Compatibility Chart

My boyfriend had to go to a family gathering, so I was spending the weekend alone.

We had just started dating, so I was sad, but it was a pre-arranged schedule before we started dating, so there was nothing I could do about it.

The weather was getting colder, and I was browsing the internet for places to date next when my boyfriend texted me.

He was in the countryside and told me that his cousin, who had taught himself fortune telling, offered to look at our compatibility chart, and asked if I could tell him my birthdate and time.

I had heard a few times that his mother sometimes consulted fortune tellers.

It was something along the lines of him changing his name because things were not going well or something similar, but I just thought, 'Oh, he must believe in fortune telling a lot'.

“If it's something bad, tell me. Otherwise, don't tell me.”

“Of course, I’ll tell you everything.”

After a while, he called late at night.

He seemed to have had a little bit to drink, and his tongue was a little bit slurred, but he didn’t sound completely drunk.

“I’m sorry, is it noisy?”

“I told you I was going to meet my relatives. Are you having fun?”

“Yes, we haven’t seen each other in a long time. I told them I’d see them again at my wedding.”

“Really?”

“Everyone was so excited to congratulate me.”

“So what about the compatibility chart?”

“Right, it said there’s nothing majorly bad, it’s a good chart. You had a really hard time in your 20s, but you’re doing really well now, right?”

“That’s great that there’s nothing bad.”

“Are there any family members or in-laws who work overseas?”

“No? Not that I know of.”

“Really?”

“Did they look at my chart? I thought they said they were looking at our compatibility chart.”

“Ah, I’ll tell you that when I see you. Hehe”

He seemed to be having a good time showing off photos of the family gathering and bragging about it.

We had only been dating for a week, and I thought it was a little premature, but I didn’t say anything because I thought he must really like me if he was talking like that.

But the longer the phone call went on, the more he got drunk and poured out his feelings of resentment.

He said I always told him I loved him, but why didn’t he say it back. He apologized for being drunk and said he loved me.

That night, I kept hearing him repeat himself like a broken machine. I soothed him and hung up the phone, but I couldn’t fall asleep easily.

But it was on our next date that I realized something was wrong.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“You said your cousin was going to look at our compatibility chart. You said you’d tell me about it when we met.”

“Oh, that. There was nothing special about it.”

“Why, was it bad?”

“No, it’s all good.”

He was terrible at lying, and I was very perceptive.

“I think your boyfriend is up to something.”

“Why?”

“I saw him after he went to the family gathering last week. And he went on a trip with his friends yesterday.”

“Oh, you had plans this week too.”

“I had a gut feeling about it when I left on Friday. He deleted all his profile pictures and everything, and he seems to be avoiding me.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yeah. I don’t know. People keep saying I’m being too desperate, and I sigh because it feels like I’m going to get depressed.”

“Whoa~ What kind of person does that?”

He stopped contacting me as if by magic. He used to send me messages every minute of every day.

When I asked him what was going on, he said he couldn’t explain it, but he felt empty and didn’t want to do anything.

He said nothing had happened, and that it wasn’t related to me.

I didn’t know what was going on, so I decided to leave him alone for now. I thought he would tell me when he was ready.

They say that when a man goes into his cave, you shouldn’t nag him, but just wait for him to come out.

A few days went by like this.

It was past 11 pm on a Saturday night.

I was talking to my mom about my boyfriend who was ghosting me while watching TV, when he suddenly called.

“Hello?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m his friend, XXX.”

I had heard of him before. He said he had a friend he’d been close with since middle school.

“Yes, I’ve heard of you. Hello.”

“He asked me to meet him today, and he’s really drunk right now.”

“Drunk?”

“I’ve known this guy for over 10 years, and I’ve never seen him like this. He’s totally passed out and can’t seem to come to his senses. I can’t take him home.”

“He’s totally out of it?”

“Yes. Has something happened between you two?”

“I’m wondering the same thing. I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Can you come pick him up?”

I didn’t know his exact address. Even if I took a taxi for an hour, it wouldn’t help.

“Can you look through his phone for his sister or brother-in-law’s number and call them? I can’t go right now, and my boyfriend lives with his parents. I don’t think I should call his parents. His sister lives nearby, so I think I should call her and ask her to help.

And I’m sorry, but I’m worried, so can you text me about what happens?”

But I never heard back from him, and I stayed up all night.

No matter how hard I racked my brain, there was only one thing I suspected.

The compatibility chart his cousin had looked at for the two of us at the family gathering.

I ran through all sorts of scenarios in my head.

1. They were the worst possible match for each other.

2. If they were to be together, there would be problems for the man.

3. If they were to be together, there would be problems for the woman.

If it was something he couldn’t tell me, it was likely number 1 or number 2. But what had he heard that made him like this?

I wondered if it was fate, because I happened to hear from an acquaintance about a fortune-telling cafe that was supposedly really accurate, so I booked an appointment for the next day.

I told her my and my boyfriend’s charts, and asked her to look at our relationship.

“Your boyfriend isn’t divorced, is he?”

“Divorced? Unless he’s been deliberately lying to me, I know he hasn’t been married.”

“This chart is soooooo hard to get married with. People with this chart don’t get married unless they really want to. It must be really frustrating for his parents.”

“He did say that he only dates people he likes.”

“Anyway, this chart makes it really hard to get married. Even if you were to bring someone home, they’d have to welcome them with open arms.”

“What about your compatibility? Is it bad for each other?”

“Honestly, I feel so sorry for you. There’s nothing bad. It’s just… this guy is too good for you.”

“Is there anything bad other than being a good match?”

“If you were to take these two charts and ask anyone, they would say that the man has to cling to the woman no matter what.”

This made his behavior even more incomprehensible.

But what if his cousin, who had taught himself fortune telling, had said something different?

“Okay, I can see how some families might believe in fortune telling. I get it.

But let’s say your cousin, who is not a professional, taught himself fortune telling and said something bad.

I would have gone to a reputable fortune teller and asked them if it was truly bad. And if they said it was bad, I would have gone to a different place to get a second opinion. You need to at least check that much, right?”

I whined to my best friend, telling her I was sorry for bothering her.

Everything was so absurd, but the thing that disappointed me the most was his crisis management skills.

If this was all it took for him to completely crumble and just drink himself into oblivion, then…

“Just throw him away. That kind of guy.”

It was the busiest time of year at my company.

I told myself to just suck it up and forget about it, but then I would think about it and get angry.

I even told my co-worker about the whole situation and asked him to understand if I acted weird because of it.

I was so frustrated that I asked the matchmaker to find out what was going on.

“His family has no idea what’s going on. They’re just wondering why he’s not seeing you these days.”

“Really?”

“He’s weird. Just cut contact.”

I went through an emotional rollercoaster several times a day, and finally gave him an ultimatum.

I told him that I didn’t think this situation was right, considering how short our relationship was. I asked him if I should consider us over.

Half a day later, his reply was a short “I’m sorry, let’s break up.”

Ah… Am I cursed this year?