“Some wounds are so deep that they cannot be overcome.
In times like that, we have to live together.
A coming-of-age novel for everyone living with indelible scars.

“How do you heal an indelible wound?
How can true reconciliation be achieved?

I haven't found a clear answer to the question that was blocking the manuscript.
However, there were some realizations gained over the four years.
It is impossible to avoid hurt in life.
We all live our lives hurting and being hurt by one another.
Even among friends and family, we experience countless misunderstandings and conflicts.
All we can do is not neglect the work of healing the wounds.
Even if the process is long, don't give up.
“Just like the characters in the novel come together again and again.”
_From the author's note

Growing up from a child to a girl, and then from a girl to an adult, is bound to be difficult.
The second young adult novel, 『Girl A, Dropping Out Halfway』, by author Kim Ji-sook, who focuses on the meaningful but difficult times of girls, has been published.
The previous work, "Secret Note," was a novel that delicately depicted the friendship between middle school girls.
"Girl A, Dropping Out" is a story about girls who have grown up and are on the verge of becoming adults.
Four girls who share a subtle friendship go on a journey to find their true selves, hurting and healing each other.
What truly shines in this captivating plot is writer Kim Ji-sook's unique, affectionate gaze.
As I read the author's sentences that warmly embrace wounded beings, I, too, am forced to face my true self.

“The audition program was brutal.
There were only people who desperately wanted something and those who decided the life and death of those people.
Those who survived cried in joy, and those who fell cried in resentment and regret.
In the end, everyone cried.
This process was repeated until only one person remained.
The more I looked at it, the more I thought it was similar to what happens at school.
“The presence of ugly and clumsy people disappeared, and only pretty and attractive people survived.”
--- p.11

“I never imagined that I would be bullied.
He was always Seo Ji-hee's best friend, and he knew very well which kids were bullied.
Weak, weird, or messy kids.
But after being bullied, I realized something new.
If someone decides to bully, they become a bully.
I became an outcast without any mental preparation.
Well, who could have prepared something like that?”
--- pp.47~48

“I’m the one who desperately wants it and works hard for it, so why did that kid become a star?
I cried for a long time under the blanket.
I hated Girl A, who had nothing to do with me.
I wanted to hurt her pretty face.
Instead, I wanted people to look at me.
I wish you would tell me I'm pretty.
I didn't like how I looked now.
“I wanted to show you the me when I was shining, when I still had dreams.”
--- p.94

“Money, I had to make money.
I don't have any money, but my friend disappeared.
I don't have money, so I can't even dance.
Having no money meant losing everything.
My dad said something similar while drinking.
Those guys who used to stick around when they had money! When Dad would drink and lament in the small living room, we'd all have to huddle in our one room and listen, unable to move.
“Our house was so small that there was no room to hide our misfortunes.”
--- p.121

“Eugene’s words were not a lie.
Eugene was hurt, and that hurt was from me.
My wounds have always been important to me.
It took a long time to find a way out of there.
But I too easily forgot that I had hurt you.
Now the truth is revealed.
I was a victim of bullying.
And, he was also the perpetrator.”
--- pp.152~153

“There are people in the world who love to break things, and there are also people who spend all their time and energy trying to repair the broken parts.
So maybe the world just keeps going on.”

--- p.187