IQ148 // namjoon ✔️

__MARCH__

March; 2014

When NamJoon arrives at the bookstore one day in March, JungMi is already sitting in her usual spot in the corner between the bookshelves. She holds the book in her hands at an angle so the pages can catch the minimum sunlight seeping in through the open window.

Her eyebrows stitch together as she processes the words in ink. She nods occasionally to herself as if silently agreeing with the author of the story.

It's true what people say about how reading books can take you to a whole other world. He's watching her attentively, yet it feels as though she's not actually there. She sits in the corner, but she can be wherever she wants to be in this moment.

“What book are you reading?” NamJoon approaches her slowly, worried if he might ruin her trail of thought and bring her back from a world she doesn't want to leave from abruptly.

He sits down reluctantly beside her, unsure of whether she actually wants him to or not.She looks up at him and offers a shy smile, which causes NamJoon to silently sigh in relief.

JungMi folds the corner of the page to mark her spot and closes the book carefully like her prized possession before handing it over to him in the same manner, “Demian. The Story of a Youth.”

NamJoon gently grasps the book spine, afraid that holding it in his big hands would cause it to snap in half.

It's a lightweight paperback; the cover depicts a bird perched on branches blooming with flower buds. The bird is leaning over; its head is pointed to the ground but its wings are pointed to the sky. In bold, red letters, the title is spelled vertically in Korean ‘hangul’ to the side. The name of the author, Hermann Hesse, is in even smaller print in the corner.

“He’s a German novelist. But this book is mainly based on the philosophy of Carl Jung and psychoanalysis,” JungMi explains while assuming NamJoon understands, “You’re really smart, so I’m sure you’d understand it.”

“I’m not sure about that…” NamJoon mutters as he breezes through the pages.

“Correction,” JungMi backtracks, “You’d understand what I don’t.”

He scoffs in amusement before landing on the page that she had marked as her ending point.

“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever will be born must first destroy a world.”

The quote is highlighted in yellow, which is the reason why the words stood out so much to him.

Is this what JungMi means by not understanding? It seems simple enough at a glance… Maybe if he has more context behind the quote, he can have a definite answer for her.

Will JungMi be impressed with him if he’s able to understand it? Hopefully he can impress her with his comprehension, or at least get closer to her through discussing the book,

“Then how about this… I’ll read the book too. When we both finish the book, we can talk about what we both understand from the story.”

JungMi seems satisfied with his proposition, since she detaches his hand from holding the book and shakes it, “It’s a deal.”