Park Jihye smiled brightly. Her hand continued shaking visitors' hands warmly as she murmured things like, “Have a wonderful day,” “Thank you for stopping by,” and “Keep it up,” among other things. She tried to ignore the people visiting her novel’s display. Tried to shut her eyes to the crowds at the other novel displays.
And yet, she still remembered exactly how many people had brought novels for her to sign. Everyone else was merely passing through on their way to meet the authors after her.
She kept the corners of her lips raised. Her heart had been pounding hard since the event began. Unfortunately, the reason for it had started to shift.
The woman quietly let out a sigh as the cassette tape of her memories spun, trying to piece back together hopes that had fallen into disarray. She had been promoting her novel since before it was published the previous month. Revising it day and night with all her heart.
But now, her hands were beginning to feel cold. Her thoughts were up in the clouds. Questions about why her novel was still piling up at the display blurred her vision.
“Miss Park.”
Jihye’s eyes widened. For some reason, it felt as if a fresh breeze had brushed against her neck.
A man whose smile felt familiar to Jihye approached with a blue book in his hand. It was her novel. She straightened her back, and her row of teeth came into view.
“Are you having a wonderful day?” he asked with a beaming smile, narrowing his eyes. His hand busily scribbled his signature and a few words on the first page. It felt as if half of the foundation of her hopes had finally been laid.
“Do you remember me, Miss?”
Their eyes met. Jihye held back her smile while her memory searched for a match for the pale-faced man’s identity. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
“I’m a friend of Mr. Han from the company that published your novel. I was the one in the lobby.”
Jihye’s lips parted. The pounding of her heart made it hard to tell whether it was because she was talking to so many people or because of this man. She wasn’t the kind of woman who easily adapted to the energy of a busy environment.
“Ah! So it was you, Mr. ...”
“Kang Yoonho.”
“Mr. Kang! You bought my novel?” This question came straight from her heart. A feeling of relief slipped in.
“Congratulations. You really are an author now.”
Jihye gave a small laugh. “That’s also thanks to what you said. Your words really stayed with me and kept me going.”
Kang Yoonho shook his head. “No, Miss. My words were only a small part of it. The rest was all you.”
Jihye’s cheeks flushed. She lowered her head for a moment. Ah, she felt like clutching her chest because her heart was pounding so hard.
“Thank you so much. I hope it lives up to your expectations, Mr. Kang.”
Yoonho nodded and dipped his head slightly. Every now and then, his hand seemed to scratch the back of his ear.
“I’ll read it and try to review it as best I can. I might post the review on social media. Is there an account I can tag later?”
Jihye nodded vigorously. Then she pulled out her smartphone and showed him her social media account.
“Here. Go ahead.”
And in the end, their accounts were connected.
“Thank you. I hope your book finds the right readers.”
The woman nodded slowly, as if taking in Yoonho’s words amid her lingering doubts.
Even after Yoonho’s presence began to recede and her hand returned to shaking people’s hands, her eyes remained secretly fixed in that direction.
The faint aroma of coffee drifted into her nose. The black coffee grounds had already been extracted into the Americano in front of her. Maybe her olfactory nerves no longer considered coffee an unfamiliar scent.
The woman bowed to a customer receiving the coffee they had ordered. She removed her rubber gloves and sat back down in the round chair, escaping her boredom by opening her phone.
At first, she only wanted to scroll through the short videos appearing on her feed. But her eyes landed on her social media profile. She tapped it slowly.
Her posts were filled with excerpts from her other stories. She scrolled down, and it was as if her body had flown back to the time when she was working on the novel with the blue cover.
Her fingers stopped at a post reviewing her whale novel.
“A novel that’s perfect for beginning your reading journey.” The sentence was written at the very top of the caption. The corners of her lips lifted slightly as she continued reading what was written there.
With some hesitation, she clicked on the reviewer’s profile. Her eyebrows rose when she saw that the account had several other posts. They were all still about books.
“So Mr. Kang has read a lot, huh?” she whispered to the air.
Her eyes closed for a moment. The fine hairs on the woman’s arms stood up. The cassette tape of memories in her head began to play.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated. When she read the contact name on the screen, she quickly answered.
“Could you check the coffee powder and milk supplies again?” And that was how she stopped reminiscing. Jihye stood and checked the bags of coffee powder in the small room behind her café stand.
As her thoughts sank into the various types of coffee, a voice from the café called out to her. She quickly answered, washed her hands, and shook them repeatedly. The woman lowered her head as she walked out.
“Miss Park Jihye?”
The voice made her look up at once. The pale-faced man’s gaze immediately filled her thoughts.
“So you’re here?”
Jihye blinked. Her smile widened again as she gave him a quick bow.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Kang. Your order, please.”
“Ah, an iced Americano with three shots.”
The woman nodded, pressed the buttons on the tablet screen, and told him the price. She quickly prepared the order once Yoonho’s digital payment went through the system.
Silence settled over them. Jihye didn’t try to say anything either.
Actually, Jihye’s toes had already curled inside her shoes. For some reason, her eyes felt hot. She tried to lift her gaze, but Yoonho’s eyes were still fixed on her.
Her smile was awkward. The ice even fell to the floor once or twice.
“S-sorry, here’s your order.” Jihye’s hand trembled as she handed him the iced coffee.
“I was wondering where you went. I was looking for you.”
“Why were you looking for me?” Her voice rose slightly. Jihye’s eyes widened. She covered her own mouth.
Before the woman could open her lips again, Yoonho’s voice had already reached her ears.
“You’ll be closing soon, right?” Jihye nodded hesitantly.
“Could we talk afterward? Just for a moment.”
The woman furrowed her brow. “Where would we talk?”
“Just at the park nearby.”
Nearly half an hour after they exchanged small talk about how they were doing, the rustle of the wind filled the space between them. The stars didn’t seem to swim across the night sky.
“I’m looking forward to your next novel.”
The man’s whisper coursed through all of Jihye’s senses. Her burning eyes and aching head, lowered for so long, finally began to tremble. Tears started flowing from the corners of her eyes. They ran down her cheeks and fell into her lap. Her voice was barely audible, still holding something back behind her back.
Yoonho’s eyes widened, and he fell silent. His hand stopped in midair. But eventually, he lowered it onto the young woman’s back, stroking it ever so gently. Jihye’s sobs grew more and more heart-wrenching.
“You’ve made it through. It’s okay.” Yoonho whispered directly into Jihye’s ear. The woman still covered her face with both hands.
The sound of the keyboard filled the room. The rhythm was a little too fast, but Yoonho only glanced back with a faint smile. The woman sitting at the dining table was absorbed in her laptop. Even her slipping glasses failed to distract her.
Her shoulders jerked slightly when her glasses were pushed back up. She turned toward Yoonho, who was smiling faintly.
“You’re really focused, Mom.”
Jihye sighed, then took a sip of the water beside her.
“Mr. Han Yuhwan’s company asked me to move up the publication date, Babe. It’s giving me a headache.”
The man rubbed his wife’s back. Jihye narrowed her eyes. Before long, a ticklish feeling crept across her back. She pulled her husband’s hand away with a shudder.
“That came out of nowhere, Babe. It tickles.” Yoonho chuckled as his wife pouted.
The man reached for the blue-covered book. Its cover was now decorated with the words “bestseller.”
“So Sound of The Whale is going to have a sibling?”
Jihye had already started moving her fingers across the keyboard again, regaining the focus that had scattered moments earlier.
Yoonho looked at the book. Gradually, his gaze drifted far away.
“This book went through the same phases we did, Hye.”
He turned and found no expression on his wife’s face. Only the blue light from the screen spilled across her features.
“Sound of The Whale even made someone cry during one of its phases.”
Only then did Jihye turn and catch her husband’s mischievous grin. She pinched the man’s waist repeatedly. Yoonho burst out laughing and tried to get away, but it was hard to keep his balance on the dining chair.
“Enough, Babe. My lower back still hurts.”
But now, the pout on the woman’s lips was clearly trying to hold back a smile.
“What if I hadn’t looked for you? Looks like Sound of The Whale would’ve had to be an only child.”
Yoonho quickly got up and left with a chuckle. He certainly didn’t run. He even hissed in the middle of his laughter because of the stabbing pain in his lower back.
And Jihye could only stand there and shout, “Stop bothering me, old man!”