Let's Head to Gangwon Land (1)

I never had parents from the day I was born. That means I'm an orphan. It wasn't anything particularly strange. Just scrolling through the internet these days, you see plenty of people who might as well not have parents. So what's the big deal if mine are actually gone?

Anyway, most real orphans like me, once we leave the orphanage, immediately start worrying about how to survive. But I'm different. And it's not because I'm some legendary orphan, or an SSS-class orphan or anything like that.

"Where to?"

The taxi driver's hair was so white it felt awkward even calling it gray. I smiled at his question.

"Not the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠red-light district. Let's go to Gangwon Land."

"Young man... Look, I feel like you're my own son, so I'm saying this. If you start hanging around places like that while you're still young, it won't end well."

His voice was full of genuine kindness and concern. But I just shook my head. In the silence that followed, the taxi finally started moving. When it stopped in front of the massive building, he tried to persuade me one more time.

You should always repay kindness with kindness. So I looked at him and spoke.

"Yang Go-jung."

"...Yes? How do you know my name... Ah. Wait, my taxi license..."

"Fifty-one years old. You lost your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠parents right when you entered middle school, dropped out, and went straight into the workforce to support your two younger siblings."

"Uh..."

"Then at thirty-one, you met your current wife, Ko Young-ju, and you have two sons together. Both of them grew up to be good men, just like you."

"W-wait a second. Who... who are you..."

"You're a good person. That's why you don't hesitate to share that kindness even with an orphan like me. Thank you for worrying about me. So let me return the favor with a word of concern. Yang Go-jung. Don't work tomorrow evening. Get some proper rest."

I smiled at his face, which had gone deathly pale.

"You're going to get robbed."

"...What?!"

I gave him one last smile as he stared at me in shock and confusion, then stepped out of the taxi.

Yeah. No point hiding it.

I can see other people's pasts and futures.

The first time I saw someone else's past and future was the day after it was decided I would leave the orphanage. I woke up and suddenly I could see strange things. The past and future of the guy who shared my room. Just to test it, I asked him about the things I'd seen, and every single detail matched his real past. So I told him.

This guy was going to leave the orphanage next year, lose all hope in life, kill someone, and end up in prison. So I told him: Life's a bitch, but it's not that big a deal, so don't be so pessimistic.

Being born without parents is an unchangeable fact, so don't let it give you an inferiority complex. Look at all the people playing the game you like—League of Legends—acting like they have everything when they have nothing. So stop being scared and just live.

I only gave him a few pieces of advice, but his future changed. That's how I learned it. Human destiny isn't fixed. The past that's already happened can't be changed, but the future that hasn't happened yet can be altered as much as you want.

Once I realized that, I roughly figured out how I should live. So the moment I became an adult, I applied for independence. And I received the settlement support money. A full ten million won. It was seed money I could get thanks to all the grateful citizens who diligently pay their taxes.

Of course, ten million wasn't nearly enough to get a proper jeonse on even a tiny room. I wasn't even considering monthly rent. So what did I plan to do with it? That's exactly why I was standing at Gangwon Land right now.

"Whoa..."

A sigh of amazement escaped me. It wasn't just because it was my first time seeing a casino. I'd seen countless truly hellish fates while living in the orphanage, but this place was actual hell. How could every single person here have such garbage futures?

The uncle over there was going to commit suicide in three years. The one over there in two. That auntie was going to become an armed robber next year, get caught, and go to prison. It was absolute chaos. I almost wanted to bring the kids from the orphanage who despaired about their futures here just to show them.

"Hmm..."

Anyway, that was beside the point. Time to play some games. I'd just earn enough to get a two-room jeonse and call it a day. I headed over to the roulette area, where a huge crowd had gathered.

Looking at their fates, some would win and some would lose. In that case, all I had to do was bet according to their destinies. My plan was to follow the winners and grow my capital.

After waiting for several hours, it was finally my turn. I jumped right into the game.

"Oh ho..."

Foreigners could bet up to twenty million won max, but as a proud Korean, my limit was only three hundred thousand. Starting with three hundred thousand and trying to earn fifty million... how many games would that even take? Well... I'd figure it out as I went.

A few hours after starting with that mindset, I reached an epiphany. This wasn't something a human should do. It wasn't just because you had to sit for a long time. As my wins kept piling up, the fates of the people around me began to change. At first it was just one person.

Along with that ridiculous self-justifying excuse, his hand held a knife dripping with blood. In front of him, I lay bleeding on the ground. The next day, he came back to the casino with the money he'd robbed from me and got arrested.

Geez. Better remember that guy's face.

With that thought, I continued the game. And then I realized it. My winning streak was changing the fates ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of everyone around me. One, two, three people. Some felt jealousy. Some felt envy. Some felt despair.

The clearer my victory became, the more their sticky emotions warped their futures. Making money this way was pure insanity. If I kept going, I was actually going to get stabbed to death.

"Congratulations on your win."

So I took only half the chips and put them in my bag. Fifteen people. The gazes of the ruined gamblers whose fates I'd changed all landed on me.

"Um, sir. What about the rest of your chips..."

"I only take half of what I win. Do whatever you want with the rest—give it to the people playing here or whatever."

I finally understood why Goni in the movie only took half his winnings. The moment I left half the chips behind without any lingering attachment and walked away, the fates of those fifteen people changed again. Instead of killing me to take it all, they turned their eyes to the ownerless chips.

Sigh. I'm never coming back to this place. Not even to piss.

I left the casino. Even though I'd only taken half my winnings, I'd still made about ten million won. That was enough to upgrade from a semi-basement monthly rental to a first-floor one. So what next? Should I get a normal part-time job and wait for an opportunity?

While thinking that and fiddling with my old phone in a cheap motel room, I saw it.

Whoa. Two hundred thousand won a day? That's insane. Looking at the description, it seemed like all I had to do was sit there and run my mouth. There was no way I could pass up a two-hundred-thousand-won daily gig when I was short on cash. I applied immediately.

A little while later, a text came to my phone. It asked if I could come for an interview tomorrow if possible. Tomorrow, huh. I didn't know much about tarot cards, but I could cram them tonight and wing it. So the next day, after preparing, I headed to the event company handling the interviews.

"How can I help you?"

I'd assumed an event company would be small, but it was actually pretty big. I waited inside, and soon a man in his mid-twenties came out.

"Hello. I'm Kang Noah."

"Ah... Nice to meet you. I'm Jeong Yu-chan, in charge of hotel events for Orwen Events. You're quite young. Do you have any experience with tarot cards?"

"I've studied the major and minor arcana."

Even if it was just cramming.

"I see. The important thing isn't the cards—it's how you treat people."

"Haha. I suppose so."

"I believe fortune-telling holds authority."

"Authority?"

"Yes. Seeing someone's fortune means they carry anxiety about their future. To comfort that anxiety and suggest a path forward, you need to show that you're in a higher position than them."

He wasn't wrong. Showing someone their future was essentially guiding them. You needed authority and dignity for that.

"We can provide a few days of training on that. If you do well with this part-time job, you could even become a full-time employee."

Not bad.

"What would the salary be as a full-time employee?"

"We work on commission, so the base salary is about this much..."

It wasn't bad. Obviously nowhere near casino money, but enough to live on without too much trouble. Still, I wasn't particularly interested in becoming a full-timer. I had my own plans.

"Anyway, shall we start the interview right away?"

He smiled and handed me a deck of tarot cards.

"Would you try reading my fortune with tarot? It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong."

The important thing was the aura of overwhelming the other person, and the image of a proper fortune-teller. He said it naturally, and that he'd correct me as I went. In that case...

I roughly shuffled the cards and laid them out in three piles, just like I'd seen yesterday.

"The left is the past, the middle is your current concern, and the right is the future."

He flipped over the left card. It was The Fool. Generally, it signaled a new beginning. A new beginning, huh. I stared intently at the card. Then slowly looked up at Jeong Yu-chan.

I could see it. His past. His future. His destiny appeared before my eyes like a vision. In that case, I just had to loosely tie it to the cards and spin a good story, right?

"Jeong Yu-chan. You've liked receiving attention from others ever since you were young."

"...Excuse me?"

"The cause probably goes back to when you were in elementary school. It must have been because... your first love liked funny people."

"....."

Jeong Yu-chan's expression hardened.

"But you didn't have any talent for it. The only thing you could do was show off your own foolishness to get her attention. That in itself wasn't wrong. But it became the pillar that ruled your entire life."

Jeong Yu-chan. Thirty-three years old. The reason he'd joined an event company was because of the obsessive compulsion carved into him as a child that he had to make others laugh.

"W-wait a moment, Mr. Kang Noah."

"That's why you were bullied in middle school."

"....!!"

Jeong Yu-chan shot up from his seat. I looked straight at him. Fortune-telling is authority. I was simply saying what I saw, but to them, it was experiencing an impossible mystery. So there was no reason to avoid the eyes of someone standing up in shock like this.

Therefore, I looked him straight in the eye and said,

As I spoke, I tapped the cards. He stared blankly at the deck. His hand was moving toward the future.