Chapter 6: Chapter 6 (2/2)
”Writing, of course. By the way, make sure you bring your pens and notebooks from now on.”
”Yes, sir…” Everyone replied ambiguously.
The questions stopped once they realized that there wasn't going to be a decent answer no matter how substantial the questions were. Mr. Moon seemed to be comforted by the fact that there were no more question being asked. It was getting tiresome to think about whether or not a teacher could behave in such a way. Besides, a teacher like Mr. Moon wasn't that bad, surprisingly.
As Mr. Moon was about to wrap up his orientation, he randomly pointed at Baron.
”I almost forgot. There's a person who hates writing among our members. I don't like to force people to do things, so I let him in. I won't leave him to be lazy, so don't complain too much. Speaking of which, is there anybody else in this group who hates writing? Does anybody have the guts to say that after joining a literature club? Is there anyone who's twisted on the inside? Now would be the time to speak up. I'll be glad to let you have the floor.”
Despite the message, his tone was pleasant. Thanks to Mr. Moon, the situation was delayed.
Sun Hwa thought to herself,
'You refuse to write in a literature club? What was the teacher thinking letting somebody like that into the club? Why is that uppercla.s.sman here anyway?'
”Then, what's Baron going to be doing?” Juho asked Mr.Moon.
An answer came from behind him, ”I'm going to be drawing.”
Juho thought to himself,
'Drawing. I guess that's kind of romantic. I was expecting something like ”I'm going to be on my study guide.”'
He looked at Baron and asked again, ”How come?”
”Because I want to.”
By now, everyone knew better than asking questions like that. Baron didn't feel like explaining himself, even if it meant giving a ridiculous answer.
Juho gladly left him be.
”Then, you must be the only art club member in here.”
”...take it as you will.”
Baron looked at Juho with annoyance. Not just Baron, but everyone else.
”So, no one else is refusing to write?” Mr. Moon confirmed again, and obviously, the result remained the same.
Clap!
He s.h.i.+fted the mood with his clap and went straight into teaching.
”Now, I'll be teaching you the basics of writing. Have you heard of the phrase 'damoon-dadok-dasangryang?'”
”Um.”
”To put it another way, it means that in order to write well, one must listen a lot, read a lot, and think a lot,” Mr. Moon explained before anybody had the time to answer.
To listen a lot, read a lot and think a lot. That was the secret to writing well according to Ouyang Xiu of China. It came up often during interviews with authors, but it was often said by the authors to make themselves look better. It was rather idiotic.
”It's very easy to write well.”
”How?”
”You just write a lot.”
”Egh.”
It was the sound of disappoint. Paying no attention, Mr. Moon carried on, ”Do you know what the very first story is when somebody picks up a pen? It's his personal story. A composition, at the end of the day, is a story from a person who writes to be read by another person. The closest person to you is yourself, so naturally, you end up writing about your personal story.”
Mr. Moon opened his palm. There was nothing on it.
”We have to write a lot. It's the only way to get better. There's a limit to sticking to your own story. What do you do when the inventory is low?”
”You borrow from another person.
Satisfied with Juho's answer, Mr.Moon smiled.
”That's right. You borrow things like an eraser or a pencil from your friend next to you all the time. So we have to borrow raw materials.”
”How do we do that?”
”You listen, you read, and you think. Start a conversation if that doesn't cut it. Give them something to eat. Bug them if necessary. Pull it out of them.”
What does one write about? Sometime it's found internally, other times externally. Let's say that somebody stepped on a rock. There are some who simply kick it away and carry on, but there are some who listen to the person, their thoughts and feelings to create a story.”
”Let's start with taking an interest in your surroundings. Speaking of which, who sticks out the most?”
”Who sticks ou…!”
”A person.”
All eyes were focused on one person. It had to be Baron. He had been the center of attention until a moment ago. Recognizing that attention again, he frowned. He already had an intimidating appearance, but he looked even scarier. Mr. Moon appeared to be happy that his lesson was flowing according to his thoughts and continued, ”The minority is bound to stick out. As a homeroom teacher, I'll give you a mission. There's no time requirement. This is also a training to be a good writer.”
”Mission?”
Ignoring Sun Hwa's dumbfounded murmur, Mr. Moon continued, ”Get yourselves a composition from that strange uppercla.s.sman. It doesn't matter what. The only condition is that Baron has to write and submit it in person.”
Juho was impressed. A person was bound to be on his toes if he tried to get something from another person. Thinking of ways to get Baron's writing, one would naturally use their eyes and ears. In the process, the chance of growing closer to Baron increased. This entire time, Juho had been thinking that Mr. Moon had no talent in teaching. Yet, that was brilliant.
”Ha!?” Baron seemed dumbfounded.
”You may do what you wish now. You can look at your study guide if you want.”
After dropping the bomb, Mr. Moon leisurely made his way out of the science room.
”Come find me in the staffroom if anything comes up,” he added.
The students who were left behind looked at each other in agreement.
'Let's not say anything for now. Let's do our own thing.'
<the basics=””> The End.
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