Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

The bell rang . When Juho looked at the clock, he realized that the first period had just ended . The cla.s.sroom became rowdy, and Mr . Moon left the room . Juho stared at his paper . He had not written a single word . There were about three hours left at that point, and there were a few half decent ideas floating around in his head . He needed something to bring it all together .

"There's still time," he murmured quietly .

'It's break time, so I should rest my mind for a little bit,' he thought .

He leaned against the rigid backrest of his chair . While he was idly staring at the ceiling, he heard Seo Kw.a.n.g getting out of his seat, leaving the cla.s.sroom unhurriedly .

On the seat he left behind, there were bits of eraser dust and a sheet of gray paper . There was about ⅔ of the page written . Much like Juho, Seo Kw.a.n.g had circled the word 'plaster figure . ' He had chosen the same topic . Juho tried to think about what he had been doing while his friend was busy writing, but soon, gave up and closed his eyes to calm his mind .

'My shoulders are too tense right now,' he thought to himself . When he relaxed his shoulders, the rigidness of the backrest a.s.serted itself . He was finally in a good place to write .

The bell rang again . As soon as he opened his eyes, the distant noise rushed back into his ears . Some were complaining about the contest lasting for another three hours . Some were asking one another if they could read each other's paper, whereas some were busy protecting what they wrote .

Some were simply complaining for the sake of complaining . All of those different emotions and voices mingled into a big mound, and that mound was a form of protest . It was a protest against fading away as they were and a protest to be remembered . As a proof, Juho couldn't help his eyes turning towards it .

"Now's not the time . "

As he was about to gather himself again, he saw Seo Kw.a.n.g walking into the cla.s.sroom . Seeing how his sleeves were slightly wet, he must have gone to the restroom . He sat down at his seat and took a brief moment to think . Soon, he started writing again, hard at work .

His shoulders and elbows were moving . His body leaned slightly forward . He was concentrating . At a glance, he kind of looked like a runner in the moments right before the start of a race .

As Juho stared into his back, he remembered something, 'I won the award . '

It was a fragment of a memory that had been worn out with only a small portion remaining . Inside, was Juho himself, taking the award as if he deserved it . At that time, he had already been bound to win the contest . It had been obvious . He had already been a professional writer by then . There had been some contestants who hadn't even been close to being amateurs . To them, writing had been secondary, and they had been busy playing around with each other . Some contestants had even submitted blank pages . The cla.s.sroom had been twice as noisy, and he had struggled twice as much to concentrate .

Back then, he had not been close to Seo Kw.a.n.g . In fact, they had not even talked to each other . Just like he had been with Ina Jang, Juho was disappointed in his past self .

'I see . Maybe, I've already disappointed myself,' he thought to himself .

He glimpsed down at his slippers . They were slightly dirty . He felt like he had been careful when he first bought them, but now, that didn't even matter .

Out of the blue, he thought that the sound of kids talking resembled the sound of rain . In his mind, his shoes were already wet . There was a puddle in front of his eyes . Without hesitation, he jumped in . The water splashed in all directions . It was refres.h.i.+ng .

He looked at his hand dripping with water and thought to himself, 'I might as well have some fun while I'm at it . '

Then, he looked at his blank page . Faint excitement tingled the tips of his fingers . Now, he was in a really good place to write . On a line that stretched endlessly, he wrote his first sentence .

"OK, submit your papers now . "

His story came to an end at Mr . Moon's announcement . Fortunately, the ending was not as absurd as the protagonist dying from a head injury by monkeys raining from the sky .

"Well, I managed to finish in time . "

He was relieved that he had written something and put up his hands in the air and stretched . After waiting for the wave of kids that flooded the front of the cla.s.sroom, he finally walked up to Mr . Moon to submit his work .

Mr . Moon asked him, "You were serious this time, right?"

"I wrote with all my heart . "

Mr . Moon had been emphasizing the end to him, but by that point, he had given up on that persistent absurdity . For that reason, Juho often heard him grumbling about his teaching career . He did feel sorry for Mr . Moon, but there was nothing that could be done .

As he went back to his seat, Seo Kw.a.n.g turned around with the backrest in between his legs . His hands were glowing red . Juho looked down at his own hands . They were the same .

"I really worked my b.u.t.t off," Seo Kw.a.n.g said proudly . His concentration was actually quite impressive, even in Juho's eyes . His shoulders had been moving throughout the duration of the contest . It had almost looked like he had been putting in the same amount of concentration he invested into reading . It explained the satisfied look on his face .

"How about you?" he asked .

Juho answered him while rubbing his fingers that still glowed red, "Me too . "

'Clap, clap, clap . '

The kids clapped insincerely . It was time to give out the certificates and announce the cla.s.s winner . Everyone was lukewarm, from the awardees to the clapping teachers and students . Juho was one of them . As a gesture of support, he threw his hands up in the air .

"Last , but not least, the winner of this essay contest is…"

The teacher took his time . The students kept their eyes fixed on his lips in antic.i.p.ation . Whether they had tried or not, all contestants were probably hoping secretly that their name was called . That was the effect an award had . Whether one had fought for it or not, he longed for it .

Similarly, Juho was listening for the winner with similar antic.i.p.ation .

Soon, the teacher announced, "Seo Kw.a.n.g Kim!"

It was Seo Kw.a.n.g .

"Huh?" he answered with confusion . It sounded like he was wondering why his name was being called .

"Come get your award!"

" . . . Pardon?"

He couldn't grasp this situation . He turned back to see Juho clapping for him with a peaceful look on his face . He had been certain that Juho was going to be the winner . Even with the white certificate in his hands, he stood absent-mindedly .

He had all sorts of thoughts in his mind .

'Did Juho not keep his promise? Did he go easy on me? No, he's not like that . Then, what's this certificate doing in my hand? Why? Wait… could it be? Did I really beat Juho with my own skills…?'

"Juho Woo . "

The teacher called for Juho . It was the very name Seo Kw.a.n.g had been waiting for, and he prepared to clap for him .

"Follow me to the staffroom . "

"Yes, sir . "

Seo Kw.a.n.g was confused . He needed somebody to explain the situation to him . He looked back at Juho, but he was simply smiling awkwardly .

Leaving his confused friend behind, Juho followed the teacher to the staffroom . There were teachers in charge of the first-years . Students who had business with their teachers were allowed to come in freely . There was a laughter . A teacher and students had to be sharing a joke .

It was quite different from where Juho was .

He observed the teacher's desk . There was a attendance book, and fittingly, a math textbook . Next to them was a pile of papers from the essay contest .

"Juho Woo . "

Juho turned his head at the teacher's voice . He saw his familiar face . He was the math teacher who was not into books . For that, Juho felt distant from him both in the past and present .

"Do you have something you want to say to the school?"

"No, sir . "

"Are you struggling with something?"

"No, sir . "

"Are you being bullied?"

"No . "

Although he knew that the teacher already knew the answers to his questions, Juho answered him sincerely - no . From the time Juho walked into the staffroom, the teacher had a dumbfounded look on his face .

At once, Juho set aside his antic.i.p.ation . He must have gone too far, after all .

"Then what's this about?"

The teacher pulled out a page that Juho was well acquainted with . A crooked circle was surrounding the word 'plaster figure . ' It was definitely his, and he answered as he saw it, "It's my essay . "

"No, that's not what I asked . I'm talking about this . What's this?"

He asked pointing towards the middle of Juho's essay . Again, Juho answered as he saw it, "That's what I wrote . "

"That's right . You wrote this . Just to make sure, n.o.body forced you to write this, right?"

"No, I wrote it . "

The teacher nodded . Then he read one of the sentences out loud . Perhaps he was conscious of his surroundings . His voice was just loud enough for Juho to hear .

"A pair of bon.o.bos were having s.e.x . They entwined their bodies for the sake of peace . Gender or numbers were not a priority . . . skipping over . I always watch them . The moment they reach the climax…"

What he read was the intro . It was the part where a bon.o.bo in a zoo was narrating from the perspective of a plaster figure in front of its cage . In the places the teacher skipped over, there was a description of the intercourse in greater detail . Juho did wonder if he would be able to get away with what he wrote, but he had decided not to change it . He had made a promise with a friend after all .

"Artistic, isn't it?"

"Right . It's a shame that the school couldn't embrace your artistic value . "

He stood straight and asked a serious question . It seemed like he was finally about to get to the point, "Do you watch a lot of p.o.r.n?"

"I do enjoy watching 'Animal Kingdom' a lot . "

Bon.o.bo . Primate pongid . Mammal . The protagonist definitely explained Juho's fondness towards the show . The teacher decided to watch the show himself after work .

"You're in the Literature Club, right? Mr . Moon was very satisfied with what you wrote . "

"That's a good news . "

'Good thing I'm not going to have to listen to him grumble,' he thought .

"I did enjoy reading your paper . I can tell that you're a good writer, but you won't get an award . You understand, right? We display winning essays in the hallway . Your paper is not suited for that, unfortunately . For kids your age, your paper does pack a punch both in terms of content and your skills . "

Juho nodded lightly .

During a brief pause, the sound of laughter came from behind him . It was an innocent laughter .

"Think about your grades too . You're an amazing writer, but why is it that your linguistics grade is suffering?"

"I think I did well, at least in my own way . "

"That's not enough . "

Compared to his grades in the past, Juho was doing much better . Yet, it must have not been enough to satisfy his homeroom teacher . Satisfying someone was a difficult task . After briefly asking how Juho was doing, the teacher let him go .

"Pa.s.s this out to the kids while you're at it . "

Of course, he didn't send him out empty handed . Juho left the staffroom with a pile of gray leaves of paper, and he let out a faint sigh .

'Now, the only person left is Seo Kw.a.n.g . I better give him an explanation,' he thought .

The End

Translated by ShawnSuh Edited by SootyOwl The bell rang . When Juho looked at the clock, he realized that the first period had just ended . The cla.s.sroom became rowdy, and Mr . Moon left the room . Juho stared at his paper . He had not written a single word . There were about three hours left at that point, and there were a few half decent ideas floating around in his head . He needed something to bring it all together . There 39 s still time, he murmured quietly . 39 It 39 s break time, so I should rest my mind for a little bit, 39 he thought . He leaned against the rigid backrest of his chair . While he was idly staring at the ceiling, he heard Seo Kw.a.n.g getting out of his seat, leaving the cla.s.sroom unhurriedly . On the seat he left behind, there were bits of eraser dust and a sheet of gray paper . There was about of the page written . Much like Juho, Seo Kw.a.n.g had circled the word 39 plaster figure . 39 He had chosen the same topic . Juho tried to think about what he had been doing while his friend was busy writing, but soon, gave up and closed his eyes to calm his mind . 39 My shoulders are too tense right now, 39 he thought to himself . When he relaxed his shoulders, the rigidness of the backrest a.s.serted itself . He was finally in a good place to write . The bell rang again . As soon as he opened his eyes, the distant noise rushed back into his ears . Some were complaining about the contest lasting for another three hours . Some were asking one another if they could read each other 39 s paper, whereas some were busy protecting what they wrote . Some were simply complaining for the sake of complaining . All of those different emotions and voices mingled into a big mound, and that mound was a form of protest . It was a protest against fading away as they were and a protest to be remembered . As a proof, Juho couldn 39 t help his eyes turning towards it . Now 39 s not the time . As he was about to gather himself again, he saw Seo Kw.a.n.g walking into the cla.s.sroom . Seeing how his sleeves were slightly wet, he must have gone to the restroom . He sat down at his seat and took a brief moment to think . Soon, he started writing again, hard at work . His shoulders and elbows were moving . His body leaned slightly forward . He was concentrating . At a glance, he kind of looked like a runner in the moments right before the start of a race . As Juho stared into his back, he remembered something, 39 I won the award . 39 It was a fragment of a memory that had been worn out with only a small portion remaining . Inside, was Juho himself, taking the award as if he deserved it . At that time, he had already been bound to win the contest . It had been obvious . He had already been a professional writer by then . There had been some contestants who hadn 39 t even been close to being amateurs . To them, writing had been secondary, and they had been busy playing around with each other . Some contestants had even submitted blank pages . The cla.s.sroom had been twice as noisy, and he had struggled twice as much to concentrate . Back then, he had not been close to Seo Kw.a.n.g . In fact, they had not even talked to each other . Just like he had been with Ina Jang, Juho was disappointed in his past self . 39 I see . Maybe, I 39 ve already disappointed myself, 39 he thought to himself . He glimpsed down at his slippers . They were slightly dirty . He felt like he had been careful when he first bought them, but now, that didn 39 t even matter . Out of the blue, he thought that the sound of kids talking resembled the sound of rain . In his mind, his shoes were already wet . There was a puddle in front of his eyes . Without hesitation, he jumped in . The water splashed in all directions . It was refres.h.i.+ng . He looked at his hand dripping with water and thought to himself, 39 I might as well have some fun while I 39 m at it . 39 Then, he looked at his blank page . Faint excitement tingled the tips of his fingers . Now, he was in a really good place to write . On a line that stretched endlessly, he wrote his first sentence . OK, submit your papers now . His story came to an end at Mr . Moon 39 s announcement . Fortunately, the ending was not as absurd as the protagonist dying from a head injury by monkeys raining from the sky . Well, I managed to finish in time . He was relieved that he had written something and put up his hands in the air and stretched . After waiting for the wave of kids that flooded the front of the cla.s.sroom, he finally walked up to Mr . Moon to submit his work . Mr . Moon asked him, You were serious this time, right I wrote with all my heart . Mr . Moon had been emphasizing the end to him, but by that point, he had given up on that persistent absurdity . For that reason, Juho often heard him grumbling about his teaching career . He did feel sorry for Mr . Moon, but there was nothing that could be done . As he went back to his seat, Seo Kw.a.n.g turned around with the backrest in between his legs . His hands were glowing red . Juho looked down at his own hands . They were the same . I really worked my b.u.t.t off, Seo Kw.a.n.g said proudly . His concentration was actually quite impressive, even in Juho 39 s eyes . His shoulders had been moving throughout the duration of the contest . It had almost looked like he had been putting in the same amount of concentration he invested into reading . It explained the satisfied look on his face . How about you he asked . Juho answered him while rubbing his fingers that still glowed red, Me too . 39 Clap, clap, clap . 39 The kids clapped insincerely . It was time to give out the certificates and announce the cla.s.s winner . Everyone was lukewarm, from the awardees to the clapping teachers and students . Juho was one of them . As a gesture of support, he threw his hands up in the air . Last , but not least, the winner of this essay contest is The teacher took his time . The students kept their eyes fixed on his lips in antic.i.p.ation . Whether they had tried or not, all contestants were probably hoping secretly that their name was called . That was the effect an award had . Whether one had fought for it or not, he longed for it . Similarly, Juho was listening for the winner with similar antic.i.p.ation . Soon, the teacher announced, Seo Kw.a.n.g Kim It was Seo Kw.a.n.g . Huh he answered with confusion . It sounded like he was wondering why his name was being called . Come get your award . . . Pardon He couldn 39 t grasp this situation . He turned back to see Juho clapping for him with a peaceful look on his face . He had been certain that Juho was going to be the winner . Even with the white certificate in his hands, he stood absent mindedly . He had all sorts of thoughts in his mind . 39 Did Juho not keep his promise Did he go easy on me No, he 39 s not like that . Then, what 39 s this certificate doing in my hand Why Wait could it be Did I really beat Juho with my own skills 39 Juho Woo . The teacher called for Juho . It was the very name Seo Kw.a.n.g had been waiting for, and he prepared to clap for him . Follow me to the staffroom . Yes, sir . Seo Kw.a.n.g was confused . He needed somebody to explain the situation to him . He looked back at Juho, but he was simply smiling awkwardly . Leaving his confused friend behind, Juho followed the teacher to the staffroom . There were teachers in charge of the first years . Students who had business with their teachers were allowed to come in freely . There was a laughter . A teacher and students had to be sharing a joke . It was quite different from where Juho was . He observed the teacher 39 s desk . There was a attendance book, and fittingly, a math textbook . Next to them was a pile of papers from the essay contest . Juho Woo . Juho turned his head at the teacher 39 s voice . He saw his familiar face . He was the math teacher who was not into books . For that, Juho felt distant from him both in the past and present . Do you have something you want to say to the school No, sir . Are you struggling with something No, sir . Are you being bullied No . Although he knew that the teacher already knew the answers to his questions, Juho answered him sincerely no . From the time Juho walked into the staffroom, the teacher had a dumbfounded look on his face . At once, Juho set aside his antic.i.p.ation . He must have gone too far, after all . Then what 39 s this about The teacher pulled out a page that Juho was well acquainted with . A crooked circle was surrounding the word 39 plaster figure . 39 It was definitely his, and he answered as he saw it, It 39 s my essay . No, that 39 s not what I asked . I 39 m talking about this . What 39 s this He asked pointing towards the middle of Juho 39 s essay . Again, Juho answered as he saw it, That 39 s what I wrote . That 39 s right . You wrote this . Just to make sure, n.o.body forced you to write this, right No, I wrote it . The teacher nodded . Then he read one of the sentences out loud . Perhaps he was conscious of his surroundings . His voice was just loud enough for Juho to hear . A pair of bon.o.bos were having s.e.x . They entwined their bodies for the sake of peace . Gender or numbers were not a priority . . . skipping over . I always watch them . The moment they reach the climax What he read was the intro . It was the part where a bon.o.bo in a zoo was narrating from the perspective of a plaster figure in front of its cage . In the places the teacher skipped over, there was a description of the intercourse in greater detail . Juho did wonder if he would be able to get away with what he wrote, but he had decided not to change it . He had made a promise with a friend after all . Artistic, isn 39 t it Right . It 39 s a shame that the school couldn 39 t embrace your artistic value . He stood straight and asked a serious question . It seemed like he was finally about to get to the point, Do you watch a lot of p.o.r.n I do enjoy watching 39 Animal Kingdom 39 a lot . Bon.o.bo . Primate pongid . Mammal . The protagonist definitely explained Juho 39 s fondness towards the show . The teacher decided to watch the show himself after work . You 39 re in the Literature Club, right Mr . Moon was very satisfied with what you wrote . That 39 s a good news . 39 Good thing I 39 m not going to have to listen to him grumble, 39 he thought . I did enjoy reading your paper . I can tell that you 39 re a good writer, but you won 39 t get an award . You understand, right We display winning essays in the hallway . Your paper is not suited for that, unfortunately . For kids your age, your paper does pack a punch both in terms of content and your skills . Juho nodded lightly . During a brief pause, the sound of laughter came from behind him . It was an innocent laughter . Think about your grades too . You 39 re an amazing writer, but why is it that your linguistics grade is suffering I think I did well, at least in my own way . That 39 s not enough . Compared to his grades in the past, Juho was doing much better . Yet, it must have not been enough to satisfy his homeroom teacher . Satisfying someone was a difficult task . After briefly asking how Juho was doing, the teacher let him go . Pa.s.s this out to the kids while you 39 re at it . Of course, he didn 39 t send him out empty handed . Juho left the staffroom with a pile of gray leaves of paper, and he let out a faint sigh . 39 Now, the only person left is Seo Kw.a.n.g . I better give him an explanation, 39 he thought . With All His Heart 3 The End