Yongseon didn’t know how she found herself engaged in a staring competition with the fortune teller. All she remembered was her friend basically dragging her to the gaudy booth.

The inside of the booth was draped in velvety red and dark blue. It smelled like strong incense, and a spectacular amount of candles of all shapes surrounded the room. The perfect cliché scenery. The girl couldn’t help snorting at the sight of the place and caught the attention of the owner.

Though the only thing that wasn’t cliché was the man posing in the centre of the room as the fortune teller. His hair was short and styled up, giving off a rock star vibe – if anything else. A thin cloth was thrown over his shoulders and he wore a silver bracelet on his left wrist.

He spread his arms out and flashed a blindly charming smile when he caught sight of the two girls.

“Welcome!” he exclaimed. “Welcome to my humble demeure, as Spanish say. Welcome to my humble abode.”

He motioned them to sit down. Yongseon did so, and deadpanned: “That’s French, though.”

The man remained unfazed as he stared after her. He then leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table to get closer. “What can I do for the two most beautiful ladies who have entered my booth today?” he asked.

Her friend giggled. Yongseon looked at her in betrayal and took a look around her. “Do you say that to your girl customers everyday?”

He let out a chuckle. “My,” – he had furrowed his brows but kept the handsome smile “—it looks like we might have an unbelieving soul.”

Yongseon stared back at him and shrugged. “I do believe in magic. Just not in cons.”

She poked gingerly the crystal ball seated between the three of them and only stopped when the man hissed and tsked to prevent her from touching it. Her friend nudged her in a silent message, then looked expectantly at the fortune teller.

“Shall we begin…?” He switched to a deeper tone. Was it supposed to make him mysterious? He turned to her friend and outstretched his arm to her. “Give me your hand,” he ordered. His eyes held now seriousness. He stared down and frowned. He remained silent for a few seconds, just humming to himself.

“What do you see?” asked eagerly her friend.

“Your ring of Salomon tells me you are a committed person. You may seem like the fickle type, but inside you really care about the other one.”

Her friend beamed and let out a squeal. “Oh, that is so true! Yongseon, have you seen this?! I totally do!”

“Someone with experienced eyes could have easily picked that up from your personality, Hyeri. Nothing more.”

The fortune teller stayed focused on her friend’s palm but a vein throbbing on his neck gave him out. “Also,” he went on, his voice slightly more aggressive. “In ten days, you will be given a huge present, so keep your eyes open.”

He let go of her hand while the girl gasped at the information, and he turned abruptly towards Yongseon.

“Your turn, pretty words. The great Yoo always accept a challenge,” he said. He breathed and his lips drew a mischievous smile as he silently asked for her hand.

She reluctantly gave it to him. His fingers were cold and sent a shiver down her spine. He smoothed down her palm and bent over in pure concentration.

“Reading palms like a real bohemian, huh?” she teased.

He brought a finger to his lips to hush her. Her own fingers twitched under the command. Gosh, he was infuriating.

He noticed the motion and delicately her fingers to lay them flat in his hand.

“I see…” he whispered. “A strong line of head, meaning you are creative and imaginative.”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” she raised an eyebrow and unconsciously removed her hand. But the man squeezed her fingers to keep it in his hold.

“I’m not finished, pretty words.”

He looked more confident than he ever did during the last minutes, and it was oddly attractive.

“I see a great lot of things in you. You do paintings for a living, and you are rather talented. You prefer cats and rabbits, and you have three keys on your keychain.”

He looked up at her and his eyes were blazing. He wasn’t done, though, as he trailed his warm fingers over her hand. Everything was warmer about him.

“Oh, I can see you broke up with your boyfriend a couple of weeks ago.”

A flash of the past events ran across her mind. She frowned and raised her head, and was met with a glowing smirk.

“I don’t find it amusing,” she snapped.

The smile grew wider, transforming his eyes into sweet half-moons. “Depends on the point of view.”

That was when she got herself engaged in that staring competition with the fortune teller. A flame of a nearby candle flickered as the tension grew in the room. Yongseon was so immersed in their silent fight that she had almost forgot about her friend. That guy thought he was almighty?

Well, he had guessed things about her that were impossible to guess on a psychological scale. But he was arrogant, dressed like a rock star, and that y frown was impossibly infuriating.

And it was so damn attractive.

He drew her hand closer to him and clasped it between his two own hands. She glared.

“You deserve better,” he winked, and half of the candles blew out.

Her friend hissed at the new obscurity. “What the…?”

The fortune teller released her hand and Yongseon felt something between her fingers. She was holding a carnation. How on earth did it land in her hand?

“All the brightest stars have landed in your eyes, pretty words.”

She blinked at the flower and rose up.

Damn.

She nudged her friend and said out loud: “Let’s get out. All we’ve learned so far, is that you are an altruist and I have three keys in my pocket. Such a waste of time.”

Her friend stepped out first of the booth, when the fortune teller called for Yongseon.

“Pretty words.”

The candle on her left suddenly came on of a blue flame.

She turned to him. He sat behind the table, leaned against his chair, his hands entwined. The crystal ball shone and reflected a shadowy light around him.

A satisfied smile conspicuous at the corner of his mouth, he gave a nod. “Tie your shoes, sweetie. I don’t want you falling for anyone else.”

She stuck the flower behind her earlobe and walked out in the daylight. She was already considering staying a little more at the fun fair.

(Whoever held a carnation in their hand meant their heart were taken.)