IQ148 // namjoon ✔️

__NOVEMBER__

November; 2014

She's reading a new book today; she started reading it earlier, but she's already gotten pretty far into the story.

A glance at the cover reveals the title and author: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami.

The cover is a blend of different shades of blue which can be seen in the ocean. The colors clash together like waves crashing against the shore. To the side of the cover is the outline of a white cat with its tail standing up.

He knows from experience that she chooses her books very specifically; she reads stories with purpose and intention.

When NamJoon asks her how she decided on reading this particular book, she laughs ecstatically and struggles to explain in between breaths, “Remember how when we first met, you stopped a bunch of books from falling on my head?” She points to the books filed under the 'M’ section currently above her head. There is a gap in between the spines where the book in her hands would slide in perfectly.

She flips to the cover and taps the pad of her finger on the author's last name, “This is one of the books that almost smashed my skull in. I remember catching a glimpse of it before you pushed it back into the shelf, so I thought, why not read it?”

NamJoon laughs along with her at the memory of their first encounter. He watches as she flips to the next page and asks,
“How is the book so far?”

“It's…” JungMi trails off as she tries to condense her thoughts into a single word, “... weird.”

“Weird?” NamJoon repeats, “Weirder than Demian?”

If it's even more confusing than Demian, then NamJoon is genuinely concerned about what this book is about.

“A different kind of weird…” JungMi shakes her head in defeat when she can't explain further, “But nevermind that. It still has a lot of things to think about—”

She flips back a few pages to a page she marked with a folded corner. She trails her finger over each line until she comes across what she's looking for. JungMi pulls a highlighter out of her school bag and neatly highlights a certain paragraph.

“Have you ever heard of Plato's Symposium?” JungMi passes the book over to him like a sleeping baby. He rests the book in his lap and silently reads the highlighted passage.

When he is finished, his eyebrows are already raised on his forehead. They gradually move up his forehead the farther he reads. He can't grasp the concept being introduced to him, but he can grasp what she meant by the story being 'weird.’

“We really cover a wide range of topics.” He rests his knuckles against his lips in thought as he recalls, “First it was Jungian psychology. Now it's ancient Greek philosophy.”

“Knowledge is a virtue.” JungMi says, “And knowledge is attained when you widen your horizons.”

“My horizons are definitely being widened.” he exclaims with one last glance at the paragraph highlighted.

He passes the book back to her and announces, “I'll read the book then give you my insight on it.”

JungMi is ecstatic at the prospect of them discussing another book. If there are a few things that she feeds off of and a few things that bring joy to her life, it would be knowledge and widening other's horizons.

Finding people who genuinely appreciate a story and take their time to analyze the author's purpose is a rarity in itself. It is even more rare to find such a person, who is willing to converse, hiding in the corner of a bookstore.