The Tarot Reading
I was starting to feel a bit scared by now, and I wanted to leave this place.
Of course I thought it was impressive that she nailed the reading so well, and I didn't really believe in superstitions or ghosts.
But there was something in my instincts telling me I should stay far away.
Since this had never happened before, I decided to pay the tarot fee to make a quick exit.
"How much is the fee for the tarot reading?"
"Hm? Already leaving?"
"...Yes. We'll wrap it up here and head out."
"Already leaving? Just a little longer..."
Sia wanted to stay a bit longer, but when she saw my face, she stood up from her seat.
I was about to pull out my wallet for cash, but...
"Since it's your first time coming in a while, I won't charge you. Have a good day."
"Still..."
"Nuun paid a big heart and this is what she does. Just say 'thank you' and leave."
"...Thank you."
Honestly, since I had no idea how much it was, I was secretly nervous. Hearing that felt like the best sound I'd heard all day.
We stood up from our seats together with Sia.
"Actually, could I ask just one more thing?"
Sia said to me.
I had hoped she wouldn't ask, but since it wasn't a question that mattered, and it was simply because I felt bad, I couldn't stand the idea of Sia reading my mood.
"Feel free to look."
"Ah...! I'll be right back!"
She said, and with a whoosh, she went back inside.
I waited outside the thick curtain, since I had already come this far.
Because of the thick curtain, I could hear Sia and the bunny-masked person's voice from inside, but I couldn't make out the exact conversation.
I didn't lack the desire to eavesdrop, but I didn't want to hear Sia's secret so carelessly.
I sat on the chair in front of it and waited for Sia to come out.
* * * * * * *
Sia came back to the seat she had sat in earlier.
"Is there something you forgot?"
The bunny-masked person spoke while shaking its head at Sia's appearance.
"Not that... um... could you do one more tarot reading for me...?"
"...Yes."
After pausing a little at Sia's words, the bunny-masked person agreed.
"What would you like to know?"
"Um... I like the boy I came with earlier... I'm going to properly confess this year... Is it possible that it will succeed?"
"......"
Sia put her body slightly forward so that Park Siwoo behind her wouldn't hear her words, and whispered softly.
And because she felt embarrassed saying it herself, her face turned red.
The bunny-masked person watched silently and then opened its mouth.
"The curtains block sound, so you don't need to speak so softly."
"Ah... I see..."
"More importantly, that's why the tarot came out so strangely... I understand. Then let's confirm it with a slightly special tarot."
"A special... card?"
"Yes, it's an excellent card for romance."
With that, the bunny-masked person pulled out new cards from under the table.
The newly drawn cards were only different in design from the first ones, and there was no special difference.
Sia looked a little puzzled.
"Hu-hu, did you think even ordinary cards were special?"
"Ah... th-that..."
"That's correct. 'Now' is an ordinary card."
"Now... is what?"
"Yes, the true value of this card starts right now."
"...??"
The bunny-masked person gathered the cards and handed them to Sia.
"Now you have to hold the card and infuse it with energy."
"Eh..."
"Try holding the card once."
Sia, who received the card from the bunny-masked person, squeezed it tightly with both hands.
As if holding something precious, she held it with all her heart.
The bunny-masked person watched Sia, who was clutching the card so carefully, for a moment.
"Now, can you give me the card back?"
"Ah... here it is."
After receiving the card back from Sia, the bunny-masked person looked at it for a moment.
"I told you earlier that it was a special card."
"Ah... yes!"
"Would you like to see it?"
"What...?"
The bunny-masked person pulled out one card and showed it to Sia, and the back design had changed from when it was first received, with different patterns and colors.
"Wow! It's super cool!"
Sia was extremely amazed by the sight.
As Sia blinked her eyes excitedly, the bunny-masked person acted as if it was caring for a cute younger sibling.
"Hu-hu, it seems the energy was well infused. Then let's start."
"Yes...!"
The bunny-masked person shuffled the cards and glanced at Sia's expression.
Sia’s face showed that she was very tense.
Seeing that, the bunny-masked person smiled faintly and drew the card.
It drew three cards at first and then three more later, for a total of six, and arranged them.
"This side is the tarot about how the confession I asked about will go, and this side is the tarot about the boy’s heart."
"Ah... yes!"
Sia listened to the bunny-masked person’s words with sparkling eyes.
The bunny-masked person silently turned over the first three cards it had mentioned.
"Eh... how is it?"
Sia, feeling impatient, asked without realizing it, and the bunny-masked person thought for a moment before continuing.
"I have one more thing to ask. Are you curious about whether the person is accepting your confession right now, or whether your current relationship will continue?"
"I want to know if it will accept my confession."
"If you keep doing it like this, it will bear fruit."
"Ah...!"
At the bunny-masked person’s words, Sia fell silent for a while.
"Of course, tarot is just tarot, so don’t take it too seriously."
"......"
The bunny-masked person’s follow-up words continued, but Sia wasn’t hearing them now.
Right now, she was walking down a road shrouded in thick fog, and she felt that the fog was starting to lift.
Up until now, Sia had never spoken or shown it outwardly, but she had always been nervous when she saw Park Siwoo.
She had wondered if she was using his kind side to force their relationship.
But when she heard that even tarot confirmed her actions were correct, Sia felt she could put down a little of the heavy burden on her heart.
"Then let’s look at the next one."
The bunny-masked person opened another card.
"......"
Sia was restless for a while.
She felt something strange.
"Um... is something wrong?"
"Hmm... listen with a firm heart."
"...!"
The bunny-masked person suddenly changed the atmosphere, and Sia became very tense.
Since the mood had been good until just now, Sia swallowed dryly.
In that heavy atmosphere, the bunny-masked person’s words were.
"It’s a secret."
"Ah..."
A rather deflating word, 'secret.'
Because of that, Sia let out a sigh as if the air had been sucked out of her.
The bunny-masked person gave the feeling as if it was smiling faintly.
"I’m not joking. I won’t tell you two about this."
"Is that so... then can you tell me only whether it’s good or bad..."
"That won’t do either."
"Ah... I see..."
"Still, what I can tell you is... if you continue unchanged, there won’t be any problems."
"Really..."
"Yes, and it seems you should be a bit more proactive."
"Proactively..."
"Hu-hu, I hope you give it your all."
"Yes, thank you...!"
Sia stood up from her seat, bowed her head to the bunny-masked person, and headed toward Park Siwoo after pulling back the curtain.
Sia met Park Siwoo, who had been waiting in front, and they left the shop together.
As Sia left the shop, she felt a sense of lightness.
* * * * * * *
After leaving the tarot shop, we resumed our Hongdae sightseeing.
We went to an arcade near there, something we hadn’t done in a long time, and then went to a coin karaoke room to sing.
Of course, there were plenty of things we could enjoy in our neighborhood, but doing it in Hongdae gave it a slightly different feeling.
Anyway, we spent the day happily, and it was almost time for us to go home.
At first, we had planned to have dinner in Hongdae.
There were quirky restaurants and restaurants with good reviews.
But as we walked around, we snacked on things like so-dduk-so-dduk and chicken skewers, and the final blow was eating bread from the dessert cafe I had been eyeing.
Still, both Sia and I enjoyed them, so it was fine.
As Sia and I walked side by side, suddenly curious about what Sia had asked in the tarot shop earlier, I decided to ask.
"Sia, what did you ask in the tarot shop earlier?"
"Hm? Ah... I just... asked about my future too."
"Ah... so how did it turn out?"
"Just like usual, it said it would be fine."
"Hmm? Looking at the math scores, it seems not..."
"Ah no! I used a special card!"
"A special card?"
"Yes! Because I was holding the card, the color and design changed! Isn’t it super interesting?"
"Ah... that must be because of the temperature..."
"Temperature? What temperature?"
"Special ink that reacts to heat. The color and design change because it reacts to the heat in your hand."
"Ah... now that I think about it, I’ve heard of it... it returns after some time?"
"Right, it goes back to normal when the heat cools."
"Amazing..."
As Sia and I chatted, we got on the subway.
I dropped Sia off right in front of her house.
"Th-thank you for today. Let’s do this again next time."
"Sure, let’s do that."
After saying goodbye to Sia, I turned to walk away.
"Siwoo!"
"...?"
Sia called me, and I turned around to see her.
"Today! You were so cool! See you tomorrow!"
She said, and disappeared inside.
"......"
After the sudden attack from Sia, I stood there in a daze.