Chapter 058. Lovers of the North Wind (3)
In the past, Bam had never understood why people stared blankly into space, sighed, and played silly fortune-telling games with flower petals.
What was so special about pulling petals from a flower?
But now, she wanted to grab the first person she saw and demand answers.
[Because he has already given his heart to someone.]
After calming herself, Bam carefully went over everything that had happened.
Maybe Hoyeon had only said that to reject the woman's affection.
But the Hoyeon she knew would rather die than say something he did not mean.
And even if his words were true, she had no idea who the person he had "given his heart to" might be.
Of course, the person Hoyeon served, protected, and spent the most time following like a shadow was Bam herself.
But if he had feelings for her...
There was no way Bam could have failed to notice something that enormous.
More importantly, she wasn't even sure that cold-blooded man had any interest in women.
Bam remembered those gray eyes, cold as a winter sea.
She suddenly realized that she still knew almost nothing about Hoyeon.
Eventually, Bam decided to call Cheongyeon, the most innocent and cheerful person she knew, and go have their fortunes told.
For the Fifteenth Day Festival, fortune tellers from all regions had gathered throughout the capital and opened tents.
Their methods varied.
Some tossed coins.
Others had customers draw pieces of paper.
Some even dropped a single drop of blood into clear water.
The tent Bam and Cheongyeon entered used a traditional method called Buran.
Sand was poured onto a wooden board fitted with a sieve.
When the board was shaken, shapes resembling letters or symbols appeared.
The fortune teller then interpreted their meaning.
The two women watched with wide eyes as the sand slipped through the sieve.
It was certainly strange to see the Heavenly Maiden of Beopsindang visiting an ordinary street fortune teller.
Still, today they had managed to escape even the overprotective Priest Jin.
So what did it matter?
Bam crossed her arms anxiously.
"What does it say?"
The fortune teller hummed.
"Hmm..."
He stared at the pattern.
"The character for 'death.'"
Bam leaned over the board.
The shape soon disappeared back into the sand.
The character for death was one of the few symbols Bam recognized.
Her face turned pale.
"What?"
Her eyes widened.
"Does that mean I'm going to die?"
Then another possibility struck her.
"Or is the merchant group going bankrupt?"
"The character 'death' can mean literal death or an ending."
The nameless street fortune teller spoke with surprising gravity.
"But there are other interpretations."
Bam stared at him.
"Everything you once knew may become meaningless."
The fortune teller scattered sand from his wrinkled hand.
"You will enter an entirely new phase of your life."
"..."
"Perhaps you yourself will be reborn as a completely different person."
He continued calmly.
"If you continue down that road, you will endure great suffering."
His eyes narrowed.
"So please keep your heart strong."
The expectation in Bam's eyes immediately turned into disappointment.
The confident merchant disappeared.
"Tch. I knew it."
She tossed the payment onto the table and turned away.
"That's enough."
Only after having her fortune told did Bam finally understand why she had been so restless.
Why she had felt weak.
It was because she already had the answer she wanted to hear.
At this point, she had no choice but to confront the person involved and ask him directly.
Strangely, once she reached that conclusion, she felt much better.
Since she needed a change of mood anyway, she decided to enjoy the festival as much as possible today.
Cheongyeon, who had been carefully watching Bam's expression, linked arms with her.
"I came out of Beopsindang early because I wanted to go sightseeing with Lady Rang."
Cheongyeon's gentle attitude seemed to improve Bam's mood.
Besides, Cheongyeon was currently dressed entirely according to Bam's tastes.
Her ebony-black hair had been tied high and allowed to fall richly behind her.
Golden decorations hung around her, making her look like a dancer from some distant country.
Pink rouge colored her ivory skin.
Her delicate features stood out so beautifully that it almost felt as though spring had arrived.
She looked completely different from the usual Heavenly Maiden of Beopsindang, who always wore neat white robes.
It had started when Bam complained that Cheongyeon was boring to walk beside and ordered the servants to put a few decorations on her.
Somehow, they had ended up dressed so similarly that anyone might mistake them for sisters.
When the two women walked together along Hongyang's main street, they created an atmosphere that stole people's breath.
They were like fresh petals covered in morning dew.
Like butterflies floating lightly through the air.
Bam seemed used to attention and openly enjoyed the gazes pouring toward them.
Cheongyeon, however, blushed shyly.
"If you become annoying, I'm leaving you behind."
Despite her blunt words, Bam tightly held Cheongyeon's small, doll-like hand.
Hongyang, now deep in festival fever, seemed like another world entirely.
Every sense was overwhelmed by sights and stimulation.
Performers wearing huge masks and ragged costumes danced like dragons before suddenly breathing flames from their mouths.
The cries of merchants and drunken songs echoed through the streets.
String music drifted from the upper floors of inns.
The crowds were so thick that shoulders constantly bumped, and feet were nearly stepped on.
Whenever someone passed close by, the smells of hair oil and spices mixed together and filled the air.
In the middle of the market, people loudly gambled over a mahjong game.
Elsewhere, a chase broke out because someone had caught a pickpocket.
Government officers questioned another group after a woman had been harassed.
