Arena Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Kim Hyun Ho (1)
Translated by End . Proofread by BloodAdept, MrBaconator, Froshi
There are 7 billion people living on this world right now . Those who drank their lives away, there must be about 300 million of these crazy people, right? These 300 million, I wish they would all die . Really .
Compared to other days, my nightly part time work I do at a convenience store was quite difficult . At about 1 o’clock in the morning, this drunk mister started buying tons of beer and was chugging it all down by himself .
He was so drunk that he started gorging on snacks, ice cream and the cuttlefish without checking them out . I tried to persuade him to pay for it first, but… he started going on this explosive rant about even me ignoring him and his fists began to fly . . .
I wanted to report him to the police, then and there . But I thought it would become even more bothersome, so I admonished him and managed to somehow quiet him down . After his episode, the tired mister started crying all by himself and left . That mister’s life, it must have been quite a mess . His retreating figure was quite a depressing sight .
But even so, what right does he have include me in his mess?
I finished my shitty, part time work and returned home . To my dark and damp, single room located in a basement . Deposit was 5 million Won, my monthly rent is 300 thousand Won . In Autumn, it’s cold . In Winter, it’s colder . During Summer nights, it’s a wondrous cold dungeon . During rainy seasons, it comes with an option of a leaking roof!
I chucked off my clothes and crawled into my warm blankets . In this cold room without any heating, I still couldn’t fix my habit and still slept without clothes on . I am quite an amazing person .
Just as I was about to fall asleep, my smartphone suddenly started vibrating, telling me I had a call .
The caller was my mom .
‘Fantastic . ’
The climax of my difficult day seemed to culminate with my mom . No matter what, the call would just be filled with lectures and scolding .
‘Ah, screw it . ’
I decided not to accept the call . I can always make up an excuse that I was sleeping after returning from my part time work .
The vibration stopped and I thought my mom gave up . Then, this time, there was a ding~ informing me that I had a text message .
[Son . Stop pretending to be asleep and answer my call . Or else, I will cut your allowance . ]
. . . Right .
Who does she think she’s fooling?
When the call came once again, I snatched it up immediately .
“Hello . ”
– Son, why didn’t you pick up?
“I couldn’t as I was pretending to be asleep . ”
– Really? My son is such a good and dutiful child .
“Well, you know . ”
– I am cutting your allowance .
She’s think she can oppress people with allowance? Does she think I will give in?
“I am sorry . ”
I surrendered . I tucked my tail in immediately . My mom gave a silent chuckle as she spoke .
– How is your studies going?
“I just returned from my part time work . I will study once I catch up on my sleep . ”
– Does sleep come to someone who is a two year repeater of the civil servant exams?
“Stop poking into my wounds . ”
– Son, don’t get me wrong and listen to your mom’s word . Your head’s made of rocks so you’re in no position to study properly . Why don’t you just come back home and run the fried chicken business with me?
A sudden curveball . It was a direct hit, without any bit that could be misunderstood . Mentally shocked, I tried to grasp for an appropriate response .
“Uh, mom . It’s only because I don’t study, my head’s perfectly fine . ”
– Mom thought the same two years ago . I will give up my useless expectation and won’t force you into this impossible endeavor . Studying till the end, or a career that doesn’t involve studying, isn’t it one of the roles of a parent to find the career that fits your aptitude?
She was confirming in her words, that a career that fits my aptitude is to run a fried chicken business . Feeling fear, I spoke up quickly .
“Mom, please, just give me one more chance . If I fail the civil servant exam this time, I will do what you want and fry chickens for the rest of my life . ”
– Of course you will . You are turning thirty next year . That girl from the convenience store next to us is two years younger than you . She’s already married with two children . Do you know how much they boast about their grandson?
“This again?”
That fat convenience store auntie, it seems like she was boasting about her grandson to my mom again .
– Oh, when will my son ever meet a girl he can marry… . .
“Please, let me do something about my life first before consulting about your daughter-in-law or a grandson . ”
What crazy woman would like a man who just chased after his civil servant examination till he was 29?
– That’s why I am telling you, just throw away everything you are doing, come back and run the fried chicken . . .
“I am hanging up . ”
I terminated the call and nimbly took out the battery . Fried Chicken, thirty, a wife, grandson, fried chicken again . It was a frightening combo that knocked me down . Who wanted to live, frying chicken for a living?
Of course, I was not disparaging fried chicken at all . Our mother sold fried chicken like mad to send me and my two sisters through university . But I abhorred difficult work . I rather be a civil servant . Just work leisurely, make sure to receive my wage regularly and leave the office in a blink of an eye .
I was feeling stuffy and wanted to give out a large sigh . I crawled deeper into my blanket and rubbed my eyes . Really, the edge of my heart was feeling more stuffy and frustrated . I felt blocked up, it felt like there was a huge weight on my chest .
Ah, what the **** . This is all because of stress . After I have a good night of sleep, I will be fine .
And so, I slept .
… And dreamed .
TL Note:
Decided to take a short break from LMS with a new series . You know, clear out all the baggage and re-energize myself . Going to work on chapter 9 next week Tuesday after my test .
I been told that this translation is dropped . I did my own research and no one seem to be working on this, and the other translator TlecK seem to have deleted everything . But just to be sure, if there are other group working on this, please tell me now so I am not intentionally poaching your work .
On the translation:
There probably should be more **** in this, but I replaced them with more mellow ones . This is really different experience compared to LMS, and I am still exploring how to set the tone and character . Also the language is… more loose than LMS . Everything is very informal and due to style, I was also very liberal here and there to fit in the proper context .
Also 닭강정, I translated as fried chicken, but it’s different that your average KFC .
In Japanese it’s Karaage, so maybe that’s a better context for you to understand .
Here is an image: Click
There is a subtle difference . 닭튀김 vs 닭강정
The first is fried chicken and the second is the one the word the author used .
닭강정 – is when you prepare more spice on top of the fried chicken, so there is a distinction between the two .