31 June 2018

Pledis Studio

"Did you hear? The 8 and Jun seonbaenim are headed to the mainland for a survival show?" Yuha eonnie informed me.

"I'll be following it," I proclaimed in a regal manner before qualifying my statement, "to be supportive of my labelmates."

She laughed shyly, promising to do the same. Her vote was on the painter while mine was on the pianist. We wondered if a rotation cycle for voting would be adopted, just like with Produce 101. The competition would be quite stiff, with YanAn from Pentagon and Samuel Arredondo, who trained with us around the same time.

The latter was probably the third favourite of every person associated with Pledis. He was one of the nicer four who could have joined Seventeen but didn't. We remembered him fondly, as a little brother or young son, and still wished him to be successful. His being voted out of Produce 101 was disappointing and we hoped that he wouldn't suffer too badly the second time around.

I don't know how I would have felt if I had to participate in a survival show again. Kaeun was on Produce 48 despite her illustrious career so I didn't put it past my agency to pull a Brave Entertainment on me. Aron's injury disqualified him from entering Produce 101 but he met Victoria while recuperating in America.

Speaking of him, Raina's long-awaited comeback, the aptly-named Loop, would be a romanticised spin on what she went through and how she hoped to recover. The two of them would collaborate on the title track, and it reminded me of Eunwoo eonnie and Vernon oppa featuring on the OST for a webtoon.

"You're done with your mid-terms, aren't you?" Jun's voice, silent but confident, echoed in the practice room. I resembled a tomato, having been caught in my post-dancing workout. His knock had probably been lost in the echo of the music I had played loudly. I had forgotten that the vampire had been given permission to use the rooms in this building.

"Yes," I knew he could hear my heart thrash against my ribcage like a bird trying to escape the bars of an iron cage. He had finally decided to claim me as his. Or so I thought.

"I would like a tarot reading before I return home," the singer used a more mellifluous tone to keep me tranquil.

"Aron oppa must have told you about me," I calmed down at the realisation. "I had no idea you placed stock in what the cards reveal."

"I haven't told anyone that I visited one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States," he casually dropped this surprising detail in our conversation.

"Okay," I sat down on the wooden floors and he followed suit, watching as I opened the silver-engraved casket. I arranged my cards in their usual formation and, without hesitation, he picked up five cards. Seeing that he hadn't lied about his past, my pulse finally returned to its regular pace and I was in a place to predict the future.

"Page of Swords, reversed: the system of the show is one of deception, manipulation of voters and all talk, despite its insistence of fairness. Eight of Pentacles: despite that, your talent is of the highest standards so don't fault yourself when you lose. Two of Cups, reversed: you might feel a broken connection when you return. The High Priestess, reversed: you might feel as if you've lost your inner voice and repressed feelings. Ace of Wands: your desire, willpower and inspiration will create something beautiful after all of this," I placed the cards back in the box.

"What do the different suits represent?" the question surprised me.

"The Suit of Wands is associated with the element of fire and passion," I narrated the first lesson every tarot reader was taught. "It can be contrasted with the Suit of Pentacles, representing earth. This looks at the long term and the future: health, career, security, stability, and prosperity. I would hazard a guess that the Suit of Swords is akin to water in that intelligence, ambition, conflict and communication can be double-edged, good or evil are in a delicate balance. Lastly, the Suit of Cups represent the unconscious, emotions, creativity and intuition. This suit deals with relationships, romantic or otherwise. Although most would not guess, this can be just as deadly as the Swords: one can't control their feelings and may disconnect with their inner voice."

"And the fifth suit?" a long pause followed the longest speech I had ever made in front of Jun.

"No one knows anything about the Major Arcana," it was my turn to stun him. "This is in part due to the unknown origins of the tarot. The northern, central, and southern parts of Europe have varied decks. From the fifteenth century, the cards have been played in games like the Bicycle deck. The occult associations are less clear. Scholars have demonstrated that these were invented in Italy but that doesn't explain the existence of the unnumbered suit. Cartomancers believe that the Major Arcana have esoteric links with Ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching."

"I'd have to agree with the cartomancers," he concluded. "There weren't any priestesses in Italy or modern European societies."

"You are the first person I read for who asked me these questions," I changed the topic.

"You are the first reader who would answer them for me," he shrugged. "This is a fascinating subject and I'd like to know as much as I can before we become a family."

"When would that be, by the way?" I humoured him instead of protesting. Information is the best preventative weapon.

"I don't get why century-old vampires are chasing down high school girls in American vampire stories. The college girls are where it's at: enough energy to party all night AND enough knowledge about how to have a good time. Teenagers can be rash and impulsive because they don't know about this capitalist, soul-draining society."

Having a timeline of a few years definitely helped me start putting a plan in place.

"Don't get me started on all these youngbloods with blood dripping from their fangs. Are you an infant learning to feed yourself, or are you an apex predator?" as the rant continued, I learned that there were, possibly, feuds between the older and newer vampires. Not that I planned on dealing with another supernatural being: one was enough.

"You don't have to worry about me asking you for a feeding session anytime soon," the singer reassured me. "Human blood doesn't appeal to me, for now. Even if it does, I'd get Huihuis to put leeches on their body, and mail them to me although that is illegal and dangerous. I'd probably make use of blood bags like my Xiao Degula."

"The show did make some good parodies," I agreed. The Death Eaters in the Chinese webdrama were more faithful to the book than the Warner Brothers' production.

"I've taken up enough of your time," he thanked me for the reading and handed me a few hundred won. "Go get an iced coffee with your boyfriend."

"You really do have a Fruits Basket complex," I shook my head but accepted the money anyway. Cha Eunwoo wasn't my boyfriend and I felt comfortable donating this money to charity.

"Good luck with the comeback, not that you'd need it," a smile graced his face.

"Break a leg," I bade him good luck in a culture he knew well. The door closed and I pondered on this unexpected but lovely exchange.