[Detective Seo Yul-mu] The Detective's Side... ... 6
[Queen Dan Tae-hee] How to handle power... 20
[Detective Seo Yul-mu] Even if it's a little scary... 46
[Queen Dan Tae-hee] The Way of the World... 80
[Detective Seo Yul-mu] After a long and arduous journey... 98
[Queen Dan Tae-hee] Dare to be fearless... ... 122
[Detective Seo Yul-mu] Motive, Evidence, and Witnesses… 140
[Queen Dan Tae-hee] Dust... 172
[Detective Seo Yul-mu] 100% the same feelings… 208
Author's Note… … 228

“I could list the merits at length, but I would like to describe this novel more simply.

Just read it first.
Then you'll want to keep reading." _Yoon Seong-hee (novelist)

“I wanted to be brave.
“Because it’s Dokgo Som.”

"Falling for Dokgo Som" not only delves into the main characters such as Dokgo Som, Seo Yul-mu, and Dan Tae-hee, but also into the inner workings and inner stories of many characters involved in the case, such as Park Seon-hee, who talks too much and spreads rumors, Eun Young-mi, who has no presence in the classroom, and Park Ji-min, Eun Young-mi's classmate.
As the pages progress, we gradually come to understand them, and eventually we can't help but fall in love with all the characters, even those who seem like villains.
Naturally, beyond the barriers of rumor and prejudice stands a precariously shaky human being with his own sparkling charm.
He may be in desperate need of someone to be by his side right now.
That is why this story speaks to us.
It's okay to fall in love with anyone.
If you're in love, come closer to her.
Maybe the magic of making a “secret and special friend” will unfold.


▶ First speaker, Seo Yul-mu
“I thought that Dokgo Som was truly qualified to be the main character.

“Because that kid was always at the center of things.”

▶ Second speaker, Dan Tae-hee
“Dokgo Som, I never dreamed that you would suddenly appear in my life like this.”

Two characters who fall for transfer student Dokgo Som: Seo Yul-mu and Dan Tae-hee.
A tense tug-of-war between two perspectives on one person

In 『If You Fall in Love with Dokgo Som』, the story unfolds in a way that two narrators, Seo Yul-mu and Dan Tae-hee, alternate between narrating chapters.
The two men share similar talents of astute observation and a remarkable understanding of people, yet they appear to be mirror images of each other.
The ability to read people's faces and discern their emotions can be a foundation of power for some people and a clue to the truth for others.
The voices of two people who perceive the same situation in completely different ways heighten the tension from the beginning of the work and immediately draw the reader in.


The contrast between the two is clearly revealed with the appearance of transfer student Dokgo Som, who somehow catches the eye.
Rumors begin to spread at school that an ominous and creepy 'witch' has transferred to the school.
As the rumors surrounding Dokgo Som grew, holes were made in Dokgo Som's photos and his textbooks were torn.
And when all these events were followed, behind them stood the 'queen' of the classroom, Dan Tae-hee.
Meanwhile, Seo Yul-mu, who calls himself the 'detective' of the classroom, keeps looking at Dokgo Som.
Seo Yul-mu doesn't believe the absurd rumors about Dokgo Som.
Because a detective has to be suspicious of anything he hasn't seen with his own eyes.
The moment Seo Yul-mu finally musters up the courage to speak to Dokgo Som… … an unexpected truth is revealed, and Seo Yul-mu’s heart begins to pound.
I fell in love with Dokgo Som.


The triangle of a detective, a queen, and a witch
A cold reality stuffed with fantastical and theatrical exaggeration

“The children who take on the roles of a detective, a witch, and a queen act with distinct purposes and wills as if they were the main characters of an independent genre” (Kim Bo-young). This novel is an exciting mystery and fantasy, but at the same time, it is also a fierce battle of wits.
Seo Yul-mu, who is interested in others and constantly observes them to uncover the truth behind the incident, is a 'detective'; Dan Tae-hee, who stands at the top of the pyramid of power that exists in any classroom in reality, is a 'queen'; and Dokgo Som, a suspicious transfer student who captures everyone's attention with her unusually long black hair and pale white face, moves on a meticulously constructed stage under the name of a 'witch'.
From the "rat grave incident" that occurred in the neighborhood four years ago, to the sudden absence and hospitalization of a child, to the theft of donations collected by the entire school, the mystery piles up, and no one can predict how or where this tangled web of past and present relationships will unravel.
The illustrations by author Jo Hyun-ah of 『Letter of Love』 visually enhance the theatrical aspect of the text by brilliantly visualizing the story's stage.

Fantastic exaggeration becomes a tool that reveals reality more clearly.
The vertical power dynamics in the classroom, the exclusion of children identified by those in power in the classroom, the power of rumors to distort the truth…
The reality we all know well because we have experienced it has been given a vivid color with the names ‘Queen’ and ‘Witch.’
In particular, the process by which rumors become true and the spectacle of someone being shunned and alienated because of that false truth are vivid.
It will terrify readers as it is clear that the mistakes of adults are passed down to children.


"Is this a matter of each person's position? A bad thing is just a bad thing."
“I wish everything were that certain.”
The tone of voice was somewhat sarcastic.

_From the text

This novel repeatedly defies the reader's expectations.
When reading a book, readers cannot make hasty predictions or conclusions about anything.
This is because every character in 『Falling for Dokgo Som』 has a story as long as the time they have lived.
These children, who live and breathe three-dimensionally and move across the stage in unpredictable ways, were created thanks to “the author’s admirable insight into the human race” (Kim Bo-young) and “the author’s ability to deeply portray characters, making it impossible to hate even unlikable characters” (Lee Geum-i).
So, the more we look into this story, which at first glance seems to have a clear good-evil structure, the more the boundaries between good and evil become blurred.
We cannot rashly call Dan Tae-hee, who struggles to keep her throne in the classroom and ends up shedding tears while throwing away the ways she has always maintained, a 'villain', and we cannot simply call Dokgo Som, a fourteen-year-old who loves sweet potatoes and does a week-long spring cleaning before her friends come over, a 'witch'.
Park Seon-hee, who is always spreading rumors by the queen's side, is revealed to be more than just a 'silent child', and Young-mi, who cannot bring herself to reveal the truth and keeps her mouth shut, cannot simply be called a 'silent child' either.
In this way, this novel brings us to the truth that there is no absolute language that defines a person, and “subtly shakes the prejudices and preconceptions we have about ourselves or others, broadening our understanding of humanity and the world.” (Yoo Young-jin) If we take a step beyond the solid wall of prejudice, we cannot know what kind of “person” we will meet.
There will be a history and emotions of a person there that we cannot even begin to guess.
We cannot say for sure what the scenery will be like, but this work tells us to take a step forward with courage precisely because of that.
The moment we close the book, our world will become a little wider.


After meeting Dokgo Som, I felt secure for a while.

Because there is someone by my side who can do what I cannot do with the strength I do not have.
The problem was that I couldn't just be intoxicated by the exhilaration that the curse gave me.

The person who captured my heart at that time was Seo Yul-mu.

_From the author's note