L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 58

Hic, huu, hic.

He had cried so much that his sobs wouldn’t stop easily. Though the tears had finally subsided, his breath kept hitching, so Koi gripped the handlebars of his bike and trudged forward, panting.

Haaa...

A shaky sigh escaped him, and just like that, the tears he thought had stopped came streaming down again. He came to a halt and rubbed his eyes with his arm. He sniffled, trying to inhale through his nose, but it was so blocked that he couldn’t breathe properly. He had no choice but to pull in air through his parched mouth again.

“What on earth happened to you?”

The high-pitched voice made Koi flinch. It took him a few seconds to turn his head and see who it was. When he finally looked, the other person gasped and asked, voice rising even higher.

“Seriously, what happened? You quit school and decided to become homeless or something?”

Koi stared blankly at the approaching figure—Ariel. Buffalo High’s queen was perfect even outside of school. As always during cheer practice, she had her hair up in a high ponytail, wore a tight pink tracksuit, and white sneakers. She must have been jogging—she pulled one earbud out as she neared Koi, her face twisting visibly when she saw how swollen, filthy, and disheveled he looked.

“Wait, don’t tell me—did those ice hockey gorillas beat you up?”

“Ah, no!”

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Koi quickly shook his head, startled.

“No way, they didn’t—coff, cough—”

His hoarse voice cracked, and he coughed violently. Ariel frowned and pulled a water bottle from her waistband, holding it out to him.

“Here. It’s unopened.”

When Koi hesitated, she gave the bottle a little shake, urging him.

“Th-thanks...”

He managed to speak through his hiccupping sobs, took the bottle, and slowly opened it, carefully sipping. Ariel stood there with her arms crossed, watching him drink.

“Thanks... I mean, I drank it well.”

He offered the half-empty bottle back, but Ariel shook her head.

“Keep it.”

“Oh—uh, okay.”

As Koi hesitantly held onto the bottle again, Ariel eyed him critically before cocking her head.

“Well, those gorilla guys might be huge, but they’re soft-hearted. They wouldn’t hit anyone.”

She mumbled like she was talking to herself, but it was loud enough for Koi to hear. Not that she seemed to care who was listening. When he sniffled again, Ariel glanced his way and frowned.

“Then what the hell happened to you?”

“...Just...”

Koi mumbled between shaky breaths.

“I just... fell. The wheel slipped...”

Ariel glanced at the bike beside him and let out a horrified noise.

“That thing still moves? Or are you on your way to trash it?”

“N-no!”

Koi quickly shook his head.

“I still use it. It’s fine. I can probably ride it another year.”

“If you’re alive in a year.”

Ariel pointed out, blunt as ever.

“If you keep riding that thing, your neck’ll snap and you’ll die.”

“That’s... that’s not true...”

“‘That’s not true~,’” she mimicked him with a mocking whine, then looked him up and down before asking,

“Where do you live?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, behind Bird’s Eye...”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He trailed off, pointing vaguely. Ariel let out a hum and fell into thought for a moment. Koi glanced at her nervously, wondering if now was the time to excuse himself.

And she wasn’t wrong. After the fall, the bike’s wheel must’ve bent—he couldn’t even ride it. Even walking it along, it kept wobbling off balance. There was still a long time before his dad got home, but if he tried dragging this thing all the way, he might not get there before dawn. Koi was exhausted and barely keeping himself upright. All he wanted was to part ways and get home to rest as soon as possible.

“Um...”

He finally opened his mouth, but Ariel cut him off.

“No choice, follow me.”

“W-what?”

Before he ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) could react, Ariel turned back and called out to him.

“Come on. Hurry up.”

She put her earphones back in and started jogging again. Koi stood there for a moment, watching her retreating back.

What do I do? Even if I start now, I’ll be late... Where is she even going? Why? I just want to go home and sleep...

But he didn’t have the guts to ignore her and leave. Torn between options, he froze. Then Ariel looped back.

“What are you doing? I said come on!”

“Uh, I... I was thinking of just heading home...”

He mustered the courage to say it, and Ariel, bouncing in place, pointed out bluntly,

“It’d take at least twenty minutes to bike to Bird’s Eye. You really planning to walk that thing? You trying to end up on the street?”

“I-I’m not...”

As Koi faltered, she cut him off again.

“No time to waste. Move.”

She checked her watch.

“My house is ten minutes from here. Just come with me.”

Then she jogged off, calling over her shoulder,

“If you don’t hurry, you really will be sleeping on the street!”

The warning made Koi jump. He readjusted his grip on the handlebars and looked in the direction she’d disappeared. He had no clue what was happening, but he started walking anyway, pulling the bike after him.

*

Ariel circled back three or four more times. Each time, Koi apologized, but she brushed it off.

“I needed to run this much anyway. Just keep up.”

And then she’d dash off again. Koi followed her, panting and pushing himself.

She led him into a nearby residential area. The neighborhood was quiet and still under the dimming sky, with houses of various shapes lined up evenly. Most of them had their lights off, casting everything in a gloomy hush.

Koi moved carefully, following the spaced-out streetlamps. The grating squeal of his rusted bike echoed awkwardly in the silence.

Ah.

Looking around for Ariel, he saw a garage opening nearby. The sudden flood of light made him freeze, and out stepped Ariel.

“This way. Come on.”

She waved at him. Koi mumbled an “okay” and hurried forward with tired steps.

Two cars were parked inside the garage, while Ariel’s car was outside on the curb. Koi pushed his bike in as directed. Ariel snatched it from him and leaned it against the wall, then pointed at something.

“Use that one.”

“Huh?”

He looked over in confusion—and saw a sleek, well-maintained bicycle. It wasn’t brand new, but compared to his, it was a dream. Koi blinked in disbelief as Ariel wheeled it over to him.

“I used to ride this before I got my license. Still works fine. It’s been sitting for a bit, but my dad had it tuned up to sell at a garage sale. So it’s good to go.”

“Huh?”

Again, the same sound escaped him. What was happening? She was just giving this to him? Why?

As he stood there blinking, Ariel urged him,

“Come on. Try it out. See if it rides okay. Go.”

“Uh, okay...”

Practically shoved onto the bike, Koi climbed on while she watched. At first, he wobbled—but he quickly found his balance, and the bike moved so smoothly it amazed him.

Wow.

Koi’s eyes widened. He couldn’t help the gasp. After years of forcing his ancient bike to move, this one felt like gliding through air. It was on a whole other level.

“All good?”

As he rode back to her, Ariel asked. Koi nodded, face flushed.

“Y-yeah. But... seriously? You’re giving this to me? Just like that?”

“Yup.”

Before he could even ask why, Ariel answered.

“If you crash again on that junker, no one’s ever going to join our cheer team again. So, yeah. This is cheaper in the long run.”

“Oh...”

Koi understood immediately. Still, it felt like too much. Realizing how much Ariel cared about the team, he suddenly felt ashamed for only joining because of grades—after agonizing over it for so long.

“...Thanks.”

He barely managed to say it. Ariel replied casually,

“It’s nothing. This kind of thing’s no big deal.”

Then, folding her arms, she added proudly,

“Even if you’ve got a jalapeño dangling between your legs, you’re on the team now. Of course we help each other out.”