22 Chapter 22 - Injured, Discretion, Non-permanent Marker (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”Word chain, go! Next member.”
”Huh? Me?”
Although he was caught off guard by Mr. Moon's sudden shouting, Seo Kwang calmly thought of a word. Juho had been just as confused. For someone who started something in such an abrupt manner, Mr. Moon looked peaceful. With a piece of chalk in his hand, he waited for Seo Kwang's answer.
”I, injured.”
Then Seo Kwang looked at Juho. While observing Mr. Moon's expression, Juho continued after Seo Kwang.
”Discretion.”
Then, he looked at Baron, who complained about having to participate and then said, ”Non-permanent markers.”
*TL Note: (유성펜 would be a permanent marker, but I'm going with non-permanent for the continuity sake.)*
”OK! We'll stop there.”
The end of the game was just as sudden as the beginning. Everyone looked at Mr. Moon, waiting for an explanation. Mr. Moon wrote down the three words on the chalkboard and then looked at the club members.
”Starting now, you're going to write something using these three words.”
”What?!” Sun Hwa complained loudly.
Although the others kept quiet, their expressions weren't exactly bright either. Even Baron had a surprised look on his face, but as usual, Juho remained composed.
Writing based on a suggested topic was a commonly used format in essay contests. Of course, word chain was a lousy method for coming up with multiple topics. Thanks to Mr. Moon's creative approach, the result was complete nonsense: injured, discretion, and non-permanent marker.
Mr. Moon didn't wait for the members to come to their senses. He continued on with his instructions.
”The time limit is thirty minutes. You'll be writing in prose.”
”Thirty minutes?!” everyone complained about not getting enough time.
Without budging, Mr. Moon explained his reasoning behind that seemingly impossible time limit, ”This is training to minimize hesitation in your writing.”
”You mean we're not working on our writing style?”
”That's a given. One inevitably becomes a better writer the more he or she writes. The more you write, the better you get. Simple and honest. In other words, whatever the training is, what matters is that you write. I've said this before.”
The members nodded. They remembered it from their first day.
”The problem is, writing isn't that simple. You start getting ambitious. You're going to want to write well, but you're not going to know what to write about. Well, maybe it's a little weird to say 'you're going to want to write well.' I don't really like the sound of that. You won't be able to write a single line.”
A story came to completion after countless revisions. In order for revisions to take place, there had to be a draft: the very first completed draft.
Nobody wrote a perfect draft from the get-go. The members had to complete their first draft with the assumption that there would be revisions down the line. It was not an easy task.
”So, thirty minutes. There's no time to be idle. Just start writing. Don't worry about fixing things at the moment. You guys are good at procrastinating, right?”
”It is our specialty,” Juho answered.
Even as the students understood Mr. Moon, they complained all the same, ”Is there enough time to even think?”
”Don't even worry about that. I won't start the timer until you all start writing. That means everyone's timer will start accordingly. Start writing once you've put enough thought into it.”
As he spoke, Mr. Moon brought out four timers from a corner of the room. Now, there was nothing to complain about.
”Now, begin.”
At Mr. Moon's mark, the members began to brainstorm. For the time being, Juho wrote down the three keywords on the top of his paper: injured, discretion, non-permanent marker.
Everyone had been complaining that thirty minutes wouldn't be enough time, but Juho thought otherwise. If there wasn't enough time, then he simply had to write something short.
”What do I do? Injured, injured… Maybe there needs to be some sort of an accident.”
”You just had to pick that word, huh?” Sun Hwa said to Seo Kwang as he frantically repeated the same word to himself.
”I think it's better than non-permanent marker.”
”What did you say?”
”Nothing, Baron.”
As she struggled, Sun Hwa moved her eyes restlessly like she had thought of something. She had thought of a girl who had been stranded. She wanted to write a story about her escape in search of freedom (or discretion).
'Injured. What if the story takes place in a hospital? The only word left is the 'non-permanent marker.' Non-permanent. Non-permanent marker. A girl trapped in a hospital and a non-permanent marker…'
After a brief moment of thought, Sun Hwa started writing as if she had given up thinking any further.
'I'm sure things will come as I write,' she thought. Her timer started ticking.
Bom hurried as she watched Sun Hwa. Struggling to come up with an idea, she looked around the room just as Mr. Moon had previously taught. That moment, her eyes stopped at Baron's sketch book.
'Drawing, non-permanent marker,' Bom focused her perspective onto Baron's drawing and then dug deeper into her thoughts.
The mind was fascinating in the sense that it craved something that the body was incapable of doing. For example, one could feel the urge to go for a run after hurting his leg, or have the urge to draw after hurting his hand.
Although she was concerned about whether she would be able to write everything in time, Bom held her pen and started writing.
”What the, did you all start writing already?”
”You can think all you want.”
”Still, I feel like I'm in a hurry. You're not exactly in a position to be talking either, you know?”
It was no wonder, considering that Juho hadn't written anything other than the three keywords. Juho and Seo Kwang were the only two who still hadn't come up with an idea. Despite that, Juho seemed like he had all the time in the world.
As he rushed Juho, Seo Kwang exclaimed, ”Ah!” He had thought of something. He had thought of a story that could thoroughly embrace the three keywords.
”I'll be going now, my friend.”
”You could've waited a little longer.”
After heartlessly abandoning his friend, Seo Kwang started writing down his ideas in a hurry.
'What would discretion mean to a student? It'd be absence. Not going to school.'