You Are Hot Then You Are Cold

Vol 6 (Side Story 3): Chapter 1

All that you are,
is all that I'll ever need

Wind blows through the open window. The weather today is pleasant, warm and cool at the same time. The white curtain floats gently in the air. Karlyle’s hair is fluttered  out of place by the wind. Leaving it be, he stares at the flight reservations on the desk.

The airline is British Airways. The destination is Charles de Gaulle Airport. The date is two days later. This will be his first time flying on the economy class since he always uses private jets, but he doesn’t hate it. The reason is because of the name written on the paper. 

Ash Frost Jones.

Such miraculous words. If not, how can he be this happy just by looking at them? Karlyle silently recites the name he has been looking at for over half an hour and engraves it in his mind. He has other work to do, but he can’t help himself.

His last name is now attached to Ash’s name. He keeps repeating that name, fearing that all of this might be a dream. The wedding has taken place successfully, and although traces of it have been left on all official documents, it doesn’t feel real.

(You didn't read that wrong, Flona didn't give us the wedding)

Karlyle reads the name written in silence. Ash, Frost and Jones. He didn’t mind Ash using his pre-wedding last name, but Ash chose to take the Frost name for Karlyle. It's such an Ash-like choice, but Karlyle, afraid that Ash was sacrificing too much for him, tried to stop him from doing it. He probably would have succeeded had Ash not insisted on taking his name.

The name written on the flight ticket makes Karlyle’s heart leap with satisfaction. It’s like a proof that Ash is completely his. Now everyone meeting Ash will know who his husband is, right?

As he has been spacing out looking at Ash’s name without noticing how much time has passed, suddenly he hears a thumping sound coming from outside the door. Something is scratching the door, followed by whimpering sounds. As soon as he hears that, a subtle change appears on his neutral face. The situation occurring outside the door is the second most heartbreaking thing in the world. The saddest thing is Ash being sad, and the second thing is Bonbon’s plaintive whimpering.

As Ash chose, Bonbon is very docile and has a lot of charm. She followed them well as soon as she got home. He thought Bonbon would be shy since she had been abandoned before, but luckily, Bonbon quickly fell in love with them. She may not be able to fulfill the role of a guard dog Karlyle has envisioned, but apart from that, Bonbon is very endearing.

“Bonbon.”

Calling its name lovingly, Karlyle stands up and walks to the door. His strides are steady and consistent even at home. Stopping in front of the door, he hesitates a little. He remembers the thing the trainer he brought Bonbon to once said, that he shouldn’t give her too much affection and listen to all of her whimpering. It’s alarming since their cars have been broken several times.

While he’s hesitating, Bonbon lets out a pitiful whine. Bonbon’s voice is similar to that of a little canary, despite her size. This pitiful groan is one of Bonbon's characteristics, and an easy way to break Karlyle’s stern heart. He almost turns the doorknob without realizing it, but he has come to his senses just in time.

You can’t give in, Karlyle. What if Bonbon becomes a spoiled dog?

He has been trying to become the right person for Ash. But in his mind, education goes hand in hand with discipline. Didn’t the trainer also emphasize this point?

Karlyle forces himself to find a reason not to listen to Bonbon’s wheedling. Okay, he needs to think. That’s it. Even now, they have a problem already. Ash is preparing to work from home, Karlyle has also increased his work from home to spend more time with Bonbon. However, when he spent more time with Ash, Bonbon got restless…