EXPLANATION POST: (it's all in the) doenjang stew
I received comments for (it's all in the) doenjang stew that some readers didn't quite understand what was going on. And it's okay if you didn't understand (or even like) it!
That being said, I didn't want to explicitly give everything away when writing the story. It's more fun when you have the readers try to connect the dots, to read each scene and ask themselves, But what does this mean? Why are Kyungsoo and Joonmyun ripping pages out of a textbook and eating them like pizza slices? (Who even does that lol??) For those who are curious about my personal interpretation of (it's all in the) doenjang stew, please keep in mind that this isn't the only "correct" interpretation. Because every story will mean different things to different people and will belong to them in different ways.
Anyway, I think the best way to explain the meaning of this story is to start from its conception. At first, the fic was going to be a retelling of a Greek myth-well, Greek tragedy, although my retelling would have a happy ending because it was for the "no one dies this time" kaisooaufest haha-and the working title of the fic was Icarus, Reignited. That's why I chose aerospace engineering for Kyungsoo's major and why Kyungsoo was obsessed with the sky. If you're not familiar with the story of Icarus, here's a half-assed summary I wrote for a deleted scene:
☆☆☆
Somewhere between Achilles and Odysseus, there's a Greek myth about a boy named Icarus, whose father built him wings out of feathers, wood, and wax. Although his father warned him not to fly too close to the sun because the wax would melt, Icarus didn't listen. No matter how much he loved the sun, it melted his wings anyway.
He fell.
But Kyungsoo isn't Icarus. Kyungsoo may love the sun. And the stars and everything in the sky. But Kyungsoo has Jongin to catch him.
Or at least he hopes he still does.
☆☆☆
The thing was... when I was editing my story, this super short scene felt out of place, because it was the only time Icarus was mentioned. So I cut it out and changed the title.
But I wanted this scene to be an epiphany to the reader, an ah-ha! moment where they realized that Kyungsoo is the college!au version of Icarus, except his hunger for the sun, the sky, the stars is quite literal. And, like Icarus, it's done to the extreme. While Icarus flies dangerously higher and higher towards the sun, Kyungsoo gorges himself on his structural analysis textbook, page by page.
In many Greek tragedies, hubris is what conquers the hero. Hubris is the reason Icarus feels he can fly as high as he wants... but the sun melts the wax off his wings, so he plummets to his death. Hubris is the reason why Kyungsoo thinks he can get away with swallowing all the stars in the night sky... but this gluttony almost forces him to sacrifice his relationship with Jongin.
I hope, even without drawing the explicit connection to Icarus, readers are still able to find their own meaning in the fic. Yeah, Kyungsoo dissecting his own professor to find secrets of aerospace engineering is pretty... extra lol, but I think at its core, the story can be relatable. In college, and in other areas of life, it's easy to get caught up when doing something you love, to be so focused on your task at hand that you forget to call your parents or message your friends back. Is it bad or selfish to follow your dreams, even if it means neglecting your relationships? I think the answer to that would be different for different people.
Kyungsoo, however, chooses to prioritize Jongin's showcase (and by extension their relationship) in the end. Yes, he loves his major, but he loves Jongin more. And by realizing this, his hunger for stars and sky and structural analysis textbook pages is satiated by real human food-doenjang stew.
Okay, not gonna lie it feels like I just wrote an essay for my high school English teacher haha. Except... is it pretentious to analyze your own writing? #sweating
t;dr Kyungsoo falls in love with aerospace engineering, his college major, so he neglects his relationship with Jongin.
Thank you to everyone who read, commented, or recommended (it's all in the) doenjang stew. I'm grateful for the discussion this fic received, both negative and positive. Wishing everyone a great day!
~Rochelle (afterwejump)
That being said, I didn't want to explicitly give everything away when writing the story. It's more fun when you have the readers try to connect the dots, to read each scene and ask themselves, But what does this mean? Why are Kyungsoo and Joonmyun ripping pages out of a textbook and eating them like pizza slices? (Who even does that lol??) For those who are curious about my personal interpretation of (it's all in the) doenjang stew, please keep in mind that this isn't the only "correct" interpretation. Because every story will mean different things to different people and will belong to them in different ways.
Anyway, I think the best way to explain the meaning of this story is to start from its conception. At first, the fic was going to be a retelling of a Greek myth-well, Greek tragedy, although my retelling would have a happy ending because it was for the "no one dies this time" kaisooaufest haha-and the working title of the fic was Icarus, Reignited. That's why I chose aerospace engineering for Kyungsoo's major and why Kyungsoo was obsessed with the sky. If you're not familiar with the story of Icarus, here's a half-assed summary I wrote for a deleted scene:
☆☆☆
Somewhere between Achilles and Odysseus, there's a Greek myth about a boy named Icarus, whose father built him wings out of feathers, wood, and wax. Although his father warned him not to fly too close to the sun because the wax would melt, Icarus didn't listen. No matter how much he loved the sun, it melted his wings anyway.
He fell.
But Kyungsoo isn't Icarus. Kyungsoo may love the sun. And the stars and everything in the sky. But Kyungsoo has Jongin to catch him.
Or at least he hopes he still does.
☆☆☆
The thing was... when I was editing my story, this super short scene felt out of place, because it was the only time Icarus was mentioned. So I cut it out and changed the title.
But I wanted this scene to be an epiphany to the reader, an ah-ha! moment where they realized that Kyungsoo is the college!au version of Icarus, except his hunger for the sun, the sky, the stars is quite literal. And, like Icarus, it's done to the extreme. While Icarus flies dangerously higher and higher towards the sun, Kyungsoo gorges himself on his structural analysis textbook, page by page.
In many Greek tragedies, hubris is what conquers the hero. Hubris is the reason Icarus feels he can fly as high as he wants... but the sun melts the wax off his wings, so he plummets to his death. Hubris is the reason why Kyungsoo thinks he can get away with swallowing all the stars in the night sky... but this gluttony almost forces him to sacrifice his relationship with Jongin.
I hope, even without drawing the explicit connection to Icarus, readers are still able to find their own meaning in the fic. Yeah, Kyungsoo dissecting his own professor to find secrets of aerospace engineering is pretty... extra lol, but I think at its core, the story can be relatable. In college, and in other areas of life, it's easy to get caught up when doing something you love, to be so focused on your task at hand that you forget to call your parents or message your friends back. Is it bad or selfish to follow your dreams, even if it means neglecting your relationships? I think the answer to that would be different for different people.
Kyungsoo, however, chooses to prioritize Jongin's showcase (and by extension their relationship) in the end. Yes, he loves his major, but he loves Jongin more. And by realizing this, his hunger for stars and sky and structural analysis textbook pages is satiated by real human food-doenjang stew.
Okay, not gonna lie it feels like I just wrote an essay for my high school English teacher haha. Except... is it pretentious to analyze your own writing? #sweating
t;dr Kyungsoo falls in love with aerospace engineering, his college major, so he neglects his relationship with Jongin.
Thank you to everyone who read, commented, or recommended (it's all in the) doenjang stew. I'm grateful for the discussion this fic received, both negative and positive. Wishing everyone a great day!
~Rochelle (afterwejump)