Short and funny, deep and intense
Digest of Jeong Se-rang's World

Jeong Se-rang's mini-fiction, "Ara's Novel," was published by Anon Books.
"Ara's Novel" is the author's first collection of postcards, and contains short stories published in various media over a long period of time, from the author's early days in 2011 to works from just a few months ago.
『Ara's Novel』, which contains works of various lengths, from 20-30 pages of 200-character manuscript paper to short stories of up to 70 pages, has a breadth and depth that cannot be fully conveyed with the words 'short novel' or 'postcard novel.'


The name 'Ara', which the author says is "often given to the most daring protagonists," appears repeatedly in several works in the book.
Ara, who has the identity of a novelist, appears to be the author's alter ego, but she is a kind and sharp character who supports the worldview of the entire work.
The cross-section of Jeong Se-rang's world, revealed through Ara's hometown, Ara's experiences, Ara's friends, and Ara's generation, makes us imagine something huge that exists behind it.
Whatever your imagination, it will be your story.
Writing our story through Ara, that is Jeong Se-rang's writing and 'Ara's novel'.

“How was it?”
"It has a subtly ordinary taste, yet the aroma is incredibly rich. What is this coffee?"
“It’s coffee grown in a lab.
They say they don't use pesticides and they don't use a lot of water.
We sent samples to baristas all over the world to evaluate.
"How would you rate it? It feels like a haphazard mix of delicious coffee beans… … ."
Although the coffee that Ga-eul used was fair trade coffee, both Ga-eul and I always felt guilty.
Coffee has destroyed rainforests, polluted the environment, and seriously undermined the food sovereignty of local people due to coffee production.

“……Let’s praise them too much.
“Let’s just praise them just a little bit.”
---From "10 o'clock, Coffee and Our Opportunity"

The way MJ put the sheet on looked like the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
And the finished product was, as promised, excellent.
A satisfied MJ took a champagne glass from the top cabinet.
I dropped one while taking it out, but it didn't break.
The glasses were made of clear silicone, which made them easy to use just about anywhere.
Anyway, the champagne that was poured into the glass wasn't real champagne, but canned wine bought at a warehouse store.
We were a dispossessed generation, and the world will never give us back what it has taken from us, and in its steadfast refusal it will ultimately crumble.
There is nothing we can do about it, and only the senses will flicker and disappear within the limits.
---From "On Our Terrace, A Cheers to the Ending World"

“But only sympathetic robots feel pain.
“If you don’t feel pain, it’s not real.”
Mr. Valentine once explained to me why he chose me.
We know that there is a kind of empathy that is limited when the other person does not feel pain.
I haven't experienced it myself, though.
In the years we've been together, nothing has gone beyond giving Mr. Valentine a pillow under my arm, braiding his hair, or taking walks on the beach together.
If you walk along the beaches of Kauai, you will see many wild chickens.

“Did you know, Chica? These chickens were once domesticated, but they were strayed from the domesticated species.
The genes have also become closer to wild species.
“If you think about it, it’s a really cool thing.”
---From "Chika"

When I think back to the beginning, when I first stepped into this world, there was definitely a force that blocked me and pushed me away.
We still often bump into invisible but stubborn walls.
The distinction between worlds exists, whether rigid or not, and there are certainly things that are created through introduction, connection, and meeting, and doors that close and then open.
Like a peony and a crab, they exist together but are separate, they seem to match but have different nuances, they are a set but sometimes are not.
Accounts exist on maps, they exist on the web, and they exist in the hubs of your network.
It works in a way that is both faint and distinct, and that no one can fully explain.

---From "Wooyoon"

“What is particularly disgusting?”
The chief collector, seemingly indifferent to even the slightest heterogeneity, asked the assistant collector with an expression of confusion.
The assistant collector scanned the documents to find the exact name.
"eyebrow."
“Ah, eyebrows.”
“It’s so disgusting that I can’t even describe it.
Why on earth is there hair only on that part? Two rows of hair in the middle of my face.
It's weird.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Well, now that I think about it, it seems very strange.
“I guess it had a practical purpose.”
“To be practical, it has to have hair all over it.
“Ugh, my bare skin is exposed, and now it’s hair again.”
---From "Collection Period"

After eating the cookie and drinking the water, Hyunjeong did something bold.
I reached deep beyond the fallen bookshelf and dragged the books that had fallen from other bookshelves towards me.
I stretched my hand out, worried that the bookshelf might collapse.
The bookshelf right behind me seemed to be filled with young adult novels.
Hyunjeong happily found books by Roald Dahl, Alki G, and Louis Sachar.
Roald Dahl's book was Matilda.
It was still fun to read it again.
At the end of the book, there was a saying that Roald Dahl often said.
“I think kindness is the greatest quality a human being can have.
More than courage, more than generosity, more than anything else.
If you're a kind person, that's enough." How many kind people did his book create?
---From "Hyeonjeong"

Short stories between 5 and 50 pages seem to be liked by those who like them and disliked by those who don't.
I'm on the side that likes it.
It's fascinating to see that, even though they were published in different places over the past 10 years, they all feel like one story.
I tied them together in the hope that you would discover the parts that are connected and similar.
It is more direct than longer novels, so the affectionate stories are more affectionate and the poignant stories are more poignant.
I guess it's because the volume doesn't require a soft ramp.
I guess I like that lack of buffering.

---From the author's note