The Grammar of Love

Author: Luo Xiangwan
Translator: Shi Meiyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The book market is ablaze with fierce competition, with huge investments and celebrity endorsements. Book advertisements are now appearing on screens. A bold and passionate young man, a deeply emotional young woman, and a love story that tugs at the heartstrings! This is the heartfelt work of South Korean author Luo Xiangwan—The Grammar of Love.
Scientists say love is just a chemical reaction. On the right side of the equation " =", there is a love hormone called "Pheromone," while on the left side, it remains an unknown variable with no standard answer. Are they a match made in heaven, a beautiful couple that enviously graces others? Or a subversion of traditional love, a match that defies expectations? The master of South Korea's "New Love" novels, Luo Xiangwan, tells you: In the world of love, there are no unchanging golden rules. True love is the only truth! This is the "Grammar of Love"!
South Korean youth can be simply divided into two categories: those who have read The Grammar of Love and those who haven’t. The former constitute the majority, while the latter are the minority. This is a novel about "sex" and "love"; a love story that makes countless heartbroken men and women shed tears.
Rao Xianlang, a student at Central University’s Film Department, falls in love as soon as he starts college: He falls for Xianzhu, the close friend of his sister Ming, while also embarking on a tangled emotional journey with his sister Jingji, her friends Yunjing, Renshu, and Yinglan.
The Clown’s Dream The soft spring rain is falling. Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude echoes in the car. Our limousine struggles through the thin rain curtain, climbing toward Haeundae. Gazing at the sea shrouded in mist and the towering skyscrapers, I lose myself. The scene feels like a dream—our honeymoon is coinciding with a rainy day.
By the side of Shaner, I deeply gaze at the lovers strolling hand in hand in the gentle rain. It’s strange that the day we met was also rainy. It’s truly a mysterious coincidence that I met Xianzhu, the friend of my sister, on a rainy day.
The car drives into the hotel. The doorman rushes over, opens the door, bows deeply to us, and holds up an umbrella for us. “I’ve seen you in magazines before, even on the cover! You’re the famous ‘Master Celebrity’ Rao Xianlang, right? It’s an honor to meet you!” He looks at me and Shaner with great excitement.
“Here’s the umbrella.” “They say you went to Japan for your honeymoon.” He seems to firmly believe the news reports and keeps talking about my wedding.
As we enter the hotel, I feel the gazes of everyone around us. Soon, the noise of camera flashes erupts. “Hello, I’m Lee Minhui from Celebrity Weekly. I heard you’re passing through Busan to Japan. Why did the rumors say you left three days ago?” “I’m Choi Minho from People Monthly. How’s the progress of your contract with the Japanese film company?”
I don’t answer them and go straight to the reception desk to get our room keys, heading straight for the elevator. The reporters follow closely.
A hotel staff member presses a button, and the elevator door opens. “Please maintain order!” the staff member tells the reporters rushing to get on the elevator, but they ignore him. On the elevator, the reporters continue to pester me.
“I’m going to Japan for my honeymoon to discuss the details of the Japanese film The Playgirl. But the main reason is that I can’t have a peaceful honeymoon in Korea.”
“Why didn’t you go directly to Japan first, then to Busan?” I glance at Shaner, and her face blushes. “My wife hopes to have our first night in our homeland.”
The elevator door opens, and they follow us down, still questioning. “That means you haven’t had sex yet?”
“I hope everyone respects others’ privacy.” The staff member brings our luggage to our room. “Good night, both of you.”
“Thank you.” I force a tip into his hand.
A group of reporters follows us into the room, taking over and sitting on the beds and tables, boldly confronting us. “Don’t interview her. She’s tired of the media. You’ve gone too far, even invading their new home.”
“This is the suffering every celebrity has to endure.”
“So, I’m considering giving up my career and becoming an ordinary teacher.”
“You’re an international superstar forged by South Korea. To give up over such a small matter would be a shame.”
By the time the interview ends, both Shaner and I are exhausted. To avoid the late-arriving reporters, I ask the reception desk to upgrade us to a suite on the seventh floor. Of course, I remind them to keep it confidential.
After taking a shower, I drink a beer while admiring the sea view outside the window. The rain gets heavier. The waves rise higher and higher on the sea. It seems I might have to stay here for two or three days, but as long as there are no reporters bothering me, there’s no need to go to Tokyo tomorrow.
Suddenly, I’m puzzled by an inexplicable question: Why is it raining? I turn on the radio, and beautiful melodies fill the quiet room. In my mind, I see my sister and her four sisters, all cheering for my wedding. But one of the girls, while clapping, has a sorrowful expression, tears welling in her eyes.
I knew her when I was in the first grade of junior high. She was a cover model for a magazine called Female Student. I was just an reader who happened to see her in my sister’s magazine. She has imprinted herself into my soul, dominating my entire student life. Her inviolable, sacred demeanor has infused life into my heart, which burns with passion.
Ah! The first time I saw her, I almost fainted. The girl who had been haunting my soul appeared before me, now a close friend of my sister in college. The day we met was also rainy. Six years have passed, and she is now a mature senior student, but her innocence remains, as if waiting for me to grow up into a university student. The only obstacle between us is age: she is two years older than me. In real life, two years is a huge barrier. If she weren’t my sister’s friend, we could get married.
In the end, I chose Shaner, but it wasn’t to forget Xianzhu.
“Are you sleepy, my love?” Shaner’s voice interrupts my thoughts. Her damp skin looks even more beautiful under the light red glow after the shower.
“What a wonderful night. Why do you want me to retire? I really want to…” I hold her shoulders, gazing at her deeply and ask. She shakes her head cutely and says, “I’m not the woman of the famous Rao Xianlang, but the wife of the ordinary Rao Xianlang. From now on, I’ll understand everything about you—your soul, your body, your worldview, your art.”
“If you tell me to stop, I’ll retire and just be an ordinary husband to a woman.” She gently closes her eyes, her long eyelashes looking adorable. My lips softly land on her forehead.
After a passionate embrace, my lips gently rest on her earlobe, her neck. My hands slide along her curves, landing on that sacred land. She trembles, and beautiful melodies flow from her lips like strings of music.
I am the musician, someone full of inspiration, capable of playing the most beautiful melodies in the world.