Episode 5
As soon as I stepped outside, I started running.
I had left Si-ha with Moon Do-hwan., but I was a bit worried.
It was probably his first time being with someone else like that.
Honestly, he might be surprisingly unfazed and just waiting like a stoic man.
That would feel a bit disappointing in its own way.
“Hyung. I’m here.”
I arrived at the employment center where my brother was.
“Oh, welcome. I gave Si-ha a jelly toy. He seemed to really like it—thought it was fascinating and fun. He didn’t even look for you.”
“Really?”
I walked over to Si-ha.
Si-ha quickly turned his head and spotted me.
“Hyung!”
“Were you having fun, Si-ha?”
“Hyung.”
Si-ha threw the jelly toy on the ground and ran toward me.
“No! The jelly toy!”
Moon Do-hwan.looked at the toy on the floor with a sad expression.
Si-ha didn’t seem to care at all about him and clung tightly to my leg.
He must have missed me.
‘I wish he would at least show on his face when he misses me. Well, I guess he does express himself through actions.’
I patted Si-ha’s head.
“Did you miss your hyung, Si-ha?”
“Ahh. Hyung.”
“That’s not the important thing, shi-hyuk . It lost its power because I didn’t pick it up in three seconds.”
“There’s a three-second rule for toys too?”
Moon Do-hwan.picked up the jelly toy.
Stretch—
He pretended it had strong adhesion, but it came off quickly.
“I’ll wash this and give it back to him later. Use it as Si-ha’s toy. Oh right, did things go well with the professor?”
“Yes. I got a scholarship and some work too. It’s just a part-time gig. I don’t think it’ll pay much… but I’m going to give it a try.”
In reality, translation work didn’t pay much.
Especially for a rookie—the average rate was half the standard.
For professional translators, the average rate per 200 manuscript pages was about 3,000 to 4,000 won per page.
If your skills were recognized, it went up to 4,000 to 5,000 won.
The top-tier translators got over 5,000 won.
This was called a “buyout contract,” and it was the preferred method.
The reason I knew this was because I often saw my father making those contracts.
“Good. You should try everything and quit if it doesn’t work. Just studying and preparing for two years straight isn’t good. You need to try different things and then decide.”
“You put in a word for me, didn’t you?”
“Ah, why did the professor mention me? Things like this are best done quietly behind the scenes.”
“If only he hadn’t said that, you would’ve looked really cool. Right, Si-ha?”
“Ahh.”
Moon Do-hwan.asked curiously.
“Are you saying yes or no?”
“Of course we’re saying yes. Right, Si-ha?”
“Ahh.”
“There you have it. Anyway, thanks for looking after Si-ha. I’ll get going now. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“Alright. Take care. Oh, and don’t forget to register for your classes. Keep your schedule light, got it?”
“Yes. Thanks. Really.”
“And I’ll contact you, so stop by school one more time.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? He needs to get into daycare. You need to have a consultation.”
“Oh, right.”
I hadn’t even thought about daycare.
And apparently, there’s a consultation for that too.
It was my first time dealing with something like this, so I was a bit clueless.
I figured I’d just have to follow whatever the expert there said.
“Thanks for looking out for me.”
“Touched, aren’t you?”
“If only you hadn’t said that. Seriously, hyung, it’s always the things you say afterward that ruin it.”
Still, I was grateful.
Lee Jang-hyuk.
My father didn’t start out as a translator.
His first job was as an interpreter.
It was as if life had brought him endless opportunities to prove his belief that English could open up the world.
He even managed to pay off the debt my grandfather had left behind.
As if the heavens had decided to shower him with all their luck, he was also gifted with a beautiful wife and a son.
My father, who frequently traveled abroad for work, began thinking about immigrating.
Right around then, an amazing offer came from Singapore.
But the heavens didn’t only give blessings.
My father was shocked by an unfortunate incident involving my mother.
The two of them separated, and he gained custody of me.
That’s when he started translating while taking care of a child in Korea.
So my father was someone skilled in both translation and interpretation.
‘I never thought I’d end up translating too.’
Looking at it this way, maybe there really is such a thing as fate.
My father started translating for his child.
And the child started translating for the same reason.
I glanced behind me.
Worn out from playing, Si-ha was sound asleep, breathing softly.
I left the door slightly ajar and stepped into the living room.
‘Shall I get started?’
I turned on the laptop.
Whirr.
The sound of the fan made my heart pound.
What if that sound woke Si-ha?
It was so quiet that the fan noise seemed loud.
I glanced at the door and then turned my head.
“Huh?”
The laptop wasn’t working properly.
The power light was on, but the screen remained black.
This is bad… It had only been two years, and it was already malfunctioning.
That was frustrating. If I took it in for repair tomorrow, would it be fixed right away?
If it were up to me, I’d translate the sample quickly and send it in while I had time.
‘Can’t be helped.’ I pressed and held the power button to turn the laptop off. Leaving the sleeping Si-ha as he was, I quietly took out the stored box. ‘Father’s laptop is proving useful. If Si-ha hadn’t blocked it, I probably would’ve thrown it out.’
I gently placed the laptop on the desk. When I powered it on and the screen lit up, I placed my fingers on the keyboard.
Zap.
“Ow!”
There was a prickling sensation—as if from static electricity. But can static come from a laptop?
I took a step back.
Could I get electrocuted? Or was it a sign the battery might explode?
Can static electricity pass through plastic and a keyboard?
‘Am I overthinking this? Huh?’
Suddenly, my head started spinning.
A wave of drowsiness hit, so intense that I could hardly keep my eyes open.
‘Ah… what’s happening all of a sudden?’ The strength drained from my body. I collapsed onto the floor.
‘Why?’ With that question lingering in my mind, I slipped into sleep.
-6 hours later.
Flash. I opened my eyes. I shot up and checked my body. Was there something wrong with my head? A stroke? Narcolepsy? No. It wasn’t like that.
I had simply become extremely sleepy and fallen asleep.
Though I did feel weak. ‘Maybe I should go to the hospital, just in case? What time is it?’ 4:10 a.m. It was still dark outside.
‘Huh?’
Strange things started floating before my eyes. Tiny letters. “English?” Refrigerator, kitchen, table, toast.
Words appeared everywhere before my eyes. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes. Eventually, the words vanished.
‘Am I really that tired?’ Though I’d been stressed lately, I hadn’t felt especially exhausted… With a bit of unease, I sat back down at the laptop.
‘Let’s just get to work.’ I cautiously placed my hands on the keyboard—there was no tingling this time.
Relieved, I downloaded the file that Department Head Kim Hoseop had sent me. The sample opened up before me. ‘This is my first time translating, but…’
With a mix of nervousness and excitement, I began the translation. ‘Huh? This is strange.’
Clack, clack, clack.
My hands moved as if I’d been doing this for ten years. For a first attempt, the speed was incredibly fast.
Normally, the process in my head would go: English → Korean → interpretation.
But now, it was just: English → interpretation.
Even the grammatical particles slipped in naturally, as if the sentences were already familiar. Without a moment’s hesitation, I stopped typing. I had finished 20 pages.
‘Even if it’s a self-help book, it has specialized content that should have slowed me down. Do I have a knack for this?’
I read it over carefully—no typos, nothing to fix. Satisfied, I sent the file to Manager Hong Jinsu at KI Media via email.
That should wrap up the translation for now.
If he liked it, he’d contact me. That’s when it happened.
The slightly closed door creaked open. “Hyung.”
“Oh? Si-ha?
You’re up already? It’s only five in the morning.”
Si-ha raised his arms. That meant he wanted to be held.
I scooped Si-ha up.
“No matter how early a good kid wakes up, isn’t this a bit too early?”
“Appa.”
“Huh? Ah, the computer? You recognize it already.”
“Ah-ah.”
Si-ha pointed toward the bathroom.
“Oh? Right. First thing after waking up is the bathroom.”
I changed Si-ha’s diaper.
“Feel better?”
“Ah-ah.”
Si-ha stretched out his hands, insisting on washing them.
I’m the one who changed the diaper, so why was he washing his hands?
Still, I washed his hands like he wanted.
“Nice and clean.”
“Ah-ah.”
“It’s a bit early for breakfast, but do you want something to eat?”
Shake shake.
Si-ha shook his head and then gestured to be put down.
Once I set him down, he began his daily routine. His favorite—tissues. I smiled at the sight.
“Si-ha, after we eat today, we’re going to daycare. We have a consultation.
We need to get ready later, okay?”
“Ah-ah.”
Not sure if he understood. Well, I’m the one who has to do the prep anyway.
KI Media Office.
Hong Jinsu arrived at work after battling the suffocating heat of the morning rush hour.
It was winter, yet it felt like summer—he couldn’t figure out why.
“Good morning!”
Despite being completely worn out, he made sure to greet the morning cheerfully.
That was his motto.
He believed that starting the day off right was key to surviving the afternoon workload.
“Ugh, you’re blowing out my eardrums. Every single day with the ‘good morning’ crap. Traffic was hell. I’m wiped. Wiped!”
The CEO of KI Media groaned.
“Sir, as the face of KI Media, you can’t go around looking like that.”
“Exactly. I’m the CEO. And what does my face have to do with anything?”
“Your noble countenance should shine, sir.”
“To hell with noble.”
The CEO couldn’t help but laugh at Hong Jinsu’s words.
Even though he shouldn’t.
Hong Jinsu had a knack for making people laugh in the strangest ways.
“I’ve been thinking about the kind of talent we need.”
“You’re looking at him.”
“Where? I don’t see anyone.”
“I’m taking a day off today.”
“Just kidding. You know how hard things get without you, right?”
“Yes, I know very well.”
“Then again, the one who says he knows…”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Listen, I’ve been thinking—it might be good to discover Korean novels that could make it overseas and have them translated into English.”
“Don’t tell me you’re turning to Korean literature because it’s too hard to find good foreign books?”
“Ahem. That’s part of it, I suppose.”
“Well, in terms of discovery, that could be easier. But the problem is the translation. If we were to publish an English version, could we really find a translator capable of producing something that flows naturally to native speakers?”
“That’s what I’m worried about. There’s just one person I hope will come through.”
“I’ll look into it, but don’t get your hopes up. It’s rare to find someone who can write conversational English well.”
“It’s tough, I know.”
Even translating English into Korean showed huge skill gaps. It was far harder for a Korean to translate into English.
There weren’t many translators who could pull that off.
“I’ll start looking. Better than doing nothing.”
“Exactly. Taking action is always better.”
Without bold moves and follow-through, KI Media wouldn’t be where it is today.
“Alright, I’ll get back to work. I’ve got a morning meeting.”
“Sure. Good luck.”
Hong Jinsu sat at his desk and turned on his computer.
He checked his email inbox as usual and spotted several new messages. One in particular caught his eye.
“I was referred by Professor Kim Hoseop.”
He recalled the connection. Professor Kim Hoseop had also been his mentor.
‘This must be the sample file. Let’s see what we’ve got.’
He clicked on the file. He reviewed it thoroughly and finished reading in under three minutes.
His expression twisted into something strange.
“Hmm. The basics are solid. And the phrasing is good.”
[Take my wife, please.]
Just from that sentence, he could tell.
If the translator lacked skill, they would interpret it as
“Take my wife.”
But the correct interpretation here was
“Please escort my wife.”
That alone showed a grasp of nuance. What was more intriguing was the smell the text gave off.
‘This smells like someone who knows their stuff. Maybe studied abroad?’
He couldn’t help but be impressed by how well the tone, nuance, and contextual interpretation were handled.
‘They pass. I’ll give them a call.’
Hong Jinsu picked up the phone.
