Unlucky Charmed| Suayeon

Ch. 19: Parallels

Warning: A Little Swearing

Siyeon woke up on Sua and Dami's couch and quietly got ready for work. After the night they had yesterday, Siyeon didn't want to disturb their sleep.

As soon as Siyeon arrived at Lily's shop, she heard a loud angry voice. She looked through the shop's aisles to notice an angry man yelling at Lily at the front counter. Despite his attitude, she was calm and composed during the conversation.

"I'm gonna press charges!'

"What charges, sir? We didn't do anything wrong."

Yes, you did! It's all your fault that this happened! My life's turned to shit because of you!"

Siyeon stepped in. She was pissed off, but, like Lily, she had to be cool and composed. "What's the problem, sir?"

"That fucking rock. That green fucking rock you had on display. It said it could grant wishes. I just had to touch it and make a wish. I did that. It came true. Everything I've ever wanted became mine, but that had lasted for about a year. Now I'm having the worst luck I've ever had in my life. My wife of 20 years cheated on me, my kids hate me because she convinced them that I cheated, I got kicked out of the house, and lost the job that's been loyal to me for years. I lost everything and it's all your fault!" With the way he was acting, Siyeon was ready to step in if he ever decided to use physical force.

"Sir, I'm sorry that that's happened to you, but we had nothing to do with it. We never claimed it could grant wishes. I don't know where you heard that from, there was nothing on the sign that said so. Plus, you weren't supposed to touch the item in the first place." Siyeon told him.

"What do you mean?! The sign was right there! It said something about being a 'one of a kind rock that could grant any wish one desires.' You're trying to cover it up! I'm going to sue! You're gonna regret messing with me!"

Both girls were confused for a moment, but thinking he was delusional, they continued to move on from the sign. "Not to be rude, but sir, you wouldn't be able to sue us. You wouldn't have anything. It would've been a lost case for you. We have never done anything wrong." Lily reminded him.

Without thinking logically, the man replied, "Of course, it would be a lost cause. That rock will make sure of it. It's unrelenting! The curse will never end!" He looked like he was about to break down.

"Siyeon, can you take him out of the store? He's starting to scare the rest of the customers."

"Of course." Siyeon started to lead the man out. He looked defeated.

"You believe me, don't you? That the curse is real? She didn't believe me in the slightest. I'm doomed to a life of misery." The man asked Siyeon calmly as he was escorted out.

Siyeon stayed silent for a moment, feeling sympathy for the broken man. "You don't know that, sir. Things could get better. Why do you think these things happened because a rock cursed you?"

"What other explanation do you have for terrible things happening back to back when the day before it all went downhill, I was living in the best moment of my life. It's the curse. It's going to follow me for the rest of my life. There are no remedies for something like this. It will never get better, just progressively worse as time goes on. What if it gets so bad it kills me? I don't want to die. I'm scared."

Siyeon wanted to help the man out, but she could do nothing about it. She wasn't a therapist that could get him on the right path. She didn't even know the right things to say. "Sir, I'm not the right person to talk about this with. I'm just an employee. Maybe other resources can help you. The only thing that I can tell you is to try and focus on the good things you have left, no matter how small they are. It could give you the hope to start living happily again." That was the only thing she could tell him. Sure this method works for her, but not for everyone. She didn't know if this would work with him or make him worse. Words can be powerful towards a person in this state and she was hoping that this was in the right direction.

"Thank you for the advice. I'll try my best." After their conversation, the man was led outside the door. She started to think about her own events that happened ever since she touched the malachite. It was parallel to what she was experiencing. Like him, she was experiencing the best moment of her life before everything turned 180. Like him, she was progressively getting bad luck back to back. Is this curse real? Siyeon was suspicious of her terrible luck ever since her argument with Taehyung. She's even suspicious now when she got caught by the guard, the night before in circumstances where she was careful no one was around to hear the camera ding. Because of moments like that, she wanted to ask Lily if anything like a curse was actually possible, but she didn't want her to think she was crazy.

"Um, Lily? Can I talk to you in the back for a second?"

"Sure. Did he do something to you?" Lily whispered to her.

"No, we just need to talk." They go into the back room. "So, on the night before the fair, I touched the malachite."

"Siyeon, you knew you weren't supposed to touch it."

"I know that, but I don't know why I did. I was drawn to it somehow. All I remember is that I wished for something. Like that man, it came true for a year until all that stuff happened with Taehyung."

"Siyeon, don't tell me you believe that too?"

"It seems silly, but our stories connect so well, it's hard to deny. How else can you explain this? I think this curse is possible."

"Curses aren't real."

"I know. I know. But, I can't get the idea out of my mind. It's fighting against my better judgment. It's the only thing that makes sense in this situation. Can you just, at least, look into it for a bit? You're the best person I know for this and you might find an answer."

Lily knew she couldn't convince Siyeon otherwise. She wanted to give her peace of mind from this silly curse so she agreed. "Fine, I'll try, but don't expect anything to come out of it."

"Thank you! I'll just go back to work then." As she left the back room, she started to think about what the man said. She didn't understand how he read the sign that way. All it said was the name of the rock and not to touch it. Was he drawn to it like she was? What if the so-called curse is real? What if it does get bad enough to where she could die? She couldn't help to have all these questions bombarding her mind. If it was real, she won't succumb to it. She'll make sure of it. She won't let it win.