The Unbelievers

Chapter 38

As they passed Chungju Lake and arrived in Jecheon, the darkness had deepened. The car climbed up a desolate mountain road where human presence had completely disappeared. The round beam of the headlights barely illuminated the path, where it was difficult to see even a foot ahead.

Director Nam, having safely arrived at the hermitage located midway up the mountain, inwardly sighed in relief as he parked the car. His back was stiff from concentrating on driving, as Yoo Siwoon seemed to be asleep.

When he turned off the engine, Yoo Siwoon’s eyes opened.

“We’ve arrived.”

“…”

Director Nam quickly got out of the car and opened the rear door where Yoo Siwoon was sitting, looking around the surroundings.

A dim outdoor light, like a candle, was lit at the small temple, which had only one main hall and one living quarters.

As Yoo Siwoon got out of the car, Director Nam walked to the back and opened the trunk. He took out a box about the size of a vitamin drink bottle, wrapped in a fine-colored cloth.

As Yoo Siwoon’s footsteps echoed on the dirt ground, the door of the living quarters opened, and a plump monk appeared.

“I apologize for the late hour.”

“Well, well, what brings you here in the dead of night when you’ve only been saying you’d come? Come in quickly.”

As Yoo Siwoon apologized for the time past midnight and tried to enter, the monk hesitated, covering his nose with his hand as if smelling something.

Yoo Siwoon, who was about to take off his shoes, also paused and looked up at him.

“Wait here.”

The monk headed towards the distant kitchen and returned shortly after. Yoo Siwoon and Director Nam, not knowing what was happening, stood waiting. The monk returned holding a red basin.

“Eyah! To come here right after doing such a thing, isn’t that going too far? You might invite misfortune.”

He roughly sprinkled coarse salt on Yoo Siwoon’s body. The salt grains scratched his cheek quite sharply. As Yoo Siwoon and Director Nam turned their heads as if avoiding the sting, their eyes met in midair. Director Nam, who once said he liked the occult, exchanged a meaningful glance as if to say “look at this.” Yoo Siwoon pretended not to notice.

The monk casually sprinkled a handful of salt on Director Nam, who had stepped forward slightly, then turned the basin upside down and shook out the remaining salt on the ground before entering. Yoo Siwoon also brushed off the salt on his clothes and finally took off his shoes and stepped onto the porch. He took the square cloth package handed by Director Nam and closed the door behind him as he walked.

The modest temple had little in the way of furnishings. The monk closed a book, as if he had been reading something with a small table spread out. He gestured for Yoo Siwoon to bring over the cloth package he had placed at the head of the room. Yoo Siwoon passed the package. The monk placed it on the table and unwrapped it. Inside the box were bundles of 50,000 won bills. He roughly counted the bundles with his eyes. It seemed to be about 100 million won.

“Do you know why they made 50,000 won bills in this country? It’s for this, it’s light. Not heavy at all.”

The monk, who had sharp senses like Yoo Siwoon and was versed in saju (fortune-telling based on birth time), spoke in a satisfied tone. He was mainly called Master Manpo or Dharma Master Manpo, known for his uncanny ability to manipulate people’s fortunes, especially among chaebol families and political circles, despite never having been officially ordained as a monk.

“I heard someone from Seongha Construction visited.”

“The elder himself came. So he would be your uncle, right? It seems his son is aiming for the successor position.”

Master Manpo closed the lid of the box containing the money and set it down beside the table. Yoo Siwoon sat cross-legged in front of him.

“What did he ask about?”

“It seems he met a feng shui master somewhere who is incredibly good at reading feng shui. He brought an address and asked me to look at it, and your house address was there too. When I said I couldn’t know without seeing it directly, he showed me Google Maps.”

“And then?”

“Mmm, this place won’t do. It looks like it will prosper, but it’s a place of decline, that’s what I said.”

“Is that so?”

“They don’t bring just one bill, you know. At most they throw down a thousand won and leave, so why would I tell them the truth? That supposedly extraordinary feng shui master will take care of it, I suppose.”

Though it was as he expected, Yoo Siwoon frowned.

“What did they say to that?”

“I told them if they want to find the ‘great chasm,’ that much won’t do. Even with sincerity, a few thousand won’t suffice. You need to invest hundreds of millions for the ancestral spirits to be moved. Isn’t that right? I agreed to perform a gut (shamanic ritual). They just asked me to point out the direction. Whether it’s north or south of the Han River in Seoul, or if it’s Osan or Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, they wanted to know specifically.”

“Where do you think it is?”

Yoo Siwoon asked with a serious expression, as if he too was dying of curiosity. Master Manpo met his gaze.

“When I looked closely, your house address caught my eye. That house built on that excellent site that they say can even produce a president.”

“It’s the site you designated, Master. How could it not be good? And I’m someone who doesn’t spare money for such things.”

Yoo Siwoon smiled faintly, inwardly taken aback. Even if he didn’t show it, his desire, his ambition, was bubbling up like magma buried underground, waiting to explode.

“Could you look at this address too?”

Yoo Siwoon asked, writing the address of his penthouse on a note provided by Master Manpo and returning it.

“I told you, I need to see the surrounding mountains and building flow.”

“Look at it on Google Maps.”

Master Manpo glanced at Yoo Siwoon as if he found him annoying, then took out a laptop that seemed out of place in such a setting from a drawer behind him. Putting on his glasses, he slowly typed in the address and carefully examined the satellite photos around the address Yoo Siwoon had written, scrolling with the mouse wheel.

“…It’s not a bad location, but it doesn’t match your saju.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Didn’t I tell you before you bought this?”

“It was so cheap.”

Bringing piles of money to Master Manpo wasn’t because Yoo Siwoon blindly believed in his divinations, but was simply payment for giving answers that Yoo Siwoon wanted and that were favorable to him to those who visited this place. A smile briefly appeared and disappeared on Yoo Siwoon’s lips, revealing his rational nature that didn’t blindly believe and follow everything the monk said, unlike others.

“It’s not that the location is bad, it’s bad for you physiognomically. There’s too much gold energy here, so it’s not a place to stay for long, and there’s a possibility that things won’t go well if you’re doing something here.”

“So I shouldn’t move there.”

“No, why would you move from that excellent location? Didn’t I tell you? Living there can even resolve your self-harming fate (a fate that leads to killing others and oneself, leading to ruin).”

“Does that mean I won’t have to handle trash disposal anymore?”

“That’s right. That’s how good the location is. Rent this place out. I hear monthly rent is quite lucrative these days. Isn’t this a world where landlords are like creators?”

“Yes, I should do that. Rather than leaving it empty, I should at least collect rent.”

“The fortunes of our lives depend on the door, fate, house, appearance, and cultivation. You have a good family, a decent saju, and the house I chose for you is a site fit for a president. The rest is appearance and cultivation. Your appearance is naturally noble, the problem is cultivation. With your self-harming fate and actions that accumulate bad karma, that’s a bit… that’s regrettable. Carry some salt with you. Sprinkle it liberally. Don’t skimp on salt. Or perform a big gut ritual.”

“Can it be resolved with a gut? It’s not just one or two things.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Hmm, he muttered, peering at the laptop screen needlessly.

“This location is good. All the energy of Suin Mountain flows in. They must have had a feng shui master involved when building this.”

Then Master Manpo glanced at Yoo Siwoon, who was sitting quietly without responding. Yoo Siwoon had erased all expression from his face, like an old man who had seen it all. He was a cautious person who rarely revealed his true thoughts, even in front of Master Manpo, who believed he had won him over to his side.

“This isn’t me making things up because you take good care of me. It’s the truth. That’s what your saju says. Everything is good except for one thing. You need to resolve that one thing.”

“It will work out eventually. I’m working on it.”

“Tsk, not doing as I say… People are… You’re thoroughly prepared. Well, I suppose it’s that level of preparation that allows you to swallow such a big company.”

Master Manpo said, stroking the cloth package containing the money, that selectively listening to his words only when needed was a better karma cleansing and more rational choice than bringing piles of money.

“I have no such intention.”

“Right, let’s say that’s the case.”

Outwardly, it really seemed like Yoo Siwoon didn’t have even the slightest intention, so Master Manpo laughed heartily and gulped down his tea as if drinking alcohol. Yoo Siwoon also drank the fragrant tea poured for him. It smelled nice but was just bitter and tasteless.

“Look at this. Why that expression? This is extremely expensive tea. I’m telling you, it’s from Tibet.”

“You must inform me first when the target location comes out. No matter what anyone else offers, I’ll return it tenfold.”

“Don’t worry. I’m as rational a person as you are.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Yoo Siwoon picked up the tea set and drank. He savored the tea pooling in his mouth.

Yoo Siwoon didn’t believe in the sexagenary cycle. He didn’t believe in the fortune of door, fate, house, and appearance. He didn’t care about saju or fate. He didn’t believe in the god “who came through a byway” that the family was waiting for. Yoo Siwoon was someone who believed in the saying that heaven helps those who help themselves.

“See? It tastes good, right?”

“Yes, it does.”

While responding indifferently, Yoo Siwoon smiled respectfully at his counterpart. It was a one-time smile that would disappear as soon as he opened the door and turned his back.