Chapter 17 – Time Flows – Part 5

Chapter 17 – Time Flows – Part 5

“Hello! This is Bomi’s friend, Lee Minseo!”

“Hello! I’m Kim Bora!”

Bomi’s friends, who had approached without him noticing, covered their mouths and looked at Woojin.

“He’s really handsome…”

“You look much better in person than in your photos!”

“I heard from Bomi! You got a perfect CSAT score! Congratulations!”

“Thank you.”

“You can just pick any top university and get in! That’s amazing!”

Woojin opened his mouth.

“Just ordinarily…”

Bomi quickly covered her brother’s mouth.

She understood him because she knew him well, but…

‘I’m just going to S University, ordinarily.’

If anyone else who wasn’t family heard that, he might sound like a complete snob.

Bomi, who was covering her brother’s mouth, quickly spoke to her friends.

“Mom said she has something urgent, so I have to go quickly. Guys, I’ll go first, bye~.”

Bomi linked arms with her brother and pulled him along, walking steadily.

“Bomi, aren’t you taking the bus?”

Bomi smiled sweetly.

“I want to walk with my brother for a bit, let’s just walk one bus stop.”

As she said that, she picked up a takoyaki and put it in her mouth.

“Wow~! It’s really delicious!”

Woojin untied his red scarf and wrapped it around Bomi.

They walked side by side, leaving footprints.

For Woojin, everything he saw at that moment felt new.

* * *

Woojin didn’t wait for the entrance ceremony.

Because that day would naturally come as time passed.

He just focused on what he needed to do right now. Naturally, that thought was put into action.

That action was going to the library or a bookstore.

He had to accumulate knowledge to adapt to the new environment.

That’s what Woojin thought.

Woojin, who had been visiting the same library for several days, looked around as if to choose a book.

There were books he had read, and books he hadn’t.

Woojin picked out books one by one and stacked them high at his seat.

Someone was watching Woojin.

It was the library’s librarian.

‘Crazy…’

This was the third time he’d seen it, and no matter how hard he tried to understand, the way he flipped through books looked like he was playing a prank.

To him, books were precious.

A book is made by grinding the author’s bones.

It is something one person has dedicated a long time to, going through failures and errors.

He became a librarian because he always wanted to be close to such books, and when he reads, he reads slowly and thoroughly with a grateful heart.

But that guy was flipping through those books as if he were playing around.

He never held onto a single book for more than 10 minutes.

But that guy was actually reading.

It’s unbelievable, but it’s really true, damn it.

Woojin had deliberately followed him to the bathroom once to warn him.

‘Excuse me, student. You seem old enough to know better, but playing around in the library causes inconvenience to others.’

He remembered the guy’s calm reply.

‘Playing around?’

‘Yes. I hope you don’t make excuses like ‘speed reading.”

‘An excuse is giving reasons for a mistake or wrong action, but I have no intention of playing around or making excuses.’

He questioned Woojin, who spoke like a machine.

‘So you’re reading everything?’

‘Yes. Is there a problem with reading a book in the library? It doesn’t seem to be against the rules.’

At the time, she took one of the books Woojin had read and asked.

It was a book that looked difficult at first glance.

[Microorganisms and the Environment]

She intended to embarrass him for his pranks.

Even without that, the library patrons’ attention was already drawn to his actions.

Especially the women.

She opened the book to the middle and asked.

‘Since you just read this book, you must remember the content, right? This page describes ice algae. Do you remember what comes next?’

‘Microorganisms that live in sea ice. They are also the beginning of the marine food web. It says that if the ice melts due to climate change, it will lead to a shortage of marine food resources through a chain reaction, causing other organisms to starve.’

It was written exactly as he said.

She couldn’t believe it.

Unconsciously, she flipped 20 pages at once and said,

‘Pests due to climate change…’

‘It states that as the distribution of vector pests increases, there is concern about local infections.’

The librarian brought another book and asked.

But the contents of the book flowed out of Woojin’s mouth exactly as they were, and everyone watched the scene.

The librarian, who had been lost in thought for a moment, was startled.

Because Woojin had approached her without her noticing.

“Can adults read children’s books?”

“You can, but… are you going to read those too?”

“Yes. I want to read some traditional fairy tales too.”

“Of course you can. On the second floor…”

The librarian watched Woojin’s back as he headed for the entrance after listening to her explanation, like someone who had seen a monster.

He had devoured thousands of books in just a few days.

But now, not content with that, he wanted to read folk tales…

Uninterested in the librarian’s thoughts, Woojin managed to arrive at the children’s book section.

He saw many mothers reading books to their children.

He picked out a folk tale he saw, sat down, and began to turn the pages.

But his expression was strange.

Woojin, who usually turned pages without hesitation, paused with a thoughtful expression.

However, he soon seemed to finish reading and picked out another book.

Had ten minutes passed like that?

A child’s mother picked up the same folk tale Woojin had been reading and began to read it to her child.

Woojin, who had been quietly watching and pondering for a moment, spoke.

“The story is about a robber who secretly steals a fairy’s clothes. He uses that as an excuse to prevent her from leaving. He creates a family for his own selfish ideals. The criminal is relieved by the fairy’s apparent Stockholm Syndrome (a syndrome where one feels love for a criminal). But that was the fairy’s long-term plan. She pretended to love him while waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity to escape from the criminal. The fairy’s plan was successful. She was able to put on her clothes and escape from the criminal with her children. Considering a child’s emotional development, I don’t think it’s a good book.”

As the child’s mother blinked, Woojin fixed his gaze on the book she was about to borrow and said,

“This is a story about three little pigs and a wolf, and to achieve the underdog effect (a psychological state of supporting the weaker party over the stronger), it disrupts the order of the ecosystem’s food chain…”

She, who had been listening blankly to Woojin’s story, hugged her child as if to protect him.

Then she said in a sharp voice,

“What are you talking about right now! What a strange person to encounter!”

Then she left with her child.

Woojin scratched his head at the sight.

***

Woojin, who had left the building, suddenly turned back to look at the library.

There were things people his age would say when something like this happened…

Woojin opened his mouth as if he had remembered something.

“That’s right, clear. This library is clear.”

Woojin nodded and headed for the subway station, searching for other libraries and bookstores.

It seemed like he was determined to tour the country to find a book he hadn’t seen yet.

How long had he walked like that?

“Excuse me, could I ask you something?”

Woojin turned his head back.

They were a man and a woman in their late twenties.

Woojin replied,

“Yes.”

“It’s just that, you seem to have a lot of good fortune on your face.”