I once had a junior during my military service—a reserve soldier—who was two-timing. His Saju practically screamed that having women flanking him on both sides would hack away at his lifespan. When I called out his double life, he was genuinely amazed.
“Wow, they both just like me too much,” he’d say.
I felt a mix of envy and disgust. Every time I ran into him at the base, I’d nag him: “Hey, brat, wrap it up quickly. It’s draining your life force.”
His rebuttal was legendary: “Man, if I die because I had so much s*x that my energy ran out, I’m okay with that.”
Crazy bastard. Of course, I didn’t say it because I religiously believed the Saju; it was more about labeling him as a “cheating scumbag” to tease him and act close. Nevertheless, after six months of two-timing, he finally ended things with one girl. Shortly after, both the ex and the current girlfriend got pregnant.
“And then what happened?”
Perhaps because it sounded like a plot from a trashy soap opera, Ye Ji-su had stopped crying and was fully immersed in the story.
“What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“He committed suicide.”
“Who? One of the pregnant girls?”
“No, the guy who got them pregnant.”
Because I had “predicted” he might die, I ended up at the police station being questioned alongside my company commander, who was responsible for his management. The military police tried to frame it as a case of harassment or hazing. Did they really think I knew he’d die?
Because of that, my status—which had been that of a half-fraud, half-apprentice—skyrocketed. By the time I was a Sergeant, few seniors dared to order me around. I got cozy with the officers, slyly saying, “A bowl of instant noodles isn’t enough for a reading, sir,” but then… it hit me. I had accurately predicted a fate. I had gained a hollow, terrifying reputation.
Why am I telling this story now? Because agitation requires a plausible example. One based on personal experience.
“Maybe… it could have been a blessing? Why suicide?”
“That friend’s Saju and your ‘Stocking Man’s’ Saju are identical, save for a single character. Actually, his is even more dangerous.”
“My god…”
The episode itself was true, but the claim that the Saju charts were identical was a lie. They couldn’t be that similar; their birth years were different, so how could only one character vary? For the record, I know about fifty people with similar Saju “vibes.” Only that one friend died. A 2% fatality rate is significant, but there’s zero scientific basis for it. I was simply using one extreme example to mislead her into believing it was a universal truth.
“For a man with his fate, having too many women enter his life causes extreme mental stress. He has plenty of lust and tries to keep everyone, but his foundation—the background to support that lust—is weak. Specifically, by meeting many women, his ideological foundation is destroyed. For a man whose life is built entirely on that ideology, once it crumbles, his life does not last long.”
My tongue was getting long with the lies. He’s self-centered, so he’s likely been interpreting everything to suit his own narrative, but right now, she’s wavering. Everything I’ve said so far has been right, so she’s caught in doubt. I won’t pity her; she asked for this. Besides, this is the better path.
“I’m afraid you’re fanning the flames of his path to death. You said he wasn’t the type to be like this, right? Yet he spat verbal abuse and threats at you. That’s proof a person is cornered. If you keep pushing someone like that? You’ll only drive them off the cliff.”
“Yes… I was scared.”
When I spoke of his mental state, Ji-su agreed. You don’t need Saju to see he’s in a bad way. Doesn’t he seem like a suicide risk? He even sent a message saying he’d ‘kill you and then himself.’ I dropped the formal speech at the end for maximum impact.
“Why are you only thinking about your desire to see him and your hatred for his wife? Why aren’t you thinking about your oppa, who is suffering so much because of you?”
Her eyes widened. Clearly, she had only been thinking of herself. Not that I wanted to take that guy’s side, but…
“You’re right. I was. He must be struggling… he’s cornered because of me. It’s my fault he’s like this…”
Wow, she actually admitted it. With trembling, tear-stained hands, Ji-su picked up her phone. Though she hesitated, she typed out the message, character by character.
‘Because I love you, I’m leaving you.’
The ultimate self-justification of a breakup, straight out of a ballad lyric. Quite the grand justification, isn’t it? By fulfilling a tragic motive, she gains the psychological satisfaction of believing she still loves him while doing “what’s best” for him.
<Family Guardian>
You saved a family on the brink of collapse and helped keep the parents of a newborn together. By protecting the basic unit of society, you have contributed to social development. Points for Career Luck and Resource Luck have increased.
<Reformation>
An immature person who failed to realize they were harming others has finally begun to reflect and admit their faults. By educating another, points for Friendship/Ego Luck (Bi-gyeop-un), Resource Luck, and Career Luck have significantly increased.
You can now raise levels related to Career Luck and Earth attributes!
You can now raise levels related to Ego Luck and Water attributes!
You can now raise levels related to Resource Luck and Metal attributes!
The points were high enough to fill an entire level. To think all it took was one lie about her boyfriend dying.
*****************************************
“I need to buy an air conditioner.”
Self-employment is all about investment. I had planned to close the Myeong-seung Saju Clinic for a “heatwave vacation” and remodeling. Personally, I can handle the heat by opening the windows, taking my shirt off, and sitting directly in front of a high-powered fan. But that’s for when I’m using it as a workspace. This is a place of business. An office without AC in this day and age is unthinkable.
I had put up a sign saying ‘Closed for Summer,’ but since my clientele consists mostly of “Mother-types” like Mrs. Kim Sun-ok or local grandmothers, some still made the trek.
“You’re right here, so why say you’re closed? Are you even trying to do business?”
It was sweltering, and I couldn’t keep the windows closed. Looking through the back window, they could see me at my computer. One grandma who had visited three times scolded me, saying I ‘lacked the mindset of a businessman.’ A Saju reader getting scolded by his client. I couldn’t just say no.
Eventually, I found a solution: moving the sessions to a nearby cafe. It cost an extra 6,000 to 9,000 won for drinks, but it was better than the sweltering clinic. Once word got out about this new “operating style,” the number of clients didn’t drop.
“I wanted to rest, but I guess I can’t.”
Driven by my obsession with Saju Fortification, I resumed business. To maximize profit, I always ordered a plain Americano. Consequently, I suffered from the diuretic effect, peeing dozens of times a day. Now, I drink Espresso—it’s cheaper and the smaller volume makes me feel like I’ll pee less. I’ve almost befriended the cafe owner; I filled up a loyalty card for free drinks in just two days.
Today, another elderly lady arrived, and I escorted her to the cafe.
“I recently took over the place, and we don’t have AC yet because of the remodeling. I wanted to bring you somewhere cool, Mother.”
“Which coffee is good?”
“Do you like sweet things?”
Based on my parents, I knew that as you get older, it’s all about the sugar. Most elders don’t know coffee well, so they usually love sweet recommendations. I was thinking of suggesting a Caramel Macchiato.
“No, my blood sugar is high, so I won’t have that. What was it… that thing ending in ‘no’?”
“Ah, an Americano?”
Grandmas these days seem to prefer Americanos over old-school “Dabang” coffee. Maybe it’s because the media keeps bashing powdered creamer. Regardless, I welcome the Americano. Some people try to skip ordering and ask for a discount on the reading fee instead, which is awkward because two people taking up space with one drink is a nuisance. Fancy, handcrafted drinks just hurt my profit margins.
“No, that ‘Frappuccino.’ That was delicious.”
In my mind’s eye, I saw the scholar Yi Hwang flying away on a crane. I thought I was looking at a Taoist immortal.
“Ah, yes. Which Frappuccino? There are many kinds.”
“Yes. The… Green. Tea. Frappuccino.”
Mother, you know the menu better than I do. I’ve only ever had Americanos. I should probably start memorizing these; are they that good?
“Mother, that has quite a bit of sugar too.”
“It’s green tea. Green tea is fine.”
Does green tea magically flush out sugar? Sounds plausible. During the reading, I joked, “Did you come from Hadong or Boseong (famous tea regions)?” She said she actually did. She was the “Hadong Lady.”
***************************************
Perhaps because of all the women hovering around this summer, my Wealth/Partner Luck (Jae-seong-un) skyrocketed. I managed to gain two more levels. Summer already provides a bonus to Wealth Luck, so it rose even faster.
<Shifted business model to overcome the off-season. This is an achievement related to Liquid Wealth; points added to Wealth/Partner Luck.>
<Began focusing on academics as per father’s wishes. This is an achievement related to Paternal Luck; points added to Wealth/Partner Luck.>
<Spent a night with a member of the opposite s*x (non-relative). This is an achievement related to Women Luck; points added to Wealth/Partner Luck. You can now level up Wealth/Partner Luck.>
“Spent a night” sounds like someone might get the wrong idea. Anyway, with these points, I could level up. My Labor Income, Windfall, Women, and Paternal Luck were all at low levels (1–3), so I could pick anything. I started by taking Labor Income Luck LV 2. Since I was stressing over buying an air conditioner, I picked the trait ‘Buy desired items at a discount.’
Immediately after:
“Summer is still long. It’ll be hot even after Autumn begins. Summer is actually cheaper!” I managed to win the “peak season” argument with the electronics store employee. I almost got persuaded to pay full price, but once I hit Level 2, I “found” a flyer for the same store from this spring showing a lower price. He insisted the current one was an “improved version,” which was true, but even for an improvement, the price gap was too wide.
After providing a refuge for the runaway girl, my points rose again, and I could level up once more. I couldn’t take Regular Wealth due to a duplicate restriction, but I could level up Women, Paternal, or Liquid Wealth Luck.
“So the takeaway is that maintaining a relationship or a ‘some’ (flirtation) continuously generates points for Wealth/Partner Luck…”
Wealth Luck is a prerequisite on the tech tree for my goal: Housing Luck (Ju-geo-un) LV 11. The problem is that except for ‘Labor Income’ and ‘Paternal Luck,’ all the other sub-stats for Wealth Luck—if raised too high—actually decrease the points for Resource Luck (In-seong-un), which includes Housing Luck.
Tam-jae-pa-in (貪財疤人): The theory that lusting for wealth destroys character/virtue. It’s not just Saju; it’s the way of the world. People don’t look kindly on those who only care about money or the ultra-wealthy who lack virtue.
“If a wife enters, Housing Luck drops.”
If the Women Luck sub-stat of Wealth Luck exceeds a certain level, it clashes with Housing Luck. Bringing a bride home means sharing your space, which effectively “shrinks” your housing.
“I realized that just by letting her stay the night.”
To have multiple wives, you need a vast space to keep them separated. Thus, high-level Women Luck can only be reinforced if Housing Luck is also high. Those born with high Women Luck but no Housing Luck need other stats to survive: the charisma of Do-hwa-sal to prevent the wives from fighting, high Academic/Study Luck for mediation skills, and high Religion/Support/Eloquence Luck. Otherwise, they’ll be swept up in “women-related calamities” and face total ruin. Usually, the gains are larger than the losses—raising three levels of one might drop one level of the other—but you have to accept the penalty.
The tech tree looks like this:
So, for now, I must “kneel to gain momentum” for the greater Housing Luck. If you ask if I’m only doing this because I like women and money, you’re not wrong.
While I was happily looking at where to invest the points gained from ‘Family Guardian’ and ‘Reformation,’ guests arrived at the clinic.
“Oh, hello.”
“Hi there.”
“I’m back.”
It was Kim Yeon-ju (29) and Song Hee-young (43)—the civil servant duo. They had already called to say they were coming. After some brief pleasantries about Saju, they got to the point.
“Could you take this on?”
“A special lecture?”
“Yes. We’ve refined the plan to address the lack of public interest integrity you mentioned, and we’ve even recruited two other candidates.”
“I see.”
“We’re going to run the community program as three special guest lectures first, inviting the residents to attend.”
“It sounds much more professional now.”
The community center cultural lecture I had trashed for lacking public integrity had been transformed into a competitive selection process. Three practitioners—either local or from the region—were selected. They would each give a special lecture before Chuseok (Harvest Festival). Residents who attend would then fill out evaluation forms for each lecture.
“The person who receives the highest evaluation will be hired to lead the Saju Myungri lecture series for six months.”
The pay had also gone up; about 800,000 won a month for two lectures a week.
“I see the evaluation form even asks ‘Is this course necessary?’ That’s good.”
The very thing I was worried about would now be decided by the citizens. They would be asked directly if the District Culture Hall should even be hosting Saju lectures. If the feedback is overwhelmingly negative, they’ll either scrap the course or outsource it to a cultural foundation instead of the city/district office directly. It’s a decent, fair plan for civil servants.
“So, would you be willing to give a lecture in September?”
“Hmm.”
I considered it. Since education and reformation provide a lot of Saju Fortification points, it’s a very positive move. Why refuse a high-reward, low-difficulty quest? However, part of me wondered if I’d get a secret achievement if I refused three times. Also, they must have invited some heavy hitters; comparing myself to them was a bit daunting. Honestly, without Saju Fortification, I don’t have the talent to go around lecturing. What I say isn’t exactly the “absolute truth.”
“My studies aren’t that deep… however…”
Then I changed my mind. I was looking at the Saju Fortification window on my monitor—”Challenge” seemed better than “Modesty” right now. I’m no Zhuge Liang; why would they come back a third time? With Saju Fortification, even if I fail a hundred job screenings, I won’t become a dejected, unemployed man. I can raise my Ego/Social Luck (Bi-gyeop-un) or Honor/Career Luck (Gwan-seong-un) to attract followers and subordinates. When opportunity knocks, you open the door.
“I’d like to try lecturing. It sounds interesting. My qualifications and studies may be lacking, but I’ll do my best.”
“You graduated from a teachers’ college, didn’t you? You’ll be fine. Having a teaching certificate gives you credibility.”
“Pardon? How did you know that?”
“Didn’t you say you did a stint as a temporary teacher? Through the teacher training program?”
Kim Yeon-ju remembered more about me than I expected. I guess I had said that back then. Back when I was hiding my identity as a writer and hadn’t yet fully embraced being a Saju reader, I must have told her I was a job seeker based on my degree and certificate.
Once I accepted, Song Hee-young emailed me the “District Chuseok Special Lecture: Saju Myungri Plan.” It was a standard official document, but it also contained the backgrounds of my competitors. The specs of the person handling the first lecture were incredible.
“A specialist in Psychiatry… Wow. They brought in a doctor?”
I should call him “Dr. Specialist,” but for some reason, the words “Doctor Fellow” kept rolling off my tongue. I need to stop that; I shouldn’t talk like that if I ever go for a check-up. Regardless, the specs for the practitioner of the Traditional Divination lecture were amazing. A psychiatrist who learned Saju back in the day and was famous for using it in patient consultations.
Oriental medicine is rooted in traditional Five Elements philosophy, so I’ve seen many Oriental doctors who know Saju. But I’d never seen a conventional Western medical doctor who learned it.
“The feedback on my spec critique is insane. Where did they even find this guy?”
Doctors are the most educated people out there. It’s hard to argue with the authority of their knowledge. Sure, some might be clueless outside their field, but if they learn something as a hobby, they likely learn it thoroughly. They probably have Study Luck levels of 8 or 9. I was hesitant about a government institution hosting “superstitious” Saju lectures, but a psychiatrist doing it? That sounds legitimate. I actually want to attend his lecture. I’m a resident too; maybe I should go.
“But you want me to compete with this guy?”
Don’t go crushing my spirit like that.
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂