Chapter 9 - Master Park, A Fortune Teller From Gangnam (2)
It was Gun-Ho’s first visit to a philosophy hall in an office-tel. He had been in a fortune-reading café and tarot-reading place around an educational institute area, for fun. Those places didn’t charge much, around 5,000 won or 10,000 won.
‘How much do they charge for a consultation?’
Gun-Ho felt small looking at the luxurious office interior and the ladies who were waiting for their turns; they surely looked wealthy. The receptionist talked to him with a smile,
“You have an 11 o’clock reservation, right? The people before you took more time than expected, so you will have your consultation around noon; is that ok with you? Would you like to have green tea?”
“Oh, no thank you. I will wait.”
Gun-Ho was standing awkwardly and then sat on the edge of a sofa. The ladies looked at him at the same time; his cheeks burned with embarrassment. He felt like those ladies were wondering what this young man came here for.
“Hum, hum.”
After Gun-Ho cleared his throat, he thoroughly looked at the office wall. On the wall, it said that the consultation fee was 100,000 won. He patted his pocket. He thought the consultation fee would be around 30,000 won. 100,000 won was too damn expensive.
One person came out of the office after consultation. She looked like she was in her 50s and seemed very classy. She paid 100,000 won to the receptionist and left. One of the ladies mumbled,
“That lady who just left seemed very sophisticated. She was wearing expensive clothes and carrying a designer bag.”
The receptionist responded,
“Do you know who she is? She is the wife of OO secretary.”
“Oh, of course. She looked classy and sophisticated.”
“Don’t tell anyone that she came here.”
“Don’t worry. I have no one to tell. By the way, Miss, how come there are lots of people today. I thought the consultation is given only in the morning on Saturdays.”
“Right. We usually get 15 people on Saturdays and around 30 on weekdays.”
“Huh? Chairman Lee? Let him in!”
A man in a suit that looked like he was already in his 60s came inside the room and then hesitated to enter when he saw Gun-Ho.
“Is it ok for me to come in? You are with a client.”
“It’s ok. Come and sit with me!”
Chairman Lee didn’t sit on the chair but he stood next to the table.
“Look at the note. This is the fate of this young man who is sitting in front of us.”
“Can I read it? It’s about your client.”
Chairman Lee nodded to Gun-Ho in greeting.
“Look at this. This is the fate of ShinWangJaeWang.
“Hmmm… It really is.”
Chairman Lee said in a low voice looking over his glasses at the note that Master Park handed to him.
“ShinWangJaeWang?”
Gun-Ho thought they were giving him some cock-and-bull story.
“Moreover, he has Yang energy.”
“He is getting enormous fortune too.”
Master Park said looking at Gun-Ho while reclining his seat; he looked grim.
“Young man, you are born to be extremely rich. You will rake in a fortune.”
“Me? I am working in a factory right now.”
“I know. With your current luck, working in a factory is more than what your fate allows. You didn’t get a proper education, did you?”
Master Park smiled craning his neck while locking his eyes with Gun-Ho; he was seemingly teasing Gun-Ho.
“I dropped out of a low-ranked college in the countryside, and then graduated from a cyber college.”
“That is more than you were supposed to get. You could have not attended any school at all.”
“Does that mean my life will get better?”
“Don’t worry. You will be in a position hiring those people who graduated from top universities, a.k.a. SKY! In a position like a president in a big company.”
Gun-Ho felt offended thinking that Master Park was telling him an absurd story just to make that 100,000 won. At that moment, Chairman Lee who was standing next to Master Park said staring at Gun-Ho,
“Wait a minute. You look familiar, young man.”
“Me?”
Gun-Ho looked at Chairman Lee. He surely seemed familiar.
“Ohhh, I saw you at the fishing site in Pocheon.”
Gun-Ho also remembered him. He was the man in his 60s at the fishing site, who came in that Genesis limousine.
“Huh? You have met each other already? At the fishing site in Pocheon? That’s where your vacation home is in, Chairman Lee, right? Haha. You two were probably meant to meet each other.”
Master Park laughed out loud and sipped his green tea. He then said craning his neck again,
“Young man, do you know who Chairman Lee is? He owns several buildings in Cheongdam Town (“Cheongdam”); he is a miser. Even so, Chairman Lee is a millionaire, and you are a billionaire. I feel so good to see a person with ShinWangJaeWang fate attached with a significant fortune; it has been a while since I saw this type of fate. I will remember your name for a long time. Your name is Gun-Ho Goo, isn’t it? Gun means establishing, and Ho means big, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Ok. Even though you feel desperate and distressed in your life right now, don’t worry about it. After five years or so, you will be substantially rich. I will take only 50,000 won for a fee from you, young man.”
“Thank you.”
Gun-Ho bowed deeply low to Master Park. He also bowed courteously to Chairman Lee. Gun-Ho headed to the Gangnam station from the philosophy hall. Even if the story Master Park told him sounded absurd, Gun-Ho felt good thinking of being a rich man someday. For now, he felt like that all those tall buildings and people around him were smiling at him and applauding to bless him.