We cannot exactly say we accomplish nothing, don’t you think? Well, some days, I feel like I am. And some days, I feel like I am back to square one. But I still feel I have been liberated even just a little. (Hyang Gi)
Why do I keep looking at my watch? I think I feel a compulsion to live a productive day, but there is not much to show for it. I am just constantly looking at my watch and being chased by time. (Mr. Park)
I only feel alive when I exhaust myself completely. If I have energy left, I feel heavy. (Hyeona)
Do I have to have a goal? Can’t I just live my life without one? I cannot force myself to live for something I do not really desire. (Chang Hee)
I think I have come far enough. This is not the right path for me. I do not have to force myself to keep walking on it. (Chang Hee)
When I was a child, I was asked to hand in what we had prayed about at church. Looking at what my friends wrote, I thought, ‘Why would they pray for that? Grades, the school they want to get into, friends. They are seriously praying for that? To God? But it is God.’ There was only one thing I was curious about. ‘What am I? Why am I here?” (Mi Jeong)
How do you know what suits you better? You have to try different workplaces. (Gi Jeong)
People who have a lot of dating experience know what they want. But those who do not, do not know what they want or what type of person they are. (Mr. Park)
- Mr. Gu: Are you sure that you and I will have become different people when spring comes? You said I would if I worshipped you?
- Mi Jeong: You have never tried it, right? In my experience, you change once you do something you have never done before.
The feeling of holding something in your heart. My liberation. (Mr. Park)
I may not be able to be completely liberated from time, but resting when I have done enough and wake up when I have slept enough. Finding my own rhythm like that might be the liberation I need the most. (Mr. Park)
When I see someone in front of me, my face automatically makes this expression. Even though I am not happy at all. (Hyang Gi)
I might seem to be getting along with people without any problems. But in truth, there is not a single person I truly like. (Mi Jeong)
Every relationship feels like work. Every moment that I am awake feels like work. (Mi Jeong)
Five minutes a day. If you have five minutes of peace, it is bearable. When I open my eyes in the morning and remember it is Saturday, that makes me happy for ten seconds. Fill up five minutes a day like that. That is how I survive. (Mi Jeong)
Do not give advice. Do not try to comfort. Those are the rules of our club. (Mr. Park)
I will not pretend to be happy. I will not pretend to be unhappy. I will be honest. (The Liberation Club)
It feels like people are all scarecrows. They do not really know what they are. They are just acting as if they do. (Mi Jeong)
Does anyone live without pretending? (Mr. Gu)
I guess I have been putting up a facade with people. Now that I am alone, I have become so calm and gentle. (Chang Hee)
People are so good with words. (Mi Jeong)
I like that you do not try to get attention from people with your words. That is why each and every word you utter is so special. (Hyeona)
I do not want to just say things to feel like I exist. I want to talk to relax. Words that make you feel relaxed. (Gi Jeong)
Sometimes, I think that people who are damaged are much more honest than those who live their lives happily. (Mi Jeong)
- Mi Jeong’s boss: What do you do in the Liberation Club? What are you being liberated from? Work?
- Mi Jeong: From people. From tedious people.
This comes and goes in cycles. Three days of the week are so tiring, the other three are just barely manageable, and I do not even know how the last day goes. (Gi Jeong)
I am not unhappy but I am not happy either. (Mi Jeong)
- Tae Hun: I found out why I was suffering, but other than that…- Mi Jeong: I think that is what this is all about. Finding out what my issue is.
- Mr. Gu: Do you want a part-time job?
- Mi Jeong: What kind of part-time job? Cleaning?
- Mr. Gu: No.
- Mi Jeong: Then what?
- Mr. Gu: Listening to me talk.
You should get paid to listen to someone else talking. (Mr. Gu)
That is why they say you can get away with anything if you have love. (Chang Hee)
So this is what it is like to have no parents. It felt like I lost one of my arms when I lost my dad. When my mother passed away too, it felt like both my arms were gone. (Tae Hun)
I do not expect anything from you. I am just happy when you smile. And when you cry, I wonder what happened. (Chang Hee’s mom)
If I imagine that I am sitting here working next to you, even awful tasks like these turn into something beautiful. Work becomes bearable. (Mi Jeong)
The saying that love makes you kind has some truth to it. Whether it is money or a man, if you have something, you become positive. But do I have a man or any money? Neither. (Gi Jeong)
I get weird when I am with you. I keep saying things I never thought of. (Mr. Gu to Mi Jeong)
This man. He would never let me hit rock bottom. He is stopping me. (Mi Jeong)
Even if you live alone, it is fine. You can be perfectly happy. You can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and sleep whenever you want. (Gi Jeong’s friend)
That is why I am always exhausted. Since I decided to be someone who exists only to prove how terrible someone is. (Mi Jeong)
Yeom Mi Jeong! Just know this. I liked you for real. Later, I have no idea what kind of mess I might become. I will probably end up homeless. I will be grateful if I could end things before then. Anyway, I really liked you. (Mr. Gu)
Even when you do not know how you will go on, if you pull yourself together, you can still find things that are bearable. (Mi Jeong’s dad)
There will be people who frustrate you anywhere you go, and those people will never change. Then that means it is me who has to change. (Workmate)
I have never felt better after getting angry. It would take me two to three days to forget about it if I did not get angry, but if I get angry, it lasts more than ten days. (Mi Jeong)
The weaker you are, the more evil you get. (Mr. Gu)
Misfortunes should come in small doses, but you keep stopping them and making them bigger. (Mr. Gu)
It feels like I am stuck but I do not know how to get out. That is probably why I hope everything ends all at once. (Mi Jeong)
Life is a series of embarrassments. It’s embarrassing from the moment you are born. You are born naked. (Chang Hee)
Why do you act like you have done something wrong when you are asking for what is rightfully yours? (Mr. Gu)
I want to face the mountains one by one instead of avoiding them. (Gi Jeong)
Deleting it will not make me forget what happened. I just have to bear it. (Du Hwan)
I do not care about where I will go after I die. I want to see heaven while I am alive. (Mi Jeong)
I think you are unhappy because you do not know how good you are. (Workmate)
If you hesitate to say something but then actually say it, you are guaranteed to regret it. You hesitate because you know you should not say it. But you still end up saying it and making yourself miserable. Humans are really nonsensical animals, you know? (Chang Hee)
Fate is nothing more than a person’s outlook on life. (Mrs. Yeom)
You can afford to have a good outlook if you have money. (Gi Jeong)
Let’s make him anxious. Try making a man wait for once. Why do you always have to be the one who waits? (Mr. Park)
The type of woman a man likes never changes. Whenever my friends introduce me to their new girlfriends, I find that they date people who are just like their exes. Men’s tastes do not change. (Mr. Park)
- Gi Jeong: I turned my phone off that day because I was so embarrassed.
- Mr. Park: Why? In case he called you?
- Gi Jeong: No. In case he did not.
Why do I feel sorry for you when I should feel sorry for myself? (Gi Jeong)
- Workmate: What do you like about him?
- Mi Jeong: He has no shell. You know, there are people who are very polite, but it feels like it is just their shell. A shell so hard that it feels like you will never be able to reach the person inside. But this guy has no shell.
That is why I invented you. You, who I will meet someday. To you, at least I would not be that ordinary, right? I do not know who you are. I do not even know where you are. And I have never met you. Who are you? (Mi Jeong)
- Mr. Gu: Have you met someone who worships you?
- Mi Jeong: Of course not.
- Mr. Gu: Let’s meet up.
- Mi Jeong: I cannot.
- Mr. Gu: Why?
- Mi Jeong: I have gained weight. I need to lose some weight.
- Mr. Gu: Lose some weight in an hour and meet me.
When I was dating Chan Hyeok, he said he would quit his job and start a business of his own. That made me happy. Because then I could tell people that my boyfriend ran his own business. I thought it sounded cool. But then, when he became very successful, it made me anxious. We were not even married yet. Then his business began dwindle because he sold defective products. So I tried to be nicer to him than ever. It felt like he knew I was relieved. I was looking for someone who would make me look like a better person. A boyfriend who would make me look better. Even with all my picking and choosing, I never full supported him. I wanted him to be more successful than me but not too much. I have never given my everthing to someone or vice versa. I would never do something like that again. If my partner finds success and I am afriad of losing him, I will gladly let him go. Even if he hits rock bottom, I will not be embarassed of him. Even if everyone points the fingers at him, I will treat him as I always did and just support him. Even our own parents never gave us that kind of support. (Mi Jeong)
I cannot help but wait for you [Mr. Gu] to text me back. But I will not let it get to me and do the same to get even with you. I have always tried to silently get even with my ex-boyfriends. I am done with it. I love that I do not have to measure your affection. All I need to do is worship you. I love it. (Mi Jeong)
- Mr. Park’s daughter: Why do you like her?
- Mr. Park: She lets me relax. I do not have to be super energetic and fun.
Images credit: Original authors
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