Chapter 20: Chapter 20 (2/2)
Juho stood up from his seat.
Since he had already given Seo Kw.a.n.g a notice, Seo Kw.a.n.g went onto the cafeteria along all the other students. He had a skill of getting along with just about anyone. However, outside of a certain group, he didn't mention anything about books. Afterall, a book-loving high-school student was a rare find.
Juho opened the door and walked into Cla.s.s 7. Just like he had done in the past, Yun Woo was sitting alone in the cla.s.sroom. It had been the only time of the day that Juho had gotten to be alone.
”Are you alone?”
”Yes,” Yun Woo replied gently.
Intentionally, Juho responded with a mean att.i.tude, ”Nothing's more important than food.”
'No matter how big of a fan.' he thought.
”Why are you here?” she asked.
There was a subtle edge in her tone, and Juho stood next to her seat.
Yun Woo looked up to him and asked again, ”Are you here to see me?”
Juho nodded lightly.
”I'm here to meet Yun Woo.”
”Why?”
”I have something to give you.”
”I guess Yun Woo came before food in your mind.”
Juho responded camly, ”I already ate, although it was bread instead of rice.”
Yun Woo frowned at him and then changed the subject, ”So, what is it that you wanted to give me?”
”Actually, I have something to tell you before that.”
As if she had been expecting it, she looked intently at him, and Juho continued without hesitation, ”I think you should be mindful of giving autographs in the hallway.”
”What?” Yun Woo asked. It wasn't what she had expected.
”It makes it difficult for others to pa.s.s through if there's a crowd of people blocking the way. I think you need to be mindful of that.”
Yun Woo s.p.a.ced out for a moment, but she soon came to her senses and responded, ”I see. You're right. I didn't think about that. I'll be careful from now on.”
”Oh, this is something I heard from another person. Is it true that you're close to other famous authors?”
After circulating through the school for a while, the rumors she had started eventually reached him. One of them was that Yun Woo let her fans talk on the phone with other authors.
”Yes, it's true. Why, do you have an author you like?”
”Of course. As ordinary as I am, I'm part of the Literature Club.”
”Ah, you're in the Literature Club. So who do you like?”
She appeared confident.
”If I tell you, would you let me talk to the author on the phone?”
”If I know the person. But being an author is an incredibly busy job, so I hope you know that they might not be able to answer.”
'Of course,' Juho understood her att.i.tude. It was such a cop out answer.
”That's fine then. I don't want to bother someone when they're busy either.”
”Thanks for understanding.”
He decided to ask her one more question before handing her what he had brought. He personally wanted to hear her answer while the real Yun Woo came face to face with the impostor. There could be something worth noting, so he listened carefully.
”How are you planning on writing the sequel?”
”A sequel?”
She seemed confused by the seemingly random question about a sequel. The book hadn't even been out that long. As usual, however, she gave an adequate answer, ”I'm not sure yet. I do have a few ideas in mind.”
”What are they?”
”That's it...”
Juho took the initiative before she had a chance to remain discreet, ”I'll keep it a secret. So, just tell me.”
”... What?”
She became fl.u.s.tered, unlike with her usual, shamelessly confident att.i.tude. Juho was also caught by surprise by the unexpected reaction.
”You seem fl.u.s.tered.”
”Well, it's just that you were asking so intently.”
”I was?”
Juho had seen worse. She hadn't been fl.u.s.tered like that back then. Her reaction raised a question in his mind.
'Why is she so fl.u.s.tered? What is she fl.u.s.tered by?'
”Secret?”
”What?”
”The thing I asked you to tell me?”
”...”
While staring at her face, Juho replayed what he had just said to her.
'I'll keep it a secret.'
A secret. The meaning of the word was startling her. It tore down her shamelessness and shook her.
There was a rustling sound in Juho's pocket.
'Aha!'
”Did your friend say the same thing?”
”My friend?”
Juho took the paper out of his pocket.
”The friend who found this transcription.”
Once she took the paper from him, her face turned pale.
<yun woo=”” is=”” in=”” our=”” school=”” (3)=””> The End
</yun>