At the age of ten, Jiho was separated from her beloved older sister Jiu after their parents’ divorce. To stay close, the sisters traveled back and forth between Busan and the U.S. during school breaks. But over time, Jiu’s letters spoke only of new friends and family, leaving Jiho—already struggling with discrimination and neglect in America—resentful of her sister. The truth, however, was different. Jiu had been diagnosed with acute leukemia, and the happy life she described was a lie. When news of Jiu’s death reached her, Jiho suspected suicide and secretly took Jiu’s “Observation Notebook,” its last few pages torn out—perhaps her missing will. Years later, Jiho, now studying archival science at university, opens her heart to Yeong-won, a friend with scars similar to her own. But when Yeong-won returns to Korea to pursue her dream of opening a book restoration workshop, contact is lost. Jiho eventually learns Yeong-won has fallen into a coma after a sinkhole accident. Determined to keep her friend’s dream alive, Jiho becomes the temporary keeper of “Yeong-won’s Book Repair,” restoring meaningful books for clients: a Bible, an heirloom Cheonin Cheonjamun, a wedding album, even an old exam workbook. Through these repairs, Jiho begins to mend her own heart. And it is then that she uncovers a small but hidden truth inside her sister’s “Observation Notebook”…

With a heart not of “restoring” or “rebuilding,” but of “mending,” we carry your story into its next chapter. To Be Continued in the Next Chapter is a novel that quietly contemplates life after profound loss. Through the process of book mending, it weaves together the stories of diverse individuals—sexual minorities, adoptive families, lifelong learners—while the repairer herself finds the strength to move forward to her own next chapter through the tales entrusted by her clients. This book was created in collaboration with Jaeyoung Book Repair, the only book-mending workshop in Seoul. It captures both the detailed process of the craft and the living philosophy of a real repairer. Its message—“Life is not restored but mended”—guides readers toward their own next chapter.