Chapter 87: I Might Kill You
The fortune-telling café Heavenly Fate. Looking up at the second floor from outside the building, Dohyuk could see the café sign. It was the kind of café you’d commonly find in busy areas frequented by people in their twenties and thirties. Director Choi went up the stairs first. The café occupied the entire second floor.
When they opened the door and entered, a cheerful bell chimed.
“Welcome!”
The employee greeted them with an energetic voice. Despite Director Choi and Kang Dohyuk not looking like the typical customers of a fortune-telling café, the employee greeted them with a bright, smiling face.
“I’ll show you to your seats.”
The atmosphere was quite different from most franchise cafés where you’d find your own seat and everything was self-service. Dohyuk looked around the café. From the outside, he hadn’t noticed, but now that he was inside, it was clear that money had been spent on the interior. People who didn’t know better might not notice, but the lighting, tables, and other furnishings were all quite expensive items.
It seemed business was good for a fortune-telling café. At the same time, he wondered if this café might be operated by Muryeong. If they had invested the money the shamans had earned over the years in a place like this, it would certainly be possible.
“We heard there was someone here who could see the connections between people,” Director Choi casually asked the employee. When he mentioned he’d seen it online, the employee’s face stiffened, looking somewhat troubled.
“That person isn’t always here. They drop by occasionally when they feel like it and read for a few customers on a whim before leaving.”
“Could I possibly know their name?” Director Choi asked again. The employee looked back and forth between Director Choi and Dohyuk with an expression that seemed to wonder why they were curious about the fortune-teller’s name. Only then did it seem to dawn on the employee that these men in perfect formal attire might be suspicious.
“We’re looking for someone. Ah, it’s nothing bad. Absolutely not.”
Director Choi waved both hands and smiled kindly, perhaps worried they might be mistaken for loan sharks. The employee’s wariness seemed to ease slightly, at least toward Director Choi, who unlike Dohyuk, didn’t look like that type.
“Yeon. Lee Yeon.”
At the employee’s answer, Dohyuk’s eyes changed.
“Where is he?”
The employee flinched at Dohyuk’s chilling voice. Director Choi quickly stepped in front of Dohyuk to block him. Recently, Dohyuk would become excessively sharp whenever Yeon was mentioned. If left unchecked, he would frighten the employee and they’d lose the chance to get any information.
“I apologize. We really need to meet this person. Could you tell us when they might come in?”
When he asked as politely and kindly as possible, the employee hesitated, glancing at Dohyuk.
“Please. It’s important.”
“Why are you looking for Yeon?”
A man emerged from behind the employee and asked. Unlike the employee in uniform, he wore a casual semi-formal outfit. The sleeves of his thin summer suit were rolled up, and underneath he wore a short-sleeved t-shirt rather than a dress shirt. Dohyuk frowned at his informal appearance.
“I asked why you’re looking for Yeon?”
He didn’t even use honorifics despite meeting them for the first time.
“Boss.”
When the employee turned and addressed him that way, Dohyuk realized he was the café’s owner.
“Is it true that this person can actually see the threads of connection between people?” Director Choi stepped in to ask.
“So what if it is?”
The man remained abrasive. It was strange that he would be so hostile when they had merely said they were looking for Yeon. Perhaps he was hiding Yeon somewhere? The moment that thought crossed his mind, Dohyuk pushed past Director Choi and grabbed the owner by the collar.
“Where is Yeon?”
Despite Dohyuk’s fierce gaze, the man didn’t flinch at all. He met Dohyuk’s eyes directly even with his collar in Dohyuk’s grasp. This guy isn’t ordinary, Dohyuk thought. Even so, if he was hiding Yeon, he was nothing but an enemy to Dohyuk.
“What kind of guy is this? It’s a mess around here.”
The man’s gaze shifted from Dohyuk’s face to scan the surroundings, then he clicked his tongue. Is this guy also a shaman? Part of Muryeong? Whatever he was, it didn’t matter. Dohyuk tightened his grip on the collar and pushed harder, but the man resisted with his own strength.
“What’s going on? Why are you all like this?”
The bell chimed as the café door opened and a woman entered. She stared wide-eyed at Dohyuk and the café owner facing off, asking what was happening.
“Lee Je, are you fighting with customers now?”
The woman called the café owner “Lee Je.”
“Yeon noona!”
The employee greeted the woman happily, with an air that suggested she might help resolve the situation.
“Yeon…?”
Dohyuk released the café owner’s collar and turned to the woman. Was this person Yeon? Lee Yeon?
“Are you… the one who sees the threads of connection between people?”
It wasn’t him. Not the Yeon he was looking for, but someone else with the same name. The moment he realized this, his heart felt like it was sinking heavily.
“I am, but…”
She trailed off, looking Dohyuk up and down. Then she made a humming sound and smiled brightly.
“Did you come for a fortune reading?”
She asked nonchalantly.
“What fortune? Can’t you tell just by looking? He doesn’t look like someone who’d get his fortune read.”
The café owner added an unpleasant remark, but Lee Yeon didn’t seem to mind at all.
“What would you like to do?”
Her tone suggested it didn’t matter if he left, but her smiling face seemed to know there was no way he would. Director Choi watched Dohyuk, wondering what he would do.
Dohyuk took a deep breath. His disappointment was indescribable, having come with the expectation of finding Yeon. He felt like he was going to go crazy with the turmoil inside. Still, there was something he wanted to confirm. If this woman truly had the same ability as Yeon, there was at least one thing he could know for certain.
“Let’s do it.”
At Dohyuk’s answer, Lee Yeon smiled until her eyes curved prettily, then showed him to a seat. Café owner Lee Je, who had been watching Lee Yeon and Dohyuk sit at a table near the window, frowned as if he still didn’t like it.
“Sprinkle salt after that man leaves.”
“Excuse me?”
The employee’s eyes widened in surprise. Director Choi was still standing beside them.
“I don’t know what that man has been doing, but vengeful spirits are swarming around him. He’s naturally strong-willed, so he might not care, but if you get tangled up with someone like that, everyone around him ends up dead.”
After responding indifferently, Lee Je turned away as if he couldn’t stand to look anymore and went into the office at the back of the café.
“Ahaha…”
The employee left behind fidgeted nervously, glancing at Director Choi.
“Our boss is a bit… quite unique…”
“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
The employee blinked in confusion, not understanding what Director Choi meant by “used to it.” Director Choi swallowed a sigh as he looked at Dohyuk sitting with the woman called Yeon. He couldn’t refute the café owner’s words because they were accurate without any discrepancy. But well, if the person concerned—Kang Dohyuk—didn’t care about vengeful spirits, then why should he worry?
The vengeful spirits weren’t the problem. If they couldn’t find Yeon, Director Choi felt like he would wither away dealing with Dohyuk’s irritability.
“What are you curious about?”
Lee Yeon smiled brightly at Dohyuk sitting across from her. Thinking her smile concealed her true thoughts, Dohyuk frowned.
“The red thread.”
Even so, this woman was Dohyuk’s last hope now. Everyone had told him to give up. They said Yeon was dead, and looking further would be a waste of time. Even Director Choi had recently tried to persuade Dohyuk.
“Is that wrapped around my hand?”
Lee Yeon’s gaze moved to Dohyuk’s hands resting on the table. Hmm. She made a meaningful humming sound and narrowed her eyes.
“You’ve heard about the red thread, haven’t you?”
She asked, still with a bright smile. Dohyuk didn’t answer. It wasn’t a question that needed an answer anyway.
“Then have you heard about the blue thread as well?”
“I know that people bound by both red and blue threads are destined partners.”
“And when there’s no blue thread?”
She asked, looking straight at Dohyuk. This woman really can see the threads, he thought. A sigh nearly escaped him as she spoke the same words as Yeon. He could already guess what she would say next. She would tell him that connections with only red threads might harm each other.
“Whether the blue thread exists or not, that’s not important.”
At Dohyuk’s answer, Lee Yeon responded, “Is that so?”
“Just tell me if the red thread is still tied to my hand. That’s all I need to know.”
It was already a known fact that there was no blue thread between him and Yeon. Despite that, he had been drawn to that guy, desired him, and wanted to possess his heart.
Perhaps it was because only the red thread existed that being together always led to bloody conclusions. After Kang Chahyuk’s car exploded that day, he had considered this possibility. But even so, he couldn’t give up. Even if Yeon was dead and no longer in this world, he didn’t think he could let go.
Had he felt this way about Yeon in his past life too? With this burning thirst that felt like his heart would burn to ashes? It was terrible, but he was surprised at himself for understanding this desperation, then felt pathetic, then thought he was crazy—cycling through these thoughts.
So he needed to know. Whether Yeon was alive or dead, he felt he needed to know to somehow deal with these complicated feelings.
Lee Yeon’s gaze moved from Dohyuk’s face to his hands. Then her eyes shifted to empty space.
“If you’re talking about that red thread wrapped around your hand, it’s there. Still bright red, containing intense emotion.”
Ah. Had there ever been words that relieved him so much in his life? A long sigh escaped him without his realizing.
“It’s connected without being cut?”
“When it’s cut, it usually disappears.”
Lee Yeon answered without hesitation. That was enough. If Yeon was alive, all he had to do was find him.
“But, Kang Dohyuk-ssi.”
Lee Yeon clearly called Dohyuk by name. Since he had never told her his name, Dohyuk’s face immediately hardened. Did this woman know Yeon?
She was still smiling sweetly.
“Even if the person bound by that thread might kill you, you won’t give up?”
Not Yeon, but himself…? Until now, Dohyuk had always thought only about Yeon dying or getting hurt because of him; he had never considered the reverse. Even so, his answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
“Yeon knew everything from the beginning when he came to me, and he never hesitated even in the face of death. I’m the same. If I can find him, if I can keep him by my side, I won’t hesitate even if it means my death.”
As he became certain that she knew Yeon, Dohyuk’s gaze sharpened.
“What will you do with that answer?”
She spoke toward someone behind Dohyuk. Wondering what she was doing, he turned around to see the person sitting with their back to him stand up. As they removed the hat they had been wearing low, light brown hair cascaded down. Blue eyes like deep lakes reflected Dohyuk’s face.
