Kim Hajun

“Here are your iced teas,” I said, handing out four plastic cups to a table full of female seonbaes.

“Thanks,” one of them said, taking a slightly long look at my face. “Are you a first-year?”

“Yes.”

“What class?”

“Class three…”

Before the seonbae could ask anything more, I quickly proceeded to give the group a kind smile and bow before making my way to the café “counter.” This was really just a few desks put together for us club members to make drinks. It was also my current safe haven away from the female customers who liked to stare.

Dohee Seonbae, the editor-in-chief of the English newspaper club, grinned at me. “Aren’t you quite the popular one today, Hajun?”

I grimaced. “It’s no thanks to you, seonbae.”

“Oh, cheer up. Business is booming, isn’t it?”

I looked around the classroom turned café. It was initially supposed to be an English café in suit with the kind of club we were. However, from the chattering sounds of all the customers packed in here right now, not a single conversation was in English.

“Thanks, Dohee,” a few girls said on their way out. They gave me a wave, too.

Dohee Seonbae leaned toward me. “I’m serious about our deal, you know. Tell me which girl you think is pretty. I’ll help set you up with her.”

I chuckled courteously. “It’s fine, seonbae. Really.”

“Alright, but let me know if you change your mind. It’s the least I can do for letting me use your face as advertisement.”

She had on that same mischievous smile the first time the idea had been proposed during our club meeting a week ago. Technically, I wasn’t the only sacrificial lamb to be forced into wearing a barista uniform; it was all of the first-years. However, I couldn’t help feeling like I had gotten the worst end of the stick with this ridiculous apron that read, I’m single, ladies.

At least the apron could be taken off once my shift was over. The same couldn’t be said about my hairstyle. I was basically thrown into a chair first thing in the morning and attacked with a straightener and hair wax by the female seonbaes. I found myself habitually touching my forehead, only to immediately feel self-conscious at the fact I had my hair styled back for the first time in my entire life. I thought I would get in trouble for my clearly exposed ear piercings, but the teachers seemed to let it slide since it was the school festival.

Speaking of festival, I noticed Hyunwoo was waiting for me in front of the classroom. We had our final practice before the big concert tonight. No one else knew I was participating in it expect the group of friends I was going on stage with. I purposely did not want anyone to know, especially Jisu Hyung.

I couldn’t wait to see the surprised look on his face.

As soon as my afternoon shift at the café was over, I yanked off this stupid apron and said my goodbyes to the seonbaes.

“Good work, Hajun,” Dohee Seonbae said. “Have fun!”

There were a few frowns from the female customers, which I simply ignored. Exiting the classroom, I wanted to hug Hyunwoo out of relief for finally receiving freedom. However, I decided to take an even more personal approach.

“Baby, I missed you.”

Hyunwoo put a hand over his touched heart. “Me too, babe. These past few hours were so lonely without you.”

I was the one to break character and laugh first. Maybe it was because we were always like this, but apart from Jisu Hyung, Hyunwoo was the only person I could comfortably feel gay around. I thought about coming out to him once before, but it didn’t feel like the right time yet.

I put an arm around Hyunwoo’s shoulders, which I could now do with ease at our growing height difference. It seemed he had reached his limit at 178 centimeters, while I was just about to hit 184.

“Hey,” I said, “do you want to check out the drama club’s haunted house on the first floor? It seemed pretty cool from what I heard.”

Hyunwoo pulled himself free to shake his head at me with huge disapproval. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you know that Hayun Seonbae is a part of the drama club?”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. And I’m willing to bet my entire allowance Jiwoo Noonim is down there right now, too.”

“Ah,” I let out with an understanding nod. “Still, you may be able to avoid her for now, but you’d better not back out tonight.”

“Fuck, I know, man…” he replied unconfidently. “Do you really think it’ll work, though?”

“It’d better work with all the shit you put us through these past two weeks. This was your idea, remember?”

“Right,” he sighed, “no backing out.”

“No backing out,” I repeated to really seal the deal.

Hyunwoo shook out whatever nerves had come over him for a second. He then took my hand and pulled me in the direction of the staircase.

“Where are we going?”

Rushing up the stairs, he replied, “I just need one final bit of reassurance, okay?”

The creative writing club was hosting a fortune-telling booth on the uppermost floor of the building. Hyunwoo seriously must have been desperate, turning to the occult for his last bit of hope. And you would think he’d be completely ready by now with all the words of encouragement his friends—especially myself—had given him throughout the past two weeks.

The classroom entrance was draped over with a long black sheet, and the windows were all taped over with translucent purple vellum paper, creating a dark and ominous atmosphere. It was probably nearly as creepy as the haunted house on the opposite end of the school, though there was no way I’d actually go to confirm that. At one corner of the room was a space enclosed by three of those white dividers found in the nurse’s office in between the beds. However, they too were draped over with black sheets. The fortune-teller was currently busy at work inside.

“Have you two come together?” one of the club members asked. She was dressed in a dark purple sorcerer’s costume with a tall black hat to match. They really went all out with the magical theme here.

“Yes,” Hyunwoo answered.

“That will be three thousand won per person.”

Right as I was getting my wallet out of my back pocket, Hyunwoo handed the girl six thousand won. He turned to me and said, “I’m the one who dragged you here. It’s on me, man.”

“Alright, thanks.”

“The grandmaster will see you two next,” she said.

“Cool,” Hyunwoo replied a bit nervously.

Two fascinated first-year girls stepped out of the small booth, talking about how accurate their fortunes had been. Perhaps this grandmaster might have actually known her stuff. We were escorted to see her shortly after.

“What have you two come for?” the grandmaster asked upon our entrance. She was in a much more decorative and sparkly black hat compared to the other club members.

Hyunwoo and I each took a seat on the familiar wooden chairs. There was a desk in between us covered over with a maroon lap blanket, on top of which were a dim lamp and a small stack of tarot cards.

Leaning forward, Hyunwoo respectfully requested, “I would like to know my love fortune, please.”

“You, too?” she asked me.

I shrugged. “Sure.”

“Alright.” The grandmaster shuffled her deck of cards and expertly spread them out faced down across the desk. “Let’s start with the desperate one. Pick three.”

Hyunwoo did as he was told, and the rest of the cards were gathered back into a stack. With only three cards in front of him now, the grandmaster slowly peeled each of them over.

The Hanged Man. The Fool. The Lovers.

Hyunwoo had his hands anxiously folded together on the desk. He at least seemed hopeful for the last card.

After studying the cards, the grandmaster looked at him in all seriousness. “No offense, but you’re an idiot.”

“What?” Hyunwoo blurted out. “Why do you say that?”

She tapped her finger on The Fool.

“Is it supposed to be interpreted so literally?”

“Well, no. However, just like with a regular deck of cards, the joker—or The Fool, in this case—can be both the best and the worst card to have.”

“Which one is it for me?”

She pointed to The Hanged Man. “You have a girl you like?”

Hyunwoo gave a big nod.

“And you made some sort of big mistake regarding her?”

He gave a bigger nod.

She moved her finger to The Lovers. “The good news is that it seems your future is bright with her.”

“Really?!” he practically screamed.

“But—”

“But?”

She went back to The Fool. “It all comes down to what you do. Will you become the best guy for her? Or will you continue living with your mistake and being the worst?”

Hyunwoo had no words. However, judging by his widened eyes, it seemed the grandmaster had struck a chord with him.

Hardly affected by his awed staring, she proceeded, “Alright, you’re up next. Pick three cards.”

I did as I was instructed. She revealed each one in the same slow way as before.

The Star. Death. Wheel of Fortune.

My eyes lingered on Death.

“Are you dating someone at the moment?” she asked.

“Well…” My eyes couldn’t look away from that one card. And seeing her accuracy rate thus far, I felt compelled to be honest. “Yes.”

“You are?” Hyunwoo asked in surprise, only to be immediately hushed by the grandmaster.

She pointed to The Star. “Trust and honesty are important factors in any relationship. I’m sure you already know that.”

“Yes.”

“Likewise, a lack of transparency can easily bring a relationship to an end.” Her finger shifted to Death. “You’d be careful to remember that. Think of this as your warning.”

I gulped. Message gravely well-received. “Um, okay. And what about the last card?”

She picked it up, holding it just a few inches from my face. She smiled. “The Wheel of Fortune is upright. It seems luck is on your side. Don’t put it to waste.”

“I won’t,” I replied with a relieved sigh at my positive future.

“Alright, that’s it. You may leave now.”

“Thank you!” Hyunwoo said, bowing at a needlessly polite ninety degrees.

Again, the grandmaster wasn’t moved at all by his gracious attitude toward her. She shooed both of us out so she could tend to the next group of people. The line had grown quite a bit during our turn.

“Aren’t you glad we came here?” Hyunwoo asked on our way out of the classroom.  

“More like aren’t you glad?” I retorted.

It took a second for my eyes to readjust to the brightness outside. Once they did, they naturally lingered toward the closed room a few doors down. The student council room. I wondered if Jisu Hyung was in there.

Hyunwoo nudged me. “Hey, how come you didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend?”

Because I don’t have a girlfriend— “I guess I missed the timing to.”

“Well? What class is she in? Does she even go to our school? How’d you two meet?”

He drew closer to me with each question, to which I pushed him back hard with all the love and kindness of a best friend.

“Ow…” Hyunwoo pouted, rubbing his arm.

I wasn’t going to be swayed by his cuteness. “How about we just focus on getting our final practice session in for now? The concert is only a few hours away.”

“Okay, fine. But you can’t avoid the question forever.”

“And you seriously can’t avoid your promise tonight either.”

Hyunwoo nodded with newfound conviction. “Yeah, I know. I’m The Fool. It’s all up to me!”