A Warm New Year and an Unexpected Prophecy
The great national holiday of Lunar New Year was approaching. The journey home, which I had always made alone, felt different this year. Familiar landscapes raced past the express bus window. In years past, those scenes would have overlapped with the bleak uncertainty of my future. But now my eyes stayed fixed on my lap instead of the world outside.
“Som, you have to stay quiet. No loud barking in here, okay?”
Som looked up at me with those bright, glistening eyes. These days, a single glance from her was enough to fill me with trust. For the first time, I wasn’t making the long, tedious trip home alone. The warmth beside me solidly filled the empty space that had once hollowed out my heart.
“Aigoo, our son! Come here.”
My parents’ faces after so long, the savory aroma of home-cooked food, the cozy warmth of the house—everything was exactly as I remembered, except for one new addition.
“Oh my, so this is the famous Som? Goodness, how adorable.”
Mom stroked Som with open wonder. Som whined softly at the unfamiliar surroundings before quickly ducking behind my legs. The sight brought a huge smile to Mom’s face.
“You must be run ragged raising her, you rascal. Still, you could have called your father once in a while.”
“Ah… sorry about that, haha.”
Dad sounded gruff, but the look in his eyes as he gazed at Som held unmistakable curiosity and affection. Relatives arrived one by one, and finally Gomo appeared.
“Oh, Som! Mommy’s here!”
Gomo opened her arms with delight, but Som only gave her a quick glance before launching herself back into my embrace.
“Oh my goodness, would you look at that. Som, has Seung-ho been taking such good care of you that you’ve forgotten me? Maybe I should take you back!”
The moment Gomo reached out with exaggerated, mock-offended gestures, Som lifted her head from my arms and barked with perfect clarity.
“Woof woof!”
Everyone burst into laughter as if they’d rehearsed it.
“Oh my, she really understands what we’re saying!”
“She’s saying no? Looks like Gomo got rejected!”
Embarrassed, I patted Som’s back. “Pfft… Som, how could you do that to Gomo?”
Amid the playful scolding and everyone’s laughter, I simply pulled Som closer and held her tight.
The living room, filled with the whole family for the first time in ages, overflowed with the rich smells of food and the lively warmth of people who belonged together.
“Aigoo, our kids… we hardly ever see your faces. How’s the studying coming along?”
“Seung-ho, why have you lost so much weight? Are you eating properly?”
The adults’ affectionate nagging poured out nonstop. I just smiled awkwardly and nodded, but strangely the commotion didn’t bother me. After all, a small, warm presence sat at my feet—nervous in the unfamiliar setting, yet stubbornly refusing to leave my side.
The harmonious mood lasted only a moment before the sharp questions began flying my way.
“Seung-ho, you’ve graduated now—did you land a job at a good company?”
“IT is supposed to be booming these days. You should at least aim for N or K Corporation. How are your preparations going?”
My heart sank like ice.
“I… I’m doing my best.”
As I barely managed to dodge the question, my shoulders stiffened on their own. One relative clicked his tongue and continued.
“You need to settle into a proper job soon so you can get married. You’re not getting any younger.”
“Exactly. Seung-ho is good-looking, so why doesn’t he have a girlfriend?”
The moment those words left his mouth—
“Woof woof!”
Som, who had been quietly resting her chin on my knee, suddenly lifted her head and barked sharply in my direction.
“Look at her. She thinks we’re talking about her.”
“Hehe… Seung-ho, it seems Som wants to marry you herself.”
Som simply wagged her tail and burrowed deeper into my arms. I couldn’t possibly tell them how she went absolutely wild whenever girl groups or actresses appeared on screen.
After spending time with my family and relatives for the first time in ages, I returned to my studio apartment. Time slipped away mercilessly. At the very end of winter, the long chapter of my university life finally drew to a close. It was February—the day of the graduation ceremony.
“Hey, Lee Seung-ho! Aren’t you taking any pictures?”
I stood on campus in my graduation cap, staring blankly around while waiting for my parents. A familiar voice called out. Before I knew it, Chan-uk, Jae-hyeok, and Yong-jun were walking toward me.
“Look at you, all dressed up like a proper graduate.”
We exchanged awkward compliments about each other’s appearances and laughed. Four years of life seemed compressed into the thin, cumbersome fabric of those gowns.
“It feels so strange. It’s really over.”
“Kim Yong-jun, you’re a corporate slave now.”
“Even right now you have to talk like that…”
Laughter spilled out at their banter. Moments like this made me realize how much I had changed.
“Let’s just take the pictures. All we’ll have left are photos anyway.”
At Chan-uk’s suggestion, we linked arms and smiled at the phone camera. We captured a single frame that would mark the end of one chapter.
“Seung-ho!”
Just as we were taking the photo, I heard a familiar voice. My parents had arrived. In Mom’s arms was a small white ball of fluff.
“Som!”
At my call, she whined happily and raced toward me. I scooped her up immediately.
“Aigoo, our son has grown up. You worked so hard.”
“But Seung-ho, now you really need to focus on job hunting… Won’t it be difficult taking care of a dog all by yourself?”
Mom asked carefully. This time I didn’t hesitate. Holding Som close, I answered in a voice far steadier and more certain than I had ever managed before.
“It’s all right. She’s my whole world now, and the future I’m responsible for.”
Me in my graduation cap, my parents gazing at their son with pride, and Som nestled in our arms, quietly facing the camera as if she truly belonged in the family portrait. That single photo of the four of us warmly decorated the final page of my once-colorless university days.
A few days after the ceremony, I returned to the cafe. The absence of my student identity left the place feeling strangely hollow.
“Oh? Seung-ho, congratulations on graduating!”
Yu-ri spotted me and approached with a radiant smile. The boss clapped me on the shoulder.
“Hey, congratulations, kid.”
“Thank you.”
“So, what do you want as a graduation gift? Our Yu-ri’s been going on and on about buying you something.”
“Uncle!”
At the boss’s mischievous teasing, Yu-ri’s face flushed bright red. I smiled awkwardly and shook my head.
“It’s fine. Your thoughts alone are enough.”
She hesitated, then seemed to gather her courage.
“Then… instead of a gift, maybe we could have dinner together sometime…”
Her sudden invitation left me momentarily speechless.
“…Yes. I’d like that.”
“Whoa~ How nice. That’s what youth looks like.”
At the boss’s comment, Yu-ri’s face turned even redder, but her smile bloomed like sunlight all the same.
The overwhelming joy of graduation faded helplessly against the weight of cold reality. My days became an endless cycle of copy and paste. I sent out dozens of resumes, only to receive dry rejection emails that all began with “Despite your outstanding qualifications…”
That night, the final interview rejection arrived from the company I had pinned my greatest hopes on. I completely fell apart.
As expected, I can’t do it.
The familiar self-loathing wrapped around me like chains. I hated myself for daring to hope even a little. I lay face-down on the bed, shoulders shaking in silent sobs, when something hot and damp touched my cheek.
When I looked up, Som was wagging her tail in front of me, gently licking away the tears streaming down my face. Then she climbed onto my lap and curled her small body against me, as if trying her best to offer a hug.
I pulled her close. Even if the entire world failed to see my worth, this small creature stood completely on my side. The only being who loved me not for my specifications or my success, but simply for the person I was. That unconditional love was the only force capable of lifting me back onto my feet.
“Thank you, Som… I’m so glad I have you…”
I fell asleep exhausted, still holding her. Outside the window the winter night remained bitterly cold, but the small warmth in my arms was enough to melt my entire frozen world.
The next day I woke to late-morning sunlight. My body felt heavy after a night of restless suffering, yet somehow my heart was light as a feather.
“Did you sleep well?”
At the sound of my voice, Som lifted her head, stretched luxuriously, and licked my cheek. It felt like she was telling me everything would be all right.
That afternoon we went out without any particular plan. I told myself I was walking Som, but really I needed fresh air to clear my head.
After walking for some time, I noticed a tent in the neighborhood park that hadn’t been there before. As I drew closer, I saw a shabby banner with crooked handwriting.
New Year’s Free Tarot Reading
Normally I would have walked right past it. But today, for some reason, I couldn’t.
“Should we… give it a try?”
I picked Som up and sat down at the small table beneath the tent. Across from me sat a woman of indeterminate age with an oddly mystical aura, already laying out her cards.
“What would you like to know?”
“Um… just, maybe my romance luck… something like that.”
I had no desire to refill the mind I had finally emptied with thoughts of job hunting. She studied me for a moment, offered a faint smile, and began shuffling the cards. Soon three cards lay before me in a row.
“There is a connection that has watched over you during your darkest moments.”
I tilted my head at her words.
“That connection will become your destiny in a form you could never have imagined.”
Destiny…? For some reason Yu-ri’s face rose in my mind—her bright smile, the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at me. But that didn’t exactly seem unexpected…
“Your relationship will transform in a way beyond imagination, and your world will begin completely anew.”
She flipped the final card and gave Som and me a meaningful look, alternating between us. I simply shrugged and smiled.
“That’s a nice fortune. Thank you.”
As I stood, I stroked Som’s head where she lay nestled in my arms.
“Doesn’t seem to be about you, huh?”
Instead of answering, Som licked my chin once. I chuckled, dismissing the whole thing as nonsense, and left the park behind.