had to bear stress on their nerves. The contract was literally nothing more than absurd provisions.
“Are we domestic helpers? Why do I have to bring him food every time?”
Mark responded with a disgusted face at Isaac’s question:
“You can’t let him starve. Look inside the house, there is no maid. They couldn’t bear that temperament.”
He was angry but had nothing to refute, Mark added to the team members who remained silent.
“I’m glad you didn’t ask me to make the food. I’ll take it to him once every two days, so we take care of each other …”
The meal clause was absurd, but it was one of the provisions. Chase Miller’s own presence was a disaster for them. In just one week, Seth complained of hair loss, Isaac lost 10 pounds , and Henry had a forehead injury.
Josh did his best to prevent it, so thankfully there were no incidents, yet, but he didn’t know when and where the outbreak would occur. Anyway, Josh was the first to get hit.
He read the newspapers from time to time and eagerly memorized the precautions. Was it like this before? Suddenly Josh frowned. Somehow there seemed to be more precautions than a few years ago. He can’t remember exactly, but it wasn’t so strictly written. He is a world star, which is why he is becoming more and more demanding . Josh was sarcastic, can’t wait to finish the job.
“Ugh-uh.”
Josh fell facedown on the table, making a noise. He wants to see Pete. He may be taking a nap. So should I ask them to wake him up? I can not? Nervous, he pressed the button on the phone. Finally, after the connection sounded, the voice was heard, Josh spoke the boy’s name out loud without knowing it.
“Pete!”
“Papa?”
The boy recognized Josh’s voice and screamed with joy, Josh desperately wanted to go home and hug him but had to endure.
“Yes, Pete. How are you?”
“Daddy, yes, Daddy.” The boy stuttered with excitement. “Dad, are you coming to see me?”
At the difficult question, Josh clenched and stretched his fists over and over again to endure the sadness.
“Well I do not know. Is grandma okay? You’ve done today?”
When he spoke again, the boy seemed disappointed and the voice calmed down.
“Huh … In the morning, I had scrambled eggs, but my grandmother put beans.”
“Oh well…”
Josh comforted the boy with a feeling of unhappiness.
“You are a good boy and you must eat them to grow.”
“Like dad?”
“More than Dad.”
“Wow.” The boy admired. “So will I grow up like Mr. Mark?”
“More than that.”
The boy yelled “Wow” again, but it soon turned cloudy.
“I do not like beans.”
“Daddy will go and beat them all.”
“You must get rid of everything.”
“Of course, I’ll get rid of everyone.”
When he heard the sound of the boy’s voice, Josh felt all the stress go away. He went on for a while longer, listening to his son’s words.
“Josh.”
Seth entered.
When Josh raised his head, Seth put his thumb behind his shoulder. He pointed and said:
“It’s a change.”
It was time to patrol. Inevitably, it was time to hang up. Josh said goodbye with a heavy heart.
“Pete, say hi to Grandma …”
“Daddy, when are you coming?”
The boy asked again before hanging up.
Josh was forced to lie.
“If you eat well, be it peas or carrots, we can meet soon.”
“Seriously? Then I’ll … eat whatever. I will be good.”
“Yes, Pete. Dad will come to see you soon.”
Josh promised the boy.
After making a sound, he hung up. Seth stood there looking at him and spoke.
“Why?” When he asked in amazement, Seth added, “Is that kid that good?”
Seth had a partner, with whom he had lived for several years, but they still had no marriage plans. Therefore, there was no plan to have children. Josh smiled and touched his shoulder.
“When you have one, you will know.”
Even so, Seth shrugged with an unconvincing look. Josh withdrew, leaving the empty plate in the cupboard. It was impossible not to go through the large garden and reach the mansion, even if he passed through the gate where the automatic guard system worked.
He was going to take a look around the outbuildings and surroundings, including the mansion.
Nothing was more comfortable than security at the mansion, as long as Chase wasn’t outside. Also, the pay was excellent. However, the problem was that it is difficult to find someone who does this work. Josh was grateful that he was able to take on the job, but it was a bittersweet feeling.
Josh scanned the surroundings of the great mansion. The private beach, which stretched behind the mansion, where twelve rooms are located, was always empty, allowing you to enter directly into the sand as you descended the graceful spiral staircase. Once again, Josh, who looked across the place where there was no human presence, turned and headed out into the garden.
Unlike the front of the well-kept mansion, the back garden didn’t have much to see, and he had never seen a helicopter downed on a wide landing site. He looked around the fitness room; where he rarely found someone exercising, the basketball court and even the game room, but nowhere did the shadows of the people shine. There was only deathly silence.
Chase was found in a large pool in the back, sunbathing in a beach chair, for a long time. All he was wearing were sunglasses and palm-sized swimming shorts, he looked calmer than ever, he saw his chest rise and fall gently, as if he were sleeping.
Suddenly, one side of his head seemed to resonate and he frowned. Josh involuntarily stepped back. Chase pretended not to have noticed his presence yet. It wasn’t until he hid behind the tree that Josh realized he was hiding. One option remained. Leave this place as low-key as possible or get hit again. Josh sneaked his head out. He was still there.
Unfortunately.
Why is the appearance of that man such a representation close to my taste?
He is the ideal type in the world and he cannot become reality. Chase Miller wasn’t 100% compatible with Josh’s ideal. There was a bigger problem, Chase’s temper. While seriously thinking about how much it would cost to make a wax figure of that man, Chase suddenly stood up. Josh hastily hid, and held his breath, reminded him of the time when he was in the army.
A colleague who had told him that he used this technique when he was about to die. Oh , now that he thought about it Josh realized, it had been years since he saw Dan’s face, suddenly he heard a loud noise of water from behind.
He hesitated, but did not stand up. He stared around for a while. It was obvious who would step into the water now. He was going to escape while swimming.
Unexpectedly, however, the silence continued. Josh listened, stiffened for a moment. He was concentrating all his attention, but he could barely feel any signs. Finally, unable to wait, he carefully poked his head out. He had an ominous feeling. Hey? After a moment’s hesitation, he walked without knowing it. Chase was not seen.
What happened?
Josh held his breath and ran across the grass. He heard nothing but the sound of running water.
Was it a diving sound?
Josh found Chase submerged in the water. He might have thought he was diving, but he didn’t have a shred of movement. He had seen similar scenes of people drowning in the water lying face down in the pool, when he briefly worked as a rescuer.
“Sr. Miller!”
Josh screamed, but there was no response.
Josh, who once again called his name out loud, was convinced that Chase had lost consciousness. He couldn’t think of any of the prohibitions written in the contract. If you do something wrong, you will die. Josh’s body moved without thinking and he plunged into the pool with no time to remove his shoes. Until then, Chase remained motionless. Perhaps the moment he dived, he hit his head on the ground. Josh thought of all kinds of situations in his head, grabbed him and pulled him. Immediately when he tried to lift his head out of the water, Chase opened his eyes. With no time to think, their eyes met unexpectedly. At that moment, Josh blinked in embarrassment.
Wasn’t he drowning?
At a rough estimate, it was locked for almost a minute. It would have been a lot longer if he had been lying in the water like this, before Josh found him. But Chase didn’t seem to be out of breath at all. Josh’s arm was holding Chase’s head who instantly scowled in such an unpleasant way. Josh panicked and let him go.
“Sorry Sorry.”
When he hastily apologized, Chase didn’t say anything. He just stared at him. Josh was embarrassed and brushed his wet hair from his face. The two floated looking at each other immersed in the water. The wet clothes slowly grew heavy. Josh thought he had to get out while trying to say something in a hurry.
“Oh, I’ll leave you then.”
Chase narrowed his eyes as he smiled. He couldn’t understand what the meaning of that look was.
I can go?
He was confused, his eyes flickered and Chase opened his mouth.
“Do you really want to die this time?”
“Ah?”
Instantly unable to understand, Josh stopped asking. Then suddenly Chase held out his hand.
Uh.
He didn’t even get a chance to scream. When Chase put Josh’s head in the water.
“…!”
The water splashed in all directions with a loud noise. As he gulped down the pool liquid, Josh struggled.
The intense California sun refracted off the water and made his eyes ache. But what was more dangerous was Chase’s hand, pressing down from above. He was over one eighty tall and slim, so the expression “muscular” didn’t really suit him, in a suit he sported a slim figure that fit him very well. He’s bigger than him and seems to have less muscle, but where does this terrifying power come from? At that rate he really felt like he was going to die, because he couldn’t get out.
Josh hurriedly held out his hand. If he doesn’t calm this man, he will die. He desperately clung to life. Little by little, when the oxygen in the body was depleted, luck .
Poo-ha!
It barely escaped Chase’s hand and shoved his head out of the water. He tried to run away in a hurry in case he attacked again, but his body didn’t move as easily as he thought. Chase reached out behind him, grabbed his head, and was dragged back down. The feeling of suffocation and swelling in his lungs squeezed his entire body. The fear of death filled his mind. He tried to get out, but he wouldn’t let him go. Fear made Josh’s breathing even harder. Chase smiled curiously at his blue face. Then Josh realized that man was really trying to kill him. At that moment, Pete’s face flashed before his eyes, and he grabbed Chase’s wrist with superhuman strength. Of course, Chase didn’t move that much, but Josh kept pressing on the blood vessels. Chase was forced to release him, Taking advantage of the gap, Josh scrambled out of the water. Chase was still there, but thanks to the sun and clear water, his movements were so obvious. As soon as he saw Chase approaching him again, Josh rushed back. He was confident in swimming. He swam faster than ever and made his way to the edge of the pool. He was calm only after he hit the ground.
Woo-wook-wook.
When he vomited a few times from nausea, his mind cleared. There was no energy in his entire body. As if he had died and awakened, his eyes were hazy.
As he breathed and looked back, Chase was still there. As if he had no intention of chasing him. Josh inhaled and let out a heavy sigh. It was only after a few more nausea that he could barely speak:
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
Chase didn’t care about their screams, rather he laughed.
“You touched my body without permission.”
” …!”
Josh bit his tongue as he tried to put up with a profanity. He twirled his swollen fist in the air, but screamed late. Chase was still nonchalant, despite Josh protesting:
“I thought you were drowning, I thought you were going to die!”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
Josh yelled:
“So why did you hire a bodyguard? Die alone, you crazy bastard!”
Chase was calm despite the burning anger. He was only smiling as short as ever, sweeping his wet hair with his long fingers. So calm!
“It is not easy to die. There were as many interruptions as you.”
“Ah-ha, then why did you hire me, if you don’t want to be interrupted?”
Suddenly, Chase’s face hardened like a mask. But Josh didn’t care about that. He hit a tree hard with his fist.
“So if you die, no one will see you, and you will definitely succeed! You crazy son of a bitch! Fuck!”
After yelling at him again: “bitch!” Josh immediately turned around and left.
His shoes had fallen into the pool and he stepped onto the grass in wet socks. No sound was heard from Chase. Josh kept walking, gritting his teeth.
✤✤✤✤✤✤
“Did I tell you to take care of yourself or not?”
Mark expressed his anger as soon as he saw Josh drenched.
Isaac asked anxiously:
“You’re good? You are injured?”
Josh nodded silently. The amount of water he drank made him feel sick. When he vomited the water mixed with gastric juice again, Isaac quickly handed him a trash can.
“Thank you.”
He managed to thank him by touching his back with his hand, his face still grim. Seth opened his mouth as he watched Josh hastily rubbing his hair with a towel he was bringing from somewhere.
“Did the contract include the possibility of attacking a bodyguard? I don’t remember seeing it.”
Seth had read the words of the contract even more than anyone.
“He says it’s our fault, for the accidents that happen during security.”
“Ah.”
Seth wailed briefly.
What happened was an accident during security? Josh wasn’t sure, but Chase Miller’s attorney would try to disprove his complaint anyway. He wasn’t supposed to sign the contract in the first place. The same idea came to everyone’s head as Henry entered.
“What the hell did you do to get the shit out of you like that?”
Nobody said anything to him, they just clicked their tongue. Henry smiled and sat down in a chair.
“Everybody needs to be cared for. I’ll give you a lot of money to heal.”
This time everyone’s eyes turned curiously to Henry. He looked strangely happy. Isaac asked in a low voice:
“… Did you earn money?”
Henry laughed at his words and pulled out several $ 100 bills from his back pocket.
“Today the letters stuck to my hand.”
“Hmm.”
Mark cleared his throat and opened his mouth after drawing attention.
“It is important. The “C” schedule.”
Everything turned into a serious atmosphere. Mark looked around the team and continued:
“He will be out next week.”
“Are we going out?”
Seth asked over and over, and Mark answered, rubbing his forehead like his head hurt.
“Yes, of course, it’s not a schedule that was suddenly set, they said he had to go try on a couple of outfits for a movie.”
Josh vaguely remembered that he had heard of it.
The fact that the original novel was an old series with a great fandom, and that it was mentioned that Chase would be the main hero of the story and they unexpectedly changed him to play the role of the enemy antihero.
“That requires more attention to security …”
Everyone sympathized with Seth’s vague murmur. There are CCTV(=cameras) and other facilities in the mansion, but if they go out, they have to cover all the situations with their bodies. The biggest problem was Chase Miller himself. For the team members, who have seen all kinds of crazy things about him, the back of his back was hideous.
“Didn’t they say there was an accident, not long ago?” Mark asked as if they were in trouble.
“I heard that the culprit was a religious group with hostility towards the ruling Alphas, and Keith Pittman was the victim.”
“The director of P Entertainment?”
Pittman was the president of a production company, with which Chase was supposed to film, and also a dominant Alpha. It was the first time he changed the role of Chase, who had been assigned a main role and was relieved to be a supporting one.
Mark nodded at Seth’s question.
“Doesn’t that mean that “C” will be under threat? Also, there was a rumor that fans broke into the broadcast station the other day … Should we prepare a plan?”
Henry straightened his back at Isaac’s suspicious comment.
Mark sighed and said:
“First, we’re going to set up a team to protect the perimeter while the other team takes care of Chase’s protection …”
“I’ll watch the perimeter.”
Josh was the first to raise his hand in case he missed the opportunity. Mark nodded and divided he, Isaac, and Josh into the recon team and designated Seth and Henry as Chase’s close security team.
“Mark, are you fucking with me?”
Henry protested immediately, but no one responded. Someone had to do it, and if it wasn’t them, it would have been fine.
In the end, Henry was forced to accept the assignment with a furious face.
