[ENG TRANS] Skeleton Flower, Chapter 1.
(hi wow i did this cool, sorry about any inaccuracies, follow me on twitter here, don’t steal this, and be nice 2 me pls. more notes below)
stories that have drawn near
—from the day of parting—
“where can I go? and how long can i have you with me?” he asked her.
she said nothing. merely embraced him quietly.
“how far have i come? and how long have you been with me?”
the man had a strange habit.
for when he became fiercely emotional, he had a habit of speaking politely to anyone, regardless of their age, or his relationship to them.
“people truly are cunning at heart. when something is not mine, i want to have it, yet when it comes into my hand, it withers like a plucked flower.”
it was fairly quiet on olympic road after closing time. after finishing her aggressive deadlines, the woman went on her way home with her long-time lover. the man in the passenger seat kept silent throughout, until he finally brought up some nonsense story. this too, while speaking politely.
before he begins to talk, the woman turns off the radio, which was easing the silence inside of the car. she shifted her eyes to stare at him. she lets out a soft sigh, as if she was predicting how lengthy and boring this speech would be.
the man continued, keeping himself alive.
“of course, it’s reasonable for one to prefer bouquets of flowers, decorated this way and that, to those stuck in the ground. but then what? for the instant it is held, the flower, once passionate and full of life, will soon begin to wither and die.”
he lowered his gaze as the woman, face impassive, spoke abruptly.
“what are you talking about this time?”
the man cut her off, frightened.
the woman contemplated this for a moment, eyebrows knitted.
“what are you up to now?”
the man could not hide the stench of discomfort as the woman scowled at him. but whether he was tactless, or just decided he didn’t care, he did not meet her eyes.
“it happens in films sometimes, y'know. love at first sight. time slows, the world around them turns to black and white. ‘oh, god. is she human? please, let me have her!!!’ they say bullshit like this, and what’s worse, they find it romantic. soulmates don’t exist.”
the woman was driving her car down a small alley before he knew it.
“yeah, love has the power to turn humans into fools, so what. when i first met you, i was like that too. the problem is, whether that power lasts or not. it depends on the person, but once it loses it’s efficacy and they see each other as they really are, the gates of hell open.”
though strangely, the man seemed almost excited.
the woman started to feel too distant from the man sat next to her. she got the feeling that the man who loved her was disappearing.
“okay. but can you stop speaking politely? it’s cheesy, i can’t listen to it.”
“look. you can’t stand listening to the politeness that used to be ‘considerate’, what was once ‘pleasantly plump’ after eating is now 'gluttony’, and even cute gestures just feel like annoying whining. you see? there’s no spark when our eyes meet, we hate holding hands because of the sweat, and kissing has become nothing more than force of habit.”
the woman couldn’t take it anymore. her voice turned sharp.
“why are you saying this? how do you expect me to answer? would you rather i sigh at the end of your every sentence?”
the man, who was staring straight ahead, finally turned his gaze to the woman.
his eyes were full of certainty. his pupils didn’t shake.
“it’s unfortunate. we were so fiery, how did our relationship cool down to
this ambiguous temperature? not lukewarm, nor cold, but perfect for going stale.”
that’s how long the two had been together.
excitement became familiarity, familiarity became comfort, comfort became boredom, boredom became fatigue, and nothing was stopping fatigue from becoming hatred.
when the man finished talking, the car stopped violently.
the two had arrived at their destination.
in that moment, the perfect conditions of a couple living in the same neighbourhood, turned out to be the worst environment for a farewell.
“when we were in our prime, we couldn’t understand why those around us were breaking up, why they couldn’t overcome their fatigue. but we aren’t any different. shall i be honest? our situation is more severe. we don’t have the will to turn each other’s fatigue into passion again, you know?”
“just get to the end. i have a headache.”
the woman rummaged through her bag and took out her painkillers.
“right now, we’re breaking up for the same reason as them.”
she didn’t reply. simply clenched her medication case.
he glanced at her, and said.
“don’t force your tears.”
the woman chased down two painkillers with water.
she swallowed her answer along with a third pill. the first two weren’t enough.
“we’re gonna stop with the staring contest, waiting to see who’s gonna spit out their goodbye first, and just go our separate ways now. for the last time, i’ll whistle for you, the way you like. we’ll leave this car, walk the opposite way, and when you can’t hear that melancholy whistle anymore, we’re done.”
as if to ease her headache, the woman slowly brought her head to the handle of the car. she didn’t move after that.
the man also kept his mouth firmly shut, and said nothing more.
“goddamn romanticist……..”
the woman muttered to herself.
how much time had passed?
the woman said when she eventually raised her head. as she spoke, she slowly took off the ring she was wearing on the forth finger of her left hand. the ring was a present the man gave to her on their 1 year anniversary. a wish for love to last forever.
“i said, get out. go your own path, like you said.”
the man looked as if he would say something, but quickly shut his mouth and opened his car door.
the man got out of the car, walked up his street, and the woman only watched him go.
that’s how long the two had been together.
love was but a mask of a jester, a jester who would change its roles frequently, who dedicated plenty of time to playing both of its parts. but “take care” was a single farewell which, in an instant, had compressed those 5 years into an ridiculously insufficient utterance.
nevertheless, she had no choice but to watch through the car window as he walked away. she couldn’t go after him, grasp his hand and yank him around. it was because of the moment their eyes met, the conviction she read in those still pupils, she told herself. it was because, whether through the memories of the two of them, or the tears of the moment, his heart could not be changed, she told herself.
the psychic ability of the two people who spent five years together, the ability to read each other’s hearts simply by looking into each others eyes, was presently insignificant. as of now, even that became useless.
a quiet street at night. even though she didn’t want to hear it, the sound of a whistle reached her ears.
the lines between the relief, hopelessness, sadness, and happiness inside her were blurred. the woman let out a small chuckle and spoke to herself.
“……….that whistle is unbelievable.”
she liked the noise the man would make when he pursed his lips together. sometimes, at the end of an intense day, she would whistle with him until they fell asleep. in his arms, listening to that sound, kissing his pursed lips, she could forget all the worries in the world. those magical moments when they were the only two left, relying on each other…….
she could still hear the sound of the man’s whistle and his slow footsteps, and to escape her memories, she hurriedly pressed the button on the car radio.
the sound of her phone’s dial tone trickled out through her speakers, and the woman leant back in her chair and covered her face with both hands.
hi it’s ur fave listerine hypeman uhhh i’ve never posted translations before but
1. please don’t use this without crediting me
2. dm me if you have any questions
3. ill try and translate as much of this as i can
4. lemme know if anything is inaccurate or wrong
5. my twitter is twitter.com/listerinejjong and my curiouscat is curiouscat.me/listerine u can reach me there
6. i tried to keep this as close to jjong’s structure as i could, but i could never do him justice, i’m simply translating it, i’m not a writer, jjong is a much better writer than i’ve been able to portray him
7. i highly recommend you check out this, a proper actual translator translated different parts of jjong’s book, and did such an amazing job, and it’s very very beautifully written and i wish i was them help i could never
8. this is my first posted translation im very very sorry if it’s awful im v anxious please be kind 2 me
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
