Geomancy couple

Chapter 77: Chapter 77

“Have you heard about the crystal?”

At that moment, she recalled reading in a fairy tale book that a witch wiped a crystal marble as large as a watermelon.

“Crystals are used by witches or gypsies, aren’t they?”

“Why do you think so?”

“I have no idea,” she responded casually while puzzling over the reason. Why a crystal marble? Because it’s clear? Or because it’s beautiful? “I don’t know.”

Pouring violet quartz tea into her cup once more, he explained, “Crystals purify the bad energy force of the space. Crystals have become spiritual jewel in the East and the West because they allegedly help restore one’s immune system. In other words, crystals are the jewel of one’s soul.”

That was a fantastic name: Jewel of the Soul.

She used to look down on jewels as luxury items, but he now said they purified one’s soul. She felt bitter when she thought that there was a gap between the rich and the poor even when it came to healing one’s soul.

She felt sorry about her soul as she had no gold ring or diamond necklace.

“In fact, there are many people who get by everyday by relying on the force of crystals. Women use crystals as their ear rings. What about men? What is the man’s use for the crystal? It’s in their watches.”

“Watches?”

The symbol of successful men is their high-end watches. Every magazine editor knew that basic fact. Was it because they dominate time? Arum couldn’t understand why successful men were so obsessed with watches.

He untied his watch and showed its back to her.

“Do you see the lettering quartz here?”

Arum confirmed it.

“This word comes from the village Quartz in Germany. It means crystal. In other words, this watch contains crystals inside. When stimulated electronically, it vibrates 30,000 times per second.”

“Per second?”

She tried to conjure up the image of a small quartz vibrating 30,000 times, but she couldn’t. She just felt dizzy while imagining it moving 30 times per second.

“The semiconductor counts vibrations, and then moves the second hand just once. It is no exaggeration to say that we use the power of crystals to check time and live everyday.”

‘So, is the watch the answer?’

Arum was really anxious to ask that question, but she felt it was not the answer. His prescription couldn’t be that easy.

She racked her brain to come up with the right answer, but she got more and more confused.

She just drank up the cold violet quartz tea. She expected its energy force, but it was just plain water.

“Put a pair of crystal mandrian ducks under the bed of their house. It should be a pair.”

She came to her senses suddenly. He just gave her the advice she badly wanted.

“Mandrian ducks?”

She had never seen that bird before. She was rather familiar with the word ‘lovebird bedding.’ The blankets and mattresses with the drawings of that bird were the essential item of the newlyweds’ home furnishings from ancient times.

When she got engaged to Konsu, she had a subtle war of nerves with her future mother-in-law over the matter of buying a bed and a mattress. While the former wanted a modern-style one, the latter insisted on the one with the mandrian lovebird.

“Mandrian ducks are intimate birds, so you have to wipe them all the time to not get dusty.”

“Yes, I’ll keep it in mind.”

With his advice, she stood up.

***

After Hojoon gave Arum a ride to her house, he went in and sat face to face with her at the dining table.

As it was quite dark outside, she brewed decaffeinated coffee. Its delicate fragrance always made the atmosphere cozy.

“Hahaha!” Hojoon burst into laughter after he got in.

“Isn’t it like tying a bell on the neck of a cat?”

“Sort of.”

Though she shrugged her shoulders, that was true.

Putting a pair of crystal mandrian ducks under the newlyweds’ bed was a tough job.

“Do you think Konsu can accept your suggestion?”

“If he can’t, I think I have to put it there secretly.”

“Have you ever seen mandrian ducks?”

“Maybe I saw them in a book.”

She couldn’t remember. But she thought birds were all similar.

“Do you know the meaning of the Chinese characters wonang of that bird?”

“Is there any meaning in the bird’s name? Can you find any meaning in the name of magpies or sparrows? They are just birds.”

“I don’t know about other birds, but the name of wonang or mandrian ducks has its own special meaning. The first letter ‘won’ means male, while ‘ang’ refers to ‘female.’ The two characters become one when they are placed together.”

“That’s a tragedy. Wonang birds don’t have anything like celibacy? These days there are many who want to stay single all their lives.”

“Are you now jealous of the bird’s name?”

“Yes, I feel jealous.”

“Newlyweds use the blankets and mattresses with the pictures of wonang to obtain its energy force.”

But Arum focused on her smartphone and surfed on the shopping applications.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Nope. I have to do the shopping. I’ve found it!”

She showed him the screen of her cell phone.

He saw the crystal accessories of cozy mandrian ducks shining on the screen.

“Oh, that looks good!”

Hojoon clapped his hands at her quick move, saying, “As far as your plan is concerned, you are the fastest one that puts it into action, aren’t you?”

She thought the case of Konsu was over.

Like the saying, ‘After a storm comes a calm,’ her relationship with him would be firmer after all the dust settled.

She felt as if she could be infinitely generous to Konsu.

Now, all she had to do was to call Konsu.

Hojoon smiled at her, saying, “The item is out of stock now.”

“What?”

She looked at the screen of her smartphone again.

Only then did she notice the words, ‘Out of stock’ on it.

“What the heck?”

Her excitement instantly dropped.

“Is there any other item?” furtively looking at her smartphone, he asked.

“There are other items, of course. But I would like to obtain it as soon as possible. When I checked somebody’s personal blog, I discovered that it took as many as three months for him to receive the special order. Dang it! This is not a mandrian duck, but a swan.”

She didn’t expect that it would be so difficult to buy a pair of crystal mandrian ducks.

“Alas, what should I do?”

She almost gave up with a dejected look.

At that moment, she found one.

“Wow! This is a mandrian duck, isn’t it?”

She showed him the picture of mandrian ducks in an online site specializing in used goods.

“Right. What are you going to do?”

Hojoon made a perplexed expression.

“I should go and see the seller, if I can buy it today.”

The ad on the crystal mandrian ducks said: <Direct sale>

“Are you going to go to Kangrung now?”

“Won’t you go with me now?”

“Let’s go during the weekend.”

“No, right now,” she said, standing up with a car key.

It’s 11PM.

Hojoon sat in the seat next to the driver’s. He let out some fake laughter when he saw the signpost ‘Kangrung.’

Holding a car key, she said she would drive to Kangrung now. She already sent the seller a text message that she would buy it the next morning.

At first, he sat in the passenger’s seat to dissuade her from going there. He decided that after she drove the car about 30 minutes, he would ask her to pull over at a rest area for a cup of coffee and then change her mind.

But once she put on the accelerator pedal, she never stopped at a highway rest area. She was still driving for one hour. If she drove a little longer, she would arrive at the midpoint between Seoul and Kangrung.

‘Dang it. It’s too late to go back,’ he thought.

What if he knew she drove the car to Kangrung by herself?

Most likely, he would have followed her.

“Is anybody chasing you? Let’s stop at a rest area for a break,” Hojoon complained, at last.

“Sure, no problem,” she answered, as if she was waiting for the request.

“If I drive 5km from here, there is a rest area.”

“Let’s go back, it’s not too late,” he said, trying to read her mind.

“Shall we?” she answered quickly.

“Dang it. Are you kidding me?”

“You suggested we go back to Seoul, didn’t you?”

“It looks like you’re going to put me through trouble since it’s too late to go back, aren’t you?”

Hojoon already read her mind, and went on, “Are you so excited to go to Kangrung even without sleeping?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Do you really think Konsu and Yuyoung can get reunited right away?”

“Don’t you think so?” she asked back, with a surprised look.

She had never doubted the results of his father’s geomancy advice.

She drank crystal tea several times to obtain his secret geomancy advice.

Could it prove worthless?

There was a real possibility. Why didn’t she think of it?

Suddenly, she got chills.

“Is it possible that your father’s geomancy advice won’t take any effect?”

“Maybe or maybe not.”

“How come your answer is so ambiguous?”