Finally, the Librarian Appears
Finally, the librarian teacher's eyes opened. Everything around was white. At eye level, there was something like a long pole. I approached it closely. Only then did the words safety bar come into view. At the same time, people in white clothes were gripping the safety bar and walking by. I looked down. I, too, was dressed in white clothes. I took one step forward. And then—something strange happened.
"Huh..."
"—Don't come any closer."
"W-What are you planning to do with that?!"
Shock. Bewilderment. Frightened gazes. All of it directed at me. Those eyes were so terrifying that my legs gave out.
"Why... why are you looking at me like that?"
Everyone turned away from me. Even as I took a step forward, everything kept retreating. No matter how much I walked, there was no end in sight. That's when—something approaching me came into view.
"Who... are you...?"
I asked the figure before me. Yet the presence said nothing in response.
"...It's okay."
It hugged me tightly. We were clearly the same height, but that voice was so calm. "...Ugh." Tears welled up. I barely managed to move my hands and hugged the person back.
"D-Did I... do something wrong...?"
I murmured softly. Surely this presence would understand me. And then—the one hugging me—
"Yeah. You did wrong, Na-ri."
Denied me. Firmly, concisely. You're just like everyone else. Just as that feeling surged—
"But if you sincerely apologize, you'll definitely be forgiven."
You'll be forgiven. Those words lodged deep in my heart. And that person clearly...
"As long... as you're... alive... that's what matters..."
"...Hey. Hello?"
A voice called out. At the familiar sound reaching her ears, Na-ri opened her eyes. And—
"Eek..!"
She jolted in surprise at Sung-hoon's face right in front of her. He was so close she could feel his breath, so Na-ri instinctively pulled back.
"Wh-whoa—!"
Just before she toppled backward, Sung-hoon caught her just in time.
"You okay? Didn't expect you to react like that."
Sung-hoon scratched the back of his head apologetically. It had been a bit of a prank on his part, but he'd startled her too much.
Na-ri waved it off as she watched him.
"No, it's fine. I just dozed off without realizing."
She covered for him. Na-ri shifted slightly to the side, making space for Sung-hoon to sit next to her.
"Then, if you don't mind."
Sung-hoon sat down. As Na-ri's heart pounded from the little incident, Sung-hoon glanced around.
"Where's the librarian teacher?"
"Oh, about that..."
Na-ri pulled out her smartphone as she spoke. The screen showed messages exchanged with the librarian teacher.
Sung-hoon read up to that point when the scroll quickly went down.
"C-Can we skip this?! It's not that important!"
Steam practically rose from her head as she scrolled past. There were quite a few messages, so it took a lot of scrolling.
The screen went dark before Sung-hoon could finish reading again.
"S-So, take good care of things for about an hour!"
Na-ri bowed her head toward Sung-hoon.
An hour. A length of time that's hard to call either short or long. Especially in a department store. Movies usually run at least two hours, and the aquarium we'd visited before took about that long too. So, the perfect spot for the two of us right now was...
[Kyobo Bookstore]
The bookstore. Great for killing time, and perfect for Na-ri. The moment they entered, Na-ri—
"Today's new release day!"
—headed straight for the new arrivals corner. As she eagerly browsed with sparkling eyes, Sung-hoon followed along.
"Don't get lost, okay?"
"Pfft, I'm not a kid."
"Who was it that overdid it sorting the library last time and dropped books...?"
Sung-hoon teased. Na-ri had messed up and dropped some books during the previous library cleanup.
"That was...!"
"Shh, this is a bookstore—keep it quiet."
Sung-hoon covered Na-ri's mouth. His large hand sealed her lips in an instant, and she looked a bit indignant.
"M-Mmph, I'll bite...!"
"That's scary, so maybe I should stop?"
Sung-hoon pulled his hand away quickly. His playful antics made Na-ri smile despite herself. And so, the two continued exploring the bookstore.
...
A few minutes later, Na-ri realized she was alone.
Where did Sung-hoon go?
She looked around, but he was nowhere. When, where had they separated? Na-ri thought quietly.
This habit of mine... when will I fix it?
It was her bad habit—getting so focused she veered off easily. She always meant to correct it, but it never quite worked.
"For now... maybe retrace my steps, check each spot."
Books said backtracking was best in these situations. She moved carefully, relying on memory. Soon, she spotted Sung-hoon stopped at a corner. And—
Wh-what...?!?!?
She was shocked by where he stood. The spot had a panel labeled [Romance]. And the book he held was titled How Teens Can Love with a Racing Heart. It had a super pink cover. But somehow, it looked perfect in Sung-hoon's hands.
Does Sung-hoon... have a girl he likes now...?
Delusions bloomed in Na-ri's mind. The fresh sprouts quickly bore massive fruit.
Who could it be? Has Sung-hoon been seeing someone lately...?
Her fantasies escalated as she pondered suspects. Meanwhile, Sung-hoon noticed Na-ri and—
"A-hem."
—quickly shoved the book back on the shelf. He seemed deeply embarrassed to be caught like that. Seeing it, Na-ri's eyes welled up with emotion. Forcing the brightest smile she could, she rushed to his side.
"Do you... have someone you like, Sung-hoon?"
She went straight for the kill. Just as something clicked in her mind—
"Na-ri. What do you think love is?"
"......Huh?"
The sudden counterattack hit her. It was so unexpected that even quick-witted Na-ri blurted something dumb.
"The theme of this short play is love."
Sung-hoon lowered his voice slightly. As his words tickled her ear, Na-ri stepped back a bit.
"Love, you mean? In my opinion..."
Sung-hoon met her eyes, as if stating the absolute truth.
"...I think this is love."
His gaze held only sincerity.
A little while later, the librarian teacher arrived at the department store and headed straight to the restaurant.
"Go wild, pick whatever you want!"
She'd chosen a Western buffet. Pizza, bread, french fries—full of all sorts of Western dishes. Na-ri and I loaded our plates. Just as we were about to eat, the librarian bowed her head.
"First off, thank you both."
She was serious. Looking back and forth between Na-ri and me,
"I heard you worked hard sorting the library while I was hurt. Lots of stories about it."
The librarian tapped her smartphone as she spoke.
"I'll thank that Seol-ah kid later too, so eat up today."
She patted her chest as if to say not to worry. Though the two of us had completely forgotten about Seol-ah and were left speechless.
We totally forgot, huh?
...My bad!
We apologized to Seol-ah in our minds. After a brief moment of silent tribute, we started eating.
...
"You must've been starving...?"
The librarian said worriedly to Sung-hoon. As she'd pointed out, there were over seven plates in front of him.
"Whoa..."
Na-ri peeked over in amazement too. She was a light eater, maxing out at one full plate.
Regardless, Sung-hoon kept eating like he'd forgotten his little sister's cooking. As his pace finally slowed—
The librarian eyed the two sitting side by side.
"You two dating by any chance?"
"Mmph?!"
"N-No! We're not like that!"
Sung-hoon made a muffled sound with his cheeks full, while Na-ri flushed red and denied it.
The librarian grinned like she'd spotted something fun.
"Really? Then what's that pen Na-ri's holding?"
She said it like she'd caught them red-handed. Na-ri hiccuped involuntarily, and the librarian continued.
"You know? That pen belongs to student Sung-hoon..."
Thud! Na-ri shot up from her seat. The story cut off naturally.
"I-I'm just stepping out for a bit!"
She bolted. Watching her go, the librarian looked delighted.
"Just like Na-ri said, huh?"
"What did Na-ri say about me?"
"Well, the most surprising thing was..."
The librarian took a deep breath, then spilled it like juicy gossip.
"That you two knew each other from when you were kids!"