Divination (3)

1.

A night without fine dust.

Or ultra fine dust for that matter.

Such a night in Seoul was as rare as a wild ginseng and tonight happened to be that night, one without smog nor cloud, showcasing the full moonlit night.

After changing into his swimsuit, Siwoo came out while taking a sip on his alcohol, enjoying the night view.

Prior to that, he followed Periwinkle to a certain room.

When he saw a swimsuit lying on the bed, he was a little scared.

Fortunately for him, she didnt offer to put his swimsuit on for him, nor did she ask for his help to put on her swimsuit.

In any case, Periwinkle seemed to be a thorough woman, a completely different type of person than him, who loved to push through without a clear plan.

Thinking back, he felt like he had been dragged around by a leash.

If he were to let his guard down, there was a good chance that shed suck him dry and turn him into a dried fish.

Did you wait for too long?

The large glass door slipped open and Periwinkle walked in.

Seeing her, Siwoos eyes were wide open.

Clinging closely to her body was a white monokini with its top and bottom joined together by strings in the sides. An unconventional design for sure, but it looked terrifyingly good on her.

The top barely covered half of her chest, just the slightest movement could reveal her areolas. While the bottom part only consisted of a small amount of fabric, so small that if she didnt adjust the line properly, her pubic hair, if there was any, would be exposed.

On her clearly exposed belly button, a sparkly-looking piercing could be seen, decorating it.

Despite her showing so much skin, her gait was filled with confidence.

The sight of her showing off her body with the urban lights as her background was like a model walking down the runway.

Of course her beauty surpassed that of a model, it wasnt even a fair comparison to begin with.

Oh, your body looks good. Someones been working out, I see.

Periwinkle approached him, closing the distance between them without any hesitation whatsoever.

He didnt know if it was because of the atmosphere she exuded or because of her body proportion, but from the distance, she seemed to be taller than him. She actually was a head shorter than him, though.

It isnt that worth mentioning. But, yeah, Ive been working out these days, I guess.

Why are you so stiff? It isnt like Im a tax inspector or anything! Cmon, youre supposed to entertain me! Now, one, two, three!

Youre still so stiff, jeez. I thought some alcohol would loosen you up a little.

How to avoid his death

He was thinking to bail out immediately after finding out about that, but that seemed impossible to achieve.

Besides, now that his hands and feet were pretty much tied, he couldnt even run if he wanted to.

Acting as if she couldnt wait anymore, Periwinkle giggled before walking toward the pool.

Then she called him, her tone carried a subtle rebuke.

Do you prefer weed instead?

Sorry, Im not that lively of a person.

Still, are you planning to just stand there? Do you want to be some kind of lighthouse or what?

Ill go in.

He followed behind Periwinkle and entered the waist-high pool.

At first he was worried that the water might be cold, especially considering the weather that had grown colder lately.

But that worry turned to naught as he felt the warmth of the water.

Maybe she pulled out hot spring water from somewhere and directed it all the way here with a pipe or something? Actually, that sounds like something shed do He thought, but he didnt say it out loud.

In the end, he gave up thinking about it. How much money she wasted for the hot water was irrelevant to him anyway.

And so, the two of them entered the pool together.

When Periwinkle snapped her fingers, a soothing music, suitable for a romantic atmosphere, began to play.

It feels nice doesnt it?

Yes, it feels as good as it looks. Thank you for bringing me here.

No need to thank me, its my first time here too. Its not bad.

Youre right.

That brief, awkward conversation was followed by no less awkward silence.

Then again, he didnt even know what people usually talk about when they went to a normal pool, let alone a luxurious one like this.

Or what they usually do in general.

Both of them didnt bring swimming caps and goggles, so it wasnt like they could just do 50 m freestyle competition.

As he stood around awkwardly like that, Periwinkles voice rang out in his ears.

Maybe it was just him, but her voice sounded rough and gritty, like sandpaper.

Is that all?

Yes?

Thats all you can say? Really?

I dont know what youre expecting me to Heup!

Suddenly, she scooped up some water from the pool and poured it on Siwoos face.

Youre so boring.

Her cold voice pierced his ears.

Rather than anger, her tone filled with ridicule and scorn.

Lets see~ I gave you a ride, gave you some good alcohol to drink, brought you to a nice hotel, gave you a kiss when you hesitated and I even invited you to a nice swimming pool like this~ But, youre still ignoring me like this! I thought Id take you out to play since you look nice and all, but look at you, never even tried to take the initiative.

Ugh

Her sharp nail poked on his chest.

She stopped being amicable and started whining.

Maybe her patience had run out because of Siwoos boring responses.

Or maybe her previous personality was just a facade to begin with.

Sorry.

Though he never did it again these days, forcing a smile in front of someone who was angry at him was one of his specialties.

That was the skill he acquired from living his life as a slave for five years.

He turned to face Periwinkle, wearing a smile that seemed like it was printed out of cardboard.

His goal was to confirm whether she was telling him the truth or not, and to stay out of trouble. So, even though he hated doing this, it wasnt like he had much of a choice.

Just sorry?

At the same time as the word sorry came out of her mouth, her nail dug in deeper into his chest.

It would be a lie if he were to say that it didnt hurt him.

Ill do better.

If I knew youre this boring, Id just let you die back then. Youre making me regret wasting my magic to keep you alive.

Huh, that wasnt enough to rile you up? Okay, lets change the subject then. Forget about repaying me for saving your life that one time. Lets talk about my divination. If you want me to help you, then entertain me.

How?

Still, it wasnt like she was a bad witch.

He was just too careless.

All this time, he had been surrounded by especially kind and gentle witches.

He forgot that your average witches acted just like her.

Siwoo let out a sigh inwardly while letting out an awkward smile outwardly.

Ill just be direct. Since you arent good at leading a conversation or lightening up the mood, it would be better if you were to entertain me in other ways, is that fine with you?

Yes.

The previously warm water had turned cold.

Periwinkle let out a seductive smile as she drew in closer to him.

Have you ever done it with a witch?

What do you mean?

Dont play dumb, you live with Evergreen, dont you? From how intense her glare was back when we first met, you definitely know what I was talking about.

When she suddenly brought up his private life, he forgot to control his facial expression for a moment there and let out a frown.

He didnt know if she was just trying to get a reaction out of him, but he took a mental note that if she were to degrade Sharon in any ways, hed definitely make her pay in the future.

Was that a difficult question to answer? Or maybe the alcohol wasnt enough to make you talk? Ah, could it be that you think that youll be cheating on her if you were to answer that question?

She kept on hounding him, giving him more and more pressure.

He had heard of a shitty method during a job interview called the pressure interview and he felt like he was going through exactly that at the moment.

How good exactly did you make her? She was sooo protective of you, you know? I heard that she was practically living on prayers at one point, but it seemed like she was living THE life, huh?

Ms. Periwinkle, if you dislike something about me, please tell me, Ill try to fix it.

Siwoo bowed his head politely, but his tone was firm.

Though his social position and magic skills were beneath her, the gap wasnt as big as when he was a slave.

As a witch, she was a citizen of Gehenna.

If she were to touch him, shed risk offending not only Duchess Tiphereth but Countess Gemini as well, so there was no way shed do something so reckless.

His last words were basically him trying to warn her Do it in moderation.

Regardless of her attitude, she was still his savior and he did promise to do her a favor.

He could only grumble and complain like this because he was alive.

That was why he had been enduring this whole thing, bowing his head while humbling himself.

At that moment, a certain person came to his mind.

Since what was going on currently was similar to what happened back then, a bitter feeling ended up appearing in his heart.

He found it amusing that the thought even came to his mind in the first place, though.

After he left her with a single letter, he thought that shed contact him first.

Maybe I should visit her after I visit the twins in Gehenna.

I mean, while that stupid farce between us is finished and she might have decided to let me go completely, I still need to meet her at least once.

But, she never asked to meet me even once, thats the problem.

Perhaps it was some kind of psychological escapism.

All sorts of thoughts came to his mind.

But, that didnt last long as he was dragged back to the unpleasant reality.

Thanks to that brief tangent, the anger that was boiling inside him had calmed down for a bit.

He wondered what kind of gaze she sent beneath his bowing head.

Even though he was anxious, he quietly waited for her reaction.

Pfft Ahahaha!

Suddenly, laughter began to pour out.

She held him on his shoulders while laughing, helping him to stand up.

Why are you so serious? I was just trying to probe what kind of person you are. Cant really trust all those goody two shoes, you know? Did I make you mad?

Siwoo looked at her warily, wondering if she was trying to deceive him.

She was like a coin.

It was impossible to gauge her reaction, just like when one threw a coin, one wouldnt know if it would land on head or tail, he also didnt know what kind of reaction shed let out if he were to do this and that.

So, did I make you mad? Dont worry, you can be honest, I wont be mad at you.

A little, yes.

He answered in a sour voice.

At this point, his impression of her, a free spirited person, but not a bad one had gone. But that didnt matter, since he owed her his life anyway.

Still, its nice to see that you have pride. I thought you were a pathetic guy who lives under the control of a witch just because she got a rein on your lower body or something. If thats the case, Id be disappointed for real.

There was one thing that he wanted to say to her though.

I dont mind you mocking me or whatever, but please keep Sharon out of this. If you want me to do something for you, please tell me so I can fulfill your wish.

Are you saying that because she is your woman?

Periwinkle, who shook her head helplessly, or maybe pretended to shake her head helplessly, left the pool and went back inside.

In his heart, he kept on repeating words such as Theres a fifty-fifty chance that Ill die, and One wrong move, Ill die for real to keep his wits together.

Anyway, is she treating me like this because I didnt contact her after she gave me her business card? Or maybe I said something wrong during our conversation.

While thinking as such, Siwoo followed Periwinkle to the bedroom.