Chapter 105
***
“……that’s what it means.”
The student running the House of Prophecy finished his impassioned explanation. Just as he had done with Isol, he was forcing the cards to fit his interpretation.
In a way, it was impressive.
He seemed like a master at making people feel good.
“Hmm… really?”
— “Not bad.”
The Minimi that had been glaring fiercely was now nodding with a satisfied expression.
“Phew… Then it’s the last person’s turn.”
He wiped away his sweat with a handkerchief and shuffled the deck.
“Just like before, could you draw three cards?”
“Here.”
I casually drew three cards and held them out.
I was increasingly eager to finish quickly, so I didn’t give it much thought.
— “Phew……”
His Minimi let out a sigh of relief as it looked at the cards I had chosen.
It seemed that ordinary cards had come up this time.
I let go of my tension. There was no need to worry much, so I waited for his prophecy.
“A magnet, an ear, and several bouquets. That’s what we have here.”
He laid the cards down one by one.
“As you can see, a magnet has the power to attract things. This can also mean attracting people.”
— “Hmm….”
— “Hmph….”
The two Minimis let out groans.
The response came from the other side, not from me.
“Ears listen well. This card represents how, through listening, you can communicate comfortably with anyone and grow close to them.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“……”
The two of them nodded in satisfaction.
“People of this type are often unnoticed at first, then gradually become popular.”
At those words, both of them stopped conspicuously, as if they had been paused.
“And this bouquet means, for that person—.”
“…Hold on?”
I stopped him before he could continue.
— “Heh… this is fun.”
Shin Ayoung’s Minimi let out a short scoff.
— “Hmph… We’re only doing this for fun, anyway.”
Isol’s Minimi frowned with an expression that said it wasn’t enjoying itself.
One thing was clear: neither reaction was positive.
Strange.
The more positive a prophecy about me became, the more the atmosphere sank.
That was the irony of it.
“I think I can skip mine after all.”
When I appealed earnestly and firmly,
“…Ah, yep.”
He cautiously read the room, then nodded.
* * *
I led the two of them out of the booth.
……”
……”
Shin Ayoung was snickering,
while Isol lowered her eyes with a stiff expression.
The fact that neither of them was speaking was the same.
“…The performance is about to start. There are only a few minutes left now.”
I raised my phone screen.
It was almost time for Ji Nuri to go onstage. We had spent even more time there than I had expected.
“Ah.”
“…Then it can’t be helped.”
Fortunately, once they heard the reason, their expressions relaxed.
In its place, urgency took over.
If we were late, we’d have to endure Ji Nuri’s nagging and whining.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—!
We moved at a brisk pace, united in purpose.
“There are so many people….”
I carefully made my way into the auditorium, looking at the crowd inside.
“This is today’s highlight, after all.”
Shin Ayoung nodded.
‘True. I guess this is better.’
It was better when things were noisy.
The Minimis’ voices blurred into the crowd and the voices flowing from the speakers.
I didn’t have to worry about other people’s thoughts, either.
“There aren’t any seats….”
I was wondering where we should watch from and looking around for an empty seat when—
Tug, tug.
I felt a hand pulling at my coat hem.
“Oppa.”
When I looked over, it was, as expected, Lee Seungah.
“Come this way.”
It seemed she had found seats first. I didn’t need to search anymore and simply followed her.
“You got here first?”
“I came along with Nuri unni.”
She probably had nothing else to do alone, so she had been enjoying the performances here.
— “…I don’t know. He can handle it him—”
Lee Seungah’s Minimi was mumbling, but its voice was drowned out by the noisy voices in the auditorium, so I couldn’t hear it properly.
“But everyone who’s gone onstage has been really good. Is it because this is an arts high school? They’re definitely different.”
Lee Seungah expressed her admiration as she talked about the performances she had seen so far.
Munch, munch.
Whatever she was eating, her cheeks were bulging as she chewed.
“Where did you get that?”
I worried that she might have picked up something strange to eat.
It was Seungah, after all.
“Nuri unni’s club members gave me some snacks.”
Lee Seungah said proudly, showing me the bags in her hands.
They were filled with jelly packets.
……
Should I try just one?
When I reached my hand toward them,
Smack—
the back of my hand was smartly flicked away.
“This is what unni got for me to eat, okay?”
Lee Seungah hid the bag of jelly against her chest.
……”
Right. I hadn’t expected any to begin with.
I pulled my hand back.
“Sol unni, I’ll give you one.”
“I’m fine. I ate a lot earlier….”
Isol smiled awkwardly and waved her hands.
“What about Ayoung unni?”
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
She accepted one of the bags with a bright smile.
This was blatant favoritism, but I didn’t have the energy to say anything. It was her choice whom to give them to, after all.
I gave up on the jelly and turned my gaze toward the stage.
“…When is it going to start?”
The break between performances was dragging on.
When I took out my phone to check the time,
the top of the screen was blinking.
[Where are you??]
[The performance’s about to start?]
At some point, Ji Nuri had sent me these messages.
[Arrived.]
I sent a brief text and put my phone away again.
“Ah. Looks like it’s starting now.”
When I looked up at Shin Ayoung’s words, I saw the red curtains slowly opening.
I raised my camera toward the stage.
“…Are you going to film it?”
Seeing that, Isol looked puzzled.
“Yeah, she asked me to film it. She said she’d watch it again later.”
I guess she had asked me to make her look pretty.
It was something Ji Nuri had requested before going onstage.
There wasn’t anyone else to entrust it to, and she said she’d buy me something tasty next time, so I agreed.
“…Really?”
Isol gave a faint hum.
“Then….”
Isol suddenly poked her head into the frame.
Her face filled the shot in an extreme close-up.
“…Put me in too.”
She said that after already appearing in it.
“Then only at the end.”
I nodded.
Since it was Nuri, she’d probably like it if I included the kids’ reactions.
I’d film the performance properly, then add them at the beginning and end.
— Waaaaaaah!
Just then, the children’s cheers rang out.
The curtains opened all the way, and bright lights illuminated the people onstage.
The person standing at the center was unmistakably Ji Nuri, even from a distance.
Tap-tap-tap-tap——!
The intro began with the drumbeat.
“Oh….”
A small exclamation escaped me before I knew it,
“!”
and I hurriedly closed my mouth.
I worried that even that might have been recorded.
A videographer’s voice mixing into the footage during the performance would have been an obvious mistake.
……”
I had been that surprised by Ji Nuri’s unfamiliar side.
I had heard her sing at karaoke, but hearing her on such a large stage was different again.
‘…She’s actually good.’
The atmosphere was entirely different from usual.
Ji Nuri continued playing with a serious expression, at least while she was onstage.
Her eyes were strangely sharp, enough to make me feel a little distance from her.
It was enough to make me inadvertently think of our first meeting.
……”
At that moment, Ji Nuri’s gaze turned toward the center of the recording screen.
Her eyebrows twitched slightly.
Whether it was playful or delighted.
She sent me a mischievous smile I couldn’t quite distinguish, then continued playing with gusto.
…Nuri was still Nuri.
Seeing that expression brought the thought back to me.
I focused on recording again and captured her figure in the camera.
* * *
Lee Seungho’s gaze was fixed on the stage.
……”
And Shin Ayoung’s gaze had probably been fixed on Lee Seungho all this time.
Knowing that, Shin Ayoung still couldn’t turn her eyes away.
Strangely, her gaze wouldn’t turn toward the stage.
‘I don’t like this either….’
It was only natural to watch the stage when she had come to see a performance.
But thinking that his gaze remained fixed on another woman made it increasingly difficult for her to put on a bright expression.
‘Is this selfish?’
She began wondering whether these feelings were somehow strange.
She found herself worrying about it.
Since Isol was enjoying the stage just fine, she sank even deeper into those thoughts.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
Why did she feel this way?
…Because the person Lee Seungho was watching was Ji Nuri?
No, that didn’t seem to be it.
Come to think of it, even if it had been someone else, she probably wouldn’t have felt any differently.
She hated it just as much.
‘…I’m really hopeless.’
Shin Ayoung pressed a hand against one side of her chest.
The more time passed, the more intense it became.
She could feel it growing from simple fondness into something more.
Yet it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
If anything, she wanted to share this feeling with Lee Seungho, too.
“Nuri, you’re great!”
“N-Nuri looks so pretty…!”
When the first song ended, Lee Seungho cheered and applauded along with Isol.
“……Ah.”
Shin Ayoung’s head drooped.
…This really won’t do.
She had tried to endure it,
but she kept wanting to turn his gaze away.
……”
And she had a way to do that.
A rustling sensation lingered at Shin Ayoung’s fingertips. She closed her hand around the jelly she had received from Lee Seungah.
“Seungho.”
During the second song, she softly called his name and reached out.
Tap, tap.
She slipped her index finger into his closed fist and placed a jelly in it.
…”,
Lee Seungho’s gaze turned toward her.
It was only for an instant, but she had succeeded in turning his attention to her.
‘Shh.’
She brought her index finger to her lips.
She gestured for him not to let Lee Seungah see, since she was giving it to him secretly.
……”
He gave a small nod and quickly popped the jelly into his mouth.
Watching his cheeks move as he chewed, she nearly laughed without realizing it.
…Ah, seriously, what was wrong with her?
Shin Ayoung wiped the corner of her mouth.
She must have been making a strange expression. She might even have been wearing a foolish grin.
Whenever she looked at him, an inexplicable happiness spread through her.
“Hmm……”
Shin Ayoung shifted her gaze to the camera he was holding.
…Maybe the video had shaken a little.
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