18 Chapter 18 - Yun Woo is in Our School 1 (2/2)

”What do you mean who? Yun Woo, obviously!”

”What? Yun Woo's a she?!”

”Yeah, she must be really pretty.”

'No, Yun Woo is not a girl.' No matter how much Juho screamed it on the inside, Seo Kwang couldn't hear him. As much as Seo Kwang was excited about Yun Woo being a beautiful girl, it was merely an information regarding a case of identity theft to Juho's ears.

In the front of Classroom 7, there was a crowd of people who had come to see Yun Woo after hearing the rumor. Seo Kwang and Juho made their way through the crowd into the classroom. Inside, was another crowd surrounding a girl in a large circle. It was obvious that she was the thief who had stolen the name ”Yun Woo.” When the two got closer to her, she was busy answering questions from other students.

”How did you think of writing something like that?”

”You know, there are a lot of people who are scared of pigeons lately. I was on the street one day and I heard a lady screaming. I thought she was in trouble so I went to her, and sure enough, it was because of a pigeon.”

”I've seen people do that.”

”Me too, me too! I saw this mom who was covering her daughter's mouth when some pigeons were flying away because they're dirty.”

”It makes sense though. They do kind of look harmful even at a glance.”

'Pigeons?' Juho was dumbfounded. As soon as the fake Yun Woo finished, other students surrounding her began to chime in.

”After seeing that, I had an idea. I thought it'd be interesting to make the protagonist a person who suffers from a phobia of birds.”

”I see.”

”What's the secret to writing well?”

She was coming up with stories that could likely exist. Another question came out of the circle of people surrounding the girl. With a smirk, she answered sincerely. The mole on her cheek moved up as she smiled.

”Hm. How should I say this? I just let my hand do the work. You close your eyes, and think of an image, things you want to write about. Then, your hand will move on its own.”

”Wow! How long did it take you to write the entire book?”

”The first draft didn't take long to finish. Maybe a week?”

Juho clenched his fist from embarrassment. 'Why am I feeling embarrassed? What kind of nonsense is she saying about her hand moving on its own? How do you write with your eyes closed? One week? Where did that come from? 'The Trace of a Bird' is nearly a full-length novel. One week is nowhere near enough. What's this about?'

As Juho shook in agony, another person raised his hand to ask another question, ”The way your book described fear or terror was incredibly realistic. A lot of people are saying that it's based on experience.”

”I'm sorry. That's a bit of a sensitive question. I'm not sure if I can answer it.”

'Who does she think she is? Does she have no shame? Well, I suppose she couldn't have guessed that the real Yun Woo came to this school. She must be acting because she's not aware that she's being watched by the real Yun Woo.'

That had never happened when Juho had revealed his face in the past. Yet, it was still somewhat of a familiar sight. Conversely, at that time, Juho had been the one surrounded by the crowd.

Juho had spent his days in school being in the center of attention. At times, students from other schools would come visit him to find out if the rumor was true. He couldn't help but notice himself in that imposter. Still, her bluffs were getting out of hand.

”That was kind of unexpected.”

At that moment, Juho heard his friend's murmur. There was a contrast in his voice from a moment ago. Yun Woo must have been quite different from what Seo Kwang had imagined. Juho looked at him and asked, ”What kind of person were you hoping Yun Woo to be?”

”Well, hm. If you put it that way, it makes it harder for me to answer. I guess pretty?”

After some hesitation, he eventually answered with a joke, and Juho laughed it off without asking any further.

Juho felt a little better. He looked at ”Yun Woo,” who was the center of attention. The mole on her cheek was moving about on her face whenever she smiled.

With his eyes on the girl, Juho's lips parted, ”Can I ask a question too?”

”Yun Woo” nodded and accepted Juho's request. There was confidence in her face as if she could answer anything. To tackle the most fundamental curiosity he had, Juho asked, ”You've been anonymous up to this point. Why reveal yourself now?

Everyone had been friendly to her so far. At that point, there was no use in asking her to prove that she was real. For that reason, Juho decided to take a roundabout approach. He didn't show her any hostility. Rather, he asked as if he was genuinely curious.

She seemed caught off guard for a moment, but soon, she straightened her face and answered Juho's question, ”I'm a little flustered myself. I didn't think my cover would get blown like this. One of my friends saw the original copy of my book. I didn't want to be a liar.”

'The original copy, she says.' Juho reached into his pocket, and his hand caught something. A worn-out piece of paper rustled in his hand. Although he had no basis for it, Juho felt confident.

'This is from her.'

Juho slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket.

”I see. You don't like to lie.”

”Yes.”

”You have a rough future ahead of you,” Juho said to her as the sole person who knew the conclusion Yun Woo had come to. There was no benefit in borrowing that name.

Having misunderstood him, she smiled innocently and said, ”I think it's better than being a hypocrite. If you're uncomfortable at heart, you can't write well.”

”Wow! That's amazing.”

Juho thought for a moment and made her a final question. There were other students to his sides who were itching to ask her questions themselves.

”How does it feel to be Yun Woo?”

She smiled brightly and replied, ”Great!”

<Yun Woo is in Our School (1)> The End