Chapter 325 – #72_I’Ll Designate You
#323
1.
The business day ended, and the small party celebrating today’s grand success was over.
The host bar, which had been bustling with crowds all day, quietly sank into the dawn air as if nothing had happened.
Shiwoo, who had already drunk heavily and had another drink at the party, woke up after a two-hour nap.
Normally, he would have been rolling around with a hangover and fatigue until noon tomorrow, but being a spirit body made things so much easier.
Feeling a sudden urge to wander around, he went down to the first floor and saw Takasho with a gas lamp lit, scribbling with a fountain pen.
Judging by his attire, it seemed he hadn’t rested at all yet.
“Aren’t you asleep yet?”
At Shiwoo’s call, Takasho raised his glass and grinned.
“Yo, the host bar ace is awake? Want a drink?”
“No thanks, I think my stomach is going to flip after drinking about 10 bottles of champagne today.”
It was impossible to allocate 15 minutes to each of the 120 customers.
In the end, he had to deal with several customers at once and drink all the offered alcohol, which made his stomach uncomfortable.
“But what are you doing? Sitting alone with the light on.”
“I’m doing the accounting, organizing the customer list, and sorting out the purchase orders.”
As Takasho said, there were quite a few serious-looking charts and purchase orders on the table.
He had thought Takasho was just a woman-crazed guy, but it seemed that the position made the man. After going through all that chaos, he was still working overtime.
Even though he was his friend, Shiwoo couldn’t help but applaud in admiration.
“The customer list is important. You need to know which customers spend how much to identify the VIPs.”
“Want me to help?”
“No need. I’m almost done.”
Shiwoo pulled up a chair, put his legs on the table, and sat comfortably.
“Shiwoo, thanks. Please tell Periwinkle how grateful I am.”
“Hey, stop it. You’re giving me goosebumps.”
“I thought everything was ruined after all the preparations. I never thought it would come back to life so dramatically.”
“So, do you think it’ll work out?”
He wasn’t planning to work here for a thousand years, and the most important thing was whether Rose Glass could operate even after Shiwoo was gone.
Fortunately, Takasho nodded with a satisfied smile.
“There are over 10 witches who gave me their business cards and asked me to call them when things get quieter. About twice as many said they’d come again. This is a huge success, a mega hit.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Only after hearing Takasho’s words could he finally relax.
The reason Shiwoo had ended up playing the role of a host, which was not his forte, was because he wanted Takasho to succeed.
“But, I don’t know if it’s okay to say this, but it’s more wholesome than I thought? It’s a bit strange that you, who always talked about sex, would open a place like this.”
“This bastard asks if it’s okay to say something and then says it anyway.”
Takasho chuckled and stamped the documents.
“That’s what a top-class host bar is all about. Hosts aren’t just there to be dildos. The places that focus on secondary services and scamming customers don’t last long.”
“I think I’ve heard you say that before.”
“Anyway, I plan to continue with this operating policy. Once we get some regular customers, I’m thinking of holding various events. Like going on a picnic to the beach as a group, or bringing items from the mortal world and explaining them.”
Takasho finished the paperwork, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.
He seemed much less energetic than usual, probably because he was tired, but his expression said it all.
He could tell that Takasho was having a great time.
“You’ve changed a lot too. The pathetic, womanizing, virgin Shin Shiwoo, who couldn’t live up to his looks, is now flirting with those high-nosed witches. Tell me your secret.”
“I don’t know. It just happened as I lived.”
They say practice makes perfect, and now he had a better idea of how to deal with witches, who he used to find difficult to handle.
“Anyway, we both made it. Two slaves who used to dig ditches at Trinity Academy. We’ve finally made it!”
“You didn’t dig, you bastard.”
“Oh, how hurtful. I was digging ditches for the witches while you were digging yours.
Looking at you today, I think you would have been digging ditches with me if you hadn’t been so stubborn. Me in front, you behind.”
“Wow… Just thinking about it makes me sick. I think I’d want to kill you if I made eye contact.”
They exchanged silly jokes and chuckled, which made him feel at ease.
Then, Takasho suddenly asked, as if something had just occurred to him.
“Oh, right. But did you get permission from your girlfriend to work here?”
“Huh?”
“It’s a host bar, after all. Isn’t she jealous?”
Jealous?
Permission?
It was something he hadn’t even considered.
“…I think it’ll be okay? It’s not like I’m doing anything wrong.”
Takasho blinked and shook his head.
“Our Shin Shiwoo. You’ve changed a lot. Well, there’s no need for a man to be stuck in one place. Since it’s come to this, go for the Gehenna Obstetrics and Gynecology VIP.”
“Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep. You have to prepare for business again tomorrow morning.”
“I guess I should. Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I don’t need to sleep anymore, and even if I’m really tired, I only need a little bit of sleep.”
“Oh my, have you really become a witch?”
Takasho didn’t care much whether Shiwoo had become a witch or not.
He just shrugged and got up from his seat.
“Come hang out after work sometimes. You’re the only friend I can talk to openly.”
“If you write down a list of things to buy, I’ll bring them next time.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
After a light farewell, Takasho trudged back to his room.
2.
Magic is a complex discipline, not something that can be mastered simply by being smart.
Many witches compare magic to composing a delicate orchestra.
It’s not just about having systematic knowledge, but also about artistic inspiration.
After all, isn’t it said that the sublimation and transcendence of the spirit come from art?
Therefore, witches devote themselves to cultural classes such as music, art, and dance from their apprentice days.
Diana Yesod, who was to succeed Lucy Yesod, was also diligent in her weekly ballet class.
Or, to be more precise…
Count Yesod believed she was diligent.
“Phew… It’s hot.”
The dance studio in Count Yesod’s mansion was for one person only.
Giant mirrors were installed on two walls of the studio, which had a ceiling height of over 4 meters.
The dance studio, which was large enough for futsal, if not soccer, was filled with Diana’s long sigh.
In the corner of the spacious dance studio was a cushion.
Diana had gathered it into a nest and was sprawled out on top of it.
Her white tights, damp with sweat, and the leotard and beige toe shoes she wore over them, occasionally revealed glimpses of her skin.
She was wearing a beautiful ballet outfit that would make Edgar Degas rise from his grave to paint her.
She had pretended to practice diligently when Count Yesod was watching, but as soon as she realized he was gone, she was taking a break.
“This is why I really hate exercise…”
Her topaz-colored eyes sparkled with discontent.
Diana hated exercise.
The reason Diana, who wanted to sit still and play the piano, had started ballet was purely because she had been pushed by Countess Lucy.
It was a choice made for Diana, whose activity level was comparable to a hibernating squirrel, if she didn’t do anything else.
But the person herself found it nothing but bothersome.
So, how annoying and troublesome is this ballet exercise?
Her neatly tied gray hair was falling out and becoming disheveled.
The hard toe shoes were squeezing her feet tightly.
Moreover, the sweat that formed on her collarbone after just one dance was extremely unpleasant.
And then there were the leotard and tights.
They clung so tightly to her body that she felt embarrassed just looking in the mirror.
She used to like them when she was young, but now that she was a grown lady, she wondered, “Who am I wearing this for?”
“Anyway, that’s it for today’s activity.”
Now, she would laze around here for about two hours and then have lunch.
After lunch, she would take a nap, have tea around 3 o’clock, and then go out to the garden to enjoy a leisurely life.
Then, she would have dinner, spend about three hours in the bathhouse, and then go to bed.
As Diana was making her ambitious daily plan, she felt a chill run down her spine.
A person had suddenly appeared in the mirror.
Count Yesod was glaring at Diana, who was slacking off, with her arms crossed.
“Uh… Mom?”
Diana belatedly tried to get up and pretend to practice, but the countess was glaring at her daughter with a terrifying look.
It was already too late.
And today, she seemed to have come with a purpose, and her momentum was unusual.
“Diana, how long are you going to stay like that?”
“I was just taking a break. I’ll practice again. Mom, do you want to see a move I was practicing?”
“Do you think I’m a fool? I’ve been watching you do nothing for an hour as soon as I left! You promised me you’d practice hard with me! Did I ask for too much?”
She tried to get away with her usual cute act, but Count Yesod still didn’t unfold her arms and began to nag.
“I told you many times that it’s good to study magic, but you should also do something outside! Huh? Ballet is only four hours a week! Did you want to be lazy even with that?”
“…I’m sorry, Mom…”
Diana hung her head low.
Her hands, as if lost, had nowhere to go.
Her shoulders, slumped as if dejected, showed a perfect posture of remorse.
“My feet hurt so much from practicing. I won’t lie anymore…”
Her thin, trembling voice was full of sobs.
Tears streamed down Diana’s slender chin.
It was Plan B, the tears of remorse, which she used when Plan A, the cute act, failed.
It was also Diana’s ultimate move, which had almost never failed.
Count Yesod had come with a firm resolve.
Her fingers, which had been firmly crossed, twitched slightly.
If she had let her guard down even a little, she would have hugged and comforted her.
But she had to stay alert.
She couldn’t let her child grow up to be such a lazy person forever.
In fact, wasn’t she already past the age to be called a child?
“Stop crying! I know everything, so stop acting!”
“Sniff, I’m not acting…”
Seeing her tears stop as if a faucet had been turned off, despite her claim that she wasn’t acting, Count Yesod was dumbfounded.
“Can’t I just work hard from now on?”
“Of course not! Laziness, lying, and even acting? Do you want to see your mother collapse?”
Her ultimate move had been ignored, and she was even being scolded like a frost.
She realized that this situation was not something she could gloss over.
Soon, a shocking declaration that even Diana, who had roughly guessed it, was surprised by, came from the countess’s mouth.
“Leave the house.”
“…What?”
Diana stammered, repeating the words.
“O-outside?”
“Yes! You’re just going to laze around all day if you stay at home, so you might as well do it where I can’t see you!”
“But… home is the most comfortable…”
“Tsk!”
Diana felt her insides burning.
Leave the house? She never thought such a terrifying punishment would be handed down.
This was because Diana had a passive ability that made her stamina decrease in proportion to the distance she was from home.
Of course, even if it was a punishment, Count Yesod was a terrifyingly doting mother.
She certainly didn’t intend to completely kick Diana out of the house.
“Go out every morning after breakfast and do something, and come back for dinner! And of course, you can’t go to the bathhouse!”
“From morning… until dinner…”
“Starting today. Now! Go out right now!”
“Yes… Mom…”
This time, Diana was truly disheartened, not acting.
Looking at Diana’s lovely back of her head as she looked at her toes, Count Yesod felt her heart ache.
To have to send her beloved daughter out like this.
It felt like her heart was being torn to shreds.
She wanted to hug her right away, say “You know Mom loves you,” and caress her.
“Hoo…”
But she had to endure it.
Right now, the countess could at least nag her, but once she had given her the mark, Diana would have to live in this harsh world alone.
Chronic laziness was a disease.
If she could cure Diana’s laziness, Count Yesod would do anything.
“Cheer up… my daughter…”
Watching Diana walk weakly from the dance studio to the dressing room, Lucy Yesod bit down on her tear-soaked handkerchief.
