美しい彼 🐥 아름다운 그 📷 Informal Book Club 📚

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I had a couple of questions from early on in the first section; I’ll give Kindle pages/percentages, but I don’t know how accurate the page numbers are, at least.

Meeting the :duck:, pg. 10/1% :

Where are we getting the name アヒル隊長? Is this a specific brand of rubber duck? Or something that 平良 came up with on the spot? Relevant sentence:

つぶらな瞳の黄色いプラスチックのアヒル人形だった。確かアヒル隊長という名前がついている。

Further duck question: the duck’s eyebrows are described as 「クルンとした」. What does クルン signify? I’m imagining angry eyebrows or something, but that’s probably not it, haha.

Question from page 11/1%, as 平良 contemplates school hierarchies:


それでも、いじめられるより透明人間のほうがよっぽどマシに思える。
小学校のときと同じ回路を通って、また一段下がってしまったことを感じた。
上を見て発奮する人間もいれば、下を見て安心する人間もいる。後者は落ちることはあっても上がることはない。わかっているのに、今この瞬間の心の避難場所を求めてしまう。

I’m not sure I’m understanding correctly when he talks about these two kinds of people. People who seek to rise in school cliques, and people who look down at those below them and take comfort in their current social position? How does this connect to また一段下がってしまったことを感じた?

Please let me know if I should provide more context/explanations for the questions. It’s a little weird to be asking questions about a Japanese book to people who read Japanese but are reading the book in Korean. :thinking: (Or, at least that’s the case for people I’ve ssen post so far.)

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Disclaimer: I’m learning too so don’t take anything I say as gospel lol but this is how I interpreted everything:

Hira is musing to himself about a specific brand of duck: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81BViR9CCSL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

“If I remember correctly, [based on the look of this particular rubber ducky] it’s called アヒル隊長.”

Following from that, クルン is 擬態語 for like, a full swooping curling motion. So like, if you used mascara on your eyelashes, or brushed your hair a certain way. So he’s saying the rubber duck has distinct cutely curled eyelashes.

As for the section about hierarchies, I think it makes more sense if you follow the logic of the paragraphs right before the part you quoted.

Essentially, Hira, even in elementary school always occupied a lonely position at the very bottom of the social pyramid. There was one other girl there with him but she was bullied instead of being completely ignored and treated like he didn’t exist like Hira was.

From what he’s seen and experienced, his position sucks but he’d rather be treated as invisible than bullied like she was. (So that’s why he wouldn’t want to befriend her.)

Once he entered middle school his position didn’t exactly change but those social hierarchies became more entrenched, so he felt his social currency fell just a little bit more with his peers.

The last part is just Hira waxing philosophically in an emo way about social pyramids. “There are two types of people, people who strive for the top, and people who feel relieved as long as there are people below them. For people in the latter category, if they fall in status, it’s not possible for them to rise again (because they’re not focused on those above them)”.

I’m pretty sure he’s implying that because he’s at the very bottom of the pyramid, he’s in an impossible position where no one would ever want to be his friend because they’re either more focused on social climbing, or more concerned with not falling to the bedrock where Hira is. The truth of that situation overwhelms him so much that he retreats to thinking about アヒル隊長 to escape his sad reality. :disappointed_relieved:

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That’s hilarious lol Pretty sure パシり comes from 使い走りwhich is self explanatory… I wish English had a more specific word for this, since words like “lackey” don’t quite fit, I think.

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Multilingual book club chaos!

I vote we introduce “bread shuttle” to the English language. :laughing:

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I vote for “coffee runner” since that’s how I usually see it go in real life lol

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How about we merge the two and invent coffee shuttle?

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Ah, perfect. Matches up perfectly with the クルン as well.

Excellent, thank you! Looks like I was basically on the mark, at least; I’m going to go back and re-read those couple of paragraphs to make sure though. Thanks!

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Another question from me; this should be quick; still from the first section. The part where 平良 receives his camera from his parents is a flashback, right? Present day is high school, camera received as gift is middle?

My reading’s been really sporadic this week, so I just want to make sure.

Edit: Ah, I guess not; this must not be a flashback after all.

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Been a bit too busy to read this week, probably going to get through it all this weekend!

If I remember correctly though, the book starts

almost like a flashback – the first scene with the rabbit, Hira is still a kid, (probably in elementary school).

Then he talks about his experiences into middle school, and that’s when I think his parents give him the camera. The real “present day” story doesn’t begin until Hira says

高校に上がって二年目の春 、クラス替え初日は朝から緊張していた 。

Edit: Sorry, struggling like hell with the spoiler tag lol

Yay, finally!

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Try spoilering individual paragraphs?

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Okay, I’m going to call the first illustration my section 1 breakpoint; should be close enough. Who’s even who in the illustration? :rofl: I started looking closely at it and realized I couldn’t tell.

Anyway, I’m enjoying it so far! 平良 is a suitable lonely boy; he seems like a nice kid, feeling all that guilt over erasing the lilies. I’m curious how his and Kiyoi’s relationship will develop further. I like that we’re already getting introduced to 平良’s social anxiety coping methods.

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I also stopped around the first illustration/the offset page 20 for the Korean edition (so just going off of vibes, I think we all read around the same amount lol).

I have to say, rereading this has been super fun so far!! Loved the intro of King Kiyoi and Hira being so transfixed on him that he forgot to introduce himself. Rereading the introduction to Hira and the psychological descriptions do a great job of setting his character up. His guilt towards his parents and loneliness are a little 切ない to read. :face_holding_back_tears: How will our two characters continue to interact?!

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Loving it so far! :heart_eyes: Although I slightly wish I hadn’t seen the tv series first - I’m sure it will be helpful for following the story, but I didn’t find Hira’s portrayal very sympathetic, and it’s affecting my perception of “book Hira”. :melting_face:

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I wouldn’t worry about that! The characters in the drama definitely are the same as the book in spirit, but the books go way deeper with character development. They take on a life of their own and you get attached to them quickly. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Even when they’re being weird and frustrating lol🤭

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For the Korean readers here, where did you buy the book?

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I got mine from Books on Korea, I’ve done a writeup of them here:

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I have the digital edition from RIDI books!

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More questions/comments from me! Starting from the first illustration to when Hira gets invited to go stand in a karaoke line:

(As always, page numbers and percentages are sus)
p20/4%/right after ヒイくん gives his name:


死んでしまいたい自分と、みんなの時間は一ミリも交差していない。
[And then a few paragraphs after; this next sentence is referring to Kiyoi:]
死にたい自分とは逆の意味で、彼とクラスメイトの時間も一ミリも交差していない。

I’m specifically wondering about that bolded part. I understand the general meaning of Hira not feeling like he and his classmates are on the same plane, so to speak, and then him saying the same about Kiyoi (though in a different way than Hira). But how is とは逆の意味 working here? Is it just saying that Kiyoi’s “time” also doesn’t intersect with their classmates, but in an opposite way (Referring to Kiyoi’s aloofness)? I guess the specific word choices here are what’s throwing me; literally is the author trying to say, “Kiyoi’s time didn’t intersect with our classmates for even a millisecond, opposite to what you would define my situation (of wishing to die) as.”?

p21/5%/Hira talking about the group of boys who’ve started to pick on him:

ただナチュラルにでかい態度と声で周りを圧する。それは人間になる寸前のお猿が集う学校という場所では最強だった。

I’m doing okay following that up until the end: “They simply overwhelmed with their overbearing presences and voices. They were strongest in that place called school, where monkeys were just on the verge of becoming regular human beings.”

I’m not sure that’s quite right, though; what is それは referring to?

Immediate next sentences:


ハッキリした理由なんかなくても、こいつらには逆らわないほうがいいなと思わせれば勝ち。
その逆が自分だ。理由なんてなくても、こいつは踏みつけてもいいと思われたら負け。一旦組まれた身分制度をひっくり返すのは、どこの世界でも至難の業だ。

I’m having trouble understanding how these sentences connect to the last. Assuming I’m not too far off my translation of the ones before, this is how I’m reading the above: “Even if there wasn’t a clear reason (why they were picking on him?), as long as they thought (who? Hira?) didn’t fight back then (who?) would win. (Who? Hira?) was the opposite. Even without a reason, it was his loss if they thought it was okay to step on him. Overturning the thus-assembled school hierarchy was a Herculean task.”

As you can see I’m kind of disjointed in how to read this. I have the general idea, I think, and there are plenty of times I’d just skate on by with a partial understanding, but I’m trying to deepen my understanding a bit more with some of these. (It just takes forever to write up these posts. @.@

p.23/6%/Kiyoi suggests the monkeys go get some マック

三木があっさり言い、「だべ」と城田がうなずく。

Dunno if I’ve given enough context here; what the heck does だべ mean?

p.24/6%/Describing how Kiyoi is afforded special respect in the group due to his aloofness

さっきみたいに清居の意に染まない方向に物事が行きかけたとき、清居が短く放つ一言に誰も逆らわない。

I’m just straight up not sure what the bolded is talking about. :sweat_smile: I presume 意に染まない refers to not going against Kiyoi’s opinions/decisions, but I’m not sure how that works with 方向に物事が行きかけた.

p24/6%/A paragraph after the previous quote as the boys talk about their preference for boob size:

「俺は胸でかかったらデブでも許せる。つうかぽちゃってるの好き。ぽよぽよーん」

What the heck is that verb, haha? Looks like two words glued together + ちゃう, but I’m having trouble pulling them apart.

General comments:

  • I’m a bit amused Kiyoi’s “small head” has been described several times, like it’s a notable feature for Hira. (I guess it is?)

  • Hira in general gets surprisingly poetic with some of his descriptions.

  • I’m pretty sure he’s not your friend at this point, Hira. Someone forcefully taking your phone and putting their number in so you can call them after you saved their place in line for a few hours is still bullying. :stuck_out_tongue: I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into, like, a case of Stockholm Syndrome (or the bullying equivalent?) or anything.

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I hope all of these help! :slightly_smiling_face: Disclaimer, I don’t know anything about translation so none of the explanations below are actual translations, just me explaining what’s being said. :salt:(Salt emoji for taking it with grains of salt)

Yup, that understanding is correct. It is 逆の意味で because they are on two opposite ends of the spectrum. Hira wants to die and feels like he’s an outsider and sees that Kiyoi is also an “outsider”, but for a different reason - he is the キラキラ prince of the class so it’s like he doesn’t even exist in the same temporality.

それは is referring to ナチュラルにでかい態度と声 and it’s saying those are the strongest [attributes] in a place like high school that is basically a meeting place for monkeys who are on the cusp of becoming humans (basically, teenagers who aren’t complete adults yet).

These sentences are more general. In an environment like school, if you give off the vibe that you shouldn’t be messed with you win. Then, Hira narrates that there are students like him existing on the other hand. If you give off the vibe that it’s ok to pick on or “step on” (as translated literally) you, then you lose. If you take that as a general truth of how high school works, the last sentence about overturning that hierarchy and the natural order of the animal kingdom makes sense.

だべ is 方言 and is like だよね、だろう, but I can’t remember where it’s from (maybe Hokkaido or Tohoku??? No clue lol)… I haven’t read that far yet this week so I can’t remember if the speaker there is mentioned being from a different region.

意に染まない = a figurative way to describe Kiyoi’s influence or opinion.
Basically, when something starts to head in a direction that Kiyoi didn’t or doesn’t yet have a say in, he can just make a remark about what he thinks and shut the whole thing down since no one can go against him.

It’s actually not completely a verb! つうか（というか、ていうか、often shortened to つうか) + ぽちゃっている (slang-y verb coming from the word ぽちゃ meaning chubby, ぽちゃる to be chubby)

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Like, you lose because you’re seen as picking on the weak kid?

I don’t think they were, no. :thinking:

Aaaah, I see now. That makes a lot of sense; thanks!

Thank you for all the feedback! I really appreciate it!

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