Pieces and Neuvoe

 The girl was blind. She was married early on to a man through her father's matchmaking, and he respected her and did not transgress against her. He was a friend of the man's, and he spoke little of her, saying that he liked her innocence. Then he met a man whose parents were perfect and whose wife was chaste, and he became enamored. He proposed to her behind her back, but she said nothing. He sprinkled cyanide in her eyes. Her black eyes turned white.  He met her in South Korea in 2023. She still had her long, beautiful black hair and black eyes. He fell off a cliff to his death, feeling guilty that he couldn't protect her. He felt it was the right way to end his life, rather than provoke his friend.  She, in turn, ascended to the heavens, weeping uncontrollably. In fact, he ascended to heaven with her. He died once in his heart, but was saved by God. His jovial personality became serious at times. In heaven, he ruled a kingdom with a woman for a long time. For two thous...

 There was snow in the sky, and as I watched it fall, a chill ran through me and I burrowed under the covers. Throughout my life, different eyes have entered my heart and frozen me cold. Something like sex without love. Since when did I know the word sex? It must have been in elementary school, but my heart still doesn't know what sex is. My mind is Jericho, and it's not easily agitated, and it's not accountable to anything. The body responding to the body with excitement, I've never been a meat eater like that. An angel would descend from heaven and follow me very slowly, trying to help me, but I just endure it in silence. There are no angels outside. And I don't sublimate the wind into my imagination. Angels are not before my eyes because they are slow. I must go all the way alone, but I know that the Gospel has been written and delivered and is before me. It was a very long time ago, and I was walking down the street pretty in a dress with puffed shoulders. I eve...

This evening was chilly for some reason. Once, I had imagined him lying on the ground. There were days when the sun was particularly high and the sun was warm and clear, and I would be waiting for a crosswalk and a huge bus would pass by, and I would almost collapse under the weight of its enormous body and my own frail body, and I would be so surprised by the weight that I would wish I could stop being trapped in my own world.  In fact, maybe we're more afraid of crashing than we are of flying upwards. Even if you have a well-organized home, if you're ashamed of your friend's clumsy decor, you may not do your best until the moment passes, no matter how much it tugs at your heartstrings and how much you regret the choice. And as the old story goes, life goes round and round, what was lacking is filled with something else, and life goes on. Like a child staring at an empty road on the side of a well-traveled path.

I thought about art as I watched him, not turning on a single light in the darkened room. I thought about the sound of music drifting into the void, about chocolate being my little luxury, and about the artists who have stood by our side. They were sometimes misunderstood or belittled. They were sometimes misunderstood or dismissed as shallow or selfish.  Outside, cloudy lights illuminated the unseen, and there was more injustice and unrevealed in the world. No animal movement was felt in the night in the fields where the mountains did not shield them. My stomach and all its filth, which moves even today, fades away, and the universe, which is no longer strange or special, moves on, not even for a moment out of focus. 

 I stare at the dog. I won't be here long anyway. The dog stares at me, and I know it can't hurt me because it has a cage. The dog's eyes widen slightly, looking at me. I smile coolly and look away. Outside the dog's cage is a palace where a powerful king lived during the Silla Dynasty. Behind the palace is a cafe made of hanok, and in front of the cafe is a small road. As I walk there, I think about the dog. The dog doesn't hurt me. I'm not afraid of dogs. Behind the palace, children are buying ice cream. They are carrying balloons and passing them around. I walk past the people coming and going and enter the café, where the aroma of coffee wafts through the air.  I'm not here for any great reason. I'm here for a quick trip, and the people in the palace district are calm and tidy. I glance at my watch. 3:33. I turn down a side street and enter a department store. A dog is sharpening its claws on the ground. I see it and turn around.  The dog suddenly ye...

  The light is shining through the window and I see manicured lawns and seedlings. I'm lost in this little ecological city. These small houses are accompanied by a lack of a certain sense of stability. For example, I thought of an elegant one and tried to describe the night it depicts. But then I started to notice the less dry laundry and the unturned clothes. The house is warm and toasty, and my lover is going about his daily routine without a proper meal.  I covered my face with my hands. I suddenly remembered the miso stew and ham I had for breakfast. I was looking for the most peaceful thing: an overcrowded kitchen cupboard, a sparse living room, and an unfinished interior. The light in the cupboard flickers, and I reflect on what little I've been able to accomplish. And just like that, the leaves decayed and the spring flowers bloomed.