Healing | Choi Yeonjun

17

The fortune teller took Yeonjun's palm in his hand, trying to read his fate. Soobin brought Yeonjun to a fortune teller, who knew about the powers they possessed.

"When did you gain your powers?" The fortune teller asked Yeonjun.

"When I was thirteen."

"Do you remember the events which led to it? Was it related to someone's death?" he interrogated.

Yeonjun was getting anxious with each passing second, and this question made his heart race faster and breathing shallow.

"A close friend of mine got into an accident," he paused to take a deep breath, "and I couldn't save her," he summarised.

The fortune teller gave Yeonjun a knowing look. The look said he knew everything about that accident.

"It was your guilt, the extreme emotion that brought the powers," he explained.

"But when the powers are not possessed since birth, you have to give up something in return. It's the rule," he added to his previous statement.

Yeonjun waited for him to complete. He didn't want to jump to a conclusion.

"Since you heal people, your ability to heal yourself is diminishing. The line of life on your palm is fading away," he pointed at a fading line on Yeonjun's palm. His eyes started stinging. It made sense now why his injuries don't heal easily. He didn't want to die. Not now.

If he had known about this a year before, he wouldn't have fazed. But good things happened to him in recent months, and he selfishly wanted those good things for eternity.

"You have to stop using your powers. The more you use your powers, the more you're pushing yourself to the end."

A part of Yeonjun thought that the power was bestowed upon him for a reason. He has to put it to good use. How can he just stop using his powers? The guilt of not saving people was too big on him.

Soobin interrupted the fortune teller with a question, "There should be some way to stop it, right? There must be something."

The fortune teller explained to Soobin, "He has to stop using his powers. There's no other way to stop it. More than half of his lifeline has faded. A little more defiance, and it'll vanish."

• • • • • • • • •

Yeonjun came back home and saw his mom drinking absinthe at the bar counter. He didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. He wanted to organise his thoughts, but his mom stopped him.

"Yeonjun-ah listen!"

He quietly walked to her, the smell of alcohol filling his nostrils. Occasional drinking within limits was fine, but no kid wanted to see their parent drink excessively in melancholy. She had already emptied one bottle and was on her second one.

"Some prosecutor may try to approach you," his mother warned him. "Don't talk to them. They may try to get information out of you about the Hani incident. So avoid them altogether."

"What if I tell them the truth?" he countered.

"Why are you saying that? Why do you keep provoking your dad?" his mother questioned, echoing her usual response.

He always received similar responses from his mom. Even he didn't know why he kept speaking his mind in front of his mother. Maybe it was the hope that someday she'll understand.

Whenever he asked his mom why she put up with his dad's anger, his mom started defending his dad. He tried to believe her. He genuinely tried his best to see the best even after whatever his dad did. He stopped trying when he overheard his mom talking to her family about her struggles. They disregarded her concerns and told her to stop complaining because her husband was helping their company.

He felt really bad for his mom. She was forced into it. But he felt more bad for himself. He was suffering as well. His mom should've done something for him. She should've tried to get out of the hell hole for him. But he wasn't the priority. He was just an additional baggage she had to carry in this tough journey.

"Ok. I will avoid them," he said, gently touching her bruised right eye and healing it.

She enveloped him in her embrace and gently stroked his hair while whispering, "Just obey your dad, and everything will be alright. Be a good son. He's doing everything so that we can live a comfortable life."

Bunch of lies!

He pulled away from his mother and quietly went back to his room. He got changed into some comfortable clothes and collapsed on the bed. His brain kept repeating the fortune teller's ominous words.

The more you use your powers, the more you're pushing yourself to the end.

He wanted to forget about it and go to his happiness, Min Si. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, he hastily composed a message to her.

Yawnzzn
Are you awake?

Within a minute, he got a call from her, and he eagerly answered it. "Were you stuck to the phone?" he teased lightly.

"Are you complaining?" she countered playfully.

"Of course not."

"School's starting in a few days."

"Don't talk about school right now," he interjected, eliciting a laugh from her.

After a brief moment of pause, she revealed, "I told my dad about you."

It took Yeonjun by surprise. He didn't know what she actually meant by that sentence, so he asked, "What did you tell him?"

"I just said that I have only one friend. Choi Yeonjun."

"Are you friend zoning me?" He queried, sounding offended.

"I can't come out and directly say that I have a boyfriend."

"Ok, I'll remember this, my friend," he replied with a teasing edge.

"You know, none of the couples in our school address their partner by their real name," she swiftly changed the subject. He understood what she was hinting sheepishly at. She was suggesting nicknames.

"Ma'am, are you proposing we adopt nicknames for each other?" he asked with a playful tone.

"I mean, they don't sound bad. Should we decide on nicknames?" she suggested. He sat up and leaned on the headboard for this crucial discussion.

"I'll give you the options," she started. "Darling? Baby? Honey? Sweety? Jagi?" she laid out the options for him but cringed while saying them aloud.

"Should we go with the new popular ones? Butterfly? Sugar? Babygirl? Princess? Kitten?" he teased, knowing she doesn't like those. Earning a gag in response, he laughed.