Chapter 14: Chapter 14 (1/2)
”The protagonist, Yun, was named and created after the author himself.”
'That's not true,” Juho thought.
”Between the mysterious, anonymous author and the protagonist who moves about at night, there's a resemblance in the impression that the two give off.”
'Good, I think I can relax.'
Juho was able to stay at ease up to that point. That blog post had started from the hypothesis that 'The Trace of a Bird' had been written based on the life experiences of the author. The blog emphasized that the protagonist of the book and the author himself were of the same age.
However, what Juho had written was a novel. It was imagination that came out of his head. It was a made-up story. It was a lie that had been finely dressed in the spirit of prose. It was not entirely inaccurate to say that the author's experiences had had some influence in his writing, but the book wasn't about his story itself.
”So, who wrote this?”
”He goes by HongSam on the internet.”
Unfortunately, HongSam couldn't be more wrong. Yet, the kids seemed to think otherwise.
”This sounds plausible, doesn't it?”
”I get the impression that it might well be,” Seo Kw.a.n.g and Sun Hwa said to each other.
”What is it saying? I can't really see.”
At Bom's curiosity, Sun Hwa gave her a brief summary of the blog post.
HongSam's claim was as such, ”The author has a detailed, yet brilliant style of writing. Despite his young age, he possesses a distinct personality. The author gradually builds up the story into a climax. His deceivingly mature writing has shocked and touched the hearts of many. The true surprise of this book lies in the sentiment that's being communicated to the readers. For an author to be able to capture such profound emotions in his writing, one can only a.s.sume that he must have lived through experiences that inspired him. Therefore, just like Yun, the protagonist of 'The Trace of a Bird,' there's a chance that the author may not be attending high school. Even if this conjecture is not entirely true, I carefully entertain the possibility that the author detached from the outside world at some point in his past.”
Having read up to that point, Sun Hwa took a moment to catch her breath before moving on to the next page. At the end of the post, there was a final conclusion for the modern-day-people who simply couldn't afford the time to read such a post.
”In other words, considering all the hypotheses thus far, the image of the author, Yun Woo can be portrayed as a beautiful girl enjoying a book on a warm, sunny day.”
”What?” everyone doubted what they had just read.
'What? A warm, sunny day? A beautiful, book-loving girl?'
Sun Hwa didn't appear to be impressed either. On the other hand, Seo Kw.a.n.g had a happy smile on his face.
”Sigh, what is this?” she said.
”What? it's nice. A beautiful, innocent, book-loving girl,” Seo Kw.a.n.g countered.
”This is delusional. Come on! 'A beautiful girl enjoying a book on a warm, sunny day?' We got excited for nothing.”
”Yeah, this is straight up delusional,” even Bom was taking a firm stance in the matter.
Juho nodded his head to blend in with the others, ”Yep. Delusional.”
He was dumbfounded by what he had just read, 'A beautiful, book-loving girl? Am I, Yun Woo, actually a.s.sociated with these words? My common, high-school-student self would be seriously disappointed.'
”I think Yun Woo is male,” Sun Hwa said confidently.
Juho rooted for her silently, 'That's right, Yun Woo is a he.'
”Why do you think that?”
”That's what I'm hoping for, a good-looking guy who's also my age.”
Juho quickly retracted the cheers directed at Sun Hwa.
”I wish him to be a muscular, high school boy.”
In an instant, Juho had discovered the ideal tastes of two individuals. To be a.s.sociated with a book-loving girl or a muscular, high school boy was quite a burden for him.
”Muscular. You don't say.”
”Then, what about 'book-loving girl?' Right Bom?”
”Yeah, right!”
”What's wrong with 'book-loving girl?' Juho, say something.”
Juho shook his head firmly. Seeing the loathing expression on Juho's face, Seo Kw.a.n.g realized that no one was around to take his side. For the time being, he took a step back.
”Of course, this is HongSam's personal opinion, so I admit that there could be some bias in his words. Still, his observations up to that point sound plausible, don't they?”
”It's already over if it ends with 'a beautiful, book-loving girl.'”
”Come on, guys! The responses in the comments section aren't all that bad.”
By then, Seo Kw.a.n.g had already lost his friends' trust, so he quickly moved on to the main point, ”This isn't the point. It's bait. If Baron falls for this, then that's all that matters.”
”You really think he would fall for something like that?”
”Just watch. I'll be the first to get him to write.”
Seo Kw.a.n.g sprung out of his seat.
It wasn't long until Seo Kw.a.n.g returned with a sad face. 'A book-loving girl' must have been of little help.
”Back already?” Juho asked.
Seo Kw.a.n.g answered sadly, ”Do you know what renders bait useless?
”What?”
”When it loses its freshness. Baron had already known about the blog post. He looked at me like I was the most pathetic person. I couldn't have known in my dreams that he'd already known.” Seo Kw.a.n.g continued with a defeated expression, ”If Baron knows about HongSam's blog, then he's definitely a fan. I'm sure of it.”
Seo Kw.a.n.g explained to his friends that HongSam was a famous blogger among Yun Woo fans. It was hard to understand why he was famous, let alone trustworthy.
Seo Kw.a.n.g grabbed his hair in despair. He seemed discouraged that the plan he had been so sure of had ended in failure. Juho thought about consoling his friend, but Sun Hwa's laughter beat him to it. There was no way she would leave him alone, especially when he was so vulnerable.
”I knew it. Some big-talker you are.”