The cards flipped and flew from one hand to another; her fingers working with such speed and skill that Taehyung thought he was watching a casino dealer. They arched in the air and neatly fell in place one by one in the palm of her hand.
  “Do you actually need those to see the future?” he asked from his chair in the corner.
  “Most of what you see here are purely for theatrics,” she explained as she set the cards on the corner of the table. “Customers tend to be more willing to pay when it looks like you’re actually doing something. But the cards can be occasionally helpful.”
  “Do any of them actually work like how they’re advertised?” he questioned. He remembered a friend in primary school who convinced him to use an Ouija board. Nothing happened except for one of them making them spell curse words.
  “To varying degrees yes,” she answered with a nod. “Superstitions all stem from some truth. But honestly it usually depends on the hands using them.” She turned to him with a smirk and flicked her wrist. A card slipped through the air and slid onto his lap. “In your hands it would be useless though.”
  He flipped over the card to see the grim image of a skeleton with the words printed “death”. He scowled at her. “Wow, thanks a lot,” he replied sarcastically.
  Yira smiled. “The death card doesn’t actually mean death in any way. It means transformation, transition, or new beginnings.”
  Taehyung look surprised. “Well that’s misleading… thanks I guess.” He supposed it was her way of being nice.
  A knock came from the door and he reached forward to turn the knob. The door slowly creaked open, but it appeared to empty; only shelves could be seen through the frame. Finally, after a few seconds, a head peeked out from the side and a boy hesitantly entered the room.
  He was hunched over with his hands held together and his head down, his eyes darting back and forth as if he were a startled rabbit. He wore the same uniform as Taehyung and Yira, but it was too big for his tiny frame, sagging like sacks.
  “Come in,” Yira invited in a slightly teasing tone. “Come on, no one’s going to bite you.”
  “U-uh sorry, okay,” he nodded as he shuffled ahead into the seat. Taehyung decided to shut the door for him.
  The boy awkwardly took the seat and looked through his shaggy bangs to Yira with fearful, doe eyes.
  “I charge twenty dollars for a basic reading and extra fees apply for additional information,” she said.
  Taehyung’s face showed stunned confusion. After the months of knowing her, he’d never seen her change the price of her readings. He shot her a questioning look but her attention remained on the boy, not even giving Taehyung a glance.
  The boy nodded and mumbled something unintelligible, dropping a fistful of loose change onto the table, the coins rolling and scattering across the surface.
  Without even looking down, Yira swiped all the change to the side. “Now tell me, what are you here for?”
  Taehyung looked at her incredulously. Yira had always counted her money, they had been forced to stay late before because she insisted on finishing counting.
  The boy nodded and murmured, but seemed unable to push the words out of his mouth, uttering only syllables of sounds.
  “You have a problem at school,” Yira said for him instead, her voice slow, calming, and strangely sympathetic.
  He nodded his head rapidly.
  “It’s alright,” she assured. “Come on, no one is here to do anything but help.”
  Taehyung wondered why she was appearing so kind. Her face was as apathetic as it always was, but her voice was smooth and calming like a therapist.
  “M-my n-name’s Lee Jihoon,” he stuttered, pushing out the words. “I-I need your help with a-a problem.”
  “That’s right, go on,” she encouraged.
  “I-I’m in tenth grade and I just transferred t-to this school last year.”
  Taehyung found it difficult to believe such a scrawny boy was only two years below them. He looked like a child.
  “I-I’m being… I’m being… bullied,” he admitted.
  “That’s okay, it’s not something to be ashamed of,” she assured.
  “I-I don’t know who it is,” he said, gaining some confidence in his voice. “It started just a few w-weeks since I transferred. I-I started having my locker vandalised. Eggs were thrown at it and mean words were writing on it in permanent marker. Someone keeps slipping mean notes into it too. I know it’s always the same person because the handwriting d-doesn’t change. My things keep getting stolen, I hear rumours getting spread about me and I keep getting sabotaged in whatever I try to do.”
  “Then why don’t you report them?” Taehyung cut in.
  Jihoon jumped a little at his voice but answered. “I-I would but I don’t know who it is. I’ve told teachers and they’ve tried to help but they can’t find who it is. They gave an announcement to my year telling the person to stop, but that just made things worse.”
  “So what is it that you wish to ask of me?” said Yira.
  Jihoon gulped. “I-I want to know who it is. A-and I want to know what will happen, if it will stop and what I should do. My friends keep giving me different advice, that I should be nice to them because they’re probably suffering, or I should fight back and stand up for myself. I don’t know what to do. Please help me.”
  Yira breathed out a low breath of air and pulled the crystal ball to the centre of the table. Her hands hovered over the surface in circles and stared into its center.
  “The person you are looking for is a girl,” she began in a soft, mystical tone. “Park Sooyoung. Do you know her?”
  “Uh… m-maybe. I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t know my classmates all that well yet. W-we have a big year.”
  “She is a little rounder than you,” she described. “Long hair with dyed green tips and small features. Her resting face always looks like a frown, and she walks in long strides.”
  “I-I might have seen her around,” he mumbled uncertainly. “But even if I point her out, I don’t think it would help with things without proof.”
  A smile crossed her lips and she waved her hands. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. In fact, I believe this will all be over by third period tomorrow.”
  “R-really?” he said hopefully.
  She gestured to Taehyung. “I’m sure Kim Taehyung here would be more than happy to lend you his assistance.”
  “Sure,” he agreed. “I think you need it.”
  Jihoon looked shocked at the offer, as if he wasn’t used to being showed kindness. “A-and what about-”
  “All things will come tomorrow,” she assured.
  “Are you going to be involved too?” Taehyung questioned her.
  “Just this once I suppose I can spare the time.”
***
  The McDonalds sign glowed behind them as they sat on the curb of the parking lot. The air was cold and the night was dark, the lights of traffic rushed by them and people walked by them.
  “So you guys are dealing with a bully tomorrow?” Chaerin asked as they sat on the curb outside McDonalds. “Then should I be distracting you right now?”
  “It’s fine, it doesn’t matter,” he replied as he held the cup of coke in his hands.
  She bit into her cheeseburger and placed her cup on the concrete. “But wouldn’t you prefer to be awake and alert tomorrow?”
  Taehyung breathed in the cold, midnight air, his breath fogging before him. “Please,” he said. “I’m not a kid.”
  “Well, sorry for dragging you out at midnight anyway,” she apologised. “I only get free time at strange hours.”
  “No, its fine,” he assured with a smile. “You’ve been working late. You deserve to have some breaks. Your career is what’s important to you.”
  A couple exited the McDonalds and stepped passed them. Chaerin giggled and smiled. “You know, you might be the nicest guy I’ve dated.”
  “That’s kind of sad actually.”
  She elbowed him in the arm. “Shut up. You’re the only person I know who would come and eat McDonald's with me midnight in a parking lot.”
  “Who can turn this down?” he joked.
  Chaerin laughed again. “Most of the guys I’ve dated hated that I had my career. They only liked it for the bragging rights. They’d never do this with me.”
  “Really?” he questioned. “I’ve known guys who literally only did this with their girlfriends. Eat fast food at night in strange places.”
  “Who are your friends?”
  “To be fair, they were stoners.”
  “Ugh,” she groaned. “My girlfriend dated a guy like that. He never knew what was going on. But at least he was sweet.”
  “That’s what matters isn’t it?”
  “Well, no, there’s money and looks,” she joked.
  “Well damn,” he replied in a jokingly sarcastic tone.
  “Well, you got one out of two,” she smiled, putting down her food and leaning forward, placing her hand on his cheek. “I say that’s good enough for me.”
  As she moved in for a kiss, for a brief second, Taehyung couldn’t help but imagine Yira’s face in place of hers.
  And he felt a strange twinge of guilt.
***
  Recess arrived with the ring of a bell and Taehyung scratched his head as he wandered aimlessly by the black gates.
  He had hoped to find Yira but there was not a person in sight. Even the fields were empty as the teachers had declared it out of bounds until lunch. Pigeons pecked at the ground, their heads bobbing back and forth, revealing the rainbow sheen of their neck.
  Taehyung sighed and turned back. He’d have to try finding her elsewhere. So far he still wasn’t quite certain of Yira’s plans. She hadn’t bothered explaining, which was an annoying tendency of hers.
  But as he stepped back onto concrete, he came face to face with a bespectacled girl blocking his way, her face alight with mild surprise and recognition.
  “… Aren’t you…” she murmured, bringing her hand to .
  Taehyung clicked his fingers. “Ah!” he said aloud. “You’re Kang Yoojin!”
  “Yes, and you’re Kim Taehyung,” she nodded. “… You’re looking for Yira?”
  “Yeah, you too?”
  “I was,” she answered, shuffling her feet as if she were uncomfortable. “But I’m guessing she’s not there is she?”
  “Unfortunately not,” he answered with a sigh. “Do you know where else she might be?”
  She shook her head. “No,” she replied softly. “She’s only sometimes here. I don’t know where else she goes, I usually run into her by luck.”
  Taehyung groaned in frustration and looked to the sky. “Doesn’t she even tell things to her friends?”
  “Uh, no…” Yoojin answered. “She’s just like that. She’s usually alone. I think what I liked about her.”
  “You liked her because she was a loner?”
  “Well, she’s beautiful,” she said. “And she was always by herself, but she seemed completely unbothered by it. She was nice but she never took credit for anything. I guess I just wanted to get near her.”
  He supposed it was somewhat understandable. She had an almost regal air of independence about her that caught people’s attention.
  Taehyung looked down again and was surprised to find her staring at him. She seemed like the shy bookish type with her hands clasped together and her neat uniform, but her eyes were bright with curiosity.
  “Um, what do you need her for?” she asked.
  “We made plans but she didn’t give me any details,” he answered, sounding a little cautious.
  She tilted her head. “Are you dating her?”
  His face grew red and he shook his head. “No, no, no!” he denied. “She just asked me to help with a customer she had; a kid.”
  “Oh,” she murmured, looking somewhat unconvinced. “What’s wrong?”
  “Kid asked her for help because he was being bullied,” he said. “It was weird though; Yira was acting almost nice to the kid, and even offered to help.”
  “It’s because she’s kind,” she told him. “Although she doesn’t act like it. She steps in when it’s important but she never takes credit for anything she does.”
  “She could lose the attitude though,” he grumbled.
  “It’s just how she is,” she sighed.
  A ring sounded from his pocket and he pulled out his phone to find a new text message.
  “Is it from her?” she asked.
  “Yeah, I think so.”
  “Well good luck on helping the kid,” she wished. “But I’m sure Yira’s got things under control. She always does.”
***
  He followed the directions sent to him by text and he roamed through the empty halls of the school. Muffled murmurs sounded through the walls of classrooms and senior students laid lazily on the tables, wallowing away their free periods.
  He stopped before a row of green painted lockers, where Yira and Jihoon stood waiting. Jihoon looked fearful and uncertain, looking back as if afraid to be seen, but Yira looked the picture of calm, wearing a shawl wrapped over her arms as they lay crossed over her chest.
  A look of horror sparked in his eyes as he approached and saw the locker. Along the walls, a few lockers had been inevitably dinged and scratched over the years, but this was awful. Rude, crude insults were written on the metal surface in thick, black, permanent marker. Key scratches spelled out threats and splotches of watery, yellow egg dribbled down to the bottom.
  “W-won’t you get in trouble for this?” Jihoon asked, his eyes darting all over the surrounding buildings.
  “We both have free periods,” Yira answered.
  “But I don’t!”
  “I’m sure the teachers will let this slide,” Taehyung assured comfortingly, resting his hand on Jihoon’s shoulder.
  “Did you call for the teacher?” Yira asked.
  “Yeah, he said he’ll come here later.” Taehyung replied.
  “Good,” she said. “He’ll arrive on time.” She clicked her fingers and gestured for them to follow.
  Hesitantly, they walked after her and she stepped into a dark little space under the stairs. A single dim lightbulb hung from above, too weak to even be of use, and cleaning equipment lay abandoned in the corners.
  “What are we doing here?” Taehyung frowned.
  She raised a finger to her lips. “Just wait,”she hushed.

  Taehyung stood back and peered passed the wall. Jihoon breathed nervously beside him, peeking out from below with his hands clinging onto his shirt.

  Taehyung frowned. All he could see was the locker. Not a sound could be heard except the rustle of the trees in the wind. There was not a person in sight.
  After a few minutes, he began to grow impatient, but Yira seemed calm, leaning against the wall and looking to her phone, not even paying attention.
  Just as he was getting tired of waiting, he heard footsteps on the concrete. They were light and tapping, but the silence between them was long. The person was walking in long strides.
  Finally, a girl appeared before the locker. She was a petite girl with a slightly round face but small with long dark hair and dyed green tips. She looked both ways as if to check for people before she pulled out a permanent marker and pointed it at the locker door.
  “Hey!” Taehyung called out.
  The girl jumped and looked at them with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. She spun around and ran but Taehyung chased after her and grabbed her by the wrist, twisting the marker out of her grip and holding her in place.
 “W-what the hell?!” she yelled, jumping in shock and desperately trying to yank her arm out of his grip. “Let go of me! I didn’t do anything!”
  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he questioned, his eyes hard and angry.
  “I’m not doing anything, let me go!” she screamed, aiming a clumsy kick at him but missing miserably.
  “You’ve been vandalising my locker!” Jihoon shouted accusingly, pointing a finger at her as he and Yira emerged from under the stairs.
  “I haven’t done anything, you can’t prove it! It’s your word against mine and who would listen to you?” she hissed.
  “I would,” declared a gruff voice.
  A teacher appeared before them, his glasses in hand and rubbing his eyes. “Sorry I was late; I had some papers to find. But I got here when she pulled out the marker.”
  “Sir!” she said, her voice quickly becoming shaky. “I-I haven’t-”
  “Save it, Park Sooyoung,” he warned her. “This is serious. We are going to contact your parents and I’m going to have to call the police. Kim Taehyung, keep an eye on her, I need to go find Mr. Kim.”
  “No problem, sir.”
  Jihoon hesitantly walked up to her, wringing his sleeves in his hands. “Why?” he asked. “I didn’t do anything to you. I barely even talk to you.”
  “I don’t have to say anything to you!” she spat spitefully. Her panicked eyes darted around until they landed on Yira. “You!” she pointed. “You’re that fortune teller chick! My sister goes to you! You help people, right? I’ll pay you if you can get me out of this. You’ll help anybody for money, right?”
  In spite of the tense atmosphere of the scene, her lips lifted into a light smile and she stepped forward, bending down to meet her eyes. “That’s a tempting offer, but how about I offer you an alternative?” she altered in a smooth, soft voice like milk. “If you look me in the eye and tell me truthfully that you deserve to be helped, then I’ll give you my assistance.”
  Sooyoung’s eyes grew wide and her face filled with dread. She balled her fist and opened as if to talk, but she shut them over and over again as if she were a puppet.
  “Can you do that?” Yira asked. “Come on. Tell me.”
  She gulped and swallowed; clenching her jaw and growling, but her face fell to the side and looked away.
  “Hmm,” Yira murmured before standing up, and stepping away.
  “W-why did she pick me?” Jihoon questioned to himself. “Did I do something wrong? Was there something I could have done?”
  Yira sighed, and tilted his chin up with her finger. “Look, Jihoon,” she told him. “Her reasons don’t particularly matter.”
  “But-”
  “People will tell you many things,” she continued. “How to handle bullies. What to do. Kill them with kindness, fight back, or report to authorities. While it’s true you should tell somebody, all those don’t really matter. What matters is you.” She looked at him with an intense gaze, her voice dropping to a low purr. “Tell me, do you think you deserve this?” she asked.
  “W-well…I…”
  “Do you deserve to be harassed? To be abused?”
  “N-no,” he answered with rising confidence.
  “Can you tell me that for certain?”
  “No,” he declared. “I don’t deserve it.”
  “Good,” she praised. “Understand this, bullies don’t matter. They exist everywhere. But they don’t matter. The methods to handle them aren’t that important either. What never changes is you, because in the end, you are the one who has to go through it, and you are the one who can come out in the end. You know you don’t deserve to be mistreated regardless of their justifications. Hold onto that and stand tall.”
 “O-okay,” he nodded. “I will.”
  Yira smiled and stepped back. “You won’t have to worry about her anymore anyway. She won’t be bothering you.”
  She turned around and walked away. Taehyung chased after her.
  “Wait,” he called out. “Where are you going?”
  Yira waved her hand and continued on. “They’re the teacher’s problem now.”
  He looked back to see two teachers arriving on the scene. “Are you sure we can just leave?”
  “They’re not going anywhere and we’re not needed,” she said.
  He caught up to her and grabbed her by the shoulder. “Hold on a minute!” he demanded. “I don’t get what happened. Why didn’t she agree to your help? You said her reasons don’t matter, but why would she target Jihoon in the first place?”
  Yira pulled of his hand and sighed.
  “What’s a person’s main motivation for being a bully?” she asked.
  “To feel better than someone else, to feel power,” he answered.
  She raised an eyebrow.
  “Okay, so you’re implying Sooyoung’s just a bully then?”
  “She is just a simple, garden variety bully,” she confirmed. “They’re all the same. But think deeper. Why would she want to feel superior?”
  “Maybe she has family issues? She’s abused? Stress?” he guessed.
  “Actually she’s from quite a normal family. She’s the middle child of three children, her parents are stably middle class and they get along. She’s treated quite well.”
  “Then why?” he questioned.
  “Because she’s not special,” she answered. “She’s a normal girl from a normal family. It’s most people’s dream, but for others, it’s not enough. They’re not satisfied with what they have. And honestly, they make for the most annoying customers.”
  “She bullied him because she was normal?” he questioned. “That’s the dumbest reason I’ve ever heard.”
  “Not just that,” she added. “She suffers from a chronic sense of inadequacy. She is a girl with no particular passions, hobbies, or skills. When she’s alone she quickly becomes frustrated and bored since she’s incapable of being alone. She’s also the middle child which means she receives the least amount of attention in the family. Her friends are all fairly talented; a violinist, and a writer being among them. All this adds up to her feeling inadequate so she takes it out on other people.”
  “And Jihoon?”
  “He was just an easy target,” she explained. “He’s naturally shy and passive. Being a new student doesn't help, either.”
  Taehyung mumbled under his breath. “I feel a little bad for the girl now to be honest.”
  “Don’t be,” she advised. “Tell me, even if she’s unhappy, did that give her the right to abuse somebody?”
  “No.”
  “Then she doesn’t deserve pity. She chose her actions and she’ll suffer the consequences.”
  “But why didn’t she ask you for help?”
  “She can’t admit to herself she deserves it since she doesn’t believe it herself.”
  “Wow,” he said, looking appalled. “Aren't you cruel?”
  “Being nice isn’t my duty,” she replied.
  “I couldn’t do that to her,” he told her.
  Yira tilted her head, and chuckled.
  “What’s so funny?” he questioned, feeling self-conscious.
  “It’s because you’re nice,” she replied. “It’s naïve, but sweet.”
  “Wow, thanks a lot,” he said sarcastically.
  Yira smiled and turned away. “It’s a little dumb,” she began. “But the world’s better off with people like you than me.”