시간을 거슬러, 내 나이 열살

공부도 학원도 모두 싫었어

학원 대신 매일 갔던 오락실

내 용돈으론 게임을 못 했지

좋아하는 게임기 옆에 서서

남들 어깨 너머 구경만 했지

근데 엄마에게 들켜 버렸어

목덜미 잡힌 채 난 끌려 갔어.

플라스틱 파리채를 든 엄마

종아리에서 피가 날 때까지

난 숨죽여 울었어, 미안했어

버티기 힘들쯤 아빠가 오셨어

따가운 종아리를 부여 잡고

이불 안에서 울다 잠이든 밤

새벽에 들린 엄마의 흐느낌

내 종아리에 약을 바르셨어

어떤 말보다 마음 아픈 소리

난 그냥 자는 척을 해야 했어

날이 밝고 학교에 다녀왔지

아빠는 내 손을 잡아 끌었고

문제 오락실로 날 데려갔어

아빠 행동은 당황스러웠어

만원을 동전으로 바꾸셨고

기계 위에 동전들을 놓았어

"지겨울 때까지 한번 해보고"

"이제 다시는 오지 않는거다"

난 기회가 왔다고 생각했어

'그동안 익힌 기술을 써야지'

동전을 넣고 게임을 시작했어

근데 첫 판에 바로 게임 오버

게임을 눈으로 배운 허무한 최후

동전을 아빠에게 모두 드렸어

'나는 게임에 소질이 없었구나'

그 순간 깨달았어, 운명처럼

나는 게임을 하는 사람보다

만드는 사람이 되기로 했어

시간이 흐르고 현재의 나는

시스템 기획자가 되어 있어.

파리채 회초리, 엄마의 새벽 울음

오락실 동전들, 아빠의 인생 교육

내 인생 나침반을 보게 된

잊을 수 없는 기억

=================

Going back in time, when I was ten years old

I hated studying, and I hated after-school academies

Instead of going to class, I went to the arcade every day

I couldn't play games with my allowance

So I stood next to the game machines I liked

I just watched from over people's shoulders

But then my mom found me

She grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me out

Mom held a plastic fly swatter

Until my calves bled

I cried silently, I was so sorry

Just when I couldn't take it anymore, my dad came home

Clutching my stinging calves

I fell asleep that night, crying under my blanket

In the early morning, I heard my mom sobbing

She was putting medicine on my calves

It was a sound more heartbreaking than any words

I just had to pretend I was asleep

Day broke and I went to school and came back

My dad grabbed my hand and led me out

He took me to the troublesome arcade

I was so confused by what he was doing

He exchanged 10,000 won for coins

And put all the coins on the machine

"Play until you're sick of it," he said

"And then you're never to come back here again"

I thought this was my chance

'I'll use all the skills I've learned'

I put in a coin and started the game

But it was game over on the first try

The empty end of a game learned just by watching

I gave all the coins back to my dad

'I guess I don't have a talent for games'

I realized it in that moment, like it was destiny

Instead of being a person who plays games

I decided to become a person who makes them

Time passed, and now I am

a system planner

The fly swatter switch, my mom's early morning tears

The arcade coins, my dad's life lesson

They became the compass for my life

An unforgettable memory