I’m Waiting for You by Kim Bo-Young

“‘I think I get it,’ said Tanjae. ‘History is variable. Only, whenever it changes, the world’s memory changes with it and no one realizes it’s changed. Except for the person who traveled back in time. It’s like in adventure games where the character remembers only one route, but the player remembers every route ever played…'”

The Prophet of Corruption

I’m Waiting For You and Other Stories by Kim Bo-Young is my first read by this author. I can’t quite remember how I came across her, but I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this collection, and it’s been really nice to read something so unexpected.

This is a collection of four stories. The first and last story, “I’m Waiting For You” and “On My Way to You” are connected, while the two middle stories “The Prophet of Corruption” and “That One Life” are also connected. It makes for an interesting layout of the book because after reading “I’m Waiting for You”, you desperately want to read the last story of the book. There’s a sense of urgency in the way it ends, and a desire to keep going, but then when you start “The Prophet of Corruption,” you can’t help but also be drawn into it.

I’m going to start with the first and last story, which I will admit were my favorite of the book. These stories are about a couple who are on their way to each other, to get married and live a happy life. Yet this is a future that doesn’t look much like our present. The characters remain unnamed which sort of adds the quality that their love story could be anyone’s. In “I’m Waiting for You,” the groom writes letters to his future bride. He is traveling on a spaceship to meet her. These ships are traveling at light speed, so while only a few months pass for him, years pass on Earth. When he learns that his fiancé is going to be delayed, he decides to transfer to another ship so he can arrive more closely to her. What ends up happening is a bit frustrating, both to the reader and the characters- he is constantly delayed, or he returns to Earth only to realize it is so changed, so dangerous that he cannot stay.

In “On My Way to You,” we get to read the bride’s letters. She is also traveling by lightspeed, trying to reach her fiancé. There’s definitely a tone shift here. I found her past to seem more tragic. It’s not clear why she is running from her family, but it’s obvious that they were not kind to her, and she must get away, whatever the cost. But at the same time, she’s trapped in this continual cycle of bad events. No matter how hard she tries to get to him, people prevent her from being able to reach him. These two stories are about the desire to really find happiness but be stuck in this cycle of not being able to get what you want and having to remain hopeful, to keep believing that what you want will happen. It’s both tragic and beautiful. And it’s also about finding happiness even when life gets challenging and difficult.

The other two stories, “The Prophet of Corruption” and “That One Life” were completely. I definitely struggled a bit more with these because the way it was written felt both more scientific and more religious than I am familiar with. Sometimes, when I read a science fiction story, I understand immediately that this is not something I’m going to fully understand on a first read. I think those are some of the best kinds of stories, and I know this one will benefit from a reread one day. I loved it so much, but I definitely want to fully grasp how incredible this story is.

These stories follow ‘Prophets’, creators and godlike figures. The Prophet Naban split himself and created children in order to learn. He knows that he is everything and everything is him, but one of his selves doesn’t believe this. He believes that Earth and its inhabitants are their own self, and in no way an extension of the prophets. This is frowned upon and considered corruption. The prophets live on Earth in order to learn, and they can spend lifetimes learning before re-merging with their original creator. (Again, I understand I might be explaining this badly), but what I found interesting is that most prophets chose to live lives where they would benefit. One of extreme wealth or comfort. Naban, however, did the opposite. He learned the most from pain and so he always chose to live a sad life. In a way, I think he understood that there’s no real learning, no true understanding of joy and happiness without pain.

But at the same time, Naban continued to struggle with some of his students. They all seemed to diverge into a way of thinking that not everything was them, and they were not everything. That beings of individuality did exist and lived a life all of their own. These two stories really make you think. I apologize to the author for my poor review of these two stories, but I think that the next time I read them, they will hit me differently and I will gain something new from them.

I saw there’s only one other collection translated by this author, but I’m hoping there are more in the future as I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading more of this author’s work!