#A new work by Baek Heena that gently touches the holes in our hearts, 《The Hole Soup》 #A special dish from the Moon Rabbit Restaurant for weary souls #A small relief, quiet comfort, a moment to catch your breath #A bowl made from a deep, deep hole quietly caresses your emptiness today. “I wanted to face the holes we encounter in life, not avoid them, but gently look inside and fill them with small relief and warm comfort.” _Baek Heena “That night, the Moon Rabbits did not return home.” 《The Hole Soup》 began with this line imagined by the author Baek Heena. What if the Moon Rabbits from 《Dalshabet》 decided to stay on Earth instead of going home? That night, the Moon Rabbits were hungry, and there were no restaurants open. So they decided to open a restaurant themselves. The three-dimensional Moon Rabbits are even more vivid and playful, with faces that seem to have experienced life on Earth quite a bit. This restaurant is quite peculiar. It doesn’t open at just any time; it only opens at night when a proper dish is ready. The payment isn’t money, but old clothes that one no longer wears. For the Moon Rabbits, who love changing clothes, old clothes are a pretty good item. This strange exchange is oddly tender. The old clothes once wrapped someone’s body and carry the traces of time. Giving away clothes that one no longer wears and receiving a bowl of Hole Soup might be a rather plausible transaction that lightens the weight of a long-held heart. In this book, the Moon Rabbits are mysterious chefs and gentle observers. There is no loud consolation or exaggerated advice. They simply prepare the dish with care, grinding, steaming, and quietly serving a bowl. Are you curious about their quiet and strange restaurant? Now it’s your turn to receive a bowl of 《The Hole Soup》. The taste and efficacy of soup made from long-simmered holes Making ‘soup’ from holes! Could there be a more absurd yet plausible secret? The ingredients the Moon Rabbits found were neither greens, fruits, nor grains. Surprisingly, it was the intangible ‘hole’. They only use naturally occurring holes. “A hole that is deep and rich in color is truly a wonderful hole.” If syrup is a soup made from grains, then Hole Soup is a soup made from holes. Holes are usually troublesome. If they appear on clothes, they need to be sewn; if they appear on socks, it’s embarrassing; if they appear on the street, it’s dangerous; and if they appear in the heart, it feels empty and lonely. Instead of hastily blocking or turning away from holes, they observe, cherish, and diligently simmer them. It’s truly a labor befitting the Moon Rabbits and a rather reliable remedy. The completed Hole Soup clears the blocked feelings and gently warms the empty heart. Hole Soup may have a thick, subtle sweetness like syrup, but its taste will vary slightly depending on the heart of the person eating it. If Moon Rice Cakes are food from the heavens and Hole Soup is food drawn from the deep darkness of reality, then this strange combination might be close to sweet and salty. Life doesn’t taste right if it’s only sweet. The efficacy of Hole Soup is likely to be about relieving a tightly closed heart. Of course, one bowl won’t solve all problems. But at least for a moment, it can allow you to set them down. In a moment where you don’t have to struggle to fill up, just the relaxation of your heart is enough. If that’s the kind of bowl it is, then it’s sufficient. A small bear, the faces of caregivers By the time the small bear arrives at the Moon Rabbit Restaurant, it’s quite late. Why has this little bear, who should be next to the baby owner, come all the way here? He rambles on about things unasked. The baby owner is deeply asleep, and he has calmed him down to avoid nightmares, so he thinks it should be fine for another hour or two. That makes sense, as he left behind a caring presence, so he must feel uneasy. Looking at the bear’s small body, earnest eyes, and tangled fur, one can see the tired face of someone who has been caring for someone else. It seems to reflect caregivers of babies, family members caring for the sick or elderly, and sometimes even ourselves, who have been so diligent in living each day that we forget to care for ourselves. Caring is noble, but it’s exhausting. Even with love, there can be hunger, and even after filling a day with diligence, there can be an emptiness in one corner of the heart. The ‘rest’ that was postponed while soothing, protecting, and putting the baby owner to sleep has ultimately brought the bear here. Thus, the bear resembles the faces of all those who keep watch. They have given so much of their lives to others that they cannot easily look into the holes in their own hearts. The bear asks the Moon Rabbit, “It must taste similar to honey, right?” The Moon Rabbit replies, “Depending on how you think?” The taste varies according to the heart of the eater. The Moon Rabbits diligently pound and steam rice cakes to satisfy the bear’s hunger. Eating Hole Soup with Moon Rice Cakes and warm tea, the bear seems to swallow not only the hunger but also the unspoken longing. 《The Hole Soup》 doesn’t offer grand solutions. It simply provides a moment of rest from a bowl of Hole Soup that allows us to live a little more. At the end of that rest, the bear seems to have grown a bit. “That can’t be,” he says shyly, but the reader knows that the heart can grow with just a small relief. Baek Heena's touch, Hole Soup 《The Hole Soup》 gives the impression of a play unfolding on a small stage. The characters' gazes, expressions, and small gestures overlap with the author's unique writing style, creating a subtle and delicate atmosphere. Baek Heena's characters are not merely smooth or pretty beings. They seem worn and frayed, with the texture of life embedded in their imperfections. The Moon Rabbits in 《The Hole Soup》 are no different. They wear colorful old clothes and carry rather suspicious secrets, living in their own way. In contrast, the bear seems rather ordinary. However, upon quietly observing the dusty, tangled fur, the earnest eyes, and the restrained expressions, one realizes that the time spent caring for someone and enduring has gently seeped into them. The characters in 《The Hole Soup》 and the background of the Moon Rabbit Restaurant deep in the mountains come alive in every scene. The author wandered through the mountains to find the background, recalling memories of making a street stall with a plastic umbrella and a tricycle in childhood, building the framework of the Moon Rabbit Restaurant and covering it with a tent. She filled the scenes with handmade rice cakes and bowls, created holes and rocks for several days, sculpted dolls, and sewed clothes. The time spent at her fingertips is captured in every scene. The close-ups of the characters and the composition of the scenes are also very unique and impressive. The busy Moon Rabbits pounding rice cakes look like a small dance unfolding on a stage. The bear’s transformation and the faint smile that spreads across his face cannot be overlooked. In particular, this book has intentionally excluded flashy design elements, focusing instead on the essence of the story, the inner world of the characters, and the atmosphere of the deep night. Rather than embellishing or layering, it captures the air of the scene as it is, maintaining the rough pulp feel of the cover. It gives the sensation of directly touching the world crafted by hand and petting the bear’s fur. This serves as a device that quietly draws the reader into the story's stage. Rather than a smooth package, it feels like a somewhat rough yet warm touch of comfort. The author’s handwritten appendices are also a delightful aspect of 《The Hole Soup》. The ‘Hole Soup Recipe Book’ that only the Moon Rabbits possess, ‘Cooking Collection’, and hidden advertisements for the Moon Rabbit Restaurant. Within these strange and mysterious devices lie small clues that allow the reader to cross into the story once again. So, as you turn the pages, don’t miss a single flyer or line from the recipe book hidden in the corners. “I think I can forget for a while” This short phrase from the bear might be the most honest message that 《The Hole Soup》 offers. Hole Soup is not a magical food that solves everything. It simply provides the strength to be okay for a while. A moment of catching one’s breath and warmth. With just that, we continue to live again. Are you living while caring for someone? Are you enduring something? 《The Hole Soup》 quietly whispers to you. It’s okay to take a break for a moment, don’t struggle to change everything. Just gaining the strength to endure for a while is enough. So, what is your hole? What does your Hole Soup taste like?