Chapter 2
The card was the High Priestess reversed.
In tarot, the High Priestess is considered a good card.
The problem was that it was reversed.
But what mattered was not the tarot reading, but his future.
There was one problem with the future I could see for him.
"Are you aiming for a promotion?"
"...W-who isn't aiming for a promotion?"
"The desire to grow is something everyone has. But do not betray others to do it."
He flinched.
His shoulders trembled.
"That betrayal will end up poisoning you instead. Have you heard the saying '토사구팽'?"
When the rabbit hunt is over, the hunting dogs are boiled.
To get promoted, you betray your current boss and team up with another one, only to be discarded in the end.
"Don't get involved in pointless fights. Know what you need to do, and focus on that."
"...Then won't my promotion be delayed?"
"The High Priestess card signifies foresight, quiet leadership, and intelligent, civilized judgment. The problem is that this one is reversed. It signifies ignorance, stupidity, and poor judgment."
"......"
"Your choices will be wrong, so do not neglect effort and study."
Jung Yuchan squeezed his eyes shut.
He seemed to be wondering whether to believe it or not.
"...Mr. Kang Noa. Have you ever done tarot readings? You really seem like an experienced hand."
"Hahaha."
"Phew... It felt real."
"Do you think it's fake?"
"Do you know the Barnum effect?"
The effect of taking a vague, universal description that could apply to anyone and treating it as if it were a trait unique to oneself.
Hmm.
Well, what I said was a little vague.
Although the past is one thing, I suppose.
There are only so many seats at the top, after all.
It is only natural that scheming gets used in the process, so it makes sense you'd think what I said was vague.
Do I need to spell it out plainly?
That he shouldn't hedge his bets between Assistant Manager Kwon Seungho and Department Head Yang Gyumyeong, and should just do his own work?
"Anyway, if you keep it like this, that'll do. Though for the talk about your past, it'd be better to keep it a little more vague."
"Is that so?"
Well, the important thing isn't the conversation with this man anyway.
"Then have I passed?"
"Overall, compared to the applicants who have come so far, you're far superior. Haha, for a second I really thought you'd read my past and future."
It really was.
But in the end, this kind of thing is a matter of trust, isn't it?
If you don't want to believe it, then don't.
"An event will be held for four days, starting three days from now. Mr. Kang Noa, you'll be working as a mysterious tarot reader in the hotel's event room."
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Lunch break is two hours, and when there are no guests, you can relax.
They even provide snacks, and when I heard that having a drink or two was fine if I wanted, it really felt like a great part-time job.
"However, please be careful."
"Yes?"
"That hotel is no ordinary hotel."
"Yes... I heard it's a five-star hotel."
"The better the hotel, the more impressive the guests."
He warned me sternly that if I slipped up, it could become a big problem.
I had no intention of causing trouble there for no reason either.
"Understood."
Let's play it by ear.
.
.
.
Sagniel Hotel.
It was famous for its luxury even among South Korea's five-star hotels.
A seat had been set up in a corner of the hotel's central event hall.
[We will tell you your future.]
"Oh my? What's that?"
"A tarot reading...?"
"Ah. Is that part of the hotel's 20th anniversary event?"
"There are plenty of other events, so why a tarot-reading event?"
"Exactly."
The guests glanced over here and chattered among themselves.
But what did I care?
I was a part-timer.
The best thing would be to just kill time until it passed.
With the company-provided robe pulled over my head, I sat in my seat and waited for guests who might or might not come.
"I heard Shiningka is coming this time."
"STS is tomorrow."
"Bray Casti is coming on the last day."
Since it was a major hotel's anniversary event, they had invited some big names to celebrate.
From idol singers I knew to famous overseas pop singers.
Doing an event alongside people like that was, well, impressive.
In any case, people seemed more interested in the celebrities taking part in this event than in me, tucked away in the corner.
Fine by me.
I sat in my corner seat, sipping the drink the hotel provided and watching the people.
Whatever their pasts, there weren't many people whose futures had any real twists.
At most, the only twists I could see were things like a promotion falling through or breaking up with a lover.
Such a smooth, beautiful future.
Compared with Kangwon Land, that is.
Anyway, there were no guests on the first day.
Not on the second day either.
Is it really okay to get paid for working like this?
But if there really are this few guests, then my plan...
"Um..."
She's here!
"Ah. Yes."
"Are you giving tarot readings?"
"Yes. It's free if you have a lodging voucher."
Because this is an event for hotel guests.
The woman who had shown interest in my words stepped back with a disappointed look.
So she wasn't staying here?
The women behind her walked past, giggling as they went with the one who had spoken to me.
After that, I was alone again.
Nice and quiet.
So I coasted through another day, and then the next day.
Since it was the last day, there were more people than on the previous days.
"Tarot readings?"
"They'll do anything these days."
"Fortune-telling in this age of science and reason?"
"Tsk. Sagniel's gone downhill too."
Some guests made it very clear that they were displeased.
But I focused on someone else.
On that woman who came up to me, showing interest.
"Do you do tarot readings?"
"Welcome."
At last, my first customer.
She was a woman in her early twenties, still carrying a hint of girlhood, wearing expensive-looking clothes.
The cute woman, with the liveliness and innocence unique to women in their twenties, stared intently at my tarot cards.
"Do you only do tarot readings?"
"Actually, I do all sorts of readings."
"Oh. That's interesting. What kind of readings can you do?"
"Actually, my specialty is hwatu fortune-telling."
"Pfft. You're the first person I've met who does hwatu readings in a place like this."
At the mention of hwatu readings, the unease around her seemed to lessen a little.
The reason was simple.
In the past I saw for her, there had been a scene of her watching a hwatu reading while nestled in her grandmother's arms.
That memory must be lowering her guard.
"If you don't like hwatu readings, I can do other kinds..."
"Please do the hwatu reading."
"Very well."
I set the tarot cards aside and took out the hwatu cards from the side.
"I'll shuffle them."
I shuffled the hwatu cards.
The crisp clacking sound rang through our spot.
"Please cut the deck."
"...Is this how you do hwatu readings?"
"There are many ways to read fortunes."
In the end, it's just a matter of interpretation.
And since I'm not really fortune-telling, what does the method matter?
"Hmm. All right."
Though she looked baffled, she cut the deck.
Me, four cards; the woman, four cards; me, two cards; the woman, two cards.
Eight cards are laid out on the floor, and the remaining cards go into the pile.
"But are you confident? I'm really good at matgo."
"Young people these days don't really play it, though."
"My grandmother really likes it."
She'd played it a lot, and apparently she'd even reached king rank in Etmarble Matgo.
"Aha. Anyway, I'm first."
Among the cards laid out on the floor, I had the eight and the woman had the five.
Since it's daytime, I'm the higher one, so I go first.
"Let's begin."
-Snap!!
The clear, ringing sound of hwatu cards striking each other echoed through the event hall.
Hearing that sound, some people turned their attention this way.
"What kind of lunatic is playing hwatu here..."
"What? Hwatu?! I want to play too!"
"Isn't there supposed to be a fortune-telling booth? Why are they playing go-stop?"
People who saw the woman and me playing go-stop became interested and approached.
We ignored them and kept playing matgo.
"I called a shake."
"Hey, miss. How could you throw a garbage card there?"
"Oh? It's jjok! Jjok!"
"Wow. This girl. She's got the heart of a beast..."
Exclamations burst out from all around.
King of Etmarble?
I've gone all the way to emperor.
It wasn't like I played go-stop because I liked it.
The director made me do it.
Though whenever I earned anything, the director ended up squandering it all.
"Not bad. 17 points. You've got two-go, pi-bak, and hongdan, cheongdan, and godori..."
"Ugh... Fine. How much was it per point?"
"It's a reading, what do you mean 'per point'? Now then, let's do the fortune-telling."
I looked at the woman.
"Your name is..."
"My name is Hong Suyun."
"You have a fiancé you've promised to marry."
"Oh my. Hehe. A woman like me should naturally have a boyfriend."
"That fiancé of yours is cheating on you right now."
"......"
"With the friend you consider your closest."
Hong Suyun's expression hardened.
And the people around her were equally flustered.
"W-What!!"
"Go back to where he's staying right now. You'll be able to confirm it. Ah, don't go alone—take at least two trustworthy men with you."
"......."
"You have bodyguards outside, don't you? Go with them. He's the kind of man who uses violence when things don't go his way."
Hong Suyun was dumbfounded.
She shot to her feet, glaring at me with a reddened face before spinning around and storming off.
Now, let's see how it turns out.
***
Hong Suyun couldn't contain her irritation.
Her fiancé was cheating?
He loves me.
And she loved him too.
That's why she had even rented an officetel for him, a poor college student.
She'd even made a card for him and arranged a car for him.
There was no reason for him to betray her.
Right.
That must be it.
And yet, the unease still remained.
Because she'd recently found out that he had been contacting her friend, someone he'd known since high school, quite often.
He said it was because they played the same game, but still, there was a bit of unease.
"Miss. What would you like to do?"
A bodyguard asked quietly.
After hesitating, she let out a sigh.
Right, this isn't suspicion.
I just want to make sure.
Let's tell my fiancé about what happened today.
I'd already told him we couldn't meet until tomorrow because of the event.
But she didn't want to stay there any longer.
So for now, she'd leave without contacting him.
Let's think of it as a surprise.
Absolutely.
She absolutely was not doubting him.
Thinking that way, she arrived at the front of his officetel in Gangnam.
-Ah! Ah! Ah!! Honeyyy!!
-Huhk! Huhk!!
Sounds were coming from right outside the door.
Hong Suyun froze.
She couldn't believe it.
Maybe he was just watching porn or something?
Unease.
Trembling hands.
Hong Suyun squeezed her eyes shut, took out her card, and brought it to the door.
The MasterCard opened the locked front door.
And then she saw it.
Her fiancé, naked, embracing someone and thrusting his hips like a vulgar beast.
And her closest friend beneath him, moaning as she lay trapped underneath him.
"W-w-wait... S-Suyun!! It's, it's a misunderstanding!! A misunderstanding!!"
White liquid shot out of the shriveled penis, which had been pulled out from between her friend's legs and had shrunk with tension and shock.
That filthy sight.
At the one who had betrayed her.
Hong Suyun could do nothing.
"Get out of my house right now."
Except throw them out.