The author of "Thinking of You," chosen by 740,000 readers
Hwang Gyeong-sin's Story Notes

Author Hwang Gyeong-shin, who has received much love from readers for her stories filled with various emotions, such as “Thinking of You,” “Eleven O’Clock at Night,” “Chocolate Post Office,” and “Is Being Erased Also Love?”, has published a new book, “Words on the Moon.”
This collection of twenty-eight short stories unfolds as if the author is speaking to the readers through stories related to words, and ten essays contain stories of objects intertwined with the author.
Author Hwang Gyeong-sin tells his own story in language as fluid as poetry.

Chapter 1, “The Gravity of Words,” includes photographs taken by author Hwang Gyeong-sin himself, allowing readers to see through what lens the author views the world.
A variety of experiences taken in various places are bundled together into one story and told to us.
Chapter 2, “The Effort of Things,” features emotional illustrations by illustrator Jeon Ji-na, creating an even richer feeling.
The author's writing, always presented with colorful photos and illustrations, resonates more deeply with readers.

I hold it in my heart like I hold love
A ripe word

I held it in my heart as if I were holding love, to give it to you, a ripe word.
But the words you were given had long since lost their flavor and vitality, leaving you bewildered and me heartbroken, and misunderstandings growing between us.
The fruits of words were left in the garden of oblivion, crushed and rotting.
(Omitted) The seeds of the rotten fruit were blown to the moon by the wind, sprouting little by little, taking root, spreading leaves, and opening petals.
… …become something different.
Become something soft, warm, kind, and pretty.
_From the “Opening Remarks”

Author Hwang Gyeong-sin draws words and objects from everyday life into stories.
Ordinary experiences and humble objects, touched by the artist's hand, become precious moments and special beings and come to us.
The words of a writer loved by countless readers fly into our hearts and plant special seeds.
The moment a bud sprouts, takes root, spreads leaves, and flowers bloom, Hwang Gyeong-sin's unique language of 'soft, warm, kind, and pretty' will burst into our hearts like flower petals.

You wanted to search your heart and find something fiery that might be hiding inside you.
You too should have had something bright enough to burst forth at the slightest opportunity, something that could light up the world for a moment.
You realized too late that you had been struggling to keep from exploding while life shook you to your core, that you had been ruthlessly crushing every spark that appeared.

---From "Burst"

One evening, you were sitting in a cafe in Piazza San Marco.
The cup of espresso in front of you was the price you paid for giving up lunch and dinner.
At the next table, a large family of about ten people was having a birthday party.
An old lady in a wheelchair blew out the candles on her cake.
The band in the cafe played a birthday song and everyone in the square sang along.
As the children kissed the old woman on the cheek, she took off her sunglasses and wiped her eyes.
Strangely enough, you tasted those tears.
It was the taste of happiness and the taste of the moment.
It was a taste of a day that would never come again, a taste that would be remembered forever with both joy and sadness.

---From "The End"

You think it would be nice to recall an evening in St. Mark's Square, a place where there is no more way to find or lose, where the light of hope is fading away.
I think I want to feel the taste of the moment it touches the tip of your tongue.
When the long and difficult life of a stranger flowed into you, the world was beautiful, but you were lonely.
You were lonely, but the world was beautiful.

---From "The End"

You have experienced yourself as a speck of dust in the ocean of space.
The wondrous nothingness, the cold, indifferent tenderness of the sea, embraced you.

---From "Fate"

Before you know it, the stars are twinkling and the peaks of the highest mountains are starting to turn blue.
And you witness the sun rising with all its might, dispelling the darkness.
The moment when the day you must live opens wide before you is deeply engraved in your heart.
It's a miracle that happens every day, but it's a miracle you didn't take care of.

---From "Miracle"

He who wished for his wishes to come true wished for a life without wishes.
Instead of wishes that day, you wrote the names of your loved ones.
You thought as you hung the paper on the tree.
Maybe the wishing tree isn't a tree that grants wishes.
It is a tree that asks you what your wish is now and tells you what you must protect.

---From "Wish"