DDOS 32

Chapter 32

The bodyguards who had followed Wei unobtrusively from behind filled the tables around them. In the spacious hotel lounge café, the area around them suddenly became densely populated.

“What delightful conversation were you all having so early in the morning?”

Once again, the ridiculous question was directed toward Kang Yeo-eun.

Yeo-eun subtly straightened her posture. It was her habit to straighten her back and speak calmly whenever she was nervous.

Why do I know this about her?

Ki Seung-do let out a short, incredulous laugh without realizing it.

Meanwhile, Yeo-eun answered.

“We were talking about what we’re going to do today.”

Just then, a teacup was placed in front of Wei.

Wei smiled as though he had just heard something incredibly interesting.

“How insolent. You intend to enjoy yourselves without including Wei?”

He looked irritatingly focused on one side even while drinking his tea.

Without meaning to, Seung-do spoke in a somewhat confrontational tone.

“That’s what happens when someone’s hotel is so boring. There’s nothing to do inside.”

“Oh, you impudent brat. You are the only one who would dare say such things in my hotel.”

At Wei’s threatening remark, Hae-na deliberately laughed out loud.

Then, pretending not to notice anything, she joined the conversation.

“I was thinking we might do some shopping. Do you know any good places?”

<Ah, shopping. That’s a good choice. Hong Kong is a great place to shop anywhere you go.>

Wei answered Hae-na smoothly and kindly in English.

But he didn’t seem particularly interested in Hae-na’s plans.

Having played mahjong with Wei and learned his expressions and habits, Seung-do could see everything clearly.

Wei’s gaze and even his body were both directed toward Yeo-eun.

His ridiculous Korean was nothing more than a means of making Yeo-eun laugh.

Of course, Seung-do didn’t think there was any particular ulterior motive toward Yeo-eun.

Wei’s whims were nothing new. Sometimes, he even played excessive jokes on Seung-do, saying things like, “I like men too.”

So it wasn’t something worth worrying about.

And yet, it irritated him.

Seung-do opened his mouth.

“We’re thinking of looking around Tsim Sha Tsui today.”

At those words, Yeo-eun also seemed to have been thrown a lifeline.

She nodded toward Wei, who was looking at her, and added,

“Yes, we’re going to Tsim Sha Tsui. It’s my first time in Hong Kong.”

It was such a natural addition that anyone listening would have thought they had already made the plan last night.

Even though she had seemed hesitant only moments ago.

<That’s a shame. Ah… In that case, how about everyone here having dinner with me? And if you’re all okay with it, we could play a game of mahjong afterward.>

At Wei’s words, Seung-do wondered if he had heard correctly.

Choi Hae-na also seemed to be checking whether she had understood him properly.

It took her only a few seconds to decide.

An enthusiastic answer followed.

<My goodness! I’d love to. It would be an honor. I love mahjong.>

Even as she said it, Choi Hae-na looked back and forth between Seung-do and Wei as though she couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

As if she could ever have dreamed of it.

The chance to sit at Wei’s table in Hong Kong.

No one would be foolish enough to turn down such an opportunity.

Under normal circumstances, Seung-do would have gladly accepted the invitation as well.

In a way, it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that this was exactly why he had come to Hong Kong two days early.

But why?

Seung-do found himself strangely unwilling to accept this invitation.

Wei had invited two people he had never met before to his dinner.

And one of those people was Kang Yeo-eun.

Hae-na clapped her hands, and Wei smiled.

Seung-do felt Yeo-eun’s gaze on him and turned his eyes toward her.

Yeo-eun’s eyes once again seemed unable to find their bearings, trembling like a leaf swaying in the wind.

“What do you think?”

Seung-do deliberately asked her that.

He pretended not to notice the small part of his heart hoping that Yeo-eun would refuse.

After hesitating, Yeo-eun finally spoke.

“I… don’t really know how to play mahjong.”

“My lady, there is no need for such concern. This humble servant shall personally make time this afternoon to teach you.”

Wei immediately picked up her words as though he had been waiting for them.

Hae-na burst into laughter again and clapped her hands.

“You talk just like someone from a drama!”

He couldn’t take it anymore.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could simply walk out or refuse Wei’s invitation.

Seung-do reached beneath the table and deliberately took Yeo-eun’s hand.

Then he raised one eyebrow.

“No. That won’t do. My partner is here.”

Seeing that, Wei burst out laughing.

Then, unlike before, he spoke in Cantonese.

<What? Are you two already planning to rig the game?>

Seung-do answered Wei in Cantonese, then looked at Yeo-eun and spoke in Korean.

“We’re going to Tsim Sha Tsui and you’re going to learn mahjong, so we’ve got a busy day ahead. Let’s get going.”

“Ah, yes… I’ll see you later.”

Yeo-eun stood up with Seung-do still holding her hand.

She gave Wei and Hae-na an awkward smile and bowed her head politely.

Of the two left behind, only Hae-na looked excited.

As the two of them left the café, Wei called after them.

<Seven o’clock! You know where, right? Come dressed up nicely, Seung-do!>

The instruction to dress up nicely probably wasn’t meant for him.

Even that irritated him.

Seung-do tightened his grip around the wrist he was holding for no particular reason.

There were a lot of people in Tsim Sha Tsui.

They had originally planned to look around leisurely, but because of the sudden change in plans, they now had things they needed to take care of.

Seung-do took Yeo-eun to a popular restaurant and had dim sum with her.

“It’s quite a lot…”

The dim sum Seung-do had ordered was enough to completely fill a table for four.

But Ki Seung-do merely scoffed at Yeo-eun’s comment.

“Wei plays mahjong all night. You’d better eat enough.”

“All night?”

The color drained from Yeo-eun’s face.

After finishing their meal, they returned to the hotel.

At some point during their absence, Seung-do must have contacted the concierge, because a travel mahjong set had already been delivered to their room.

Without even taking a shower, Seung-do immediately sat Yeo-eun down at the table between the master room and the secondary room.

Then he shuffled the tiles and built the walls.

“So… there have to be four people, and what we’re going to play today is Japanese-style Riichi Mahjong, right?”

“Yeah. Wei likes the Riichi rules. But that’s not particularly important.”

Surprisingly, Seung-do was quite good at teaching.

He explained the basic rules of mahjong in an easy-to-understand way, and patiently answered Yeo-eun’s questions along the way.

As soon as the explanation was finished, they moved straight into an actual game.

They only had a couple of hours before they had to play mahjong with Wei, so there was no choice.

Seung-do played the roles of three players himself as they proceeded with the game.

Fortunately, Yeo-eun picked up the rules quickly.

“You learn fast.”

“I received early training in Go-Stop from Lee Hwa-shin.”

She had offered it as a joke of sorts, but there was no laughter.

Yeo-eun, who had been looking at the tiles in front of her, slowly raised her head and looked at Ki Seung-do sitting across from her.

Ki Seung-do was looking at her with a subtle expression.

“Was that a joke?”

“Yes. I know how to joke too.”

Only then did Seung-do give a faint smile.

Yeo-eun subtly averted her gaze before adding,

“I really did learn it. The problem was that was the only thing I learned from Lee Hwa-shin.”

Even while speaking, she didn’t forget to discard a tile and draw a new one.

“I’ve never actually used anything I learned even once. I promised myself I’d stay away from things like hwatu, cards, games, gambling… anything like that. But it’s a little funny that I’ve come all the way here and ended up doing this.”

“You can just think of it as work.”

“……But now that I’m doing it, it’s actually a little fun.”

Yeo-eun carefully added the words and lowered her eyes.

“It also makes me wonder if you really can’t escape your blood.”

She hadn’t said it expecting an answer in particular.

But Ki Seung-do replied casually.

“Blood doesn’t matter. Mahjong is a fun game, after all.”

Seung-do and Yeo-eun’s eyes met in midair.

Seung-do’s hand was still holding the tile he hadn’t discarded yet.

The silence that followed could only have lasted an instant, but it felt like an eternity.

Then Ki Seung-do spoke again.

“…You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

Why?

Ki Seung-do normally wasn’t the kind of person to say something like that.

Yet, for some reason, he wanted to say it.

At his words, Yeo-eun smiled brightly and added, as though she found his words utterly absurd,

“You said it was work.”

“Strictly speaking, your work doesn’t start until tomorrow, Kang Yeo-eun.”

At his words, Kang Yeo-eun pressed her lips together before smiling again, her eyes crinkling slightly.

“Don’t worry. You said it’s an important occasion, right? I won’t make any mistakes.”

Kang Yeo-eun smiled calmly.

Ki Seung-do looked at the tile he was holding.

If he discarded this one, the chances of him beating Yeo-eun from this point onward would drop considerably.

“Even if you make a mistake, it’s okay.”

But Ki Seung-do didn’t change the tile in his hand.

He discarded it.

“I’m here.”