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ii
jinyoung/suzy
note: this is an unfinished wip
In the far corner of the small town of Jinhae, on a street several bus stops away the train station where not many people pass by is a small rundown bookstore called In Winter. For many decades, the bookstore has been there. Its customers are mostly locals who have been regulars for many years and can be counted with one hand. Jinyoung doesn’t mind, though, because at least he gets the space to himself. He grew up in this bookstore, spent his childhood burying his nose in countless paperbacks and hardcovers instead of catching balls outside like his peers. Not that he has any regrets about it. In fact, he loves the fact of being the son of a bookstore owner. And now that his father has passed away, the bookstore now belongs to him.
Most of the books are as old as the store, if not older. Some of them are second hands, and none is wrapped in plastic so that everyone can freely browse through or even read the entire book before deciding to buy it. It has been that way since his father was still around, and he didn’t want to change it. Jongin told him it’s not a very smart business move and that he’d better turn the store into a library instead, but Jongin himself rarely leaves the place with a purchase. Jinyoung doesn’t mind that either. He just wants his books to be appreciated as they deserved to be, and loves the way the smell of books instantly fills his nose when he steps into the store every morning.
Jinyoung spends most, if not all, of his days in the store reading the same books over and over. He’s read every book at least twice, regardless of genres, and already lost count of the number of times he has reread his favourites. His sister, whenever she comes to visit, would tell him to live outside his fictional worlds every now and then, but then again she watches films for a living, so he takes her advice with a grain of salt.
In Winter is a small aging bookstore that has been around for decades. Jinyoung, the second generation owner, memorizes all books the store has and at which shelf it can be found by heart. His customers are mainly regulars, people from the town who have started coming when his father was still alive, but except for Jongin who drops by once in a while, he is usually alone in the store.
One morning, when the leaves have fallen and the air smells of a mixture of autumn and winter, as Jinyoung stands in front of his favourite shelf, he hears the little bells hanging on the door jangle. Must be Jongin, he thinks, and takes a step back to peer at the entrance. It’s not Jongin. It’s a girl.
“Is the store open?” the girl asks, taking off her mouth mask. She’s wearing a ruby coloured beanie and a coat that reminds him of milk coffee. Doesn’t seem to be a regular tourist, but definitely not a local.
Jinyoung blinks, a little taken aback, but quickly remembers he needs to answer her question. “Yes,” he manages. “May I help you?”
A soft smile grows on her lips. “Ah, it’s alright. I just want to look around, if that is fine with you?”
He notices her Seoul accent. Must be a tourist after all. He returns her smile with a slight shake of head. “It’s fine. Be my guest,” he says, gesturing with his hand for her to come in.
She does, and he retreats back to his seat behind the counter with a book in hand, wondering if he should offer to take her coat as he turns to the first chapter. He doesn’t. She wanders off and disappears behind the shelves while he gets lost in his book. It doesn’t last that long, however, because soon enough he hears her voice again. “Are these old books?”
“Actually, no. Some are new, but all of them have been read before,” he replies, looking up, but she’s not within his sight.
“People come here and read without buying?” she asks, sounding a little surprised.
“Not everyone, but I’ve read everything here.”
This time, she does come out from behind the third shelf from the back, where books related to psychology and self-help are. There aren’t many books from those genres, only some that Jinyoung wanted to read and more that have been there since his father’s days, which is why the books are shelved together. “Everything?” the girl raises her brows.
He nods blankly, as though it’s a given. “So that if someone comes and asks me to recommend a book, I wouldn’t disappoint them,” explains him. “There’s not much to do here anyway.”
“In that case,” she begins, slowly making her way towards him. A small smile tugging her lips. “Would you be able to recommend something to me?”
He stares at her. Blinks. She’s definitely not from this town, but why does he feel like he has seen her before? “I can try,” he tells her. “Have we met?”
She lets out a soft chuckle. “I don’t know. Have we?” This is my first time here in this town,” answers her. Somehow she sounds playful, like she knows something he doesn’t and it makes him slightly uncomfortable.
He keeps his stare at her. Blinks several more times. “Maybe not,” he settles, deciding that it’s just his mind playing tricks on him, then looks around the shop. “What do you like to read?”
She tilts her head as she thinks, the smile stays on her lips. “Something light? Nothing too sad. Maybe a little romantic? Not the cheesy kinds, though, they give me shivers.”
“Happy ending?”
“Surprise me,” she says. Her smile grows a tad wider.
For a moment, they hold each other’s gaze without a word like a silent competition. Jinyoung tries to read this girl standing before him. He wouldn’t deny that she’s pretty, almost like someone who just walked out of one of his favourite fictions. Or perhaps the film adaptations, though he doesn’t watch them. Right then, something comes to his mind. He gets to his feet and heads to one of the shelves before returning with a book in his hand and a smile on his face. “Here,” he says when he’s back behind the counter, handing her the book.
She takes it and studies the cover. “Essays In Love,” she reads aloud, then turns it around for the synopsis. “Interesting,” she remarks, looking quite impressed. “Did you like it?”
“Would you dare to recommend a book to someone if you didn’t like it?”
That brings a smile to her face. She nods as she fishes out two crinkled 10000 won notes from a pocket of her jeans, which makes him realize only now that she’s come empty handed.
Jinyoung makes no comment about it, however, and proceeds to write the receipt and count the right balance. His father never used a cash register then, preferred to write receipts by hand. Too used to that, Jinyoung never thought of using it either. There are hardly any customers, anyway. Some people who came, old acquaintances of his father told him it’s like the time has stopped inside the store since nothing much has changed except the person behind the counter. Like the name itself, everything seems to have frozen.
“I’ll tell you what I think about this book,” says the girl after he gives her her balance and receipt and puts the book in a paper bag.
She quickly leaves after that, and he doesn’t get to ask if she is actually going to come back in the future. The little bells on the door jangle again, and the sound echoes in his ears long after she’s gone.
The girl returns to the bookstore two days later with the same beanie and mask but wearing a varsity jacket this time. Jinyoung notices because she does look like a regular university student wearing it, and wonders if she is.
“Good morning,” he greets her from his seat behind the counter. “Is there anything that I can do for you today?”
Her lips spread into a smile. “I finished the book,” she tells him. “Essays In Love.”
“Oh, that’s fast.” He is genuinely surprised, but in a good way. Jongin, despite his love for reading, takes forever to finish a book sometimes due to real life events getting in his way, as he put it. The book she bought wasn’t even that thin. “Did you like it?”
“Actually, yes.” She nods, the smile still intact. “The ending made me think maybe you do have a gift of telling someone’s preferences.”
“Or maybe I just got lucky,” Jinyoung disagrees, shaking his head sheepishly. Not many of his customers came back to tell him what they think of the books he recommended to them, but the several who did made him happy even if they didn’t end up liking the books as he hoped. He took that as a chance to learn to read people better.