Geomancy couple

Chapter 87: Chapter 87

“Oh, that’s completely the opposite of my thinking. In fact, I vowed I would break up with you when you didn’t contact me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Hojoon became really serious.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m still thinking about it.”

Looking at his expression, her heart softened.

“Then keep on thinking, and let’s have fun today.”

Hojun pulled her forward into the crowd dressed in hanboks.

There were lots of people dressed in hanbok at Kyongbok Palace.

As a result, those wearing casual clothes rather felt awkward.

Hojoon and Arum felt as if they travel through time. Arum read an article in the newspaper that nowadays college students were visiting old palaces with their friends and lovers.

When she read the article, she thought it would be perfect, but when she got on the subway wearing the hanbok, she was embarrassed because she felt everyone inside the subway was staring at her, but a hanbok was the perfect outfit for going to Kyongbok Palace.

The moment she entered the palace, she felt comfortable and relaxed.

She was amazed to learn there was such a quiet and old-fashioned palace in downtown Seoul.

“I feel like I am back in the Joseon Era.”

“That’s feng shui. The place molds one’s character. ”

Arum kept his remarks in mind.

The place molds one’s character.

She took a stroll through the precincts of the palace with Hojoon. Though the palace was in the heart of the city, she felt it was completely separate from civilization.

Besides, she came to walk gracefully as she was dressed in hanbok.

Was I a princess or a court lady in my previous life? I was certainly not a queen.

It was great fun for her to imagine so.

His remarks that the place molds one’s character might be true. Kyongbok Palace was the place where the king once lived. She felt good about the dignity and quietness of the palace.

“This place must be myungdang, right?” she asked with a curious look.

“Of course. It still has that energy. The best feng shui experts at that time designed this place.”

“Blue House was built the same way, wasn’t it?”

“Are you curious?”

“Yes. You know the occupants of the Blue House, they are all now…”

They knew all the politicians ended up being kicked out during their last days.

“I wouldn’t say ‘all.’ This place is myongdang, but if anyone who doesn’t deserve it occupies it, they are supposed to suffer misfortune. As you know, some prosper while others go bankrupt even if they open a new business in the same place, right? In other words, myongdang isn’t myongdang to everyone. If we see a politician who deserves it entering the Blue House, he won’t suffer. ”

“Aren’t you getting rich just by going to myongdang? No? What the heck is it? ”

“Well, there is such a place.”

“Where?” she asked with sparkling eyes.

“Are you really curious?”

“Absolutely. Is the price of the land expensive? Very expensive, isn’t it?”

“Of course it’s expensive. These days any place called myongdang is expensive. If you can receive high rent from the landowner, it’s also called myongdang.”

“I see…”

Arum was already aware of that. She expected something new and special, but she was disappointed because his reply was very realistic.

Her illusion of myongdang disappeared. She took delight in the idea when she was in school, memorizing the wisdom of paesanimsu.

“If you view myongdang from that angle, there are too many myongdang, right? The owners of buildings are all sitting on myongdang at the moment.”

“You can buy myongdang with money, but can anybody buy all myongdang? I mean, can just one person buy them all? ”

“That’s impossible. Maybe one or two myongdang? ”

“Of course one person can’t buy them all. But you can go to myongdang without money. ”

She perked up at that.

“That’s why I chose feng shui consulting as my second best job after bibo feng shui. It’s also my hobby. ”

“Yeah, feng shui is attractive. What is your hobby?”

“Traveling.”

She was disappointed.

“Are you sure travel is all about feng shui?” she asked again. He nodded.

How many places are myongdang in Korea? Can one count them all? There are simply too many.

Geographically, there are so many temples, old houses, and cultural sites located in myongdang. He said just traveling there and coming back with a fresh mind after receiving the energy of those places would not only make people feel better but improve job performance.

“In other words, for a weekend journey, you travel to the scenic sites and come back with the myondang there. It may be better than spending lots of money to travel abroad and come back to work like hell. Especially for those city-dwellers who live in high-rise apartments, I strongly recommend camping at the places with good energy.”

“What about all this camping boom these days?”

“They’re talking about the so-called outdoor markets. After all, outdoor is nature, not home. Especially camping is sleeping on the ground. You set up a tent and receive the energy force of the soil all over your body. The refreshing feeling of outdoor camping is feng shui. ”

After listening to his explanation, she felt that she became much more familiar with feng shui.

“If I live in an apartment unit, don’t I receive the energy force of the ground?”

“Nope. Look at that Tower Palace. It’s pretty expensive to live there. So, can you be happy if you live there? Can you stay healthy if you live there? Do you see those trees looking strong? ”

He pointed to the pine trees on the grounds of the palace. Pines that must have lived for hundreds of years at about the same height.

“They say the height of trees is usually affected by the energy force of the soil. In other words, any apartment unit that is higher than a tree can expect not to experience the effect of the energy of the soil. The higher your home is located, the more often you have to step on the soil, climb the mountains and go camping for your health.”

“Wow! In that respect, a semi-underground house is the best because it’s in the ground. ”

“Well, there is too much energy there, so it’s too humid.”

After hearing his explanation, she felt good about her villa, which overlooked trees. Her yearning for a Tower Palace condominium that she couldn’t buy even with her lifetime savings disappeared at once.

“Many people don’t know about this.”

Arum, who just got a precious piece of feng shui secret from Hojoon, vowed that she would not leak it to anybody.

Eventually, they arrived at the edifice of Kyotaejeon.

“Kyotaejon. This is the best of the best myongdang in this palace,” he said firmly. As he said it so firmly, she forgot to ask what they did here in old Korea.

“The king used Kangnyongjon, and the queen used Kyotaejon as their sleeping place. When the time came for the king to sleep together with the queen, he came to this place.”

“Wow, this must be a thrilling place.”

“Not necessarily because their main task was to produce their offspring rather than confirming their affection as husband and wife.”

“Oh, I see. It seems that the queen’s life was not always gorgeous. ”

“If the Korean queens had been extravagant like the queens of the West, the high-ranking officials of the court would not have revolted.”

“I think so.”

She felt stuffy while looking back at the queens’ lives during the old Korea.

Was this place also myongdang for the queen? It was not necessarily so.

Feeling rather bitter with that thought, she turned back.

At that moment she heard a foreigner speaking to her, “Oh, beautiful!”

He was an old man with blue eyes with grey hair, and his wife was also an old lady with grey hair.

“Wonderful!”

They were typical American tourists and admired her beautiful hanbok.

Her hanbok was different from the colorful hanboks they borrowed from hanbok rental shops. Though the color of her hanbok was intense, it was harmonious with the paintwork of the palace. Its color was vibrant but not rustic.

“Thank you.”

Was it because of her hanbok? Her smile felt more graceful than normal.

The old couple politely asked her to pose with them for a souvenir picture, but she felt it burdensome at the moment.

She was going to refuse their request for fear they might go back with a misleading impression.

For example, what if this couple posts this picture in their social media accounts with the caption ‘Korean Beauty!’ Americans would think Korean women all look like her.

Besides, her hanbok had a special story. She planned to dump it after wearing it today.

So, she didn’t feel good because once taken, her picture would not disappear.

At that moment Hojoon cut in, “Why not?”

“Yeah, you can take a picture with us. Come on!”

She was impressed with his shouting ‘Why not?’ rather than his fluent English.

“I can’t, Hojoon. I don’t want to take a picture.”