이미
i-mi
이미 is for after the door has shut
The picture You reach for the door only after it has closed and the latch has dropped. Whatever is inside is out of your hands now. 이미 is shut and beyond reach; 벌써 is faster than you pictured and startling.
Where the picture shows up in 이미
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closed and finished
이미 끝난 일이에요.
i-mi kkeun-nan i-ri-e-yo
That's already done and over with.
You reach for the file after the seal is stamped and the envelope is glued shut.
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already inside your head
그건 이미 알고 있었어요.
geu-geon i-mi al-go i-sseo-sseo-yo
I already knew that.
The thing they are about to tell you is already filed in a drawer in your head, sitting in its place.
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the moment has passed
죄송해요, 이미 늦었어요.
joe-song-hae-yo, i-mi neu-jeo-sseo-yo
Sorry, it's too late now.
You sprint onto the platform and all that is left is the back of the train shrinking away.
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out of your hands
서류는 이미 보냈습니다.
seo-ryu-neun i-mi bo-naet-sseum-ni-da
The documents have already been sent.
The envelope drops through the mailbox slot, disappears inside, and your hand is left empty.
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fixed and set
가격은 이미 정해졌어요.
ga-geo-geun i-mi jeong-hae-jeo-sseo-yo
The price has already been set.
A heavy line is drawn under the number and a stamp lands on top of it, hardening it in place.
All of it in one picture
이미 points at the space on the far side of a closed door. Once the envelope is sealed, the work is 이미 finished; once the words are filed in your head, you 이미 know. The train has gone, so you are 이미 late; the envelope is inside the mailbox, so it is 이미 sent; the stamp has landed on the number, so the price is 이미 set. Surprise has nothing to do with it — 이미 simply draws the line your hand can no longer cross.