I Picked Up the Trash Others Threw Away - Chapter 20.2

Chapter 20.2

Was it because I cared about observing the man’s attitude, not his hand? After reaching three points, he waved his cards in front of me and smiled.

“I was first this time. In this case, should I say ‘go’?”

“… Ah, that’s right. Haha. I should concentrate.”

Conversely, when dividends are made, the stakes are naturally higher and there is an even more competitive spirit.

From now on, there will be a fight that I should never lose, so I should postpone speculation about that man until later.

My heart was pounding, and my fingertips were tingling every time the repeated cards were gathered and disappeared one by one.

‘Should I say ‘go’ or not?’

I knew that I would rather stop here than seek greater gain, so I raised my head without being greedy.

“St—”

“Three points again. Should we go again?”

This time, the initiative was taken away from me. Fortunately, the game was reset, starting at three points again, but there was no time to hesitate anymore.

‘I have to stop before the game gets bigger.’

That man had the confidence to win this game. So he would continue to make bets without fear.

It meant that even if he lost, he could give me as much money as he had promised.

‘That pisses me off a little.’

I shouldn’t think about growing the stakes by getting caught up in a man’s provocation. I shouldn’t forget his intention for proposing a bet.

It was over with the ‘godori’ in the first place, and while I won a ‘chodan’, he had two copies of ‘hongdan’ and cheongdan’.

(T/N: guys I’m really doing my best with the go-stop terms but if anyone knows how to play, please please feel free to correct me in the comment section!)

Now that he had collected the ‘pi’ cards, it was most likely that he would score another three points with another ‘pi’.

However, if I definitely get a ‘kwang’ here, I can have a reason to end the game and get a cool shot at the same time.

The moment I put down the overturned card, there was a spark in my eyes. Raising the brilliant ‘ttonggwang’, I shouted, “Stop!”

Samkwang! I couldn’t hide my smile because I was happy that I had done it.

Since the dividends continued, the amount of stakes that could be received would also be significant.

The man quietly looked at the finished game board, clapped his hands briefly, and acknowledged his defeat.

“It was a pleasant battle. It’s a game that requires mind games, so concentration becomes more and more important in the long run.”

“That’s why it’s so much more fun. It’s more suitable to play with three or four people than with a lot of people.”

While I was cleaning up the scattered cards, the man who had emptied the glass in his hand pulled something out of his jacket pocket.

I looked at the man while keeping a reasonable distance, wondering if he was going to stab me with a knife with a smiling face. He placed a piece of paper on the table.

“This is my business card.”

“Business card…?”

“I want to officially introduce Hwatu as a game in the Moonlake casino. And I was wondering if the Lady would like to be the dealer for the new game table. You would receive a payment separated from our bet, so please let me know after you give it some thought.”

I glanced at the business card and saw the name of the man at the top.

‘Seraph Buchanan.’

It was a name that perfectly matched his composed words and behavior. And what was written beneath it was…

‘He’s not a big shot in this casino. He’s the owner.’

The logo of the Moonlake casino was clearly engraved. How many people would be able to carry something like that around here?

As if he was able to read my face under the mask, Seraph stood up, made eye contact with me, and smiled.

“I look forward to hearing from you, Lady.”

I got a chill down my back. I didn’t get caught up in something bad, did I?

***

“How did it go?”

As soon as daylight came, Trish sent a man and a carriage to the Delphonie mansion.

Feeling like I had to meet him in person, I headed all the way to the Malekiah mansion. As if he had been waiting for me, he suddenly asked me a question without even saying hello.

After asking the servant for something to drink, I delayed my answer, enjoying Trish’s nervous reaction.

“Stop acting like that and answer me.”

“I’m thirsty. Let me have a drink first.”

“Hey! How long will it take? Anything is good, so bring it right now.”

Unable to do anything about Trish’s complaint, the servant hurriedly put the tea with ice down in front of me. It had a pleasant lemon scent.

“I was thinking about how much money I should give you.”

“What are you talking about? … Did you gamble with that man? Did you win?”

“I did win. If I had lost, I wouldn’t have come back with such a confident attitude.”

How did I earn the money? If my own game that could make me more money in the future than what I had earned so far had been taken away from me, I would have drunk so much alcohol thinking it was unfair that I would’ve gotten sick and wouldn’t be able to go out.