Chapter 4
-The reason I contacted you is because I wanted to discuss what you said earlier.
"Are you saying you want a proper fortune reading?"
-...Yes. That's right.
Her voice was trembling.
Then how much should I charge for the reading?
"How much were you thinking?"
-Huh? Um...
A woman searching for an answer over the phone spoke up.
-I'd like to meet you and talk in person.
.
.
.
A high-end restaurant in Seoul.
When I entered a private room in a Michelin two-star restaurant, the kind of place a penniless orphan like me could never easily step into, there was a woman inside.
"Team Leader Han Yu-na."
"Welcome."
She stood up and bowed politely.
And as soon as she sat down, she got straight to the point.
"Will... what you said really happen?"
"Calling me here in person means you realized the fortune I gave you was real."
Someone must have told her at the hotel.
There were probably a few people who could immediately verify the future I told them.
They must have called the hotel to thank me, or asked for my contact information.
"Yes."
Han Yu-na was serious.
She looked straight at me.
"What will happen at the hotel?"
"I don't know about the hotel, but I do know something will happen to you, Team Leader Han Yu-na, whom I read for."
I took the cards out of my bag.
"I only did a quick reading earlier, so I couldn't see it properly. So this time, shall we do it right?"
"...All right."
"You know Texas Hold'em, right? Let's do that."
After shuffling the cards, I laid out the hands.
Texas Hold'em is a game that combines two hole cards and five community cards.
The first community card on the table was the 3 of spades.
In truth, the cards don't really matter.
Even so, the reason I do fortune-telling like this is as a precaution.
If I blatantly prophesied and my prophecies came true often enough, who knows.
Some government research institute might haul me off and crack open my skull.
Living as a gifted fortune-teller would be better for my safety.
"Check."
Next card, open.
The next card is the 7 of hearts.
After opening the cards one by one like that, I laid down my hand and hers.
I have two pair.
She has nothing.
"Is there anyone at the company who's over 180 cm tall, behaves inappropriately, and... wasn't officially hired?"
".....!!"
Her expression stiffened.
Looks like there is.
His name is Kang Cheonsik.
He must be the hotel manager's nephew.
Please be careful of him.
"..Is he... going to commit murder?"
"I can't say for certain. I'm reading fortune for Team Leader Han Yu-na, not for him."
In the future I saw, Han Yu-na is forced to quit the hotel because of what that man does.
And then she's abandoned by her father and lives a life of frustration.
"Team Leader Han Yu-na. Your father seems to be a very high-ranking man."
"...Yes. That's right."
"And it seems you're currently being groomed as the heir."
"......."
"Then to become the heir, you'll need to produce proper results at the hotel you're working at now, right?"
"That's right."
"For now, let's get past this crisis. And if you're successful in dealing with it, please come find me again."
Han Yu-na thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Is there something you want from me?"
"Yes."
"What do you want?"
"A customer."
"A customer...?"
The Han Yu-na I saw is someone from a family that wouldn't be out of place being called a conglomerate family.
And she was at the level of receiving heir training, too.
Wouldn't someone like that be able to introduce me to someone who could hand over tens of millions of won as a fortune fee without blinking?
"Understood."
She nodded.
"Please have a meal before you go. I've already paid for it."
"Aren't you eating?"
"I need to prepare for this matter."
"I see."
It's not for me to decide how to prepare.
She'll do it better than me, so let's just leave it to her.
"Ah. And we got an inquiry from Hong Suyeon, whom you read earlier, asking if she could get your contact information."
"Hong Suyeon... Ah. The one whose lover betrayed her?"
"Yes. I got her contact information here, so please call her if you need to."
"Understood."
Han Yu-na stood up, bowed politely, and left.
Then let's dig in.
.
.
.
Michelin two-star.
It wasn't quite at the "holy crap, this is delicious" level.
My palate is so cheap that I can't even tell the difference in taste between the steak here and the meat from the barbecue place where I once helped the director out.
If anything, I think that place might have been tastier...
My stomach was full, and I got paid two million won as the fortune fee.
I should buy some Dungeon and Saga cash with this.
All right, then let's call the next customer.
-Hello?
Hello, Ms. Hong Suyeon. Earlier at that hotel, I read your fortune...
-Aaaaah!! Hello!! Thank you! Thanks to you, I won't be fooled by that bastard and that whore anymore!
"Congratulations."
-So... I wanted to thank you separately.
"Thanks? It's nothing."
-I wanted to treat you to dinner tonight...
"I've already eaten dinner tonight. How about tomorrow?"
-Okay! Then see you tomorrow!!
Tomorrow night's been taken care of too.
Then let's go hard at Dungeon and Saga today too.
And so, the next day.
I played games until evening, but unfortunately no expensive item dropped today.
Still, I earned enough for today's rice, so that's fine.
Teacher!
"Huh?"
The rear window of a luxury foreign car rolled down.
Inside was none other than Hong Suyeon.
"Hello. Good evening."
"Yes. It's a lively evening."
"Get in."
The bodyguard who got out from the passenger seat opened the door for me.
To think I'd get this kind of treatment in the world.
After greeting the bodyguard and getting into the car, Hong Suyeon was grinning from ear to ear.
But with her eyes slightly swollen, it seemed the shock was still there.
"Is Korean food okay?"
"I eat anything well."
"Then I'll take you to a good hanjeongsik restaurant."
The car moved.
It stopped in front of a luxurious building in a quiet area.
Is this another one of those Michelin places?
"Let's go in."
I went inside after her.
I thought it was an empty room, but there was a woman I'd never seen before inside.
Her hair is a deep red, and maybe she's wearing colored contacts, because her eyes are gold.
She's young, yet very bold.
Maybe because she's young?
Wondering why, I checked her past, and it turned out her grandmother had drilled it into her.
"Oh my. You're the person Suyeon mentioned?"
"I'm Kang Noa. Nice to meet you."
But who is she?
The smiling beauty naturally invited us to sit.
"I heard you're the one who got our Suyeon to come to her senses."
"Uh... I just did a bit of fortune-telling. But pardon me, who are you..."
"Oh my. Someone of that caliber should have been introduced sooner. I'm Hong Siyeon. Suyeon's older sister."
"Ah. Nice to meet you."
They really don't look alike.
Maybe because of the hair color and the colored contacts?
The guy she once brought over as her boyfriend felt a little off. I told her several times that I didn't think he was the one, but she didn't listen.
"Unnie..."
"But after hearing your story, she changed her mind in just one day. What a relief."
She grabbed Hong Suyeon's head beside her and bowed.
"Thank you sincerely."
"No. Isn't this also Hong Suyeon's destiny?"
"Destiny, huh. That's interesting. But Kang Noa, could you read my fortune too?"
"Of course I can, but... I didn't bring my fortune-telling tools."
"Cards? Hwatu? Or dice? What do you need? If it's something you need to get from home, I'll send someone to bring it."
"Then could you have someone bring my hwatu cards from home?"
I looked it up, and fortune-tellers apparently value their tools a lot.
I'm not actually fortune-telling; I'm just seeing the past and future, but since I'm doing fortune-teller cosplay, I guess I should follow the act to some extent.
After I told her my address and password, Hong Siyeon made a call.
"Shall we eat first?"
When she smiled and rang the bell, dishes were brought out.
Wow...
That looks seriously delicious.
Today's stir-fried pork doesn't stand a chance.
"As expected, I thought you'd like stir-fried pork."
"It's really amazing that they serve stir-fried pork at a place like this."
"Hehe. If it's not enough, just say so."
"Then one more plate of stir-fried pork..."
As expected, men are all about meat.
After a much more satisfying meal than yesterday's, she came back briefly with my cards in her hand.
"Then, shall we read your fortune?"
"Let's do it."
"I'll do it as a hwatu reading. I'm pretty good at hwatu, too."
"Very well."
A blanket was spread on the floor.
Hong Siyeon, who sat down there, grinned.
"Since it's no fun if we just do it, shall we put something on the line?"
"This isn't matgo; it's fortune-telling."
"It's for fun."
"Good. Then what shall we bet?"
"If I win... let's see. How about working with me for about a week, Kang Noa?"
"And if I win?"
"Do you want something in return?"
"Could you find me a jeonse place? The place I'm living in now is monthly rent..."
"Sure."
"Nice!"
"I'll finally have a proper home."
"Then let's start right away."
Long story short, I won.
Though it was close.
"Excellent."
"Thank you."
Hong Siyeon didn't seem particularly disappointed.
"I have a few empty rooms in a building I own in Jongno-gu. Move into one of them."
"Thank you!!"
"So what about the fortune?"
Ah, now it's about time to look.
I alternated my gaze between the cards and Hong Siyeon's face.
***
Executive Director Jang Guhwan.
The person she had trusted since she was young.
That person had ultimately betrayed her.
Just thinking of him opening the safe in her room himself, showing her the ledger, and grinning left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Hong Siyeon wore a bitter expression.
The papers in her hand showed that she had failed in this matter.
"I never thought it would fail this badly."
The business she ran handled trade with China.
The problem was this logistics deal.
On paper, it was a proper company.
And the company I personally saw when I went to China looked solid too.
But for all of that to have been a scam.
And for that scam to have been backed by the betrayal of a subordinate she'd thought of as family and trusted her whole life.
"Ha. So there's really no one you can trust in this world."
She gulped down the whiskey on the table in one shot.
This blunder is far too big.
That's why I'm afraid.
Because she'd never failed even once until now.
The fact that this result would hurt not only herself but her family too was completely crushing Hong Siyeon's pride.
She slowly walked to the window.
The window of the tenth-floor building opened.
"...I'm tired."
In the end, what she chose was surrender.
Family.
Wealth.
And even herself.
***
"......."
"How did it turn out?"
Hong Siyeon was smiling faintly.
After thinking for a moment, I told her,
"You're trading with China."
"......"
Her smiling face stiffened slightly.
"Stop that deal. And as for the person you trust, Hong Siyeon... I'm not sure how trustworthy they are, but..."
"...Wait... what?"
Her smile broke.
I don't know how she'd take my telling her not to trust the person she'd trusted her whole life.
But Hong Siyeon is someone who will take care of my home.
This person's downfall is not what I want.
"If you keep trusting that person, you'll lose everything."