— pairings: Min Yoongi x female original character; Kim Taehyung x female original character | genre: slice of life!au, unrequited love!au, childhood lovers!au, mystery, angst, smut
— summary | Sometimes it doesn’t really matter how hard you try to look for the right path to walk on, because in the end, only fate decides where and when you should find them.
— full fic ratings & warnings | +18 / M for Mature; not much warning for the first chapter, but this chapter includes fortune telling, depiction of Tarot card reading.
— excerpt word count: 2,435 words | full fic word count: 4,180 words
— story note | This is an excerpt and the first look of my Patreon exclusive series, Street Spirit. I hope by sharing these excerpts on my blog, I can give you a glimpse of this new series and what’s the story all about. I hope that I can share more soon. Please be advised that I’m not adversed in terms of Tarot cards (it’s been many years since I learned them) so I probably won’t get into details further on. Enjoy reading!
— story masterpost: Street Spirit | next chapter ⇢
— fic drop date: Aug 4th, 2025 | main masterlist | mailbox | feedback | ko-fi | divider credit
Act One. The Tarot Reader
Winter nights in the small town of Crescent Hill are long, cold, and quiet.
But tonight, the small room at the back of the shop called House of Charm isn’t as quiet as the rest of the town.
The room is quaint, dimly lighted by the wall sconces hanging on the side of the room, casting their golden glow which adds more warmth into the room, while highlighting the bold, vivid colored fabrics adorning the room — the rug on the floor, the cushions spread all over the room, and the drapes used to cover the walls and furnitures — creating a soothing, yet magical ambience in the room itself. A small crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, its light falling onto the small round table placed right down below, where two female figures are sitting across from each other, heads bowed in deep focus on the cards being laid between them.
“Let’s start our reading and see where we’re at today, shall we?” Says the first woman who is now handling all the cards in her hands, her indigo colored hair shining under the golden lights, while her dark-painted nails spread prettily over the deck of cards that she has gathered from the table.
“Yes,” the second woman speaks, her voice gentle, while her eyes look wary. Even late at night, her blonde hair still looks pristine, each strand catching the lights coming from across the room, making them glow brighter while hiding the uneasiness she has brewing inside.
“What do you wish to learn tonight, Lily?”
The blonde woman, Lily, bites her lips, suddenly hesitant. She falls silent for a brief moment, until a sigh slips out of her lips when she finally makes up her mind, “My…love life?” She pauses once again, as if building her courage. “Yes, I wish to know about my fortune in love,” she continues, sounding more determined as she nods.
The fortune teller smiles knowingly as she gently shuffles the cards in her hands, not a word leaves her lips as she concentrates on the movements of her fingers. The young woman sitting across the table has been one of her regular clients. Her visit comes at least twice a month, always late, just an hour or two before the shop closes its door for the night.
Her questions and requests have always varied; from her questions about life and her career, guidance in making big decisions, her family secrets, her health and the future that she must look forward to. Only now, she finally questions something more personal, a matter that seems to be lingering in her mind for quite a while.
Without seeing too much, the fortune teller can already sense that she is troubled with making a decision. As she carefully lays down the cards, spreading them across the table between them, she whispers into the divine to help her find answers for her client. Just like how she managed to guide Lily through her troubles previously with her third eye.
“Pick three cards from the deck. Remember to focus on what you wish to know the most about your love and romance,” she kindly instructs Lily, who immediately follows the fortune teller’s words as if she has memorized every step, her delicate fingers move with purpose as she picks three cards from the deck.
“Excellent,” the fortune teller says as her client finishes with a smile. She gathers the rest of the cards after separating the chosen ones from the deck and sets them aside.
The fortune teller continues by flipping the cards, one by one, displaying the images that represent the path that lies ahead of Lily’s life — most importantly, the matters regarding her romance.
“Divine intervention,” she reads as she pushes forward the first card, “There are signs around you that may lead you to where you need to be—”
As she continues to read her client’s fortune in romance, to explain what these signs may represent and how easy it would be for her to miss it, Lily’s eyes grow wide with interest and awe. She takes in everything that the fortune teller is sharing with deep focus, her gaze growing more determined the more she listens, until they move to the next card.
“Your path will be challenged. It won’t be smooth sailing once you’ve made your move, and it seems that one of your biggest challenges may come from somewhere close—”
A frown forms on Lily’s face as she listens carefully to the reading, as if she is trying to figure out what kind of challenge may come and who she may be wary of as she continues going forward with whatever may await in the future. But it doesn’t take long before her gaze softens with hope, as the fortune teller begins to read the final card.
“A resolution awaits. As long as you and your future partner share the same mind and goals, you will find a light waiting at the end of the road. Until then—”
The reading continues for a brief moment, and when she finishes, Lily reaches across the table to gently grab her hands and whispers, “Thank you.” The hope in her gaze glows with unshed tears, as if she had just gotten all the answers that she has been searching for.
“I know that I’ve been quite a bother for coming to you as often as I have for the past six months, but your reading of my fortune has helped me a lot in getting my life back on track after I found myself at the lowest point of my life,” she continues, “Thanks to you, I was able to make the right decisions that had led me to have the life I have now. I have a good job, I’m talking to my mother again after five years of silence, and now—” She pauses, swallowing hard when her emotions get too overwhelming, “I can find the courage to finally accept the man I love.”
The fortune teller simply returns her smile and places her hand on top of Lily’s in a comforting manner. “Your fate has been written for you. All I’ve done is to help guide you to find your way back to your path.”
Despite her words, her client shakes her head. “You still gave me a lot of help. And for that, I thank you dearly, Miss Charm.”
Once the reading is done, the fortune teller’s client rises from her seat and bids her goodbye for the night. As she walks out of House of Charm that evening, she holds her head high, while her footsteps are firm and confident as she makes her way through the cold winter night to face the future.
Time passes, and the winter nights continue to grow longer, quieter, and more serene.
It is late in the afternoon when the reading room of House of Charm is covered in shadows. Most of the lights aren’t lit, except for the couple of lamps placed on either side of the entrance door connecting the room to the main part of the shop at the front. Instead of being illuminated by the crystal chandelier hanging above, the round table at the center of the room is illuminated by various candles, each flame dancing with the chill afternoon breeze passing through the room.
The two large windows at the side of the room are closed shut, the curtains only partly drawn, yet no more sunlight slips through the seams as darkness has slowly started to settle in through the small town.
Miss Charm paces around the room, humming a soft tune while she lights up more candles on top of the side tables across the room, adding more golden lights, which are now making her face glow brighter. Her smile is lifted on the corner of her lips once she is done, and she turns just as a grey cat slithers into the room gracefully towards her. The cat rubs her side against the fortune teller’s legs, who puts away her lighter before bending down to pick up the gorgeous feline in her arms.
“Not now, Myo. We have a guest coming,” she murmurs to her precious pet as she presses a gentle peck on the cat’s forehead. She carries the feline across the room, sending her off through the small door at the back which leads to her private chamber, just in time for her to hear the sound of a bell chiming from the front area of the shop.
She closes the door behind her with a gentle click and walks over to the table, taking her seat as she waits for the new guest to arrive.
Within minutes, her young attendant appears at the doorway with a smile, “Miss Charm, a guest has requested a private meeting with you.”
Miss Charm nods. “Yes, send him in.”
The attendant bows her head and slinks back to the hallway, allowing a young man to enter the reading room.
“Come in, please. How may I assist you?” Miss Charm greets her guest with a smile as she sits straight behind her reading table, when she notices the hesitation written on the man’s expression.
As he stands by the doorway, the fortune teller takes a moment to study her new client. Standing tall, the man’s body looks slender yet fit and strong, his toned shoulders and arms hidden under his thick, dark coat. His messy hair spills down to frame his face as he looks around the room, as if trying to decide whether her is going to walk deeper into the room or if he should step back and leave. His hands are hidden inside his coat pocket, but Miss Charm can see the telltale of the tight clench of his hands as he turns to face her.
“I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to make an appointment for this, but your staff sent me back here after I asked about having my fortune read,” the man speaks, his words flow out fluidly despite the obvious uneasiness vibrating through his body. But it is the deep voice coming out of his lips which amused the fortune teller more.
“You are in the right place,” Miss Charm calmly speaks to him with a knowing smile, which only draws out his curiosity as she seems to have expected his arrival before he got here. “Please, take a seat. We can start with a little chat before we continue. Don’t be nervous.”
“Right,” the man murmurs, almost to himself, and nods his head slowly before taking the empty seat right across the table.
The fortune teller gives him a moment to settle down, and to make up his mind about this meeting, before she reaches out to the deck of cards waiting on the table. “Before we begin…may I know your name?”
The man lifts his head, his gaze misty, mesmerized at the way the fortune teller’s face seems to light up with the dancing flame reflecting on her skin. It steals his voice for a brief moment, then he stills himself and clears his throat to speak.
“It’s Taehyung,” he says. “Kim Taehyung.”
It is still early in the morning when Miss Charm finds herself in the back of her reading room, preparing for the day to begin.
Outside, the air is still cold, yet fresh and lovely for the winter. The sky is tinted in a dim, grey shade, yet the sun still casts a little warmth once the day is high, allowing the town to remain active during the winter afternoon.
This early in the morning, most of the people have stepped out of their homes, the small shops lining the street are slowly opening their businesses, yet the House of Charm has yet to open its doors for today’s appointments. The ‘closed’ sign still hangs on the front door, though Miss Charm has left it unlocked for her young attendant, Sarah, and the new staff who have yet to arrive.
After cleaning the front area of the shop, where most of the merchandise and charms that the shop sells are being displayed, Miss Charm spends the rest of the morning tidying up the reading room. She enjoys the quiet morning before the long day begins, before the chatters of the staff fill the shop during the day, and before she will have to sit face to face with her clients as she speaks with fate.
The sound of the bell chiming from the front door breaks the silence, yet she makes no move to rush out and have a look, thinking that perhaps one of her staff has arrived earlier than usual. The silence drags on for a moment longer, until she begins to hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming through the front shop and into the hallway leading towards the back.
Realizing that it is neither of her staff who has entered the shop, the fortune teller slowly lowers the candles that she has been setting across the room and turns towards the hallway to welcome her guest, only to come to a pause when she is met with a man standing halfway into the hall.
The man stands slightly taller than herself, with his long coat draping over his shoulders and hanging down almost to his ankles, hiding his figure. His head hangs low, with his hair falling over his face, shadowing his features so that the fortune teller can barely see his eyes.
“Forgive me, but we are not open yet for appointments today. Perhaps if you could—”
Her words die out at the tip of her tongue as the man lifts his head, allowing the dim light casting the hallway to fall on his face. Immediately, her entire body freezes, her knees weaken, as she looks straight back at the same face that has long haunted her cold, lonely nights, the same face that has been engraved vividly in her memories and would often come to visit her in her dreams.
“Yoongi,” she whispers the name that has always been on the tip of her tongue, the name which has been carved deeply in her heart, and she is immediately brought back into the past that she has long left behind, to relive the painful heartbreak that had almost destroyed her soul when he disappeared from her life many years ago.
Hearing his name coming out of her lips, the man’s smile grows. Recognition flashes across his eyes when he whispers her name,
“Hello, Mirae. It’s good to finally see you again.”
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out from Gaza.
We are approaching a truce that brings a glimmer of peace and hope to our beloved land. We eagerly await the chance to return home, reunite with loved ones, and work together to rebuild after the devastation of war. 🥺
We are especially looking forward to reuniting with our mother and newborn sister, who have been stranded in Egypt for over a year. Though we have lost our cherished home, many dear friends and relatives, and the vibrant city we once knew, we remain hopeful. With your help, I hope to support my father in every way I can. Your generosity during this time is invaluable. By reading our story, donating, or sharing our campaign, you can help us reunite, find safety, and start anew. 🙏🕊
From the depths of my heart, thank you for your kindness, compassion, and solidarity during this critical time. ❤
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out with a heartfelt plea to help my family find safety and reunite with our mother. 😞
The ongoing war in Gaza has torn my family apart. My mother and newborn sister are stranded in Egypt, while I, along with the rest of my sex family members, am trapped in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. We have not only been separated but have also lost our home and are enduring unimaginable hardships. 💔
Your support can make a difference. Whether by reading our story, donating, or sharing our campaign with others, you can help us reunite, find safety, and start anew. 🙏🕊
Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your kindness, compassion, and solidarity during this difficult time. ❤🍉
synopsis: you struggle to stay silent one beach day in the lesson
genre: magic, faerie!au, mark is mortal
wordcount: 1.8k
tags: @kiri-ah
warnings: threatening behaviour
a/n: wow hi! it's been forever :) i'm such a lazy writer now. my bf is at work and i got tired of doing nothing so i edited and finished off this part. who knows when i'll be back? enjoy!
Beginning your day just as the sun was setting was normal. That’s what mortals forget sometimes. Well, Mark did. Despite having lived here for three years and succumbing to your customs he somehow still managed to forget some of the most basic details.
More recently he had taken a liking to you and you weren’t sure why. You hadn’t spoken to him in a nicer manner than the rest or treated him more special than when the others weren’t around but somehow he still wormed his way into your everyday life.
Today was no different.
Although years had passed since you had first met the boy, he remained in your realm, mostly alive. You had never wanted to push your luck with him and had always kept your distance where possible but over time he simply thrived in your company. As you did in his but you wouldn't be caught alive saying that anytime soon.
Today was a beach day. You were taking a break from learning about stars and particularly poisonous plants and their remedies and instead, you were supposed to be spending the day learning about the Selkies. It was, to say the least, a laid back lesson where your lecturer had used this as an excuse to have a day off for themselves too.
Some of the boys had taken a liking to Mark and had taken him under their wing, which was odd behaviour for them, but one in particular seemed more genuine than the rest. Yuta, a Selkie who got on unusually well with Octopus when in his natural habitat if it were not for school and other important meetings being above land, had taken a liking to him. Often, you found that Yuta would be the one bringing Mark little things here and there, making him stand out from the rest of the group who just went along with it for a laugh here and there.
It was no different on this fateful day.
Mark had always been targeted by the others, poking and prodding and being glamoured unwillingly (although, who is glmaoured willingly?) but you secretly prided yourself on the fact that you never joined in on these mean tricks the other fae pulled. You always found their behaviour disgusting but if you ever dared speak those words aloud you might just have yourself locked up in the Tower of Forgetting, a dark and dingy place that no one knew how long the current residents had been there for and they certainly didnt know themselves.
Besides that, you try to focus on the more important things going on throughout each adn every day as you work yourself closer to the throne as your mother works herself closer to the edge, however, no one would even bother to think that she might “fall victim to flowerbed”, as your fellow fae called one’s death, anytime in the near future.
Today, like most of your waking moments, you were at the waterside, studying. Your teacher had taken to studying in the dusk of the evening wanting you to enjoy the particularly fragrant air as the sun set before jumping into the astrophysics of the universe. Mark, as usual, sat closer to the back, a soft floof of hair bent towards his writing paper as he fiddled with a lamp a blacksmith had gifted him. You assumed there was some kind of trick to it – as fae never gave anything away for free – but nothing ever came of it and it worked just fine for the boy and never faltered or distracted any of the fae during class so there was no room to complain.
Yuta, a pink haired selkie, had taken a liking to the boy, infatuated with Mark’s round ears and unwebbed feet. It was oddly overbearing but you never said anything, doing your best to keep your distance as you had found it rather irritating trying to talk to the boy.
Chaeryoung was sat next to you this dusk, doodling away in the margin of her leaf-bound textbooks, taking little to no attention in of what was going on around her.
“Mark,” Yuta says in a loud sing-song voice, drawing shapes with his finger on Mark’s paper, “has anyone ever told you that you have such lovely ears? They’re so… perfect. Even with their imperfections.” His mouth rested against Mark’s nape when he spoke this, sending chills down your spine just from observing, let alone Mark’s.
The rest of the group was busy talking amongst themselves but quietened down to tune in to the conversation without actually stopping their own conversations. It was an awful trait fae had that you despised as you never felt alone in your conversations.
Mark lifts his head, cheeks flushed from either embarrassment from the attention being dragged his way or from the strange compliment of sorts, and meekly says, “Yes. Usually, it’s you who likes to point out my lack of pointed ears.”
Yuta grins, happy to have had an effect on him, “Well, I do think that it is a rather remarkable feature of yours – what with being human and all…”
At this point on of the other boys, Jaehyun with dark hair and a muscular build glares over at Yuta, “You’re bringing too much attention to that of what holds no importance,” he pauses for a second, the disgust clear on his face and his lips upturning more with every passing millisecond, “...to the lesson.”
Silence falls over the once chittering class and the surrounding nature seemed to have disappeared by the spoken words from Jaehyun.
This was by far not the most threatening thing one of the folk had said to the human boy but it wasn’t the nicest either.
You weren’t one to pay close attention to who was nicest to the humans but you were sure as hell not going to forget those who were the nastiest.
At the prime human equivalent of thirteen, you had found that you held a particular disgust for those who were nasty without reason. So you stayed alert while the class played on.
Taffy, the poor soul stuck with trying to teach you coughed to gain your attention and went back into reading the stars. Today, She was also taking into account the moon and why it controlled the waves the way it did in Rivermond, hence the beach day (even though it was held at dusk).
Some human forty minutes later into the lesson, Mark raised his hand to answer a question that Taffy had posed. He got it right, and looked pleased with himself when Taffy told him as much, cute, you thought.
Yuta thought so too, deciding to spew, “Oh Mark, you’re so smart! Sometimes I wish I could obtain useless information about the human realm the same way you do with our realm.”
Jaehyun scoffs, “Honestly, Yuta?”
Chaeyoung looks up from beside you. Heads were turned towards the back, staring at Mark as Yuta made himself comfortable laying on his front next to him. Jaehyun had risen from his spot, somewhat distraught and annoyed to confront Yuta about it too.
“You’re always commenting on ridiculous things, alright?”
Although you couldn’t tell who this first comment was directed at, you could see clearly that he was mad and you weren’t sure what for. It didn’t seem the appropriate grounds to get this upset. Your eyes widened as Jaehyun kicked his curled boot into Mark’s soft flesh, effectively toppling him over into Yuta too.
“You’re nothing but a poor, human, orphan and everyone in this class knows it, including the Queen’s daughter as much as she pretends to be an insubordinate fool,” he begins, angering you.
“Excuse me?”
That one didn’t even come from you. That one came from Chaeyoung. She had always stuck up for you, much like she had stuck up for Mark when he had first joined but you also knew that she was a foul gossiper too when it came to it. Over time you would come to learn that she would reel it in a lot more but she was still at the forefront of everything secretive this side of the river.
Her lilac dusted hair was swung over her shoulder and her carefully crafted two-piece gown was tugged on by you as you tried to stop her from saying too much when she too rose from her crossed legs position.
“Don’t you dare use your bastard mouth to talk dirty about anyone this side of the river!”
Yuta gasped.
Jaehyun slowly turned red in the face but Chaeyoung still held her ground.
He grips her by the scruff of her neck and lashes out at her. Pushing her across the sand, she tumbles until she is somewhere close to Mark and Yuta, although they too are scrambling to their feet at this point.
Without hesitation, angrily you stand and slap Jaehyun across the cheek. “Never,” a quick finger wag in his face, “ever touch a female like that again or you’re going to regret the last not-human breath you ever took.”
His eyes are wild, “Oh yeah? And what are you going to do, tell on me to Mummy?”
“You bet your sorry arse I will,” you’re glaring now, fingers trembling with anger, “and you better watch yourself before I tell her to have you and your rotten-mouthed mother banished to the other side of the river come dawn!”
Jaehyun wouldn’t have been bothered by this comment, had his mother not been trialled months prior for starting whispers about the Queen and her human tendencies. It was against the common law of Rivermond to talk about the Queen in any respect other than the highest possible.
Naturally, this comment made him shut up but the two of you remained nose-to-nose, breathing heavily and completely forgetting your surroundings.
Mark remained on the sand, trying to push himself away from the scene unfolding before him but it had proved difficult when Taffy’s invisible classroom shield gave off a thud when he backed into it too fast.
Heads turned towards him and he stood, a deer in headlights. Taffy let go of the classroom shield momentarily and let him escape, sending Chaeryound after him, knowing she had always taken a liking to him. A good student always remains on your mind; fortunately, Mark was one of her best and she couldn’t bear seeing him in fear. So Taffy let him go for a moment, prepared to blame her poor hold on the shield to the shock of the argument brewing in front of her but everyone knew she was better than that. You knew she prided herself on a stronghold of her class. She let him go because she felt sorry for him.
afterword: so. here it is. updated whenever. there’s no schedule. only me doing my bit here and there. please enjoy. please don't hesitate to tell me what you think! it actually helps and motivates me :) anon is on!
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