Fluttering Hearts at the Literary Club (2)
Kang Hyeona took in the sight of Han Sein bouncing lightly on his feet.
Praise led to more praise.
By rights, words ought to lead to more words.
But Kang Hyeona clenched her mouth shut with everything she had.
Because she was sure he'd catch the way the corner of her lips kept twitching.
Because she wanted to ruffle his hair so badly her hand was already rising.
She sucked in a rough breath and turned her back on him.
Her footsteps carried her toward the long wooden desk — the kind that looked just like the ones in a typical library.
And in that moment, Han Sein's voice rang out, soft and low.
She was so wound up that she flinched, reacting with a sensitivity that startled even her.
"You have to give me the book."
"Ah— right."
"You're not going to read?"
"I'll pick one out myself."
It was a deliberate dodge.
Normally she would have handed the book over by hand, but she set it on the desk instead and walked away.
"Haa…"
The place she fled to in a hurry was nestled among the cozy shelves of books.
They said there was no paradise — but this was a sanctuary.
The fragrant scent of paper and wood.
She pressed a hand to her pounding chest and moved her fingers out of habit.
It was a book she'd already read at least twice, yet it was still so good she wanted to read it again.
Her favorite author, and among all their various series, the one she loved most.
Pulling the volume against her chest settled her heart at once.
Novels on a smartphone were fine, but she preferred series that came out as physical volumes like this.
Because of the way they felt when she held them close.
"Oh, same author?"
"You know them?!"
She startled hard.
Kang Hyeona held her breath.
Her cheeks felt like they might catch fire.
The same hobby? The same taste?
Unless you were already a fan of the author, you didn't usually go looking for their other work.
More often it was the other way around — you happened to enjoy something, checked the author's name, and found a match.
With that in mind, Kang Hyeona tried desperately to calm the heart that wouldn't stop racing.
She felt like she'd become someone strange.
Someone who had lived in a world dyed entirely gray was, for the first time, starting to take on color.
Was it the thrill of sharing the same taste?
Or the thrill of there being only the two of them in the literary club?
The reason didn't matter.
What mattered was that Kang Hyeona's world had turned blue, then pink.
Her heart, full to bursting with excitement, began to fuss under the name of giddiness — only to go cold under Han Sein's next, thoroughly unromantic remark.
"Nah, the name's written right there."
"Ah…"
"mamama? Guess you're a fan."
"Y-yeah. Yeah, that's right."
"And look, this one's the same. Have you read this too?"
"Mm-hmm."
A sharp little flutter echoed from deep in her chest.
Before thrills, before reason — the moment of sharing a hobby she'd kept entirely to herself was a truly joyful thing.
Living among Kim Hyeongmin's crowd, where no one had ever taken an interest, she felt alive again for the first time in a long while.
"That's amazing. Then what about that one?"
"Y-yeah."
"What's the title? The Na…jak…?"
"N-never mind."
Kang Hyeona hurriedly moved her hand to cover the book — the title, and the 19+ sticker that was bound to be stuck somewhere on it.
It wasn't that the hobby itself embarrassed her. But she couldn't exactly show the boy she liked that she read adult novels.
His gaze sorted itself out soon enough.
Han Sein shrugged and settled himself with his own book.
The Regressor and the Blind Saint.
The book he had chosen — and one of the novels Kang Hyeona loved.
Her mouth itched to speak, but she couldn't bring herself to open it first.
First, because it felt unlike her.
Second, because the ticklish feeling was already hard enough to bear.
"……."
A quiet stillness settled over them.
It wasn't uncomfortable, though.
Silence born of reading had an atmosphere all its own.
Not uncomfortable — anxious.
Where do I sit?
Kang Hyeona glanced at where Han Sein was sitting and let out a short breath.
There were no assigned seats.
But everyone had one of those, didn't they?
A spot you just liked for no particular reason.
The place you always sat, the place that felt familiar — a little nest only you knew about.
The deep deliberation didn't last long.
If she just stood there staring blankly, she'd look like a complete lunatic.
Not directly in front of Han Sein, and not right beside him either.
In chair terms, roughly two seats away on the diagonal.
It would have been a lie to say she wasn't conscious of him.
But at least there was no other reason for it.
Silence filled the classroom — or rather, the interior that was closer to a library — broken only by the soft rustle of turning pages.
Shff, shff.
I have to spend fifth, sixth, and seventh periods like this with him?
Kang Hyeona squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
Once she let go of about half her tension, she was surprised to find how light she felt.
Reading was her hobby, after all.
It didn't take long to lose herself in a novel that interested her.
The rustle of pages and the deep quiet rolled on.
How much time had passed?
When Kang Hyeona finally surfaced from the stillness and lifted her head, she found herself facing a brilliantly radiant presence.
Sunlight slipping through the curtains cradled his face.
The distinctive motes drifting through the classroom caught the light and sparkled, and the faint smile he wore — as if he were thoroughly enjoying what he was reading — left Kang Hyeona staring blankly at him and nothing else.
Her dazed eyes held only one person.
And by the time her parted lips pressed firmly shut again, she could no longer concentrate on her novel.
She forced her head down and stared at a book she had once loved, one she hadn't picked up again since meeting Han Sein.
Ironically, the novel she had been able to read precisely because she was with him no longer went in at all.
"……."
Time passed faster than she expected.
Steal a glance at his smile, watch the way he focused — and fifth period was over, then sixth.
And after the break, when seventh period began—
Tap.
"…?"
"Let's discuss."
"?"
Confusion settled over Kang Hyeona's face.
It was an utterly abrupt thing to say, but not a strange one, so she restarted her momentarily stalled brain and opened her mouth.
"Discuss what?"
"We're the literary club. Fifth and sixth periods together make roughly two hours, so if we set seventh period aside for discussion, wouldn't that work?"
"Hmm…"
He wasn't wrong.
Thinking of any other literature appreciation club, it was an entirely normal suggestion.
From Kang Hyeona's perspective, though, it wasn't exactly welcome.
More precisely, she was just thrown off.
There are only two active members anyway?
She looked at Han Sein with quiet eyes, and his voice drifted out.
"If you don't want to, forget it."
"No, it's fine."
Honestly, she was being careful.
Even before the uncomfortable dynamic of perpetrator and victim — as a woman who liked him, she simply didn't know what to say.
She knew how to cater to a man's moods, but she didn't know much about love.
The desire to talk with him was what pulled her into the discussion.
"You finished that, right?"
"Yeah. How many volumes is it, though?"
"Thirteen?"
"Still a long way to go."
"We can just do it by volume one for now."
"Then… we start with the parts we enjoyed?"
Kang Hyeona quietly nodded.
Like a chattering little bird, Han Sein's voice rang on and on without end.
It was a long stretch of dialogue, but she knew that world, so she followed without any trouble.
"The emotional through-line is really good too. And I like the protagonist."
"Which part?"
"Blonde hair and black eyes aren't that common, right?"
"……."
Something about that… something.
Kang Hyeona's mouth pressed shut.
She ought to have at least nodded.
But the prickling feeling in her chest was so unfamiliar that she simply stayed still.
Don't tell me this is jealousy?
Blonde hair and black eyes meant the protagonist — and of course the protagonist was a woman.
She was only a character in a novel, and yet Kang Hyeona felt something twist inside her.
Han Sein tilted his head.
Thanks to that, Kang Hyeona finally managed to open her mouth.
"And…?"
"I like her values and her backstory too. You can feel this faith that she'll come through and save people, and the plot that's unfolding right now is fun. Really gripping."
"You like the protagonist? Is it because of the illustrations?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Kang Hyeona made a face like she'd said something she shouldn't have.
I shouldn't do this.
She'd spoken out of jealousy.
Fortunately — if you could call it that — Han Sein didn't notice anything odd and simply kept talking.
"Mm. There's that too. But I just like the colors."
"…The colors?"
"Yeah. When you think blonde, you usually picture blue eyes, right? Like Western characters?"
"True."
"You can change your hair color, but not your eye color. Shining blonde and black eyes. I just like it."
"I see."
A trivial reason.
If anything, she was relieved.
Had she been holding her mouth shut too tightly?
Just as Han Sein was about to speak again, the bell marking the end of seventh period rang out.
"Ah, there's the bell."
"Yeah."
"That was fun. Club's every Friday, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then next week is volume two."
A recurring appointment.
It brought a thrill beyond anything she'd expected.
Once a week.
At the very least, it meant she could spend personal time with him.
Kang Hyeona pushed her thudding heart aside and tidied up the book Han Sein had been reading.
All he did was give her a thumbs-up from the side, but her shoulders lifted all the same.
She'd only reached out and put it back where it belonged — and yet a surprisingly pleasant feeling rose up in her.
About five minutes passed.
The two of them finished straightening the club room and stepped out the door.
Aside from the stairs, the way back was the same, so they cleaned up together and headed back to the classroom together.
Today had been a different kind of day.
An activity that hadn't existed in March — a new spark of energy in a life she was just starting to get used to.
All the more so in Kang Hyeona's life.
And then—
"……."
"Oh, Ayeong."
Hello.
Han Sein smiled and waved — and Jeong Ayeong's expression froze solid in an instant.
It was the reaction of someone who had just taken in the sight of her boyfriend walking side by side with Kang Hyeona.