Cruel in Cheongju

Every time I visit my friend Teri in Cheongju, I always feel a bit of a sucker punch when we go downtown:

Notice the little satellite sign that helpfully reads "page 12".  What was I to think?  What would YOU think?

The first time I saw this, I was walking, yes indeed.  I was smiling, striding.  The theme from Chariots of Fire was crescendo-ing in my head, as were plans to move to Cheongju forthwith.  I rounded the corner smartly, looked past the coffee shop with an expectant smile and saw this:

My smile froze and fell.   I whipped through the five stages with a speed that would have impressed Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

"A clothing store? No way.  The bookstore is probably upstairs, or around here somewhere. I just gotta look harder."

"What. The. Actual. Fuck.  Who in the HELL is responsible for this bullshit?  What kind of stupid idiot names a clothing store BOOK MARK???"

"Maybe there are some books about fashion inside. I don't mind; I can read about fashion, even if it's in Korean.  I really don't mind."

"Why go on??????  What's the use???  Later on, I'll be hungry and I'll probably see a sign that says Cheeseburger in Paradise and it'll just be another superfluous clothing store that markets size 0 clothing."

"Sigh.  Book Mark.  It's a clothing store, sure enough.  Sad but true.  Where's my camera?"


How many other bookworms walking about in Cheongju have felt the sting of this cruel mockery?  I guess it's mean and petty to hope that all of Book Mark's shoppers are merely of the window variety, but I can't help it.