Work Text:
Fortune telling had never really been Hoseok’s cup of tea. He was terrified, convinced that whatever the shady-looking person dressed in mothball-smelling robes would come true, and that he was doomed to succumb to whatever vague gibberish escaped their lips. But while filled to the brim with an artery-clogging amount of fried food, he’d felt a surge of bravery rushing up inside of him. Or maybe it was the massive cherry slushie he’d downed just minutes ago.
He didn’t know.
But now Taehyung was tugging at his wrist, a heart-stopping grin adorning his face. “Come on, Hobi,” he sang, pushing his hair back with one hand. “I dare you.” A wicked smile was now on his lips as Hoseok froze.
Taehyung knew him too damn well.
And as the brutal summer heat beat down on the sun-bleached ground and the vibrantly colored tents, the smell of sweat and high-fructose corn syrup hovering in the air, Hoseok was rooted to the ground, his feet unmoving. Taehyung’s smile widened as he saw the slight horror dawning in Hoseok’s dark eyes.
He breathed out, adjusting the cheap drawstring bag on his shoulders, trying to steel his insides. He knew, firstly, that Tae would never let him escape the fact that he’d refused a dare, especially one that seemed so trivial, and secondly, that he was literally physically unable to say no when Taehyung’s eyes crinkled up at the edges like they were now.
With a resigned sigh, Hoseok let himself be dragged to the dark blue tent, knowing that whatever the self-proclaimed prophet said would be the subject of his three a.m. thoughts for the next few weeks.
Taehyung bounded to the dark opening, pushing past the wispy, translucent curtains with an energetic swing while Hoseok stumbled in after him. The inside of the tent smelled the sage and burning paper, and there were candles lit in the corners, wax dripping slowly down the colored cylinders. Everything in the space seemed to point towards a low table at the center that was covered in swaths of blue, orange, and pink silks, a tacky-looking crystal ball resting on a fake stand at the middle of the expanses of fabric.
Taehyung, his smile still bright even in the low light, stepped ahead of Hoseok, giving his hand a comforting squeeze before hesitatingly calling out a greeting into the seemingly empty tent. “Anyone here?”
The dark velvety curtains hanging from the back shifted slightly, and a middle-aged woman emerged from behind them, dark hair spilling out from under a deep violet head wrapping. Her eyes were lined dramatically with kohl, and there were gold rings sparkling on her fingers. “You are here to get your fortunes read?” She asked finally, already settling down behind the table. She didn’t wait for an answer and kept talking in her slight accent. “Together? It’s cheaper that way.”
Tae looked at him, head cocked and lips pursed. “If it’s cheaper,” he said in a bright voice, and then with Hoseok’s nod of approval, he cleared his throat. “Yeah.” The fortune teller motioned for the two to sit down and passed a deck of cards, that she seemingly pulled from out of thin air, between her hands.
With smooth, practiced motions, she spread the cards out and gathered them again, shuffling them masterfully until finally holding out the thick deck to the both of them. “Pick one,” she said to Taehyung. Hoseok couldn’t help noticing that the candles cast an upward, eerie light on her face, accentuating the shadows under her eyes and making her cheeks look hollow and ashy.
Taehyung’s movements were confident and casual, and he pulled a card out from out of the center of the thick stack in one fluid swipe. The woman then nodded to Hoseok, who tried his best to mimic Tae’s gestures, though he couldn’t hide the slight trembling in his hand. Tae elbowed him in the ribs when he took the card from the top, telling him that it was “no fun” that way, and Hoseok mumbled back that it wouldn’t be fun either way.
As soon as he put the card down on the table, the woman slid the card forward, and they alternated like this until there were five cards spread in a steep arc across the table. The cards had a maroon and gold backing, and the accents glimmered slightly in the candlelight.
“This card,” she announced, placing her glittering fingers gently on it. “Represents the present position. Of course, because you are doing a jointed reading, this is what both of you are feeling at the moment.” She said this with such conviction that Hoseok’s nails were digging angry red crescents into the palm of his hand as she turned the card over.
Speaking of crescents, the fortune teller called the card “moon”. It was reversed, the top of the card facing the shadowy woman. “Currently, you both are feeling confusion and unhappiness. The cause of this confusion for the two of you is either identical or linked. The next card is your present desires.” She flipped the second card quickly, her rings hitting the table quite violently.
“Lovers,” she proclaimed. “The desire for romance and union, the balance of physical and emotional sensation.”
Hoseok felt his heart leap a little bit as he drew in a sharp breath. How had this woman been so accurate? He couldn’t bear to look at Taehyung, who was, for once, totally focused. Everything seemed still, despite the fact that the fair was in full swing just outside the tent. Not even the flames of the candles flickered.
“The unexpected.” The third card. She let out a laugh at the result, a deep, throaty chuckle that sent chills down Hoseok’s spine.
Aw fuck, which one of us is gonna die? He thought to himself as she began to speak again. “Tower, meaning revelation, realization, sudden change.
“The immediate future.” The woman was smiling slightly now, looking almost lovingly down at the cards. “Devil.”
Taehyung turned to him, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “We’re gonna become Satanists?” he asked innocently, his lips parted in surprise.
“Devil. Meaning sexuality, sensuality.” She paused dramatically. “Bondage.” Hoseok almost choked, clutching the silk pillow beneath him and not waiting for Taehyung’s reaction. The final card was overturned, and his heart was beating so quickly that he could feel his chest closing in on itself.
The last card was of a vibrant orange circle surrounded by flowers and a white horse, appropriately named “sun”. “This is your outcome. It means success, positivity, brightness.” She somehow managed to look at both of them at the same time, her intense dark eyes piercing through his forehead and into his brain, leaving him feeling uncomfortable and slightly violated.
She looked down at the cards in front of her, her face slightly prideful. She laughed again, throwing her head back almost villainously. “This has been… interesting.”
Hoseok, almost leaping up off of the pillow, had a swirling storm of emotions inside of him. “How much do we owe you?” He flashed a wide smile, the one he usually reserved for his boss at work and crabby secretaries at the bank.
“Free of charge,” she said, waving a hand. She took a breath as she swept the cards into a neat deck once again.
“Although your final card was the sun, the two of your fates, it seems, was written in the stars.”
--
The two of them exited the tent, squinting in the bright light. “We got it free!” Taehyung exclaimed giddily, throwing his hands up in the air. Hoseok managed a weak laugh before stooping to pretend to tie his shoe and to catch his breath.
Why would you do something like this? Your pride wasn’t worth it.
Despite his severe aversion to anything that had to do with the world of palm-reading and turbans, Hoseok couldn’t help but believing what the woman had said. There were always what-ifs inside of his mind, always wondering if maybe, just maybe something would go right. His fate didn’t need to be written in the stars, but it would definitely help if it was.
Taehyung was seemingly completely oblivious, too busy scanning the stalls lining the worn dirt path for something to eat.
Am I overthinking?
He decided on this interpretation and tried his best to forget the fact that the woman had been scarily accurate in her readings of the present, and the fact that he wanted nothing more than for her to be correct in her readings of the future. He shot a glance at Taehyung, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet, watching a pot-bellied man fry watermelon and spear a stick through the thick green rind.
“Hyung!” Tae cried, pointing eagerly at the neatly sliced watermelon laying on the man’s cutting board. “Look at this!”
Hoseok, for one minute, forgot the stench of sage and the sight of white candles, and reveled in the warm glow of Taehyung’s grin. “Get it,” he urged, nodding to the sign that advertised a strangely reasonable price.
The man nodded at Tae, who was almost leaning over the stall, watching as the battered watermelon sizzled and popped in the fryer. “We have a good deal,” he said gruffly, pulling the steaming golden triangle out from the oil with a pair of tongs. “Your boyfriend’s right.”
“Oh, he’s not-” they both started at the same time, but the man only shook his head, holding out the stick of watermelon to Tae, who took it without hesitation, forking over a handful of bills and spare change.
Hoseok laughed as Tae blew frantically on the skewer, the pale steam drifting lazily up to the cloudless sky. He finally took a bite of it, the fruit almost crumbling at the touch of his lips, and he let out an almost erotic moan as the pink juice dribbled down his chin. Hoseok tried his best to not get flustered, but holy shit, he had never wanted to be a fruit more in his life.
They began to walk again when Tae insisted that he had to try the watermelon, and as he took a bite, they were approached by a sweaty teenager wearing a faded green t-shirt that read “staff” across the chest in blocky white font. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and his formerly white tennis shoes were now caked in dust.
“We have two spots in the Ferris wheel,” he said quickly, taking a stained towel and wiping his forehead with it. “Would you two be interested? It’s, uh, very romantic, you know, and it’s the classic fair date thing, right?” He laughed slightly. “I don’t know. I’ll give you a discount, it’s just it’s been a slow day and my boss is getting kind of pissed.”
Hoseok’s mouth fell open.
Twice in a day. Just your luck!
Taehyung cut in before he could reply, however, ever the sucker for anything and everything free and/or slightly discounted. “Of course! Anything to help you out.” The awkward teenager nodded in gratitude and lead them to a rickety blue-painted carriage.
As soon as Hoseok paid him five dollars (the self-proclaimed “discount” turned out to be seventeen cents), the door to the small pod slid shut with a resigned creak. Taehyung was pressed against the foggy window, admiring the view.
This thing seemed so much smaller than it looked, and Hoseok had never really been a fan of heights, either. Ferris wheels were usually okay, the gentle swaying soothing and rhythmical. But with the massive churro he’d had an hour prior and the strange tarot readings and the fact that Taehyung was rocking the thing back and forth with his constant motion, Hoseok’s stomach was churning, and he looked at the rough metal tiling the bottom of the carriage, trying to ground himself.
His insides began to settle, and Hoseok didn’t notice that Taehyung had stopped moving, having noted the slight green tinge to Hoseok’s fair skin. “Are you alright?” he asked, his expression having shifted from pure glee to genuine concern in a matter of seconds.
“I- I’m fine,” Hoseok replied. “Been a weird day, especially with the fortune telling and everything.” It was the half-truth, at least, and he felt Taehyung scoot closer to him, propping his feet up on the metal seat.
The two of them leaned on each other in silence, the creaking of the Ferris wheel the only sound as they reached the top. “If you didn’t feel comfortable with the tarot readings,” Tae started cautiously. “You really didn’t have to…”
Hoseok laughed, surprised when it came out with a sincere warmth in its tone. But of course, he shouldn’t have been because it was hard to not to reflect the irradiant geniality that always radiated off of Taehyung, even when he was trying to be serious.
“I have to be as manly as I can,” he announced, his voice echoing in the stuffy carriage. “To be a man is to face my fears, and my fear is of excessive eyeliner.”
Tae snorted. “I’m sure,” he said, grinning, and Hoseok elbowed him lightly in the ribs.
“Let me have my moment,” he replied, exhaling as they began the descent down the intimidating steel contraption.
The Ferris wheel completed its rotation peacefully and sluggishly, as Ferris wheels do, and the teenager opened the door to the pod, leaving Hoseok to relish the feeling of being on solid ground once more.
“Are you sure you’re alright? You’re sweating.” Taehyung again flashed a rare moment of concern, his eyebrows knitting together and head cocked to the side. His hair was swept in a perfect wave across his forehead, and Hoseok had to take a quick moment to admire how he looked glowing in the sunlight.
“Of course I’m sweating,” he replied, glancing up at the pale blue sky. “I guess it’s just because I’m hot.” He winked overdramatically and Tae laughed again because that was just what he did and they started walking again.
The two ended up trying to escape from the ruthless summer weather by a small round table shaded by an oversized dark green umbrella. “Are those,” Hoseok squinted at the metal cart glinting blindingly in the sun, trying to make out the small blocky font. “Bacon milkshakes?” There was a massive line snaking in front of the stand, and Taehyung leaped up from the table, taking Hoseok with him, to join it.
It took thirty minutes of waiting in the sweltering sun, but they finally reached the stand, sweat dripping down their backs and their cheeks flushed with heat. “Two please,” Taehyung said brightly, already fumbling through his pockets for money.
The woman behind the metal counter paused, her lips pursing slightly. “I’m sorry, but it’s been a really busy afternoon, and I,” she leaned down, her eyes scanning under the stand with a furtive intensity. She paused, pulling a bright blue and white cup out from under the counter. “We only have one cup left.” The cup was tall and wide-mouthed, almost taunting him.
“That’s fine,” Hoseok said quickly, willing to sacrifice another heart-attack inducing dose of sugar. “Tae, you can-”
He was interrupted by the sound of the cup hitting the counter, and the woman placed a clear, domed plastic lid over top of it, pressing two paper-wrapped straws into Taehyung’s hand as he handed the money over.
“Have a good afternoon!” The woman called as they made their way back to the table. Of course, because this was how lucky Hoseok was, a bird had decided to unload its goods upon part of the bench, and neither of them were willing to sit within a touching-distance of it. They ended up sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, looking uneasily at the prominent white stain.
What kind of witchcraft is this?
Hoseok could feel the heat from Taehyung’s body as they played out the cliché teenage rom-com scene, each taking sips of the same fucking milkshake because this is what creepy tarot readers did to him, tortured him and left him to think about destiny and everything that came along with it. And with Taehyung as part of the package? He was about to faint and cry and scream at the same time.
The milkshake was good though.
It was sweet and savory, tasting of vanilla and maple syrup with an edge of salt. A slight breeze had picked up, tickling the underside of Hoseok’s neck and rustling the few blades of grass that littered the barren fairgrounds. There was the gentle clamor and creaking of fair rides and hyperactive children, but all of that seemed to fade into the distance because Hoseok was here with Taehyung and that was basically all he needed.
When he closed his eyes, all he could see was the hazy bright spots of sun and the dark red backs of tarot cards.
--
The bus squealed to a stop, dropping Taehyung and Hoseok three blocks from their shared apartment. The weather had taken a turn for the worse since they’d left the fair, dark gray clouds gathering ominously in the sky.
They walked down the familiar streets of Seoul, getting pushed and shoved by the rush hour crowd. Hoseok made the mistake of thinking that they’d be able to get back to the apartment building without another strange interruption, but a well-dressed man in his twenties, his hair combed immaculately to the side, stopped them.
“We have a summer special,” he said, gesturing to the elegant-looking restaurant behind him. “15% off for couples.” He flashed a smile and handed them a flyer, sending them on their way. Hoseok sprinted to the door of the apartment building, ready to collapse, the paper crinkling loudly in his hand.
Taehyung laughed as he almost got stuck in the revolving door, as he always did, finally stumbling into the air-conditioned lobby. The elevator ride to the fourth floor seemed strangely intimate, but then again, after what had happened that day, everything did.
Hoseok let out a sigh as they finally entered the apartment, the lights flickering on. He flopped down on the worn blue couch, watching his chest rise and fall, heavy with fair food. Taehyung sat down next to him, letting out a loud groan. His hair fell over his forehead, his feathery eyelashes fluttering a little bit as he curled up on the cushion, knees pulled to his chest.
Hoseok had always been okay like this, content to watch from too far and from too close.
Things would be fine.
The stars weren’t always right.
--
It was late. Even the streets of the city had decided to settle down, a sluggish laziness drifting down the alleyways. Traffic had slowed, the occasional car squealing down the avenues. Hoseok was looking (with an angst-filled expression on his face) out of the unpolished window that gave a sprawling view of the city.
There were stars winking tauntingly back at him, bright little spots of light that made him want to scream. Taehyung was still curled up next to him, having showered and flopped right back down in a white t-shirt and loose sweatpants, a peaceful expression adorning his delicate features.
“Hey, Tae?” Hoseok said, not sure what he was about to do. He tried to ignore the trembling in his fingers.
Taehyung blinked groggily back up at him, shifting slightly as he awoke.
“What did you think about the… fortune telling thing?”
Tae took a second to register the question. “Hyung,” he said slowly. “I don’t know what she meant, but also what I do know is that you take these things too seriously.” He sat up, propping himself up on his elbows. “It doesn’t matter if these things are written in the stars or not because they’re just little balls of gas millions of miles away.”
Hoseok could not have been more in love with the person sitting on front of him, bathed in silver starlight, lips pursed in deep thought.
“You have to make things happen, I think,” Tae continued, eyes traveling to the deep navy of the night sky. “The stars are just your witness.”
“Like this?” Hoseok leaned forward, cupping Taehyung’s face in his hands and capturing his lips in a sweet kiss. His heart was hammering intensely in his chest. It was soft and passionate and the result of years of pent-up feeling, something Hoseok had dreamed about for so, so long. He felt Taehyung smile against his mouth, a quiet laugh escaping him as they both sat still for a moment, their lips obscenely pink, short and raspy breaths marking each second that passed.
Maybe these things weren’t written in the stars.
Maybe they didn’t have to be.
Taehyung laughed again, his lips quirking up just a little.
“Like that.”