Work Text:
[You have spent 100,000 coins.]
[You are eligible for a bonus from the Star Stream Shop.]
[Would you like to accept this item?]
[Yes/No]
Kim Dokja was purchasing a few items from the Star Stream Shop when the notification popped up. Bonus, huh?
The day before, it suddenly struck him that both Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung’s clothes were all worn out. He felt bad for letting them wear such clothes, so the man decided to buy some new ones for them. Since they were in the middle of an apocalypse, his only option was the Star Stream Shop. The prices were exorbitant, but the quality at least was acceptable.
After some consideration, Kim Dokja accepted the bonus from the Star Stream shop. All in all, a freebie would always be welcomed, especially when it came from a money-grubbing place like the Star Stream Shop.
[NAME: Overseer of the Star
GRADE: A
DESCRIPTION: This item carries messages from the stars. Should one know how to decipher them, those messages shall aid them greatly.
PRICE: Free]
The description sounded promising, but the item in his hand was only a bunch of cards with some words and illustrations on them. Kim Dokja had never come across such a thing before and TWSA also didn't seem to mention it before. It also didn't help that the Star Stream Shop, being stingy as they were, gave him no further instructions.
Now Kim Dokja was stuck with a useless item that he had absolutely no idea how to use. He knew that those stingy dokkaebi bastards would give him something of little value, like some thorns or mucus. But who would expect them to give him a bunch of papers with no instructions whatsoever? Well, at least the illustrations looked somewhat nice.
-
Night came and it was time for Kimcom's usual evening meetup. Normally, they would discuss strategies for the upcoming main scenario or choose what sub-scenarios to participate in, but today was different. They'd just returned from a tough battle, so Kim Dokja thought it would be good for the members to take a breather. Therefore, the topic of conversation was light, with each member minding their own thing.
On one side of the room, the children were busy showing off their new clothes with Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, and Jung Heewon chatting about their day while Han Sooyoung was writing something down on her phone. On the other side, he could see the sunfish bastard conversing with Lee Seolhwa, his expression appearing to be quite relaxed. Now that they were close to each other, the man couldn't help but think that they did look good together.
tls123 sure knew how to pair the protagonist with an equally exceptional female lead, just like the sun and the moon, an inseparable combination that everyone wished for. Meanwhile, the star would always be forgotten by the people, its weak illumination paled in comparison to the other two galactic entities.
Kim Dokja didn't fail to notice that whenever Yoo Joonghyuk was close to Lee Seolhwa, his gesture would always be gentler than normal. The protagonist looked at her with a glint in his eye, an emotion so private that outsiders like him could never understand. Every time he happened to catch sight of that glint, he felt a bang deep inside his heart, but Kim Dokja never chose to address it. After all, he was a coward who was scared to put a name to his hidden feelings.
While Kim Dokja was letting his mind run wild, he subconsciously pulled the card deck he got from the Star Stream shop earlier out of his pocket, fondling it while depressing himself with his own thoughts. As his eyes ran through the cards, he noticed a few letters written on them. The Emperor. The Empress. The Lovers. Some were intuitive enough, but some were just confusing. Eight of Cups. Five of Swords. Knight of Swords. For some reason, they remind him of the normal cards that he was familiar with during the pre-scenario days.
"Eh, ahjussi? Where did you get this tarot card deck?"
Lee Jihye's voice broke him out of his trance.
She was standing behind him, her eyes looking over his shoulder to stare at the card deck.
"Tarot?"
It was the first time he heard of such a word. What did the girl mean by that?
"Ahjussi, you don't know what tarot is? My friends used to talk about it all the time!"
Lee Jihye looked at him as if he had just declared he was a Flat Earther. Kim Dokja, feeling uncomfortable under the teenager's gaze, averted his eyes subconsciously.
"Ahaha I don't know..."
"No worries, ahjussi. I can teach you."
The girl flashed him a grin. Upon hearing her words, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"You know what this is?"
"Of course. I also had one myself. The illustrations are different but I'm certain it's tarot."
"Then do you know how to use it?"
"Hehe not to blow my own trumpet but I used to be the best reader in my school. They even paid me to read the cards for them."
The man perked up at the implication of Lee Jihye's words. Great, that meant this thing no longer had to go to waste. Maybe the girl could put some good use into it.
"Then you can have these, Jihye."
Kim Dokja handed her the cards. A smile bloomed on the teenager's youthful face, a look she often had whenever she was feeling particularly happy.
"Really, ahjussi? Are you sure? The cards are really pretty, they must have been worth a lot."
"Yes. I don't know how to use them anyway."
Seeing her cheerful expression, Kim Dokja decided to stay silent about the cards being a freebie. Well, at least the girl had taken a liking to them.
While the man was busy with his own thoughts, Lee Jihye quickly took a clean piece of cloth from nearby and laid it on the table. Then, with a practiced motion, she reshuffled the cards before spreading them on the table.
"Normally, I'd have to perform a cleansing ritual before using a new deck of cards but we don't have that luxury here so this would do."
"Ahjussi, I can give you a reading. For free, of course."
A confident look appeared on the teenager's face, reminding Kim Dokja of the times when she was too eager to kill the enemies, which would never end well for the team. Hopefully, this would not result in them being covered in mucus like the other day.
-
Kim Dokja wished he was covered in mucus instead.
He couldn't believe that he was excited about this whole thing just a few moments ago.
"So what is this tarot thing in the end?"
He asked Lee Jihye before they could start whatever she was planning to do. The girl, offended by the way Kim Dokja addressed the cards, sent a glare his way.
"I would say that the deck is a part of you. They help you to understand yourself better as well as show insights into the future. So you should respect the card just as how you respect a person."
For some reason, Lee Jihye put a lot of stress on the final sentence. Maybe it was just him imagining things.
"The future? Wouldn't that be the same as fortune-telling?"
The man looked at the teenager with a glint in his eye. The thought of knowing the future delighted him, as it would aid them greatly in the upcoming scenarios. After all, they would never know what might happen during those living hells.
"Not really. To be more exact, it's like showing the scenario that is most likely to happen based on your current course of action. It's one of the reasons why they say tarot spreads can be understood in more than one way, as a person's behavior can also lead to different results."
So that meant the foreseeing couldn't be as trustworthy as that of Anna Croft. Kim Dokja felt like he'd just gotten his hopes up over nothing. But well, beggars couldn't be choosers then.
"Then what kind of future could you read then?"
"Everything. From work, and study to relationships. But..."
Her voice trailed off at the last sentence. The girl suddenly appeared to be quite nervous.
"But?"
"Erm it has been a long time and I forgot most of the meanings except for the ones about love ahaha."
Lee Jihye let out a dry laugh. Love? Wasn't that the most useless thing during times like these? Kim Dokja felt a headache coming up his way.
"I mean that was what my friends asked the most back in school so I just happened to remember those the most."
"It doesn't have to be about romantic love. Platonic and familial love are okay too! And I promise that it would be worth your time."
Maybe he'd let his emotions show on his face because the girl hastily explained to her as if she was afraid he didn't believe her words. She even looked at him with puppy eyes and added:
"Please, ahjussi."
Well, he could only blame himself later for being weak to those younger than him then.
"Fine. Tell me about my "love" then."
He resigned. It's not like he had anything else to do for the night.
-
"Ahjussi, close your eyes and think about that person. I'd try to guess your relationship with them."
Lee Jihye instructed him as she reshuffled the deck once more. The man did as she said and closed his eyes. At that very moment, Yoo Joonghyuk's low voice from the other side of the room suddenly entered his ears, making him unconsciously think about the protagonist. It also didn't help that his tone was uncharacteristically gentle. Well, considering he was staying with Lee Seolhwa, that was to be expected.
"Done! You can open your eyes now, ahjussi."
Lee Jihye had finished picking out a few cards from the deck and she was flipping them one by one. Then, with a serious expression that she rarely made, the girl started to explain the meanings to him.
"Hmmm, the Emperor. You are sometimes intimidated by this person, but in the end, you still held them in high regard. They are strategic, knowledgeable, and powerful, which can make it hard for you to approach them from time to time. But I think this person is not a bad person so you should be good, ahjussi!"
[Well, if your master was a bad person then we were all done for, Jihye-ah.]
Kim Dokja thought but didn't say it out loud. But it was kind of impressive that the girl managed to somehow describe the person he was thinking of.
"Nine of Swords hmmm. It seems like this person tends to get depressed despite appearing to be confident on the outside. Ahjussi, you should treat them with care, reassuring them that the things they are worried about may not happen, and perhaps helping them ward off negative thoughts. The more they think about them, the more those thoughts could become true."
Was she talking about Yoo Joonghyuk's regression depression? If that's the case then he may have an inkling of how terrible they were. Those depression sessions were one of the few things that managed to break the man down, after all.
"Moving on to how your relationship with that person is then. Five of Wands? Ahjussi, you and this person don't seem to have a lot in common, don't you? Your and their ideas always crash, leading you guys to argue with each other even though none of you really mean that. Sometimes, this kind of argument might be productive, but at other times, they are just pointless. You fight not because you hate them, it is because you find it hard to accept their point of view."
Well, he did argue with Yoo Joonghyuk a lot. But it was not his fault, it was the man's for being stubborn. Every time he came up with a brilliant plan, that sunfish would always say: "It's dangerous for you." As if he cared about him that much. He probably thought that Kim Dokja dying again would be inconvenient for him and other members of their nebula.
"As of your future relationship with them. Wow, this one is difficult, ahjussi."
A troubled look appeared on Lee Jihye's face. Wait, was it bad? Did something go wrong in the future? His heartbeat quickened at the thought of their relationship being even worse than whatever it was now. Thank you very much, they were barely holding back from jumping at each other's throat now.
"Ahjussi, it's not bad... It's just that the future is hard to say. Wheel of Fortune. Everything has been predetermined by fate, and things that are bound to happen would happen. But ah that didn't mean things would go bad. Contrary to what you may think, the card even asks you to be optimistic about the future. The Universe would definitely help settle things in place."
Lee Jihye quickly went off as she saw how Kim Dokja's face dropped at her earlier words. He could clearly see that the teenager was trying to cheer him up and he really appreciated it. But, as of now, he would be grateful already if his relationship with the protagonist didn't take a worse turn. He was content with how things were, being able to fight alongside him, even if that meant he was nothing but a convenient companion to the man.
"Ahaha... Let's see what they think about you. Wow, the Star. This person trusts you a lot, ahjussi. You always bring them new hopes whenever they are about to give up, so to them, you are some sort of guiding light. With you, they feel like they could do everything, even if that means opposing the world. But when you are gone, they feel lost, not knowing how to proceed in life. I'm certain that this person treasures you a lot!"
The girl excitedly looked at him. Kim Dokja wondered if something might have been wrong with Lee Jihye. Well, it was true that he helped Yoo Joonghyuk out of dangerous situations many times before, but that didn't mean the man trust him that much. Were he to trust him more, he would have told him about his plan, not doing everything on his own. Both of them, despite being companions, didn't have much faith in each other.
"As of the future... THE LOVERS? AHJUSSI, DO YOU AND THAT PERSON HAVE ANYTHING GOING ON?"
Lee Jihye suddenly shouted as she flipped the next card. She appeared to be quite thrilled, even more so than during the last card. What did the card mean for her to be looking at him as if he was containing some juicy gossip?
"What do you mean?"
He asked her, a look of confusion on his face. The girl also seemed to realize something as she calmed down, putting a palm on her head.
"I forgot I was talking to you, not my friends. Anyway. Well, this card often has 2 meanings. Either way, it symbolizes that you will become a very very important to said person."
Kim Dokja suddenly had the urge to laugh upon hearing Lee Jihye's words. He? Yoo Joonghyuk's important person? Telling him that he was married to Bihyeong in the future would be more believable than that.
"One meaning is that you and that person shared a strong bond, they feel like you are their soulmate and you are the one that understands them the most in the world. As for the other meaning ehehehe"
Lee Jihye looked at him with a teasing smile. This girl, something must have been wrong with her head. Important was one thing but soulmate? Well, if you count glaring at each other every time their eyes met then yes they were soulmates. Maybe he could become a soulmate with Bihyeong too.
Nonetheless, Kim Dokja was still curious about what she was going to say, so he prompted her to speak more:
"The other-"
"What are you doing?"
A low voice cut him off before he could finish his sentence. Kim Dokja didn't need to look up to see who was standing like a bear near their table.
"None of your business."
He replied nonchalantly. His eyes were glued to the cards on the table as he found them interesting all of a sudden. Definitely more interesting than having to deal with a grumpy sunfish.
"M-master! We are doing a tarot reading for ahjussi."
Yoo Joonghyuk's face must be quite scary as he could see Lee Jihye fidgeting on her sit. He felt sorry for the girl but he wasn't in the mood to talk with the protagonist, so she would have to figure things out on his own then.
"Oh."
The man let out a small sound of realization before going silent once again. Somehow, the fact that Yoo Joonghyuk knew what tarot was while he didn't irk Kim Dokja. Did being a protagonist mean knowing something like this too?
The silence must have been too much for the teenager for her to try to continue the conversation.
"It's about ahjussi's love life MMMM-."
Kim Dokja quickly used his hand to cover the girl's mouth but it was too late. Damn it, why did Lee Jihye have to babble this to Yoo Joonghyuk of all people?
"Kim Dokja's love life?"
The temperature in the room suddenly plummeted as Yoo Joonghyuk muttered those words. Kim Dokja didn't need to look to know how deep of a frown was on the other's face right now.
"Y-yes! Do you want me to read yours too?"
Lee Jihye, now escaped from his covering, continued. He silently prayed for her to go out of this unscathed. Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn't do anything to his student, right?
"No. Continue with Kim Dokja's."
Surprisingly, the sunfish bastard managed to calm down. He even sat beside Kim Dokja, the distance too close for his own comfort.
"You know, that's an invasion of privacy."
There was no way that Kim Dokja could let Yoo Joonghyuk hear about himself, so he tried to send him away, even if that meant seeing the man eye-to-eye.
The protagonist only sent him an unimpressed look before focusing on the cards on the table. Fine, two can play at that game then. It's not like he knew Lee Jihye was talking about him anyway.
"Jihye, can you continue? I want to hear the second meaning."
He brought his focus back to Lee Jihye, choosing to ignore the bastard beside him.
"Well, the second meaning is, that person considers you to be their partner. I mean romantic partner, ahjussi. It's likely that you and them would be in a relationship by then."
Lee Jihye quickly regained her composure before continuing. She even had that excited look on her again.
"R-Romantic?"
Kim Dokja blushed at the implications of Lee Jihye's words. That was even more absurd than the last one! He was too distracted by the word that he failed to notice how Yoo Joonghyuk was gripping his sword tightly.
"Yes! I mean, that's the more common meaning so I thought it would be the same for you too. But, depending on the context, this card could also mean platonic love so I don't know."
She shrugged. Her answer only confused him more. Either way, Lee Jihye must be wrong with this one. There's no way that he could become Yoo Joonghyuk's important person, let alone his lover. Also, the man had Lee Seolhwa by his side!
"Ahaha is that so..."
He tried to laugh the whole thing off. His brain had stopped functioning the moment Lee Jihye talked about "romantic partner".
"The final card is often the advice. Ahjussi, the advice that the cards have for you is... The Moon. You have a lot of fears and illusions, and subconsciously, you are controlled by traumas from the past, many of which you have failed to move on. These things, together, pull you away from the nature of the relationship. Nothing is what it seems. Your judgments are biased and it's time for you to reevaluate them."
Did that mean he misunderstand his relationship with Yoo Joonghyuk? But what's there for him to misunderstand? The man clearly considered him a nuisance, one that he tolerated only because Kim Dokja knew information that was valuable during the scenarios.
Were it not for his knowledge, the protagonist would have gone off on his own a long time ago. Their relationship started off as a trade of benefits, where each of them had to gain something from the other. If he had nothing more to offer Yoo Joonghyuk, it's inevitable that he's thrown away to the side.
Lee Jihye, now done with Kim Dokja's spread, reshuffled the cards once again. Then, she looked up to her master with a hopeful expression and asked:
"Master, would you like me to do a reading for you? I can only do those that are related to love but I will try to be accurate as possible!"
Accurate his ass. Nearly all of her readings were false, save for the first two. But Yoo Joonghyuk would surely reject her offer so he didn't have to worry about that then. The man didn't have much of a romantic bone in his body, after all.
"Tell me what the other is thinking about me. Both the present and the future. I'm thinking about them right now."
Kim Dokja nearly fell off his seat as he heard Yoo Joonghyuk give Lee Jihye instructions about his spread. Who would have thought he was interested in these kinds of thing?
"Oho, you seem to know your way, Master. Alright then, I'll try my best to give you a perfect spread!"
Lee Jihye lit up at the way Yoo Joonghyuk was familiar with tarot reading. With practiced ease just like before, she spread the cards on the table before picking two of them to decipher the meaning.
"Present... Eight of Cups. This person is choosing to run away from you, Master. They try to repress their emotions because they deem the journey ahead to be not worthwhile. They know that something is missing, but they refuse to move forward, thinking that no matter what they did, the results would always be the same. This person also seems to have some problems with communication as they are not used to expressing their emotions. In order for them to step out of their shell, maybe you would need to show them that they are loved and you have genuine feelings for them."
Kim Dokja knew that Lee Jihye was describing Lee Seolhwa, but something just didn't sit right. From what the girl had said, the woman seemed to be refusing to acknowledge her feelings for Yoo Joonghyuk. Maybe that's the reason why the protagonist decided to engage in Lee Jihye's little stunt.
"And the future. Oho, Master, I don't think you should be worried. The World. It seemed this person would regard you as an important part of their world, one that they couldn't live without. You complete their life, making them feel like their long-held dream finally come true."
For some reason, Yoo Joonghyuk turned to look at him upon hearing the teenager's words. There was a fire in his eyes, one too passionate and hungry that he was afraid to face head-on. He couldn't understand the meaning of that gaze, but he paid no mind to it. After all, he was busy thinking about how the card's description fitted their relationship perfectly.
The card's illustration was of a man holding a woman, their posture indicating that they were dancing hand in hand. They looked happy, a smile blooming on their faces as affection filled their eyes to the brim. It was such a beautiful image that Kim Dokja felt like his ugly self would taint it black just by merely existing.
The protagonist appeared to be satisfied with his student's answer since his face's muscles relaxed quite a lot. And to Kim Dokja's surprise, he even asked the girl to continue his spread.
"Jihye, describe how they are. Appearance and personality."
His voice was cold, but Kim Dokja had spent enough time with the man to know that he was in a good mood. What did he think when he asked that question? Was he that eager to show the whole world that he and Lee Seolhwa were in love with each other?
At that moment, Kim Dokja wanted to get up from his seat, going somewhere far away so that he would no longer be reminded that his little feelings were all futile. But, before he knew it, Yoo Joonghyuk had grabbed his hand, refusing to let him go anytime soon.
"Let me go."
He hissed.
"Stay."
The man, being the bastard he was, ignored him.
"Then at least let go of my hand."
Kim Dokja tried his best to stay calm. He didn't want to cause a huge fuss over something small like this. (No, it wasn't small. It was a big deal to him.)
"No."
The smaller man didn't expect that answer to come from the other. Why was he so adamant about holding his hands? Why was he so insistent on him staying to hear the cards describing Lee Seolhwa? The bastard's actions just didn't add up, sending Kim Dokja into a spiral. Why? He kept wondering.
They stayed like that for a while, staring at each other with unreadable expressions until Lee Jihye broke the silence:
"Erm... Master... Ahjussi... Can I continue?"
It was only then that Kim Dokja stayed still, resigning to his fate. Fine, if Yoo Joonghyuk wanted him to listen to his lover, he would fancy the man then. Even if that meant his heart was broken into pieces.
"Ahem. Queen of Swords. Hmm, interesting. This person appears to be independent and perceptive as they always know how to handle the situation in front of them. They are well-respected by others, not because they are feared, but because they are trusted. However, when it comes to emotional connection, they tend to distance themselves from the people around them. It's not that they don't hold affection for those people, it's just that they believe feelings can be a hindrance on their journey. All in all, I can say that this person always maintains a distance between them and other people."
"Deep inside, they are... Eight of Swords, huh. Master, this person tends to overthink, like a loooot. And all they think about are negative thoughts. They are always prepared for the worst-case scenarios, which might be good in some cases but not so much normally. Also, they limit themselves by viewing things one-sidedly, it's like they are trapped inside their own mind. Well, they could escape it if they want, but the important thing is whether they want or not."
That... didn't sound like the Lee Seolhwa he knew. The woman was compassionate, loving, and sly sometimes. She knew and loved how to connect with people, not distancing herself from others. After spending quite some time with her, Kim Dokja was well aware of how optimistic she could be. Did Lee Jihye get things wrong this time too?
He sneaked a glance at Yoo Joonghyuk's side, wondering if the man disagreed with what the girl said. Surprisingly, he didn't say anything, the sunfish even nodded along some of her words. What?
"And the last card, which is advice for you... Death! Ahhh Master please don't glare at me, this card didn't mean anything bad. Death here symbolizes change and transition. You know how people die and resurrect? Just like our ahjussi here? Ahhhh Master, I'm just joking, please don't pull the sword out."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked like he was about to murder the girl, which made Kim Dokja feel somewhat sorry for her. Hey, the joke was quite good, actually.
"Ahaha what I want to say is that the cards are telling you to make a change. It's time for you to take action and let go of things in the past. If you don't act fast enough, you might regret it later in the future. But if you have the resolve, then you will be able to achieve what you want!"
Sensing the protagonist's murderous aura, Lee Jihye quickly finished her reading. The girl sat in silence for a while, as if thinking of something. After some time, a grin appeared on her face as she dragged him to another corner:
"Master, I will be borrowing ahjussi for a little bit."
It was only then that Yoo Joonghyuk let his hand go. He didn't seem to be happy about that as Kim Dokja could see a glare being sent to Lee Jihye's way. Was it just his imagination or did the man really... dislike the loss of contact?
"Ahjussi, I think I know who Master likes now?"
Once they were in a corner far enough away from Yoo Joonghyuk, the girl then quickly whispered to him.
"Really?"
He pretended to be surprised but in reality, he fully knew who it was.
"Yeah! Ehehe but I wouldn't tell you."
She sent him a meaningful look. For some reason, he had a feeling that she knew something that he didn't.
"Hehe since I'm nice, I would give you a hint, ahjussi. That person is an Aquarius!"
Hearing no response from him, the girl continued. What is an Aquarius? He really was too old for these kinds of things. It didn't help that the sunfish bastard kept staring at him ever since then.
Kim Dokja suddenly had the urge to open his phone and reread TWSA once again. That way, he could be convinced that the person Yoo Joonghyuk loved was no one but Lee Seolhwa. Yep, it gotta be that way.
From the back of his head, the man knew that something was wrong, but he chose to ignore it.