Dear Ju Ly,

Hi, Ju Ly! How’s your summer?

A typhoon passed through here yesterday. And before that, it was much too hot. But Ju Ly, that story from your last letter about you showing off your waacking skills… at first I thought it was for real. For a moment, I even wondered why all this time you had hidden your killer dance moves from me. But you were just kidding…

Anyway, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written you a letter. Time just whips by. Truly, so quickly. I can’t believe it’s already mid-August. Sometimes, I pause and wonder, “Didn’t the new year just start—what in the world?” I remember reading somewhere that as you get older, you experience fewer new things and create fewer distinct memories, making time pass by more quickly. This year, I’ve had so many new experiences and made a lot of memories, too, so why does it still feel like time is getting ahead of me? I want to tell Time to mind its manners.

I recently completed a design course I started back in April. When I realized I wanted to start a press and make books, I enrolled in the course, hoping to become an editor and publisher who works well with designers, but then I got sucked in. And now I feel I should at least try doing everything myself for the experience. Lately, I’ve spent more time on design projects. Thankfully, a few folks commissioned me for projects, so I did some design work for those. Most recently, I’ve been helping to renovate interiors for shops in my neighborhood. I couldn’t have even imagined my current day-to-day at the start of 2023, so working as a designer is a fun surprise. But it’s always like this, isn’t it? You never know when or where you’ll encounter the beginning of something, and that sense of possibility keeps me going.

The story I shared about my time in Ulsan in my last letter was like that, too. Before my time there, I had never imagined I would move to Ulsan to start a labor union. And while I was in Ulsan, I never imagined that I, at thirty-two, would be doing the things I’m doing today. That’s why I think all of this is so fun. By the way, speaking of the rat we found in the bathroom, none of us knew anything about how to deal with rats, so we called pest control as soon as we spotted the rat. A day or so later, an employee from the pest control service visited our home. The employee was a woman in her forties. We showed her where we had found the rat and begged her to help us. She hesitated before confessing that she felt scared and that it was also her first time dealing with a rat. We could tell that she was shaking in terror. How confounding was it for her? She’s scared of rats but has a job to do, and then there’s us, my roommates and I, staring at her intently, desperate for her to do something. I don’t remember what happened after that. We didn’t see the rat after that day, so perhaps something got taken care of after all.

It’s Saturday morning, and I just arrived at the study cafe after going to the pool. I’ve been swimming in the mornings. There are swim classes Monday through Friday, but Saturdays are for open swims. I thought that the pool would be pretty empty on Saturdays. No one will show up at the pool on a Saturday at 7 AM when there aren’t even classes, right? I went with that hope, but it turned out that the pool was nearly full! Just incredible… Anyway, I love being in the water in the summer. While swimming, I had the thought that being in the water is good for people like me who are always a little angry. People whose bodies carry a lot of fire and a lot of heat. Fire is the dominant element in my birth chart, so maybe that’s why I always feel calmer when I go in the water. Maybe all that fire is being quenched by the water?

The study cafe I go to these days is so nice that I want to live there. Well, maybe not live there, but it’s unbelievably nice. I chose a study cafe that was slightly too far to walk home from. It takes about ten minutes by bus to get home, but I worried that if the cafe was too close, I might just walk home whenever I felt like it. You might ask if it’s necessary to go to those lengths, and I think it is. Because there’s always a deadline. After a deadline, you start catching your breath, but when you snap out of it, another deadline is right there. I’m trying to calm down and accept that this is just how life is…  Basically, a deadline made me sign up for a study cafe membership.

I sometimes wonder if there’s any other country where the study cafes are this superb. The facilities here are immaculate, and the coffee beans in the machines are fresh. You can rent out any study supplies, and, best of all, the lighting from the desk lamps is truly outstanding. I want to buy the same desk lamp model but can’t seem to find it anywhere. It’s sometimes strange to see so many people spending their whole day sitting diligently at work on something in such a pleasant space. Where’s everyone headed? One of the study cafe members must have been a film director. They put up a poster announcing the release of their film by the entrance, along with a message of encouragement for everyone: “Let’s goooo!” So they must have worked on their film here. And when I reflect on how everyone else at the study cafe is sitting at their own desk working on their own thing, I get the urge to ask everyone what they are working on or what exams they are studying for, even if it isn’t possible to ask. I try to catch a glimpse on my way to and from the bathroom, but I can’t really figure out what people are working on.

I’ve been thinking that I want to try living in another country. Being in another country isn’t all that important, but my desire to leave has been growing. Even before, I didn’t particularly like where I’m living now. Still, I had the sense that I wanted to accomplish something or perhaps needed to do something here, and I just don’t feel that anymore. I don’t know how things will end up, so I truly have no idea.

A friend is visiting for lunch later. A while ago, I tried a recipe from Twitter for stir-fried noodles with cabbage, which was delicious! So I’m planning on cooking that for my friend. It pairs well with a drink, so I also bought some sake.

I rarely drink these days, but today’s menu calls for a drink. The recipe is simple, so I think you can try making it there too, Ju Ly! For now, I’ll share a screenshot of the recipe. I hope you get to try it out if you’re curious.

Wishing you a fun weekend.

Stay cool in the heat!

Yours,

Boyoung