A month later, the man returned to the Saju Philosophy Studio.

  "I did exactly what you told me, but I got slapped in the face all three times."

  Even as he spoke, he couldn't stop huffing and puffing. His expression and tone suggested he felt cheated by Grandpa. Toward the resentful man, Grandpa spoke calmly.

  "Now we’ve finally brought things back to the very beginning. Do you still like that lady?"

  When Grandpa asked this, the man lowered his head and his cheeks flushed red. However, his voice still carried a hint of anger.

  "Yes, I do! But what’s the point? She slapped me right in front of everyone because she said she hated me."

  "That’s enough then. If you still like her..."

  Usually, when Grandpa trailed off like that, some grand secret remedy was about to follow. I was curious to hear what incredible solution he had. But to my surprise, his next words were incredibly ordinary.

  "Go buy some flowers and go see her."

  "Pardon?"

  The man looked completely dazed. Grandpa didn't miss the chance to add a professional sales pitch.

  "If I turn out to be right, make sure to bring her here. I’ll read your compatibility for you."

  The man looked like he couldn't believe his ears. Ignoring his expression, Grandpa continued.

  "I won't charge you for today. Instead, when you come back for the compatibility reading, make sure to bring a generous fee."

  Only after the man left the studio did I ask.

  "Will it work this time?"

  "I don't know either. Why do you ask?"

  "Then why did you say that? And why didn't you take any money this time?"

  "I already gave him a full reading last time. Besides, even if I tried to charge him now, he wouldn't pay. I'd just be called a quack and probably get hit myself."

  "But why mention the compatibility reading?"

  "Hey! You’ve got to count your chickens before they hatch sometimes just to build up some confidence. If he succeeds, I read their compatibility and make some money. It’s a win-win. I tell a little white lie to help them marry, and I earn a living."

  "What if it doesn't work?"

  Grandpa looked at me as if I were a huge nuisance. That look clearly meant, This kid has way too many questions.

  "Then he won't come back. Simple as that. A man who fails won't return, but a man who succeeds definitely will."

  From my perspective, it seemed Grandpa had simply found a way to soothe a customer who was on the verge of becoming a 'troublemaker' and sent him on his way. While I was thinking this, Grandpa added.

  "But it’ll work out. And if he gets lucky, he’ll bring money for that compatibility reading, won't he?"

  "Why do you think it'll work?"

  "Look at him. He’s tall and handsome. He has a respectable job, and on top of that, his parents are rich. What woman would truly hate that?"

  Grandpa had simply thrown out some bait toward a promising lead. If he got lucky and the fish bit, he’d make money. If not, there was no harm done.

  That poor guy is doomed. I feel so bad for him. Is he going to get slapped again?

  Contrary to my expectations, the young man returned to the studio in less than a month, accompanied by a beautiful woman.

  "Are you two here for a compatibility reading? Oho! Sir, your face is glowing. You have the face of a man who will become very wealthy. Or perhaps you are already rich?"

  "Can you tell that without even looking at his Saju?" the woman asked Grandpa.

  Grandpa replied with a grin.

  "I can tell just by looking at his face. This man is as devoted as a sunflower. He’ll spend his entire life looking only at you. But still, please give me both of your birth details."

  "Pardon?"

  "I have to earn a living too, don't I? I’ll tell you a great story, so give me your Saju and the fee. Hahaha!"

  At that moment, Grandpa treated them like brand-new customers he had never met before. The man looked at Grandpa, gave a subtle wink, and held up a thumb.

  Grandpa truly was a master of sales.

  At our Saju Philosophy Studio, there was a very graceful and beautiful Noona (a term used by a younger male for an older female friend or sister).

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Her name was Shin Yeon-hwa. Not long ago, after a nearly full-page story about Grandpa’s studio appeared in the newspaper, the number of customers had increased tremendously. Since then, at Grandpa’s request, she had been helping out with the work at the studio.

  She was only twelve years older than me, yet she already had a daughter.

  In those days, the mountain village had no streetlights. You could barely manage the mountain paths with a large flashlight. It was far too dangerous for a woman to carry a child in one hand and a flashlight in the other while navigating those trails at night. So, if work ran too late, Yeon-hwa Noona, her daughter Se-yeon, and I would sleep in the detached guest house.

  Her daughter was four years younger than me. Her name was Shin Se-yeon.

  I was curious, so I asked Noona once.

  "Noona, why do both you and Se-yeon have the last name Shin? Was your husband’s last name Shin too?"

  When I asked, Noona looked up at the sky with a distant gaze.

  "Se-yeon doesn't have a father. That’s why she uses my last name."

  "Does a child without a father even exist?"

  "There’s one right in front of you. Se-yeon."

  I couldn't understand her words. It was because of the principles of the world I had learned from Grandpa.

  "Grandpa! How are babies born?"

  It was a typical question from a typical seven-year-old. Back then, Grandpa had answered like this.

  "When the two divided forces of Yin and Yang meet and combine, new life is born. A child is the result of the union of Yin and Yang."

  "Then why do some children have no mother or no father?"

  Grandpa asked me why I was curious about that, so I told him about a friend of mine. There was a kid in the neighborhood who didn't have a father. When I asked him where his father went, he told me he never had one to begin with. Grandpa said to me.

  "No one is born without a father or a mother. They just disappeared along the way. But you shouldn't ask things like that."

  "Why?"

  "I told you not to ask. It hurts that child's feelings."

  "I don't have a mother or a father either, but my feelings aren't hurt."

  At that moment, Grandpa looked at me with an expression of deep apology and pity.

  "You’re right. I’m sorry. But you will meet yours soon, while that child will never see his again. So, don't say things like that to him anymore."

  I had only asked Yeon-hwa Noona because I didn't want Se-yeon to be hurt. But Noona was saying something that contradicted the principles of Yin and Yang. Naturally, I couldn't believe her.

  When I wore a skeptical expression, she smiled and said.

  "All sorts of things happen in this world. You don't need to know everything. Especially not a little squirt like you who hasn't even entered elementary school yet."

  Noona occasionally treated me like a mere child. Come to think of it, I was a child. Still, I was a man, and being treated like a kid didn't feel great.

  Noona called out to the crowd.

  "Please take a numbered ticket with the official seal in the order you arrived. When you take your ticket, please write down your birth date and time."

  In the waiting room, she handed out tickets and pulled the Saju charts based on the birth details. This job was enough for more than one person.

  So, I sat beside her and helped pull the eight characters of the Saju charts. By deriving the charts from their birth details in advance, it saved Grandpa a significant amount of time, allowing him to focus solely on interpreting and reading their fortunes once the consultation began.

  When I first met Noona, I didn't know how to pull a chart. But now, I could do it in an instant.

  I had finally reached the point where I could earn my keep at the studio.

  Pulling a Saju chart.

  To put it simply, it is the process of looking up a birth date and time in the Manse-ryeok (Ten-Thousand Year Calendar) and converting it into eight Chinese characters, regardless of whether it is a solar or lunar date.

  For example, for a man born on January 1, 1980, at 1:01 AM.

  The year 1980 is the Year of Gi-mi (己未).

  January 1980 is the Month of Byeong-ja (丙子).

  January 1, 1980, is the Day of Gye-yu (癸酉).

  And 1:01 AM becomes the Hour of Im-ja (壬子).

  These are called the Year Pillar, Month Pillar, Day Pillar, and Hour Pillar. This is because each 'pillar' consists of one character from the Heavenly Stems and one from the Earthly Branches.

  Taking the Year of Gi-mi as an example, Gi (己) is the Heavenly Stem and Mi (未) is the Earthly Branch. These two characters are viewed as a single pillar, called the Year Pillar. The eight characters derived from the birth year, month, day, and hour are called Palja (Eight Characters).

  Occasionally, some people argued that a true Dosa should be able to pull a Saju chart without looking at a Manse-ryeok. But they didn't know what they were talking about. Even ordinary people find it hard to memorize the Sixty Binomials (60-Gapja).

  "There’s a mountain of things to study and memorize. Why waste time on that? Just learn the principles of how to pull them, and spend your time thinking about the meaning of the characters instead."

  Even Grandpa, who said this, used the Manse-ryeok.

  I helped Yeon-hwa pull the charts because there was simply too much work. I also handled incoming phone calls and reorganized the sequence of appointments. Sometimes, I even mediated disputes between people waiting in the lounge.

  Yeon-hwa was incredibly busy. So, if I had time left after pulling charts, I looked after Se-yeon. Se-yeon relied on me and followed me around, calling me 'Oppa' (a term used by a female for an older brother or a close older male friend, regardless of blood relation).

  Thinking of my own siblings who were far away, I treated her well. Many people who saw us together thought we were real brother and sister.

  One of the reasons Yeon-hwa came to help at Grandpa’s house was to learn Myeong-ri and the I Ching. Of course, Grandpa and Grandma made sure she was paid for her labor.

  Whenever there were many customers, Grandpa would give her a generous amount of money, calling it 'snack money for Se-yeon.'

  But Yeon-hwa always tried to refuse. Whenever that happened, Grandma would appear out of nowhere and practically force the money into her hands. There was no one in the entire village who could beat Grandma, whether it was in physical strength or stubbornness.

  Through studying together, I realized that Yeon-hwa was a bit of a block... well, she wasn't very bright. When we studied the Five Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—I saw her getting stressed because the characters weren't in Korean. When Grandpa nagged her about why she couldn't even grasp the basics, she replied confidently.

  "The elders told me that there was no need for a woman to know more than the Korean alphabet, so I never learned Chinese characters."

  Yeon-hwa was slow, but she was confident. Of course, neither Grandpa nor I believed her excuses. These were basic Chinese characters that Grandpa had explained dozens of times.

  Even the neighborhood friends who learned from Grandpa could memorize the Five Elements in a single day. But Yeon-hwa couldn't get them right even after repeating them dozens of times.

  A few days ago, she got confused because the characters for Water (水) and Wood (木) looked similar. When she even insisted that Water (水) and Fire (火) looked similar, I truly lost my words.

  Without thinking, I blurted out.

  "I’ve only lived for seven years, but I’ve never seen such a dummy in my life."

  At that, I got a harsh scolding from Grandpa for being a disrespectful brat.