you probably found it already but it’s STUDY KOREAN — 바 = Can be used in the place of 일, 것, 줄 to mean... this is still one of those structures that i understand but still feel like there’s a layer of static around it for me. Maybe because outside of the structure idk what a ‘바’ is and i don’t like a word sitting in the sentence that feels so vague.
I finished this book off this weekend. I liked it, especially the way the author managed to balance the ending between a warm positive message, but not necessarily giving all the characters a nice neat happy ending.
Better late than never: Week 2 is done! Since it mostly continued explaining the MC’s day to day life and why he thinks the way he does and doesn’t want to associate with other people, it was a bit boring. However, I enjoying watching him interact with the girl who disappeared at the end of the chapter. I’m intrigued by the development and am glad to have reached this plot point, since it was mentioned in the book synopsis.
Week 3: I like that we’re getting a bit of character development for the MC, the class president, and even a bit of info about his relationship with his middle school classmate 이하은. I’m feeling more into this now.
Week 4: I knew the MC’s mom had left him and his dad, but I didn’t expect that he had witnessed something so upsetting. It also hurt my heart to see the parallels between his middle school relationship with 이하은 and his current relationship with 지나루. Everyone needs therapy and a hug. But hey, at least he’s starting to form relationships with the people around him.
Week 5: This was a pretty dramatic, heavy chapter. The poor MC is being accused of stealing, the victim is saying it wasn’t the MC, and yet no one believes him. Except 지나루, I guess. She’s a real one.
Also, the section with him and 이하은 at the end kind of broke my heart. I understand their relationship a bit better now, although not completely. I still don’t understand why they can’t be together officially? General social stigma?
I had to use papago to check my understanding a couple of times since the conversations got philosophical.
Week 6:This was a bit of a doozy. Threats from 지나루’s mom, rumors from their classmates, and continued ambiguous relationships with the class president and her (?) one friend who likes her(?). It’s a bit hard for me to get a read on the latter two characters. They seem to want to be friends with the MC, who rejects them, so they’re sort of frenemies now?
Also, the teacher is awful. She always blames the MC without fact-checking.
Question: Is the class president male or female? I can’t tell from the name
Week 7: Big oof. Many feels. Poor past MC and his heartbreak for 이하은 (who’s stringing the poor guy along, even now). Poor 지나루 - her ex-friend clearly needs to work through her emotions (and escape from her abusive dad, my god) for them to be friends again, if that’s possible. Also, 나루’s mom is awful and I hope that 나루 can go live with her dad or another relative instead.
she’s female. might be more obvious later on, it was kind of vague at the start because MC isn’t interested in her and doesn’t really describe her but later she has a bit more plot.
Week 8: 1. I’m glad that Naru and Eunbi made up. Yay for the MC’s intervention. 2. Holy shit, I can’t believe that 이하은 committed suicide - no wonder the MC is so deeply scarred by everything that happened. On that note, has he been hallucinating or dreaming of her presence in the present or something? She’s appeared a few times, so I’m not sure what to make of things now.
Weeks 9-10 (end of book): This wrapped things up nicely and I appreciated the author’s note. I’m happy that while the main character and his friends’ lives are far from perfect, they’ve found some solace and healing through their healthy relationships with each other. I’m also glad that the MC is able to see his father in a new light, and that there’s a glimmer of hope for their relationship.
I read the second half of this today, just wanted to be done with this one to be all caught up for when our next book starts.
This one was not my favorite. I did like the start of it, and the ending too, but there was a part in the middle there where it just felt like nothing was actually progressing. I guess this is too slow for me. I did learn a lot of nice vocab though, so I’m happy about that at least.
