By Zephyria 
When Haon saw Cha Jeong-won acting as if he could handle everything, he changed his approach.
“Do you like me, or do you like studying?”
He had no choice but to confront him head-on.
Cha Jeong-won’s eyes widened.
How much bigger could those already long, horizontally slit eyes get…?
Still, not wanting to lose for no reason, Haon strained his eyes with effort.
“Why are you asking something so obvious that even you know?”
“Why do you think I asked a question that’s so obvious both you and I know the answer to?”
As they traded questions with questions, an answer seemed to emerge.
The crux of this conversation ultimately boiled down to one thing.
“You’re more precious.”
The moment the words Haon wanted to hear fell from Cha Jeong-won’s lips, Haon flared up as if he’d been waiting for it.
“See? If I’m more important, you can do as I say, right? And you’re already busy; if you pour all your effort into your graduation project too, when will you ever see my face? If I’m more important, increase the time you spend looking at me.”
Even as he rattled off his words, Haon was confident Cha Jeong-won would give in. Wasn’t this a more effective method than worrying about him pushing himself too hard and collapsing?
Cha Jeong-won lifted the corner of his mouth.
Did it work?
“I’m being serious about my graduation project so I can be with you.”
Ah…
Haon’s mouth fell open weakly. Cha Jeong-won gently brushed the corner of Haon’s mouth with his thumb.
Even if he wiped it, all that would come off was saliva and pheromones…
“Talking about the graduation project all night on the phone, using assignments as an excuse to walk together—I’m pouring all of that into you.”
At the sweet words that were almost a confession, Haon unconsciously touched his cheek.
His face felt hot.
“No, since we’re dating… So, we can do all those things without needing excuses like that, so why are you doing this?”
Haon found himself stammering without meaning to. He had tried to shake Cha Jeong-won to draw out the answer he wanted, but the situation had completely reversed.
“See you when I want to see you, see you even while using assignments as an excuse. We can do both.”
“Wow…”
He lost. He really couldn’t win against Cha Jeong-won.
“No, how have you lived all this time without being able to say such cheesy things?”
He had no idea why he’d only ever acted annoyingly.
At Haon’s exclamation mixed with astonishment, Cha Jeong-won wore an expression as if it were nothing.
“For a lover, you should be able to do anything.”
Conversely, it sounded like he could be perfectly cold to anyone who wasn’t his lover.
Saying it like that might make him cling even more to being in a relationship.
Haon awkwardly cleared his throat and picked up his phone.
“We’re going to be late if we keep this up… Oh, never mind. We have plenty of time.”
He tried to hurriedly move using time as an excuse, but why was everything so leisurely?
Haon awkwardly put his phone back in his pocket and turned his head to avoid Cha Jeong-won’s gaze.
Then, he spotted an unfamiliar sign.
It was a newly installed sign.
It shone with the brand-new, sparkling gloss unique to something without a speck of dust yet. A small stand banner was also set up beside the door.
Fate Tarot.
Haon blinked once. He couldn’t take his eyes off the sign.
Cha Jeong-won asked.
“Do you like tarot?”
“Um… I wouldn’t say I particularly like it.”
Even so, he couldn’t look away, but it was true.
Throughout his life so far, he’d never been particularly interested in things like luck or fate.
No matter how good your luck is, he believed nothing would happen if you didn’t do anything yourself.
“It’s just that if someone offers to read for me, I’ll let them. I’m not drawn enough to actively seek it out and pay for it. I don’t really believe in it strongly either.”
As he spoke, his own standards naturally sorted themselves out.
“It might be right, or it might not. If it’s right, good; if not, whatever? That was about it.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Cha Jeong-won.
That’s how it used to be, but now it felt different. Something scientifically inexplicable had happened between them, so he couldn’t just brush it off now.
He kept getting curious. Because he was curious, his gaze went there, and his feet wouldn’t move.
Belatedly thinking Cha Jeong-won might be uncomfortable, he quickly shook his head.
“But I just looked. Since it opened near the university, a lot of people will probably come.”
He intended to have just that level of thought and pass by indifferently.
Cha Jeong-won would dislike this sort of thing.
He knew Cha Jeong-won had grown tired of such superstitions due to memories of visiting fortune-tellers as a child, so he couldn’t suggest going in to look, could he?
Haon took a step forward first, then stopped and looked back.
He thought they would move together, but Cha Jeong-won was standing still in his spot. He wasn’t looking at the sign or reading the stand banner; he was just standing there.
“Sunbae.”
Haon lightly tugged the sleeve of Cha Jeong-won’s shirt with his fingertips. He had no intention of forcibly dragging him.
“Let’s go quickly. Shall we go get some coffee?”
Cha Jeong-won slowly turned his head. His expression was impassive, which made Haon even more uneasy. Haon unnecessarily drew out his words.
“I was just looking because the sign was interesting. It’s not like I really want to see it or anything.”
Haon couldn’t finish his sentence and closed his lips.
Although he had mentioned the Omega Amulet before, he had always deliberately brushed it off lightly, acting as if it were nothing. He didn’t want Cha Jeong-won to take the topic too heavily.
He hoped Cha Jeong-won would just focus on the fact that he was by his side.
Cha Jeong-won’s gaze went to the lower part of the stand banner. Haon’s eyes reflexively followed.
[Couple Compatibility]
Haon’s mouth opened slightly.
Cha Jeong-won spoke briefly.
“That.”
“That?”
“Couple compatibility.”
Haon understood belatedly.
Weren’t you sick of all places like fortune-tellers?
“Sunbae. Really?”
Cha Jeong-won took a very small breath.
“It’s good, isn’t it?”
“What’s good about it?”
Cha Jeong-won didn’t explain further. Instead, he grabbed Haon’s wrist.
Even though the force pulling him wasn’t strong, Haon couldn’t resist.
“Let’s go in.”
Cha Jeong-won opened the shop door without hesitation. A clear bell chimed.
Haon followed a step behind, muttering as if to himself.
“No, didn’t you have some kind of trauma? Weren’t you supposed to dislike it?”
It was both funny and a little scary.
The inside of the shop was much darker than it had looked from outside.
The scent brushed his nose first. A sweet yet ultimately bitter smell hit him first.
A few frames with printed card images hung on the wall, and a cloth was spread over the table.
Constellation patterns glittered on the cloth. They were printed only in silver, magnificent but not excessive, strangely neat.
Inside the counter, behind a small table, a person was sitting.
Looking at their face, they seemed to be in their late twenties or mid-thirties. Their hair was neatly tied up, and they wore a thin bracelet on their wrist.
As soon as they saw the two faces, a ‘Welcome’ came out naturally. More like a hamburger shop employee than a fortune-teller, so Haon could relax his tension too.
“Here for a compatibility reading?”
Cha Jeong-won answered first.
“Yes.”
The answer was too quick. Haon instantly stole a glance at Cha Jeong-won’s profile.
The tarot master pointed to the chairs opposite the table.
“Please have a seat, both of you. Close together.”
Cha Jeong-won checked with his eyes even the seat where Haon would sit, then sat down first himself. And without a word, he slightly pulled the chair aside to make it easier for Haon to sit.
Haon, his cheeks growing hot at that small consideration, cautiously sat down close beside Cha Jeong-won.
As they sat close together, Cha Jeong-won’s pheromones felt closer. A pleasant, reassuring pressure was felt.
The tarot master looked at the two alternately, then took out a deck of cards.
“Couple compatibility is about seeing each other’s flow. Your atmosphere speaks first.”
Haon reflexively straightened his posture instantly.
The tarot master smiled.
“No need to be nervous. First, I’ll shuffle the cards. Would one of you like to shuffle?”
Haon was about to raise his hand, but Cha Jeong-won had already taken the deck. His shuffling hands were skillful. Haon found that even stranger.
“You seem skilled at shuffling cards. Or maybe playing cards?”
Cha Jeong-won evaded the answer with a smile.
I’ll have to poke at him about that later.
The tarot master said.
“Okay, don’t just shuffle, but shuffle while thinking. Not about what kind of relationship we have, but aligned with what kind of relationship we want to become in the future.”
Cha Jeong-won’s hand stopped very subtly, then moved again.
Cha Jeong-won placed the fully shuffled cards down. The tarot master lightly pressed the deck with their palm.
“Good. Now, let’s draw just three cards. Present, strength, and caution.”
Cha Jeong-won drew one card. Haon also drew one card. The last one was naturally drawn from the top of the tarot master’s deck.
Three cards were placed side by side on the star-patterned cloth.
The first card was revealed.
In the center of the card stood two people facing each other. A winged, extraordinary being watched over them.
“The Lovers card.”
Haon’s eyes widened.
Isn’t that too blatant?
“This is… the card of choice. The two of you have already chosen each other. So, the center of your current relationship is unshakable.”