Chapter 32 (1/2)
Chapter 32: Chapter 32 - With All His Heart (4)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
As Juho was about to head over to cla.s.s, something caught his eyes in the corner of the hallway . It looked like a person who had been rolled up into a giant ball . Recognizing the appearance from behind, he struck up a conversation .
”What are you doing here?”
It was Seo Kw.a.n.g .
”What are you doing?”
”I just had a flashback about my shameful past,” he shoved his fingers between his hair and ruffled it .
Seo Kw.a.n.g was writhing violently .
”What brings you here?”
”I followed you . ”
”Did you hear?”
”I did . ”
Seo Kw.a.n.g had been following Juho since he headed to the staffroom with the homeroom teacher . He had wanted to know the reason for Juho not winning the contest . He went into the staffroom and pretended to be waiting for a teacher as he eavesdropped on the conversation between the two .
It was hard to make out what the teacher was saying, but Seo Kw.a.n.g was able to get a grasp of what they were talking about . After all, Juho's compositions tended to be provocative .
He was relieved on one hand, but he couldn't bear the shame of thinking even for a moment that he had surpa.s.sed Juho with skill . In the end, he ran out of the staffroom . He couldn't help but writhe in shame as he blamed himself .
”I'm not sure what's going on in your life, but hang in there . ”
It was an irresponsible encouragement .
Seo Kw.a.n.g remained crouched and said, ”I was confused because of you . What did you write to be disqualified? Give it here . ”
After a brief moment of thought, Juho asked, ”How do I know you're not going to run off with it?”
”What are you talking about?”
'How provocative!' After talking to the teacher, a small seed of hesitation sprouted in Juho's mind .
The teacher had said it himself with a calm voice, ”You did well . I enjoyed reading it . ”
If Juho had been about the same age as the teacher, Seo Kw.a.n.g wouldn't have been so shocked . Juho was old . As old as he was, he had experience . He was different from Seo Kw.a.n.g, who was still in his reckless youth . He had probably thought to himself, 'If I work really hard, I'll be able to write like him when I'm older . '
Juho thought about the time when Seo Kw.a.n.g came over to his house . Seo Kw.a.n.g hadn't been calm . He had no idea that it took Juho thirty years of blood, sweat, and tears to get to where he is .
”It might be a bit overbearing for underage readers . ”
At his words, Seo Kw.a.n.g quietly stood up . Then, he put out his hand .
”I want to read it . Sincerely . You've got to follow the desires of your heart, right?”
That was what Juho had said when Seo Kw.a.n.g first opened up about wanting to be a novelist .
Without saying anything further, he took his paper from the top of the pile and handed to Seo Kw.a.n.g . He watched his paper reach Seo Kw.a.n.g's hand and went on his way .
Seo Kw.a.n.g stayed in the hallway and leaned against the wall . He paused briefly . His hands were getting sweaty . He took a deep breath and looked at the paper . Along with a circle around the word 'plaster figure,' the page was filled with neatly written characters .
In a single breath, he read Juho's heartfelt composition . The noise in the hallway faded away, and he heard the rustling sound of a bird in a distance .
”Ha”
That was the first thing he said after reading the paper .
'This is it . This is the feeling . '
A sense of satisfaction filled him up from deep within . That was the reason why he read .
”This guy drives me nuts!”
The story was about a plaster figure who went on a journey to find his place in the zoo . It saw all kinds of things . Animals, people, love, peace, violence, murder… At the end, the plaster figure looked back at himself—his powerless self who could do nothing apart from getting moved around by others .
The next day, the plaster figure was found shattered to pieces, and the story came to a bitter end .
”What a rascal . He has guts to write something like this at school . ”
The story had a dark tone to it . It was filled with s.e.x between animals, murder and violence . Yet, there were characters who loved and longed for peace in the middle of it all . Everyone was different . They each lived accordingly with their opinions . There was no right answer . n.o.body was better than the other . And, at the end of it, was the plaster figure itself .
”So, who's the culprit of breaking the plaster figure?”
Seo Kw.a.n.g imagined the figure shattered to pieces . Scattered debris . Broken shapes . There were no weapons of any sort within its proximity . The figure shattered its own sh.e.l.l . It broke the sh.e.l.l that was carved to look like somebody else and went on a journey to find its true ident.i.ty . It was nothing like what it had been seeing . It was neither bon.o.bo nor people . It never loved . It never knew peace . It was indifferent towards murder and violence .
Seo Kw.a.n.g looked out of the window . The figure was probably still on its journey . It had probably not accomplished anything yet . He imagined it wandering about the streets .
He didn't feel any pain .
”I'll join you . ”
He took a step toward the empty stairway .
”Sun Hwa won the award in our cla.s.s . ”
After gathering in the science room, the members started discussing the contest results amongst themselves . As Juho announced Seo Kw.a.n.g had received the award, Bom responded as if she were looking to exchange results . She looked happy . Sun Hwa also proudly raised her hands in response, and Baron joined in .
”Did you get an award too, Baron?”
”I know how to write . I just don't,” he answered brusquely . He might not say much, but he said what he needed to .
”We did an amazing job!” Bom exclaimed with joy . Every member did a remarkable job in their respective cla.s.ses . After keeping his mouth closed, Seo Kw.a.n.g said, ”So, I guess that means the three of us are getting fried chicken . ”
”I'm sharing it with Bom . ”
At Sun Hwa's words, Juho added at once, ”Then who would be so generous as to share their chicken? Baron? Seo Kw.a.n.g Kim?”
n.o.body answered .
”Kind of quiet, don't you think?”
”It's a trend nowadays to have a whole chicken to yourself . Sorry, bud . ”