Preface · What makes today more precious to us?

Choi Eun-young, Xin Zhao, Xin Zhao
Kim Jung-hyuk · Yo-yo
Lee Yuri, Iguana and Me
Jeong Yong-jun · Mr. Simple
Jeong Yeong-su · More Human Words
Son Won-pyeong · Man in the Box
Lim Seon-woo · Curtain Call, Overtime, Last Fang

Commentary · Until the light is rekindled in the heart that has lost its light

A breakup that leaves a deep scar that makes you lose the meaning of life
But even in separation, there is a face of hope.

Humans come to a keen realization of the value of existence by experiencing the absence of existence.
This paradox of life that parting conveys to us may also be the reason why parting has been used as a subject matter in countless literary works.

Eunyoung Choi's "Xin Zhao, Xin Zhao" tells the story of the beginning and end of a relationship through the story of a girl named "Na" and a boy named "Tui" who lived in the small German town of Plauen.
The two families embrace each other “without any conditions” in an unfamiliar Germany, but their relationship is shattered by the massacre of Korean soldiers in the Vietnam War, which was not the direct fault of either of them.
People tend to prioritize their own pain above all else and show indifference to or a lack of genuine understanding of the pain of others.
The novel says that because we have suffered ourselves, we can embrace, understand, and empathize with the pain of others, and that cherishing that heart can be the beginning of breaking up with our past, strained relationships and forming new ones.

Kim Jung-hyuk's "Yo-Yo" deals with the breakup between Cha Seon-jae, who considers himself a "relationship destroyer," and Jang Su-yeong, the first person he opens his heart to.
We all have moments we can't grasp, moments we can't reach, moments that are all the more desperate.
If I go back to that time, I wonder if our relationship would have been different if I had made different choices back then.
But “time is not so merciful” and we cannot go back to that time.
But we who lived through that time know.
Still, it's not bad.
“We cannot go back, but just by remembering that time,” that time will remain forever as a beautiful time, a time we long for.

In Lee Yuri's "Iguana and I," 'I', a swimming instructor, ends up taking in an iguana left behind by her ex-boyfriend, 'Jae-ho.'
Then, one day, feeling abandoned, he comes home and, out of a strange sense of kinship, he pets an iguana, and the iguana tells him of its wish to go to Mexico, where there is an iguana paradise.
'I' help the iguana stand on its own, but as I become attached to the iguana, I postpone the separation day after day.
In the end, I swallow my last words and see off the person who left, and I feel relieved when I hear news from the person who left, and I regain my courage to live.
In this image, we realize that even breakups have a face of hope, as we experience them and grow little by little, discovering who we were and who we should be.

Jeong Yong-jun's "Mr. Simple" is the story of 'me' and 'him', who have deep wounds that make them lose the meaning of life.
'I' experienced the sudden death of H, with whom I was living, and 'he' is a person who lost his family and job and is left with only useless instruments as a burden.
'I' and 'he' meet by selling the things that left them with scars as used goods, and in the process, 'I' through writing and 'he' through music lead each of them to confront the deep wounds they had been unable to face.
They gain the courage to live their lives again by finally breaking up with something they had been unable to break up with for a long time.
Therefore, this novel is a story of failed people who lost precious things, but it is also a story of successful people who broke away from the deep wounds they had buried deep in their hearts.

To you who wants to love life again even when wandering in the darkness
Today will be even more precious if you remember that you can say goodbye to everything you meet in life.

We face various situations of separation.
You can't just be consumed by sadness every time.
We need to slowly prepare ourselves to face the breakup and learn how to let go of the other person in a healthy way.

In Jeong Yeong-su's "More Human Words," 'I' hear the news from my aunt who says she wants to "go to Switzerland and die comfortably with dignity."
'Na' and 'Haewon' were lovers who enjoyed "fierce yet affectionate debates" on ideological issues, but in the realistic relationship of marriage, their rational words become obsessed with logic and become torn apart.
But when euthanasia, which had been an ethical issue, became a real problem, the two “surprisingly did not argue about anything else” and eventually fell silent “like people who had lost the ability to speak”, sending their aunt away from Switzerland.
The separation that came with the death decided by my aunt was not only a separation from my beloved family but also a separation from my ideas and an opportunity to meet reality.
In this way, 'I' and 'Haewon' will finally be able to move beyond the metaphysical words that were the "beginning and end of their relationship" and develop into a relationship that allows for "more human words."

In Son Won-pyeong's "The Man in the Box," 'I' has an older brother who saved a child who was run over by a truck and has been lying in a hospital bed for 12 years.
Because of this good deed, my brother loses many things, from his job to his loved ones.
In the end, I decided to live my life angry at the world and not doing things that others would be grateful for.
Then one day, he finds a woman who has collapsed from cardiac arrest and hesitates to jump in, but ends up saving the woman thanks to the actions of a little girl.
When people encounter situations beyond their control, they suffer wounds, big or small, and because of those wounds, they torment themselves, become angry at the world, and seek a safe life.
But even so, we hope that the wounds will heal and new flesh will grow over them.
Since “pain and joy are not just one kind,” why not take comfort in that and muster up the courage to “open your clenched fist and shake hands with someone” outside your own box?

In Lim Seon-woo's "Curtain Call, Overtime, Last Fang," the 'I' fails to find a job for two years and falls into a desperate situation to the point where he ends up writing a suicide note instead of a job application.
On a dawn day when rain was falling heavily, 'I', who suddenly parted ways with the world, became a ghost and was able to stay in this world for 100 hours. 'I' met 'Irang', a ghost who refused to give up her dream even after death, and while helping her, I had a strange feeling that "I would miss everything."
As we live, there are times when nothing goes as planned.
There are times when I want to give up and break away from everything that surrounds me.
But we have to find our strength again every time, and tell ourselves to be brave every day.
Even if we wander in a darkness that seems endless, if we have the courage to say goodbye to despair, won't a bright light one day illuminate the electronic scoreboard of our hearts? I applaud and cheer on all those who have lost their light.
Until the day I can love life again.

Author's Note

weird.
It's hard because it was one, then two, then one again.
It feels like it's been left behind, dropped, and abandoned.
But my future self knows.
That time flows honestly, that night and day change, and that confusion and dizziness soon calm down.
The related word for 'breakup' is 'overcome'.
So when we become whole again, both our body and mind become stronger.
An awakening head and a growing body.
When separation comes again, let us wave our hands willingly.
Thank you for everything._Jeong Yong-jun (novelist)

There was a time when I despaired at the fact that nothing lasts forever.
How many more times must I repeat the same separation from my loved ones? Even my heart won't last forever. Where in the world should I place my heart? What pulled me out of deep disillusionment was the last words my long-dead aunt left me: "The world is beautiful."
The words were, “Live well and beautifully.”
As I went through several more breakups and felt the world was getting too much for me, I would quietly say those words.
I believe that even in moments when you think it's over, something wonderful can happen, and that there can be farewells as bright as light, and that new dreams will arise the moment you close your eyes to the pouring light. _Im Seon-woo (novelist)