Prismatic Monsters ✔️

Ch. 2

"Unnie!"

A light-brown haired woman turned around, watching as a girl that seemed a little younger than her wave at another woman nearby.

She watched as the two hugged, a pang in her heart forcing her to look away and walk off.

"Chaeryeong..."

It's been a month since the woman's younger sister had disappeared seemingly out of thin air, a month since she had been tiresomely searching for her younger sister...

To no avail.

She would have had no reason to run away, and even if she did, she had left all of her belongings back at home.

Friends... Parents of friends... Teachers... No one knew she even disappeared until her family had brought it up.

The woman sighed, looking around the mall she was in to see if she needed anything else before going back home.

'We used to go here a lot...'

The inside mall had multiple booths within the middle of the large corridors, vendors selling jewelry... phone accessories... Food... Or even advice.

Amongst one of them, a pink-haired woman silently cleaned her booth from a long day, pulling a purple cloth tight over the table as she locked up a few of her belongings.

'Huh?'

She froze as she locked up a box, a strong, negative energy pulsating around her as she began to look around.

Her eyes landed upon a woman with a plastic bag in hand who seemed to be aimlessly walking about, her eyes softening.

'A troubled soul...'

As the woman came closer, she called out, "excuse me miss?"

The woman startled as the vendor called out to her, looking around to see that there was no one else around her.

The woman glanced at the table cloth, golden embroidery lacing some words.

CHERRY BLOSSOM READINGS AND CRYSTALS

She slowed to a stop as she saw a stack of tarot cards off to the side of the small booth, "yes?"

The pink-haired woman, who had a nameplate, "Sakura", stared at the Korean woman for a moment.

'What the...'

"You're going through a lot of pain in your life."

'Oh.'

The woman raised her hands up slightly, taking a step back to turn away, "oh uhhhh sorry, but I'm not really into all this psychic stuff."

"Wait wait-"

She turned back around and raised an eyebrow as the woman spoke.

"I won't ask you to take a reading."

"Then what do you want?"

"May I see your hand?"

The woman stared at her in suspicion, about to speak up when Sakura spoke once more.

"I promise not to bother you for your money afterwards."

Hesitantly, the woman walked back up to the table, holding out her hand.

"What is your name?"

"Lee Chaeyeon."

"Chaeyeon..."

Sakura grabbed Chaeyeon's hand, but to the younger woman's surprise, she didn't try to read it. Instead, she held it firmly with both of her hands.

'Huh?'

"You lost someone recently..."

A muscle in Chaeyeon's mouth twitched, "she's not dead."

"I know..."

Sakura looked up and smiled softly, "but it feels the same, losing someone to death and just losing them somewhere in this world... I know all too well..."

Chaeyeon tensed, something about the woman's words hitting home, "I-I..."

RING RING!

The two jumped, Chaeyeon taking out her phone with her free hand, "o-oh that's my mom..."

Sakura squeezed her hand before letting go, "I hope you find her soon."

"I... Uh... Thank you."

The pink-haired woman nodded, starting to clean up again as if their interaction didn't happen.

Chaeyeon walked away, her hand tingling as she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Chaeyeon-ah, will you be home soon?"

"Ah- I will Eomma, sorry I was just getting some stuff from the mall."

"No no it's alright, we were just wondering where you were. Get home safe."

"Nae~"

The woman held her hand as she ended the call, caressing the palm with her thumb as she thought back to what that mysterious psychic told her.

'It feels the same, losing someone to death and just losing them somewhere in this world'

And it wasn't words spoken from someone who wanted to earn a little extra cash, or to just make her feel better...

It was as if...

She knew how Chaeyeon felt.

As if she knew how it feels to lose someone...

Chaeyeon sighed, scratching her head, "what a weird day..."

But even as she began to drive back home...

She couldn't stop thinking of the woman's words.

A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update, I was out the whole day 💀