Translated by: ShawnSuh Edited by: SootyOwl The books are here . With those words, the window shook from a gust of wind . Books? Thats right . The ones you guys wrote, he said as he waved his hand holding the books with the covers designed by Baron . Whoa! Sun Hwa exclaimed as she jumped from her seat, and the rest of the club members followed . Take it . This is for you to keep . Though they were thin, they were still books . The club members carefully took their book from Mr . Moons hands . Meanwhile, Seo Kw.a.n.g went busily from desk to desk to see everyone elses work . Juho picked up his short story . Considering that it was made in school, the quality was rather impressive . The material of the book felt smooth to the touch . He examined the cover and saw the sand under a clear, blue sky . The colors were quite strong . One would be able to tell how much work went into making it at a glance . Do you like it? Baron asked . The rest of the club members were busy reading through their book, but Juho nodded immediately . Yeah! It looks like an actual book cover! I got some help from Mr . Moon . It turns out that he had some connections in the art community . It did take some time, but everything turned out quite good . It wasnt strange for Mr . Moon to have such connections, and Baron appeared satisfied with his own work . Im the sole artist in the club after all . This should be a piece of cake . Juho smiled at the sound of the familiar phrase . You must have read the story . The cover design works well with the book . I told you Id read it . I was curious . So, how was it? Baron hesitated . He had been impressed after reading Grains of Sand . Although the protagonist in the book didnt say a word throughout the entire story, Baron had been able to imagine the sound of her voice with ease . It reminded me of Yun Woo, but different, he said . It made sense . Being written under the name Juho Woo, the book was visibly different from Yun Woos work . I got a feeling that youd end up being famous . Famous? Yeah, like Yun Woo, Baron said with a playful smile . Who knows? You might end up as a superstar at school . The school library doesnt get a whole lot of visitors as is . It doesnt take long for word to spread . Especially in a place like this . No high school student in their right mind would read a book by their own choice . Thats not entirely true . Besides, a lot of people have been reading due to the Yun Woo fever . Parents have also been spending more money to buy their children books . Well, I am somewhat of a decent writer . What? Its true . Im a pretty decent writer, arent I? . Now that you put it that way, Im not as willing to agree with you . After being at a loss for words for a moment, Baron turned his eyes to Juhos hands . It really read like actual literature . I wanted to buy it, he said with his eyes fixed on Grains of Sand . You know Im a fan of Yun Woo, right? Of course . I think you have what it takes to be his match . Do you think so? I dont know about beating him though . Couldnt you just keep things on the bright side? Then, Seo Kw.a.n.g approached them from behind . Whoa! Look at the cover design! Juho handed his book over to Seo Kw.a.n.g willingly, and he took the book from Juhos hand in a fluid motion . Seo Kw.a.n.gs respect for books had been ingrained in him, and it was apparent in the way he treated them . I want to see! Sun Hwa said . Seo Kw.a.n.g placed the book on the desk, putting the cover in full display . Wow! Youre not playing favorites or something, are you Baron? This looks so much better than mine! she said as she placed her book next to Juhos for comparison . There was a drawing of a busy square on it . It was full of life, just like Sun Hwa herself . It looked just as charming in Juhos eyes . Yours is pretty too, Sun Hwa, Bom encouraged her as she placed her book next to Sun Hwas . This time, a pair of legs was climbing up a set of stairs . It gave off a calm and serious vibe . They all have so much character! Thanks, Baron! You did great! I had fun . Suddenly, Seo Kw.a.n.g squeezed his way in through the club members looking at their books and picked up Grains of Sand . I havent been able to read it for so many different reasons . Can I read it now? he asked while looking at Mr . Moon . After exchanging a glance with Juho, Mr . Moon gave him permission . Help yourself . Yes! Hey! I wanted to read it too! Rock, paper, scissors? Sun Hwa and Bom said in order . Before Seo Kw.a.n.g had time to respond, Mr . Moon raised his hand . One thing . Since those books are for you guys to keep, how about we read it at the library? Itll draw some attention too . Draw attention? How? If n.o.bodys around the book, it turns even the potential readers away . We should have at least one or two persons standing in line . Thats true, Sun Hwa agreed . Having been desperate to read the book, Seo Kw.a.n.g put it back down reluctantly . Waiting seems to be a recurring theme for me as of late . Is there something else youve been waiting for? Juho asked curiously . Yep . I preordered a book recently . I hope it comes soon . What the… Are you setting aside my book for another? You can always let me read it, you know . Dont you have a responsibility at the library? Juho said as he pulled Grains of Sand away from Seo Kw.a.n.g . Seo Kw.a.n.g added, scoffing, I came across an article recently . Its a debut t.i.tle, but its been drawing a lot of attention . It seems like its already known among publishers pretty well . I cant let something like that pa.s.s, you know? Im sure I can expect for it to have room for improvement since the authors a rookie and all, but I was drawn to it, so I didnt hesitate to order it, Seo Kw.a.n.g said proudly . Suppressing his excitement, Juho asked calmly, Whats the book called? The Language of G.o.d . Juho nodded calmly . As expected, Seo Kw.a.n.g was his first reader . You read the epilogues too, right? Of course! Thats when you can claim to have read an entire book . Seo Kw.a.n.g followed up with a long lecture on what it meant to read through a book thoroughly . As he listened quietly, Juho anxiously waited for the moment . --- Hey, whats this? What? Everyone in cla.s.s gathered around the blackboard . There were flyers containing information about the Literature Club and its members having their work on display in the school library . We had a Literature Club in our school? You didnt know? The responses were lukewarm . However, it wasnt outside of what the club members had expected . Though Juho quietly accepted the situation, Seo Kw.a.n.g suddenly got up . There are club members here, you know! he said proudly . He seemed like he was intent on promoting the occasion to as many people as possible, and Juho observed him from a distance . Is this about your story? No, but this friend of mine here wrote one . Just like that, Juhos plan to observe quietly came to swift failure . Are you that good of a writer? Very . This guys the ace of our club . He went out to compet.i.tions too! Seo Kw.a.n.g answered on behalf of Juho . On top of that, he was puffing Juho up deliberately . The word compet.i.tion did make Juho stand out more, but in truth, every club member had been part of a contest somewhere, including the sole artist in the club . A compet.i.tion? Is it famous? If youre curious, go see for yourselves . At that, a ha.s.sled look appeared on the kids faces . Nah, Ill pa.s.s . I dont feel like going all the way to the library . Ive done my share of reading with Yun Woos books . They responded as Juho had expected . Yet, Seo Kw.a.n.g didnt back off . Yun Woo . Good stuff . I ended up reading it because of my mom . It was actually a decent read . Did you read all the way through? Yep, the student answered confidently as if he was proud of the fact that he had read through an entire book . At that, Seo Kw.a.n.g added with sparkling eyes, It felt good, didnt it? Forcing these students to read had never been effective . Though they might bring their books to school, most students merely pretended to read them . It was common for them to set their books aside and play around with their friends . However, Yun Woos book had been an exception . Right? Seo Kw.a.n.g asked, and the student scratched his head . Right… but I dont plan on buying books with my own money . Who said anything about buying? Our books pursue quality over quant.i.ty, so I can promise you that its going to be worth your time . Its just as good as Yun Woos books . The student sneered at Seo Kw.a.n.gs confident response . After all, not many books were as immersive as Yun Woos . Yeah, right . The only thing you guys have common with Yun Woo is your age . Seo Kw.a.n.g tackled those mocking words head on . Hey, dont you know how level-headed I am when it comes to books!? His writing is the real deal! Its a short story, so it wont take all that long to read . Yeah, yeah . Sadly, Seo Kw.a.n.gs head-on approach was not all that effective . Juho shrugged lightly . That didnt work, Seo Kw.a.n.g muttered . We were expecting that . The student never changed his mind . However, it was too soon for them to a.s.sume that Seo Kw.a.n.gs efforts would go unnoticed . Juho looked around and heard students whispering among themselves . I didnt know the Literature Club did stuff like that . Should we check it out? I dont know . Its probably not all that special . Theyre so confident though . We should go and see for ourselves . At that moment, Juho met eyes with a girl he remembered conversing with in the past . She hesitated . Theres going to be mention of your name . You should go see it . While looking anxious, she nodded in response . Seo Kw.a.n.g observed proudly . Good thing I made a scene . Having gained some leverage, he encouraged all the other students to visit the library . Thanks to his effort, the existence of the Literature Club became known throughout the entire school . Juho came down to the school library . While partially intending to observe, he decided to check out a book in the meantime . As he put his book down on the counter, a pale hand with a barcode scanner came into view . Juho remembered speaking with her a couple of times in the past . He asked while looking around the library, How is it having more people than usual? Tiring, the girl answered immediately . The exhibition area was in the corner of the library . Though small and humble, there were three books put on display . There were six students gathered around them, reading . Although the number was nothing to brag about, the books werent doing such a bad job considering how the library usually was . As Juho was about to leave with his book and a proud feeling, the girl stopped him and asked, You wrote Grains of Sand, right? Yes . Did you read it? I did, she answered, looking at the book in Juhos hand . Did you check out that one book on your last visit for reference? Yep . But there was only one sentence in the entire story that had anything to do with sand . I had to read an entire book just to be able to write that one sentence . At that, she stared at Juho intently . What? Juho asked . You sound like an author . I am an author . Thats my book over there, Juho said, glancing at one of Yun Woos books . Right, she nodded with her eyes fixed on the exhibition . Youre a good writer, she added . I enjoyed it quite a bit . I wanted to recommend it to other people . At that, Juho remembered their last conversation . She had compared Yun Woos books to sand . I see . How was my story? Was it sand-like? With that, she briefly immersed herself in her thoughts . She seemed to be the type who was serious about everything . Somewhat different, but yes . How was it different? It was damp, she said . Your story is like a clump of mud scooped out of the water . Its nearly impossible to separate it . It muddies the once clear water, and I can no longer see whats happening in it . Its different from the beach sand s.h.i.+ning brightly under the sun . Is that a compliment? Probably . Though her choices of words werent the most pleasant sounding, Juho decided to accept it as a compliment . Are you planning on writing again? she asked, looking intently at Juho . He was well-acquainted with that gaze . Seo Kw.a.n.g had often given him the same look . In other words, it was the look of a fan . I sincerely hope you do . Your stories are quite enjoyable . A reader . That meant Juho had to keep on writing . Probably, he said . With her innocent smile directed at him, Juho made his way out .