A lie only I know
 |
Description
Book Introduction
A unique presence in youth genre literature
★New work by author Kim Ha-yeon★
“The day the truth was revealed, we became complete strangers to each other.”
Bestselling youth author Kim Ha-yeon's most anticipated book of 2025, "The Lie Only I Know," has been published.
Having opened up the horizons of youth fantasy with "The House Across Time," and unfolding a sharp mystery surrounding relationships and truth with "The Truth Only You Don't Know," he meets readers once again with a "harmless" mystery novel for youth that allows them to feel the thrill of tension and twists without any provocative elements with his new work, "The Lie Only I Know."
Through a mysterious revelation that occurred among members of a classic novel reading group, the issues of anxiety, guilt, and responsibility experienced by teenagers were presented in a highly immersive story, like a web drama.
"The Lie Only I Know," which captures the moment of growth in which one confronts the truth and one's true self amidst the tension of the genre, is a coming-of-age novel filled with fervent encouragement for all those who want to become better than yesterday.
★New work by author Kim Ha-yeon★
“The day the truth was revealed, we became complete strangers to each other.”
Bestselling youth author Kim Ha-yeon's most anticipated book of 2025, "The Lie Only I Know," has been published.
Having opened up the horizons of youth fantasy with "The House Across Time," and unfolding a sharp mystery surrounding relationships and truth with "The Truth Only You Don't Know," he meets readers once again with a "harmless" mystery novel for youth that allows them to feel the thrill of tension and twists without any provocative elements with his new work, "The Lie Only I Know."
Through a mysterious revelation that occurred among members of a classic novel reading group, the issues of anxiety, guilt, and responsibility experienced by teenagers were presented in a highly immersive story, like a web drama.
"The Lie Only I Know," which captures the moment of growth in which one confronts the truth and one's true self amidst the tension of the genre, is a coming-of-age novel filled with fervent encouragement for all those who want to become better than yesterday.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
Prologue 8
The beginning of the meeting 11
First Letter, Second Letter 37
Third Letter, Fourth Letter 71
Someone is lying 101
133 a year later
Second Meeting 163
Author's Note 204
The beginning of the meeting 11
First Letter, Second Letter 37
Third Letter, Fourth Letter 71
Someone is lying 101
133 a year later
Second Meeting 163
Author's Note 204
Detailed image
Into the book
Everyone followed Eunseo inside.
Eunseo's eyes widened as she saw the books filling the place.
Hyunsoo said with a proud face.
"Is this Eunseo's first time in the study? Jeong Hanbyeol, have you been here before too?"
“Yeah! That’s true, but I just skimmed through it and left.”
As Hyunsoo stood in front of the left bookshelf with the complete world literature collection, we stood side by side, giggling like students receiving an award.
“Now, let’s begin the giveaway of the favorite novels of The Classic members!”
--- p.47
“Where did you get this? Who wrote it?”
Hyunsoo said.
“Ugh, we don’t know what’s going on either.
I gave this book to Yujeong as a gift… … .
“When I came to this house yesterday, there was a postcard I wrote instead of a letter, so I really don’t know what happened… … .”
“Then who put this in? And how did you manage to sneak a peek at my KakaoTalk messages?”
Hanbyeol's voice trembled.
So does that mean that everything written on paper is true?
Hanbyeol shouted fiercely.
"You're the only one who can put a letter in it, Lee Hyun-soo! This is your grandmother's house!"
--- p.52
"So you really think one of us did that? Inserting a letter containing the other's dark past into our favorite novel? This isn't a mystery novel, how could something like this happen in real life?"
“I don’t even know who the culprit is.
“I’ve been telling you this story so far because I wanted to show you that you too have ample reason to be accused of being criminals.”
I'm done with what I wanted to say.
I let out the breath I had been holding and lowered my head.
I held my hands together as if praying so that my trembling hands wouldn't be noticed.
Hyunsoo said.
“Hanbyeol and I spoke honestly about what was written in the letter.
So, Go Joo-won and Choi Eun-seo.
How about you guys sharing your stories too? Your letters might provide clues that could help us deduce the culprit.
Instead, let's promise to keep what we hear here secret.
“It doesn’t matter anyway since we all live far away.”
--- p.86
Of course, I have a secret that I can't easily tell you.
But even if he committed a mistake, that doesn't mean he is everything.
Hyunsu is right.
I have secrets like that too, but you can't judge me by them alone.
Now I was the only one who hadn't revealed my past.
The kids stopped pointing out that my letters weren't there anymore, but I suddenly felt like I wanted to let everything out and feel relieved.
Should I say something?
Do I have the courage to do that?
I quietly faced the tangled feelings in my chest.
One thing was clear.
That will never happen.
--- p.116
I wanted to say something, but now I'm tired too.
I just wanted to get out of this house right away.
This isn't it.
This isn't what we gathered here for.
Hyunsoo's eyes, looking at us, were empty, as if all emotions had been drained from them.
“The reading group “The Classic” is disbanding as of today.
From the moment we leave this house, we are strangers.
“Please don’t contact me again.”
--- p.130
“I found out who wrote the letter.
“I called to tell you that story.”
I explained to Hyunsu everything that had happened so far.
Hyunsoo remained silent for a long time.
I waited calmly so that Hyunsu could gather his thoughts.
“Oh, what the heck… I don’t know what to say.
Sometimes reality is more fictional than fiction.
If you had been honest with us that day, things wouldn't have gotten this bad.
Anyway, thanks for letting me know, Yujeong.”
“It’s not over yet.
“Other kids need to know the truth too.”
"how?"
I was silent for a moment.
I thought about it many times, but there was only one way.
“As the leader of the reading group, there are still things you can do.”
Eunseo's eyes widened as she saw the books filling the place.
Hyunsoo said with a proud face.
"Is this Eunseo's first time in the study? Jeong Hanbyeol, have you been here before too?"
“Yeah! That’s true, but I just skimmed through it and left.”
As Hyunsoo stood in front of the left bookshelf with the complete world literature collection, we stood side by side, giggling like students receiving an award.
“Now, let’s begin the giveaway of the favorite novels of The Classic members!”
--- p.47
“Where did you get this? Who wrote it?”
Hyunsoo said.
“Ugh, we don’t know what’s going on either.
I gave this book to Yujeong as a gift… … .
“When I came to this house yesterday, there was a postcard I wrote instead of a letter, so I really don’t know what happened… … .”
“Then who put this in? And how did you manage to sneak a peek at my KakaoTalk messages?”
Hanbyeol's voice trembled.
So does that mean that everything written on paper is true?
Hanbyeol shouted fiercely.
"You're the only one who can put a letter in it, Lee Hyun-soo! This is your grandmother's house!"
--- p.52
"So you really think one of us did that? Inserting a letter containing the other's dark past into our favorite novel? This isn't a mystery novel, how could something like this happen in real life?"
“I don’t even know who the culprit is.
“I’ve been telling you this story so far because I wanted to show you that you too have ample reason to be accused of being criminals.”
I'm done with what I wanted to say.
I let out the breath I had been holding and lowered my head.
I held my hands together as if praying so that my trembling hands wouldn't be noticed.
Hyunsoo said.
“Hanbyeol and I spoke honestly about what was written in the letter.
So, Go Joo-won and Choi Eun-seo.
How about you guys sharing your stories too? Your letters might provide clues that could help us deduce the culprit.
Instead, let's promise to keep what we hear here secret.
“It doesn’t matter anyway since we all live far away.”
--- p.86
Of course, I have a secret that I can't easily tell you.
But even if he committed a mistake, that doesn't mean he is everything.
Hyunsu is right.
I have secrets like that too, but you can't judge me by them alone.
Now I was the only one who hadn't revealed my past.
The kids stopped pointing out that my letters weren't there anymore, but I suddenly felt like I wanted to let everything out and feel relieved.
Should I say something?
Do I have the courage to do that?
I quietly faced the tangled feelings in my chest.
One thing was clear.
That will never happen.
--- p.116
I wanted to say something, but now I'm tired too.
I just wanted to get out of this house right away.
This isn't it.
This isn't what we gathered here for.
Hyunsoo's eyes, looking at us, were empty, as if all emotions had been drained from them.
“The reading group “The Classic” is disbanding as of today.
From the moment we leave this house, we are strangers.
“Please don’t contact me again.”
--- p.130
“I found out who wrote the letter.
“I called to tell you that story.”
I explained to Hyunsu everything that had happened so far.
Hyunsoo remained silent for a long time.
I waited calmly so that Hyunsu could gather his thoughts.
“Oh, what the heck… I don’t know what to say.
Sometimes reality is more fictional than fiction.
If you had been honest with us that day, things wouldn't have gotten this bad.
Anyway, thanks for letting me know, Yujeong.”
“It’s not over yet.
“Other kids need to know the truth too.”
"how?"
I was silent for a moment.
I thought about it many times, but there was only one way.
“As the leader of the reading group, there are still things you can do.”
--- p.162
Publisher's Review
“Sometimes the truth is more painful than lies,
“It won’t disappear if you ignore it.”
I want to overcome yesterday's wounds and become a better person today.
Coming-of-age novels for teenagers
Every day, teenagers waver countless times between 'me' and 'us'.
Conflicts with friends, the gaze of adults filled with misunderstandings and prejudices, and even anxiety and deficiencies toward oneself.
On the surface, they endure all these psychological hardships with the lighthearted and playful attitude typical of adolescence, but deep inside, they harbor flaws they don't want anyone to know about and guilt they haven't been able to deal with.
"The Lie Only I Know" is a problematic work that delves head-on into that hidden layer and poses the essential questions of "truth, forgiveness, and growth."
Beyond the easily consumed mistakes and immaturity of adolescence, we ask the following questions from the perspective of the youth who are actually at the center of it: "Can we rise again after making irreversible mistakes?" and "Do society and those around us provide those who face mistakes with genuine reflection and opportunities for change?"
The novel's main characters are members of the online reading group "The Classic."
Hyunsoo, Hanbyeol, Juwon, Yoojung, and Eunseo, all the same age who were born and raised in different cities and from different family backgrounds, have been reading classic novels together with their faces covered during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and sharing their daily lives with each other.
The story begins on the day of the first meeting held at the villa of Hyunsu, the operator of "The Classic," during the winter break of the second year of high school.
The study on the second floor of the villa is neatly arranged with a collection of world literature loved by the members of "The Classic," and among them are each of their "favorite" books that are given as gifts to the children.
But the gift reveals itself in a shocking and unexpected form.
Each book contained an anonymous letter, revealing the pasts of the five children, each of whom believed they were secrets known only to themselves.
Friendships are quickly tainted by disappointment and distrust as shocking truths are revealed.
The subsequent confessions about the past and the conflicts that arise between the members are exquisitely connected to the situations encountered by characters in classical literature such as Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment', Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights', Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human', and Maupassant's 'The Necklace', and more clearly depict the issues of 'the duality of human existence', 'the weight of truth', and 'the irony of life'.
《The Classic》 disbands, leaving behind only scars, but the children stand on the threshold of their twenties, never having forgotten the events of that day for even a moment.
The novel's main narrator, Yu-jeong, encounters a crucial clue that will reveal the whistleblower who must have been present within the group.
The children, who chose not to turn away from the truth any longer, reunite after a year and delve into the details of the incident.
Who was lying, what was the basis and motive behind the lie, how was it revealed, and ultimately how much ‘we’ have changed since that day…
The process of finding all the answers becomes clear, going beyond simply finding the culprit and running towards the keywords of sin, forgiveness, and growth, shows the courage of children who want to escape the world of 'lies only I know' and become better versions of themselves today.
“A heart that strives to live better,
Perhaps it takes more courage to make a mistake than to do it.
“May that heart not be trampled by anyone.” _From the author’s words
As the children in the novel ask questions and experience mistakes, reflections, change, and growth, readers will linger for a long time before weighty questions such as, "Are the fatal mistakes of others and my own truly considered equally?" and "Should the misfortunes of the past determine even the future?"
Moreover, it makes us realize that only 'confrontation and dialogue, not avoidance and silence' are the path to true reflection and growth, and that anyone can make mistakes and needs opportunities to recover from them.
The process of exposure and deduction is chilling, but we humans, especially young people, never give up hope that we can always move towards a better life.
The image of a human being with that will and courage is similar to the truth of life that the classical literature loved by the five children in "The Classic" left to humanity.
"The Lie Only I Know" is a coming-of-age novel that presents readers with the self-evident realization that "we're all a little wrong, and so we all learn together."
“It won’t disappear if you ignore it.”
I want to overcome yesterday's wounds and become a better person today.
Coming-of-age novels for teenagers
Every day, teenagers waver countless times between 'me' and 'us'.
Conflicts with friends, the gaze of adults filled with misunderstandings and prejudices, and even anxiety and deficiencies toward oneself.
On the surface, they endure all these psychological hardships with the lighthearted and playful attitude typical of adolescence, but deep inside, they harbor flaws they don't want anyone to know about and guilt they haven't been able to deal with.
"The Lie Only I Know" is a problematic work that delves head-on into that hidden layer and poses the essential questions of "truth, forgiveness, and growth."
Beyond the easily consumed mistakes and immaturity of adolescence, we ask the following questions from the perspective of the youth who are actually at the center of it: "Can we rise again after making irreversible mistakes?" and "Do society and those around us provide those who face mistakes with genuine reflection and opportunities for change?"
The novel's main characters are members of the online reading group "The Classic."
Hyunsoo, Hanbyeol, Juwon, Yoojung, and Eunseo, all the same age who were born and raised in different cities and from different family backgrounds, have been reading classic novels together with their faces covered during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and sharing their daily lives with each other.
The story begins on the day of the first meeting held at the villa of Hyunsu, the operator of "The Classic," during the winter break of the second year of high school.
The study on the second floor of the villa is neatly arranged with a collection of world literature loved by the members of "The Classic," and among them are each of their "favorite" books that are given as gifts to the children.
But the gift reveals itself in a shocking and unexpected form.
Each book contained an anonymous letter, revealing the pasts of the five children, each of whom believed they were secrets known only to themselves.
Friendships are quickly tainted by disappointment and distrust as shocking truths are revealed.
The subsequent confessions about the past and the conflicts that arise between the members are exquisitely connected to the situations encountered by characters in classical literature such as Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment', Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights', Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human', and Maupassant's 'The Necklace', and more clearly depict the issues of 'the duality of human existence', 'the weight of truth', and 'the irony of life'.
《The Classic》 disbands, leaving behind only scars, but the children stand on the threshold of their twenties, never having forgotten the events of that day for even a moment.
The novel's main narrator, Yu-jeong, encounters a crucial clue that will reveal the whistleblower who must have been present within the group.
The children, who chose not to turn away from the truth any longer, reunite after a year and delve into the details of the incident.
Who was lying, what was the basis and motive behind the lie, how was it revealed, and ultimately how much ‘we’ have changed since that day…
The process of finding all the answers becomes clear, going beyond simply finding the culprit and running towards the keywords of sin, forgiveness, and growth, shows the courage of children who want to escape the world of 'lies only I know' and become better versions of themselves today.
“A heart that strives to live better,
Perhaps it takes more courage to make a mistake than to do it.
“May that heart not be trampled by anyone.” _From the author’s words
As the children in the novel ask questions and experience mistakes, reflections, change, and growth, readers will linger for a long time before weighty questions such as, "Are the fatal mistakes of others and my own truly considered equally?" and "Should the misfortunes of the past determine even the future?"
Moreover, it makes us realize that only 'confrontation and dialogue, not avoidance and silence' are the path to true reflection and growth, and that anyone can make mistakes and needs opportunities to recover from them.
The process of exposure and deduction is chilling, but we humans, especially young people, never give up hope that we can always move towards a better life.
The image of a human being with that will and courage is similar to the truth of life that the classical literature loved by the five children in "The Classic" left to humanity.
"The Lie Only I Know" is a coming-of-age novel that presents readers with the self-evident realization that "we're all a little wrong, and so we all learn together."
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: September 10, 2025
- Page count, weight, size: 208 pages | 140*205*20mm
- ISBN13: 9791130677118
- ISBN10: 1130677117
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카테고리
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