Geomancy couple - Chapter 13

The editor entreated Arum to contact Hojoon.

“Arum, let me leave it to you. You’re in charge. Bring him over here by all means. Manager Kyong, give her Hojoon’s contact number.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hojoon is the most popular geomancy consultant right now. If we get hold of him first and combine Manager Kyong’s concept with his geomancy method…”

At that moment, Reporter Yun acted like he knew what he was doing.

“I googled Hojoon. He’s also a specialist on the geomancy of love. Why don’t we ask him about the of our love? For example, when can we find our boyfriends…”

“I already know it. You will find one when you have a raise in your salary,” said Manager Kyong jokingly.

“Have you checked out the number of views to his online lectures?”

The editor’s focus was on his public perception.

“30,000?”

They got more interested in him because of the higher number of views than they expected.

“Play his lecture on YouTube,” said the editor, looking at Yun’s cell phone quickly.

Yun replayed one of his lectures.

It was Hojoon’s lecture in a TV program. He was dressed in Italian handmade attire.

“You say it’s hard to date somebody, or Geomancy is difficult. That’s right. It’s not easy. But both have one thing in common, which is this. Namely, even if you can’t find myongdang, you can make your house myongdang. That is to keep your house spick and span. You have to throw away old furniture to buy new ones. That’s the same with love. If you want to find new love, you have to break up with your past love once and for all.”

In the lecture, Hojoon had something like a professional charisma in the field. All of his words had a point.

“That makes sense.”

Usually, the editor would have rejected such a lecture as bullshit, belittling the concept of geomancy. But this time her eyes narrowed, which suggested that she hit upon a good idea.

“Newlyweds’ geomancy interior design that determines their luck on love. Wow, I like it.”

The editor was pretty excited at the concept and title of the upcoming feature story.

A story like this, which the editor chose in person, was 100% adopted.

But the tonic of life is the twist. Arum asked, with a ray of hope for the editor’s change in attitude, “If Hojoon is so busy, how about that guy who reads a character with the face…”

“Dongha Choi?”

Manager Kyong was such a know-it-all guy.

“Right. Can I contact him as replacement if Hojoon isn’t available?” Arum asked, trying to read the editor’s face.

“No, no. I don’t think Hojoon is busy.”

“What if he isn’t available in the worst case?”

“I don’t want to hear ‘what if…’ from you. When I say he is available, he definitely is. Arum, try to contact him right now. Let me wrap up today’s meeting. Get back to work!”

The meeting, which was likely to last another two hours, ended there thanks to Hojoon.

But she couldn’t leave. She fiddled her cell phone.

‘Do I really need to contact him?’

As if she felt Arum was agonized over it, Manager Kyong came and sat beside her.

“Sorry, Arum. I should have taken this job.”

But Arum thought it was not her fault.

“If you really can’t, can I switch to some other reporter?”

“No way, Manager Kyong. If you do that, I’ll be fired. You’re assigned to covering the Chonju Film Festival, right? And you have to go there on a business trip.”

“Alright. By the way, our editor seems to have changed. You know, she has been insisting on something like ‘modern,’ ‘edgy,’ or ‘hip’ stuff.”

“Yeah, I was really surprised when you mentioned geomancy. Our editor doesn’t go in for geomancy, as you know.”

“Can I tell you who initiated this idea originally?”

“You don’t say! Our editor?”

“Yeah, exactly. About two weeks ago our editor saw an interview piece on geomancy, and she went crazy about it.”

“I can’t understand what’s the big deal about geomancy.”

“You bet. If you turn on the TV these days, you see so many programs about such topics as geomancy , saju (destiny), et cetera.”

Come to think of it, Arum felt like she heard about it too often these days. Was it the latest trend?

“I searched for relevant video clips and articles on geomancy because of Hojoon. I think he is attractive.”

“Really?”

Arum was of the opposite opinion.

‘Well, personally I don’t think he is attractive.’

That was true. Granted she liked geomancy, she found herself often stunned at the word ‘geomancy’ after she met him.

“When I heard about ‘geomancy,’ I usually conjured up the word ‘paesanimsu’ (a mountain in the back and a river in the front). Room therapy? I wonder if it’s part of geomancy, too.”

Arum found geomancy difficult to understand, and now, Manager Kyong mentioned room therapy. Arum was super curious.

“What the heck is that?”

“Your room. You spend your healing time in there. You know, when you were a child, you wanted to have your own room, right? I shared a room with my younger brother. At that time, I couldn’t keep a diary freely, and kept hiding my stuff in a secret box. When I was a junior in middle school, I had my own room. At that time, I felt like I owned the whole world.”

In fact, Arum felt as if she owned the whole world when she became independent from her parents.

“All this means is that there is power in a room, which can change a man. In other words, room therapy is to fill the room with good energy. The thing is how to organize your idea around its concept. Try to look up some material on that. It’s quite interesting.”

“Thanks!”

Picking up her meeting files, Arum went out of the conference room.

***

After she was done for the day, Arum pushed the revolving door to get out of the company. Though it was well past the closing hours, there were lots of office workers leaving their offices only now. The bus she got on was full of people going back to work on duty at night or going back home after the day’s work.

Arum used her own car only when she had to do the legwork or attend a meeting outside. Usually, she commuted by bus. But on a day like today, she regretted not bringing her own car.

While walking to the bus stop, she carefully recalled what a senior friend of hers told her.

The unforgettable excitement she felt when she purchased her first house. She felt as if she was an independent fighter in the world. She could have her own way freely, such as deciding when to eat, get up or go to the restroom, and so on.

Besides, she didn’t have to argue over the matter of lighting a fragrant candle with her mother, who didn’t approve, saying it might burn down the house. Since she became independent from her, Arum had fragrant candles turned on in the living room and restroom all the time.

And another independent space of hers was her private car.

In a crowded bus, she was inevitably touched by other people, or she had to even feel their breaths. Now, with her own car, the moment she opened the door, it turned into her own world. And it took her to whatever place she wanted to go to.

After she obtained her own house and car, she felt afresh how happy she was.

Honk!

She came to her senses at the honking sound. She turned her head instinctively.

Hojoon could be seen waving at her from his driver’s seat.

Honk! Honk!

This time, people around her turned back. If she didn’t get in the car quickly, she would probably be noticed by the editor or her colleagues.

She quickly walked up to Hojoon’s car and gestured him to lower the window in the passenger seat.

She felt he was not close enough to do so.

Hojoon lowered the window and said, “Are you going to get in through the window? Just open the door,” said Hojoon jokingly.

“Wait a minute,” she said in a low tone, expressing displeasure.

“It looks like you already finished your night duty. What a coincidence! I was also done just now, and came out for dinner,” he said, acting sly at the moment.

“I did have dinner already,” she said.

“Really? Me, too. Let me give you a ride home then.”

Now, she had no choice but to get in the car.

Hojoon was driving toward Ahyon-dong, where she lived.

He asked her to get in his car, but he didn’t say anything while driving. He just focused on driving like a taxi driver.

Though she didn’t expect anything, she couldn’t stand it.

For the first time, she came to realize how uncomfortable it was to be in the same space with an uncomfortable person.