Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.1

“…Yes?”

Miran, who had never been abroad and had not even taken a plane to Jeju Island, furrowed her brow deeply.

‘This guy must be a total quack.’

Yeondam took out a cigarette and rummaged through his pockets. When he couldn’t find a lighter, he put the cigarette with the chewed filter in one ear and continued talking.

“This fortune is called a ‘Water King’ fortune, meaning it has a lot of water elements, but you need to cross a large body of water to harness that energy. Let’s see, with the influence of transient stars next year, in ’96, if you go abroad, you’ll live a life of luxury and be called a lady for the rest of your life. But if you miss that chance and stay in Korea until ’97, you’ll never be able to leave, no matter how much you want to.”

“What? Next year isn’t that far away! I don’t speak English, and I’ve never even thought about living abroad. And saying I can’t be buried in Korean soil…  like you’re predicting I’ll die abroad. What kind of strange fortune is this…?”

Yeondam clicked his tongue in frustration and pointed to the Chinese characters written on the paper.

“Look here. It says you’ll meet a foreigner this year. Kang Miran, you have to live connected to a foreign country. Either immigrate, marry a foreigner, or at least have a pen pal. You have marriage luck at 26, with good fortune for both husband and children. While the early years might be tough, if you persevere, both your husband and children will be highly successful—”

Miran waved her hand, not listening to Yeondam’s further words.

“Hold on. Marry a foreigner? I’ve never even spoken a word to a foreigner in my life. I don’t want to marry someone I can’t even communicate with.”

Feeling increasingly displeased with her fortune, Miran interrupted him at every turn, prompting Yeondam to scrutinize her sharply.

“Kang Miran, you’re trying to become a celebrity, right?”

Miran flinched and looked at him suspiciously before reluctantly nodding.

She regretted not asking about her career from the start instead of listening to the far-fetched fortune about immigrating and meeting foreigners.

“Actually, I graduated from the theater and film department this year, and I’m trying to become an actress, but things aren’t going well. I’m attending auditions, but will I get a role in a movie or drama this year?”

Yeondam reviewed Miran’s fortune again and shook his head slowly.

“There is redness in the painting on the sandbar. However, things in the entertainment industry won’t go smoothly. If you keep pursuing this path, you might easily stray into another direction.”

“What do you mean, stray into another direction?”

Yeondam pursed his lips and looked sharply at her through his glasses.

“Well, the fortunes for celebrities and… let’s say, people in the entertainment nightlife are quite similar. Even if you don’t intend to, people around you might not leave you alone.”

As Miran processed Yeondam’s words, her jaw dropped in realization.

“… Are you saying I’ll end up in the entertainment nightlife? Like a bar hostess?”

“Not necessarily a bar hostess. But if you keep pursuing the entertainment industry, things might take a bad turn. However, if you go abroad with this kind of fortune—”

“That’s enough. Thank you.”

Miran, her face flushed with anger, cut him off, bowed, and stood up abruptly. Struggling to control her heavy breathing, she turned sharply towards Jieun, who flinched with a troubled expression. Even the usually easy-going and good-natured Miran could be quite scary when angry.

“Jieun, let’s go.”

Jieun followed Miran out without a word.

—

Nightclub Julia, Ellui Hotel in Cheongdam-dong.

The silver disco ball spun around, reflecting multicolored laser lights in every direction. Miran and Jieun stood facing each other, dancing in sync and singing along to the fast-tempo song.

Whenever Kim Gun-mo’s “Wrongful Meeting” played, the stage erupted with young people dancing in similar motions, as if by some unspoken agreement. When the mega-hit song ended, an even faster dance track followed.

*Listen to the song here: 김건모 – ‘잘못된 만남'(1995) | Kim Gun mo – ‘Wrongful Encounter’ 【KBS 가요톱10】 (youtube.com)

It was a dance song with pitiful lyrics, saying that it always rains during the breakup scene and that it feels like living in a tropical rainforest. The song had been played so often on street carts all summer that it was stuck in their heads, and without trying, the lyrics came out of their mouths.