Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go.
Principle 4: Feng Shui for a Go salon
Principles of Yin and Yang:
"4. Yin and yang can transform into one another."
May 2002 (a day after the Hokuto Cup), Tokyo, at a Go salon
Hon Suyong tapped his fingers on a table impatiently. The Hokuto Cup had ended the day before but he didn't go back to Korea immediately, he had decided to stay in Tokyo for a few days for a short sight-seeing trip before heading back home. Yet, he didn't have a chance to enjoy the city or visit other Go salons as was his original plan.
So why did he get stuck in his uncle's Go salon alone instead of leisurely jazzing around Tokyo?
The answer was his uncle.
His uncle had closed his Go salon today to welcome a very special guest. Unfortunately, his wife suddenly fell sick and was sent to a hospital. Therefore, he had no choice but to stay at the hospital to look after her. Because this VIP's schedule was extremely tight, it was very hard for his uncle to get him to visit his Go salon. Not wanting to lose this opportunity in vain, he had asked Suyong to greet the guest on his behalf.
If it was someone else, the young pro wouldn't have given a damn. However, he couldn't just turn a deaf ear to his uncle's request. A year and a half ago, when he had hit a losing streak making him too depressed to play and withdraw from everything, it was his uncle who had sheltered him. He hadn't only taken Suyong under his roof but he had also taken care of him, patiently given him advice when he needed and let him be when he wanted to be alone; he had given him a peaceful retreat. If his uncle hadn't let him stay with him in the first place, he wouldn't have met Shindou Hikaru, who (despite his rudeness) pulled him out of despair, gotten him back on his feet and made him become the Go pro he was nowadays. For this reason, there was no possible way for Suyong, who strongly felt indebted to his uncle for his sympathy and patience, to say no.
But then again, a Feng Shui master? He frowned and shook his head in disagreement.
After his uncle had grumbled to his friend about how bad the business had been, said friend had told him that, in order to attract more customers, it was necessary for the Go salon to be re-arranged according to the Feng Shui principles. He then introduced Suyong's uncle to a famous Feng Shui advisor and pulled strings to squeeze his uncle into the consultant's busy agenda.
When Suyong had first heard about this illogical and unscientific idea, he had urged to tell his desperate uncle that the reason he didn't get clients as much as he wanted was because even with 80,000 Koreans in Tokyo, there were only few who played Go, and that was a fact that had absolutely nothing to do with the decoration of the Go salon. Still, how could he say that to the one who had always been so kind to him?
Now that his uncle was at the hospital, it was Suyong's job to receive the Feng Shui consultant, take notes of everything that the man said and give them to his uncle who would later re-organize the Go salon based on the instructions.
This explained why Suyong had been kept in a solitary confinement (his uncle's empty Go salon) on the day which was supposed to be his day off.
He should be arriving any minute. Looking at a wall clock, Suyong thought.
Right on queue, the door opened, and a gentle voice greeted. "Good afternoon,"
Suyong turned around to meet to his long await visitor; the rumored renowned Feng Shui master.
However, Fujiwara no Sai was anything the boy had imagined he would be. The image of a Feng Shui master in his mind was either a man old enough to be his grandpa wearingChinese traditional cheongsam with mandarin collar with a Feng Shui compass in his hand or an untrustworthy looking guy in an expensive suit. To put it simply, to him, a Feng Shui master was either a superstitious aged man or a swindler.
However, Fujiwara no Sai was neither of those. He couldn't be more than thirty years old. In his delicate hand was an elegant white fan, not the Feng Shui compass. So, the fool and superstitious grandpa type didn't fit him.
True, he wore a fancy suit but he didn't have a disgusting or treacherous aura around him like a gold digger either.
Suyong quickly observed the young man who was giving him a warm smile and looking at him with his beautiful azure blue eyes. No, he looked nothing like a fraud; he was more like a celebrated yet friendly model who had just jumped off the catwalk.
The stunning visitor put a strand of his long silky hair behind his ear and spoke up. "You must be Hong Suyong-kun."
The Korean boy nodded. I guess uncle has already told him about me. Good, I'm too lazy to tell him the whole story. He gestured the Feng Shui specialist to go inside. "Please come in," he invited.
But Fujiwara didn't. He turned back, opened the door and stuck out his head.
"Ano, Fujiwara-san?" Suyong called, wondering what in the world he was doing.
The Feng Shui counselor closed the door and turned around to face him. "You should put a mat outside the entrance," he said in a professional manner, "it will give a warm and welcome feeling to your clients."
"Eh? Oh!" Realizing that the "Feng Shui hour" has already started, Suyong brought out a notepad and a pen from his back pocket and began writing down Fujiwara's advice.
"I recommend a blue mat." Walking into the Go salon, the Feng Shui master suggested. "It will make opportunities flow into your business." He stopped at a counter, leaned over it, quickly scanned the counter and said, "Better place red cloth under the telephone. It will improve your communication and bring you positive prospect. Ah!"
His sudden exclaim caused the 1-Dan jump. What? "What is it?" he asked eagerly, and his eyes widen with excitement. What's wrong?
A troubled frown appeared on Fujiwara's gorgeous face. He reached to pick out something from the counter and showed it to the Go pro. It was a crystal paperweight in a dome shape. "Putting it on a pile of bills like this will only raise your expenses," he enlightened the boy. "Here," he laid it on a telephone book, "this is where it should be. Putting it on top of an account receivable book, a contact list or any paper related to incoming funds will increase your earnings."
"I see," Suyong nodded, scribing down the instruction.
And so, they strolled around in the salon. Fujiwara commented that the layout of the salon was good, no reconstruction was needed, just some simple changes in decoration should do the trick (in drawing money). Suyong was relieved to hear that. It would cost his uncle a fortune if they had to remodel the salon.
After that, the famed expert started shooting his suggestions. Suyong, whose wrist was starting to ache from writing too much and too fast, felt a newfound respect towards journalists who actually did this for a living.
Place a vase of fresh flowers tofuel a good 'Chi'
Decorate the salon with bright colors to inspire creativity
Throw away old magazines piling up on the floor coz it will keep uncle stuck in the past
The southeast corner is the wealth corner-have to keep it clean and organized… And so, the list went on.
"…should put round leafed plants in this corner to bring the positive 'Chi' because plants symbolize life and growth." Fujiwara turned around to face Suyong who was following him like a puppy and snapped his fan close. "But not sharp leafed plants," his voice sounded almost like a threat, "they create attacking energy, not good."
The salon's nephew nodded obediently and noted down. "No plants with sharp leaves, got it."
Flowers and plants…His suggestions are easy enough, they aren't complicated or required lot of money. "Or maybe a piece of sun mineral like Citrine and Pyrite, it'll attract wealth and build up your confidence."
Citrine? Pyrite? As in a gemstone?
"…an aquarium is the best since water supports wood. Yes, yes." Arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed, he spoke nodding to himself. "Nine gold fish will be perfect." It appeared that the young instructor was completely lost in his little Feng Shui world.
An Aquarium? Who will take care of the fish then? Uncle? No way…
Completely oblivious of his companion's uneasy expression, he continued, "…eight is a lucky number, so eight gold fish will bring prosperity and the black fish is said to be a symbol of protection and,"
Okay, this one is a little bit demanding. "Excuse me, Fujiwara-san," Suyong interrupted, "getting pet fish is too difficult for my uncle, you see," he laughed awkwardly, "he's not good with raising pets." Neither am I.
"Oh, I see," the Feng Shui guru smiled understandingly. "A painting of a golden fish will do too," he informed him, "but they aren't as good as the real fish though." Tapping his fan against his palm, he though over it. "What about an indoor fountain then?"
"An in door fountain?" Suyong repeated.
"Fountains or waterfalls are helpful. They restore the flow of fresh 'Chi', represent of flowing money and have a soothing sound." Fujiwara explained.
"Hmm, a painting or an indoor fountain, huh?" Suyong muttered while writing a note. The inability to keep a pet alive was the Hons's curse for generations, although an aquarium didn't cost much, he didn't want the life of those unfortunate gold fishes to waste either. Hence, he was pleased to know that there were alternative ways. Fujiwara was clearly a flexible guy, which was good.
The "Feng Shui hour" continued for a while. Whenever Fujiwara advised something, Suyong would dutifully scribe it down as he had been told.
Then the sharp-eyed man noticed a box full of Go-bowls in one corner, neglected. The Go bowls however were in a good condition; it would be such a waste to throw them out. "Your uncle is going to throw them away?" He asked inquiringly.
Suyong's eyes followed his. "You mean those Go-bowls? No," he shook his head, "Not yet anyway. Some Go stones in those jars are either cracked or have its color peeling off. Uncle intended to take them out from the Go-bowls and dump them but he didn't have time to do it so…here they are." He shrugged indifferently. "It's been there for…like forever."
Fujiwara's beautiful face clouded with disapproval. "Broken things are bad. They bring bad luck. You either fix them or get rid of them, but not leave them like this."
"Oh, okay," the Go pro nodded, "I'll tell my uncle."
Fujiwara looked at the wall clock, and an idea hit him. "Why don't we do it together?"
"Huh?"
"I said 'Why don't we do it together?" he said it again. "You know," he shrugged before adding to make it clear, "get the flawed Go stones from the good ones and clean the good ones."
"Why would you ever want to do that?" Suyong looked at the man as if he went crazy. He knew it was rude to question his consideration but he couldn't help it. What had possessed him to volunteer to do such a boring work, let alone a stranger's work?
Scratching his cheek with embarrassment, Fujiwara laughed awkwardly and came clean. "Well, to be honest, I have nothing else to do today."
Well, that's very honest, isn't it? The Korean noted.
"…suddenly, all of my clients cancelled our meetings and postponed the meetings for another day. That's why I'm able to come here today otherwise I won't be available until 9 p.m. What a coincidence, don't you think? I mean what is the percentage of five people, who do not know each other, to catch a cold on the same day?" He asked the short boy, and astonishment sparked in his eyes. "I'm really worried though," he uttered after a short pause. "Is influenza spreading right now? I didn't hear the new," he said it with a concerned expression, worried about his customers.
"My friend pulled some strings to get us this meeting," his uncle had told Suyong.
Don't tell me that… "Hahahaha," Suyong forced a very unnatural laugh and replied, "I didn't hear about it either."
"Hmm." If Fujiwara was suspicious of him, he didn't voice it out.
After that they began picking out blemished Go stones and cleaned the ones that could still be in use. While doing it, they talked surprisingly enough about Go. Suyong was taken aback that Fujiwara knew the game. He was even more flabbergasted to learn that the Feng Shui master was actually interested in the game, Go wasn't popular among young people after all, and he was completely stunned when Fujiwara mentioned An Te-Son. When he told Fujiwara that he didn't expect him to know about the Go world this much and that he didn't look like a Go player at all, the guy merely laughed it off before telling him that he had been learning the game since his young age with a Go pro and also had a Go pro as a best friend. He also revealed that he heard the name of An Te-Son from that Go-pro friend of his. However, as his friend didn't see eye to eye with the Korean celebrity, he wanted to know what kind of person An Te-Son was.
"Your uncle told me about you." Fujiwara told him. "You're a Korean Go pro too, you know An Te-Son-san too right?"
Of course, Suyong knew said pro well. He wasn't only Yongha's mentor but also a manager of the Korean Team during the Hokuto Cup, the international Go tournament which had just ended the day before.
"Yongha?" the blue-eyed man thought for a second and shook his head. "Never heard of him."
"He's my friend. He's two years older so I think of him as my senpai." A picture of Yongha making his rude speech on a stage flashed in Suyong's mind. Frankly, at this moment, I'm not sure who is the older one anymore. Without thinking, he let out a long and weary sigh.
That triggered Fujiwara's interest. "What is it? Did you two have a fight?"
"A fight, yes," Suyong replied automatically, "but not with me."
"So what happened?" the curious Feng Shui specialist asked.
"Well, you see, it all started because-" Realizing that he was about to rant about his best friend's bad attitude to a complete stranger, the teen shut his mouth. "Err, ahmm, well, I don't think we should talk about this." He muttered uneasily and got back to work, all of a sudden, washing the Go stone was so interesting.
"You were ready to tell me a second ago." Fujiwara stated. "You look like you want to let it out." Seeing the troubled boy answered him with silence, he apologized. "Please forgive my rudeness. I didn't mean to force you."
"Oh, it's alright!" Suyong assured him. "I'm not angry or anything."
The older man stopped rinsing the Go stones and gave him a bow in gratitude. "Thank you for your kindness," he spoke before getting back cleansing the stones again. "It's just a bad habit of mine. Can't stand seeing people in trouble, after all, giving an advice is what I do for a living." He smiled kindly at the boy.
This time it was Suyong who stopped cleaning the Go stones. He pondered hard. Sure, he wasn't supposed to dish the dirt about Yongha to a stranger. Yet, he couldn't get rid of his frustration over his friend's childishness. He sighed deeply and muttered in a weary tone. "It's really stupid." He then narrated whole mess about Shindou and Yongha to Fujiwara who simply listened to his grumbling without interrupting, waiting for him to let out all of his anger. He couldn't help but think how much this guy and his uncle were alike; they both knew when to give a push and when not to. This might be the reason he felt strangely comfortable around him to the point that he came clean and told him all about the irritation kept inside his heart. "Seriously, I don't know who is supposed to be older and wiser between the two of us anymore," he complained.
"Sometimes even the most mature person does childish things," the Feng Shui master responded. "Yin-Yang even has a theory to explain this behavior," he mentioned.
"Theory? Yin-Yang?" Yin-Yang and Yongha?
"Yes," Fujiwara nodded, "one of the principles of Yin-Yang says that Yin and Yang can transform into one another. When one aspect goes to an extreme, it will undergo a reverse transformation into the opposite character," he explicated the concept in a professional manner. "For example, some species of fish have females that transform into males when males aren't enough."
Suyong considered it for a moment. "I think I got it," he replied thoughtfully. "It's like when a pointer of a weighing apparatus reaches the heaviest scale and returns to zero again."
The Feng Shui consultant beamed. "You got it right! What a smart boy you are!"
Upon hearing the compliment, the boy smirked proudly. "Still, I wonder what Yongha will say when he knows that you compare to a transsexual fish." He joked causing Fujiwara laugh. "So how long until he's going to quit being a childish jerk anyway?" He wondered.
"It depends on each person, everyone has his own way." Ignoring his sarcasm towards Yongha, Fujiwara replied. "Every time we wake up in the morning, we change from Yin state to Yang state. Some take their time before getting up; the transformation of Yin to Yang can last for an hour. While some just open his eyes and jump out of bed. See, in this case, the reverse transformation lasts only a few seconds." He put it in plain words so the young pro could understand. "Our life is about Yin and Yang but most people just don't notice it." He made it sound as if he was sharing the secret to an eternal life.
"So there is a chance that Yongha will keep acting like a brat for a very, very long time," Suyong assumed.
"Don't worry," Fujiwara gave him a warm smile, and it somehow made him feel secure. "Judging from what you told me, it's not Yongha-kun's character to be like this. I'm sure that he will return to himself in no time." He assured.
"I hope you're right." Suyong truly did. "One Shindou Hikaru is more than enough. Having two Shindou is a disaster. It's the world's destruction." He declared.
Sai studied his host; he showed no hesitation, his voice was firm and gravely serious. Shindou Hikaru? Where did I hear that name before? He wondered.
End of Chapter 4
Word Count: 3245
Special Thanks: my dear beta-reader, Sara
AN: I think I'm developping a multi personality disorder from writing a fic that comes from too many POV - -"
Info:
Pic of Chinese traditional cheongsam with mandarin collar
www(dot)chinesekungfuhustle(dot)com(slash)product(underscore)info(dot)php?pID=1172&model=CS-CS-1A-WCT&name=Mandarin+Collar+Cheongsam+(Wadded+Cotton+Twill)
Fan: Yeah, I know the Feng Shui stuff are quite details and informative. However, I put them all to show that Kuwabara has many Feng-Shui-related plants that support his life in every aspect.