Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

It was Tuesday.

Gun-Ho was supposed to go to work in GH Building, Sinsa Town that day, but instead, he asked Chan-Ho Eom to head to Goesan Town.

“Let’s go to Goesan Town today.”

“The town where Master Park is living, sir? We’ve been there before.”

“Right. I’m going to ask him to name my child.”

“Umm, sir…”

“What?”

“Will it be okay if I ask him about me?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“I didn’t bring cash today. Can I get a payment in advance for my work, sir?”

“You mean the cash for Master Park? I will pay him for you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Gun-Ho arrived at Master Park’s temple-like home in Goesan Town, called Cheonghakjeongsa. Master Park was sweeping his yard. His home was unusually quiet that day.

“Hello, sir. It has been a while.”

“Oh, President Goo. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?”

“How have you been, sir?”

“I’m not doing very well. I guess I’m getting old. I feel sick here and there. Well, we can’t stop aging, can we?”

“I came here to ask you to make a name for my child.”

“Huh? You have a child now, huh? Congratulations. Come on, let’s get inside.”

Gun-Ho took Chan-Ho Eom with him when he entered Master Park’s home. The interior of the room was simple with only a few essential furniture. There was a Korean traditional drawer and a few old books on top of it. Master Park brought three cups of hot green tea to the room.

Gun-Ho gave his child’s birth year, date, and time along with his own birth year, date, and time to Master Park.

“Is your child Geonmyeong?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m asking if your child is a boy.”

“Yes, he is.”

“According to your fate, your first child is a boy.”

“Is that so?”

“The boy’s father’s name is ‘Gun-Ho’ with ‘Gun’ meaning building something, and ‘Ho’ with the meaning of big. Is it?”

“Yes, that’s correct, sir.”

“Your child’s generation is supposed to include ‘Sang’ in their names then.”

Gun-Ho was thinking and recalling that someone within his distant relatives was using ‘Sang’ in his name as well.

“How do I know if my next generation needs to use ‘Sang’ in the names?”

“That boy’s father’s name has ‘Ho’ which includes water. Therefore, the boy’s name needs to include a tree. That’s why it has to be either ‘Sang’ or ‘Geun’. Those two include a tree.”

“Hmm, is that right?”

“It takes time for me to make a name for a child though. When I ran a philosophy hall in Gangnam District, Seoul, I always asked my clients, who came to make a name for someone, to come back the next day. However, since you drove a long way from Seoul to see me here, I won’t ask you to come back tomorrow to pick up the name. Instead, you have to give me an hour. Why don’t you spend an hour somewhere and come back? I will have the name ready by then.”

“Sure, sir. I will do that.”

Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho Eom drove out of Cheonghakjeongsa.

“Let’s drive around. We have an hour to kill.”

“What about we go to the valley over there? The road to the valley seems to be paved.”

Gun-Ho’s Bentley headed to the valley. There were lots of pine trees. Gun-Ho could hear the sound of flowing water coming from the valley. The town was far from a city, and sparsely populated. Not many people were coming to visit there either. It was quiet and peaceful.

“I like it here.”

Chan-Ho Eom exclaimed.

Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho Eom got out of the car and walked down to the valley. They sat on a rock.

“Look at this, sir. There are crayfish over there.”

“Of course, there would.”

“If I live here, I think I can be some sort of master too.”

Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho Eom drove around further before going back to Master Park’s home. Master Park showed a paper to Gun-Ho. Some names were written on it.

“I made two names for your baby. The first one is Sang-Min Goo, and the other one is Sang-Chul Goo. You can pick one for your son. I wrote the name’s meaning besides the names as well, so you could consider the meanings when you select one. Your boy is a blessed child. I hope you raise him well.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Master Park placed the paper in an envelope before handing it to Gun-Ho. At the moment, Chan-Ho Eom chipped in, “Sir, could you read my fate too?”

“You want to have your fate read as well, young man? Give me your birth year, date, and time.”

Chan-Ho Eom gave his birth year, date, and time to Master Park.

Master Park wrote Chan-Ho Eom’s information on a piece of paper and looked at them for a while, he then lifted his head and said, “You don’t have a father, do you? You have been also separated from your mother at a young age. You had a hard life early in your life.”

Chan-Ho Eom blushed, and he looked baffled.

“Umm, how do you know all those by looking at those words on the paper?”

“That’s why I am a master.”

“Even so, it’s so fascinating, sir. I still don’t understand how you could tell about my past.”

“Your fate had Eum and JaeDaShinYak, and your father has BaekHoDaeSal that is affecting you.”

“Huh?”

“Well, it’s okay that you don’t understand what I said. After you turned 30 years old, you met an important and influencing person in your life. Your life is about to become better. You will have a better life from now on. You won’t be rich, but you will have a stable financial status. You should marry after three years.”

At that moment, Master Park’s other clients started coming in, and Chan-Ho Eom didn’t pose any further questions. Gun-Ho looked at Chan-Ho Eom and said, “Let’s go. Your life will get better. That’s good, right? You will also get married later.”

Chan-Ho Eom grinned when Master Park told him that he would get married after three years. Gun-Ho gave an envelope to Master Park. That was the pay for Gun-Ho and also Chan-Ho Eom.

“I’ve included the pay for this young man’s reading as well, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Master Park didn’t even open the envelope to verify the amount of money, but he just put the envelope in the drawer behind him.

On the way to Seoul City in the car, Gun-Ho pulled out the paper with two names in the envelope, and he stared at the names for a while. He then made a call to his father in Incheon City.

“Dad?”

“Gun-Ho?”

“I received a name from a renowned scholar who I know very well in person, for the child.”

“Oh, I was actually going to make a name for the child, but it’s good that you already have one.”

“The name includes ‘Sang’ which is part of the names that the next generation is supposed to include in their name within our family. I have two names— Sang-Min and Sang-Chul. Which name do you like better, dad?”

“What’s the meaning of Sang-Min?”

“‘Sang’ means ‘each other,’ and ‘Min’ means ‘a gem.’”

“‘Chul’ from Sang-Chul means ‘bright’?”

“Yes, dad.”

“Well, then Sang-Min should be good. One of our distant relatives is using the name— Sang-Chul— already.”

“Really?”

“Well, I do like Sang-Min better, but you should discuss it with the boy’s mom.”

“Okay. I will definitely take into account your pick in deciding the child’s name, dad.”

After getting off the phone with his father, Gun-Ho stared at the two names on the paper again.

“I don’t like Sang-Chul either. Won-Chul Jo and Byeong-Chul Hwang… they all use ‘Chul’ in their names. I don’t like it.”

Gun-Ho was leaning toward the name— Sang-Min— that his father picked as well.

When he arrived at home, he showed the paper to Young-Eun, that Master Park gave to him.

“I know this person. He is extremely knowledgeable about Yin-Yang and Five-Elements and stuff like that. I asked him to make a name for our child. He gave two names— Sang-Min and Sang-Chul. Which one do you like better?”

“Well…”

“Pick one.”

“Did you show these names to your father in Incheon City?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did he say?”

“Give me your pick first.”