~~Nine Years Ago, Spring, 201x~~ 

            Yohan Yoo grinned widely as he quickly escaped out of the lecture hall, elated to be free from his three-hour lecture on Economics. He absolutely loathed that class but had to take it no matter what—he was a business major after all. The 20-year-old college student stretched his arms out as he skipped down the long stairs of UCLA—one of the top public schools in California. He spotted his older sister, May, who was waiting by a nearby tree avoiding the scorching hot sun of Southern California. He waved enthusiastically at her, excited to see her after a week of intense and draining midterms. May smiled and waved back, motioning for him to hurry up.

            The siblings walked side by side, cracking jokes with one another as they headed towards their favorite Japanese, Korean-fusion restaurant, which was famous for their cheese tonkatsu. Yohan was starving; he couldn’t wait to eat the mouth-watering, panko-crusted juicy meat filled with gooey cheese. His mouth watered just thinking about it! Throughout the whole week, that was all Yohan had been craving. 

            The pair had about two hours before Yohan’s next class, so they took their time walking down the bustling streets of Los Angeles. May glanced around the area, when she spotted a popular mudang* shop in the distance.

            The shaman/ fortune teller had been on the Korean TV and was reputable to be the best in the business. May had always wanted to visit but could never find the time to stop by as the new lawyer was busy in her new law firm. Her eyes twinkled as she glanced over at Yohan who looked disinterested.

“Caden~! Let’s stop by that place before we go eat, please?” May sang out, pointing at the dainty shop in the distance. Her baby brother groaned in dismay. He hated going to such establishments; they were all con artists!

            Dragging Yohan against his will, they entered the small shop, filled with talismans and a statue of a golden Buddha on full display behind the mudang. The woman glanced at them and sighed, telling them to sit. May eagerly sat down in front of her, excited to ask her about the only thing on her mind: if she could get a boyfriend within that year. 

With her 28th birthday fast approaching, she wanted to meet her significant other soon. May was tired of hearing her parents nag at her for “not” dating... If only they knew the sheer number of sleazeballs she had dated… She shook her head at the thought of her exes. Maybe the fortune teller could give her some tips on how to have a lasting relationship?

            Yohan rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, eyeing the woman in front of them warily.

“I see you’re here to ask about your love life.” the lady commented, glancing at the siblings in front of her.

“OH! How did you know?! I didn’t even say anything!” May replied, awed at the fortune teller’s ability.

“Oh, please, why else would someone your age be here for?” muttered Yohan, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Why was his sister so naïve?

            The fortune teller ignored Yohan’s back-handed comment, staring at him with a serious and firm look on her face. He raised his eyebrow as he glared back, unnerved at her stare.

            Sighing, the shaman asked for Yohan’s birthdate and time, disregarding May’s pouting face. Yohan scoffed in annoyance. Did he really have to go through with this? This was such a waste of time and money… He glanced over at his pouting sister who nudged his elbow, pleading with him to just go along with it. With an exasperated sigh, Yohan reluctantly obliged, telling the mudang his birthdate and time he was born.

            The mudang hummed to herself as she calculated Yohan’s “fate”, while looking at an old, tattered and yellowed book next to her. She tilted her head, her brows furrowing in confusion. She turned and pulled out a bag of rice from behind her seat and grabbed a handful before spraying it on the table. 

May watched in wonder and awe, wondering what she would say about her cute little brother’s love life. Yohan, on the other hand, sighed and rolled his eyes at the mudang’s theatrics. The shaman was bound to say something cliché like, ‘Oh, you’ll find love in three months’—it was so obvious. He nudged May with a frown, whispering to her to not get her hopes up. May shrugged him off, focusing on the shaman’s theatrics.

With a grunt, the fortune teller closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, staying still for a while, as May held in her breath. The woman picked up her bells that had been placed in front of her and started shaking them. A few moments passed before she slapped the bells onto the small, wooden table, her eyes flying open. She glanced down at the grains of rice that were now splayed out across the table. The mudang tsked and shook her head as she looked up at the annoyed college student, a dismayed expression on her face. 

“What’s your name?” the shaman asked Yohan who stared at her in disbelief. She wanted his name too?! She was definitely a sketchy con artist!

“What’s it to you?” he asked, miffed at her obvious scam.

May smacked his arm as she turned to the mudang, an awkward smile on her face. “Please don’t mind my brother… He’s… Well, his puberty came late that’s all~ His name is Caden. Caden Yoo.”

“Noona!*” Yohan protested, shocked that his sister was so immature and naïve. Why was she giving out his name to this stranger?!

“Not his English name. Doesn’t he have a Korean name?”

“Okay, now you’re just—”

“It’s Yohan.” His sister interjected, pinching his thigh until he yowled in pain. They glared at each other, peeved that they weren’t on the same page.

“Tch.”

“Er… what is it?” May asked, confused at the mudang’s discomfort and wariness of her younger brother. 

“I can’t believe someone like him has a secret admirer! Whoever she is, she should run away as far as they can from him…”

“…  Huh?! What do you mean?!” May gasped in shock, her eyes wide as saucers. 

            Yohan glared at her in bewilderment. Was a screw loose in her head? The young man stared at the middle-aged shaman in front of him, what a sick joke. Was this how she scammed others? By telling them bogus lies like this one and making them pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for her talismans? 

“What terrible luck and fortune! Tsk, tsk. Anyone you date, you’ll end up cheating on them and if they still persist in dating you, they’ll eventually meet an untimely death! All this, before your 30th birthday!” foretold the shaman, glowering at the standoffish college student who just rolled his eyes in response.

May looked at her, horrified. Was she cursing her baby brother?!

“Of all people to come into this place, it had to be you! Get out of my shop, before your bad energy taints this place! Shoo!” the woman exclaimed, pelting them with red beans*.

          The two siblings were kicked out, with red beans in their hair, bags, and shoes as onlookers peeked at them in shock. May was left stunned and speechless. Her baby brother would murder someone? This sweet, innocent child?! May glowered at the shop in front of her with rage. How dare she?!

“Yohan! Don’t believe what that woman said, all right? I know you better than anyone! You’re not the type to harm others! Just take it with a grain of salt, you hear me?!” she shouted at him, causing onlookers to glance back at them again.

            Embarrassed, Yohan groaned. Why was she so serious? Obviously, he didn’t believe such a thing. They were about to leave when May turned around and glanced up at the shop cursing the mudang under her breath before pelting one of the beans at the door of the shop. With a disgruntled huff, May continued her way to the tonkatsu shop, leaving her brother behind her.

            Yohan stared after her, annoyed. He sighed as he hurried to catch up with her. What a total waste of time! That mudang and her stupid fortune was all just a sham. I have the worst fate in love? Ha! I’ll get a girlfriend before I graduate! He grunted as he yelled at his sister to slow down.

Well… that was the plan anyway.

SIDE NOTE:

*Mudang: a shaman/ fortune teller

*Noona: Korean word for older sister, used by males.

*Red Beans: Red beans *apparently* ward off evil spirits? Had no idea!

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**