[Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997:
All Entries]

TH: Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997, in 28 sections, was written originally in Chinese by Mary Wong and serialised in Ming Pao 明報 in 1997. The pieces, translated into English by Chris Song, are serialised in Cha beginning from Monday 25 September 2023.

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The Boss
and His Co-Habitant Lovers

15/28

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Arm in arm, we made our way up the steep path that led to the towering building where the boss lived. Again, a steep road! Ming complained about why we didn’t just take a taxi. Halfway up, a cab glided past us. The foreign passengers in the car cheerfully encouraged us. We finally let go of each other’s arms, like three train cars that had been coupled together but now had to go their separate ways. Ready? Go! She triumphantly completed the journey in stiletto heels, striking a “Sailor Moon” victory pose. We looked at our own feet and had no choice but to admit defeat.

Once we entered her boss’s home, the Sailor Moon transformed to a siren named Lorraine. When the boss saw Pak Kwong, his eyes lit up. He pulled her inside and was startled to find two “little figures” behind her. His eyes darted between me and Ming, assessing us. “This is my roommate, Miss Sheung Kwun, and this is my cousin, who has just arrived from the mainland,” Kwong said. Ming was evidently not pleased with being referred to as a mainland relative.

The “cousin” moved between me and my boss. The boss, sensing his unfamiliarity with Hong Kong, peppered him with questions about local tourist spots. His ignorance was met with Ming’s own condescending guide to Hong Kong, dropping names of unfamiliar places and clubs. Catching me and Kwong on the patio, the boss leaned in to whisper in Kwong’s ear. She flicked her long hair just in time for its tips to jab at his face. He recoiled to stroke his face and said, “I’d like you to be the lead actress in my next film.”

“Me?” She said, genuinely surprised.

How to cite: Song, Chris and Mary Wong. “The Boss and His Co-Habitant Lovers.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 9 Oct. 2023, chajournal.blog/2023/10/09/boss.

Mary Shuk-Han Wong 黃淑嫻 (author) is a Hong Kong writer. Her short story collection Surviving Central (中環人; 2013) received the “25th Secondary School Students’ Best Ten Books Award.” Her essay collections include How to Live the Sad Days (悲傷的日子如何過; 2021), Against the Grain (亂世破讀; 2017), and From Kafka (理性的遊藝：從卡夫卡談起; 2015). She has also published an online poetry collection, Cave Whispers (絕地抒情; 2022), in collaboration with Hong Kong composer and photographer. She was the co-producer and literary advisor of two literary documentaries: 1918: Liu Yichang (1918：劉以鬯紀錄片; 2015) and Boundary: Leung Ping Kwan (東西：也斯紀錄片; 2015).

Chris Song (translator) is a poet, editor, and translator from Hong Kong, and is an assistant professor in English and Chinese translation at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He won the “Extraordinary Mention” of the 2013 Nosside International Poetry Prize in Italy and the Award for Young Artist (Literary Arts) of the 2017 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2019, he won the 5th Haizi Poetry Award. He is a founding councilor of the Hong Kong Poetry Festival Foundation, executive director of the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong, and editor-in-chief of Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine. He also serves as an advisor to various literary organisations.

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