Seeing Juho showing no response, Seo Kw.a.n.g whispered, "What's with them? They were doing fine yesterday . It was almost like one couldn't live without the other . Did something happen?"

"I don't know . "

"There's no way you don't . Come on, fess up . "

Sadly, Juho really didn't . He saw a river flowing between Sun Hwa and Bom . It was the distance between them . Bom was sitting anxiously, examining Sun Hwa's face, while Sun Hwa didn't even look in Bom's direction .

He observed the two from time to time .

*

As usual, Sun Hwa was getting ready for cla.s.s . She sat in her seat and opened up her textbook . Like those of diligent students, its pages were filled with her notes . She believed that grades brought a certain image to a student . A student who had good grades would be seen as an exemplary student . On top of that, if she were to pay even the slightest attention to her looks, she'd become untouchable . Such a position actually existed within the boundaries of school, and Sun Hwa had always worked hard to keep herself in that spot .

"Hey, is she reading a comic book?

"Seems like she is . What is she doing in the corner though?"

"Eh, let her be . Who knows?"

The students in the cla.s.s whispered jeeringly . Quietly, Sun Hwa looked behind her . In the corner, there was a girl with a slightly messy appearance and a comic book in her hand .

'That's it,' she thought .

A student with a bad image was always treated poorly by her peers . There was a big contrast from the time Sun Hwa had brought her comic books to school . They had joked around while taking turns to read them together then .

Others may have poked fun at her for having a childish taste, but n.o.body looked at her loathingly . That was how much impact an image had on a female student . An image was made to be seen by others . After all, people weren't made to live in solitude . They had to live being mindful of how they appeared to the eyes of others, always .

"Hey, Sun Hwa, someone's looking for you," said one of the girls who had been slandering the girl with the comic book up to a moment ago .

When she looked into the hallway, she saw Juho standing outside . She got up at once, feeling unpleasant being in that environment .

Juho took her to the school yard . Apparently, he wanted to say something to her .

"What do you want?" she asked grumpily as she sat down on a wooden bench outside .

There were several benches in a small s.p.a.ce under a tree in the schoolyard, and Juho sat on the innermost seat . In his hand, there were two beverages he had bought from the cafeteria .

"I wanted to say something really quick . "

"Is this a confession?"

"Haha!"

"Are you laughing at me!?"

She sat next to him and took a beverage from his hand . She seemed certain that it was for her, and since she had guessed right, he didn't say anything .

"I didn't fight with Bom . "

With those words, she chugged her beverage . He looked at her and said, "I read your paper . "

"Pfff!"

She spewed the beverage in her mouth out like a fountain . Fortunately, she hadn't been looking in Juho's direction, so there were no casualties . Instead, she left a dark stain on the ground .

Before he had time to go look for tissues, she asked with a fl.u.s.tered voice while wiping her mouth with her hand,"Wh-what did you say you read?"

"Your paper . I found it in the science room . I couldn't help it . "

"Who do you think you are? Seo Kw.a.n.g? Are you a print addict too? Do you read whatever you find?"

"Sorry, I was too curious . "

'How are you so confident?' she looked at him in disbelief . It was a good thing that she didn't seem infuriated .

"I apologize," he added .

"Well, it's not… Sigh," she sighed . "I'm not exactly in a place to be saying things like this to you . "

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing . "

Surprisingly, she wasn't as angry as he had been expecting . If anything, she seemed more anxious .

"How was it?" she asked for his evaluation .

'Is she worried about how others are evaluating her skill?' he thought . It hadn't been anything special, but he chose his words carefully .

"I enjoyed it . It was fun, wild, and it didn't beat around the bush . "

"Yeah?"

"Yep . "

Despite an answer that resembled a compliment, she remained anxious . 'Why is she still anxious?' he wondered . Soon, he reached the answer . "Did somebody tell you that you're bad at writing?"

"Huh?"

'I knew it . ' It was apparent . 'How did he know?' she thought as she looked at him . From a writer's perspective, it was a simple answer .

"Who? Was it Mr . Moon?"

"No . " She fiddled with the empty can in her hand . It was hard to see her face because of her hair, but she continued with a calm voice, "In middle school, I used to love to write . "

"What about comic books?"

"I wasn't into them back then . "

'Seo Kw.a.n.g would've jumped with joy . Who would've thought she had been into literature at one point?'

"When I finished a story for the first time, I showed it to my friends . I was so satisfied with how it had turned out . In my eyes, it was better than any book I'd ever read . "

"But?"

Her head dropped lower .

"They laughed at me . "

"Hm . "

"I was so offended . I felt really, really awful . But you know what? I laughed with them . 'Hahaha . Right? It's funny right?' like that . "

It must have left a dent in her pride . That was what it was like to be evaluated by others . There was cruelty to one's evaluation of herself not being in line with others' evaluation of her .

"That was the first time I'd experienced something like that . I did well in school and my looks weren't half bad either, so I didn't have to worry about being laughed at . "

It was her first time . That was why she had chosen to mimic her friends rather than being wise in the way she handled their criticism .

"That was it . I'm not really traumatized or afraid of being around people . I just let it slide . "

She had been doing well so far . Just like everyone else her age, she took exams and received her grades . Like she'd said, she wasn't afraid of being around other people or lived with trauma . However, none of that meant that she wasn't hurt .

"It's just that I've come to realize how much impact others around me have," she said calmly . "Since then, I've distanced myself from reading . "

"So, that's how you got into comic books?"

"Yep . I borrowed one from a friend who was always getting picked on . Unlike her, I never got picked on . "

He thought about the moment when he had visited her in cla.s.s . A lone girl and a comic book in her hand . At once, he was able to picture her friend .

There was always a loner in any cla.s.s . For the most part, cla.s.srooms always looked the same .

She wanted to redeem herself . She wanted to cover up her memory of being laughed at by her friends with something special and she desperately hid her wound .

He opened his mouth as he looked at her and said, "And now, you're writing again . "

Once again, she had a pen in her hand . 'How did she come to decide to join the Literature Club?'

"I met Bom . She's good with compliments . She tells me something positive no matter what I do . Whenever she is around, I feel safe to write . I actually was safe too," she said .

'I see . ' He understood their relations.h.i.+p now . A girl who's in need of compliments had met a friend who leaned on others around her . As long as she complimented Sun Hwa, Bom could stay as her friend . As long as she complimented Sun Hwa, it was OK for Bom to lean on her . Sun Hwa was like a flower that bloomed in May . It only bloomed when Bom came . (TL's note: Bom means Spring in Korean . ) Then…

"That's why you're keeping her around . "

"I can understand her . "

At her answer, he remembered . She was supposed to be part of an essay contest with Bom . Sun Hwa had been the one who had suggested it . Whenever Bom asked her a question, she'd always answer without hesitation .

"I know what it feels like to let people walk all over you," she added .

They were similar . They were both being swayed by one another .

He looked up to the sky . A purple flower had fallen off a branch . Spring was over .

The flower's stem on a wet, lonely branch almost looked like a bud .

"What's with the long face?"

" . . . I have indigestion from the fried chicken I had for getting an award . No matter how much I throw it up, it doesn't go away . "

She sounded like she was suppressing her feelings . She knew Bom had let her win . A person who was exceptionally talented tended to get picked on by others . For that reason, Bom would never try to surpa.s.s Sun Hwa .

"I've read her paper too . It was the day after I suggested applying to the same contest . That day, I was the first person to show up to the science room . "

What she had said previously made sense . She had been in the same situation as Juho . Then, she had witnessed Bom's actual talent .

She had been swayed by others before . She had stopped writing because of the harsh criticisms of her friends . The moment she read Bom's paper, she probably realized that Bom was just like her .

Juho added, "You're the 'others' in this case . "

"That's right . "

"This entire time, you two were being swayed by each other, AND others . "

Sun Hwa and Bom were not friends after all . She clenched her teeth .

"This time, I'm not going to join in with my friends when they're laughing at me . I don't want to be like the punks that looked down on me," she said . She had laughed with her friends who had been laughing at her . Then, she had stopped writing .

On the other hand, Bom had been busy studying Sun Hwa . She wouldn't dare to write sincerely . They were very much alike .

"I suggested we apply for different compet.i.tions . "

From the moment they started relying on one another, they would've been apart for the first time . It was obvious how fl.u.s.tered Bom must have been .

"She was really fl.u.s.tered . She kept pretending that she didn't understand me, so I had to be direct with her . "

"What did you say to her?"

"To choose for herself . "

That's why there had been tension between the two . Sun Hwa was wearing a gloomy expression, and Juho said, "You did the right thing . "

Regardless of the result, she had tried to be brave . She had tried to change, but it wasn't easy . Juho knew better than anybody else how difficult it was to change . Only, he thought it would've been better if Sun Hwa had been more honest with Bom, 'I want to be friends with you . '

Her nose turned red .

"What if Bom doesn't like me anymore?"

Her voice trembled .

She may have been brave, but after all that, she was still a high school student . It would've been challenging for her to handle a friends.h.i.+p that had gone sour . It must have been the same for Bom . When it came down to it, they were alike and in the same year .

'Is there nothing I can do?'

He raised his hand as he took out a notebook from his pocket . He had been forgetting about it for a moment . Then, he swung his hand and slapped Sun Hwa's back .

She snapped her head up to the sky .

"OW!"

"Wuss . "

"What'd you call me punk!?"

He added as she fumed with anger, "Isn't this what you wanted?"

Just like that, she rubbed her back, which was throbbing in pain . He was right . Frankly, he wanted to do what he had just done to her to Bom . 'Stop being a wuss, and keep moving forward . Don't think about what others think of you . What are you afraid of? Face it head on . '

However, he couldn't say that to Bom when Sun Hwa was afraid of it herself . She wasn't in the position to be able to tell Bom what to do .

"Can I do it?"

"Ask yourself . "

Sun Hwa hesitated and then clenched her hand into a fist .

"If I ask for help now, would I be relying on others still? Would I be repeating what I've been doing?" she asked .

Juho answered with a smile, "Then let's try this . "

"What?"

"I'll help you before you ask for help . "

After a brief silence, Sun Hwa asked, "Why?"

There was raw emotion in her voice, and Juho answered her, "I want us to have a drink together when we're older . "

Translated by: ShawnSuh. Edited by: SootyOwl Seeing Juho showing no response, Seo Kw.a.n.g whispered, Whats with them? They were doing fine yesterday . It was almost like one couldnt live without the other . Did something happen? I dont know . Theres no way you dont . Come on, fess up . Sadly, Juho really didnt . He saw a river flowing between Sun Hwa and Bom . It was the distance between them . Bom was sitting anxiously, examining Sun Hwas face, while Sun Hwa didnt even look in Boms direction . He observed the two from time to time . * As usual, Sun Hwa was getting ready for cla.s.s . She sat in her seat and opened up her textbook . Like those of diligent students, its pages were filled with her notes . She believed that grades brought a certain image to a student . A student who had good grades would be seen as an exemplary student . On top of that, if she were to pay even the slightest attention to her looks, shed become untouchable . Such a position actually existed within the boundaries of school, and Sun Hwa had always worked hard to keep herself in that spot . Hey, is she reading a comic book? Seems like she is . What is she doing in the corner though? Eh, let her be . Who knows? The students in the cla.s.s whispered jeeringly . Quietly, Sun Hwa looked behind her . In the corner, there was a girl with a slightly messy appearance and a comic book in her hand . Thats it, she thought . A student with a bad image was always treated poorly by her peers . There was a big contrast from the time Sun Hwa had brought her comic books to school . They had joked around while taking turns to read them together then . Others may have poked fun at her for having a childish taste, but n.o.body looked at her loathingly . That was how much impact an image had on a female student . An image was made to be seen by others . After all, people werent made to live in solitude . They had to live being mindful of how they appeared to the eyes of others, always . Hey, Sun Hwa, someones looking for you, said one of the girls who had been slandering the girl with the comic book up to a moment ago . When she looked into the hallway, she saw Juho standing outside . She got up at once, feeling unpleasant being in that environment . Juho took her to the school yard . Apparently, he wanted to say something to her . What do you want? she asked grumpily as she sat down on a wooden bench outside . There were several benches in a small s.p.a.ce under a tree in the schoolyard, and Juho sat on the innermost seat . In his hand, there were two beverages he had bought from the cafeteria . I wanted to say something really quick . Is this a confession? Haha! Are you laughing at me!? She sat next to him and took a beverage from his hand . She seemed certain that it was for her, and since she had guessed right, he didnt say anything . I didnt fight with Bom . With those words, she chugged her beverage . He looked at her and said, I read your paper . Pfff! She spewed the beverage in her mouth out like a fountain . Fortunately, she hadnt been looking in Juhos direction, so there were no casualties . Instead, she left a dark stain on the ground . Before he had time to go look for tissues, she asked with a fl.u.s.tered voice while wiping her mouth with her hand,Wh-what did you say you read? Your paper . I found it in the science room . I couldnt help it . Who do you think you are? Seo Kw.a.n.g? Are you a print addict too? Do you read whatever you find? Sorry, I was too curious . How are you so confident? she looked at him in disbelief . It was a good thing that she didnt seem infuriated . I apologize, he added . Well, its not… Sigh, she sighed . Im not exactly in a place to be saying things like this to you . What do you mean? Nothing . Surprisingly, she wasnt as angry as he had been expecting . If anything, she seemed more anxious . How was it? she asked for his evaluation . Is she worried about how others are evaluating her skill? he thought . It hadnt been anything special, but he chose his words carefully . I enjoyed it . It was fun, wild, and it didnt beat around the bush . Yeah? Yep . Despite an answer that resembled a compliment, she remained anxious . Why is she still anxious? he wondered . Soon, he reached the answer . Did somebody tell you that youre bad at writing? Huh? I knew it . It was apparent . How did he know? she thought as she looked at him . From a writers perspective, it was a simple answer . Who? Was it Mr . Moon? No . She fiddled with the empty can in her hand . It was hard to see her face because of her hair, but she continued with a calm voice, In middle school, I used to love to write . What about comic books? I wasnt into them back then . Seo Kw.a.n.g wouldve jumped with joy . Who wouldve thought she had been into literature at one point? When I finished a story for the first time, I showed it to my friends . I was so satisfied with how it had turned out . In my eyes, it was better than any book Id ever read . But? Her head dropped lower . They laughed at me . Hm . I was so offended . I felt really, really awful . But you know what? I laughed with them . Hahaha . Right? Its funny right? like that . It must have left a dent in her pride . That was what it was like to be evaluated by others . There was cruelty to ones evaluation of herself not being in line with others evaluation of her . That was the first time Id experienced something like that . I did well in school and my looks werent half bad either, so I didnt have to worry about being laughed at . It was her first time . That was why she had chosen to mimic her friends rather than being wise in the way she handled their criticism . That was it . Im not really traumatized or afraid of being around people . I just let it slide . She had been doing well so far . Just like everyone else her age, she took exams and received her grades . Like shed said, she wasnt afraid of being around other people or lived with trauma . However, none of that meant that she wasnt hurt . Its just that Ive come to realize how much impact others around me have, she said calmly . Since then, Ive distanced myself from reading . So, thats how you got into comic books? Yep . I borrowed one from a friend who was always getting picked on . Unlike her, I never got picked on . He thought about the moment when he had visited her in cla.s.s . A lone girl and a comic book in her hand . At once, he was able to picture her friend . There was always a loner in any cla.s.s . For the most part, cla.s.srooms always looked the same She wanted to redeem herself . She wanted to cover up her memory of being laughed at by her friends with something special and she desperately hid her wound . He opened his mouth as he looked at her and said, And now, youre writing again . Once again, she had a pen in her hand . How did she come to decide to join the Literature Club? I met Bom . Shes good with compliments . She tells me something positive no matter what I do . Whenever she is around, I feel safe to write . I actually was safe too, she said . I see . He understood their relations.h.i.+p now . A girl whos in need of compliments had met a friend who leaned on others around her . As long as she complimented Sun Hwa, Bom could stay as her friend . As long as she complimented Sun Hwa, it was OK for Bom to lean on her . Sun Hwa was like a flower that bloomed in May . It only bloomed when Bom came . (TLs note: Bom means Spring in Korean . ) Then… Thats why youre keeping her around . I can understand her . At her answer, he remembered . She was supposed to be part of an essay contest with Bom . Sun Hwa had been the one who had suggested it . Whenever Bom asked her a question, shed always answer without hesitation . I know what it feels like to let people walk all over you, she added . They were similar . They were both being swayed by one another . He looked up to the sky . A purple flower had fallen off a branch . Spring was over . The flowers stem on a wet, lonely branch almost looked like a bud . Whats with the long face? . I have indigestion from the fried chicken I had for getting an award . No matter how much I throw it up, it doesnt go away . She sounded like she was suppressing her feelings . She knew Bom had let her win . A person who was exceptionally talented tended to get picked on by others . For that reason, Bom would never try to surpa.s.s Sun Hwa . Ive read her paper too . It was the day after I suggested applying to the same contest . That day, I was the first person to show up to the science room . What she had said previously made sense . She had been in the same situation as Juho . Then, she had witnessed Boms actual talent . She had been swayed by others before . She had stopped writing because of the harsh criticisms of her friends . The moment she read Boms paper, she probably realized that Bom was just like her . Juho added, Youre the others in this case . Thats right . This entire time, you two were being swayed by each other, AND others . Sun Hwa and Bom were not friends after all . She clenched her teeth . This time, Im not going to join in with my friends when theyre laughing at me . I dont want to be like the punks that looked down on me, she said . She had laughed with her friends who had been laughing at her . Then, she had stopped writing . On the other hand, Bom had been busy studying Sun Hwa . She wouldnt dare to write sincerely . They were very much alike . I suggested we apply for different compet.i.tions . From the moment they started relying on one another, they wouldve been apart for the first time . It was obvious how fl.u.s.tered Bom must have been . She was really fl.u.s.tered . She kept pretending that she didnt understand me, so I had to be direct with her . What did you say to her? To choose for herself . Thats why there had been tension between the two . Sun Hwa was wearing a gloomy expression, and Juho said, You did the right thing . Regardless of the result, she had tried to be brave . She had tried to change, but it wasnt easy . Juho knew better than anybody else how difficult it was to change . Only, he thought it wouldve been better if Sun Hwa had been more honest with Bom, I want to be friends with you . Her nose turned red . What if Bom doesnt like me anymore? Her voice trembled . She may have been brave, but after all that, she was still a high school student . It wouldve been challenging for her to handle a friends.h.i.+p that had gone sour . It must have been the same for Bom . When it came down to it, they were alike and in the same year . Is there nothing I can do? He raised his hand as he took out a notebook from his pocket . He had been forgetting about it for a moment . Then, he swung his hand and slapped Sun Hwas back . She snapped her head up to the sky . OW! Wuss . Whatd you call me punk!? He added as she fumed with anger, Isnt this what you wanted? Just like that, she rubbed her back, which was throbbing in pain . He was right . Frankly, he wanted to do what he had just done to her to Bom . Stop being a wuss, and keep moving forward . Dont think about what others think of you . What are you afraid of? Face it head on . However, he couldnt say that to Bom when Sun Hwa was afraid of it herself . She wasnt in the position to be able to tell Bom what to do . Can I do it? Ask yourself . Sun Hwa hesitated and then clenched her hand into a fist . If I ask for help now, would I be relying on others still? Would I be repeating what Ive been doing? she asked . Juho answered with a smile, Then lets try this . What? Ill help you before you ask for help . After a brief silence, Sun Hwa asked, Why? There was raw emotion in her voice, and Juho answered her, I want us to have a drink together when were older .