Chapter 959 – #206_Give And Take (4)
#953
1.
Periwinkle, thoroughly satisfied, looked extremely pleased.
So what if her lower abdomen was a little sore?
Her sister was in a good mood, hadn’t cheated, had achieved her goal, and even got a gift.
“A gift?”
Periwinkle’s big haul was something she didn’t need to say twice.
She hadn’t been able to drive it for long because she’d crashed it so quickly, but she had previously received a supercar, and she had also received a four-leaf clover that gathered the best of luck and even helped her escape a life-threatening crisis.
It was only natural that she would be grinning from ear to ear.
“Yeah, a gift. Buy me a meal in return.”
“Now? It’s a bit late.”
“I got hungry after going so hard.”
As if she hadn’t just been acting like a mess, she was back to her usual self, Periwinkle, changing out of her torn dress and into new clothes.
“Ah!”
But it seemed she wasn’t completely back to normal.
Her legs seemed to give out, and she wobbled like a newborn deer, so Siwoo quickly supported her.
“Are you okay?”
“You told me not to cheat, but then you flirt like that, what am I supposed to do?”
“That was just a service up to this point.”
“You’re making me greedy. Being clean and cutting things off is my motto.”
Periwinkle leaned her head against Siwoo’s chest, looking like a sickly beautiful girl about to collapse.
Her luxurious navy-blue hair made a soft rustling sound.
It was the kind of conversation that seemed like it belonged between a couple having an affair, and Siwoo felt strangely sentimental.
It seemed that inhaling her scent, even just a little, played a part in that.
“It’s not too late. Mr. Shin Siwoo, who keeps his chastity like a bamboo? If you pounce on me before I’m fully dressed, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.”
Her lips moved seductively.
Her plump lips, glistening transparently with something she’d applied, were licked by a red tongue.
She looked like she was about to kneel at Siwoo’s feet and open his zipper with her mouth.
“Periwinkle, I’m really exhausted.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m making it harder for you, because you’re being annoying.”
“So, what’s the gift?”
Periwinkle chuckled and held up the wooden box she had taken out of the drawer earlier.
Unlike the hotel, which was lavish in every way except for the emergency exit stairs, the wooden box looked plain.
But its true nature was quite extraordinary, a magical vault wrapped in various barriers.
“Don’t tell me it’s a proposal?”
Siwoo asked, seeing the size that seemed perfect for a ring.
“You’re the one who should be proposing to me. Here, take this.”
Ignoring his nonsense, Periwinkle presented Siwoo with a pink four-leaf clover.
It was a familiar object.
A trouble trigger that manipulated the owner’s fate, causing all sorts of strange things to happen around them.
Thinking about the trouble he had gone through with his teacher because of this, it was more like a punishment game than a gift.
“I don’t need this. Can’t you just give me a car instead?”
“What are you talking about? So you can break it again? I’m never giving you a car again.”
“Tch, then I’ll just accept your feelings.”
The gift was a bit disappointing, but Siwoo had gotten back at Periwinkle in his own way.
They had each landed a blow, so it was a draw.
He was about to be satisfied with this much when she spoke.
“I told you before, didn’t I? That I can dramatically change someone’s fate four times.”
“That’s right.”
One during the battle with the Red Knight.
Three during the battle with Bianca.
Siwoo had already used a total of four four-leaf clovers to save his life.
Normally, no matter what kind of clover Periwinkle made, it shouldn’t have any special effect on Siwoo.
“Conceptual magic is complicated to explain. To put it simply, it’s a shortcut. I haven’t just been playing around, I’ve made progress in my research.”
“Oh?”
Periwinkle continued her explanation, piquing Siwoo’s interest.
“If you keep this for about a month, it will combine with your fate and gradually change color. If it becomes the same color as the clover I gave you before, the effect will disappear. Of course, you’ll have to deal with the trouble during that time.”
“A month?”
“If you don’t have time because of the academy founding or whatever, keep it in this wooden box. It blocks the effect of the pink clover. But once you open it, you have to keep it for a month, no matter what, okay?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
He quickly accepted it and carefully put it in his pocket.
Siwoo knew the power of Periwinkle’s special clover.
A last resort that manipulated fate to help one escape death.
It was like having an extra life that any witch would covet.
The basic passive of bringing good luck was also excellent.
Periwinkle didn’t give clovers to just anyone.
One magic cancels out another of the same kind.
If a clover that Periwinkle carelessly gave away fell into the hands of an enemy, it could become a threat when they met alone later.
“Is it okay for you to give this to me?”
“Well, it’s fine. But do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“When you took three clovers from me before. You said you’d grant me any request.”
He had definitely made such a deal.
But Periwinkle, with her easygoing personality, hadn’t mentioned it since then.
In fact, Periwinkle had forgotten about it and only remembered it when she was giving him the gift.
For her, life was an easy mode where overwhelming luck poured in just by breathing.
For example, the verbal agreement that Siwoo had made like a blank check had become quite valuable after she hadn’t paid any attention to it.
“…Wasn’t that expired?”
Periwinkle smiled slyly.
“Good, let’s use it today.”
Siwoo gulped.
Even if she said it was expired, there was no way he could refuse.
His conscience wasn’t so round that he could just wash his hands of it after receiving so much from his sister.
“Let’s have dinner just the two of us today. Let’s leave out the witch of the path and the witch of the sword.”
Siwoo waited for her to continue.
But Periwinkle was already grabbing her handbag, changing from slippers to shoes.
“Is that all?”
“Why? Are you disappointed now? Do you want me to ask for a cheating sex?”
“It’s not that, but…”
He had thought she would at least ask for sex, but it was such an easy condition.
With Siwoo’s abilities, he could now demand something quite significant.
“Okay, since you’re being annoying, let’s add one more. You said you have a lot of girlfriends to take care of, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t have sex with your girlfriends for a week.”
Periwinkle chuckled with a mischievous smile.
“You need to feel a little anxious too. If you can’t stand it, come find me. I’ll hug you.”
Only then could Siwoo stop his ambiguous calculations and smile.
It was so like her.
It was impossible to apply normal standards to her.
Periwinkle was someone who could make anything work out without much effort.
But it wasn’t hard to guess that the reason she was so casually throwing away a blank check was because she found Siwoo cute.
2.
He went to Dorothy and Rinne and explained the situation.
He felt sorry and at the same time relieved that he hadn’t been tempted by the seduction and had a storm of sex.
If he had lost his self-control and enjoyed a wild affair and then asked them to wait a little longer, he would have been tormented by extreme pangs of conscience.
Since this debt was tied to a sex ban, he couldn’t have a physical conversation, but he planned to make up for it in some way.
Anyway, Periwinkle and Siwoo went out into the night alone.
They weren’t driving around in a fancy supercar, nor were they eating a fancy room service meal made by the hotel chef.
“You escort me this time. You know this area better than I do, right?”
This was Periwinkle’s request to experience something a little more common.
But it was already 4 o’clock.
It wasn’t even the weekend, so the area around Gwanghwamun, where most of the people were office workers, was deserted, and even Sinchon and Hongdae were quiet.
The only people around were college students waiting for the first train at a 24-hour fast food restaurant and drunkards on the street.
“I guess we should have gone to Gangnam.”
“You should have.”
“I haven’t been there much… There’s a good place here.”
“What’s good about it?”
“Just wait and see. It’s very delicious.”
Using the flyers and cigarette butts scattered on the ground as a carpet, they entered the food alley where Sharon’s rooftop room used to be.
Still, some of the pubs were still open.
“The atmosphere is so different from what I expected?”
“You’ve never been to a place like this?”
“Why would I ever come here? You’re not trying to sell me off, are you?”
He thought she was making a face like a third-generation bourgeois visiting a slum for the first time.
Siwoo led Periwinkle, who already seemed a bit deflated, into a restaurant.
When they ordered and the food came out, Periwinkle’s eyes widened.
“I wanted to give you a novel experience since it’s your first time. Auntie, a fresh one here!”
-Sizzle
Siwoo placed the main attraction of the day, held with tongs, on the charcoal grill.
It was a good-looking piece of pork rind, seasoned just right and cut into easy-to-eat pieces.
The rind curled up like an octopus when it met the hot charcoal fire.
It was a hidden gem of a restaurant that Siwoo and Sharon often visited to drink somaek, and it had been in business for 20 years.
“Wow, it’s curling up nicely.”
“…Is it good if it curls up nicely? More importantly, is that pork rind? Korea’s GDP… isn’t it quite high?”
Periwinkle couldn’t hide her confusion as she realized the identity of the bizarre food.
“I said I wanted to experience the common people, not the refugees.”
“Oh, the auntie will be upset if she hears that. They say tigers leave their skins when they die, and pigs leave their rinds. Just close your eyes and try it.”
“I won’t. What kind of food is this grotesque thing…”
Her reaction was completely different from Sharon, who had waited with sparkling eyes, saying, “Can I really eat this?” “Wow, it smells good,” and “It looks delicious.”
Siwoo handed Periwinkle, who was pouting with her arms crossed, a somaek with just the right ratio.
“If you drink this, we’re dating?”
“What’s with the sudden comment?”
“That’s the kind of line you throw out.”
“Is there a culture in Korea where women accept confessions while eating pork rinds in a shabby restaurant?”
Her tone was still sharp, but he couldn’t hide his chuckle, thinking she was cute, so he let it slide.
He placed a well-cut piece of pork rind on the plate in front of her, who was slightly frowning after drinking the somaek.
“…Is it really okay to eat this? What does it taste like?”
“Of course, it’s chewy and savory.”
“Isn’t it fishy?”
“The seasoning sauce covers it all up.”
Periwinkle stared intently at the rind before putting it in her mouth.
She made a face like she was chewing on an insect’s shell, but after chewing a few times, an exclamation mark appeared above her head.
“It’s good, right? Should I pour you more alcohol?”
“Give me your glass, I’ll try what you did earlier. How do you do it?”
“The ratio is important…”
While Periwinkle’s brow relaxed at the unexpected taste.
“Periwinkle, I’m sorry to say this, but is there a side effect to the clover?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It seems like my matching luck has gone bad since I used it.”
“There’s no such thing. More importantly, what’s this about the academy lecture?”
“Ah. I was hoping that Periwinkle could lend a hand. And there’s an artifact I’d like to research together.”
It is said that various friendly conversations were exchanged over the drinks.
