Written by Lee Sang Kyo and Illustrated by Kim Whee Lee

An eight-year-old boy, Ji-ho, doesn't go outside at a time when he is in the middle of socializing with his peers. He doesn't even go to school. Usually, by the age of four or five, children naturally grow apart from their attachment dolls, but Ji-ho still has his doll by his side. For Ji-ho, who has not made friends, the doll is his friend and making dolls is his favorite play. Ji-ho may be a child with a sensitive sensibility who grows more slowly than his peers. The emotions of a child who is not very talkative are gradually depicted through the doll. The number of dolls that Ji-ho makes gradually increase, as if he is stitching together his fragmented mind. Big dolls, small dolls, pretty dolls, ugly dolls...

It is his mother who tells Ji-ho to go outside and play. However, Ji-ho is not interested in what his mother says. The only thing that moves Ji-ho is the nature, such as the smell of flowers, white clouds in the blue sky, birdsong, and the sound of the wind. While showing the doll that reveals Ji-ho's inner self, the writer carefully depicted the natural landscape. The scene of a bee sitting on a white flower conveys the idea that the outside is an infinitely soft space, while at the same time expressing the fearful emotions that Ji-ho has through the bee. In particular, the flow of the second half, which leads to scenes of rain, leaves a deep impression by vividly depicting raindrops falling in concentric circles. It feels as if the raindrops are pounding Ji-ho's heart.

Ji-ho's doll-making is about collecting and sewing pieces of cloth together to make a special friend. The doll is connected to Ji-ho and shares the bond with him. Ji-ho's unfamiliar and fearful feelings will be alleviated through playing with the doll. The doll paintings with the soft-touch show the process of Ji-ho finding psychological stability.

The technique of wetting paper with water and applying paint is a new attempt by Hwi-ri, the illustrator, to draw dolls. Rather than dividing the boundaries with lines, the colors spread and blend, resembling the slow pace of approaching someone when forming a relationship. The paintings, which contain the illustrator’s sensibility and interpretation, gently provides us with the story of Ji-ho.