* 𝙲𝙰𝚂𝙲𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂.

she flaps her hands in the direction of the upgraded cards, throwing the thoughts to the back of her mind. there are far more things to do, people to fleece, than split hairs about maybe cute puppies and their eyes. "hide over there, you can handle the fancy tech shit," danyi says, pointing in the direction of candycake's new display. the cardboard signage's just big enough to hide yunseong and probably close enough for whatever signals need to be picked up. "i'll give you a sign... i don't know what it is yet, but you'll know when you see it," she instructs, shooing him away with that.

"and—" she catches his arm before he can go, a pause stilling her open lips, but only for a moment. mu danyi doesn't second guess herself. "—we'll grab dinner after," she adds, a small one shouldered shrug accompanying it. well, yunseong might have a shift to finish but hey, that's not her problem. the fortune teller shoots him a grin and starts rigging up the cards, laying them open in an arc across the small stand.

and maybe there really is something to opening up earlier, because it's not long before someone new arrives, pausing in front of the pricelist taped to the front of her kiosk. danyi raises her eyebrows at the girl, glancing down at the cards. "hey," she says, "want a tarot reading? it's twenty bucks, if you wanna find out about your future, love life, career..." something in her potential sucker's eyes light up at the mention of love, so danyi pokes at it a little harder, "it's great for finding your soulmate, y'know?"

when she'd caught his arm, tossing out a dinner invitation, it nearly took him to his knees. there was this little gaze she'd sometimes award him; pointed, pouting lips parted slightly with the faintest hint of softness dancing just beyond her eyelashes. it turned his innards to a waterspout, looking to destroy a once calm ocean. he relaxes under her touch, hitting her with an acquiescing smile. "that sounds good," he agrees, almost colliding with an innocent shopper due to his inability to look away from her.

he finally succeeds in forcing his gaze to avert, offering a clumsy apology to the person he'd almost run into, before sprinting over to his designated hiding spot. he begrudgingly had to keep reminding himself things were just casual between them. that the only time she was really attracted to him was when he'd just ridden a decent swell at the local wave park or when he smelled of surfboard wax. he looked down at his xpixel uniform, appearing as uncool as anyone could, rolling his eyes at his decision not to change his clothes before he came to see danyi.

the bluetooth device rotated in his hand mindlessly a few times, his eyes glued to the kiosk in case his partner in crime signaled for him to play his role in the scheme. as someone approached listening elle, he beamed absentmindedly as danyi started working her magic, and yunseong's shoulders raised slightly as she seemed to signal him with her eyes.

he studies her lips carefully — certainly not for the first time that day — and he swears he can see her mouth form words like 'soulmate' and 'three cards'. yunseong glances down at the device, grinning mischievously as he operates it. as if by some divine fate, three different cards flutter gently towards the customer after they've sat down: the lovers upright, the world reversed and the wheel of fortune upright. he can't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the way things were progressing.

and speaking of not working... yunseong comes into view, tail practically wagging when he shows off the, let's say, upgrades to her tarot cards. she raises an eyebrow, a laugh over her lips. "you're excited," danyi teases, snatching the cards from his hands and holding them up. they look exactly like any old deck, their potential abundant for the next lucky customer her kiosk'll receive. adds a "fuckin' nerd," just for effect; nothing he'd just said makes any sense to her, to be honest, but she's not in the business of understanding tech. just using it for dishonest purposes!

his stance can't help but shift into a prideful one, as danyi tests out the mechanism in the cards. her pleased reaction was well worth 100 lectures from his boss later for being late coming back from his break. as long as she could have a successful session with her client and they were properly deceived, he'd consider the day a win. many may have questioned his devotion to helping with such activities, but those people had never tasted the stinging kiss of mu danyi. he was reminded of just how clueless those people were as she drew him closer to her heavenly form.

She's never been one to be the center of attention; she thinks that if she were in a drama, she wouldn't even be the leading side character. She'd have maybe 5 lines the entirety of the drama, half of which would be throwaway lines to push the mains' lovelines.

Point being, she's never felt like she was any type of special. Save for that middle school phase, but that's everyone. She's a wallflower, and she's happy! A little fly on the wall, watching people live their lives.

It starts with filling in the blanks in her head, wondering how someone came to be in the same cafe at the same time at her. Noticing little details about them like how they dressed and carried themselves, or the things they had. Coming up with a story's easier when she's got those pieces to puzzle together.

The employees of Sunset Galleria are easy to want to write about; an interesting background's like a requirement, almost, for employment at their mall. The words, sentences, passages come easy, and she puts pen to paper (Samsung Notes, her beloved.) so often when overhearing conversations in their employees' lounge on her breaks. No one bats an eye at the girl in the corner, tapping away furiously on her phone.

The first time Jieun'd left her writing for someone to find, it's because she wanted to offer advice without seeming like a busybody. The protagonist ended up not picking the guy, instead venturing into the great unknown to go after her own ambitions.

Soon after, that employee'd quit because they'd gone overseas for their exchange program.

It's part of why she keeps at it to this day. The idea her words are being read, are impacting people in ways she couldn't dream of as the person, Choi Jieun.

Unfortunately, today seems to be the day that comes to an end.

Im Yunseong's insanely easy to write about- who doesn't like the guy who gives you free upsizes on your drinks? They're friendly enough, and she confuses real, actual feelings for an extra 174ml of cider. Easy mistake to make, really. She leaves the folded piece of paper on the counter of his snack bar the same day he sneaks her a corn dog for free.

She's regretting it now, selling her feelings for a corn dog.

Her eyes grow wider and wider with each word from Yunseong's mouth, alarm bells going off in her head. Barely two hours into her shift, but her hands inch towards the knot of the apron, with half a mind to just pull it off and make a run for it, never to return.

he'd never considered that confronting her with her writings may not be the best course of action. she was seeming more like the type to shy away from the spotlight, so perhaps these accolades were unwelcome ?

yunseong was admittedly pretty neutral on the subject of attention; he could either be the life of the party or the guy asleep in the corner. it allowed him to empathize with jieun, even if it potentially came a few seconds too late. still, he was set on repaying her kindness somehow.

his head tilts and he chuckles softly. "'just because of that'," he mimics her, his expression one of great amusement. "you say it like it's some small feat ! i don't think you get how nice what you do actually is," he continues, emphatically placing the paper down on the desk. "the way you observe the things around you ... how you give really good advice in a way that doesn't make the person you're writing about feel inept. you make people feel seen and cared about," there was a small hint of sentimentality to his tone, even if he often wasn't good with such things. "it's well worth a few free trips through the arcade, if that's your style of course."

he then realizes where he's standing; in a room full of celebrated authors both living and dead — he was forced to wonder whether jieun unfairly compared herself to the works that lined the book centre shelves, only if because he felt he'd do the same in her shoes. yunseong was never really open about it but he often inwardly pitted himself against others, and nearly every time, he was on the losing end even in his own mind.

"although i do get it if you wanted it to be anonymous, and i'm starting to realize i'm kinda ruining the bit here," he laughs awkwardly, a palm flattening against the back of his neck. "so if you'd rather forget i ever came in here, i completely understand."