Unknown

"Ryse Hotel"

Mediocre ink flow aside, its paper-wound barrel feels surprisingly refined in hand. You’ve almost certainly crossed paths with one before, likely fished from the bottom of a conference goodie bag alongside a graveyard of forgettable corporate trinkets.

Type: Ballpoint pen
Tip or point size: 0.5 mm
Writing material: Ball point
Ink colours: Black
Body: Paper · Black
Made in: Unknown
Condition: Good
Status: In collection

From the archive

Another fragment salvaged from time. Pocketed at the Ryse Hotel in Gangnam, just as SARS-CoV-2 was breaking out—the clinical, mother-given name before the world coined its grim shorthand. Grounded in Seoul by my child’s stay in the hospital, barred from flying home, I remember the quiet clarity of thinking, 'This one’s a keeper for the memories.' And so it became—a tiny, physical anchor to a turning point not just for our family, but for the entire world. (My son's fine now)