Arcane of Spades [TWICE]

Chapter 13

You

What does that old man want?

My temple throbbed. I already had the answer to the riddle last night yet I can't keep myself calm.  A year had passed and he suddenly contact me out of nowhere.

What does he have on his sleeves now?

"Spare the poor pencil, Y/N." Dahyun sat by my side. She sipped her coffee and stared to my "masterpiece."

"I didn't know you have a hand for abstracts." A chuckle escaped from my lips that immediately broke into boisterous laughter. Dahyun looked at me with delight, "Now, I get to see your beautiful smile again."

My cheeks heated up because of her statement. She gently placed the cup of coffee on the table before she reached for my hands to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"I might be not good at reading people like Mina but base on the way your face scrunched up since earlier morning is telling me that there's something wrong. You know you can tell me anything."

I softened with the way her eyes hold so much sincerity. I don't know what came up to me but I found my arms tightly wrapped around her. She emitted a warm feeling  that made my insides comfortable. I felt her heart beat speeding up its pace.

"Thank you.", I mumbled on the crook of her neck. She froze for a second before she ran her fingers through my hair.

"It's nothing really. As long as I can help."

•••

There was nothing suspicious today. Today was also the club's day off so we didn't have to spend too much time inside the club room. I decided to went ahead and gather information regarding to the riddle I received.

While walking, I sensed something strange. I scanned my surroundings in arcane, acting casually and guarded at the same time. The peculiar feeling became strong so I turned around and pulled the person's wrist, tossing the person in the air before pinning her to the ground.

"Who are you?", I demanded. The person raised her arm and slowly took away her mask.

"It's me, Dahyun!", she giggled. I loosened my grip around her and hit her arm, "Why did you scare me like that?"

"I want to see you smile. You still look burdened when you left the room." I melted on the spot. She's such a sweet talker. My sight glowered towards the mask she used earlier to "make me smile". The mask was made of wood and the exact girl version of Pinocchio's face.

A marionette.

"Angel of Death listen carefully to my riddle,
I am pulling the strings,
And moving the limbs.
I am comparable to god,
And living behind the scenes.
Who am I?", I repeated the riddle for the 5th time.

What could it be? Pulling the strings? Moving the limbs? Comparable to god? I stared to nowhere and a vivid memory came up to my mind. My brain reminisced the times I used to play the toy a little girl gave to me for my 8th birthday. A toy that you can control by pulling the strings to move its limbs. A puppet. The one who controls the puppet is called  a puppeteer.

And that means one thing, every puppet has its own puppeteer.

And so is Dahyun.

"You think you can fool me Dahyun?" my tone purely honeyed while I squinted mockingly. The smile on her face fell. She quivered on her spot, "What are you talking about?"

I didn't waste my time and tackled her back to the ground. I locked her up, straddling her waist while I grip my hand not so tightly on her neck, just enough for her to answer my question.

"Who do you work for? Who is your puppeteer Dahyun?"

"I can't say-" I tightened my grip to provoke her. "I won't hesitate to choke you to death so answer me properly Dahyun."

Her pale skin became paler, the lack of air is affecting her. She opened her mouth to gasp for air but I covered it using my other hand. Her eyes pooled on tears, pleading for me to let go.

"Are you going to tell me now?", I asked. She nodded in uresponse. I uncovered her mouth and unwrapped my hand on her neck. I let her catch her breath first. When she was about to answer, I felt a hard object hit my head. My vision spun and the last thing I saw were two puppets hovering over my body.