cracked marble • jungri

two

there are three tarot cards on the reddened (by blood) stone floor. 'double readings?' she bites her lip. two divinations at once is always a bad omen, in the world of seers.

yerim kneels down, flips the first one.

the hanged man. she snorts, glancing at the crucified man on the cross. she mulls through its many interpreted meanings in her head. crossroads, decisions. sacrifices; maybe even death. she flips the second card.

the lovers. companionship, two people coming together, unity. she tilts her head, looks down at her feet; sees that they're not bare.

yerim narrows her eyes, before flipping the last card.

she stares. the wheel of fortune card stares back at her.

"miracles will happen soon," the stars, the world, maybe even him, whisper in her ear. "very, very, soon."

in the background, something creaks, like a wheel, turning, turning, and turning. spin the wheel, everyone's a winner.

the watch stops swinging, and yerim's eyes focus on the ebony of jungkook's hair. her hair changes from blue to obsidian, as dark as the void. the gold of her bangles shine in the dark.

her vision clears, and she huffs out a breath. jungkook sits in front of her, silent, just to be polite.

she gently takes the watch away from his hands, wears it around her neck. tick, tock. tick, tock. her eyes are no longer hazy, just a vibrant ocean blue. "i saw that one of your brothers is in the pallas athene, in the aether kingdom; you will have to journey through the coves to get there. in the pallas athene, you will find him on a stone altar," she pauses. "i've spotted scrolls all around the pallas athene, as well. you can work on finding your other brothers from there."

he lets out a breath. "pallas athene. alright. t-thank you very much," jungkook bows once, before giving her an inquisitive stare. "your visions, they're-- they're rather vivid compared to most, don't you think? usually, seers would only be able to see a tiny snippet, only one object as a clue."

yerim merely stares at him blankly, unimpressed. ocean blue turns to dark sapphire again, revealing to him the constellation lyra. "i'm no normal seer, boy. that is all."

he nods. "r-right. again, thank you so much. h-how much should i pay you?" he fumbles with his satchel, searching for the bag of gold he keeps in it. "you can take all of my gold if you'd like—"

"i already stated i don't accept any payments," yerim cuts him off, clipped.

he deflates. "but—"

"what you can pay me in return, is a promise."

jungkook perks up. "of course! anything to repay your kindness!"

yerim stares at him with an urgency that shakes him to the core. her eyes glow, in the dim lighting, shifting between blue, black and gold. it hypnotizes him, holds him in firm grasps. "you must promise me that you will not do anything to change the future that has been set in stone for you. you will find one of your brothers at pallas athene; promise me."

he nods, albeit in confusion. "y-yes, i promise. but isn't that confirmed to be happening already considering you—"

"promise me, jeon jungkook," she repeats, glaring straight through his soul. he holds his breath in fear. her eyes are now a mixture of gold and tangerine, glowing dangerously in the dark. powerful magic surrounds them like an orbit, as if she is ready to destroy him at any given moment. she does not express her anger so freely like most people do, but he could sense it, like it is emanating off of her like waves of fury.