Prologue… … 7
1.
Did you call Rohee? … … 11
2.
I really believed in Minji... ... 39
3.
I'm scared... ... 59
4.
Everyone needs to know Minji's true identity... 76
5.
I want to hide... ... 100
6.
Do I have to be naive all the time? … … 126
7.
It's so similar to what happened to me... 142
8.
It's all my fault? ... ... 158
Epilogue 1 That's... ... ... 171
Epilogue 2 Have you seen this? … … 174
Epilogue 3 That's... ② ... ... 176

The series “Sunlight Bamboo Forest” presented by artist Jiyoung Hwang
A fairy tale to 'talk' about, not just read!

Whether making plans with friends, asking how they are doing, confessing to someone they like, or rejecting them, all communication for children today is done with just one 'Talk' message.
Friendships are built and broken through chat, news is shared, and sometimes that news becomes rumors of unknown origin.
Just looking at the length of the conversations that accumulate in the chat, you can easily create several stories.
Taking this fact into account, 《Tok》 presents a groundbreaking new format in which the work proceeds solely through 'tok' from beginning to end.
The protagonist develops the story by chatting with various characters, and when not chatting, he searches the web, listens to music, talks to artificial intelligence, and records his feelings.
Through this, readers can find the story's development, climax, and conclusion, the characters' emotional lines, and clues to the story.


Author Jiyoung Hwang, who received sympathy and love from countless young readers for her delicate portrayal of children's subtle emotions and conflicts in her previous work, "Sunlight Grass Bamboo Forest," unfolds the world of children more vividly through this work, which unfolds the story solely in the form of "talk."
As soon as young readers turn the first page or two of "Talk," they will feel as if they are part of the group chat and are instantly drawn into the story.
Not only does the situation itself seem realistic, but the way the situation is handled is also very familiar to children.
Even readers who find long texts difficult will be able to step into the world of literature without resistance, as the story unfolds through everyday conversations.


“You were acting so smart with just one small prize (no subject)”
The vivid world of children unfolding on smartphones

《Talk》 begins with a talk informing Minji of the news of her award.
Minji wins the grand prize in the national elementary school book review contest.
When Minji's family and friends hear this news, they all congratulate her, but Minji is not entirely happy.
It's because of my mother's secret that I found out a few days ago.
I came across an article that said my mother, a novelist, was a perpetrator of school violence during her school days.
Minji, afraid of what her mother would say if she asked if it was true, couldn't tell anyone about this and just kept it to herself.


Rohee, a classmate of Minji, dreams of becoming a writer.
That's why Minji, who even won an award for her writing, seems so amazing and wants to become friends with her.
Rohee approaches Minji to become closer to her, but Minji, who is upset because of her mother, finds Rohee burdensome.
Rohee is hurt by Minji's cold attitude.
At that time, a rumor began to spread in a group chat that Minji's book review had been written by her mother on her behalf, and when Rohee found out about this, she felt a great sense of betrayal from Minji.
Then, he finds an article about Minji's mother being a school bully, and spreads this story in the 6th grade class 1 group chat.


Today, the rumors that appear in the 6th grade class 1 group chat, the new chatroom that spreads these rumors, and the emotions of the children who hurt and are hurt by these rumors are all recorded on smartphones.
Since smartphones are a kind of archive that can record a person's inner self and gauge social relationships, watching "Talk" allows adults to read the true hearts and real world of children that they were unaware of.
What do children these days talk about in group chats? How do they resolve their concerns? Their innermost thoughts are fully captured within "Talk."


Why should I read it through Tok?

《Talk》 progresses with conversations alternating between the perspectives of the main characters, Minji and Rohee.
A chat window appears where Minji is chatting with various people such as 'Mom', 'Harang', and 'Class 6-1 group chat', and then a chat window appears where Rohee is chatting with various people at the same time.
So why should we read this story between Minji and Rohee as a ‘talk’?

If you look closely at the contents of the chat rooms in "Talk," you can see not only the simple fact that rumors spread, but also who they are from, why they are spread, how they are spread, and the psychology of the people who spread them.
Minji shows different attitudes when talking to Harang and when talking to her mother, and the same goes for other characters including Rohee.
To some people, I reply right away, but to others, it takes a very long time to reply, or I don't read and reply at all.
In this way, the intimate psychology of people that cannot be explained through text alone is clearly revealed in the chat window.
The sentences that characters send through text are short and simple, but the density of emotions contained in those few words is higher than any other line of text.
This is because the time you send the message, the time you reply, and the emoticons you use all show the emotion more deeply.


The picture that begins each chapter of 《Talk》 consists of an image of the 'profile screen'.
As the story unfolds, the characters' changing psychology is revealed through their profile screens.
The music playlists, search history, and news articles inserted throughout the chat conversations also help express the characters' emotions and get closer to the truth of the incident.
Young readers will be able to understand the context of the story through these nonverbal elements, while also empathizing more deeply with the emotions of the characters, and enjoying the pleasure of reading literary works.