The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

“Did you?” Juho asked.

“I did. You’re a good speaker,” Geun Woo said, complimenting Juho.

“They must’ve edited the article so that it looked like I knew what I was talking about,” Juho said, waving his hand in denial.

“But you did just as well on TV, and I’m sure they edited the video too,” Geun Woo said, taking a sip of his beer.

“That is true.”

Whenever Juho looked at Geun Woo’s eyes, his dark circles became visible, and that was proving to be quite distracting. Geun Woo had made a successful debut, and he had been working incredibly hard in order to keep that success from marking the end of his writing career. ‘I wonder what he thinks of me?’ Juho thought to himself.

“Maybe I should try this whole anonymous-author thing.”

“What?” Juho let out by reflex, but realized that Geun Woo wasn’t serious shortly after. If he had actually meant it, then he wouldn’t have brought it up in an occasion like that.

“I just thought that some unknown writing style hidden deep within my conscience might come to life if I mimic everything you do.”

Although Juho was about to say flat out that that would never happen, he remembered that there existed someone who had come back from the dead. Then, after some thought, the young author answered, “I suppose it’s not entirely absurd.”

“Right?” Geun Woo said light-heartedly.

“It might not be some hidden writing style that comes to life, but you just might discover your hidden potential.”

“… You know, I brought it up as a joke, but I’m not gonna lie, this is actually starting to sound pretty tempting.”

At that moment, a loud burst of laughter cut their conversation short, and Dae Soo asked Geun Woo, “Do you wanna be like Yun Woo?”

“I wanna be popular,” Geun Woo told her exactly what he wanted.

“Me too,” Dae Soo said, agreeing with him shortly after.

Then, as both corners of his mouth turned down, he said, “But you already are.”

“Sure,” she said.

“But in that case, you’re a lot more popular than you think. Compared to some aspiring writers who haven’t even debuted yet, you’re practically a star.”

“You got me there,” Geun Woo said, looking down and admitting it with a sigh.

“Pff! Somebody got in trouble,” Seo Joong said, taking the opportunity to let his mouth run.

At which, Geun Woo objected impatiently, “Nobody’s in trouble! We were just talking!” However, there wasn’t much confidence in his voice.

Patting him on the shoulder, Mideum chimed in to comfort him, “I get where you’re coming from though. I mean, Yun Woo’s doing really well.”

Then, Joon Soo asked in his distinctively gentle tone of voice, “The interview’s been a major boost, huh?”

“Thankfully.”

“You know, I’d pay to see Yun Woo getting taken down the bestsellers’ list,” Seo Joong interjected, resting his face on his hand with his elbow on the table. “I mean, how many of your books are in the list? I swear, prolific writers.”

“It’s commendable if you ask me,” Dong Gil said, cutting Seo Joong off and looking at the young author. Then, giving his friend a judgemental look for his flippant attitude, Dong Gil added, “It means that his books are superb in both quantity and quality. It’s definitely not an easy achievement. Yun Woo’s a talented author.”

Contrary to what Dong Gil thought of Seo Joong, Seo Joong thought that Dong Gil was way too serious for his own good.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that I’m the only one doing well. Joon Soo here released a poetry compilation, and it’s become a bestseller.”

“All thanks to the media.”

After Joon Soo’s poems were quoted in a drama, his poetry compilation was growing increasingly popular. Similarly, other authors were on the rise. Mideum recently had a signing event in Japan, while Dae Soo had organized a guerilla event at a neighborhood bookstore. She was either one of the backbones of Korean literature or she was on her way to becoming one in the near future. Most people in the room had authored books that sold steadily.

“And then, Yun Woo reveals himself to the public,” Dae Soo said playfully.

“And of course, that means we’re all in trouble,” Seo Joong said. Then, being the mischievous person that he was, Seo Joong looked around the room as he became the center of attention. Seeing how Dong Gil was quietly eating his food, he gave Geun Woo a subtle look. At which point, he smiled and told Juho, “Everyone around me has been bothering me to get them a copy of the magazine.”

At his genuine congratulations, Juho felt something bitter in his mouth.

“C’mon, don’t be so modest now. You know you’re the best, huh?” Mideum asked. His fellow authors wanted to know what the young author was thinking. Maybe it was more accurate to say that they wanted to see him drunk with fame. Although he swayed left and right due to the influence of the authors around him, the genius tended to shine brightest when it came to novels.

“I wouldn’t dare call myself that,” Juho said, clasping his hands politely as a subtle gesture that told them that he wasn’t going to give in to their pressure.

“I swear, he sounds like an old man. No. Fun.”

“You mean mature? Unlike somebody I know?” Dong Gil said. Of course, Seo Joong paid no attention to it.

“Why didn’t you talk about me in the interview?” Mideum asked, wiping the beer from her mouth. To which, the young author answered with a shrug, “There just wasn’t a right time.”

“You mentioned ‘River,’ and the book concert, didn’t you?”

“Well, what would you have liked for me to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something along the lines of: ‘There’s this fellow author of mine by the name of Mideum Choo, and she’s an incredible detective novel writer,'” Mideum said in a low voice, as if mimicking the young author.

“Just think about how massive of an advertisement it would’ve been! Yet, you only brought up Choi.”

“I had to be mindful of the flow of the interview,” Juho said.

“A flow is created, my young friend.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just not all that used to being part of an interview.”

“Yeah, right. I saw you on TV!”

Then, Joon Soo said as he handed some tissue over to Mideum, “It is true that Sang’s been drawing more attention, though.”

Juho, too, had been aware of people’s heightened interest in the romance writer who had drawn his first love out of him. If he’d been present, he wouldn’t have been afraid to show himself off. Meanwhile, shredding the tissue she had taken from Joon Soo into tiny pieces, Mideum seemed like she wasn’t ready to let the young author off the hook any time soon.

“Why did you move on so quickly, though? You should’ve talked about the book concert some more.”

“I can’t really remember.”

“Yeah, right,” she said, chugging the remaining beer in her glass. “I’ll take another glass!”

Despite the amount of beer she had been drinking, there was not a tinge of red on her face. It was truly impressive. Then, seeing as though Juho hadn’t touched his first glass of beer, she said, “You’re an adult now. Try it.”

His fellow authors had ordered the young author a glass of beer in order to celebrate him becoming an adult. However, Juho hadn’t even touched it. Perplexed, Seo Joong asked, “I noticed that you haven’t even looked at it. Why aren’t you drinking it?”

At that, Mideum answered on Juho’s behalf, “He says he doesn’t like the taste.”

“A-ha,” Seo Joon let out, nodding and looking at Juho as if looking at a child.

“Well, give it try. Atmosphere is a big part of the drinking experience. It just might taste better than you remember,” Seo Joong said, subtly tempting the young author.

Mideum weighed in with him, “Yeah! You said you drank with your friends, didn’t you?” Drink with us!”

“Sorry. Not today.”

“Why!?”

Unfortunately, Juho wasn’t planning on drinking that day or the day after that. In fact, he intended on not drinking for a while. Looking at his cup filled with beer, he explained, “I have a story to write.”

“Eh?” Mideum let out, taken aback by Juho’s answer. When Juho looked up, she was looking at him with a perplexed expression on her face.

“What story?” Joon Soo asked. The fellow authors had to be aware of the short stories being published in the near future.

“The one that will come out with the short stories. You see, the short stories are not long enough on their own.”

“I see. So, that’s how things worked out.”

“So, Yun Woo’s at it again, huh?”

The fellow authors grasped the situation with the little information they had been given. Then, the air sank into silence as the authors each retreated into their respective minds. The first one to break the silence was Geun Woo.

“Haven’t you put us through enough trouble already?” he asked. Contrary how harsh the words had sounded, he had an unusually cheerful smile on his face.

“You tryin’ to take over the world or somethin’?” he said. Despite the dark circles underneath his eyes, Geun Woo looked genuinely happy to hear that the young author was writing again. “When is it coming out?”

“… Once I write it probably.”

“Do you ever take a break?” he asked, which was ironic when compared to the exhausted look on his face.

After a brief pause, Juho answered, “Honestly, I’ve been struggling to think of the details for the story. Maybe I really should take some time off.”

“Hey, man! I never said that you should take a break now. You gotta keep the promise you made with your readers. That’s what a professional does,” Geun Woo said.

“I didn’t know you wanted to read my short stories that badly.”

“I wanna read every single piece you’ve ever written.”

“…”

“Was that a little too far?”

“No, I appreciate your enthusiasm,” Juho said in order to keep Geun Woo from regretting his statement, and the rest of the authors exploded into laughter.

“We have a mega fan over here,” Dae Soo said, still smiling.

Then, embarrassed by his fellow author’s reactions, Geun Woo said, “I mean, I can’t be the only person who feels that way, right? Yun Woo writes some good stuff.”

“Yep. No doubt.”

“What’s with that tone…? You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”

“Puahaha!”

Having become a punching bag of his fellow authors, Geun Woo had to withstand them poking fun at him. Meanwhile, Juho looked intently at him, wondering if he had been sincere about what he had said. He didn’t seem to be lying. In fact, Juho wanted to hear more from him. At that moment, Joon Soo struck up a conversation with the young author, saying, “Your readers must be ecstatic.”

“I sure hope so,” Juho said, looking toward him.

“So, what are those short stories like?”

“They’re entirely different from the books I’ve written up to this point.”

The short stories had nothing in common with Yun Woo’s writing, to which his fellow authors were used. They were not at all like what they were thinking, and it was very much possible that they would be disappointed by them.

“What about the new one you’ve been working on?” Joon Soo asked, flicking his cup with his finger.

“Also different from what I’ve written up to this point.”

“You know, I understand where Geun Woo is coming from. I really do,” Joon Soo said, leaning back against the backrest of his chair. “Seems like this piece will show just how versatile you are as a writer.”

Juho agreed silently, reminding himself that he was writing something within his capabilities and that he was capable of writing something entirely different from what his readers and fellow authors were used to. Then, Dong Gil said, “But you’re stuck.”

Smiling at his straightforward remark, Juho said, “I’m still working on it, but I seem to have some trouble figuring out the main plot.”

“Sounds to me like you already have a direction in mind,” Dong Gil said, pointing out the young author’s progress precisely, and Juho decided to give his fellow authors a small hint about the story, “I wanted to write a story that takes place at school.”

From that small piece of information, Joon Soo and Dong GIl understood where Juho was coming from almost instantly.

“Authors tend to want to write about places they have left behind.”

“I don’t know if it’s because it’s gonna be released with the short stories, but there’s something really special about the setting,” Joon Soo said. Just like he had said, the timing was working out to the young author’s favor.

“I felt like writing something a little more cheerful this time.”

“You mean like ‘Trace of a Bird?'”

“Even more than that.”

Although a seemingly brighter piece in comparison to Yun Woo’s other novels, ‘Trace of a Bird’ still had some serious elements that were integral to the story. However, what Juho was after this time was happiness and humor.

“Although, things could always change as I write.”

“Is it gonna be about some funny events that happen at school?” Mideum asked, summarizing all the information up to that point.

“Or it could be about the Literature Club?” Dong Gil said. He tended to infuse his own experience into his novel.

“I did think about that.”

“But it’s not what you had it mind.”

“Right.”

Then, Dae Soo narrowed her eyes and stared into the air, saying, “High school, huh? Feels like it was ages ago.”

“Really? I still feel like I graduated yesterday,” Seo Joong said, tilting his head.

“That’s because you’re always hanging out with your high school buddy.”

Seo Joong and Dong Gil’s friendship went back to their childhood, and it included their teenage years.

“Yeah, well, neither of us changed all that much from the time when we were in school. I guess you can say that most of my memories from when I was a student are intact,” Seo Joong said calmly, and Dong Gil clicked his tongue irritably.

Then, Joon Soo chimed in, “A school is a place for growth and learning. It’s also a scaled-down version of our society, and there’s a definite hierarchy that exists within the system. Although, it’s sad that our educational system is often viewed negatively.”

“There’s no freedom, that’s for sure,” Geun Woo added quietly. It became apparent to Juho just how much everyone was looking forward to Yun Woo’s new story and how it would unfold.