1 June. The first day of the month that marks half-way through the year that I started in great distress. As if awakening from a long drawn-out nightmare I keep pinching myself to ensure that I don't fall asleep again. A succession of peaceful days continues. Now that I have worked out this month's budget my mind is at peace as my eyes leisurely follow the floating clouds and admire the luxurious green of the grass and trees. How delicious is the air in these pleasant evenings as the lingering sun dyes the western sky crimon. I wish I could forget the painful past that had deprived me of all my opportunities, youthful mirth and passion leaving behind only shameful memories. I feel like a bird released from a suffocating confinement, flying about free and singing.

5 June. Happy third anniversary to you, O, The Korean Academy! The inside and outside of you are vibrant with excitement today and my colleagues are all in jovial mood. I am leading, under the instructions of the director, the preparations for a tea party for the patrons and members of the Academy to commemorate your birthday! My heart is full of emotion. What miraculous progress and achievement you have made in the past three years! I am naturally proud to be a member of the staff that serves you, but there are more personal reasons for my rejoycing today.

Since I took my first step in social life three years ago with ambition and dreams for the future as bright as the green of June, Dear Academy, you and I have grown up together like twins. I can say with clear conscience that I have served you with devotion. That is why I am so excited about your success as if it were my own, but there is something else. Serving you has been my job that I have held onto through my personal adversity, a job that kept me going and preserved my sanity in the height of my crisis. The pains I suffered when, due to unavoidable circumstances, I could not carry out my duty to you properly, and the sorrow I felt when I could not wholeheartedly join my colleagues in their mirth – how doggedly have I endured them all! While you have grown this much, what horrendous human experience have I gained!