Magic Rich Boy // JHS

eleven: latched

Eleven: Latched

Maria called in sick to work today. She and Namjoon were supposed to head over to Sangju, but Namjoon wasn't surprised when she did. He was worried and considered calling. However, he doubted himself and thought that maybe that was overstepping his boundaries. He was her supervisor after all and it would be inappropriate to call her about something that wasn't work related.

He sighed, leaning back on his desk chair. He could barely focus. It felt wrong to return to work when not even one day after Kitaek's death had passed. The House was buzzing at the news and the only place Namjoon could escape from it was in his office. This morning he had to share Kitaek's passing with his team and the atmosphere in his department was a gray and dull one. The silence around him was almost unbearable.

Hoseok and Maria were in Daegu, standing in front a shaman's place. 

"Where did you find this guy again?" she asked looking at the crooked sign with the shaman's name, Uhm Imsik.

"Google."

"Ah."

They were both skeptical. Maria thought that if this didn't work then coming all the way here was just a waste of time and effort, while Hoseok felt scared of what the shaman might say. He swore that if they told him he was going to be haunted like this for the rest of his life he would break down right then and there. Hoseok heard Maria say something under her breath and grabbing his arm, pulling him into the establishment. 

The smell of incense and the hundreds of written charms stuck to the walls greeted them as they entered. Wood creaked under their feet as they stepped on a beaten red rug at the entrance door. A desk with a brown desk chair behind it and a long bench in front of it stood towards the end of the small room. The two windows besides the entrance door had dirty beige curtains that hung tall, and dried hibiscus flowers sat on the window sills in faded flower pots. A bell chimed as the door closed. 

"Customers!" a voice from the back of the place exclaimed in excitement. 

An old man, maybe in his eighties, appeared from a colorful beaded curtain. He wobbled with his cane and hunchback towards Maria and Hoseok, who both stood quiet, observing. The man had a sunken mouth and a protruded jaw as if he was missing teeth. He wore thick and round eyeglasses over his thin eyes. 

"Ah, hello," Maria bowed and Hoseok followed after.

"Are you here for a reading?" the man, who must be Uhm Imsik, asked while resting both hands on his cane. 

Hoseok nodded. "Yes."

"Great! Come take a seat."

Imsik directed then to a desk full of candles and yet even more charms. Imsik slowly wobbled towards his desk chair and both Hoseok and Maria stood behind the bench, waiting for him to take the first seat.

Imsik gave them a tight lipped smile, his excitement evident in his voice. "Please, take a seat. Are you a couple?" he sat down.

Maria was the first one to sit down. "Oh, no. We'd just like for you to read our. . . um, aura?"

"Aura?" Imsik asked. "Has there been anything wrong?"

"We've just been. . . bothered by something." Hoseok explained while taking a seat beside Maria.

"I understand," Imsik showed a gummy smile and offered his hands out to Maria. "Shall I begin with the lady?"

Maria hesitantly placed her right hand in Imsik's hands. The roughness of them made her feel a bit uncomfortable. She looked at the old man's face as he felt her hands, his thumbs gliding through the palms and his eyes squinting as he focus. Hoseok awkwardly sat watching them. He looked at the old man looking for any sign of anything wrong. 

"Strange," Imsik said, still holding Maria's hands. "There's something latched on to you."

"Latched?" her incredulous tone was evident and she wasn't going to make any effort to hide it. "What do you mean latched?"

"Connected to you. I can't tell whether it's good or evil."

Hoseok began to get annoyed. "What do you mean you can't tell?" 

"Well, it is a little tricky. It's a spirit but at the same time it isn't. What I know for sure is that it's old and it's probably been in your family for generations," Imsik turned to look at Hoseok, offering his hands to him. "Your turn."

Putting his hands on Imsik's, Hoseok's nervousness was evident on his face. He had a very small hope that maybe there wasn't anything wrong with him and that he could go home peacefully. Maria was looking straight at the shaman's face, searching for any indication of what was going on with Hoseok. Imsik's faded eyebrows shot up in surprise as the pad of his thumbs roamed over Hoseok's palms. The man needs hand lotion, Hoseok thought as he stared at Imsik. 

"You are going to be very helpful to her," Imsik mentioned as he let go of Hoseok's hands. "Both of you will going through trouble soon, and I can't interfere."

Hoseok and Maria looked at each other in concern. 

"I don't know what it is called. I think I might have to do some research," Imsik absently said as he scratched his chin. "Just call me later in the day, I might have an answer then."

His eyes began to have a weird shine to them as he looked at Hoseok and Maria.

"That'll be ninety-seven thousand won."