Chapter 3

Arum enjoyed a New Yorker-looking Hojoon explaining to him kindly.

Though he talked to her coldly, he reeled off a story pleasantly to the public.

“So, what’s the secret of his promotion?” asked the middle-aged officer.

It seemed that he was anxious to get a promotion as soon as possible.

“I asked him to put a small statue of Guan Yu in front of his office.”

“You mean that famous General Guan Yu appearing in the History of the Three Kingdoms, right?”

“Yes. As the police chief’s life was like those of the main characters of the Three Kingdoms, he allegedly put the statue there immediately. Though this is something unfamiliar in our country, I heard the story from my friend Mark in Hong Kong. He said there were several statues of Guan Yu inside the police stations there. Guan Yu signified power and martial arts. There is a shrine that pays tribute to Guan Yu in our country.”

“Aha~”

Arum found herself indulged in Hojoon’s lecture on geomancy.

He continued, “Guan Yu symbolizes martial arts and power in Hong Kong, China and our country. A symbol of power. I hear that Hong Kong policemen pray before the statue of Guan Yu before going into action. They pray like, ‘Give us power to crack down on criminals!’ Guan Yu is kind of a patron saint, so they try to create power through the statue. What would happen if anybody set up such a statue inside the police station?”

“Oh, no! We’ll receive a flurry of civil complaints.”

The other police officer seconded, “Right! They will complain it’s superstition or a ghost, asking for the immediate removal of such a statute.”

Arum kept nodding. That was true, because geomancy was superstition.

Did he read her beautiful mind? He was now speaking passionately.

“By the way, why don’t you believe in superstitions?”

Arum felt a sting in her heart.

“Why don’t you believe in superstitions? Isn’t it okay if crimes are decreasing, and policemen are not injured thanks to superstitions?”

His argument was kind of persuasive.

“Geomancy is not superstition. It’s science. These days, geography can be measured by electromagnetic waves and magnetic fields. The effects of geomancy are proven by specific data. Do you want a strong police? Then, put a miniature statue of Guan Yu on your table. Your place will turn into a propitious spot.”

Wow!

There were cheers and applause among them.

He was very charismatic. His lecture, which started with his signing his autographs, seemed to have moved their minds. They would recognize the images of Guan Yu on the internet.

Arum felt interested in this eccentric guy.

‘Was geomancy so attractive?’

What if the geomancy expert she had met three years ago for the first time in her life was this man?

Arum still gnashed her teeth at the thought of that geomancy expert she met on that day.

It was three months ago before her marriage that Arum met geomancy expert Paekhoon.

It was during a lecture session titled ‘Geomancy Interior for the Newly Weds’ held at the cultural center of a department store that she met him. The lecture was a four-part series.

The old lecturer with grey hair coached those soon-to-be-married couples not only about geomancy, but also about the wisdom of marriage.

“Newlywed life? Wonderful. My wife was so beautiful back then, much more beautiful than you here. I was looking forward to the marriage date. You know why? Because I wanted to sleep with her. That’s my only thinking back then.”

Everyone made a hearty laugh at his witty remarks.

A characteristic of soon-to-be-married couples was that they were generous. Basically, they became so happy to the point that they might even feel sorry for their overflowing happiness.

“So, I got married. How happy we were! I think we lived together for about two months. I was so happy, really happy to be with her. But the problem was she wouldn’t go out of the house.”

This time, soon-to-be husbands only laughed.

“Hey, if you’re a man, you know that. Even if you are happy with your wife, you want to be left alone. For what? You can gamble, have drinks or meet other girls. As you have to be in the same house as your wife, it will drive you nuts.”

Aha~

Brides-to-be nodded their heads.

“I’m saying you grooms-to-be should live like that. These days, if you live like that, you’ll get divorced immediately. Yin and yang are so different from each other. In other words, males and females have different spaces of their own. I just wanted to explain that to you in a different way. Do you understand? If you feel frustrated even after you get married, just let me know through Kakao messenger. Let me tip you off on a good place.”

Konsu, Arum’s fiancé, responded favorably, laughing his head off.

When Arum gently asked him, ‘Do you feel the same way?’ Konsu said ambiguously, ‘Well, men are all the same.’

And on the day when geomancy expert Paekhoon was supposed to give the last lecture, a guy dressed in a traditional Josun-style robe came instead to deliver it.

It looked as if he was just thrust into the modern Korea from Josun, or old Korea. It was not just because he was dressed in traditional Korean robes.

Just like a typical Josun man, he let his braided hair down and put on traditional Korean leather shoes called taesahae.

“As my father flew to Germany urgently on a business trip, I had to come here in his place.”

The participants were surprised at seeing that he was a carbon copy of his father Paekhoon. His speaking tone and facial expressions, too, were exactly the same as his father’s.

As it turned out, they were supposed to have a question and answer session on that day.

He received questions in advance through the bulletin board of the website as well as the question paper placed on each participant’s desk.

Arum wrote down several questions on a piece of paper while waiting for Konsu.

‘Will he really not come here?’

Her quarrel with him last night bothered her. She would have to see him anyway. When she saw soon-to-be-married couples coming into the lecture hall, Arum became more impatient.

Afterward, the lecture began, and Arum was sitting alone.

The young geomancy lecturer said he started with a village school and continued studies by taking qualification exams. He briefly introduced himself, explaining that he was learning about fame and wealth, science of changes and geomancy from his father.

“Let me reply to your questions first. How do you want me to arrange the dining tables? You can just arrange them for the convenience of your dining.”

Suddenly, the soon-to-be-married couples looked disappointed.

“The basic of geomancy is the right functioning of your body. If you live in a leased house with a small space, just forget about the dining table. It’s better to use a sitting table. You can use it as a desk when you study, a dining table when you eat, and a refreshments table when you enjoy fruits.”

He looked like a pretty boring lecturer.

“Let’s assume your parents bought you a large house where you can place a big dining table. Then, buy a round table. Some say they prefer a rectangular table to a round table because the latter occupies a large space. But think of this! How long do you think your newlywed life will last?”

Now, the soon-to-be brides’ faces turned pale.

They couldn’t protest by shouting, ‘What the heck are you talking about!?’ They seemed to put up with his lecture just because he was geomancy expert Paekhoon’s son.

“If you buy a rectangular table, you should sit face to face with your spouse. But let’s assume you had a quarrel or you felt bad. In that case, you have to turn back not to see your spouse. Haven’t you done the same in your teens to avoid seeing your parents’ faces? If you buy a round table, you don’t have to do so. You don’t have to sit face to face with your spouse. You won’t feel bad because you can sit before the round table the way you want. What we hate the most in geomancy are corners. The murderous spirit is emitted from corners. So, buy a dining table that is as round as possible. Got it?”

While listening to his lecture, Arum took notes, though she felt bad. The contents of his lecture were the same as his father Paekhoon’s, but she just felt bad for some reason.

The young lecturer was about to reply to a second question. At that moment, she was calling Konsu.

“How long do you think you’ll take?”

But Konsu didn’t reply.

“Here is the second question. Why is it that I’m dating only a scam?”

Arum was astonished to hear that.

She submitted that question as she was upset about Konsu. Fortunately, she didn’t state her name. But she felt as if everybody was looking at her, since she was the only one sitting alone.

“The answer is simple,” said the young geomancy guy eloquently.