Vol 1 Chapter 23 (1/2)
Running away fro me alive, I arrive at the party on the dock, full of people socializing and enjoying themselves to the fullest The best part of this cruise, I’d sayThe deck is bustling with the life of the party; there isn’t even any roo in the sky and the sound of the waves tickle ant cuisine and the et who I am momentarily and lose myself in a state of contemplationIt’s nearingout“Lily, hungry…”And then there’s Lily, stuck toat ry she is“Ah, ahh, right There’s food all around us, so let’s grab so to eat then”
To be honest, I was feeling a bit empty myselfGoing around the dance floor filled with people, we approach the buffet table located slightly off to the sideTurkey, barbeque, ribs, all sorts of meat and seafood, western cuisine to japanese, it’s filled with food from all around the world that you can pick out however to your likingRestraininginto hetti, pizza, smoked salmon, kebab, roasted chicken…Re-enacting the Leaning Tower of Pisa right ononto the Chinese food section, oing for the Chinese food as well“Uh, sorry about that”
Turning ize to whoever I bumped my hand int-
“Oh my God”Now I knohat they mean when they say you can’t run from fate in this world
The reason being that beside olden threads
“Ji… Ji… Ji… Jinmenjūshi+n-kun?!”[1]
Her face transforms into a look of pure unbelievable terror Well, not just her face, mine too as well
I guess it’s not just Korea that’s small…
“Shénmei shí?”
And running to Sara’s direction is a gentleuessing he’s no slouch when it coth Maybe he’s a shaolin monk, perhaps?
“Méí shén?”
A conversation in fluent Mandarin takes place I can’t understand what they’re saying, but fro to say that this is nothing of importance
So that uard or some sort
“So, what is Jin here?
Sara asks in a veno to mask her animosity toward me
“Ah, ahahaha, well, stuff happened… Was that guy your bodyguard?”
“Qing Long (青龍)[2] is a butler from my family”
Sara replies back in a cold tone, her words covered in numerous thorns
Now that I think about it, Sara was an ih-up fa them
“If we’re done talking, then I’d like to leave”
She talks as if every second she spends on me is a second wasted; Sara turns aith no hesitation whatsoever
But I can’t let this end here
All this disgust and conte anyway Now that Lily is distracted shoving food inside her like a vacuum cleaner, this is my chance to tell her what really happened
I grab onto her shoulder to stop her fro away
“J, just a second there!”
“Kyaa?! T, take your hand off me! Womanizer! Pedophiliac! Perverted sea anemone!”
“Uwahh?! S, sorry! I , so just listen to me for a second!”
“Get away, you beast!”
With a shake of her shoulders, Sara walks away from me
And so, I was left staring at her leaving without any progress in explaining inary girlfriend and even that wouldn’t be as depressing as this
“Haha”
And there’s Lily in contrast, who’s already done with quite a few plates of food, busy stuffing herself
Lily realizes that I’ at her and she slowly raises her head this way and stares at me
There’s still bit of rice around her mouth
I don’t knohat she ate to have rice around her mouth
“So, having fun enjoying yourself with food while you watch me fall into the depths of hell?”
I spit out, realizing that possibly nothing could ht now
“Hmph, none for you…”
Lily answers, dragging the plate closer to her
This troublesoet is…
Way too easily distracted
◇◆◇It was then, when the tightly-wrought tranquility of the party scene was pulled tight, like a string on a guitar of a musician
Appearing frouise, under the lobby o sisters of the Blackhazel
Maria and Dorothy
Even in a place like this where only the highest of the high class could dare to appear, the weight those two carry is certainly an overwhel one
Enveloped in an evening-dress of purplish beauty, Maria receives the attention of everyone filled with adoration and admiration
Beside her is Dorothy, who’s probably using all her strength to look as dignified as possible
“Aah, to meet the 《Princess of Pure Darkness》 in the flesh, I feel like I’!”
“Miss Dorothy looks wonderful beside the Princess as well!”
As the two enter the stage, the crowd of people around the Blackhazels disperse,their queen
“For the noble Blackhazels to visit our sratitude in place ofeveryone here”
“The pleasure is ours, President Kauf invited”
Maria walks with him and talks about stories here and there While Maria is talking about WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) being researched and other war issues, I take a seat in a table away from them
I’m not really interested in this adult business Maria is dealing with just for some attention from everyone, and I certainly don’t want to cause any problem as a “Blackhazel”
“Yeah, at a time like this… munch munch… as an older brother… munch munch… I need to look out for my sister’s sake… munch munch…”
Immersed in my so-called mature considerations, I sit beside Lily and busily shove food intoa fancy evening suit and eating away like amature
While I’m still immersed, a voice calls out to me
“Aah, so you were there!
“Huh”
Forget aboutwith others; apparently she couldn’t care less about others and she was busily waving her hands at my direction
All of a sudden, the flow of attention is directed towards me and the shady corner that I’m in
Umm, Maria
I don’t think this is a very good idea
I secretly send a quick gesture towards Dorothy beside her, as obviously panicking At least now, I think we feel the sa over here— is what I feel A in strategy, perhaps?
But it wasn’t like she could do anything against Maria who just suddenly decided to act away out of the blues
Maria hastily comes to the table where I ae
“You should’ve told o out early! I was really worried because I couldn’t find myOnii-sama”
She grabs enuine worry etched on her face It’s like she just found
She at least see by that smile on her face
At the sah the crowd like a wave
“Who’s that Oriental?”
“Who exactly is he for Maria, the Blackhazel, to…”
“It’shis face too”
“Perhaps he’s Sunwoo Family’s…”
Well, I expected this much
Even I can read the mood here
Those that are bound with connections do not approve of outsiders In their eyes, it’s clear that ularity here That much I can read
And even so, Maria is unfazed She acts like the two of us are in a private dimension, away from everyone
It’s a bit different fro able to read the mood
“It looks like you are done with dinner”
“Er? Ahh, yeah, I am”
I couldn’t bring er for more” like Coach Hiddink[3] once said
Maria stops herself for a e
“Then, Onii-sama”
The moment she decided to speak, I should have deeply prayed that “Onii-sama” never reached the crowd’s ears
But maybe I didn’t need to
Maria gracefully lifts the hem of her skirt with her hands and bends her knees in deference“It is this lovelorn lady’s small wish Would you care to dance with me?”
What?
Considering the possibilities of what consequences that could have, it would be better to tell everyone here that I was her “Onii-sama” A hundred thousand times better
Maria grabs s e was located
“Wa, Wait up! Maria! I don’t know a single thing about ballroo!”
That was ainst the 《Princess of Pure Darkness》 over there
“Relax and follow my lead, Onii-sama”
The way Maria spoke so eloquently; it’s dignified, sophisticated and beautiful as well, like how a queen would speak
But follow her lead?
Isn’t that what men usually say?
“Modern Waltz is, with sufficient lead, is a dance anyone can participate in, even beginners”
Maria lightly snaps her finger in the e
With that, the orchestra begins playing a light classicalfor this moment
She’s not listening to me
Everyone except e, observing us
Lily, Dorothy, and even Sara Lin should be around here watching
Thinking that, a wave of hesitation and panic batters et about Waltz and whatever, the only thing related to dancing I did was in rainner like me could dance, however Maria tries to lead
“Don’t worry, Onii-sama”
But Maria doesn’t reprimand me
She just smiles, as if she’s an omniscient Goddess
Maria takes a step back, and I take a step forward Maria raises my hand over her hand fluently and does a half-spin
There’s a certain clu controlled, but there’s also a sense of fluidity that you wouldn’t see in a first-time dancer
“This is fine as it is”
Maria speaks