Story #1 : 나무 Tree (present)

 

I am in the same place every day. What are those moving things that stop and vanish once in a while? They go too quickly. Like I see the quick passer-by, I also notice a big and dark something sauntering around this area for the last few days. But I guess I see a different one every time. Such the two types turn up and disappear and repeat. It has not been such a long time that the quick one and the sauntering one come together into my sight. Their sporadic presence eases my loneliness. My age might still be desiring affection from someone else. (48 s)

 

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One of my life's worries is ‘what is life?’ (Another concern is to figure out how to keep the bugs off). In fact, I think of myself as an average age group, yet if you listen to the loud stories that are around you, I belong to an old generation in our state. So I am a little older compared to others in this neighborhood. Time is very unfriendly, it passes too fast. I breathe in and out fresh air every day. Strangely, the older I am, the more I seem to breathe. Are my younger neighbors living and breathing well? I want to let them know that if they live their life as hard as they can, then they can live long and prosper. I should spread this message through the breeze. (61 s)

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Ouch. Hurt. Someone is hacking at me without mercy. It hurts to die. That someone gashes me more and more when my fair skin is exposed. I am getting close to passing out. Even my pieces of my crown fall one, two, to the bottom. (20 s)

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Where is this place, and who am I? I am ... lying down. For the first time in my life, I am lying on this path. The white snow is piled up on me. People are coming up in the distance. There are about three or four of them and they seem and sound happy. I am unintentionally hiding in the snow. The strange thing is that the guys who are passing really fast now seem to move so slowly. No, they move gradually and I can clearly watch and listen to them. (42 s)

 

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Has there been a time that flows so slowly for the past millennia? No, this is the first time in my life. Now my time gets on. I lost my ability to understand the way time moves to exist another millennium. Just as my friends have disappeared silently about a day or a decade ago, I am also slowly disappearing from the world in these softened and aimless years while lying down on this path. (34 s)

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Story #2 : 주말 Weekend

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The road is a little bit slippery today. Last night, snow accumulated until this morning. Then from this morning, a ray of warm sunshine comes down on the snow pile. The warmth creates a hint of moisture that soaks in between the snow grains. The penetrated warm moisture and the grain of snow create a new icy layer. (26 s)

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Uhh.. my butt hurts. I already slipped on the ice getting out of my place. Damn, why is my car still in the shop in this weather? I should be more awake, more cautious. There are a few places I should drop by today, at least two places. There is a coffee shop about 15 minutes away by foot: Two blocks straight from here, then turn to the left,  and walk straight on the left-hand-side of the street. (35 s)

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Enter the coffee shop, then step in the line. There are a few people who are already waiting for their turn before me. While I am standing at this end of the line, I skim in and out for any vacant seat I can find. Already the place is almost full of chatting and typing people. Is it because it is a weekend or because there’s going to be a performance here? Well, anyhow, I am just gonna grab a cup of coffee and any seat. (39 s)

 

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It is a little bit odd that the scanner could not read my palm properly. Normally, the scanner could scan my palm and let me pick from the menu. But the system does not allow me to order anything. Now I have to pay my coffee and a muffin with my credit card (luckily I always bring a card as a back-up plan, just in case. How old fashioned!) Although a clerk just tells me the machine gets confused by itself, this had never happened before. Is my palm damaged from this morning’s slip? Does it really matter for this scanner system? Hmm.. maybe I can just ignore this for now.. yea.. maybe I am being too sensitive. (54 s)

 

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Today is my payday, and it is always an exciting day. I do not receive any paycheck directly from my employer, but I know that on the first Friday of the month my paycheck will be automatically deposited into my bank account. I receive an e-mail notification when this happens, but I hardly ever even open the message, because I am confident that the money will be there. And… I just get a text message from my bank. It says there is only a $2.56 deposit in my checking account!? What the fxxx is going on!? Shoot. I have to change my plan, and head to a bank rather than buying bread. So.. according to the map app, the nearest bank branch is about 8 minutes from here. I should walk about 3 blocks straight, turn right to go straight ahead, and then the bank will be on my right. (1 m 9 s)

 

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The entrance door of the bank rejects me, so I have to push a button for a new customer at a back door. A security man comes out and lets me in with his suspicious eyes. (16 s)

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Well, now I am following a cookie-voice robot, which has a round screen on the top of a round body that slides on the floor. It leads me to see one of the real bankers. I start the conversation by showing the text message I got. And the banker asks me to show my palm to verify my identity. The scanner, of course, does not read me properly. I explain that happened this morning at the coffee shop and the banker tells me to grab a seat while she is investigating my whole biometric and the bank account’s records. (45 s)

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About ten minutes later, the banker calls someone who looks a little more important than she does, and now they are talking about something in a very serious way while glimpsing at me occasionally. What is going on with me and my account? The person who looks more important approaches me. (23 s)

 

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So about two weeks ago, my palm was apparently replicated by a hacker, and the person used my copied-palm as his method of payment for a month! (sneaky, sneaky) The identity thief was arrested the last night. The investigator tells me that my palm identity can no longer be used by anyone, even myself since the palm-data is contaminated and is distributed too widely, so she says my palm-data is terminated. (32 s)

 

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Today, I am heading to the city hall to register my new bio-data. Ah.. I don’t want to use my iris as an alternative identity-verification… Maybe I can ask about another way to register my identity at the Department of Bio-Identity once I get there. (20 s)

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*Inspirational science

Bill Maurer (2015) How Would You Like to Pay? How Technology Is Changing the Future of Money, Duke University Press.

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Minji Kim, Seho Kim, Junghun Kim (2019) “Can mobile and biometric payments replace cards in the Korean offline payments market? Consumer preference analysis for payment systems using a discrete choir model” Telematics and Informatics, vol. 38, p. 46-58.

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Story #3 : 아침운동 하는 사람 A Jogger

 

Let’s run together. Breathing will be challenging once you start to run; even a fast-walking would make the same reaction. Warm-up for 5 minutes by either stirring your steps or jogging. (15 s)

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When your body gets an enough warmth, your heart rate is getting high and your breathing feels heavy. But you know it will pass soon. (11 s)

 

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Your stomach starts burbling intermittently. Maybe you want to express your strong internal desire, a fart. It is a normal response from your internal body. When your body is breaking down energy, such as sugary carbohydrates, fat, solid proteins, your muscles cells begin to release gas. (21 s)

 

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Cells break down glycogen, a form of glucose fuel stored in muscles and blood. Muscles release lactic acid, which signals the brain you are under physical stress. (12 s)

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Your heart starts beating faster and pushing blood toward your muscles and temporarily away from their functional use, such as digestion. Muscle cells require oxygen. Starts heavy breathing. (12 s)

 

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The biggest muscle (butt muscle), legs, and core help keep the body upright, control the gait, and extend the hip joints so the feet can push off the ground. Your body begins to consume calories, including some stored energies, such as fat. (19 s)

 

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You might notice itching. Blood goes all around your cells, including tiny unused capillaries indoor skin. The process of burning glycogen and oxygen raises your body’s temperature. To cool down the body, your circulatory system converts blood flow to the exposed body parts, such as skin, looking like a flush. For non-runner, the unused capillaries are dormant status, and once they are activated flooded with blood, they balloon. This swelling process irritates nearby nerves, which sends a signal to your brain to feel ‘itching’. Sweat glands begin releasing moisture to keep the body from overheating. (43 s)

 

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After 30 minutes of running, now let’s cool down this running. Your body will realize the work out is over. Your energy consumption will lower and your breathing will finally turn back to normal as well as your heart rate. If you want to know whether you are in shape, now it is the time to measure it. If your body calms down at rest fast, then it means your body’s physical function is pretty much in a good shape. Don’t stop to walk slowly for about 7 minutes. (41 s)

 

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Do you finish your walking? Then, does it mean you can sit down? Please, don’t. you should not sit down until you get a complete relaxation. Cool down first, let your heart slow down and your muscles ease. Your body will rebuild all the damaged parts, such as the muscles, bone and joint, that happened during today’s running. It normally takes 24 to 48 hours to full-restoration of your muscles to a working condition. (34 s)