Chapter Text
"Jimin, no."
Jimin pouts, crossing his arms in a huff as he looks at Hoseok. "Pleaseeee?"
"I am not wasting my money on some fraud!" he repeats, "No matter how authentic the ads look."
"You're starting to sound like Yoongi hyung."
An exasperated "Ya!" comes from the kitchen and Yoongi walks into the living room, arms crossed as he pouts. "I'm not that bad!"
Jimin gives him a look, the look, and Yoongi lets out a hmph.
"Anyways," Hoseok cuts in before the two can begin bickering again. "I have to pay rent in a week and I'm not dipping in to my savings just because you wanted to see a fortune teller."
And Hoseok thinks that will be enough, that surely Jimin will understand (however reluctantly) but then Jimin gasps, a smile on his face that, while innocent on the surface, Hoseok knows to be Jimin's mischievous grin.
"So is money the only problem?" And then before Hoseok can respond- "Because I can pay for both of us."
"Jimi-"
"For me? Pleaseeee?" He's whining. He's whining and he has the puppy dog eyes out and Hoseok is a weak, weak man for those puppy dog eyes so of course he relents.
"Fine."
§
"I would like to state, for the record, that I still think this is a waste of time."
Hoseok, Jimin, Yoongi and Namjoon are standing in front of a shop with intricate gold designs carved into the walls, standing out on the deep purple and pink background colours. The door is covered in little fliers and posters, advertising different services the fortune teller provides. It makes no sense to Hoseok.
"You haven't even heard you fortune yet," Jimin points out, already moving ahead to hold onto the gold handle. As soon as he opens the door, the tingle of a bell sounds.
"Ah, come in!" A cheery voice calls from inside the shop, and Jimin looks over his shoulder, tilting his head as an indication to follow before walking in further. The door shuts again, a dull thud and a chime of the bell. The covered door obscures Jimin so, shrugging, Hoseok looks at Namjoon and Yoongi and shuffles towards the shop. The other two follow.
"Wow." Hoseok can't help but say.
The inside of the shop looks much bigger than the outside, yet somehow smaller with how crowded the place is. Trinkets and vials, crystal balls and packs of cards are carefully placed throughout the area, creating an organised chaos. Bookcases stood to one end of the store, packed with leather-bound texts and worn books. Towards the back of the room, the trinkets decrease, replaced by pillows and short stools and, of course, the fortune teller.
He's smiling warmly at Hoseok, nimbly shuffling a deck of cards. The rings on his fingers catch Hoseok's eye, intricate designs on each of his fingers bar one. They're not just regular cards; he can tell from the bright colours, occasional images catching his attention that definitely don't look anything like the typical clubs or hearts. Jimin has already taken a seat next to the fortune teller and, at his gesture, Hoseok takes a seat carefully on one of the cushions laid out.
"So," the fortune teller begins, "Welcome to Epiphany. My name is Seokjin. What can I provide for you today?"
Hoseok blinks, turning to look at Namjoon, who shrugs. It's Jimin who speaks up.
"We heard you can do tarot card readings?"
Seokjin nods, fanning out the deck of cards in his hands. "Of course, they are my speciality after all." They are faced down, the same
"Then can you do one for my friend here?" Jimin points towards Hoseok and Seokjin hums.
Before Seokjin can say anything more, Namjoon pipes up, curiosity clear in his voice, "What makes tarot cards so special?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Seokjin grins, clapping his hands. He picks the deck back up and begins to shuffle again, almost lazily. "You see, a regular deck has fifty two cards: four suits - clubs, hearts, diamonds and spades. Each suit has thirteen cards. But a traditional tarot deck is different, with seventy eight cards. Fifty six of these cards are similar to a normal deck. They have four suits - wands, cups, pentacles and swords - each with 14 cards; these are the Minor Arcana."
"And the other twenty two?" Namjoon looks intrigued, eyeing the cards. Next to him, Yoongi sits with that fond smile he has reserved just for Namjoon as if that doesn't make his crush obvious (spoiler alert; it totally does).
"The Major Arcana. They are a little more important."
"So am I just supposed to pick a card from there?" Hoseok points at the cards Seokjin is shuffling.
Seokjin nods, "Pretty much. It depends on what kind of spread you're looking for."
"Spread?"
"There are many different spreads, each showing different things," he elaborates, "The most basic is the Celtic Cross but I have a feeling that's not quite what you're looking for. Other spreads include the spiritual spread, the success spread, the love spread or relationship spread-"
"Oh! You should do that!" Jimin pipes up, batting his eyelashes at Hoseok comically.
Hoseok just laughs, thinking for a moment (shuddering as he thinks of the numerous failed attempts at dating before he'd just given up altogether) and then nods. "I'd like to do that then."
"Excellent!"
Seokjin offers the deck of cards out to Hoseok, and Hoseok stares at them, then at Seokjin, confused.
"Shuffle them nicely, and then we can begin."
Taking them gingerly, Hoseok begins to shuffle them. He's clumsy at first, dropping a couple cards and having to pick them up to slide them back into the deck, but he improves quickly. Once he's convinced they're sufficiently shuffled, he hands them back to Seokjin. Seokjin takes the cards back carefully, and begins his spread, laying out five to form a cross shape.
Once he's satisfied, he looks up at his customers. "This is a spread designed to help those who are looking for a relationship. The first card is the one in the middle, then this one on the right, the left, the top and then the bottom. " He points at each of the cards as he explains, and then picks up the first one.