The Shaman’s Reading Hits the Mark
"Hello?"
Yoo Jae-hee was the first to greet him. Same perfume, different person. When she had come with Lee Hyung-wook, she had been bright and lively; today, she looked wilted, like cabbage soaked through with saltwater.
"May I sit?"
"If you've come for a reading..."
"I made a proper appointment today. It wasn't easy, either."
"......"
"You've gotten very famous in the meantime, haven't you?"
"Say what you came to say."
"I was rude last time. Please forgive me."
"......"
"Do you remember the reading you gave me then?"
"Of course."
"It was a divine reading. And it sent me straight downhill, just like you said. One producer betrayed me, another got arrested... There were other things too, and you know those as well, right?"
Jae-hee looked at Kang-to.
"You broke up with a man."
Kang-to said it the moment their eyes met. He could tell at once.
"That's right. Lee Hyung-wook, who is practically your senior brother as a beopsa."
"......"
"Once I ended up looking like this, everything became such a hassle. So I told him we should stop seeing each other. What face could an entertainer possibly have to keep dating after her popularity has tanked? Especially if the man's a chaebol's son."
"What did he say?"
"He told me not to get too anxious and to take a rest."
"Are you really breaking up?"
"I won't see him until I make a comeback."
Jae-hee drew a line in the sand.
What Kang-to confirmed next came from another sensation altogether.
Yoo Jae-hee had Hongyeomsal. Hongyeomsal was the kind of fate that usually made one man fixate on her and never quite let go.
She had another fate as well, one that had come along with Hongyeomsal. It was Ogyeosal.
Ogyeosal.
It used the character for jade and the character for carriage, meaning that she had been born to ride in a jade carriage, so to speak. Just like in a drama, she could end up marrying into a chaebol family or a family of power.
If her partner happened to be a married man, she might enjoy material comfort in abundance while her spirit withered away. But Lee Hyung-wook was not a married man.
It was a relationship where those two factors aligned. That was Lee Hyung-wook and Yoo Jae-hee. Their first meeting had not been pleasant, so Kang-to had not looked closely at it.
But even now, thinking about it, they were not an ill-matched pair.
He returned to the oracle reading. A woman with Ogyeosal received a great deal of help from the people around her. In other words, even if she ran into severe hardship, someone would help her through it.
"It's one hundred million won."
Yoo Jae-hee placed a check envelope on the table.
"......?"
"My offering."
One hundred million won.
No matter how famous an entertainer was, one hundred million won was not something just any family could call pocket change. If she had brought that much money, she had clearly come with real resolve.
"That's too much."
Kang-to pushed the envelope back.
"I'm paying for the last reading too. You told me to pay later if the reading came true, remember?"
Jae-hee did not back down, and pushed the envelope toward him again.
"I'm sorry, but please give me a method to come back in full view of everyone. I want to show the people who keep talking behind my back that Yoo Jae-hee is still alive."
The light in Jae-hee's eyes sharpened. Her fortune had tilted, but she still had backbone. It was not a bad sign.
"Do you remember the reading from last time?"
"That was..."
Jae-hee trailed off.
Heungsal.
And the fortune of human support that had begun to hit bottom.
It was a reading you could not forget. Wasn't that why she had come running back?
But with Heungsal on top of a human-support fortune that had already fallen over, time was needed before it could rise again. Her stubbornness had kicked in, but stubbornness alone could not stand against fate.
"Is there really no way?"
"Even if the sky falls, there has to be a hole to crawl out through. If you look hard enough, you'll find one."
Kang-to said it plainly. There was no despair without hope, because even Heungsal, if handled well, could become an auspicious star.
"Please tell me how. I'm asking you."
By then, Jae-hee had even lowered her head.
"But this is very difficult."
"I can do anything."
"......"
"Beopsa-nim."
"Can you really do anything?"
"If you told me to carry oil into a fire, I'd do it."
"I'm suddenly hungry. There's a fish-shaped pastry seller at the pier. Could you go buy three for me?"
"......?"
"Would that be difficult?"
"No problem."
Jae-hee stood up.
Kang-to could see that she was hurrying. The fish-shaped pastries nestled in his arms were still warm, proof that she had not wasted even a step on the way back.
"Still not enough... Could you go once more?"
After she finished the pastries, he said it again. Jae-hee, swallowing hard, got up once more.
"Still not enough. This time, could you buy about five thousand won's worth?"
The third errand.
Kang-to idly toyed with a handful of rice. Naturally, he was doing it on purpose. But once or twice was one thing; this was the third time. It was enough to leave even a famous entertainer feeling wretched.
Should she go?
Or should she get angry?
While Kang-to was thinking it over, Jae-hee stepped out of the shrine.
"That'll do."
Kang-to stopped her as she was leaving.
"To receive a divine reading on how to avoid the Heungsal you're facing now, you need the will and endurance to push through hardship. This was a test. Please understand."
"Hoo."
At Kang-to's explanation, Jae-hee pressed a hand to her chest and let out a breath.
"Eat."
He held out the one fish-shaped pastry he had left. Jae-hee took it and bit down.
"Fish-shaped pastries taste good on Chilui Island too."
"Because they've been seasoned with endurance."
Kang-to smiled. She had made two swift round trips, so it was only natural that sweetness would start to sound appealing.
"Shall we continue?"
Kang-to picked up his shingling bell, and Jae-hee straightened herself as well.
"Is there a producer you've had your eye on?"
"This one. Director Lee Jin-bong. It looks like he's making a global drama this time, but the female lead hasn't been decided yet."
Jae-hee opened a photo file.
"Hold the rice."
Shhrrk.
The rice Jae-hee had set down scattered across the small tray. It did not form the director's name.
"Do you have another one?"
"This drama is getting a lot of attention... and I have a slight connection with him too."
"That isn't your connection yet."
"Then another director..."
"Wait, there."
Kang-to stopped her hand as she flipped through the photos.
"Not him. He has no sense for a hit. Every film he makes ends up dead in the water. Even if he does make films, the scale is too small. He has no competitive edge."
"What's his name?"
"Director Hong Chan-woo..."
"The rice."
Kang-to pointed at the bowl of rice on the tray.
Shhrrk.
Jae-hee let the rice fall. Then,
Hong Chan-woo.
A neat, clear name appeared.
"Oh."
Jae-hee's brow creased sharply. The name had appeared, but she did not seem to like it.
"Work with him. Otherwise, it'll be about four years before your luck starts opening up again."
"Beopsa-nim, I told you already, this director isn't even good at securing production funds..."
"There are one hundred scales of silver fish and no horn on the dragon's head, so it cannot rise. You may have had both feet cut off, but your golden horn remains. If you meet that director, you can become the finishing touch and turn into two dragons."
"......"
"Treat him as if he were Director Lee Jin-bong. And build merit through sincere donations. Then you'll be able to achieve double-dragon ascension."
"Double-dragon ascension?"
"Throw the rice again."
Shhrrat.
The rice Yoo Jae-hee scattered still did not change the name.
Hong-Chan-Woo.
"Trust me. He is the worthy person who will sweep away your Heungsal."
"......"
"And as for compatibility..."
"......?"
"You said you wanted to see that first, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Come back once you've made your comeback. You've paid generously, so I'll throw in a bonus reading."
Jjjarang.
The sound of Kang-to's shingling bell signaled the end of the reading.
"Beopsa-nim."
The last visitor was the founder of the fan cafe, Kwon Ga-hee. She had brought someone with her.
"It's a gift."
Kwon Ga-hee set down a large, carefully wrapped package.
"What's this?"
"Your ritual robe, Beopsa-nim, and Sol-bi's school-entry supplies."
"What?"
"With guests pouring in like this, Sol-bi's school preparations probably haven't gone smoothly, right? So we asked one of our members who's becoming a parent this new semester for advice and put this together."
"Thank you."
"We made the ritual robe based on what you usually wear. One of the fan cafe members is a fashion designer."
"Wow."
Kang-to's mouth fell open on its own. The feel of the fabric was exquisite.
"Do you like it?"
"It's wonderful. I'm not sure I deserve something like this."
"That member says she wants you to know that your reading helped her catch her husband's wandering eye."
The robe was full of care.
People were correcting their lives and living happily because of Kang-to's divine readings. This was the fun of being a shaman.
"And the person beside you...?"
Kang-to asked. He did not remember this one among the guests who had come and gone.
"I'm Kwon Ha-eun, a PD at JBS."
The guest handed over a business card.
"A producer?"
"She's my cousin."
Kwon Ga-hee joined the conversation.
"This girl is a pretty well-known producer in the culture world, and when I started bragging about you, Beopsa-nim, she got interested. She wanted to come interview you once."
"I see."
"To be honest, the broadcast station doesn't like shamanic issues very much. They often get tangled up awkwardly with politics, so the public tends to look at them negatively. But after hearing my sister talk about you, I thought maybe that's our own prejudice, so I wanted to cover a proper shaman for once."
"Just hearing that is appreciated."
"But... our team leader comes from a pastor's family, so he takes anything like this extremely seriously. Last time, when I was planning a segment on the pursuit of independence activist Ahn Eui-sung, I tried to include a medium, and he tore the proposal to shreds right away."
National hero Ahn Eui-sung.
It was a name that had been maturing in Kang-to's mind. Hearing it here made his instincts stir just a little.
"Go on."
"So... I'm sorry, but could you read the fortune of our desk? If you're as accurate as people say, then even the desk can't refuse to approve it."
"......"
"Would that be difficult?"
"Not at all. If you have a photo or something, show me."
At Kang-to's words, the PD opened her tablet.
"This is her. It was taken at last month's team-bonding event."
The PD zoomed in on one woman among several. She was in her early fifties.
Banansal.
A lucky star had entered. When Banansal appeared, it meant advancement and promotion were on the cards. It had the shape of a saddle on horseback.
But...
Cheonsal.
An unwelcome guest had slipped in. A proper inauspicious star was attached to her as well.
If she was hit hard enough, she could suffer a serious illness or end up ruined in her relationships. Since this was only a photograph, Kang-to checked again: her luck in work, her luck in health, and her fortune with people.
Career Luck ▮▮▮▯▯
Good. She had carried the momentum of her early years into middle age, so every exam she faced ended in success, and every place she went recognized her ability.
Flowers in full bloom, spring everywhere, every branch bright with promise.
But.
The arrogance of the shamanic star had gone too far. The virtue of Banansal depended on character and interpersonal relations. Cross that line, and even an auspicious star became an inauspicious one.
"If this woman is the problem, then there's nothing to worry about. She's overestimated the lucky star and invited in misfortune. She may even get forced out of her post before long."
"What? She's supposed to be the next station chief without question..."
"Wait."
Another disaster entered Kang-to's radar. The woman standing next to the team leader.
"Who is this?"
"My classmate, Cha Yoon-sun. At our station, they're called the rookie twin engine."
"Oh no."
Kang-to pressed a hand to his forehead.
"What's wrong?"
"If you have her contact information, call her. Her fortune says something enormous and unexpected has happened."
"That can't be right. She's been so busy lately that she's barely had time to breathe, handling a program only veterans would normally be able to touch..."
"Quickly."
"Try it."
As Kang-to urged her on, Kwon Ga-hee offered a few remarks of her own.
"Then..."
The PD brought up the phone's contact list.
"She's not answering."
"Try again."
Just as Kwon Ga-hee gave her a look and the PD moved to redial, the ringtone from her phone sounded first.
"It's Producer Cha. Hello? Yes?"
The PD jolted the instant she answered.
"The hospital? Producer Cha? Wait a second."
She stepped out of the shrine after asking Kang-to's permission. She only returned after more than ten minutes had passed, her face drained of all color.
"What happened?"
Kwon Ga-hee asked.
"Beopsa-nim's reading is really..."
The PD could not finish the sentence properly.
"I'm asking what happened. Beopsa-nim is waiting."
"It's... Producer Cha was brought to the emergency room after swallowing poison. The person who answered the phone was her mother, and when she opened her daughter's tablet, it said she had taken the extreme step because she couldn't stand the team leader's harassment anymore..."
"Oh no, then...?"
Kwon Ga-hee's face went white.
When the outcome was laid out, it was a perfect two-for-one hit.
A reading that could not be argued with had come out.