Kiss Me if You Can-Chapter 29Vol. 2 .1

"No, you idiot. I’m saying no matter what, no one cares about Josh being an Omega. They’d accept him as whatever he became."

Miki winked as she finished laughing, then leaned in conspiratorially.

"Just wait and see. Even if Josh shows up looking like a bum, they’ll all treat him like a prince."

Ed, without a word, chugged down his soda, then started coughing violently. Miki, watching him, felt a strange mix of sympathy and disdain, before awkwardly laughing. Once Ed calmed down, Miki spoke again.

"But... do you think Josh will keep dating Rita?"

"Not sure... I don’t know."

By the end of lunch, Ed still hadn’t been able to talk to Josh. The barricade of people around him was just too solid. Despite his past experiences as a football player pushing through opponents to make a path, he couldn’t break through the wall of girls surrounding Josh. These girls, who seemed to weigh less than half of him, had created a formidable defense. Ed sighed, realizing his helplessness, then tilted his head in confusion.

"Why? Do you think they'll break up?"

"Wouldn't be surprised, right? He slapped her. In front of everyone, too."

After thinking for a moment, Ed tilted his head again.

"But he didn’t say anything about it. I saw them go to lunch together earlier."

"Well, of course. Everyone’s watching, and if he got mad, it would only make him the center of attention. Plus, if he publicly said he wanted to break up, it’d embarrass Rita."

Miki winked again, then added.

"Josh is polite, so he probably tried to be considerate of Rita. But that slap? He can't just let that slide. Think about it—if he lets it go, every time he gets a new girlfriend, someone’s going to slap him to show that they own him. He can’t just ignore that, right? I’ll bet you, they’ll break up before the day’s over."

Miki nodded in satisfaction with her deduction. Ed looked at her suspiciously, then asked with a touch of jealousy.

"...When did you start caring so much about Josh?"

Miki gave a bright laugh in response to Ed’s jealous question.

"Is there any girl who doesn’t care about Josh?"

And, as lunch ended, Ed learned that Miki's prediction was correct. Josh and Rita had broken up.

After class, when Josh arrived at the locker room, the entire football team greeted him warmly. Among them, the members who were always with Josh seemed especially enthusiastic, clapping him on the back.

"Hey, you look fine. Did you really go through the onset? You don’t look any different."

"Did you just skip school and make up some story?"

"Did you take your meds? I don’t smell anything, is this for real?"

As expected, some of the guys started sniffing around Josh. He gave a wry smile and pushed them away.

"It’s probably because I’ve been taking the meds. I have to keep taking them for a while. It’s really annoying."

He admitted frankly.

"Honestly, I still don’t feel like I’ve become an Omega. I can’t even tell what’s changed."

At Josh’s words, some of the guys nodded in agreement.

"Right? It’s hard to believe."

"Josh being an Omega, I never imagined it."

As they exchanged words, Tommy joined in.

"Show me the meds. I want to see them."

Josh casually handed over the meds. "Ooooh" came the sound as the bulky guys crowded around him.

"So this is the suppressant, huh? First time seeing it."

"My older brother takes this. The color’s a bit different."

"Maybe it’s different depending on the company? Anyway, this stops the pheromones, right?"

"It’s a shame, I’ve always wondered about it."

After satisfying their curiosity, they passed the medication back to Josh. As Josh received it, another guy spoke up.

"So, what happens now? Are you really quitting?"

Suddenly, the locker room fell silent. The topic, which everyone had been avoiding with forced jokes, suddenly surfaced. All eyes turned to Josh, and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, it’s the rule, so it can’t be helped, I guess."

He wasn’t one to sugarcoat things, but for now, this was the best he could do. As expected, the atmosphere in the locker room became heavy.

"We have a match next month."

"Of all people, why him…"

"No matter who it is, it’s bad for all of us."

Josh tried to lighten the mood, but the response was anything but light.

"Quarterback, Josh. You didn’t forget what position you were, did you?"

"We have to find a quarterback with your skill level in just one month, get them to match with us, and win the game."

"You don’t have a doppelgänger, do you? Or maybe a twin? Huh?"

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

They were all expressing their real feelings, panicking. Watching the guys clutch their heads and groan, Josh felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do. With a deep sigh, Ed stepped in.

"I know it’s frustrating, but stop it. Josh didn’t choose to become an Omega."

"Of course not."

"I know, but..."

Sighs continued to echo through the locker room. But soon, they revived their team spirit and apologized to Josh.

"Sorry, Josh. We’re just really in a rush."

"We’re not blaming you."

Josh raised his hand, signaling that it was fine.

"I know, don’t worry about it."

Things quieted down again, and awkward silence filled the air. After a moment of checking the mood, Tommy shouted louder than usual.

"Come on, everyone, cheer up! Who are we? The Buffaloes of the Ground, the monsters of D High! Let’s crush everything, we can do it!"

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

At Tommy’s shout, the others joined in, waving their arms wildly. Soon, the coach entered the locker room, and one by one, they all hugged Josh, shaking his hand and giving him a long goodbye.

"Alright, take care. See you again."

After shaking hands with the last guy, Josh smiled as the team left the room. He apologized for delaying the practice and left the locker room. He planned to come back later when no one was around to tidy up. Doing it in front of everyone would make reality hit him all at once. Josh wanted to delay that moment for as long as possible.

"Goodbye."

He waved one last time before closing the door. As he heard a dull thud behind him and was left alone in the quiet hallway, the feeling of emptiness and loss washed over him.

Josh scratched his head awkwardly as he walked down the hallway. The other athletes seemed to be in training, and the locker room was mostly empty. Soon, the football team members would be leaving too, he thought.

That’s when it happened.

"?"

Suddenly, someone covered Josh’s mouth. Reflexively, he tried to elbow the stranger, but another person quickly grabbed him around the waist.

"Where the hell do you think you’re—!"

Josh clenched his teeth, slamming his elbow into the guy who was holding onto his waist. With a muffled scream, the guy dropped to the floor. Josh immediately spun around, grabbed the guy’s hair, and yanked him back roughly.

"Ah, ahh!"

Screaming, the guy stumbled back, only to be met with a swift kick from Josh that sent him crashing to the ground, blood pouring from his nose.

"Watch out for his legs!"

"Hold his legs!"

"Fuck, how do you expect me to do that?"

The others fumbled around, trying desperately to grab Josh, but they couldn’t get close. He sent another spinning kick in their direction.

There were more of them than expected. Counting roughly, there were probably eight or nine, maybe even ten. Facing that many opponents alone was too much for Josh, even if he was skilled. For now, escaping was the best option. He could figure out who they were later.

Josh quickly moved, dodging and countering, gradually retreating toward the exit. The football team guys should be out any moment, but he didn’t have the luxury to wait. Getting out of this on his own came first.

"Hey? What’s going on? You guys!"

Josh paused for a moment at the sound of someone shouting. But that was a trick. Immediately, another guy swung a blunt object and hit Josh in the head, knocking him unconscious.

With a pounding headache and a ringing in his ears, Josh slowly regained consciousness. The sharp, piercing sensation in his ears was agonizing, and it took him a moment to open his eyes. His blurry vision took a while to focus. Soon, he realized that he was lying on the floor, trapped somewhere.

What is this…?

He tried to get up instinctively, but his wrists were tied. In a panic, he quickly checked the rest of his body and, thankfully, found that only his wrists were bound. He moved his legs, finding that they were free. Sitting up, he tried to make sense of the situation. He had been dragged to a storage shed behind some buildings—a place where athletic equipment and miscellaneous supplies were kept. No one really came here unless it was for things they didn’t use often.

Except for situations like this.

Josh recalled the situation coldly. This kind of thing usually happened to students who were ostracized. Of course, Josh had always been the one to help those students, not the one being targeted.

Situations always change.

This situation was undeniably one of those times. But what puzzled him was who could harbor such a grudge against him. Josh couldn’t fathom it. He hadn’t really hurt anyone so far.

Maybe Wilson?

He thought of the quarterback from the rival school, but quickly ruled him out. No one would come all the way here to do something like this. Besides, if it were him, he would have dragged Josh back to his own school.

So then...

At that moment, the door of the shed opened, and a group of large men stepped inside. Along with them came a faint, unfamiliar scent.