Stories from Hanyang University (2022–1 English Writing, Prof Yi)
Team 1 Yeong Min “Lost Watch”
A father lost an expensive watch. He searched his room, but to no avail and to mounting frustration. The son heard his father shouting and quickly rushed in. He asked the father to temporarily leave the room. After a while, the son found the watch. The father asked in confusion, “How did you find it?”
The son replied, “I sat quietly, in different corners of the room, and finally heard the ticking sound. It was under your desk!” Just like in life, the most problematic emotion when facing a challenge is “anxiety”. The solution is to calm down!
Team 2 Hashikaa Rajan, “Too much of anything is good for nothing”
A young man lived next door to an old retired man. They both used to enjoy gardening and take good care of their plants. The young man always wanted his garden to be better than the elderly man’s. One day, they both planted similar saplings in their gardens at the same time. The young man supplied his plant with a lot of water and manure whereas the old man only provided a little amount. In comparison to the old man’s plant, the young man’s plant grew into a lovely green, leafy plant, while the old man’s plant remained normal.
One night, it rained heavily. When the young man returned to his garden in the morning, he noticed that his plant had been uprooted, whereas the old man’s plant had not been damaged.
Soon after, the old man came out of his house to see his garden.
The young man approached the old man and asked, “My plant was very large and green, and still it got uprooted in the last night’s rain, whereas your plant appeared to be normal and had not been uprooted. Why??”
The old man said, “Look, you had provided everything that a plant would require, in abundance. So, it did not have to go in search of the nutrients because its roots received everything it needed in the top layer itself. Whereas in my case, I was only providing enough to keep it alive. Plant roots had to go deep into the soil to meet the rest of their requirements. That’s why, when the weather turned bad, your plant can’t hold it in”. The young man realized that the same rule applies to his life as well.
Hard Work Vs Smart Work — Hashikaa Rajan
There lived an old man with his two sons in a village. As months passed by, the old man fell sick, so he decided to allocate his family business to one of his sons. The old man called his two sons and told them; I will give each of you 100 dollars and one room. The one who fills the room by using these 100 dollars wisely will take over my business. The first son started to fill the room with straw for 99 dollars and saved 1dollar, whereas the second son bought a candle and match sticks and filled the room with light for 1 dollar and saved 99 dollars. Though the first son worked hard to fill up the room with straw, he managed to save only 1 dollar. The second son worked smart by filling the room with light and managed to save his energy as well as money. Hence it is important to think before acting. Prior preparation is required in smart work so that you can reach your goal efficiently.
Team 3 Wook Jeon, ‘Birds of a feather’
The young man was eager to meet his ideal woman, who loved what she did without worrying about others’ eyes. But no woman showed interest in him. Disappointed, the man focused on his work and began to enjoy it. He attended a work-related conference, and a young woman approached with a sweet smile. She was the one he had been looking for! Later, she confessed that she felt attracted when she saw him love his work without worrying about others’ opinions. Birds of a feather do flock together!
Team 3 Junghwan Lee, “A point of View”
A small hill stood on the edge of a village. The village folklore declared that if someone rolled down the hill, he would die after one year. An old man accidentally stumbled down. He was bedridden, not because of any severe injury, but because of his fear of impending death. A clever, young neighbor advised: “If rolling over the hill once makes you live one year, how about rolling over the hill ten times?” The old man rolled over and over the hill, and lived happily for many years. What matters is the point of view!
Team 4 Coco
(Noise with scream and cry…)
Dear Claudia, when I think of you, I’m reminded of the beautiful sky full of light clouds, peaceful and pure.
Just like this moment, I am flying at 20,000 feet to miss you.
Oh, please never mind, people around are a bit noisy, they may miss their family too, and want to say something.
I am happy we called last night,
you sound a little bit tired because our newborn baby crying all day,
but you feel satisfied since I bought a plane ticket, which was ahead of the original schedule.
I bought it, to fly back home, to meet you.
Yes, I am flying at 10,000 feet to miss you and our baby.
Remember? I called you an hour and 40 minutes ago,
you said: “I miss you.”, which tugged at my heartstrings, but oh god,
I must be an idiot to forget to tell you
“Me too”.
I am flying at 2,000 feet to miss you.
Your favorite season is coming with blooming flowers,
I know you love flowers, especially tulips.
See, the city that I was staying in for business last 3 days named “City of Flower”
I swore that we will visit here together later.
However, it can never stop my feeling to back to you,
Your voice and your smiles is the only flower, which can relieve my tiredness,
and also… my fear.
Dear, I am flying at 500 feet to miss you,
and I will always miss you.
*ps: a little poem to remember the souls who died in the MU5735 air crash on 21th, March.