“What’s your name?”

He looked at the fortune teller, about to say his real name, but the boy beside him did it first.

“His name is Daniel.” Woojin smiled at the young woman from the other side of the table, staring curiously at the strange purple hat on her head. “And my name is Woojin, by the way”.

“My name is not Daniel.” Daniel (or not Daniel) corrected, after he took a deep noisy breath. “Daniel is my nickname. My real name is Euigeon”.

“What?” The two of them replied, confused. She didn’t understand the name, and Woojin had a blank face, completely shocked. They took English classes together for four years and suddenly the guy says his name is not what he said it was?!

“Euigeon.” He repeated, feeling really embarrassed now.

“How do you spell that?” The fortune teller demanded with big eyes, stopping everything she was doing (mixing cards) to give him her attention.

“E-u-i-g-e-o-n.” Not-Daniel did as she asked, already frustrated. “Nobody knows how to say it correctly. I’m just telling you ‘cause it could be important to see my future, am I right?”

“Are you some kind of two-faced?” She ignored his question, looking at his suspicious angel eyes while he smiled like a good boy (he was).

“No, ma’am. I’m just wronged.” Not-Daniel pouted, avoiding checking if Woojin hated him by now. He hadn’t lied without good reason. Woojin would understand, right?

“Oh. Good.” The fortune teller took the cards again, putting them in order. “Choose one, Yougyeom”.

“Euigeon.” Not-Daniel repeated his name (once again), although it was clearly worthless, because she really didn’t see any difference.

“Just choose one, kid.” The woman hurried him impatiently, like she had a lot of better things to do after that.

“Alright.” He did as she said, picking the card in the middle and laying it on the table.

“La Roue de Fortune.” The older read the words written in the card, under a picture of a wheel with animals that Daniel supposed was some kind of evil stuff. “Wheel of fortune.” She added the translation, smiling to the young man. “Looks like someone has the divine luck in their pockets, uh?”

“Luck? Oh, no. I’m not lucky. Not at all.” His hands were going side to side as he denied, thinking that the fortune teller was certainly a charlatan. God, why was he there anyway? Not-Daniel didn’t even believe those kinds of things, never, in his whole life.

He took a look at Woojin, who was watching everything clearly fascinated.

Yeah. He knew why he agreed to visit a bizarre woman with the younger classmate in the holidays, when he could be resting or doing anything else that he wouldn’t regret later.

“Your luck is going to change soon, Yugeeon.” She assured in a mysterious tone. “The Wheel of Fortune is a card of possibilities. The world goes around, things don’t remain the same. If there is something that you are not satisfied with, maybe now it’s the time it will get better”, Not-Daniel didn’t look convinced, not even one percent, but she continued. “Tell me… Why did you say you’re not lucky? What is making you think you’re unlucky? Is that your job? Family? Lover?”

Daniel’s face got red. His job was ok, his family was the best. His lover…

“None.”

“C’mon, talk to me.” The woman smirked like she knew exactly what was troubling his heart, probably laughing inside due to his shyness. “I know you want to say something. You told me your real name, why wouldn’t you tell that?.” Apparently, to her it was fun embarrassing him. “It’s love, right? Honestly, it’s written all over your face.”

He tried to convince himself she was crazy and said the same to everybody. He was definitely not in love!

“Maybe I’m in love.” Not-Really-Daniel admitted, trying to maintain his sincerity, but, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to her, who stared at him like she was about to murder someone. “Ok, ok, I’ve been in love for four years! With the same person!”

Woojin looked at him petrified. His hyung was in love? What else he didn’t tell him? Weren’t they, like, super duper extra mega best friends? Wow, his life was a lie. Everything was a lie, and he was feeling super duper extra mega ultra betrayed.

At least it was what Daniel thought he was feeling, but the only thing he could do was suppose, based on the disappointment on Woojin’s face.

“And what’s wrong, Igueom? The person doesn’t love you back?” Assumed the woman, moving her wise head to the side.

“Shouldn’t you be the one telling me answers?” Not-Daniel (and, for sure, Not-Igueom-If-That-Was-Even-A-Name) replied, sounding unhappy. He had no desire to talk about his personal problems with her.

“Sometimes, the answers we need are not in the future, but in our present.” She carried on with her charlatan-philosophical-discourse, smiling softly. “But if you really want to know, the card you chose informs that your life will take a turn. Something will change, and, most of times, it’s something we don’t expect to happen, so don’t even try to guess.” Shuckling at his innocent face, the fortune teller concluded. “The Wheel of Fortune is all about trusting your fate.”

“Just this?” He frowned in disbelief, thinking about how it wouldn’t help in any aspect and he was obviously spending money in vain. But Not-Daniel knew from the start it would end up like that, so he didn’t complain.

“Yes. Just let the ones above do their job”. The older reaffirmed. “Now, how about you?” She turned to Woojin, who almost jumped in surprise. Finally was his turn! “No cards, I see. The crystal ball will fit you better.”

“Cool!” The younger gave a look into the glass in the center of the table, trying to see something. “Does it talk?”

“Yes, yes. To me.” She chuckled, putting both hands above the ball and closing her eyes. “But don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything.”

In the end, they both left the place convinced they shouldn’t believe people with strange hats.

“Daniel hyung.” Woojin called his friend, who was walking by his side on their way to the subway. It wasn’t even four o’clock yet, and the weather was good, unlike the non-stop-raining present the day before. “Do you think that she was telling the truth? That someone next to me will get sick?”

“No. She is a farce.” Not-Daniel (although nobody seemed to care) assured him, feeling a little cross. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Nah. I’m not worried.” Woojin smiled lightheartedly, before remembering something and narrowing his eyes as he elbowed the other. “Why the hell have you never told me your real name?!”

“Hey!” Daniel put a hand where he was hit, protesting.

“What?”

Their feet stopped working and they just stand still, looking into each other’s eyes. There it was again, all over Woojin’s. The betrayal.

“Because it’s difficult.” Not-(Does it matter?)-Daniel explained, sincerely. It truly was difficult. “I didn’t want you to have a hard time. Seriously, not even my father knows how to say it. I don’t like to see people struggling while they try to pronounce Euigeon. I know my name is not the best, ok?”

“It’s not that bad!” Woojin tried to comfort him, shaking his head. “It’s a beautiful unique name, Eiogion hyung”, shamefaced, he noticed that he didn’t get it right in the first try (actually, he didn’t get the name at all). “Sorry. Can you repeat? I promise I’m gonna learn!”

Euigeon (yeah, this way) smiled slightly because of Woojin’s attempt, getting near him with small steps. Usually, when someone mispronounced his birth name, he would feel embarrassed or annoyed, but Woojin was so adorable that he couldn’t feel a negative way.

Using his hands, he gently squeezed the younger’s cheeks, moving his head closer to his.

“Just call me Daniel, Woojin-ah.” He pleaded in a soft low tone, still smiling. “I like how it sounds when you call me.”

Woojin stopped breathing, so nervous that a woman on the other side of the street turned her head to them, swearing down to her friend that she listened someone’s heart beating.

“Hyung.”

“Uh?”

“Let go.” He spoke in a hard way due to Daniel’s hands pressing the sides of his face. The touch wasn’t genuinely uncomfortable (what a smooth skin!), but it felt like everybody was watching them. And, without the proper distance, Woojin could pretty much do something he would really (not really?) regret later.

Daniel freed him, although he didn’t truthfully feel a necessity to take a step away.

“We should go on.” The older whispered, going forward. From that distance, he could already see the stairs of the subway. Soon, they would go on different paths.

“Hyung!” Woojin followed behind, observing Daniel’s back as he walked. “There is one more thing I want to ask”.

“Hm?”

“Who is it?”

“Who is it who?”

“Who’s the one you’re in love with?”

He stopped. He had to, because Daniel had just done the same and they would collide if he had kept the same pace.

“Does it matter?” Turning his head to see the other, Daniel felt fear eat him inside. What if Woojin said yes?

“I just thought it was strange that you never talked about the person”. He stood there in an awkward way, just wanting to hear something that would convince him that his hyung, indeed, had never fallen in love. “Are they from Wanna One?” Since there was a possibility of being a member of his street dance group, he started feeling sorrow, because he knew everyone very well and they were his friends too. Woojin didn’t know how he would look to the person after that.

“Those dorks?” Daniel chuckled when he thought about his friends. “In my nightmares”.

Woojin giggled, but he was more nervous (if that was possible) with that information. If he wasn’t one of them, so who…?

“Do I know them?” He questioned again before he could stop himself.

“Probably more than I do.” Daniel dared to expose, blinking to his favorite dongsaeng, who seemed confused, but he didn’t explain to him. Not that day.

The fortune teller could be a charlatan and a crazy lady, but she was right. Just looking at Woojin, he knew he was a very lucky guy. Since he couldn’t predict what the future reserved for him, for now, Daniel should just trust his fate.

And, of course, the same applied to Euigeon.