IF I WERE THE DEVIL ; YANG JUNGWON

CARD XXII: Does this make sense to you?

"What you want is totally unreasonable. You can't play a game without a dealer," Heeseung argued, trying to keep control of the game. But somehow he felt he was losing it more and more.

"Does any rule say so?" Trying to hide her amused grin, she tilted her head in question.

He let out a breath. The suppressed disbelief that his words, morals and principles were being used against him found expression in his fists under the table."That no," he admitted. "But-"

"But?" She was curious to know what he planned to do to secure his victory. "Do you think you can't manage to stick to the rules?"

"There must be a dealer in charge of the game, otherwise it can't be considered official," the boy insisted, himself not believing how easily she had provoked the hell out of him.

"As long as he keeps his hands to himself, I don't mind." She gave Heeseung a satisfied smile before rolling her sleeves up to her elbows. "Should we play now, old Ace?"

The addressed boy forced a smile,though his eyes did not even try. They were empty, not a spark of their former happiness. He gestured for her to begin, leaving the game entirely up to her.

He was giving her the higher chance to win.

What an angel, really.

She didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse, but she turned her head away from the dealer and took her first stone from the black container he had brought. Originally planned to be split between the two finalists.

1-1.

Eyun placed the stone on the empty table surface. Heeseung copied her movement and picked his first stone, which with a high chance could be his last every single time this would continue.

Although he was fully aware of the odds, he didn't show any signs of fear or even nervousness. He had enough confidence to trust in his luck.

As long as his luck did the work it promised, of course.

1-4.

With a grin, he read the number before placing it on the edge of Eyun's stone.

Her jaw slowly began to clench. Again her head turned to the other side as she picked the next stone. She didn't immediately take out a stone, and even changed it before looking at the little piece of black-and-white.

4-4.

The angel let out a sigh of relief and placed the stone on the edge of the other one.

Heeseung's eyes flickered over to the dealer, who had never once looked up from the container he was holding in his hands. The deerlike boy's gaze was unreadable.

With his head turned to the other side, Heeseung picked up the next stone, 4-3. He placed it in the required spot.

Completely unaffected by the thick tension growing in the room, he leaned back. The silence was capable of crushing you if you were to show the slightest hint of uncertainty about what you were doing.

3-3.

The girl's eyes widened when she saw the third doubled stone she held. She placed it on the table, not noticing her opponent's expression as he watched the image on the table. There was almost a hint of confusion as his head tilted slightly to the side.

When it was his turn to deal, he stared at the dealer, his eyes filled with an indecipherable subtext.

It was only when the dealer noticed this that he raised his head enough to lock his eyes with Bambi's. Not a second later, Heeseung's eyes dropped to the ground at what he saw, he swallowed and drew another.