Someone Who Thinks Everything Is About Them

If someone says, “Can’t you stay?” in a lonely studio apartment, it might be tempting. But blocking someone who needs to get off a bus is just plain self-centered.

“No, I can’t.”

I rejected her flatly and stepped off.

“Uh… wait…”

“Goodbye. I’ll tell you next time.”

I intended to leave her hanging so she’d be anxious for the next part, but physically blocking my path was a bit much. Of course, this wasn’t the stop for my house. Unlike the sundae soup place near my home, the one here had several advantages: they didn’t put seasoned paste in by default, the “special” soup came with large-intestine (makchang) sundae, and they didn’t ruin the heavy broth by adding bean sprouts just to make it “refreshing.”

The place near my house has great sundae and handles the smell of offal well, but sometimes, I just want that pure white broth.

As I walked away from the bus…

“Wait a minute!”

Ye Ji-soo had followed me off the bus.

“C-could you at least give me your contact info? I didn’t catch the exact location of the philosophy hall.”

“…You actually got off? Why?”

“I can just catch the next bus.”

It was dinner time, so it wasn’t the last bus of the night, but still. Her dedication was impressive.

“Even if you don’t come, I’ll be at the next workshop. Can’t we just talk then?”

“That’s the week after next!”

“It’s not like you’re going to die tomorrow if you don’t get a Saju reading today.”

“But it’s frustrating! How could you just drop that and then get off?”

“If you had found out your birth time earlier, I would have said a few more words, wouldn’t I?”

“Then tell me now. Please?”

“I’m busy.”

“Why are you busy?”

“My mom gets mad if I’m late, saying the food tastes bad if it’s reheated. I’m busy for the sake of family peace. If I’m late, my dad gets the earful instead of me.”

“I’ll buy you that same menu!”

She seemed quite desperate. What if the menu was something like fatty tuna belly sushi? My mom isn’t a professional, but she worked as a kitchen assistant in a Chinese restaurant, so she knows how to make fancy dishes like Yusansul.

“My mom is a self-proclaimed culinary researcher, so her food isn’t stuff you can just buy at a restaurant. Instead of ‘buying’ it for me, I’ll consider it if you can ‘make’ it for me.”

Since “approaching” someone seemed to raise my Saju fortification points, I threw out a proposal I knew she couldn’t accept.

“Whaaat? I can’t cook.”

“Right. I prefer my consultation fees in cash anyway. Go on home now.”

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Can’t you come back out after you finish your meal? I’ll wait.”

She was persistent. Honestly, I could recite her Saju right here if I wanted to. Her chart has many worrying elements due to her self-righteous nature, but to actually change someone’s life patterns, my words need to hit home harder. To do that, I have to make her crave the evaluation even more.

I was using the “cliffhanger technique” for that. That was also why I got off three stops early. Oh, and of course, the sundae soup around here really is delicious.

“Why are you risking your life waiting for something people usually see for fun? You’ll feel embarrassed looking back in a few days. Just because you have a few nightmares doesn’t mean you need to start worrying about ghosts.”

“Why is everything you say so spot on?!”

That’s probably just because you have a strong confirmation bias and you’re the type of person who thinks you’re quite special.

Everyone experiences these things and has similar thoughts. But since they don’t know others’ inner lives, they feel like they’re the only ones going through it. Nightmares, skipping dinner, a Christian mother. Is that really so amazing?

I hadn’t actually interpreted anything from her Saju yet, except for the concern about the “Ghost Gate” (Gwimun-gwan-sal). I was just tossing out casual observations, and she was the one getting startled.

*******************************************

I was re-reading Master Myeong-seung’s secrets. They were written so densely that new insights surfaced every time I chewed over the words.

Rehabilitate people with three inches of tongue.

“Ugh, that’s incredibly hard.”

Gaining someone’s heart. Furthermore, changing a person’s fate and personality. Such tasks were highly effective, providing enough points to jump mid-levels—like 4 or 5—all at once.

To increase Wealth Luck, one must not only earn money but also know how to spend it well.

Interestingly, Wealth Luck increased more through “spending” than “earning.”

Then, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

[“Is this the ‘Uncomfortable Mr. Jong-un’ author?”]

I knew who it was. She kept calling me that, making me feel like my name had actually become Jong-un.

“Yes, that’s me. This sounds like Ms. Ye-su-ji’s voice. Right?”

[“It’s Ye Ji-soo!”]

“Ah, right.”

Actually, I was getting her name wrong on purpose. It was an appeal: I am a totally indifferent person who isn’t interested in your personal details. Because I spend my time guessing, hitting the mark, and meddling in people’s lives, I’ve been misunderstood before—people thinking I do it because I like them. With middle-aged ladies, there’s a social consensus regarding the age gap. They might treat me like a marriage counselor and say some “R-rated” things, but they generally keep the line… (So far, no one has said, “Hyeonsu-ya, touch me here,” or anything like that).

Young women are different. Therefore, it’s not bad to set the stage beforehand: I’m interested in your Saju, not you. Besides, I had already done two things that counted as “approaching” her.

“Su-ji is a prettier name, though. Like a celebrity.”

[“There’s a celebrity named Ji-soo too, you know! Can I visit the philosophy hall?”]

“Yes, come on over.”

I actually like women a lot, but due to my short height (previously), I was often rejected at the “entrance,” so I usually assumed it wouldn’t happen. However, there were always those with a “delusion of grandeur” who thought I was interested just because I gave them compliments or called them “flowers” to be encouraging. Since I’m taking money for readings now, I’m being extra careful to avoid rumors of me saying weird things. I try to prepare for almost every situation in life. There are a lot of strange people out there.

Not long after the call, there was a knock.

“Um… is this the place… ah, yes.”

“Yes, hello. Nice to meet you. Please take a seat, Ms. Ye-su-ji.”

“Are you going to keep getting my name wrong?”

“Ah, was it Ji-soo? My apologies. I have an ‘imprinting’ effect.”

“I’d appreciate it if you were careful from now on.”

“I apologize for my rudeness.”

“But why are you suddenly so polite?”

“This is work, and since we’re meeting professionally, it’s only right to show proper etiquette.”

“Your character has completely changed.”

“You were asking for overtime work during my time off. I work in the service industry, but I didn’t want to serve a customer on my holiday. If you met an employee from your favorite galbi place as a fellow diner at a gopchang restaurant, I think their reaction would be similar if you asked them to cut your gopchang for you.”

I changed my character slightly, acting like a professional who could be trusted. She was likely piqued because I had rejected her yesterday and kept messing up her name; I needed to explain myself seriously with a clear justification so that yesterday’s unpleasantness wouldn’t linger.

“Hmm, fine. You have my Saju, right?”

“I do.”

“I searched for that ‘Ghost Gate’ thing, and it said that while it’s rare, I could be possessed by a ghost. How do you interpret that in my chart?”

“Well, if you’re okay with me being blunt, I can express it in one phrase. I’ll ask for your understanding in advance.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“A crazy woman.”

“…Pardon? Uh, hmm. Wait. You mean I’m literally insane?”

“No. I mean you act like a crazy woman.”

“With a flower in my hair? Giggling? Ahahaha! Hee-hee! Like that?”

She’s a good mimic… She’s definitely done it before.

“When you get excited, you probably do weird dances in your room, and your body just starts wiggling. You probably mimic being possessed or act like a ghost in front of your friends.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“You were told you were ‘unique’ during your school days.”

“Uh, yes!”

“You’re the type who either has no enemies or settles things with them face-to-face.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Also, you’re a great liberal. You’re very generous to yourself, but you’re also generous to others. You think whatever someone does is just something a human can do.”

“Wow, wow, that is so true.”

“Because you’re such a liberal, you also show a bit of a sexually promiscuous side.”

“Oh, ah…? I think so, too.”

The more Ye Ji-soo listened, the more amazed and entertained she became. It seemed my diagnosis based on her Saju was correct.

“Except for a few things I’ve said so far, it’s all lies.”

“What?”

Ye Ji-soo’s face, which had been nodding along, went cold.

“Lies… you say?”

“The ‘crazy’ part was an exaggeration but has a basis, and the ‘liberal’ part wasn’t a lie. But the rest was just nonsense I made up that has no basis in Saju.”

“What does that even mean?”

“This Saju belongs to someone whose intellect is highly developed. You’re smart. You think deeply and you were quite good at studying. You didn’t study hard, but you were naturally good at it.”

“Is this a lie, too?”

“This is what I’m telling you based on what I can see from the Saju.”

“I’m shocked that you said those other things were lies. Why did you do that?”

She wasn’t actually mentally ill, but I called her crazy. If I suspect a real mental illness, I say they are someone whose “heart or spirit is hurting.” In this case, her head is perfectly fine, but her actions are wild. Of course, I only say such things at the very beginning. Calling someone “crazy” is funny once or twice, but after that, it just becomes offensive.

“I’ve been treating you a bit harshly since yesterday on the bus. Did you feel it?”

“You were a bit of a jerk. Getting my name wrong on purpose.”

“And yet, you said that among the things I said, the ones that were right were ‘spot on,’ didn’t you?”

“Well, because it was the truth.”

“Usually, when people are treated in a way that hurts their feelings, they feel like even the truth is a lie. Following me off the bus yesterday seemed like an act done while throwing away a fair bit of your pride.”

“Should I call that ‘throwing away pride’? I don’t think of it that way.”

“It felt like you’ve done it before.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Unexpectedly, you see.”

“I asked what you meant!”

I feigned ignorance and moved past that question. From what I’ve inferred, this is the core of her Saju. It’s best to save it for the conclusion. Endings are always more interesting when delayed as long as possible. Instead, I mixed in some appropriate praise to draw her attention.

“When a person is smart, they learn or think to have philosophy and convictions. When they have philosophy and convictions, their reason develops. And when reason develops, usually, their sensitivity decreases. You are that kind of person.”

“Is that so?”

“But it’s not. Because you have this.”

“The Ghost Gate?”

“Yes. The Gwimun-gwan-sal often symbolizes an excess of emotion. When emotions jump all over the place, people usually call it ‘crazy.’ However, if you can control those emotions and pull them out whenever you want, you can display definite genius in acting, singing, dancing, or art.”

When emotions become too excessive, reason is crushed. Then, the “sixth sense” that reason used to control is revived. This is when people start hearing frequencies from other dimensions or seeing images. The Ghost Gate can also be “fortified.” If you fortify it moderately, you can’t control the emotional excess. At a low level, you have a great ability to empathize, but you risk going mad. At a mid-level, your sixth sense awakens, giving you excellent delivery of sensation and emotion, but you risk seeing ghosts. At a high level, you might be “crazy,” but you become a genius of art—or so it says in Saju Fortification.

“Also, because your reason is strong, you often control your emotions. So, you basically look brilliant, but every now and then, people wonder, ‘What’s wrong with her?’”

“Heol… Wow, yes, that is really, really true.”

“It’s not bad. If both reason and sensitivity develop, you have a natural talent for learning and utilizing emotional things. You fill both technical skill and sensibility. The reason you write is likely because literature—novels and poetry—requires both.”

“Ah, right, you saw my writing, didn’t you?”

“Your Saju is similar to mine. I have a Ghost Gate, too.”

“Ah, so you’re a crazy guy…”

I walked right into that one.

“Except I’m ‘crazy’ in a much more sophisticated way.”

“We both got Silver, though? Ah, fine. I’ll admit it.”

Is it a sort of stubbornness where if you’re with fellow weirdos, you don’t want to lose in “weirdness”?

“The problem is this: because you’re smart and your reason is developed, your self-esteem—your so-called ‘ego’—is extremely strong.”

It means her “Self Luck” (Jaa-un) is powerful. I’m a Level 6 shameless mental-victory specialist, but she’s even more than that. It must be self-rationalization beyond mere mental victory.

“When sensibility develops on top of this, two things happen: you get a persecution complex and you become prone to confirmation bias.”

“Is this a lie?”

“No. This is in your Saju.”

“Why does everything feel like it’s true?”

I tell some truths and cleverly deceive in others, but she’s really falling for it. There are women who are so empathetic that they just say, “Right, right,” to be agreeable. But in this case, she truly believes it’s all about her.

“You get immersed in your own stories and fall into the illusion that they’re special. Like you’re the only one experiencing things that everyone else goes through.”

“And?”

“Especially since your memory and brain functions are good, you remember things that others forget—things where they’d wonder, ‘Oh, did that happen?’ you remember them vividly and amplify them. In the process, you even make stories you merely heard somewhere into your own experiences.”

“Hmm… is that a bad thing?”

“As a writer, it’s a beneficial trait. You have the talent to catch even trivial things and evoke empathy. You think you’re the only one who went through it, so you describe it in a fresh, deep way, and readers go, ‘Yes, exactly’.”

“I’m confused because I feel like that’s true, too.”

“While there’s a possibility of becoming a pathological liar, or falling into a multi-level marketing scheme or a cult…”

She’s a typical smart, high-achieving daughter who might fall for something strange. I’ve seen cases where people with a Saju similar to Ye Ji-soo’s end up as pathological liars, or in MLMs, cults, or unusual religions. In those cases, they are bright, have strong survival skills, and are shrewd, yet they get seduced by such things—and they can’t get out.

“Ah, a cult? MLM? No way. I’m not like that.”

That’s the first thing she’s denied. Cults aren’t common, and while I’ve found MLMs in this pattern a few times, there are many other patterns. If that’s the case, then in this instance…

Excluding the low-probability pathological lying, MLMs, and cults, the largest piece of the pie remains. The case that applies 70–80% of the time. I purposely used the rare examples to elicit a “no” from her. That way, what I say next will hit home even harder.

“Mainly, you suffer terribly from your love life. Especially because you meet strange partners or get into strange relationships.”

“Uh…”

I gave her a moment to chew on those words, and then I delivered the finishing blow.

“And in those, you’re the one who obsesses and gives everything, yet still gets dumped.”

“Ah, ahaha, that, ah, uh. Me, that, ah, aaaah.”

Ye Ji-soo, who had been fanning herself with her hand, couldn’t stop there. Her voice began to tremble with tears. There was a clear difference between having actually experienced it and just reacting to the idea.