Don't Close Your Eyes: Lee Gi-ho's Short Story Series (Hardcover)

Author Lee Ki-ho · Publisher Maumsanchek · Published 2022-09-25 · ISBN 9788960907706

About the Book

"Why do those who have nothing strive to take from each other?
Why are only those who have nothing entangled with each other?"
Everyone is a weary individual 'enduring' a little bit.

Jeong-yong and Jin-man, the protagonists of 『Don't Close Your Eyes』, graduate from a private university in the provinces and decide to live together in a cheap studio apartment to save money. They work together at catering buffets and highway rest area part-time jobs, and to save on heating costs in winter, they buy and wear pantyhose. Through various part-time jobs, they encounter the arduous lives of other poor people. An elderly couple arguing while selling bungeoppang in front of a fried chicken restaurant, an aunt at a samgyetang restaurant who causes trouble because she's not good at dishwashing, and Choi Hyun-soo, a delivery driver who has to pay back money for Jin-man... These are all people who struggle and are in difficulty, even though they try their best to live well. Whenever Jeong-yong and Jin-man face the lives of these others, they sometimes feel a surge of emotion, and other times a deep sense of shame.

"Do you know why poor people get angrier? Do you know why poor people suddenly get angry and cause trouble?"
Jin-man held his breath and just listened to Jeong-yong.
"It's because they're tired, their bodies are tired... When your body is tired, you just get angry. Only those who aren't tired sit at their desks and spout nonsense like 'kindness can also be a disease'!" _pp. 112-113

Jin-man, in particular, is a character who is a bit more naive, tender, and, so to speak, lacks practical skills compared to Jeong-yong. He feels heartbroken watching dogs abused during clumsy grooming practice by intern dog groomers, and he befriends an elementary school student he meets at a comic book cafe. He gets a job at a local dairy processing company but quits soon after. Jeong-yong feels sorry for Jin-man but also a little frustrated. Then one day, Jeong-yong accidentally calls Jin-man a 'beggar'. Although they had exchanged even harsher jokes, Jin-man couldn't dismiss the remark lightly because Jeong-yong had paid the entire security deposit for the studio apartment that Jin-man couldn't afford. So they part ways, and soon after, Jin-man goes missing.

Jeong-yong couldn't easily fall asleep and kept tossing and turning. He thought it was for the best, that a day would come when they would live separately, but then he also guessed that Jin-man would come back tomorrow or the day after as if nothing had happened. Then, suddenly, a thought struck Jeong-yong, and he sat up in bed, muttering to himself as he stared at the dark wall, "Ah, that's what it was, that's why... It was because of the deposit, that I paid all of it for this studio apartment... So that remark must have hurt even more... He must have really felt like a beggar..." _p. 269

'We are safest when we are together'
The power of a story that transcends wit and pathos

『Don't Close Your Eyes』 is not a novel that offers easy comfort. Lee Ki-ho does not give Jeong-yong and Jin-man a 'suitable' happy ending. The reality they have to face is always overwhelming, frightening, and barely manageable. However, as you read the novel, you realize that they are safest 'together'. Lee Ki-ho's humor shines in the scenes where Jin-man and Jeong-yong are together, in the chemistry they create. This is likely about the beauty and importance of 'solidarity', where people support each other. Also, 'Lee Min-jae', who appears in the latter half of the novel, speaks more directly about the need for "someone to talk to."
As shown in 『Don't Close Your Eyes』, Lee Ki-ho's perspective on society is becoming more refined and sharper. This is also why we remain curious about the future literary world of one of the most perceptive humorists among contemporary novelists, whose exploration of reality is deepening.

For the author, there is no such thing as a universal 'province' or 'youth' to begin with. There are only different provinces and different youths. The story always begins there. I was born in the provinces, grew up in the provinces, and still live in the provinces. That is also the source of my sensibility that no one can take away from me. I rely solely on that to write. And I probably always will. _From "Author's Note"

Table of Contents

Beware of the Darkness Behind
Moving
Such Heavy Porridge
Behold This Father
Falling In
Choi Cheol-gon, the Man Next Door
Reunion at the Rest Stop
A Feeling Difficult to Explain
First Snow
Witness
Birthday Letter
Cherry Blossom All-Nighter
Teacher's Night
Upon Our Shoulders
Society of Anger
Edge of Heaven
Long Padding Equipping Story
One Very Ugly Rock
Spring Night, Debt Collection
The Misfortune of Your Neighbor
The Path of a Creator
What Came From the Loess
People Meeting People
Grandfather's Memory Method
Everyone Who Endures
Pick Me
The Fate of a Dairy Cow
A Certain Graduation Ceremony
Self-Isolation
Don't Close Your Eyes
A Bag of Gosari
Where is the Church Going?
Still Alive
The Life of a Certain Security Guard
Things That Are Pulled Even from the Soul
Merry Christmas
The Last Night of a Car Poor Person
Necklace
Someone Who Lingered
A Minor Farewell
Empty Seat
Who Speaks of Fairness?
Missing Person Report
His Whereabouts
Small and Tender
A Twenty-Year-Old Provincial Dweller
Road Traffic Act Article 154
Letting Someone Go
Someone to Talk To

Author's Note