Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho was supposed to go back to work after having a skincare and eating his lunch, but he didn’t feel like going to work that afternoon.

“I have money, but I’m not sure if I am going in the right direction with my life. My life is all about the company. I have to figure out all sorts of problems that occurred within the company and I have to make a judgment and decision on issues raised in the company. That’s all I do every day. I am not certain whether dedicating all my time and energy to running the company is the life I want to live in.”

Gun-Ho was wondering who other business owners consult these kinds of issues, probably none. Gun-Ho then thought of Master Park from Gangnam, who predicted five years ago that Gun-Ho would become vastly rich.

“Maybe I should talk to him. He had been released from the hospital already and I heard he went back to Goesan Town. Goesan Town is far from Seoul City, but it only takes about an hour if I leave from Cheonan City.”

Gun-Ho turned his car in the direction toward Geosan Town, instead of his office. He didn’t forget to pick up some gifts on the way to his home; he bought a gift set of ginseng extract.

Once he arrived in Goesan Town, he asked the locals he encountered on the way where he could find Cheonghakjeongsa which was the name of Master Park’s temple-like home.

Gun-Ho was told that Cheonghakjeongsa was built by Master Park, and he seemed to have done a very good job. It was not a large building. It had a Korean traditional roof which made it look very elegant. Its interior was quite small. It looked way smaller than Gun-Ho’s office. Behind Cheonghakjeongsa, there was an additional small house made of wood. It was probably the house where Master Park was actually living in.

At the entrance of Cheonghakjeongsa, there was a large stone where people left their shoes before entering inside. On the day Gun-Ho visited Cheonghakjeongsa, there were several shoes on that stone. It seemed that Master Park had other visitors that day. Gun-Ho could take a peek at the inside of Cheonghakjeongsa through a small gap between the door and the wall. Master Park was doing what he had been doing when he was in Gangnam; he was telling the visitors about their fates and future. They were sitting at a floor table on a floor cushion.

“Ha. He is still running the same business even here.”

When Gun-Ho looked around the yard, there were two vehicles parked, probably the visitors’ cars. Gun-Ho waited there for about 30 minutes.

“What takes him so long? It’s just a fortune-telling, is it?”

When Gun-Ho was checking the time by looking at his watch, the visitors walked out of the room. Gun-Ho waited until those guests left the room completely before he finally entered the room.

“Hello, sir.”

“Oh, President Goo? I’ve noticed that a magpie sang this morning. I guess the magpie was telling me that I will have an important visitor today.”

Gun-Ho quietly placed the gift—KGC ginseng extract on the floor next to the table.

“Oh, you brought me a precious gift.”

“I’ve wanted to visit you in Goesan Town. The air is very clean and fresh here.”

“Please have a seat.”

Gun-Ho sat on a floor cushion.

“You are wondering about something, right? People encounter some questions they can’t find the answer to while they are living their lives. That’s natural. I forgot your birth year, date, and time. Would you give me those information again?”

Gun-Ho told him what he asked.

Master Park took his time to figure out Gun-Ho’s fate according to his birth year, date, and time. He made some notes on paper then said while putting the paper away,

“Well, I don’t even have to go deep. You have the fate of ShinWangJaeWang! You will enjoy your wealthy life.”

“I am 36 years old already and I am still single.”

“Don’t worry about it. You will have several wives. That’s your fate.”

“How can I possibly have several wives? A person can legally have one spouse at a time.”

“These days, we call one of those women as your spouse, and for the other women, we call them your lovers. You will have many lovers, and they will be your secret lovers.”

“I did make good money, that’s true, but I don’t even have one woman I am seeing right now.”

Master Park craned his neck toward Gun-Ho’s face and asked,

“Are you sure? Are you being truthful here? Don’t you even have someone you haven’t told anyone yet?”

Gun-Ho couldn’t respond right away because Mori Aikko just crossed his mind.

“See? I take that as you do have someone already. You will have another one, and you will have your wife too.”

“What am I going to do with all those women?”

Master Park smiled.

“That’s your fate. Enjoy it. You certainly have a better life than mine. In case you haven’t noticed, I am staying in the countryside by myself.”

“Well… umm…”

“Your fate is not just about making a lot of money, but it applies to your love life too. You will be rich in the sense that you will have a lot of women in your life.”

“I see.”

“Have you read a book called The Cloud Dream of the Nine?”

“Are you talking about the Korean novel written by Mangjung Gim during the Joseon Dynasty?”

“That’s right. You probably learned it in high school. It’s a frequent test topic in school as well. I see that you know the book and even its author, but have you read it?”

“No, I haven’t”

“If you read the book, you will see the main character. His name is So-Yoo Yang. Do you know how many women including his wife and other lovers whom he had?”

“I don’t know.”

“In the novel, he had two wives and six lovers. He lived with all of them. He was very rich and he was a top-ranked official in the government.”

“Ha. Really?”

“In his later years of life, he realized the transience of life and eventually entered into Buddhism, and he went to heaven after his death. His life was a dream life of the scholars in that era.”

“Haha. Are you serious?”

“He had two wives and six lovers. He had a wealthy life, and he went to heaven after he died. Isn’t it a good life? It’s a very opposite life from mine.”

“What about your life? Your life doesn’t look bad at all.”

“I don’t have a wife and I don’t have much money. And I guess I will fall into hell after I die.”

“Haha. Why are you saying that? You are joking, right?”

“Well, I don’t even have to search deep with your fate. You won’t have as many lovers as the main character in The Cloud Dream of the Nine, but you will have a wife, one lover in Japan and another one in China. That’s your destiny.”

“Haha. I’m not sure if that would become true, but I feel good to hear it.”

Gun-Ho walked out of Cheonghakjeongsa after leaving substantial fees behind.

Master Park told Gun-Ho before he left,

“If you see Chairman Lee from Cheongdam Town when you go to Seoul City, please say hi for me. He is a very good friend than he looks.”