A Fortune-telling Princess

“Sia, your skin is absolutely glowing today.”

Jihyun, who was in charge of her makeup, kept murmuring words of admiration.

Her hands grew even more careful as she stroked a face that looked as if a single touch would make dew drip down like fresh rain.

“I don’t think anyone else could pull all-nighters for over a week and still have skin like this.”

“If I spent that much money at a skincare clinic and couldn’t even maintain this much, shouldn’t I sue the place?”

“You’re impossible!”

Jihyun laughed softly. Sia always resisted going to that outrageously expensive skin clinic, yet now she was complaining again. Despite being one of the highest-paid celebrities in the country, she wasn’t one to enjoy spending money.

“Anyway, Jihyun.”

“Yes?”

“You said you were raised by your grandmother, right?”

“...? That’s right.”

Jihyun tilted her head at Sia’s sudden question. Why bring up something she had only once mentioned in passing during a drinking session?

“My parents were busy when I was little, so I lived with my grandmother until I entered middle school.”

“When’s the last time you contacted her?”

“Um... maybe two months ago?”

“Two months?”

“Yes, I’ve been so busy with shoots lately. Now that you mention it, it’s been way too long since I last called her.”

Jihyun’s face was still full of puzzlement as she answered.

Sia almost never showed interest in other people’s family affairs. No matter how long she had known someone, she never crossed a certain line.

The mere fact that she remembered Jihyun had grown up under her grandmother’s care was surprising enough.

“Your phone?”

“My phone? Sia, your phone is over there...”

“Not mine. Yours.”

“My phone? Ah...”

Rummaging quickly through her pockets, Jihyun let out a small sigh.

“I must have left it in the car.”

“Go get it.”

“Huh?”

“Go get your phone.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

“But the shoot is about to start...”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I-It’s not like I need it urgently. I can get it later.”

“Go now.”

“I haven’t finished your makeup yet...”

“I’ll finish it myself.”

“But still—”

“Hurry.”

Something was definitely strange. Startled by Sia’s unusually firm tone, Jihyun finally turned and ran toward the parking lot.

“Hyunseok.”

“Yeah?”

Sia quietly called to her manager, who was staring at her with the same curiosity filling Jihyun’s eyes.

“Find someone who can cover Jihyun’s spot for a few days.”

“You’re firing her?”

Hyunseok’s eyes widened at the sudden words.

“Temporarily.”

“Temporarily?”

“She won’t be able to come in for a few days.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Instead of answering, Sia cast her gaze toward Jihyun, who had already gone far. More precisely, toward the grandmother who was quietly following right behind her.

The old woman had been standing there all along, looking at Jihyun with eyes full of pity.

She had patted Jihyun’s head, smiled with gentle affection when Jihyun laughed. From that alone, Sia knew who she was.

A week should be enough, right?

Maybe she needed time to steady her heart.

“Also, prepare a funeral wreath.”

“A wreath? What wreath?”

“A wreath for the funeral.”

“What?”

Leaving her shocked manager behind, Sia calmly finished her own makeup with practiced hands.

****

“Grandma, you saw the expensive wreath I sent, didn’t you?”

There’s an old saying in the entertainment industry:

The fate of a celebrity and the fate of a shaman aren’t that different. They’re practically the same.

After two exhausting weeks of filming in the provinces, Sia returned home and let out a weary sigh.

Just as she opened the fridge to take out a can of beer she’d been saving for a lonely night’s drink, she found herself staring at the grandmother standing right behind the refrigerator door.

“The funeral went well. You were buried in a sunny place.”

Or... not exactly sunny, since it was a columbarium, wasn’t it?

Either way, the funeral was over, cremation was complete. Why had this old lady suddenly come to her?

Sia sighed under her breath and brought the opened can of beer to her lips.

“If you don’t have any business with me, would you mind leaving? I’m tired.”

Normally, she would just ignore them. But this was the grandmother of a colleague she had worked with for over four years. Slamming the door in her face felt a bit heartless.

Just a bit.

Maybe pretending not to see her would’ve been better after all. Dealing with these kinds of beings when she was already tired was utterly draining.

[My Jihyun...]

At last, the grandmother spoke. Her hands and face, full of wrinkles, hinted at a life far from easy, and Sia’s eyes couldn’t help but linger.

[Please continue to look after her.]

“...”

Are all grandmothers like this?

With the kindest smile imaginable, the old woman bowed deeply to someone far younger than herself. Sia took another sip of her beer.

She suddenly remembered something Hyunseok had said a few days earlier.

“At the funeral, Jihyun was the only one crying.”

Apparently, Jihyun’s parents and relatives had fought shamelessly over the grandmother’s inheritance.

There wasn’t even much: a small bank account, the house, the fields. Yet they squabbled so viciously over who would get what that the guests had left in disgust.

What a waste of money.

Had she known it would end up in the hands of people like that, she wouldn’t have bothered with the condolence money.

[And... could you do me one small favor?]

Sia stopped grumbling inside and looked up again.

Sia Lee. Twenty-five years old. A top actress with fame stretching beyond Korea, all across Asia.

She had started acting at fourteen, and every project she touched, no matter the genre, became a hit. Her place in the industry was unshakable.

Because I’m beautiful and an amazing actress, she wanted to say proudly.

But...

I can’t say I didn’t have a little help from them.

The information “they” gave her was often very useful.

Sia Lee. Korea’s top actress, with one peculiar secret.

Yes, I...

She could see ghosts.

****

“Jihyun.”

— Yes, Sia.

Sia called her on video chat.

Jihyun’s face had noticeably thinned in just a few days. The grief from her grandmother’s death was evident. Sia clicked her tongue softly.

“Did I ever tell you? I’m interested in things like fortunes and divinations.”

— Yes! You even predicted my grandmother’s death before anyone else. Honestly, that day when you kept insisting I go fetch my phone, I was so flustered. And then this happened...

“I just... felt like your luck that day wasn’t good.”

Of course, that was a lie. She didn’t know a thing about fortunes or horoscopes.

She only pretended to, so that what she learned from the ghosts could be explained in a way people would accept.

“Sia, didn’t you say you go to church?”

Her manager Hyunseok suddenly cut into their conversation.

“I do. I mean... I did.”

“I’m baptized.”

For a time, she had gone to church desperately, hoping baptism would quiet these eyes that saw the dead.

On the day I was baptized...

The ghosts had gathered in rows, applauding and congratulating her. That was the day she quietly stopped attending.

She tried temples and cathedrals after that, but it was no different anywhere else.

“What does church have to do with fortune-telling anyway?”

“Still, it doesn’t seem right—”

“Enough.”

Cutting him off sharply, Sia refocused on her phone.

“Are you still at your grandmother’s house?”

Jihyun was indeed there, sorting through her late grandmother’s belongings alone.

Her other relatives had left right after the funeral, too busy with their lives. Really, they wanted to sell the house and land as quickly as possible.

Jihyun couldn’t bring herself to hire people to throw everything away like trash. Every item her grandmother had used felt precious to her.

She had asked Sia and the company for a few more days. And so, she remained there, clearing the house on her own.

—I’m sorry. I should be back at work soon...

“Right. Come back quickly. Don’t let anyone else touch my face for too long.”

— Okay!

Her voice sounded brighter at those words than they would have if Sia had told her to rest and take her time.

“By the way, is there a persimmon tree on the east side of your grandmother’s house?”

Sia got straight to the point.

— ...!

Jihyun’s mouth fell open.

— Yes, there is!

Of course there was.

— I’m not sure if it’s on the east side...

It was on the east side.

— Anyway, yes! How did you know?

“Your fortune today said you’d find great wealth beneath the persimmon tree.”

— W-Wealth?

“It won’t hurt to check. Try digging under it.”

— The ground?

“Yes.”

— Ah... o-okay...

Her voice was hesitant.

Of course it sounds ridiculous. I’d think so too.

It would be stranger if she obeyed immediately.

But people are funny like that.

Even if they scoff, the words still linger. “What if?” The thought alone makes it hard to ignore.

If there’s a chance of finding wealth, what’s the harm in digging a little?

Besides, Sia had predicted her grandmother’s death. That made it even harder for Jihyun to dismiss her words outright.

“That’s all. Take care.”

— Yes, Sia.

Sia ended the call.

That should do it.

That was exactly what Jihyun’s grandmother had asked last night.

[Please tell her to dig under the persimmon tree.]

She must’ve felt sorry for her.

Jihyun had taken on countless part-time jobs since she was young, supporting her younger siblings because her parents had squandered all their money chasing after failed business ventures. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

No wonder she had seemed so pitiful in her grandmother’s eyes.

Looked like quite a sum, too.

The grandmother had buried most of her savings under that tree. She had carefully packed them into a large jar, setting them aside just for her granddaughter.

She had already known that the house and land would never pass to Jihyun after her death. Her greedy children would see to that.

And {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} she even left her a letter.

Did she somehow know she’d die suddenly of a heart attack? She had written the letter long ago and placed it inside the jar, telling Jihyun to use the money without guilt, only for herself.

At least they won’t be able to take that from her.

Jihyun wasn’t naïve enough to let it happen.

Well, it’s none of my business beyond this.

Sia had delivered the message. That was all that was required.

“Wow, you can read fortunes like that? What about me? How’s my fortune today?”

Hyunseok, who had been lingering beside her throughout the call, looked at her with eager eyes.

“...”

Sia stared at him silently for a moment.

“I don’t know about yours, but I do know your wife’s.”

“My wife?”

Surprised by the sudden mention of her, Hyunseok frowned.

“She’s got good financial luck today.”

“Really?”

Whether he believed it or not, hearing his wife had money luck instantly brightened his face. Maybe he should tell her to buy a lottery ticket, he thought, chuckling to himself.

Meanwhile, you’re destined to lose money today.

Sia recalled her earlier phone call with Hyeeun, who had laughed gleefully after finding Hyunseok’s secret stash of emergency cash. Looking at him now, she felt just a little sorry.