Chapter 9

9

Famous Diviner in Gangnam, Mr. Park (2)

Gugunho had never been to a divination office that looked like an office. He had visited fortune-telling cafes and tarot reading places near schools for fun, which were not expensive, costing around 5,000 or 10,000 won.

"How much will the consultation fee be here?"

Gugunho felt a bit intimidated by the luxurious office interior and the well-dressed middle-aged women waiting for their turn. A female staff member smiled and said,

"Are you the customer who made a reservation for 11:00 today? The previous customers are running late, so the consultation will only be available around 12:00. Is that okay? Would you like a cup of green tea in the meantime?"

"No, that's fine. I'll wait."

Gugunho hesitated and sat on the edge of the sofa. The middle-aged women all looked at him, making his face burn. They seemed to be wondering why a young man was there.

"Hem, hem."

Gugunho cleared his throat and looked around the office. The wall read that the consultation fee was 100,000 won. He quietly felt his pocket. He had thought it would be around 30,000 won, but 100,000 won was ridiculously expensive.

A customer finished the consultation and came out. She looked to be in her 50s and was very sophisticated. She gave the female staff member a 100,000 won bill and left. A 60-year-old woman waiting on the sofa muttered,

"The person who just left looks very sophisticated. She's wearing all designer clothes."

The female staff member responded,

"Do you know who just left? She's the wife of Minister 00."

"Oh, I see. No wonder she looked so elegant and blessed."

"Please don't tell anyone that the wife of Minister 00 was here."

"I won't say anything. But, young lady, are there really this many people on Saturdays? I heard he only sees people in the morning on Saturdays."

"Yes, about 15 people come on Saturdays. On weekdays, about 30 people come. What's the matter?"

Gugunho quietly calculated in his head.

"If the consultation fee is 100,000 won and 30 people come on weekdays... Wow! That's 3 million won a day!"

Gugunho was shocked.

"Wow! More than my monthly salary in a day!"

He remembered that when he lived in Bucheon, his neighbor Uncle Jaesik had opened a divination office but had to close it because he couldn't even pay the rent. Uncle Jaesik had said that most people in the divination industry, except for a few popular ones, couldn't even pay the rent and earned less than 800,000 won a month.

"Jinye Divination Office must be really famous."

It was Saturday, and it seemed Gugunho was the last customer. No one came after him. Occasionally, the phone rang with reservation calls. After waiting for about an hour, it was Gugunho's turn.

"Did you wait long? Please come in now."

The female staff member with glasses smiled and gestured for him to enter. Gugunho opened the door and went into the consultation room. A man in his 60s, wearing a white shirt and a tie, was sitting in a large chair.

"You must have waited long. Come and sit down."

Gugunho sat in the guest chair in front of the large desk. He had expected the diviner to wear a traditional outfit or at least a modified hanbok, but the man was dressed like a gentleman in a suit. Upon closer inspection, he looked more like a university professor than a diviner.

"I'm the director of Jinye Divination Office, Park Pansu. People just call me Mr. Park. What is your date of birth?"

Gugunho gave his date of birth.

"Lunar calendar? What time were you born?"

"My mother said she had me after breakfast. It was around 9:00 AM."

"It seems you were born in the hour of Chen (辰時). You must be working in a job that deals with chemical products now!"

Gugunho's eyes widened. He used chemical products every day while cleaning drums at the plastic factory, so it was surprising.

"Stop drinking so much!"

It was a sudden informal command. It seemed the diviner knew that Gugunho drank after work because life was tough. Gugunho felt embarrassed and his face turned red. Mr. Park wrote something on a piece of paper for a while. The Chinese characters were written in a flowing style, making it hard to read. He wrote silently for about five minutes.

"Hmm…"

Mr. Park groaned as he looked at the paper he had written.

"Is something wrong with the divination?"

Mr. Park didn't answer Gugunho's question and just stared at the paper. Gugunho thought to himself that it must be bad. There was no reason for a factory worker's fortune to be good, and the diviner's groan must mean his future was bleak. At that moment, there was a knock on the consultation room door, and the female staff member poked her head in.

"Excuse me, sir. Chairman Lee has arrived. Should I ask him to wait?"

"Hmm? Chairman Lee? Ask him to come in!"

A man in his 60s, dressed in a suit, hesitated at the door.

"There seems to be a customer here. Is it okay for me to come in?"

"No, come and sit next to me!"

Chairman Lee didn't sit but stood next to Mr. Park's desk.

"Look at this. I just read the fortune of the young man sitting here."

"Is it okay for me to see a customer's fortune?"

Chairman Lee nodded at Gugunho.

"Look at this. It's an incredible Shengwang Caiwang (身旺財旺) fortune."

"Really? That's amazing."

Chairman Lee, looking over his glasses at the paper Mr. Park handed him, said in a low voice,

"Shengwang Caiwang?"

Gugunho thought it sounded like gibberish.

"Moreover, it's a Yangrigan (陽日干) fortune."

"The major cycle is also about to start."

Mr. Park leaned back in his chair and looked at Gugunho, his face serious.

"Young man, you have a fortune that will make you a very wealthy person. You will become a man of ten thousand stones, playing with a fortune of a thousand gold pieces."

"Me? I work in a factory now."

"I know. With your current fortune, working in a factory is already a blessing. You didn't even finish school, right?"

Mr. Park stretched his neck to meet Gugunho's eyes and smiled, as if mocking him.

"I graduated from a cyber university after attending a local university."

"That's already a blessing. With bad luck, you might not even finish school."

"Does that mean it will get better in the future?"

"Don't worry! You'll be in a position to boss around even those who graduated from SKY universities!"

Gugunho felt uncomfortable, thinking Mr. Park was just saying exaggerated things to get the 100,000 won fee. At that moment, Chairman Lee, who was standing next to Mr. Park, looked at Gugunho intently and said,

"Wait, I think I've seen you somewhere before."

"Really?"

Gugunho also looked at Chairman Lee. He was definitely familiar.

"Oh, I remember. I saw you at the Pocheon fishing spot."

Gugunho also remembered. It was the 60-year-old man he had seen at the fishing spot, who had arrived in a Genesis limousine.

"Really? You two know each other? At the Pocheon fishing spot? Pocheon fishing spot, isn't that where Chairman Lee has a villa? Ha ha, what a coincidence."

Mr. Park laughed and drank a cup of green tea. After drinking, he stretched his neck and said,

"Young man, do you know who this Chairman Lee is? He's a miser who owns several buildings in Cheongdam-dong. Despite that, he's only a man of a thousand stones, while you are a man of ten thousand stones. I feel good seeing a Shengwang Caiwang fortune with a major cycle about to start. I'll remember your name for a long time. Gugunho, right? The character for 'build' (建) and the character for 'big' (浩)?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Good. Even if your current life is tough, don't worry. In about five years, you will become a very wealthy person. Since you're young, I'll only charge you 50,000 won."

"Thank you."

Gugunho bowed deeply and politely greeted Chairman Lee. He left the divination office and went to Gangnam Station. Even though he thought Mr. Park's words might be nonsense, the idea of becoming wealthy made him feel good. The tall buildings near Gangnam Station and the many people passing by seemed to be smiling and clapping for him, wishing him well.