chapter.25  »  when there's nothing to do.

The entire day consisted of Seungpyo and I avoiding each other's gaze after that conversation we had the previous night.  I had no idea why he was avoiding me, but for some reason, it was like we both knew a certain person who was named Soojin and that we were trying to conceal that fact.  But neither of us couldn't, so neither of us spoke about it.

I was standing in the kitchen by the counter eating some leftover cookies Seungpyo pointed out to me (except  he did so indirectly.  He only pointed at it and didn't really look me in the eye).  Cookie crumbs were falling to the plastic container and all over the counter, so I gathered them all with my cupped hands.

After I had thrown the crumbs away, I picked up the cookie container and decided to just go in my room and stay there until Seungpyo was gone.  He was scurrying all around the living room when I passed by him.  I casted a curious glance at him then looked away, not wanting to be seen.

I closed the door behind me silently when I got in.  The books in the bookshelf seemed inviting, so I placed the cookie container atop the shelf and went over the books placed in it.

Most of the books were in paperback, and the hardback ones (there were four: a dictionary, a thesaurus, an almanac, and an encyclopedia) were the thickest.  I was happy to know I knew some of the books there such as Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities both by Charles Dickens, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  Surprisingly I had read all of these books, mostly by force of my mentor who encouraged me to read On Earth literature, but there were some of the books I had no clue about, so I picked one up.

The book was called The Alchemist by a certain author named Paulo Coelho; there were two copies—one English and one Korean.  The cover's texture was a bit rough, but it looked well taken care of.  The English edition's book cover showed a foggy view of some castle with mountains far behind it.  With one last bite of the cookie in my hand, I opened the book and turned two pages and began to read the introduction.

“‘I remember receiving a letter from the American publisher Harper Collins that said that: “reading The Alchemist was like getting up at dawn and seeing the sun rise while the rest of the world still slept.”’” I read.

I read further into the introduction and started realizing that it was one of the best introductions in a book I have ever come across and read.  It was something like what Sir Paulo was saying, about a person's “personal calling”.  I felt like reading The Alchemist was a personal calling for me, except this type of calling was more basic.

Then I remembered what Seungpyo said.  That he came across a book accidentally, the book that spoke all about our kingdoms and about Under Earth.  I hurried out of my room just in time to ask Seungpyo a small favor.

“Hey, Seungpyo?”  I called out to him.  His hand was clutching the doorknob, about to turn it.

“Yes?”  He said, not turning around.

“You remember that book you were telling me?  That book that you read on accident?”  I made him recall our conversation.

He gulped.  “S- Sure.”

“Do you think you can get that book for me?  I- I mean you really don't have to, but if you can... you know, I'm not really... If you can do it, can you please do?”

“I- I was just...”  Seungpyo sighed.  “Okay, I'll get it for you.”

I beamed even though he couldn't see it.  “Great, thanks!”

I went back into my room and heard Seungpyo exit the house.  For the remainder of the day, I immersed myself in The Alchemist and read and read and read, trynig to find the perfect position as I sat and laid in bed.  The only time I ever put the book down was if I had to eat or go to the bathroom which, luckily, didn't happen as frequently as I didn't need it to.

The time was 05:30 PM when I got out of bed for neither hunger nor bathroom needs, but because there was a knock on my bedroom door.

“Jinki?”  Seungpyo's voice rung.  “I- I got the book.”

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

guys... first of all i am terribly, terribly sorry for not updating for like 2 weeks.  as some of you may know i just got out of school on the 5th and ever since then i haven't updated.  the main reason is... well, the main reason is personal.  the only page i've been updating is my 100 themes one because it's just that personal.  but on the bright side here is an update! so the next chapter might not be on Soojin's POV but i'll try to squeeze in a bit of her so everything's in order... but in the meantime, thank you all for reading!  and i'm really really sorry ;-; have an amazing day and God bless you all!

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