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Sunoo is sitting cross-legged on Jungwon’s bed, watching the latter reorganize a tarot deck with borderline religious focus.
“I'm telling you Wonie, be careful. These cards— they're good at giving advice but sometimes, it calls things."
Jungwon hums, distracted. He’s getting ready to shuffle it one more time.
“I always ask first,” he says.
Sunoo squints, obviously not trusting the younger. “Remember the one time you tripped over my divination wards because you tried to do a reading on me?”
“Yes,” Jungwon replies calmly. “And I learned my lesson.” And that you don't mess with a witch, he kept to himself.
Isn't that the general consensus anyway? You don't want to risk being hexed after all.
Witches are known to be well-versed in anything that concerns the supernatural and Sunoo just so happens to be one. He's still adamant about keeping the deity he serves as a secret, though. Devotion doesn't have to be public for it to be valid, he emphasizes.
It's not a big deal. Jungwon isn't really keen on getting involved with witchcraft and learning something from scratch again (it took so much effort remembering his deck already.) He'll stick with his cards, thank you.
Anyway, the reading wasn't even meant to be invasive. It was a simple question of: "Is hyung going to uni today?" Then, there came the consequences.
The witch's divination ward didn't physically hurt him but it gave him roommate-related nightmares for three days. Sunoo defended himself that his spell wasn't a specifically laid trap, and that it was just supposed to protect his peace. Anyone who doesn't respect that will surely backfire whatever spell they cast. Finishing off the explanation with a smug, what can I say? My spirit guides are petty. Jungwon was a little irked.
"You're not equipped for this. Just give it up, come on."
He tried to talk some sense to Jungwon but he won't budge. Sunoo opens his mouth, closes it, then sighs. “Whatever, just be careful. Especially with people who have— uhh, strong attachments.”
Jungwon finally looks up. “Like?”
Sunoo hesitates. “Deities. Angels. Or really intense destinies. They can get pretty nasty if you overstep their boundaries.”
Jungwon nods, filing the information away mentally. (He absolutely does not think about it again.)
Jay and Jungwon are roommates, and while the former isn’t exactly a fan of Jungwon’s newest fixation on tarot, he’s not outright opposed to it either.
He knows Jungwon bought the deck on a whim, and listened to him ramble about how the randomness of it all is charming. Jay honestly appreciates how his cute junior wasn't shoving the concept down his throat so he can live with the whole "probability is fate" narrative and whatnot.
He can handle his antics.
He just doesn’t participate.
The exact timeline where Jungwon got into spiritual readings is still a mystery. Jay makes it a point to ask one day.
For now, he chalks it up to Jungwon hanging around his best friend too much. There were rumors— that Sunoo’s a witch. Sunghoon swears that’s bullshit, but Jay isn’t entirely convinced. Not when there are crystals scattered across Jungwon’s desk now. Influence is a powerful thing, moreso if it's working with the occult.
Is tarot an occult thing? To which he remembered the other responding with a noncommital "kinda." Jay is not sure anymore. Whatever makes Jungwon happy, makes him happy too.
What Jay absolutely does not consent to, however, is a reading.
(Mostly because Jungwon never asked)
It happens on a Tuesday night, in the quiet of their shared dorm. Jungwon lifts the selenite slab he’d left resting on the deck overnight, fingers careful as he sets it aside. He knocks on the cards twice— soft, firm. The witch had been clear: if he was going to do this, he had to do it properly. The crystal, apparently, neutralizes whatever lingering energy clings to the deck.
Hyung’s fast asleep.
Jungwon is making sure that the older's breaths are even and he won't be waking up anytime soon. It's not like Jay would be mad to be honest.
I’ll make this quick.
But the questions he wanted to ask would betray everything— every shred of his painfully unrequited feelings. And he knew better than to trouble his hyung like that.
Jay is skilled in matters of the heart; Jungwon isn’t sure he could handle a gentle rejection.
Under the dim glow of the night light, he begins to shuffle, trying to keep the sound to a minimum. The cards clacked softly against one another, barely louder than Jay’s steady breathing from across the room.
He asked the cards.
Then, he stops.
From the deck, Jungwon draws three cards and lays them out.
At best, it’s curiosity. At worst, he's prying— pressing his fingers into something that was never offered to him in the first place. There are more ethical ways to go about this; Sunoo would say as much, all gentle scolding and raised brows. But Sunoo doesn’t know about the way Jungwon’s chest feels too small whenever Jay smiles at him, or how the feeling swells that it's unbearable. He doesn’t know how a heart can feel so full it aches, or how wanting can feel like drowning.
If Jungwon were being sensible, he’d stop. He knows he won’t get an honest reading if his emotions keep bleeding into the deck. Tarot punishes desperation with misdirection.
Still, he hopes. He draws three cards and places them face-up on the floor.
The Devil.
The Tower.
The Moon.
Oh.
That’s not subtle at all.
The Devil stares back at him first— addiction, desire like a fixation masquerading as curiosity. It tells him this isn’t about fate or possibility. It's about wanting something so badly he’s willing to cross lines he pretends not to see.
The Tower follows, straightforward in its message. A warning of collapse, of consequences. Meddle where you shouldn’t, and something will come crashing down— his composure, his friendship, the careful balance of everything he built up until now.
And then there’s The Moon. Secrets. Illusions. Things hidden for a reason. It reminds him that not everything unseen is meant to be dragged into the light, and that peeking into another person’s heart only breeds fear, confusion, and distorted truths.
Together, the spread doesn’t answer his question at all.
Instead, it tells him quite clearly to stop.
Not because Jay doesn’t feel anything.
But because whatever Jay feels is not his to steal from the dark.
And like fate is mocking him, his hyung stirs in his sleep, trying to take in Jungwon's blurry figure.
"You're still awake?" He grumbled.
The younger could only sheepishly smile.
“You’re lucky your tarot was honest with you,” Sunoo said, unimpressed. “Maybe all those nights you spent sleeping with your deck under your pillow actually paid off.”
Jungwon is glad for the confirmation that he did bond with his tarot, but another fact that stood proudly was he still can't admit his feelings. He never would, not even to the witch. What he did confess— was the line he’d crossed.
Sunoo sighed, long and weary. “You’d be luckier if nothing happens to you, though. Not to scare you or anything, but spirit guides can get offended.”
“I know, I know. Nothing’s happened so far, hyung,” Jungwon muttered.
"Good.”
Something did happen, though.
At first, it was easy to dismiss. Small things. Annoying things.
Jungwon’s alarm stopped going off suspiciously— only on days when Jay had early classes. His notes went missing, then reappeared neatly stacked somewhere he knew he hadn’t left them. Pens rolled off his desk on their own, always when he was already running late. His reflection in dark screens lagged just half a second too long. That's creepy, Riki once pointed out.
In lectures, the projector flickered whenever he tried to concentrate. Words on slides blurred, then sharpened again into phrases that made no sense in context. He told himself it was stress. It's just the lack of sleep.
But at some point Jungwon wondered if he got cursed.
Then came the dreams.
Owls perched on the edges of rooftops, staring him down with unblinking eyes. Marble halls that stretched endlessly, floors etched with symbols. A presence behind him— never touching, just weighing. He realized he was running away despite no one chasing him. Jungwon always seem out of breath whenever he woke up at ungodly hours of the night. With a recurring, fuck it's only 2 A.M.
He started tripping on flat ground. His bag straps snapped at the worst possible moments. Sunoo laughed, saying he probably tripped on another divination ward even though Jungwon swore that he never attempted doing a reading without consent again.
Group projects fell apart around him for reasons no one could quite explain, and somehow Jungwon always took the brunt of the blame. Even his professors seemed sharper with him, their gazes lingering as if they were looking through him instead of at him.
And Jay—
Jay remained untouched. If anything, things went right for him. Effortlessly so. Jungwon noticed it in the way doors opened for Jay without him trying, how crowded hallways seemed to part around him, how arguments died the moment Jay entered the room. Like something old and watchful had settled its weight behind his shoulders.
That was when Jungwon understood.
Whatever spirit clung to Jay— whatever guided him— had decided Jungwon was a problem.
Not worth killing. Not worth dramatic punishment, which he was thankful for.
Just worth correcting.
This probably means he should not get involved with his hyung anymore, right?
The thought gnawed at his heart. It made him sadder than being called out by his cards.
The dreams changed.
They stop being corridors and rooftops and faceless pressure.
Now, Jungwon stands in places that feel ancient.
A sunlit courtyard of white stone, polished smooth by centuries of footsteps. Statues loom overhead, warriors frozen mid-stride, scholars carved with furrowed brows, shields etched with scenes of battle and judgment alike.
And always— there are owls. They perch along the columns, dozens of them, heads swiveling in perfect unison to watch him. Their eyes gleam, sharp and knowing, like they're heavy with disappointment rather than anger. Jungwon tries to speak, but his voice dies in his throat.
Just the impression of someone appeared— armor catching the light, a spear resting easily at their side, a presence so overwhelming it presses Jungwon to his knees without ever laying a hand on him.
By the fourth night, Jungwon snapped.
Sunoo listens in silence as Jungwon unloads everything in a rush— the dreams, the owls, the way his life feels like it’s being rearranged against his will, the certainty that this isn’t random.
When he’s done, Sunoo doesn’t laugh.
Instead, he slowly sets his drink down.
“…Oh,” he says.
Jungwon looks up. “What do you mean, oh?"
Sunoo pinches the bridge of his nose. “Jungwon, you absolute idiot.”
“Hyung—”
“You didn’t just piss off a spirit guide,” Sunoo interrupts. “You pissed off Athena.”
Oh. Oh.
It was now Jungwon’s turn to say that.
Everyone knows Athena, Goddess of wisdom, of war, and of strategy. Righteous. Patron of heroes and thinkers.
But most of all, protector.
Everything made sense.
Sunoo grimaces. “Yeah. That tracks disturbingly well, actually.”
The way Jay moves through the world untouched, the quiet authority he carries without ever asserting it, the sense that something has his back. The mercy in Jungwon’s punishment. Athena isn’t trying to destroy him, at least.
She’s just teaching him a lesson.
Meanwhile, Jay notices.
Jungwon stops sitting close. Stops leaning into him on the couch. Stops reaching out absentmindedly, fingers brushing Jay’s sleeve like it’s second nature. Their easy closeness frays into something careful, something tense.
Their last stupid debate was Jungwon saying that he'd consider his dog human just because it had 사람 in its name. Jay was baffled but he knew he can't win against the younger. It was crazy.
And that was 2 months ago.
Jay misses it.
He corners Jungwon in the dorm hallway one night, palm braced against the wall before Jungwon can slip past him.
“Did I do something?” Jay asks, voice quiet, but stern.
Jungwon’s breath stutters. Trying to duck under the older's arm only for him to block him with his leg. They make a funny sight but Jungwon's nervous.
“No,” he says too quickly.
“Then why are you avoiding me?”
Because your spirit guide won’t let me, Jungwon thinks wildly.
“I just—” Jungwon’s eyes sting. “Hyung, you’re… important. And I don’t think I get to be careless with that.”
Jay blinks, thrown.
"Like you suddenly had the revelation that you had treat me like I'm fragile? Did your cards tell you that?"
Then he smiles— soft, teasing, far too gentle for the way Jungwon’s heart splinters at it.
“You’re terrible at lying,” Jay says. “You know?”
He steps closer, close enough that Jungwon can feel the warmth of him. The latter swears an owl watches.
Things are now relatively better than it was. Athena being nightmare fuel also came to a halt.
He's still scared— and where Jungwon was retreating, Jay kept following. Confused, endearingly stubborn, and far too perceptive.
Less teasing. More “It’s fine,” “Don’t worry about it.” Jay mentally notes this as red flag number one.
So, Jay sits next to Jungwon on purpose.
Jay leans in on purpose.
Jay keeps touching him in small, non-threatening ways: shoulder bumps, shared blankets, cooking him breakfast (this is not unusual though.)
Nothing bad happens. Jungwon is confused, so he went to Sunoo (which by the way, Jay seems to dislike very much when it was never a problem before.) Of course, Jungwon is oblivious to his inner turmoil of how he used to be the first person he goes to— of now, being replaced. He ended up giving the other a rough "alright" when Jungwon tells him that he'd sleep over the other's dorm for the night.
"I think you're learning the wrong lesson here." Sunoo starts.
“Athena isn’t punishing you for loving him. She’s pissed because you asked for answers from the cards instead of the person.”
It all comes down to how tarot was never the problem. Avoidance is.
Sunoo gives sound advice, so Jungwon ignores the part where the witch already clocked that it was about love.
He can't even blame the other for knowing because it's obvious. His spread was basically screaming that this is the universe saying stop overthinking and just talk to them.
(You see, pulling the The Lovers on its own is not about romance. But Jungwon pulled Two of Cups along with it. Surely, that meant something.)
Sunoo added, “if a goddess wanted you gone, you’d already be gone. This is a warning, not a curse.”
Really? because it sure felt like one, but Jungwon fears for his safety so he kept it to himself. Maybe, deities don't really understand the human standard of extreme when giving someone a warning after all.
By the time Jungwon finally cracks, it’s over something stupid.
Like laundry.
Jay is halfway through folding a hoodie when the younger lunges across the room like he’s about to disarm a bomb.
“Don’t touch that.”
Jay freezes. Slowly looks down at the hoodie. Then back up.
“…I have touched worse things in this dorm.”
“That’s not the point,” Jungwon says, hands clenched. “Just, please don’t.”
There it is again. That careful distance. That invisible line Jungwon keeps redrawing for some reason.
Jay exhales through his nose. Sets the hoodie down with exaggerated care.
“Okay,” he says. “We’re doing this now.”
Jungwon looks like a deer caught in headlights. Fitting, honestly.
“Doing what.”
“This,” Jay gestures vaguely between them. “You flinching like I’m cursed. You acting like I’ll combust if you stand too close. You disappearing every time I blink.”
“I’m not—”
“You are,” Jay cuts in, but not angry. Just tired. “And it’s getting old.”
Silence stretches. Heavy. Uncomfortable. The kind that begs to be filled with bad decisions.
Jungwon swallows.
“I wasn’t supposed to know,” he blurts out.
Jay blinks. “Know what.”
"...How you'd feel.”
Jay leans back against the desk, arms crossing. He's really confused over what the hell Jungwon is talking about. Feel about what?
“And instead of talking to me,” he says slowly, “you asked cardboard?”
“They’re not cardboard—”
“Jungwon.”
That shuts him up.
Jungwon scrubs a hand over his face, laugh coming out weak and cracked. “I just— wanted to be sure before I ruined everything.”
And it finally clicks for Jay.
Jungwon likes him.
Jay ruffles his hair, exasperated. “So your plan was to ruin everything quietly.”
He didn't mean for it to come out like that— didn't have time to hold back. The older was already pent up with the wild goose chase they're having. He thought they were already fine that one time, but turns out they needed more... communication.
“…When you put it like that, it sounds bad.”
“It is bad,” Jay says, but there’s a smile tugging at his mouth. “Also incredibly stupid.”
Jungwon snorts despite himself. “Athena agrees.”
Jay pauses. “Athena?”
Sunoo, who has apparently been listening from the hallway like a menace, chooses that moment to kick the door open.
“THANK YOU,” he announces. “I was waiting for that to come up.”
Jungwon groans. “Hyung, please—”
Sunoo ignores him. “Long story short: Jungwon tried to read Jay’s feelings, pissed off a very opinionated goddess, got haunted by owls, and learned a valuable lesson about consent.”
Jay stares. Then, calmly: “I leave you two alone for five minutes.”
Sunoo shrugs. “Tarot is educational.”
Jungwon looks at Jay, eyes wide, bracing for rejection.
Nothing happens.
Jay just laughs. Soft and incredulous.
“So,” he says, “all this because you couldn’t just ask me out?”
Jungwon’s voice cracks. “I was scared.”
Jay steps closer. Close enough that Jungwon can feel the warmth, the lack of divine punishment.
“Next time,” Jay says gently, “Just tell me instead of skirting around the problem.”
Jungwon nods. “Okay.”
A beat.
“…Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
Jay thinks about it, pretending to consider.
“I’ll forgive you,” he says, “on one condition.”
Jungwon straightens. “Anything.”
“No more tarot about me.”
“Deal.”
“And,” Jay adds, smirking, “you’re doing my laundry for a month.”
Jungwon laughs, relieved and breathless. “Worth it.”
From the doorway, Sunoo squints. “So are you two dating now or—”
“Out,” Jay says immediately.
But Sunoo has never felt more vindicated in his life, so he stayed.
He’s now sitting cross-legged on Jungwon’s bed, sipping an iced coffee that is definitely not allowed in the dorms, watching Jungwon pace like a haunted Victorian child.
“I told you,” Sunoo says cheerfully. “I told you not to read someone’s feelings without consent.”
“I didn’t read his feelings,” Jungwon mutters. “I asked the cards a question.”
Sunoo raises a finger. “That is the same thing with extra steps.”
Jay, meanwhile, is looking far too entertained for someone who just found out a goddess has been lowkey supervising his love life.
“So,” Jay says. “Owls?”
Sunoo lights up. “Oh my god, YES. Athena-coded owls. Repeating dreams. Jungwon almost tripped down the stairs yesterday because he thought a shadow was following him.”
Jungwon covers his face. “Please stop narrating my suffering.”
Jay hums. “No, keep going. This is the best apology I’ve ever received.”
Sunoo grins into his cup. Resolution achieved and ethics upheld. Romance secured. He deserves a medal.
It hits Jay later.
When he's watching Jungwon rant animatedly to Sunoo about tarot spreads, hands moving wildly, eyes bright, alive— and Jay realizes he’s been doing this for years.
“Oh,” Jay mutters.
Sunoo glances over. “What.”
Jay doesn’t look away from Jungwon. “I think I’ve been in love with him for a very long time.”
Sunoo nods. “Yeah.”
“…You knew?”
Sunoo squints at him. “You made him soup when he had a cold and arranged it to look like moon phases.”
Jay winces. “That was thoughtful. He likes moon phases.”
“That was unhinged.”
Jungwon looks over. “What are you two talking about?”
Jay smiles.
“Nothing,” he says. “Just fate, apparently.”
Later that night, Jungwon dreams again.
Just an owl, perched high above, watching him laugh with Jay.