The Secret of the Library Room

"......"

Lee Seol-ah fell silent the moment she stepped into the library. What she faced was an endless mountain of books.

Straight ahead. To the right. To the left. Everywhere.

Should I just run away right now...? A flicker of regret bloomed in Seol-ah's mind.

Just as she took a small step back toward the door, something bumped lightly against her back.

"You're not trying to escape, are you?"

It was Kang Sung-hoon. His face was that of a hunter who'd just caught his prey. With his towering height, he blocked the door completely.

Seol-ah immediately scanned her surroundings for an escape route, but there was none. For some reason, the windows were locked. In the end, the only exit was the door blocked by Sung-hoon's body.

At that moment, Yoo Na-ri came toddling over with quick steps. Maybe because reinforcements had arrived, she wore a brighter smile than usual.

"Today... we can get a bit more done!"

She was announcing that today's work would be tough. Her face showed not a trace of worry, leaving Seol-ah unable to even look up.

Ugh...! She's too bright!

In the end, Seol-ah gave up. With a "whatever happens, happens" attitude, she rolled up her sleeves.

"Alright. Let's finish this quick!"

She declared energetically. Approaching a pile of books,

"This much is easy!"

Seol-ah hoisted the stack with a grunt. And so, the library cleanup began.

And five minutes later.

"...Hold on."

Seol-ah's hands were trembling. The books were heavier than she'd thought.

Ten minutes later. Seol-ah was panting, completely spent.

"Na-ri."

"...Yes?"

"Why does the library have so many books?"

Na-ri thought for a moment.

"Because it's a library."

"Ah..."

All Seol-ah could do was sigh. It was as obvious as Na-ri said.

After a few more trips carrying books, Seol-ah got a new job. Something just as important as moving books, but without the heavy lifting: attaching barcodes.

It was the task of preparing new books for students to borrow. Cut the labels square, coat them, stick them on the front cover, done.

Seol-ah had to cut them all out one by one with scissors and attach them.

"...This is kinda fun."

"You could use that over there for easier work."

Sung-hoon approached Seol-ah, who had started enjoying it. What he pointed to gleamed with a sharp blade.

"...Why is that here?"

Seol-ah's face turned pale. No matter how she thought about it, that didn't belong in a library.

The thing commonly called a guillotine. The tool for chopping off fingers lost in gambling. Why would it be here?

In an instant, Seol-ah's imagination escalated. What if, if she didn't work hard, she'd have to test that blade on her own body...?

"I-I'll work hard!"

"...? Yeah. You've suddenly got some real motivation."

Sung-hoon said that and strolled away casually.

For the record, Sung-hoon had pulled that guillotine from the library storage. Na-ri had tried to stop him, saying it was dangerous. But once they saw its overwhelming cutting power and efficiency, it naturally earned a spot in the library.

A few more minutes later.

Thud. A dull sound echoed across the library floor.

"Ah..."

Seol-ah's eyes snapped to the source. A book had slipped from Na-ri's hand—maybe her strength gave out—and was rolling across the floor.

"You okay? Let me see your hand."

Sung-hoon rushed over before he even picked up the fallen book, grabbing her hand to check for injury.

"Doesn't look bad. Good thing."

"Right? Then I'll get back to—"

"No way you're continuing. You come over here too."

Sung-hoon cut Na-ri off sharply. He naturally pointed to where Seol-ah was working, and Na-ri looked apologetic.

"Then Sung-hoon would be doing all the heavy lifting alone."

"So what? Doesn't matter."

"No! I invited you both—I can't make Sung-hoon do all the hard work."

The two immediately started bickering. They seemed used to this, dismantling each other's arguments effortlessly.

Seol-ah watched blankly. They felt as close as childhood friends.

And then—

"Heave-ho~!"

"Kyaa!"

Sung-hoon scooped Na-ri up effortlessly. She flailed to get her feet on the ground, but the height difference made it impossible. She looked like a kitten grabbed by the scruff.

She struggled as much as she could, but nothing changed. Naturally, she was plopped down right in front of Seol-ah.

"You do barcode work here too."

"B-but... doesn't Sung-hoon not know where the books go?"

"I've already memorized what I need to do. No problem."

Na-ri's protests were shut down. Losers have to obey the winner.

Naturally, Na-ri started barcode work just like Seol-ah.

Snip snip.Stick, stick, stick.Thud, thud, thud.

The sounds of cutting paper. Attaching coating sheets. Shelving books.

Three sounds echoed continuously through the library. In that quiet, Seol-ah decided to break the mood and spoke to Na-ri.

"Na-ri."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Where's the librarian teacher?"

It had suddenly occurred to Seol-ah. She'd forgotten amid the mountain of books, but this work was supposed to be supervised by a teacher. Yet, even though lunch was half over, the librarian was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, that?"

Na-ri paused at the question, then said,

"She's hospitalized."

"Then... we're doing this without permission, secretly—"

"Shhh!"

Na-ri pressed a finger to her lips. Seeing that, Seol-ah revised ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her opinion of her.

This girl's got a slightly off-kilter side.

Not rebellion—more like half a step off the path of normalcy.

As Seol-ah mulled that over, Na-ri gazed at Sung-hoon sorting shelves and murmured,

"I hope his wrist is okay."

She said it casually, watching him lift a book one-handed without issue. Seol-ah responded without thinking.

"Do you know when he started wearing it?"

"The wrist band?"

Na-ri answered matter-of-factly, without hesitation.

"...Four days ago."

"Good memory."

Seol-ah said admiringly. That's when Na-ri rummaged in her bag.

"It's not memory..."

She pulled out a small notebook.

"I record it."

Seol-ah absentmindedly took the notebook. And froze.

"...Huh?"

"..."

Seol-ah fell silent at the sight. Even at a glance, it was dizzying—the pages were packed with tiny, meticulous writing, nothing left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out.

As Seol-ah froze, the preliminary bell dinged, signaling the end of lunch.

"Then, shall we call it here for today?"

Na-ri stood up. Naturally, Sung-hoon moved to where she'd been.

"I'll take this back."

Na-ri smoothly retrieved the notebook from Seol-ah's dazed hands.

"Sung-hoon, Seol-ah. Thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you both."

"I'm fine, but she worked hard today."

Sung-hoon smiled and pointed at Seol-ah. Seeing that, Na-ri bowed gratefully to her.

"Thank you. I'll give you a tour of the awesome new library later...!"

She said it like something to look forward to. Seol-ah laughed and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nodded along,

but inwardly,

Never, ever stepping foot in the library again...! Absolutely!

Slightly weird? Scratch that. The Na-ri that Seol-ah saw was one of the strangest people she'd ever met.

She shot Sung-hoon a side-eye. He was chatting casually with Na-ri, oblivious. Seol-ah pondered it a bit.

Feels like I've learned something I shouldn't have...

Lee Seol-ah. The girl who loved wandering and gossip. She'd never regretted those traits as much as today.

She couldn't shake the feeling of sinking into deep mire.

And so, lunch library cleanup ended.

The next day.

Seol-ah went to school as usual. Students chattered about their own stories. Some talked to her, and she chatted back with interest.

Then Park Ha-yoon approached.

"You sick or something?"

"Huh? Outta nowhere?"

"You look like you're posing all stiff—not like you. Just checking."

Posing? Seol-ah chuckled.

"Me? No way."

"Pfft!"

Ha-yoon laughed lightly, but as Seol-ah tried to stand,

"Not a chance!"

Ha-yoon pressed down on her shoulders firmly. Seol-ah, still sore from yesterday's library ordeal, couldn't resist.

"More importantly, you were on the phone a ton yesterday?"

Gazing at her, Ha-yoon pulled out her phone. The screen showed traces of Seol-ah's lunch calls: over ten missed ones.

Seol-ah brushed it off.

"Oh, just wondering where you were every lunch."

"My Seol-ah missed me? Got lonely without me?!"

"No! Shoulders! Get off my shoulders!"

As the two play-fought, the classroom door opened.

The usual face from their class, their homeroom teacher. But today was different. A line of students followed behind him.

"Seniors?"

"Hey, I think I've seen that one!"

"Isn't that the club presidents?"

Students started murmuring in groups. The teacher mediated a few times, and they quieted down.

"You all know them, right? These are your seniors—the club presidents."

On cue, a female student stepped forward. Her poised, elegant aura silenced everyone.

"Nice to meet you, underclassmen. I'm Kang Eun-seo, the student council president."

Her eyes were fixed on one male student.