Dad called from Japan. We chatted about my daily life for a bit, and I ended up telling him about my talks with Grandpa and what I was going to study next.

  “Dad, I’ve decided to learn palmistry instead of Chinese characters.”

  There was a moment of silence before Dad’s voice came back, sounding startled.

  “What? You? Palmistry? Why?”

  Shocked, Dad asked to speak with Grandpa immediately. As soon as Grandpa picked up the phone, a torrent of words seemed to pour out from the receiver. It was clear Dad wanted me to focus on the Thousand Character Classic and was firmly against the idea of me learning how to read palms.

  After a while, Grandpa spoke up.

  “Alright, I hear you. But I’m not sure if there’s really a need to force the Thousand-Character Classic on the little one.”

  “……”

  “Just trust me when it comes to reading palms and faces. I’m not trying to turn him into a fortune teller. I’m only teaching him because I’m afraid that if he doesn’t at least know this, he’ll never get married.”

  “……”

  “Goodness, it’s not just superstition. Just think of it as a type of statistics, alright?”

  After the call ended, I asked Grandpa, “Grandpa, if I learn how to read palms and faces, will my Saju show that I’ll get married?”

  Grandpa just laughed. Then he said.

  “There’s no such thing. I’m teaching you because palmistry is the perfect excuse to hold a girl's hand and win her over. That’s how you get a real chance with them.”

  When I looked puzzled, unable to understand what he meant, he flashed that signature mischievous grin of his.

  “When you see a girl you like, you just look at her face and say this, ‘I’m studying face reading and palmistry. Could I take a look at your hand?’ Do that, and nine out of ten will reach out.”

  “What does showing someone their palm have to do with getting married?”

  Grandpa couldn’t stop smiling as he explained.

  “While you’re pretending to read their palm, you get a few things right to pique their curiosity, and then you gently hold their hand. That, my boy, is how a romance begins. Then you ask for her number.”

  He was talking utter nonsense. So, I asked another question.

  “What if they don’t give it to you?”

  “Then you tell her something big is about to happen to her soon and give her your number, telling her to call when it does. Ten to one, she’ll reach out.”

  As he was explaining this, Grandpa suddenly sounded a bit annoyed.

  “If I tell you to learn, just learn! Why does a little thing like you have so many questions?”

  He said he was too tired to explain more and that I’d understand when I grew up.

  “It’s a hassle to explain the details. You can’t force feed a romance. Even if I explain it now, you wouldn't get it. But trust me, this works. Back in my day, your grandpa was~”

  [SLAP!]

  “YEOW! Hot hot hot hot!”

  Grandma, who had been listening in the whole time, finally reached her limit and let her hand fly.

  “Don't fill the boy's head with such nonsense! Stop it already!”

  To be honest, I was getting tired of it, too. He was just rambling on with difficult words I didn't understand, so I’d lost interest. Once Grandma went back to the kitchen, Grandpa looked at me with a serious expression.

  “Listen, even if the odds are low or it seems impossible, you must never give up.”

  “Huh?”

  “You gotta date around while you're young, meet all kinds of girls. That’s the only way you’ll eventually find the one who truly complements your Saju. And when you find the girl connected to your pinky by the red thread of fate, that’s when you get married.”

  “What if I never find her?”

  Grandpa thought for a moment at my question. Then, he spoke slowly and frighteningly.

  “Then you’ll never marry. Your family line will end. The Han family line ends with you.”

  Then, he suddenly pulled out a notebook and looked up my younger brother’s Saju. Grandpa had named my brother as well. And to name a child, you needed their date and time of birth, their Saju.

  According to what Grandpa told me, when naming someone, you analyze their Saju to determine their Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

  You suppress what is excessive and supplement what is lacking. For instance, if a specific element in your fate is too strong, you choose a name that counteracts it to restore balance. This principle of harmonizing the elements is called Saeng-Geuk-Je-Hwa (生克制化).

  That was why Grandpa had my brother’s Saju on him. Looking at it, Grandpa remarked.

  “Well, the family line won't end after all. Unlike you, this little brother of yours... no matter where in the world you drop him, girls will be following him in droves.”

  And so, for one reason or another, I began learning the Thousand Character Classic, palmistry, and face reading from Grandpa.

  “Cheon-ji-hyeon-hwang, u-ju-hong-hwang, il-wol-yeong-cheuk, jin-suk-yeol-jang…”

  This was the sound of seven year old Han Hyunjin, who had been dragged to the mountain village of Yeongmu-chon in the early 1980s, reciting the Thousand Character Classic. Usually, when you first learn it, you chant it like this.

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  “Sky Cheon. Earth Ji. Black Hyeon. Yellow Hwang. House U. House Ju.”

  However, Hyunjin was far brighter than other children. Noticing this, his grandfather changed the teaching method. One day, after watching Grandpa teach Chinese characters to the village kids, Hyunjin asked.

  “Grandpa, why don’t you teach me like the other kids?”

  His grandfather replied, “You think I didn’t notice you finishing your memorization and slacking off while the others were still struggling?”

  Hyunjin had thought he was smart, but his grandfather was much smarter.

  “No more useless questions. Tell me the meaning of the words you just recited.”

  Tsk, I want to go out and play.

  While Hyunjin was thinking this, his grandfather fired off a question.

  “Cheon-ji-hyeon-hwang. What does it mean?”

  Hyunjin answered immediately. “The sky is black, and the earth is yellow.”

  “Correct.”

  As Hyunjin tried to move on, he suddenly asked, “I get why the earth is yellow, but why is the sky black?”

  Grandpa said, “What do you think you’ll find if you go straight up into the sky?”

  Back then, the Soviet Union and the United States were in a fierce space race. Hyunjin’s heart always raced whenever he saw rocket launches on TV.

  “Space!” Hyunjin replied instantly.

  “And what color is space?”

  “Ah!”

  A great realization hit him. But he had no time to bask in the joy of learning.

  “What about Il-wol-yeong-cheuk?”

  “It means the sun sets in the west, and the moon waxes and wanes.”

  “And what do you think that really means?”

  “Um… just that as time passes, the sun moves to the west. Same for the moon.”

  “Correct. Then, what about Han-rae-seo-wang?”

  “When the cold comes, the heat leaves and when the heat comes, the cold leaves.”

  “Ho, so you do know the characters. Then what does that mean?”

  The questions were getting harder. Hyunjin’s head began to ache. Other kids were praised just for memorizing the characters, but he was forced to learn their deeper meanings. He was frustrated, and Grandpa didn’t miss it.

  “People don’t really understand the Thousand Character Classic. They just think it’s a book for teaching kids Chinese characters. But that’s not what the book really is.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s a book that teaches the principles of the universe. Like you said, the sun sets, the moon changes shape… it’s all in there. And it all starts with Cheon-ji-hyeon-hwang.”

  “Huh?”

  “Most of the early parts, like Cheon-ji-hyeon-hwang or Ryul-ryeo-jo-yang, are talking about one thing.”

  “What is it?”

  “Yin and Yang.”

  “Yin and Yang?”

  “Yes. Everything in the world is made of Yin and Yang.”

  “What’s that?”

  Grandpa looked amused by the question. “If there is darkness, what else must there be?”

  Suddenly, Hyunjin thought of the Book of Genesis from the Bible.

  “Li… light?”

  Grandpa’s face lit up instantly.

  “Correct! Light! I think this little rascal might actually be worth teaching.”

  And just like that, Hyunjin was caught by his grandfather and began studying Yin and Yang.

  Yin and Yang.

  Everything in the world is composed of Yin and Yang. Just as a bright sun creates a dark shadow, strong Yang energy is only possible because of strong Yin energy.

  If a man is Yang, then a woman is Yin. From such basic concepts to every object and phenomenon, Yin and Yang can be applied to everything.

  Light is Yang, shadow is Yin. Man is Yang, woman is Yin. Warmth is Yang, cold is Yin. Strength is Yang, softness is Yin.

  After listening to the explanation for a long while, Hyunjin offered his opinion.

  “So, Yin and Yang are ultimately relative?”

  Grandpa, who had been explaining for so long, looked almost deflated by how quickly I got it.

  “Wow! Exactly. You understood that just like that?”

  To be honest, Hyunjin just wanted to finish this boring lesson and run to the fork in the road where his new village friends were playing.

  “More or less.”

  At that, the Dosa’s eyes widened. He thought to himself.

  'I’m starting to feel like I really want to teach this little rascal.'

  The child wanted to play, but the Dosa wanted to teach his grandson even more.

  'Should I teach him Saju Myeongli(the study of analyzing Saju to predict one’s fate and life path)? No, for a kid from a Christian family, it might actually poison his life…'

  While he sat with his eyes closed, lost in thought, Hyunjin bolted for the fork in the road.

  When the Dosa opened his eyes and looked around, he asked, “Wait, where did the brat go?”

  His wife replied, “Hey! You’re the one who said kids need to play. Do you have any idea how many hours you’ve been making him study?”

  He looked at the clock and realized it had been well over two hours. The Dosa looked chagrined, and his wife began her relentless nagging.

  “You’re the one who said kids can’t focus for more than thirty minutes and refused to teach the village kids any longer than that! What are you doing? Trying to kill your own grandson?”

  The next day.

  The Dosa was teaching Hyunjin about the various mounts on the palm—the Mount of the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, the Sun, and so on.

  “This is one of the 'tricks of the trade' I picked up in Japan. I'll give you the basics, so memorize them, and then let’s memorize the palmistry sections from the Ma-Ui-Sang-Beop (a classic text on physiognomy). Then you'll be mostly done with the basics of palmistry.”

  Hyunjin stared intensely at the palmistry diagram for a few minutes. Then, he asked.

  “When can I go to the fork in the road to play?”

  The Dosa replied, “When you’ve memorized it all.”

  Hyunjin cheered and tried to bolt out the door. The Dosa shouted.

  “When you’re done! Not now!”

  At the shout, Hyunjin flashed a bright smile and thrust his right hand toward his grandfather. Pointing at each part of his palm with his left index finger, he said.

  “Here’s the Mount of the Moon, here’s Mars, Mercury… and this is the life line, heart line, head line…”

  After rattling them off, Hyunjin disappeared outside without even saying goodbye.

  [Whoosh~~~]

  In the empty consultation room, the Dosa muttered to himself.

  “Is it because he was born on the day of the Sin-hae pillar (the birth date pillar known for its sharp intellect and keen intuition)? The kid’s pretty sharp.”

  The next day.

  The Dosa started to get even more ambitious. He asked Hyunjin.

  “What do you want to learn after you’re done with the Thousand Character Classic?”

  Hyunjin replied, “I have to learn palmistry to get married, but if I were to learn something else, that Yin and Yang stuff was actually kind of interesting.”

  Grandpa was delighted. “Then there’s a whole field of study that came out of Yin and Yang. Are you interested?”

  Hyunjin asked, “What’s the point of learning it?”

  “What’s the point of learning the Thousand Character Classic?”

  “For my Chinese character exams.”

  It was a wise answer to a silly question. His grandfather was at a loss for words.

  After thinking for a moment, he said.

  “Saju Myeongli uses quite a few Chinese characters, too. If you don’t use what you’ve learned, you’ll forget it. If you work so hard to learn characters and then never use them, you’ll lose it all.”

  Hyunjin, never having experienced such a thing, didn't quite understand.

  “You forget things if time passes and you don't use them?”

  Realizing that the boy understood the concept, his grandfather grew even more excited.

  “Exactly. You were born on the Sinhae pillar, weren't you? You probably won't forget things easily. Fine. Let’s learn Saju Myeongli. We’ll start tomorrow.”

  And that was how Hyunjin began learning Saju Myeongli from his grandfather.