Chapter 104
* * *
“…….”
Isol’s expression as she looked down at the cards had darkened beyond description.
“…What does this mean?”
The question that slipped from her lips carried a slightly chilly tone.
— “…It’s complete nonsense.”
Even as she asked, Minimi poured out denials about the cards.
Its cheeks puffed up with dissatisfaction, making it look like a dam ready to burst at the slightest poke.
“…This.”
At that moment, he opened his mouth.
“Th-this is a really good card…!”
He clapped his hands together and let out an awkward laugh.
“…A good card?”
Isol looked down at the cards again.
A gaunt man. A red-eyed fox. Women fighting over jewels.
— “This?”
Minimi pitter-pattered around the cards. It looked at the cards, then at him, repeatedly shifting its gaze back and forth.
That reaction made sense. I felt the same way.
No matter how positively I tried to interpret them, there was a limit.
“W-well, yes, they’re good cards.”
Perhaps he knew that, because he desperately continued trying to put a positive spin on them.
“Looking at them separately, their meanings may seem bad. But cards can have completely different meanings when combined.”
“……”
Isol gave no answer.
— “Seems like he just made a wild guess.”
Its eyes narrowed.
— “Damn… she clearly doesn’t believe him.”
He noticed that gaze and stiffened his expression again.
I defended him.
“Ahem. I… heard that’s how it works. Apparently, the interpretation changes depending on the combination of cards.”
“Really?”
Isol nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
— “…Then I guess that’s how it is.”
Minimi’s expression softened.
It was fortunate that she seemed willing to let it go. Still, that was an excessive amount of trust.
— “Think. Think. Think.”
That bought him a little time.
Taking advantage of the gap, his Minimi hurriedly ran around.
— “Ah!”
Minimi finally seemed to come up with something and let out an exclamation.
He placed a hand on the desk.
“You see this gaunt man here?”
“……”
“This card represents the mental state of your love interest. It means he has let go of his desires.”
“……?”
For the first time, doubt appeared in Isol’s eyes.
Perhaps she didn’t properly understand what he meant, because she fell into thought.
“He has let go of his expectations and attachments. In short, he has abandoned an old connection and is ready to meet the right person…! That’s roughly what it means.”
“……”
Isol’s long eyelashes slowly blinked.
“…The right person.”
The quiet murmur spread as though she liked the sound of those words.
“If you look at the second card, you can see that the foxes have many eyes, right?”
“…Yes.”
“This means that the man is going through a period when his circumstances are complicated and he has a lot on his mind.”
“Hmm.”
“The reason he can’t readily approach you is likely due to some internal or external problem.”
By then, Isol was already nodding along.
“Lastly, this jewel.”
“Yes.”
“This card represents your feelings and concerns. It means you’re wondering whether you should wait or express yourself first.”
“……”
Isol’s eyes widened.
— “…What is this guy?”
Minimi was startled and clung tightly to him.
It looked completely shocked.
‘Oh…….’
I secretly admired him as I watched.
He poured out words as smoothly as if his tongue had been greased. Was that why he ran the House of Prophecy?
— “Hmm……”
Meanwhile, Shin Ayoung’s Minimi crossed its legs with a bored expression.
— “He’s good with words.”
That was the extent of her impression.
This time, it was her turn.
“Could you read mine as a romantic prophecy too?”
“Yes-yep.”
He shuffled the cards, secretly removing the ones Isol had drawn.
Then he offered the cards again.
“This one… this one… and this one.”
Shin Ayoung chose her cards.
The three cards she drew were—
— “Aw, damn it.”
His Minimi pressed a hand to its forehead.
A hand tightly clutching a thorny rose. A leash. Children perched on someone’s shoulders.
The same situation had repeated itself.
— “…Did I not shuffle the cards properly? No, I shuffled them well.”
When he drew the cards, ordinary ones came out.
They weren’t cards you could call good or bad… but they had plenty of material to string together.
— “……Hng.”
Isol’s Minimi drew in a breath.
Its shoulders were trembling. It was holding back laughter.
“…Excuse me, what does this mean?”
Shin Ayoung asked with a bright smile.
Somehow, her smile didn’t feel like a smile at all.
“Ah, well, you see…?”
He could still pull it off.
I cheered him on inwardly.
* * *
Ha Seorim felt that her expression had almost crumpled at Ji Nuri’s words.
She was simply a little surprised.
“……”
Lee Seungah was Lee Seungho’s younger sister.
Now that she thought about it, they did look alike. Or maybe they didn’t.
“…Why?”
Lee Seungah tilted her chin and approached.
A gaze that seemed to see right through people. This strange atmosphere.
Ah, this was definitely it.
It seemed to prove that the two of them were siblings.
“No, it’s just… your personalities are completely different.”
Ha Seorim shook her head at Lee Seungah’s question.
“Well, that’s true.”
Ji Nuri agreed with a laugh.
“Seungah is extremely lively, while that Seungho guy is quiet despite appearances. Their personalities are so different you’d hardly think they were siblings.”
Ha Seorim nodded, but she thought that perhaps they weren’t all that different after all.
After all, that was what it looked like when she considered the people around them.
“Still, these days I can tell they’re siblings. They both have striking looks.”
“……”
Ha Seorim didn’t say anything, but she agreed.
“Seungho wasn’t like that before, but maybe it’s because he grew taller. His features have become more distinct.”
“…Really?”
Lee Seungah tilted her head.
She looked as though she was hearing that for the first time.
“Don’t you think so?”
Ji Nuri looked more confused by that reaction than anything else.
Lee Seungah shook her head.
“I don’t really know.”
“Well, you two are together every day, so you might not notice changes like that.”
Ji Nuri nodded as though that was possible.
“……”
Ha Seorim raised a question in her mind.
But weren’t Ji Nuri and Lee Seungho together almost every day, too?
They were in the same class and the same club.
“Anyway. It’s a relief that nothing happened between you and my Oppa.”
“…Yeah.”
Ha Seorim nodded.
“If anything happens, feel free to tell me.”
“Mm. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“…But really, nothing happened between you and my Oppa, right?”
“I told you, nothing happened.”
Ha Seorim gave a faint smile and waved her hand. There was no need to worry so much.
At least, not yet.
Perhaps because of that awkwardness, Lee Seungho seemed to pay even more attention to her.
‘I don’t even have to nag him separately at the store….’
There was less for her to call him out on than there was with the others.
He didn’t half-ass the work, either. She could see that he was subtly attentive and meticulous.
…Even so, she had no intention of letting her guard down.
Even if he was behaving himself for now, wasn’t he the kind of guy who could make one or two girls cry?
She had no intention of getting caught up in that.
Riiing—! Riiing—!
Just then, a bell rang loudly. It was an alarm they had set in advance for before the performance.
It was time to head to the auditorium.
“Shall we get going?”
At Ji Nuri’s words, Ha Seorim nodded and started walking.
* * *
The sound that had continued until just now gradually faded away.
Another performance had come to an end.
The kids in the audience erupted into cheers and sent a round of applause.
“……”
Tap tap tap tap. The soles of feet tapping against the floor.
Ji Nuri sat with her arms crossed, her leg trembling.
“Where on earth are they….”
Furrowing her brow, Ji Nuri scanned the audience beyond the curtain.
Left, right, front, back, even the corners—there was no sign of him, nor of any of the others.
She had gone to all this trouble to show them how cool she was at her real job.
“Unni?”
She hadn’t originally planned to do it. That was why she had deliberately decided to perform.
She had been too embarrassed to do something like that at the last anime event, too. What if she showed Lee Seungho and the others an unexpected side of herself—
“Unni!”
“Uh, y-yes?!”
Startled by the sound right beside her ear, Ji Nuri whipped around.
“Are you okay?”
Ha Seorim looked her up and down with a strange expression.
“I called you several times, but you didn’t answer. You’re not feeling unwell, are you?”
“No. I was just lost in thought for a moment….”
Ji Nuri shook her head.
“But what’s going on?”
“You really didn’t hear me, huh….”
Ha Seorim turned toward the stage and continued.
“They said the next team should come out and get set up. It’s our turn now.”
“Huh? Already?”
Had time really passed that quickly?
As Ji Nuri moved to her position, she hurriedly tapped her phone screen.
[Ji Nuri : Where are you??]
[Ji Nuri : The performance’s about to start?]
Ji Nuri crouched down where she stood and began her final checks.
“We’re done setting up.”
“Me too!”
“Me too.”
The band club members went one by one, each signaling the sound team.
“Nuri sunbae?”
“Just a second? The tone sounds a little weird…?”
The setup had been finished long ago, but she fidgeted for no reason. Pretending to adjust her instrument, she stared down at her silent phone.
The black screen remained stubbornly silent.
“……”
Do I have to start like this?
Just as she was wondering that—
“Ah.”
[Arrived.]
A short message had appeared.
“Are you still far away?”
“I’m all ready.”
At Ha Seorim’s urging, Ji Nuri sprang to her feet.
…That guy, making me worry for nothing.
If that was what he had been aiming for, she had to hand it to him.
Ji Nuri snorted and faced the curtain as it slowly began to open.
=========
(!Signboard!)
(There’s an illustration if you scroll down!)
=========