Orphans Are Good at Fortune-Telling (2): The Cards Never Lie

I called you because there’s something I’d like to discuss. It’s about what you said earlier.

—Yes. That’s right.

Her voice was trembling. In that case, how much should I charge for the reading?

—Pardon? Um…

A hesitant answer finally slipped through the phone from the woman on the other end.

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.

.

A high-end restaurant in Seoul. The kind with two Michelin stars—a place an orphan like me, who barely had two pennies to rub together, would normally never set foot in. Inside a private room sat a woman.

"Team Leader Han Yu-na."

"Please, come in."

She rose from her seat and gave a polite bow. The moment we sat down, she cut straight to the point.

"The fact that you called me here in person tells me you already know the reading I gave you was real."

Someone must have contacted the hotel. There were several people whose futures I could verify right away. They would have either called the hotel to express their gratitude or asked for my contact information.

Han Yu-na was dead serious. She stared straight at me.

"I don’t know about the hotel. I only know what’s going to happen to you, Team Leader Han Yu-na—the one who asked for the reading."

I pulled a deck of poker cards from my bag.

"Last time was just a quick reading, so I couldn’t do it properly. Shall we do this right this time?"

"You know Texas Hold’em, right? Let’s use that."

I shuffled the cards and dealt them out. Texas Hold’em is a game where you combine two hole cards with five community cards. The first community card on the table was the three of spades.

In truth, the cards themselves don’t mean anything. The reason I still perform these fortune-telling rituals is simple precaution.

If I started openly prophesying and those prophecies kept coming true, who knows what might happen? Some government lab might snatch me up and crack my skull open. It’s safer to just live as a talented fortune teller.

"Check."

Next card. The seven of hearts.

One by one, I revealed the cards, then laid down both our hands. I had two pair. She had nothing.

"…..!!"

Her expression hardened. So there is. His name is Gang Cheon-sik. He’s probably the nephew of that hotel director.

"…Is he going to commit murder?"

"I don’t know the exact details. I read your future, Team Leader Han Yu-na, not his."

In the future I saw, Han Yu-na would be held responsible for what that man did and forced to resign from the hotel. After that, her father would abandon her, and she would live the rest of her life in despair.

"Team Leader Han Yu-na. It seems your father is someone quite high up."

"And it looks like you’re currently undergoing successor training."

"To become the successor, you’ll need to produce real results at the hotel where you currently work, won’t you?"

"For now, let’s get through this crisis. If you succeed in handling it, please come find me again."

Han Yu-na thought deeply for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes."

"Clients."

The Han Yu-na I saw came from a family so powerful it wouldn’t be strange to call them a chaebol. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And she was undergoing successor training. Someone like that should be able to introduce me to people who could casually drop tens of millions of won as a reading fee, right?

She nodded.

"Aren’t you eating?"

"I need to prepare for what’s coming."

"I see."

It wasn’t my place to tell her how to prepare. She’d probably do a much better job than I could, so I left it to her.

"Ah, and earlier, Miss Hong Su-yeon asked if she could have your contact information."

"Hong Su-yeon… Ah, the one who was betrayed by her boyfriend?"

"Yes. I brought her contact details. Feel free to call her if you’d like."

"Understood."

Han Yu-na stood up, gave a polite bow, and left. Time to eat like a king, then.

.

.

.

Two Michelin stars. It was good, but not mind-blowingly so. Maybe my palate is just too cheap, but I couldn’t tell much difference between this steak and the meat from that barbecue place I visited once after helping the director. If anything, the barbecue place might have tasted better…

My stomach was full, and I’d received two million won as my reading fee. Perfect. Time to buy some Dungeon & Saga cash.

Alright, let’s make a call to the next client.

"Hello, Miss Hong Su-yeon. This is the fortune teller from the hotel earlier—"

"Congratulations."

"There’s no need for thanks. Really."

"I already ate dinner tonight. How about tomorrow?"

Dinner plans for tomorrow were set. Guess I’ll grind Dungeon & Saga hard tonight.

The next day.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠played until evening, but unfortunately no expensive items dropped today. Still, I earned enough for today’s rice, so it’s all good.

"Sir!"

"Huh?"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rear window of a luxurious foreign car rolled down. Sitting inside was none other than Hong Su-yeon.

"Hello. Lovely evening, isn’t it?"

"Yes. Quite an energetic evening."

"Please get in."

A bodyguard who had stepped out of the passenger seat opened the door for me. To think I’d receive treatment like this. I thanked the bodyguard and climbed in. Hong Su-yeon greeted me with a bright smile, but her eyes were slightly puffy. It seemed the shock still lingered.

"Is Korean food okay with you?"

"I eat anything."

"Then I’ll take you to a nice Korean restaurant."

The car moved. It stopped in front of an elegant building in a quiet area. Was this another Michelin place?

"Let’s go in."

I followed her inside. I thought the room would be empty, but there was a woman I’d never seen before. She had deep red hair and golden eyes—probably colored contacts. Quite bold for someone so young. Or maybe it was because she was young?

Curious, I glanced at her past and saw that her grandmother had insisted on it.

"Oh my. So you’re the person Su-yeon mentioned?"

"I’m Kang Noah. Nice to meet you."

But who was she? The beautiful woman with the smiling face naturally gestured for me to sit.

"I heard you helped our Su-yeon come to her senses."

"Ah… I just read her fortune. By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, who are you…?"

"Oh dear, I should have introduced myself sooner. I’m Hong Si-yeon. Su-yeon’s older sister."

"Ah, nice to meet you."

They really didn’t look alike. Was it the hair color and contacts?

"The guy she brought home as her boyfriend before looked pretty shady. I told her multiple times that he seemed off, but she wouldn’t listen."

"Unnieee…"

"But after hearing what you said, she changed her mind in just one day. I can’t tell you how relieved I am."

Hong Si-yeon gently pressed down on the head of Hong Su-yeon, who was sitting beside her, forcing her into a bow.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"No need. It was simply Miss Hong Su-yeon’s fate."

"Fate, huh? That’s interesting. By the way, Mr. Kang Noah, would you be able to read my fortune as well?"

"Of course it’s possible… but I didn’t bring my tools with me."

"Poker cards? Hwatu? Dice? What do you need? If it’s something you have to get from home, I’ll send someone to fetch it."

"Then could you bring my hwatu cards from home?"

I’d looked it up—real fortune tellers treated their tools with great importance. Even though I wasn’t actually telling fortunes and was just looking at the past and future, I was currently cosplaying as a fortune teller, so I figured I should follow the act to some degree.

After giving them my home address and password, Hong Si-yeon made a call somewhere.

"Shall we eat first?"

She smiled brightly and rang a bell. The food started coming out.

Whoa… this looks seriously delicious. The stir-fried pork is going to be annihilated today.

"I thought you’d like stir-fried pork."

"It’s amazing that a place like this even serves stir-fried pork."

"Hehe. Let me know if you want more."

"Then… another plate of stir-fried pork, please…"

As expected, meat is king for a man. The meal was far more satisfying than yesterday’s. When it was over, Hong Si-yeon, who had briefly stepped out, returned with my cards in her hand.

"Shall we do the reading now?"

"Sure."

"I’ll use hwatu. I’m pretty good at it too."

"Go ahead."

A blanket was spread on the floor. Hong Si-yeon sat down and grinned.

"It’d be boring if we just did it normally. How about we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put something on the line?"

"This isn’t Go-Stop, it’s a reading."

"It’s just for fun."

"Fine. What should we bet?"

"If I win… let’s see. How about you work with me for a week, Mr. Kang Noah?"

"And if I win?"

"Is there anything you want?"

"Could you help me find a jeonse apartment? The place I’m living in now is monthly rent…"

"Deal."

Nice! I’d finally get a proper home.

"Then let’s begin right away."

To cut to the conclusion—I won. It was a close call, though.

"Impressive."

"Thank you."

Hong Si-yeon didn’t look particularly disappointed.

"There are a few empty rooms in a building I own in Jongno-gu. You can move in there."

"Thank you so much!!"

"Now, about the reading?"

Ah, right. Time to get to it. I alternated my gaze between the cards and Hong Si-yeon’s face.

The image of him opening the safe in her own office, showing her the ledger with a sly grin, left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Hong Si-yeon wore a bitter expression. The documents in her hand showed the result of her failure in this matter.

The company she ran handled trade with China. The problem was this recent logistics deal. On paper, the company looked legitimate. The business she visited in China in person had also seemed solid. But it had all been a scam.

And the mastermind behind that scam was the betrayal of a subordinate she had trusted like family her entire life.

She downed the whiskey on the table in one gulp. This mistake was far too great. That was why she was afraid. Because she had never failed even once until now.

The fact that this outcome would harm not only herself but her family as well was completely shattering Hong Si-yeon’s pride.

She slowly walked to the window. The window on the tenth floor opened.

In the end, what she chose was surrender. Her family. Her wealth. And even herself.

"What’s the result?"

Hong Si-yeon was smiling brightly. After thinking for a moment, I spoke to her.

"You’re doing business with China, aren’t you?"

The smile on her face stiffened slightly.

"Don’t go through with that deal. And the person you trust… I’m not sure if he’s truly trustworthy."

The smile shattered. I had no idea how my words—telling her not to trust someone she had believed in her entire life—would sound to her. But Hong Si-yeon was the person who would provide me with a home. Her downfall was not something I wanted.

"If you keep trusting that man, you will lose everything."