259 Read The Book 5 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”Man, I knew I shouldn't have come to school today. I'd kill to be there,” Seo Kw.a.n.g said earnestly.
”I'm seriously missing out! This is what happens in bookstores in other countries! Man, this sucks,” Seo Kw.a.n.g complained repeatedly.
Then, Juho heard another person shouting at Seo Kw.a.n.g, ”Hey! Zip it!”
With that, Seo Kw.a.n.g's grumbling came to an end.
”Are you with Sun Hwa?” Juho asked.
”Yep. Bom and I came to see her.”
It wasn't hard to imagine them hanging out. With that, Seo Kw.a.n.g gave him a brief update on the status quo of the school.
”Everyone's anxious to find out whether you're really Yun Woo or not.”
”Is that right?”
”Yep. There are guys making bets even. I did too.”
Juho laughed at Seo Kw.a.n.g's snarky remark. In actuality, it was a wise decision on Seo Kw.a.n.g's end.
”Which side are they voting for?”
”That you're fake.”
”Well then, seems like you're gonna win big time.”
At that moment, Seo Kw.a.n.g already had a victorious smile on his face. He told Juho how Mr. Moon and the club members had been getting flooded with questions since Juho had dropped out of school, which made complete sense since the individual in question had left. Neither Mr. Moon nor the club members answered any of the questions coming in. Although the teachers were remaining silent about the matter in order to prevent the juniors from getting distracted from the SAT preparations, the club members had a slightly different reason for keeping their schoolmates in the dark: to show everyone up.
”What use is there in telling the truth to people who'll never believe you?”
”It makes sense that they wouldn't, though.”
Then, Seo Kw.a.n.g snorted and said, ”I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out. I'll make sure to get a good look on your behalf too.”
”You don't have to do that.”
”Then, should I take some pictures and send it to you?”
”That won't be necessary, either.”
”It's fine. I didn't mean any of that anyway.”
Then, as they hung up, Juho saw that he had received a text while he'd been talking on the phone. It was from Gong Pal. He had probably also seen the ma.s.sive lines in front of bookstores. Underneath the article he was sharing in the text, there was a message that read, 'Looks like the crowds in front of video game stores when some games comes out.”
When Juho looked around, there were even more people getting in line. The time flew by, and as it got closer to opening time, people waiting in line started growing anxious. Similarly, those around them also started whispering among themselves. However, the door to the bookstore remained tightly shut despite their hopes. The employees and employers seemed to be having a meeting. And just like that, another thirty minutes flew by. Then…
”Somebody's coming!”
… an employee appeared on the inside of the store and opened both of the doors, and another employees also came out in order to keep the crowd under control.
”Ladies and gentlemen, you may now enter in an orderly fas.h.i.+on.”
However, those words didn't hold much power. The crowd went rus.h.i.+ng into the store, and the employees tried to slow them down in vain. It wasn't long until the store was filled with people. Meanwhile, Juho looked at the scene attentively from beginning to end. An astounding number of people were all headed for the same place.
”Wow,” somebody murmured. The people each picked up a book at the same time, and the stack disappeared at an increasing rate, one book at a time. When people got their hands on a copy of their own, they immediately opened the cover, where they were told they would find the truth. Finally…
”Yun Woo!”
The fans got to see the face of their favorite author. They could finally say that they knew the young author. At that moment, somebody shouted for joy, and those who laughed at that also joined in on the celebration. The store was filled with the sound of shutters, as the crowd surrounding the stack of books was a sight to behold. Although the employees tried to keep people from taking pictures of the new book, it was all in vain. While some started getting in line to pay, others were busy putting the pictures up on the internet. With that, Juho went into the store, and the voices became clearly audible.
”So, he was real.”
”Who would've thought that he would include a picture with Kelley Coin? Now, I have to believe it.”
”So, that's what Zelkova meant when they said to look forward to the picture.”
”Man, if it was just another picture of some guy, I'd have been so p.i.s.sed.”
”So, that's what he looks like.”
”He looks like a good writer, all right.”
”That's Coin's house, isn't it?”
”Is that the Hugo trophy? So, that thing IS real!”
”Where's the red hat?”
”He looks different from what I imagined.”
”They should've been a little closer to the camera.”
”Where is this? That's Yun Woo, right?”
”The dynamic duo.”
”Boy, I would love to meet him.”
”Wonder what he looks like in real life.”
”That's a good picture.”
”They look so normal.”
”Looks really nice. He's got a good taste!”
'Things aren't looking too bad,' Juho thought to himself as a smile spread across his face.
”What the…” a voice let out. When Juho looked toward the voice, he locked eyes with somebody holding a book, whose eyes got wider and wider as they took turns looking at the picture and at the young author. At that, Juho took a step back.
”Yun Woo,” the person let out upon recognizing the young author, looking straight at him. At that moment, a strange emotion beyond what words can describe washed over him.
”It's Yun Woo!” the person said again.
”You're Yun Woo, right?”
At that, people started looking up from their books, and the sound of shutters stopped. The very eyes of those who had been looking at the devices in their hands were now looking in the young author's direction.
”It's Yun Woo!” somebody shouted although Juho himself hadn't said anything, and people believed what they were hearing without even knowing from whom it had come.
They were calling the young author Yun Woo without needing to be convinced. Similarly, they would no longer call him an impostor, even if Yun Woo were to try desperately to convince them of his ident.i.ty. They were no longer getting him mixed up with someone else. n.o.body would walk past him not knowing what he looked like. Meanwhile, the employee stared at the young author, taken aback, and those who had been looking into the store from the outside looked even harder upon realizing what was happening in the store. Only those who were yet to have seen the book were clueless as to what was going on.