One day, the bucket list of two sixteen girls started like fate!
-My heart moves as it pleases, like the hands of a broken clock.
As the bastard once said to me-

The latest work by author Son Hyun-joo, winner of the 1st Munhakdongne Youth Literature Award, "Bad Family Recipe"!
“A struggle for survival dedicated to the scoundrels of the world!”

A new work by author Son Hyun-joo, who won the grand prize at the first Munhakdongne Youth Literature Award for her first full-length novel, “Bad Family Recipe,” has been published.
"Ssagaji Survival" is a coming-of-age novel that depicts a family's fierce struggle for survival while simultaneously resolving the two girls' shortcomings through the link of "friendship."
The vague fear and excitement brought about by the topic of 'transferring schools' is a topic that resonates more and more with each new school year and semester.
From their first meeting, the two girls, who consider each other 'cheats', quickly become close through the code of 'transfer students'.
The story of a girl who rejects all living things, builds a wall around herself, and lives in obsession, and another girl who tries to slowly break down that wall and move in, blooms like a spring breeze.
This novel also makes you think about 'family'.
A trial that suddenly befell a father who was struggling to survive in the city.
The film vividly portrays the fierce struggle for survival through the process of all family members coming down to Yangpyeong according to the wishes of the ailing father and unfolding their experiences one by one.
It also draws attention to school closures, which are a facet of our society, through the story of a rural school that is on the verge of closure due to a lack of students.
Perhaps the educational environment for today's youth may be the most extreme reality.
This novel contains the author's wish to instill energy in our youth to help them endure extreme times.
I think that the young people who persevere and try to overcome the bleak and frightening reality ahead are the ones who can sprout.

* The meaning of the word 'ssagaji' in the book
Originally, the word 'ssagaji' was a derogatory term for 'ssaksu' (a sign or omen that something or someone will do well in the future).
The etymology is not exact, but it is a word created by adding '-aji', meaning small, like a puppy or a small animal, to 'sap', meaning sprout, and it was used in this book.

“Sometimes when I get off track,
We exert unimaginable power.
“Its power is great.”

Humans are made to survive in any environment.
It is also said that pain is a genetic program to maintain life.
So perhaps after enduring pain and suffering, relief and happiness always come as a reward.
Sometimes we see people who have deviated from the normal course of events overcome a crisis with unimaginable energy.
And that power is great.
When I write, I tend to use things I see and hear around me as motifs.
This is because it makes it easier to progress the story by forming an image in your head.
This work was also easy to write the first draft of because it was based on the image of Yangpyeong.
While writing this piece, I kept thinking that the fierce struggle of a family trying to put down roots in Yangpyeong was a struggle for survival and an existential reality.
And the two girls' lack reminded me of my own adolescence.
So maybe that's why teenage coming-of-age novels are always the stories I love the most.
(Author's Note)

I ended up using a shit bucket.
That's how I felt the day my family moved to Yangpyeong.
After driving along the Bukhangang Road for a while, our family encountered a traffic jam at the entrance to Yangpyeong.
Cars jammed the two-lane road, honking their horns in annoyance.
As luck would have it, moving day happened to be a Saturday.
The truck carrying the moving boxes stood in the middle of the road, looking like a piece of shit stuck in a clogged intestine.
The sky was incredibly blue and the clouds floated aimlessly.
(Page 7)

I didn't want to get out of the car, but I reluctantly got out at my dad's urging.
Then I heard a voice saying, 'Get out of the way!'
For a moment, I leaned my body against the car.
Something flashed before my eyes like lightning.
It was a bicycle.
A dummy hung precariously on the back of a girl riding a bicycle.
The girl glanced back and ran away as if nothing had happened.
“What kind of bastard is that?
“A person almost got hurt, and there was no apology.” (Page 13)

After the third period, during break time, a girl with her hair loosely tied up opened the classroom door and came in.
The kid came towards me with red headphones on.
It was an unexpected pairing.
He looked like a kid out of a cartoon with headphones on.
Moreover, the powder on her face made her look like she was wearing Kabuki makeup.
The area under her eyes, where mascara was applied thickly, was darkly shadowed, as if blackheads had spread.
(Pages 38-39)

It still seemed like Jack the Minion was the world's everything.
No matter how good a doll is, can it ever replace a friend or a mother?
Clearly, the spiritual world was four-dimensional.
“You are a real research subject.
Well, even my parents don't understand... ... What's so good about this little country town that they dragged me here... ... .”
Without realizing it, I ended up pouring out everything I had inside to the bastard.
The bastard looked at me with a bit of surprise at my grumbling words.
(Pages 66-67)

Dad held meetings to save the small school, alternating between the school and the church, due to the issue of Jaeseok's school being merged.
As soon as Jaeseok transferred schools, the problem arose, and his father felt a heavy burden on his shoulders.
Moreover, I had to go to Munho-ri, which was an hour away by bus, instead of going to the school right in front of my house.
My father was very excited about the school consolidation issue.
(Page 74)

“I don’t want to believe it either.
I… … I have cancer… … and I’m only sixteen… … .”
“You… are you serious?”
I couldn't believe my ears.
The bastard suddenly sat up.
“You have a rich imagination.
Write a novel with that head.
“I can tell right now you’re just scared.”
(Pages 171-173)

If I pass the AniGo exam, I might have to leave the foothills of Central America for a long time.
In the meantime, the nails of the little guy will grow normally.
And our bucket list will still be a work in progress.
(Pages 203-204)

--- From the text