Chapter 130
I looked at Liyeon without giving it much thought.
At the same time, I realized why he had stubbornly kept his eyes covered until now.
“This is fucking crazy…”
That cloth… had been a beauty suppressor?
Liyeon’s face, now fully revealed, was truly a face from heaven.
His long eyelashes fluttered. His thick eyelashes cast deep shadows beneath his eyes, creating a melancholy, forlorn atmosphere. Above them were faint double eyelids, and the shape of his eyes curved softly, as though slightly raised at the corners.
Liyeon slowly lifted his eyes.
I held my breath.
His eyes possessed a mysterious hue. The color of his irises was lighter than an ordinary person’s, but they were so clear and transparent that I felt as though I were gazing into a tranquil lake.
That lake seemed peaceful, yet it also looked so deep that its bottom could not be seen, like an abyss without end. Somehow, the longer I looked into those eyes, the more I felt as though I might be sucked inside…
‘Gasp!’
I belatedly came to my senses. I had almost started drooling without realizing it.
I discreetly wiped the corner of my mouth with my sleeve to check whether I had actually drooled, then turned my head away and continued speaking as casually as possible.
“Uh… uh! Y-yeah, I see. I can understand why you’d go around with your eyes covered. I see why you kept them hidden. It’d be a crime not to cover them. With a face like that, you should cover it up properly. It’s for the sake of everyone around you.”
“……”
“Haah, but this is a little worrying. Even if I cover that face with dough, will it really be enough? At this rate, I might as well make you look downright ugly…”
Even as I said that, I poured water and ash into the flour I had placed on the table and began making the dough.
My heart was pounding like crazy.
‘No, seriously, how can a person look like that?’
At that level, wasn’t he beyond the most beautiful person under heaven and actually the most beautiful person in all history?
My heart simply wouldn’t calm down. It couldn’t be helped. He was by far the most beautiful person I had ever seen… at the highest, most extraordinary, beyond-the-heavens level.
If he weren’t a man, I would have seriously suspected that he was a young lady.
…He really was a man, right? His build wasn’t exactly something a woman could have. Still, just in case, I’d have to properly check later…
“……?”
“Ah, aah! It’s done, it’s done! Now let’s put the dough on. Close your eyes for a bit. There’s ash mixed into this, so you don’t know what’ll happen if it gets in your eyes, right?”
At my words, Liyeon looked at me with an unreadable expression before gently closing his eyes. The sight of the beauty obediently closing his eyes and entrusting everything to me made something in the corner of my heart tremble.
‘Oh, come on. Why are you acting so demure?’
I grumbled for no particular reason as I tore off some of the gray dough. Then I applied glue and began attaching it to Liyeon’s smooth face.
My fingertips trembled slightly, but perhaps because I had done this several times before, I made no mistakes. Rather, the more Liyeon’s face became hidden, the calmer I felt, allowing me to concentrate even more.
I painstakingly molded his face.
With the solemn sense of duty that I absolutely could not allow his real face to be exposed. I flattened his nose, created wrinkles, and even used a brush to draw his eyebrows.
Before long, the beautiful man had transformed into a shabby middle-aged man. I looked at him with a much more comfortable heart. My chest wasn’t trembling anymore.
‘Was I really this easily captivated?’
My heart was beating or not beating depending on someone’s face.
But wasn’t being attracted to a beautiful face simply human instinct? I desperately rationalized it to myself as I held a hand mirror up in front of him.
“Ta-da! How is it? Totally convincing, right? You look like a completely different person, don’t you? I’m actually pretty good with my hands when it comes to things like this. Most people won’t notice.”
“……”
“I deliberately made the eye holes smaller. Your eyes are too beautiful, so I thought even if I opened them just a little wider, they’d immediately draw attention. If it’s really uncomfortable, let me know. I’ll open them up a little more.”
“…It’s fine.”
Even while saying that, Liyeon continued staring into the hand mirror. Apparently, he found it quite fascinating that he had become an entirely different person in an instant.
“Then that’s good. Now, get up.”
I helped Liyeon to his feet.
I stepped back and examined him once more from a distance, then made some final adjustments to his clothes. His body was too well-built, so I needed to cover it appropriately.
Just in case, I stuffed some cotton batting I had bought into his outer clothes and undergarments. I used the cotton to raise his shoulders and make his upper body look plump. I even bunched some cloth in front to make him look like he had a belly.
I stepped back again.
There was no Liyeon there anymore. Only a pot-bellied middle-aged man remained.
I looked at that man and grinned.
“Shall we go now?”
***
It wasn’t until the middle of the night that we quietly left the inn.
I was pretending to be a hunchback once again.
If you wanted people to underestimate you, this was the best option. A hunchback and a fat middle-aged man. It was a strange combination, yet somehow they suited each other.
We went straight to the location Ayoung had told us about.
The gambling den was in a secluded corner of the village, operating inside an abandoned building. If not for the light leaking through the cracks in the door, we could have walked right past it without noticing.
‘It looks suspicious as hell.’
I opened the main gate and entered.
There were already countless people inside. Several large tables had been set up, with a dealer managing each table, while people crowded around them like clouds.
They were apparently in the middle of gambling, because they were staring desperately at the tables and shouting.
“Five! Give me a five! Five!”
“It’s Heaven! Everyone move! This money is mine!”
I watched them and secretly clicked my tongue.
‘A typical gambling den scene.’
The gambling dens I had visited in the past had been similar. People with bloodshot eyes desperately trying to win money, cheering when they won and howling when they lost.
We quietly blended in among the gamblers. Even though strangers had entered, they didn’t seem particularly interested in us.
Everyone was preoccupied with gambling, and since our appearance was so shabby, they probably just thought a few more ordinary gamblers had arrived.
Thanks to that, I was able to comfortably look around the gambling den.
Various gambling games were being played on the tables.
Domino-like tiles, betting cards, Paegu, dice, and so on…
Among them, the one that caught my attention was Dae-so.
Unlike many other forms of gambling, Dae-so was relatively simple to play, which was why I had tried it a few times in the past.
Dae-so was played using only three dice.
The dealer placed the dice into a black-painted container called a tu-bae. Then, after shaking it thoroughly, he placed it upside down on the table, and the gamblers guessed which of two categories the total of the dice would fall into.
If the sum of the three dice was between 11 and 17, it was Dae (Big).
If the sum of the three dice was between 4 and 10, it was So (Small).
That was why this gambling game was called Dae-so.
And all you had to do was bet on one of the two probabilities. Just like they were doing now.
“All right, all right! What number will come out this time? Hurry up and place your bets!”
“Big! It’s definitely going to be Big again!”
“No, Small! Big came out last time, so this time it’s definitely going to be Small!”
“What kind of logic is that?!”
When the dealer put down the tu-bae, people argued passionately, spraying spit as they did. Then they placed their money on the table according to their gut feelings.
Some bet small amounts, while others bet huge sums. One thing was certain: every single one of them was praying to heaven and earth, desperately hoping that they would be right.
The dealer reached out and picked up the tu-bae.
The gamblers shouted as one, united in heart and mind.
“Big! Big! Big!”
“Small! Small! Small!”
At the same time, when he lifted the tu-bae… The people’s screams rang out.
The dice on the table each revealed their numbers. One was 2, one was 4, and one was 5…
The total was 11. Big.
“Aaaargh! I was right! I was right!”
“No way! This is rigged! It’s a scam!”
The people reacted with joy and despair, divided between them. Those who had won money jumped around in excitement, while those who had lost tore at their hair in despair.
I watched the whole thing from behind.
‘It’s fun no matter how many times I see it.’
Not the gambling itself, but the gamblers’ reactions.
Maybe even the dealer enjoyed watching it? Though, since he saw it every day, perhaps it wasn’t particularly interesting to him.
I stood beside the table for a while, watching them play Dae-so. More precisely, I was watching the dealer’s hands. Every time he shook the tu-bae, I paid extremely close attention to the sound of the dice rolling inside.
Perhaps my staring had seemed strange. After several rounds, the dealer suddenly looked toward us. Then he smiled brightly and asked,
“Friend, why just watch? Why don’t you participate once? If you guess correctly, you could make a fortune in one shot.”
“Heh heh.”
I spoke as though I had been waiting for him to say exactly that.
“Should I?”
Good.
How about I become rich while I’m at it?
Comments (0)