Part 1 Hojeong 007
Part 2: Keep Going 055
Part 3 Love 111
Part 4 Sinking 211
Part 5: The Lake's Day 303

Author's Note 359

★ Recommended by novelist Choi Jin-young and literary critic Han Yeong-in!

I hope you read this novel and are shaken.
To be excited, to be hurt, to be angry, to be sad, to be sorry, to say I love you.
May your spring be like that.
Choi Jin-young (novelist)

The pure warmth of those who fought against hatred and criticism to protect what was precious lingers long after the book is closed.
Han Young-in (literary critic)


Written in delicate and beautiful sentences
Seventeen Hours

The season of adolescence captured in “The Lake’s Work” is not limited to just one.
Puberty is often likened to spring, but sometimes it brings the harsh winds of winter.
The season of love begins with such a bitter winter.
No one understands Ho-jeong's heart, which is as cold and lonely as a frozen lake.
When I see my beloved younger sibling playing with my father and laughing happily, or when I hear my mother reading a book to Jinju affectionately, memories of the past suddenly well up inside me, as if something hot had risen up inside me.
A memory of one dark night when I was lying alone, and one evening when I took the subway alone to go see my mom and dad.


That's a truly lonely thing.
Having a heart that is different from anyone else's.

I learned that feeling before I learned the word lonely.
Now that I think about it, that's what it was.
― Page 137

As a child, Ho-jeong, who lived with his grandmother after his parents' business failed, was exposed to the atmosphere of resentment that hung over the house, and learned the feeling of loneliness before he could even learn the word.
Ho-jeong, who cannot fit into a harmonious family, feels burdened and uncomfortable by her mother's worries and her father's attention.

There is another side of Ho-jeong who is cold and aloof to his family, but affectionate and kind to his friends at school.
They are both themselves, but Ho-jeong doesn't want to show his parents how he treats other people.
The feelings of that time, which are easily labeled as 'puberty', do not flow in a single direction like this.
"The Lake's Work" delicately illuminates and colorfully portrays the sensitive emotions that everyone experiences during their teenage years, but are often overlooked.



We were just holding hands,
The whole place was shaking

Another memory lying next to the lake, the memory of Eun-gi, creates a crack in Ho-jeong's 'safe' heart.
Although he was a transfer student who didn't stand out, Eun-gi was a boy who somehow reminded him of a slanted streetlight.
Ho-jeong becomes curious about Eun-gi, who uses a flip phone and doesn't even use social media, and is concerned about Eun-gi's commute to school, where she rides a bicycle.
At some point, my feelings for Eun-gi, who keeps coming to mind, gradually grow into excitement.


It felt like I was submerged in a deep lake.
Calm and tranquil, without a single wave.
Warm and bright, filled with sunlight.

It felt like even if I just moved my fingertips, the air would become waves and be transmitted to Eun-gi.

Here, Ho-jeong is here.
― Page 96

The time spent with Eun-gi brings back the dark times that Ho-jeong had been hiding deeply.
Ho-jeong's monologue, which begins with the words "Eun-gi-ya" on a sleepless night, is a true confession poured out after a surge of excitement.
The sincerity you want to share with someone special is the magic that gets you through lonely nights.
The novel doesn't miss the beginning of love, where small moments become precious, such as walking home from school together and going out for a special dinner instead of a tasteless school lunch.
The light of the ginkgo tree and the street scenery that color Ho-jeong's heart together take the reader to the center of Ho-jeong's heart.



My heart is like a frozen lake, I was so safe
The coming of spring was beyond my control.

After Gwak Geun and his group, who were not on good terms with Ho-jeong, spread rumors about Eun-gi's past and Eun-gi disappeared, Ho-jeong, overcome with guilt, becomes sensitive to his friends and finds his ordinary daily life burdensome.
Little things like going to school, eating, and sleeping feel like a burden.
Ho-jeong fights with his friends and family and isolates himself, but the novel labels him as suffering from a 'severe depressive episode.'
The diagnosis that Ho-jeong is not wrong but just sick reassures Ho-jeong.
It stands out for its in-depth look into adolescent depression, which can be easily dismissed as the whims of adolescence, without exaggerating it.
It also addresses significant issues, such as the conflicts that are occurring in classrooms today in 2022 and the issue of recognizing the right to self-defense for victims of domestic violence, which has not yet been resolved.

Even though Eun-gi leaves and Ho-jeong is left alone again, his heart is not the same as before.
Just as a frozen lake cracks and the ice melts, we prepare to move forward on healing and growth by considering family counseling and reconciling with friends.
This is a dazzling coming-of-age story that will deeply resonate and comfort those who have endured both pain and joy, and those who await the new spring after a long winter.



★★★ Rave reviews from the pre-reading review panel ★★★

The warmth of spring, the feeling of first love, seems to be melting my icy heart.
A book that makes you miss the spring of your heart.
@boo********th

As I see my children acknowledging and taking out their pain, regrets, and wounds, healing themselves, and moving forward one step at a time, I think I should also gradually take out my hidden wounds and sadness, and offer them comfort.
@bag********21

It seems like a story to tell to us who are still wavering, to us who must constantly grow.
@fly*******y_l

The feeling of being heartbroken lingered long after I closed the book.
@boo**********fe

Going through adolescence like this is painful, sad, poignant, and fortunate.
A story about dazzlingly beautiful adolescent children.
@hk***h_

Many thoughts came flooding into my mind like a rock falling into a lake through a book.
@jiy******05

A wonderful novel about healing and growing through understanding and forgiveness.
@nev*********un

Ho-jeong's heart, which was as safe as a frozen lake, will melt and become unstable as spring comes, but I hope it will become affectionate.
@boo**********sy


▶ Author's Note

Written during sad times.

During a winter with unusually heavy snowfall, when everyone was confined to a small room.

I wrote that some sadness is precious, but that's not it.

Sadness is usually precious.

We grow from sorrow.
Nothing grows from joy.
But we can avoid sinking into sadness if we have happy memories.
As the moon shines in memory of the sun.

So, be deeply sad, be joyful, and swim with all your might.
It's always scary to cross a lake where your feet can't reach, but believe me, every lake has a shore.


2022, again in winter
Lee Hyeon