Arjun stepped out of the car.
He did not know why.
Only that the moment Asiya's expression changed, something in the air changed with it.
Danger.
Though he could not explain how he sensed it.
Across the road, Asiya was still staring into the alley where the human-shaped figure had vanished.
The escaped beast.
Gone.For now.
But the cold it left behind lingered like damp fog after rain.
For a heartbeat she remained very still.
Listening.Feeling.
The faint movement of unsettled yin energy curled through the alley like invisible smoke.
Wrong.
Predatory.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Rude."
Softly said.
Deeply offended.
As though the creature had interrupted her workday.
Then—
a shadow fell over her.
She turned.
And nearly walked into Arjun.
Close enough to feel the quiet steadiness in his presence.
For a moment neither spoke.
Traffic moved around them.
Street vendors called out prices.
Steam rose from a dumpling cart nearby.
Wind stirred the paper charms hanging from her stall.
Tiny bells chimed.
The child ghost whispered dramatically,
"The serious one has approached."
The long-haired ghost clutched its chest.
"Maintain composure."
Asiya looked up at him.
"You left your car."
Arjun glanced at her handwritten sign.
FORTUNE READING — 50 YUAN
GHOST REMOVAL — EXTRA
His mouth almost moved.
Almost a smile.
Then—
"I'd like a reading."
Asiya blinked.
Actually blinked.
For all the things she expected from the cold, impossible businessman—
this was not among them.
The child ghost gasped.
"He's participating."
She recovered immediately.
Professional mode activated.
"Standard reading," she said seriously, "or premium destiny package?"
Arjun raised a brow.
"There's a premium?"
"Obviously."
She picked up a brush and added a new line beneath the sign in front of him.
CEO RATE — DOUBLE
He looked at it.
Then at her.
"Extortion."
"Spiritual consultation."
A beat.
Then—
he sat.
At her tiny roadside fortune table.
Like a man entering a contract negotiation.
The long-haired ghost whispered in awe,
"He sat."
The child ghost nearly fainted.
Asiya sat opposite him and extended her hand.
"Palm."
He placed his hand in hers.
And suddenly—
the street noise seemed too loud.
Her heartbeat, louder.
His hand was warm.
Steady.
Large enough that her fingers looked small over his palm.
Her touch stilled a second too long.
Arjun noticed.
Interesting.
She cleared her throat.
Very calmly.
As though nothing had happened.
Very much pretending her pulse was behaving.
She traced his palm.
Studied it with theatrical seriousness.
"Hm."
Arjun watched her.
"What do you see?"
Asiya leaned back thoughtfully.
"Stress."
He stared.
"…That's your reading?"
"Very expensive stress."
The child ghost wheezed.
She continued.
"You overwork."
"You distrust people."
"You have control issues."
His brows lowered slightly.
"That is uncomfortably accurate."
She smiled.
"Gifted."
Then her smile shifted.
Because beneath ordinary fate lines—
something strange crossed his palm.
A hidden line.
Rare.
Almost luminous to her spiritual sight.
Intertwining with hers.
Her fingers paused.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Arjun noticed the change.
"What?"
She looked up.
Their eyes met.
For one brief moment she almost forgot to joke.
Then—
"You're about to walk into something strange."
His gaze held hers.
"I already did."
Silence.
That should not have affected her.
It did.
The child ghost whispered in awe,
"Did he flirt accidentally?"
The long-haired ghost nodded.
"The dead recognize chemistry."
Asiya withdrew her hand before her face betrayed anything.
"Reading complete."
"What's my fate?"
She leaned forward.
Voice low.
Playful.
"Complicated."
Before he could answer—
an old woman from the next stall suddenly shouted.
"My jade pendant!"
Heads turned.
The market shifted.
A young man in the crowd stood motionless.
Too still.
Wrong.
His shadow moved half a second too late.
Asiya's eyes sharpened instantly.
The escaped beast.
Using faces.
Here.
Now.
Through the stranger's borrowed face—
it smiled at her.
A challenge.
Arjun saw the change in her expression.
The teasing disappeared.
Something older.
Sharper.
"What is it?"
She rose.
No hesitation.
"No one you'd like."
Then she leaned slightly toward him.
Close enough her voice barely brushed the air.
"Stay here."
Arjun looked mildly offended.
"That sounds unlikely."
She almost laughed.
Almost.
Then moved.
Slipping through the crowd.
Cute fortune teller gone.
Ghost hunter returned.
The disguised creature drifted deeper into the market.
Asiya followed.
Past red lantern stalls.
Past incense smoke.
Past talisman vendors who unknowingly bowed as she passed.
The child ghost raced after her.
The long-haired ghost floated dramatically.
Arjun stood—
then of course followed.
Naturally.
The child ghost screamed,
"FIRST DATE BECAME A CHASE."
The long-haired ghost cried,
"I LOVE THIS JOB."
The creature turned into a narrow alley.
Stopped.
Waited.
Asiya entered after it.
Arjun only steps behind.
The alley suddenly went silent.
No traffic.
No voices.
Even wind seemed absent.
Too silent.
Then—
the man turned.
And smiled.
Wrong.
His skin split like paper.
His face peeled open.
Too many teeth.
Too many eyes beneath the disguise.
Arjun stopped dead.
Logic failed entirely.
The businessman in him had no category for this.
The creature grinned.
"Well…"
it hissed.
"The Light Keeper brought company."
Asiya sighed.
"To be fair…"
she said, rolling her sleeves slowly,
"he invited himself."
The creature lunged.Fast.
Monstrous.
Arjun moved instinctively back—
but Asiya moved first.
A talisman slid from her sleeve between two fingers.
Casual.Elegant.
She flicked it.
It struck the creature's forehead.
Flash—
BOOM.
Golden light exploded through the alley.
The beast slammed into the wall shrieking.
Arjun stared.
Speechless.
Asiya glanced over her shoulder.
Calm.
"Oh."
She smiled faintly.
"I forgot to mention."
She pulled another talisman free.
"I also do pest control."
And the monster realized—
very late—
it had chosen the wrong fortune teller to hunt.