Chapter 99: 98 – You Filthy Cheater…

I kept it cool. Even while my chips slowly dwindled as I kept folding hands that were absolute garbage, I played it calm.

Maria laughed at me and said, "What's wrong, Oppa? Worried about losing? I didn't take you to be so cautious."

I dealt out another round of cards and smiled. "I'm just making things more interesting. There's no point in the game ending so soon, right? If I went like how I usually did in these sorts of things, we'd be done in ten minutes and run out of things to do."

Or so I said.

But *fuck.* I'm supposed to have immeasurable luck or something, right? Why the hell am I losing so bad?! Is this your fault, Seol? Did I inherit your bad luck with gambling?! No, is this your leftover karma for gambling so much?

Chohong gave me a sly look and played with her small stack of 'Jihu' chips. "Hm..." She glanced at them and then looked up at me. "Should I start asking some questions, Oppa? You look like you could use some more chips."

"I'm fine." I smiled at her and said, "It's just a temporary setback. Remember how many times I've turned things around at the last minute since you've met me?"

Before Chohong could respond, Maldong snorted and said, "Enough times for it to become a bad habit, Kid."

Since he won the last hand, Maldong started off and tossed two of his chips in. "Just flip the cards already."

Sora tossed two chips in as well and said, "Hey, Grandpa. You have to wait for the rest of us first, you know?" She glanced at me and said, "We all want to pry those secrets out of Darling, but we've got the entire plane trip, you know?"

Chohong and Maria tossed their chips in, both staring at their cards.

I tossed in two of my chips as well and glanced at my cards.

Ace and King of Spades.

If only I had luck in spades too.

Sungjin looked at his cards and then shook his head. “I’ll fold this round.” He set his cards down and slid them up.

Seol-Ah looked at her cards as well. And then she looked at me, biting her lips.

I raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong, Seol-Ah?”

“N-No! Of course not, Oppa. Just…” She hesitated and then nodded her head. “I’ll call.” She set her cards down and then put in two of her chips.

Maldong looked at me and said, “That’s everyone, Kid. Now flip the cards already.”

I let out an easy-going smile… at least, what *should* be an easy-going smile. Couldn’t do much but go off instincts right now.

Anyway, I did that and then started flipping the cards. “Relax, Coach. Or are you worried about me prying some of your secrets out of you, hm?” I flipped over the first card.

A two of diamonds. Crap.

Still, keep calm, me. You’ve got this. If you can’t rely on luck, you’ve gotta rely on reading your opponents. Skill, not will. Because you definitely can’t will your way outta this mess without your hax abilities.

Just how the heck did Blackie manage that anyway? Is it because I still don’t have a complete grasp on my powers? Because they still aren’t completely ‘mine’?

Definitely needed to sort that out. It felt like something that was going to come back to bite me later if I didn’t.

I flipped over the next card, maintaining that easy-going smile. At the same time though, I secretly observed everyone else.

As expected, because I had been losing so many rounds, they had lowered their guard.

Maria was heady with her wins, so she wasn’t paying much attention to me anymore, convinced that I just had terrible luck. Instead, she was keeping an eye on Maldong, Sora, and Chohong, carefully scrutinizing them.

Chohong was the same as Maria. Well, in terms of her attitude towards the game. She didn't have as many chips, but it looked like her objective was to grab a bunch of my chips so that she could question me, so she was mostly focusing on other people since they were the primary source of those chips at the moment.

Coach... He was calm. A complete poker face. Even while I was losing a lot, and even while he was doing well, he didn't let anything slip. Well, to the average person's gaze.

I could see a few tells there, but a bit more observation was necessary.

Sora... Well, she didn't care about this. It looked more like she was actually playing for fun instead of anything serious. Which made her harder to read.

Seol-Ah was the same as Sora. She didn't seem to really have a stake in the game. Or at least, she wasn't trying to bankrupt me.

And Sungjin was being a bro, always checking on my chips and glancing at me before deciding his next move.

I took in all of that information in a single glance and finished flipping the second card.

A Three of Diamonds.

And then the next, a Four of Diamonds.

No pairs, full house, three of a kind, or four of a kind hands were in play. But flushes and straights... and even a royal straight flush were definitely likely.

I leaned back and smiled. "There we are." I took a look around at everyone and said, "Looks like some people can hit it big right off the bat." I picked up one of my chips and flipped it in the air before catching it. "Should we up the ante?"

Maldong raised an eyebrow and said, "Finally get something good, Kid?"

"I dunno." I spun the chip around in my hand and looked at it before setting it back down. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't?"

"Bah." Maldong shook his head and said, "I'll just check."

So he didn't have anything super great. That, or he didn't want to drive me under so soon... No. He didn't show any signs of a good hand either way.

Alright. Then next...

Sora chucked in five of her chips and said, "I'll raise." She smiled at me and said, "Let's see if you're bluffing or not, Darling."

I laughed and said, "Who knows? I've had to do a lot of it recently, so it could be, it couldn't be. Though." I frowned and said, "You do realize that if you keep calling me Darling you're going to get wrapped up in the trouble with the other girls, right?"

Sora rolled her eyes and said, "After all you've done to me, it's already too late to shirk your responsibilities, Darling."

Seol-Ah blushed and said, "R-Responsibilities?" She looked at me and said, "O-Oppa?!"

Chohong threw in five chips and then glared at Sora. "Just what did you do with Oppa?"

"What?" Sora raised an eyebrow and said, "Jealous?" She shuffled her chips and said, "You're going to have a hell of a time if you are, you know? All I've done with your 'Oppa' here is share a few drinks." She paused and said, "Well, maybe we shared a bed once or twice after I had a bit much."

Chohong narrowed her eyes for a bit. But then she laughed and said, "Oh. I guess Oppa just took pity on you then."

"...Pity?"

Chohong smiled. "Yeah. After all, he has a soft spot for pretty faces. Even a tramp like you could get some handouts if you clutched to him crying, right?"

Sora's eye started to twitch.

Maria rolled her eyes and threw her chips in too. "Don't let Chocho rile you up. She's just trying to make up for her crappy bluffing skills."

I sighed and put my chips in as well. "Could you girls not fight over me? I get that I'm attractive and all, but it gets a bit irritating you know?"

Sungjin bit his cheeks, holding back a laugh.

Seol-Ah didn't hold back though and laughed as she threw her chips in. "Oppa's gotten pretty confident. Should I be scared that you'll try to do something to me too?"

"No. But please don't fall in love with me too." I pointed at Sora, Chohong, and Maria and said, "Look at these girls fighting already. You don't want to get involved in that mess, do you?"

Chohong turned a deep red and then glared at me. "S-Shut up! This is all your fault anyway!"

Sora rolled her eyes at me and then said, "I liked you better when you were pretending to be dense."

"Half-pretending." I frowned and muttered, "Might have been better if I was actually dense at the time."

At least that way I could have brushed it off as me not knowing instead of doing this complicated web of platitudes, compliments, and apologies. And the dynamics-

Ah, wait. No, it would probably be worse. Seol was originally dense and there were already giant catfights for him.

Considering how volatile a few of the girls that fell for me were... Especially since that included Yun Seohui, that would have been a lot worse. And the number might be a lot larger too...

I resisted the urge to sweat at hypothetical future and focused on Seol-Ah.

She smiled at me and said, "Don't worry, Oppa. I like you better as a big brother anyway."

I nodded and said, "Let's keep it that way... Ah, but just to let you know, my baby sister is a bit clingy and paranoid, so please don't cause misunderstandings."

"Eh?" Seol-Ah blinked and said, "Um, sure...?"

"Anyway." I looked back at Maldong and said, "Your move, Coach."

He waved his hand and said, "Just flip the next card."

"Alright. We've got..." I grabbed the card and flipped it. Slowly, dramatically... all while subtly checking everyone's expressions as it did.

A Five of Diamonds.

Seeing that, I smiled wider.

It wasn't a fake emotion. After all, with my Ace... even though it was the wrong color, I had a straight from 1 to 5.

Unfortunately, since the cards in play were all diamonds, the odds of me losing were one in four. And since there were five of us in play...

Sungjin clicked his tongue from my side and said, "Darn! I had a six!"

I laughed and said, "Should have stayed in then, Bro."

Good. Then the only other way for a straight flush was an Ace of Diamonds... which should already be in the discard pile.

And from the looks of everyone else...

Sora glanced at her cards and clicked her tongue.

Chohong didn't say anything, doing her best to keep a poker face. Even so, I could see the faint smirk on her face.

Maria wasn't bothering to hide anything, only looking smug.

Seol-Ah... looked a bit confused. Though considering she didn't usually play poker, she might be thinking through the rules.

As for Coach...

"What are you looking so happy for?" He looked at me and threw in ten chips. "You're going to need to answer a lot of questions after this round to stay in, Kid."

"Maybe. Or maybe that'll be you, Coach." I tapped my cards and said, "I've got an Ace and a King, you know?"

Sora looked at me and said, "You're bluffing."

I glanced at her. "Am I?"

"...Tch." She slid her cards forward and said, "Whatever. I don't have diamonds anyway."

I winked and said, "Just hearts, right Big Unni?"

Her eyes widened and her face turned red. After that, she crossed her arms and said, "W-Whatever, you shameless flirt."

I laughed and said, "Well, I'm at a pretty big disadvantage here, so if flirting lets me win..." I looked at Chohong and smiled. "You'll take it easy on me too, right, Chocho?"

Chohong's face turned a deep red too, but she quickly slapped her cheeks and glared at me. "You won't trick me, Oppa! I'm not giving up until I make you spill all your secrets!" She slid half of her chips forward and said, "Raise!"

Maria looked at Chohong and said, "Are you crazy? No wonder you get played so hard by Oppa..."

Chohong glared at Maria and said, "S-Shut up! I do not!"

"Yeah, yeah." Maria sighed and threw her cards down. "You have your fun. I'm not letting go of this advantage while I've got it. Fold."

I looked at Maria and nodded. "Smart choice." I shoved all my chips in the center and said, "All-in."

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Silence.

I smirked and said, "What? Scared?"

Seol-Ah glanced at her cards and then frowned. After a few moments, she nodded and said, "I'll come with you, Oppa. Um... Call, right?"

Sungjin coughed and said, "Phrasing, Noona!"

"Huh?" Seol-Ah blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"...Nevermind." Sungjin sighed.

Maldong looked at his cards. He looked at me. He looked at his cards one more time. Then he clicked his tongue and said, "Fine. I'll call this round." He slid half of his pile over to match what I put in.

Chohong bit her lips and then slowly pushed in over half of her chips to match mine. "C-Call."

I looked at Chohong and laughed. "Nervous, Chocho?"

"S-Shut up, Oppa!" She blushed and said, "Open the last card already!"

"Fine, fine." I held up my hands and then grinned. "Now, for the last card..."

I flipped it. And the last card...

Chohong slammed her hand on the table. "Dammit!"

A King of Diamonds... which meant that there was already a flush inside.

It also meant I had a pair along with my straight, but it wasn't enough to win.

But...

I leaned back and laced my hands behind my head, smiling. "Well, Coach?"

He looked at his cards. He looked at me. And then he threw them in and said, "Straight flush from Ace."

I froze, staring at the cards.

Like he said, it was an Ace of Diamonds.

But that was impossible. I didn't shuffle that card back in and we were playing a single deck so...

"What?" Maldong raised an eyebrow and said, "Something wrong?"

"...You really want some questions answered, huh?" I sighed and shook my head.

Here I was trying to play by the book and rely on bluffing. But if we were doing some sleight of hand tricks too...

Chohong groaned and then put her cards down. "I lose."

It was a three of a kind. Three fours, to be exact. A good hand, but definitely not enough to beat a straight flush.

Everyone looked at me.

I laughed and then flipped my cards. "Well. Guess it's time to answer some questions, huh?"

And time to start getting creative.

It seemed like that guy was right about this being a karmic tribulation. Luck definitely wasn't enough to get me out of this. And neither was playing by the books.

"Well then." Maldong reached for the chips and said, "Why don't we start with-"

"Um." Seol-Ah raised her hand and said, "It's still my turn, right?"

Maldong froze and looked over. Then he looked confused. "You have something higher?"

"I... think so?" Seol-Ah flipped her cards, revealing a King of Diamonds and an Six of Diamonds. "I'm not sure about flushes, but if we're talking about straights... I think mine is higher, right?"

Silence.

And then I laughed. "That's right, Seol-Ah." I slid the chips over to her before Coach could say anything. "The winner is you. Now, uh... you got any questions you want answered? I could use some chips."

*Technically* the match wasn't over until we landed. And house rules had it that the winner was the person with the most chips when we landed, not who was last standing. So if I could convince people to keep me in, it counted.

And if it didn't... Well. I'd just need to have a long conversation with Gula-chan and why making my class 'Harem God' of all things would be a terrible idea.

...Unless she wanted that?

Holy crap, was that the ploy? But then...

Argh...

"Oppa?"

I blinked and looked up to see Seol-Ah staring at me.

"I do have some questions I want answered. They're a bit personal though..."

I nodded and said, "No problem. Forty chips and we'll call it even. Anything you want."

Forty chips... Yeah, that should be enough to get me back in. Especially if Coach was going to play dirty and cheat like that.

I'd show him what a real card shark could do...

"Okay." Seol-Ah nodded and slid over her chips. After that, she stared at me for a long time.

I stared back, confused.

And then she said, "Between Maria Unni, Miss Chohong, and Sora, who do you like more?"

The air suddenly grew sharp. A weird tension as the three women addressed looked at me while trying to not show that they were looking.

...Ah. I guess I really should have taken this more seriously, huh...?

"Well, Seol-Ah. The one who I like the most out of those three is..."

xxx

Claire sipped on a glass of wine as she watched Jihu struggle in poker. She would have liked to join, but she took the time to explore the plane at the beginning of the trip to make sure there weren't any hazards or threats lying in wait.

Unnecessary, considering that Kim- Ah, it was 'Seol' Hannah now.

Considering that foxy woman had cleared the trip, there shouldn't be any problems. But Claire wanted to make sure.

She knew that Jihu could take care of things in the worst case scenarios with his abilities, but she wanted to ensure this was a proper vacation. One where he could relax and unwind.

Well, before the tangled web of romantic affections and affairs he had strangled him when they landed on that tropical island with nothing but free time and pleasant weather.

But that was out of her hands. And her specialty.

Combat, enemies, and conspiracies Claire could handle. Personal relationships...

Considering how it was already a miracle that she managed to find and meet someone like Jihu in the first place... And considering how she had such a headstart but still didn't manage to turn it into anything until Cinzia practically threw Claire at Jihu, she definitely wasn't the person to help with that.

But Flone and Hannah were, so she would leave it in their hands. And in the meanwhile...

Claire sipped on her wine again and then pulled out her phone.

There was still quite a bit of time left until they landed. Since that was the case... and since she could understand Korean now because of Jihu's extraordinary abilities...

"I should be able to read Jinhee's novel now... Ah. There it is." Claire opened the text document that Jinhee sent her and then started reading.

"There are three ways to survive in a ruined world... Hm?" Claire blinked and then muttered, "Jihu didn't talk to her about that place, did he?"

She frowned and kept reading, sipping on her wine while she scrolled through the manuscript.

xxx

The Full Moon. It was a five-star hotel founded by an ex-Paradise Earthling near Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. The hotel where Jihu and the others had a month-long reservation to stay.

There, a pair of sisters sat on the beach, staring up at the clear blue sky.

"...I wonder how Oppa's dealing with his other women right now?" Yun Seora sighed and then sipped on a can of coconut juice.

Yun Seohui giggled and said, "Our hero is probably scrambling to make things work. He's just too attractive, you know?"

Seora frowned and sipped on her juice. "...Doesn't make me feel any better." She ran her hand along her bare left arm, remembering how Jihu healed it in the past. And then she remembered the gentle way he held her after that incident with the foreigners...

Seora clicked her tongue and then drained her coconut juice before tossing the can aside. "Oppa isn't fair. Marrying Hannah when he did all of that for me... and then calling and saying that just because he's married doesn't mean he doesn't like me... Hmph."

Seohui stretched, showing off her curves and skin beneath her tight bikini and said, "Well, that's just how heroes are." She paused and said, "The real heroes, anyway. Sung Shihyun tried to be the same and build himself a harem, but-"

"But then Oppa comes along, steals that guy's thunder, and then steals the hearts of pretty much all the talented women in that place. I know, Sis. You've said the same thing for the past week already."

Seohui blinked. "I have?"

Seora sighed and then reached into a cooler and pulled out another can of coconut juice. "Do you want one?"

"Mm... I'm fine- Ah." Seohui glanced to the side, her expression instantly darkening. "Some more uninvited guests are heading over. Do you want to tell them to scram again, or should I?"

Seora cracked her can open and groaned. "Again? I told you, Sis. You should have saved that outfit for when Oppa got here." She sighed and took a swig from her can before looking over. And then she blinked. "Eh?"

Like usual, it was a pair of men walking over. But these two were an odd pair.

Usually, the people that tried to chat up Seora and her sister were young. Arrogant men who thought some smiles and a half-trained body would be enough to impress.

But these two were different.

First of all, they didn't walk over with the usual lecherous gaze- Ah, no. They were both definitely eyeing Seora and Seohui's bodies. But instead of desire, the emotions they showed were appreciation and... anger?

Second of all, the two men were an odd pair, even among the usual crowd in the area. The first was an older man wearing a straw hat, sunglasses, and a Hawaiian dress shirt paired with cargo shorts and sandals. The second was a man with bulging muscles, a bald head, dark skin... and a man who wore nothing but a thin speedo covering his groin and a grotesque bulge.

But most importantly, Seora recognized the two. She hadn't met them in person, but if she remembered right...

"Aloha!" Ian waved and said, "Mind if I join you ladies waiting for my friend?"

Hugo groaned and covered his face. "Bro is too godly. He's already on a plane with all those beauties, and he's coming overseas to eat up these... Life isn't fair, man."

Seohui sat up and looked over at her sister. "Seora?"

Seora laughed and said, "It's fine, Sis. And of course you can, Mister Ian. Please, do your best to keep annoying men from bothering your dear friend's oversea wives."

Ian froze. "P-Pardon?"

Hugo froze too. And then he threw his head back and screamed. "JIHU YOU CHARMING BADASS MOTHERFUCKING CHEATER!!!"

xxx

I sneezed.

Dammit. Who's talking about me behind my back now...?

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