Happier | BTS | [Eng]

VIII - The art of stagnation

Seoul, Mondo, seventh floor

Bo Hwa had spent the morning fixing the ceiling of her room. She was lying on her bed when a beep sound resonated throughout the room. She got up lazily and looked around carefully: her desk was upside down, her English books were lying on the floor, and some tidying up in her wardrobe would be welcome.

Her computer revealed a new e-mail at exactly one twenty-five past one. She put on her glasses and sat down in front of the machine. Bo Hwa first pushed the small papers, wooden chopsticks and plastic wrappers to one side before opening her e-mail.
She had failed again. The letter explained that she had all the qualities required for the job but that she would have to move around, which was against her own principles. They even added that a person with so much potential should not be so "lazy" or "shy".

Bo Hwa took out her pocket mirror and the full view of her face gave her a horrible grimace. This is really not okay... She put the object back on the table, approached the screen, read the e-mail again and shrugged her shoulders. She would eventually find and anyway, those companies, she didn't particularly like them: travel agencies were boring, nursery schools were too noisy and she really wanted to work from home.

Bo Hwa had already found her perfect job at the beginning of the year: the company would send her documents and recordings that she had to translate, and then she would receive her pay every weekend. The salary was quite good and it was thanks to her work that the girls were able to quickly top up the money for the house. But soon afterwards, the company went bankrupt due to a leak of personal information and Bo Hwa found herself unemployed for several months. The job of interpreter at home was chic to hear but hard to find.

The next company, if she likes it at least, she would accept it without quibbling. The idea of having to deal with a lot of paperwork in an office with other people didn't really displease her but just that "It would be so much better to work from home. »

- Maybe I should change my resume and accept what comes next. She said to herself as she walked into the youngest girl's room.

Bo Hwa walked in without knocking and sighed: the mess was common throughout the house.
Mi So was sprawled on the floor. She was scribbling in her sketchbook and tons of paper balls were lying around her. Bo Hwa guessed that her friend was having a crisis of "it's never good enough" and hesitated to go back to her room. Often, Mi So would spend days drawing and sitting in front of her computer multiplying sleepless nights, and then when she was asked to show what she had done, she would get angry and end up crying and saying, "Nothing, nothing at all, I didn't do anything! »

- Argh! Mi So cried out, tearing out the page with one hand.

She crumpled the page and waltzed it around the room.

- Wow, calm down, Bo Hwa said as she sat on the bed. Are you okay? You've been... like this for almost weeks now.

Mi So puffed and locked her hair in a big bushy bun.

- I can't figure out what to draw...The interview is tomorrow afternoon and my files aren’t complete yet.

- But I thought you got the scholarship, haven’t you? Bo Hwa wondered. Why do you have to go for an interview?

- Yup, but you see, I got the scholarship at fifty percent... All foreign applicants in my field of study have to go for an interview. I have to present seven works in my portfolio and so far I've only finished six. The key piece is missing, you know, the drawing that will make their eyes pop out of their sockets...

- But nothing's good enough, right?

- Exactly, Mi So said, dropping her notebook at her feet. Plus I wanted to make one that isn't digital, you see...