“I am the only witness to the murder!”
Winner of the 10th Jaum and Moeum Youth Literature Award

An unexpected incident that happened in the park at midnight
Uncover the identity of the smell he left behind!

Starting with "The Shop That Sells Time," which was chosen by 500,000 readers, and continuing with "Oz's Clothing Collection Box" and "Six Pack," the "Consonant and Vowel Youth Literature Award," which has demonstrated the power of stories, has now reached its 10th anniversary.
The award-winning work, "The Boy Who Swallowed Sound," is a story about a protagonist trapped in his own world who experiences an unexpected incident and breaks out of his shell to enter a wider world.


The protagonist, Tae-ui, is a fifteen-year-old boy who has difficulty feeling emotions.
Since the age of six, all communication has been done through text instead of speech, and because he accepts what he sees and acts according to his thoughts, he often gets misunderstood by people.
One night, Tae-ui goes for a walk alone in the park and witnesses a murder.
While secretly watching, he is caught by the criminal and barely manages to escape the scene by running as fast as he can.
Tae-ui, who was afraid that he would be harmed because the criminal had clearly seen his face, made a plan to find the criminal first and report him to the police.

"The Boy Who Swallowed Sound" is a thrilling mystery novel that stays exciting until the very end, and a coming-of-age story that moves you with the protagonist's transformation.
Tae-ui seeks help from those around him to find the culprit, and as he continues to ponder and question endlessly on his own, he is reborn as a different person from before.
The sight of him silently overcoming a situation that would be difficult for an ordinary person to handle, albeit in an absurd way, will resonate deeply with readers.

To cut to the chase, my father's worries were unfounded.
Because as I entered middle school, there were fewer kids who were interested enough in me to bother me.
Boys of that age had plenty of fun things to do besides bully others.
For example, games, or games, or things like games.
So, in a word, my existence is similar to dog poop on the street.
Dog poop that makes you frown in disgust when you encounter it, but thinks it's better to just avoid it than to clean it up yourself.
This too could not have been more fortunate for me.
These days, the middle school students in the news are scary people who commit crimes without a care.
If kids started bullying me, someone like me could disappear from the face of the earth in the blink of an eye.
I didn't want to die yet.
--- p.9

I calmly recalled what had happened that night, just as my detective grandfather had said.
The constellation Pegasus, the quiet silence, and the dim streetlights came back to life as if they were right before my eyes.
A man and a woman entered the sports park together, and the woman became angry at the man.
A woman leaning against the railing lost her balance and fell backwards, and the man shoved her down as she cried out for help.
After that, I felt like I had become a detective.
Perhaps my eyes also shine sharply like a veteran detective.
I glanced at the mirror hanging on the wall.
But what was there was a small, white middle school boy.
It was disappointing.
As I was slumping my shoulders sullenly, a word flashed through my mind.
eye!
Detectives catch criminals just like detectives.
There is no need to be clumsy or good at fighting, as you will be tracking down the criminal with your brilliant mind and sharp reasoning.
Thinking about it that way, the white boy in the mirror seemed like a detective.
--- p.48

The father penguin does not eat or drink while incubating the egg.
After four months of surviving by eating only the snow that piles up at their feet, a baby penguin is finally born.
A baby penguin that has just hatched from an egg begs its father for food.
Then, the father penguin vomits out the fish he had kept in his stomach and feeds it to the baby penguin.
My dad was like an emperor penguin.
Because when my mind is spinning and I'm jumping around in place, or when I have a fever and am sick all night, he never leaves my side.
Grandma said to Dad, “Why don’t you eat something?”
Even though I nagged him, saying, “You’ll get hurt too,” my father stayed by my side without saying a word.
Oh, by the way, my dad loved fish! He especially loved mackerel and hairtail. Since removing bones was difficult for me, even though I didn't eat fish, he'd always scoop up some flesh and put it on a spoon for me.
Is Dad eating fish because of me?
Maybe there's a fish stored in my father's stomach that's meant to be given to me.
I frowned faintly.
--- p.103

“Huh? Tell me.
Why can't you say anything? It's all his fault.
I did nothing wrong! I came to a rural area where I knew no one, got a job, and tried to start a new life using the skills I learned at juvenile detention. And what the hell did I end up with here? And that slutty woman.
"I tried to live a normal life like everyone else! But then someone with a condescending look on their face said, 'The people at the hair salon know what you did back in the day,' and chuckled. How could I not feel angry? He turned my life upside down!"
The criminal's voice became increasingly agitated.
I was really scared.
My body was shaking and tears came to my eyes involuntarily.
Tears burst out and slowly flowed down my cheeks.
“It’s all your fault that you ended up like this.
"Who would have wanted to be in a place like that? Who would have wanted to see that scene?! If you hadn't seen it, none of this would have happened!"
I was the only witness to the murder.
--- p.177

Today is not my twentieth birthday.
It's my fifteenth birthday! And at this very moment, my number one treasure has changed.
I stopped circling the room and ran to the box.
My dad burst out laughing as if he couldn't stop me, and I laughed out loud too.
My father, who was looking at me with warm eyes, said once again, “Happy birthday, Tae-ui.”
“Thank you for being born,” he said.
I wanted to take apart the telescope right away, but I jumped into my father's arms first.
My father was the one who pulled out the thorn in my heart.
Now I no longer had to crouch down and hug my chest.
At this moment, I am happier than I have ever been.

--- p.225