Author Elaine Huang; Yuxi Edited
I rarely follow TV dramas. In the days when I was feeling a bit down, I couldn't concentrate on classes, so I impulsively bought a premium membership. I remembered that a senior recommended this drama, and it had received widespread acclaim. With the intention of passing the time, I clicked on "San Yue Has a New Job."
The funeral industry seems to be a taboo topic nowadays. Yaman, the makeup artist for the deceased in the drama, was advised by her senior at San Yue to describe her job as a service industry when talking to others. When she fills in "funeral parlor" as her destination while taking a taxi, no one accepts the order. Even the landlord of her rented apartment refused when he heard about it, and passing by a wedding, people would shout that it's inauspicious. However, they are just "ferrymen for the dead." It seems that subconsciously, we are indifferent and disdainful towards death. The prejudice against the funeral industry is essentially a prejudice against death. Subconsciously, we project our fear of death onto the living who serve the deceased. Bluntly, we treat this bias as bad luck for funeral industry workers. As living beings, we have never experienced death, yet we always avoid and taboo it, escaping from facing and contemplating death directly. San Yue, the protagonist, initially faced her terminally ill friend with envy as a "slacker youth." After working in the funeral parlor for a few months, she calmly said, "Being alive is still pretty good." Perhaps it was in the days spent at the funeral parlor, witnessing the cycle of life and death, experiencing love and responsibility, that she gained a deeper understanding of death and learned to appreciate life more.
Although the dialogue feels a bit too artistic at times, I can't help but admire this daring production by the small station. Comfort women, child abuse — these are topics we avoid discussing. Although there were ripples in my heart during the first seven episodes, it wasn't until the eighth episode that I completely let my guard down. I am fortunate; unlike the female lead, my childhood was fulfilling, with loving parents who understood and supported me, the freedom to choose my own life, and the right to pursue what I love. It seems that what resonates with me the most is Ge Ge. We both grew up in loving families, but she was unfortunate to experience inappropriate violations in her prime years, and the shadow accompanied her into adulthood. Recalling the past made her collapse and attempt suicide, luckily her vivid life was saved, waking up with her parents around her. Her mother incessantly blamed her for not sharing her troubles, and her father tried hard to lighten the atmosphere. This familiar scene made me feel like I was there, and I thought if I were hospitalized with an illness three years later, it would probably be a similar scene. Ge Ge's parents, noticing their daughter's distress, only used a hug to let all the tears flow freely. I only remember in elementary school, being stubborn for over a month without crying at graduation; the tears burst out during the farewell hug with a good friend; in junior high, when I fell again during a mock exam, I completely broke down in my homeroom teacher's embrace; when I was struggling with math and science, I fully released myself in the embrace of a cat sticker. Hugging seems simple, just three seconds, but it can bring a sense of relief.
Accidents always come suddenly. If given the chance, I would also like to follow Lao Gao, and if I were seriously ill, I would choose peaceful treatment, set up a countdown with a camera, express gratitude, apologies, and love, bid farewell to everyone around me, and then turn my ashes into fireworks, giving the world one last brilliant display.
I am lucky. Since birth, my closest relatives have still been with me, to the point where I sometimes take it for granted as the capital to leave messages without replies. It seems that we still have many years to continue accompanying each other. I secretly set messages to 'do not disturb', pretending to be too busy to reply when I see a message. However, seeing the cellphone repair guy who was chatting and laughing just a second ago suddenly collapse in front of San Yue makes me realize that none of us knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident. Lao Gao, the most cared-for elder, watches time pass, heading towards heaven. In the drama, these are ordinary and commonplace deaths. "The real regret in life is not being able to say goodbye." So let's spend more time with everyone around us and not wait until it's too late to listen to the clock ticking in the opposite direction.