Author's Note
Seoul Plaza Rainbow
One-two-three fly
Damn, I can't breathe
Rain falling on the first day of spring
A kiss is like whipped cream
The Great Clown
Queer Night
Am I a sinner
Hold my hand and go
Lost and found
When you become an adult
big, soft hands
The weather is really nice
Ivan General marches side by side

People love people
Why should we seek understanding?

Although they love each other, they hide and conceal that love and feel anxious.
People around them gossip that men like men and women like women.
It's improved a lot since before, but it's still a cross-section of our society.
This novel is a story of friendship, love, and growth between a sensitive gay boy in his late teens named 'Junyoung' and his best friend 'Sowooju'.
The process of Junyoung coming out, the harsh aftermath, and the heart of 'Microcosm' who embraces such a friend are warm and earnest.


Just as you can't choose your blood type, the novel says, "sexual identity is something you're born with."
It is also emphasized that the way sexual minorities love is just one of many ways of loving.
As we read the violent rhetoric of those who accuse us of being different and wrong, we may be able to reflect on ourselves.


This novel is particularly significant in that it deals with ‘sexual minorities in the classroom.’
The anxiety and pain felt by teenagers struggling with their sexual identity are portrayed poignantly and painfully.
The physical violence inflicted on the protagonist after he comes out, and the verbal abuse poured on a young teenager who has not yet fully grown into an adult, even before he becomes a sexual minority, are difficult to read.
The harsh suffering of parents with sexual minority children is also vividly felt.

Furthermore, the teacher's nonchalant response to a student teasing a boy about liking a boy, "You should see a guidance counselor," makes us reflect on the reality of the classroom.
There are also LGBTQ+ students in this classroom who laugh together without showing it.


Love takes many forms
Like the trees that make up the forest, like the colors of the rainbow

A 'one person' who extends a hand to a person standing at the end of the world will be like a savior.
To Junyoung, the small universe is that kind of existence.
When no one understood him, and he was about to make a dead-end choice, Junyoung was able to survive because there was a small universe that told him that it understood him and that it liked him just the way he was.
The image of Sowoo accepting, supporting, and loving his precious gay friend Junyoung is in stark contrast to the people around him who look down on him, saying, "He's so annoying."
We too may have been that kind of person to someone during our school days.
Like the transparent smile of days with really nice weather, when you loved someone just the way they were.


This is a new novel by author Eunso Lee, which brings to light the problems hidden in reality with 'wit and laughter'.
Where does it hurt? I'll look into your heart first, the previous work 『Joseon Psychiatrist Yoo Se-pung』 (aired on tvN drama), and 『The Spy Who Went to School』, which is about going undercover as a middle school teacher in South Korea and wrestling with kids who don't know rules, manners, or cooperation, also deal well with difficult social issues.

Editor's Note

“Everyone, the weather is really nice!”

Is the weather really nice today? "The weather is nice" is said to be a slang term used among sexual minorities to replace "I love you."


As I was creating this book, two scenes kept coming to mind.
The first one is in Bangkok.
As I was going into the bathroom, a man (a masculinized woman) suddenly came out.
It was definitely a women's restroom.
At first I was a little confused, but I got used to it as I encountered it more often.
On the street and in cafes, same-sex men and women spend affectionate times.
It's a common occurrence.


The second time was at an airport in Korea.
It was early in the morning, as I was passing a remote corner staircase.
At the bottom of those stairs, two men were crying, their heads together.
There are scenes in the text that are difficult to read, such as 'I feel sick, it's disgusting', just by brushing against the collar of the sexual minority protagonist.
It was painful.
I also thought of their parents and siblings.


For those who like the same sex, our country still seems cold.

I hope this book will become a precious spark that melts the cold season.