Arranged Marriage

Week 1 (2)

"You came early."

Karlyle turns around at the voice from behind him. The first thing he sees is a pair of different-colored eyes. His blue and gray eyes have a completely different color saturation from in the photo. Those bright eyes curl up gently, they seem to capture all the sunshine pouring on the ground.

"Hello, I'm Ash Jones."

Ash greets him with his pleasant and deep bass voice. Karlyle blinks. If he wants to meet Ash's eyes, he'll have to raise his head a little. Looking at the person who's smiling radiantly at him, Karlyle also greets him back.

"Good morning."

He says politely and takes a couple of steps back. As his field of vision widens, he can finally capture Ash Jones's full body. This man, taller than him, is so handsome that everyone passing by will have to look back at him. Ash's striking beauty has the power to capture people's attention even before they can take a close look at his features. And he has a strange aura that cannot be captured by a photo.

"I'm Karlyle Frost."

His self-introduction is a few seconds late. He holds out his hand to Ash for a handshake, as he does with anyone he meets on business. It has no particular meaning, it's simply his habit. He holds his hand out, revealing a bit of his pale wrist under the cuffed sleeve of his suit.

Ash tilts his head at his outstretched hand. A curious look crosses his eyes. Ash then also holds out his hand, and takes Karlyle's hand. At first glance, Ash's hand doesn't seem much different from his, but it's slightly bigger. Karlyle's hand is entirely wrapped in his hand. Ash's index finger slightly brushes against his wrist bone beneath his sleeve.

"Call me Ash."

A strange sensation is tingling from the place Ash touches him, causing Karlyle to freeze in his spot. It's the first time he's been touched like this. Karlyle ends up retreating his hand first. Ash's eyes widen as he sees that.

"Is contact like this still too early?"

Ash naturally continues, as if this isn't their first meeting. Karlyle has a knack for leading the conversation, he can do it well when meeting other nobles or clients. But in a meeting like this, he isn't sure which topic is appropriate. It's his mistake for not preparing for this.

"If you want to, you can."

His grandfather told him to make a good impression on Ash, so he said that. It's also similar to negotiation. It's not that difficult.

"Don't say so. I won't overstep if you don't like it, Karlyle."

Scanning his stoic face, Ash says, shaking his head. Karlyle is a little agitated as Ash just casually called him by his name, but he doesn't show it.

"Have you eaten?"

Ash asks. Ash has a smile with a bit of sadness lingered with it. Perhaps he was born as a smiling baby, there isn't a single moment when the smile drops off his face. His hair is neatly half-slicked back with some strands falling gently on his forehead, making his impression softer.

"No, I haven't. How about you, Mr. Jones?"

Ash grins when Karlyle calls him "Mr. Jones", then he shakes his head.

"Me, neither. Because my plan is to eat with you, Karlyle."

Karlyle nods. Since their meeting place is quite weird, all the restaurants nearby are poor. There are only ice cream stores, cafes, sandwich places and pubs. They will have to walk for a while to find a decent restaurant. As he's about to say that he's found a place, Ash opens his mouth.