Rule #6: Accept your intuition and keep an open mind

Saera couldn't help humming the next day as she iced a cake before the store opened.

"You're more chipper than usual. I like it." Mireu said while setting a tray of pastries on the counter to cool down.

Saera carefully moved her wrist, watching the mint green icing curl and swirl over the white base of the cake. "Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. By the way, I might have to take some time off here and there, I'll try not to leave you swamped, though."

Mireu raised her brows, "You never leave this place for anything other than one of your clients or Youngjae."

"Don't get mad and just hear me out, okay?" Saera said while setting her icing bag down.

Mireu narrowed her eyes, "What did you do?"

"I…uh…got another job."

"YOU WH--you what?" She hissed angrily.

Saera scratched the back of her neck, "We need the cash."

"Yeah but three jobs, Sae? Are you out of your mind?" Mireu balked. "Look, I know that money's tight around here but is this really necessary?"

Saera frowned, "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"What about Youngjae?" Mireu put her hands on her hips.

Saera felt her eyebrow jump, "What about him?"

"He just got into fight at school and almost got suspended. I'm pretty sure the kid is getting bullied and you don't even know why. You spend so much time trying to make money that you barely know what's going on in your own brother's life." Mireu said in exasperation.

Saera felt her defences come up, "Are you saying that I'm being a bad sister?"

"No. Of course not. You wouldn't be trying to balance three jobs if you didn't love him but sometimes money isn't the most important thing. Sometimes it doesn't need to be so high up your list of priorities." Mireu said quietly.

"Easy for you to say."

Mireu sighed, "Fine, then answer this. Let's say after working three jobs for the next ten years and you finally become a millionaire. Then what? What are you going to do with all that money if your only family member feels distant from you? You spend every hour working that you barely see your brother. He's going to learn to cut you out of his life and then will it be worth it?"

"I'm not working to be a millionaire or to be rich. I'm working to survive." Saera said firmly as her brows dipped.

"Youngjae doesn't ask for much from you. He never complains about money, he never asks for a lot of money and he's never embarrassed of the size of his house. So maybe you should focus on him more than the money."

"My job, as his sister, is to give him a good life. If I have to work every day for the rest of my life and ruin my relationship with him, just so that he can live happily. I'll do it. Nothing else matters. He's a kid and I'm trying to give him a good childhood, even if that means I have to work 20 jobs."

Mireu shook  her head with a sad look, "That's not the job of a sister. That's a job of a mother or a father."

"I'm both." Saera said with a glare.

Mireu looked like she was about to cry for Saera, "A sister is supposed to be supportive and look after her brother. She's supposed to help him with he needs someone to go to and be there to protect him. She's supposed to be his ally."

"I can't afford to be that sister." The girl said with a  serious look.

"Sae--"

Mireu was interrupted when there was a knock on the front door. Both women looked up but only Saera recognized the man that was peering through the glass.

Mireu waved her arm at the person, "Sorry, we're not op--"

Saera walked around the counter, cutting Mireu off and unlocked the front door. "What are you doing here?"

Mark shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded at his car, "We need to go."

Saera glanced back at Mireu who was staring at her in confusion. She looked back at Mark who looked impatient.

"Now?"

He nodded, "Now."

Saera let her shoulders droop before giving up in defeat, "Fine, just give me a second."

She let him into the bakery before walking around the counter. Mireu stared at him before following Saera to the back of the room.

"Where are you going?" She asked when Saera grabbed her jacket off the hook, "And who the heck is that?"

"Remember that third job, I said I have? That's where I'm going right now." She pulled her hand bag out, "And that guy is my…employer."

For a lack of a better word.

She turned to walk through the door, but Mireu stood in her way, "What exactly are you hired to do?"

"It's complicated." She tried to walk around her, but Mireu was persistent.

"Saera."  

She ducked under her friend's arm and started walking backwards towards the café, "His name is Mark Tuan and he's a cop. "

"A cop?!" Mireu exclaimed as she watched her friend walk away from her.

Saera gave her a sheepish smile and was about to turn around when her body slammed into something warm.

She jumped and almost tripped backwards when she felt two hands on her arms, steadying her. She looked up and saw Mark staring at her seriously before letting go of her.

"Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and looked back to meet Mireu's worried gaze with a smile before following him out to his car. "Where are we going?"

"Min Ah's house. Jackson managed to get her address after doing some digging." Mark said as they buckled in.

They rode in silence for a while before Mark cleared his throat, "So, how long have you worked in that bakery?"

Saera smiled and turned to him, "Are you trying to get to know me? Is this you breaking the ice? Oh my god, Mark, are you trying to be my friend?"

"You don't have to answer, you know. I could just blast the radio." He muttered while digging his fingers in the wheel.

She grabbed his wrist when he reached out for the radio and pulled it away, "I don't just work at the bakery. I own it."

Mark blinked at her in surprise before he shifted his arm out of her grip. "You own it?"

"It's…a family heirloom."

He nodded while tapping his fingers on the wheel, "That's cool."

Saera looked at him, he was handsome, sure, but he at pretending to be interested in something that he clearly didn't care about.

"So, now that I'm your partner--"

"Consultant." Mark intervened.

Saera rolled her eyes, "Fine. Whatever. Now that I'm a consultant do I jacket or something?"

"With the words 'psychic' printed in huge white font? Yeah, I'd rather not publicize that fact." He snorted, feeling his shoulders unknot.

Saera made a face, "You're no fun."

"I'm a cop."

She raised her brows and leaned towards him, "A fun cop?"

"A regular cop." He said back while turning a corner.

She shook her head and deadpanned, "You must be great at parties."  

"I've never heard any complaints." He said under his breath.

Saera clucked her tongue before she opened her bag. She shuffled through it as Mark rolled to a stop at a red light. He looked over at her and watched her tuck some pink strands behind her ear before she dug through her purse.

He took a moment and analyzed her features. She had pale skin, almost freakishly pale and it was a stark contrast to her dark hair and the bright pink highlights that would frame her face. She had a sharp nose and curvy lips that were almost always tilted in a mysterious smirk.

Her eyes were lined in kohl, emphasising the dark brown that almost looked black.

"Ah ha!" She exclaimed while pulling something out. Mark blinked as she fisted the object in her hand, blocking it from his view. She turned to him and held out her other palm expectantly.

"Give me your hand."

Mark balked at her, "Excuse me?"

She wiggled her fingers impatiently, "Seriously. Give me your hand for a second."

Mark's looked weary as he held out his arm for her. Saera's soft fingers curled gently around his arm before she carefully rolled something over his fingers and onto his wrist.

Her fingers stayed around him, but she moved them out of the way to reveal a black beaded bracelet with a single golden bead in the middle.

He stared at it, confused, "What…is it?"  

"These beads were handpicked and polished from rocks found in the Ganga River in India. The gold one was blessed by Hindu priests from a very prestigious temple." Her fingers brushed the beads but managed to brush his skin as well.

He repressed his shivers and just stared at the bracelet, "What does it do?"

"The Ganga River is known to be very healing and pure, back in the day people with illness like Leprosy believed that if they washed their body in water from the Ganga, they would be healed. This bracelet is supposed to help maintain and restore health while radiating balance." She recited exactly what the shaman had said to her when he had given it to her.

Sure, she wasn't a real psychic, but she was fascinated by the symbols of different cultures and religions.

Mark furrowed his brow, "Why are you giving it to me, though?"

Saera kept her eyes locked on his as she slowly turned his palm up and gently the long black scar going down the center of his palm, "I thought it would help."

Mark's body stiffened before he harshly yanked his arm away from her. Saera's eyes widened in surprise but they still glittered in curiosity.

It seemed like Mark always froze up whenever she mention the injury on his hand. She tilted her head and watch him slam his foot down on the acceleration when the light finally turned green.

Interesting.

She felt a little bad for prying and decided to give him something in return.

She hissed and held the sides of her head, "I…I see something."

Mark's eyes widened as he glanced over at her, "See what?"

"Gang…nam. Gangnam Park."

Mark frowned, "I don't think there's a park in Gangnam."

Saera shook her head, "No, I see a man. Gangnam Park…no…Park Kyung Nam."

Close enough.

"Who is that?" Mark's voice deepened.

"I-I'm not sure. But I see him with Min Ah." She said while pretending to wince.

There was a moment of silence so she cracked one eye open to look at Mark who was chewing on his lip in thought.

"Oh! I see something e