Married For Now-Chapter 129: THE CHAEBOL PRINCESS

TO BE honest, Hong Sera wasn’t really superstitious.

But I can’t deny that Shaman Crystal seems to be a legit shaman.

The shaman was the same age as Shaman Jung, and she was a beautiful and graceful ahjumma— just like how Shaman Jung was famous for being a good-looking ahjussi. In fact, the two were famous even among civilians for looking like seasoned celebrities. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

I think Shaman Crystal and Shaman Jung are rivals. Both of them are famous among chaebols and politicians. But unlike Shaman Jung who obviously prefers the Ilsung Group, Shaman Crystal treats all her clients equally.

Anyway...

Hong Sera remembered that her parents introduced Shaman Crystal to her when she was in middleschool.

And she could still remember what the shaman said to her back then.

"Young Lady, you’re born with tremendous lucky. You’re already set for life even, assuming that your family won’t go bankrupt— which I don’t see happening, not anytime soon at least. However, you don’t have that much luck in love. Be careful with choosing the person you’d want to stay with your forever."

Hong Sera hated to admit it, but the shaman guessed her future love life correctly back then.

But that was the first and the last time Shaman Crystal read her fortune.

Hence...

"We’ve known each other for a decade now, ma’am. But you only read my fortune once," Hong Sera said carefully. "To what do I owe you this pleasure then?"

Shaman Crystal smiled before putting on her dark sunglasses.

Hong Sera wasn’t offended, and it wouldn’t be considered rude that the shaman wore her sunglasses inside the mansion.

A few years ago, Shaman Crystal started wearing sunglasses indoors.

Apparently, Shaman Crystal can see one’s fortune by simply looking at their face. But doing so consumes too much divine power, and using too much of her divine power hurts her eyes. So, she started wearing sunglasses. According to her, it stops her from reading the fortunes of every single person she lays her eyes on.

"You’re the youngest daughter of the household and conglomerate I support, so I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Young Lady."

"What did you see, ma’am? You mentioned the Ilsung Group earlier."

Hong Sera had an idea since she recently talked to Kim Heedo.

But she still wanted to test Shaman Crystal’s "Celestial Eyes."

"I didn’t see the exact details since my divine power doesn’t work like that, but I know that you offered the grandson of Ilsung Group your help."

Ah.

So, it’s really about the fact that I offered to help Kim Heedo investigate Lee Junsu.

But...

"How would helping a friend bring ruin to me and my family?"

"Do you really want to find out, Young Lady?" Shaman Crystal asked, laughing softly. "Then go ahead and help the grandson of Ilsung Group."

Hong Sera could tell that the shaman was mocking her.

In fact, Shaman Crystal’s mocking actually sounded like a threat.

I really don’t appreciate being looked down.

Hong Sera had been enduring all this time, but she couldn’t do that anymore.

I’m done being a pushover.

"I will follow your advice, ma’am," Hong Sera said with a smile. She wasn’t the type to raise her voice when upset, but she could be sarcastic. "I will do my best to help my dear friend Heedo."

Shaman Crystal immediately lost her smile. "Didn’t you hear what I just said, Young Lady?"

"I heard you loud and clear, ma’am. But what can I do? I have complete faith in my luck."

"Young Lady—"

"It was you who said I had tremendous luck, ma’am. I may be unlucky with my love life, but my fortune will probably keep me safe," Hong Sera said, cutting off the shaman as a payback for cutting her off earlier. "And my dear friend Heedo has his own lucky charm."

Of course, Kim Heedo’s lucky charm would be Park Sohee.

"I don’t think we should be worried about misfortune hitting us," Hong Sera said, and then she smiled before she dropped the bombshell: "But, to be safe, I’ll ask Shaman Jung for some talisman."

Shaman Crystal’s face turned red from either embarrassment or anger.

Maybe both.

After all, Hong Sera just insulted Shaman Crystal by saying she’d ask another shaman for a talisman.

A shaman she considers a rival, at that.

"Young Lady, don’t rely on your luck too much," Shaman Crystal said in a low, threatening voice. "And you shouldn’t be provoking me. Aren’t you afraid to be punished by the god I serve?"

Hong Sera didn’t want to admit this, but that threat gave her the chills.

Like, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped.

It gave her goosebumps.

Worse, it feels like some unseen entity is looking at me...

"Sera-ya, you’re here?"

Hong Sera was relieved when Hong Seojun— her oldest brother— entered the room with a laptop in his hand. "Oppa, I didn’t know you had a guest. I wanted to discuss an important business with you."

"Alright," Hong Seojun said, gently grabbing Hong Sera by the arm. Then he pulled her closer to him while shooting Shaman Crystal a wary glance. "Sera-ya, I’ll just finish my conversation with Shaman Crystal-nim."

***

WHY IS he calling?

Hong Sera had just finished her video call with Yang Jaewon when she received a call from Jin Minki.

Could it be Han Raehyun?

She had been ignoring her boyfriend’s call all this time, so it was possible that he borrowed his best friend’s phone to check if she’d pick up.

But I already told Han Raehyun to give me a few more days to process everything.

Hence, Hong Sera ignored Jin Minki’s call, too.

She just enjoyed her tea time while waiting for her older brother.

And, in just a few minutes...

"Sera-ya, I’m sorry for making you wait."

"It’s alright, Oppa," Hong Sera said. "Join me. I just brewed tea for you."

"Thank you," Hong Seojun said, sitting on the chair across from her. He only took a sip before he went straight to business: "Sera-ya, did you upset Shaman Crystal?"

"She started it, Oppa. Are you going to scold me?"

"No, you actually did a good job."

"I did? How?"

"To be honest with you, I’m looking for a reason to cut off Shaman Crystal."

Hong Sera’s eyes widened a bit. "But why, Oppa? Is the madam not helpful to us anymore?"

"Shaman Crystal hasn’t been helpful to us for a few years now. But that’s not the reason I want to cut her off from our family," Hong Seojun explained. "There is a rumor circulating around about how Shaman Crystal is slowly yet consistently losing her divine power. If that was only the case, then I wouldn’t mind keeping her as our benefactor. After all, she did help us get through several crises in the past. But the other rumor is quite bothering me."

"What rumor, Oppa?"

"You know that Shaman Crystal has other clients aside from our family, right?"

"Yes, Oppa."

"Apparently, Shaman Crystal has a VIP client who’s deeply involved in the underworld."

The ’underworld’ would be the Korean "mafia" that even chaebols were wary of.

I’m not the heiress of our conglomerate, but even I was taught to tread carefully when dealing with high-ranking government officials and the mafia.

"Oppa, you simply didn’t believe the rumors, did you?"

"Of course, I didn’t. My team is already investigating Shaman Crystal," Hong Seojun said. "According to the initial report, Shaman Crystal is getting involved in shady businesses because she’s desperate to regain her divine power. The investigation is still in its early stage, so I can’t say much."

"Update me when there’s already progress with the investigation, Oppa."

"Sure," Hong Seojun said, sipping his tea before changing the topic. "So, why do want to talk to me? Did you finally break up with Han Raehyun? Good. Your sister-in-law has someone she wants to introduce to you."

"Oppa, Han Raehyun and I are still together."

"Ah."

It was clear that her older brother was disappointed.

Hong Sera just sighed and shook her head.

This time, she was the one who changed the topic.

"Oppa, I need a team capable of investigating a high-profile individual in secret."

"How high-profile are we talking about here?"

"The most famous idol in the country at the moment— Kosmos’ Jamie, aka Lee Junsu."

"Kim Heedo’s ex-boyfriend?" Hong Seojun asked, knitting his eyebrows. "Why do you need to investigate that person?"

"I need to protect my friends’ marriage," Hong Sera said, clenching her hands tight. "So, please let me use my full power and authority as a Hong, Oppa."

***

A VIP GUEST.

To be honest, Lee Junsu was still hesitant about meeting this person.

However, it was urgent.

Hence, he booked a private room in a Chinese restaurant known for keeping the privacy of their high-profile guests safe, especially from the reporters.

"It’s been a while, Madam."

"Yes, but let’s save the greetings for later," Shaman Crystal— the one who had been guiding Lee Junsu since he was in high school— said while removing her sunglasses. "You and I are both running out of time here."

Lee Junsu clenched his hands tight. "I’m doing my best—"

"It’s not enough," the shaman cut him off. "I saw a vision. It’s not clear since my Celestial Eyes barely work these days. But since it’s related to our plan, I saw a glimpse of the future— and you’ll be caught by Kim Heedo very soon."

"How? Kim Heedo and Park Sohee have been ignoring me."

"Hong Sera."

"Daesung Group’s youngest daughter?"

Kim Heedo’s close friend, too.

"I don’t know how, but the chaebol princess is destined to cause the start of your downfall, Lee Junsu," Shaman Crystal said firmly. "You have to find a way to stop Hong Sera from helping Kim Heedo. I have no idea what exactly the two are up to, but I know they’re investigating a case that will lead to you."

"Is it just Hong Sera?"

"She seems to be the biggest hurdle at the moment. Can you deal with that chaebol princess without getting caught?"

"If it’s just Hong Sera, then it will be easy to get rid of her."

Lee Junsu had dated Kim Heedo for a while, but he never really got close to his friends.

Yang Jaewon is pretty outgoing, so he was pretty chill around me. Kwon Gaon didn’t talk to me much, but he wasn’t hostile to me, at least. More like he didn’t care about my existence. But he was like that to everyone outside his circle.

On the other hand, Hong Sera...

She was clingy to Han Raehyun back then so she didn’t hang out with us that much, but I can tell that she didn’t like me.

Well, the feeling was mutual.

Shaman Crystal raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan to get rid of the chaebol princess without getting killed by her family?"

"Ah, it’s a misunderstanding. I have no intention of harming Hong Sera— we just need to distract her to the point that she won’t be able to worry about Kim Heedo," Lee Junsu said, pulling out his phone. "I have a friend whom I can rely on to deal with Hong Sera."

And that friend would be Jin Minki, of course.

***

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