Go Tae-gyeong, the GV Villain

I don’t believe in the power of empathy and consolation that literature is supposed to offer. I’ve never once heard of a wounded heart being healed through the ears. Still, I quietly find myself thinking thoughts like this: “There was surely a time when I, too, held lofty ideals, dreams, and a strong will. Back then I believed no one and no hardship could stop me. But weathered by the passage of time and by small setbacks that, looking back, were really nothing at all, here I am now, just living an ordinary day like any other. If only I had been able to endure a little longer, if only I had been able to be patient when patience was what was needed, could I have lived as the self I believed in back then?” I know it’s all in vain. But surely I’m at least free to feel a little wistful about it?

20200423