The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

“I have to see you getting impressed in person,” Jenkins said. He wanted desperately to see Juho watching his movie in person. Meanwhile, Juho stopped in his tracks and squatted in front of a nameless plant.

“Seems like you still refuse to say anything about failure.”

“I made the movie while you were gone. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of inspiration,” Jenkins said confidently, probably with his chin raised high.

“You sound very confident, Mr. Jenkins.”

“I very much am.”

“Well, that makes me look forward to the movie even more,” Juho said, fiddling about with the leaves of the nameless plant.

At that, Jenkins stopped running his mouth all of a sudden.

“I’m leaving Korea tomorrow.”

“You see, Mr. Jenkins, I’m kind of in the middle of a vacation.”

“Please, Mr. Woo. Is there a way we can make this work?”

“I don’t have a problem waiting a little longer,” Juho said, chuckling, and Jenkins gnashed his teeth irritably.

“Why did you decide to go to the States of all places when I’m in Korea!?” Jenkins asked, pointing out inadvertently the precise reason for Juho to be in the States.

“I was afraid you might show up at my door without any notice.”

“C’mon, Mr. Woo! Isn’t it a bit excessive for you to fly out of your country like that?”

“I find that reaction difficult to take seriously when coming from you, Mr. Jenkins.”

“… In any case, DO NOT watch that movie without me there! All right? BY ANY MEANS!”

On one hand, Juho wanted to run to the nearest movie theater and watch the movie. However, after some thought, the young author nodded and said, “You know, it’s beautiful out, so I think I’ll enjoy the Sun while it lasts.”

“Promise?”

“You got it.”

Then, like he had promised, Juho made his way to a movie theater just after dark.

“Been a while since I’ve watched a late-night movie.”

It was the result of adjusting his schedule to the director’s. When Juho looked around, Jenkins was still nowhere to be found. The young author was aware that Jenkins had already landed in the States. Since he was early, Juho decided to wait for the director peacefully, standing a slight distance from the theater entrance and watching moviegoers going into the theater. Then, Juho checked the time.

“Maybe he’s running late.”

Jenkins was still nowhere to be found, ten, even twenty minutes later. When Juho checked the time again, it was officially after the time when they had agreed to meet. At that moment, his phone started vibrating in his hand.

“Where are you?” Juho asked. However, instead of a response, coarse breathing came from the receiver. Leaning against the building, Juho asked, “Running late?”

“Wait just a little… Huff… longer! The jet lag… whew … I’m a hot mess.”

He had to have slept through his alarm. However, considering the intensity of his schedule recently, it made sense.

“Should we meet tomorrow?”

“No! Whew… I’m on my way.”

“The movie’s about to start. You sure you’re gonna be able to make it in time?”

“I’m here!” Jenkins said, sounding even more desperate than usual. At which point, Juho looked back.

“I’ll get us the tickets.”

“You do that. Huff… Huff..”

Juho bought a ticket from the ticket office. After some thought, he decided to go to the snack bar and get Jenkins a drink. The movie theaters in the States didn’t seem all that different from the ones in Korea. Lingering around in front of an empty arcade, Juho checked the time. Since there were commercials and previews before the actual movie, there was still time.

“Whew!”

Upon hearing a breathing sound, Juho felt a strong impact on his shoulder. It was Jenkins, who seemed quite distressed.

“Hey, there,” Juho said. Instead of giving him an answer, Jenkins stretched out his neck and coughed noisily, holding his sides.

“You made it.”

“I told you. I fell asleep… before I knew it… when I saw the time… Oh, man. Whew!”

“Here,” Juho said, offering the drink to the director, who took it and guzzled it without question. At that moment, a group of people walked past them, staring in their direction. At which point, Juho pulled down his hat in order to conceal his identity.

“Burp!” Jenkins let out. He looked noticeably better.

“You’re not gonna pass out during the movie, are you?”

“I can’t tell if it’s day or night, but I’ll be OK. To this day, I’ve never passed out watching a movie.”

Although there was no way to confirm that, Juho nodded.

“Well, we better go in now. Though, I don’t know if we’ll find any good seats.”

At that, Jenkins let out a small sigh and said, “I wanted to show it to you in the best possible environment. Not in some janky neighborhood movie theater.”

Making his way into the theater, Juho replied, “I like it here.”

“… All right, then. Well, my movie will stand out on its own, no matter where it’s being played.”

Then, he snatched the tickets from the young author’s hand and walked on ahead.

“Let’s sit here.”

After entering the theater, the two found a reasonable spot. Although there were quite a few people in the theater, there was no one else sitting on the row Juho and Jenkins were sitting on. The two had to be the last people to get in. While Juho was staring dazedly at the commercial being played on the screen, a chuckle came from the director.

“I’m having trouble staying calm.”

Juho looked at Jenkins, whose face was dyed blue from the screen light.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for two years.”

Without replying, Juho looked toward the screen. However, Jenkins still had his eyes fixed on the young author.

“You can’t give me what I’m looking for,” Juho said.

“No. I cannot.”

Jenkins couldn’t give the young author what he was looking for. No matter how much others tried to convince Juho otherwise, that didn’t change the fact that the director didn’t have what he was looking for.

“Which also means it could be something completely unexpected,” Juho said.

At that, a big grin appeared on the director’s face.

“Precisely. I’m confident in my product,” he said.

At that moment, the screen went dark. Then, a bright light illuminated the silent theater. The movie started.

—

“Not bad,” Coin murmured with his eyes fixed on the screen. He had come to the movie theater by himself.

Then, he thought of Jenkins. He was one of the most widely recognized directors in Hollywood, and his colorful resume and history were proof of that. Even those who knew nothing about movies or movie festivals knew who Jenkins was. However, Coin, who hadn’t seen any of Jenkins’ movies, was simply uninterested. He didn’t care either.

From the time the movie started, Coin hadn’t done anything aside from looking at the screen, captivated by the very first scene of the movie. From the start, Jenkins depicted the world within the novel effectively. Feeling his pulse responding to the flow of the movie, Coin realized that he was completely immersed in it.

‘The actors don’t seem like actors. The movie doesn’t seem like a movie. The makeup. CGI. Performance. A tribe made of people who have six fingers. A tribe that communicates through motions. Everything’s fake. None of it actually exists.’

The movie was more than riveting enough to silence those thoughts.

Along with the epic background music, the languages became audible. Completely captivated by the visuals, Coin found himself more emotional than rational, which made for a good movie experience. He was able to focus on the movie without holding back, and that was the kind of effect Jenkins’ movies had on their viewers.

The characters spoke in foreign languages, and the translations appeared as subtitles on the bottom of the screen. That was a language that Yun Woo had created. Tapping on the armrest of his seat, Coin wondered what the languages in the movie would sound like to its creator. How satisfied would he be? Watching the movie had to be a different experience for him, one unlike that of Coin, who was just another spectator.

“This water exists so that we can cross it.”

Coin was aware that Yun Woo was in the States. However, he didn’t go out of his way to reach out to him. ‘Maybe I should’ve watched it with him,’ Coin thought to himself, rubbing under his nose, realizing that he had missed a sight to behold. At which point, he genuinely wished he had called the young author ahead of time.

—

“Hahaha,” Juho let out along with the rest of the audience. At which point, Jenkins flinched. Juho fixed his eyes on the screen. Then, a member of the six-fingered tribe said, “God is all-knowing.”

Upon hearing those words, Juho heard a sound in his head. Click.

“God is dead.”

Juho didn’t recall being delighted to hear that statement. The intriguing, yet strange and foreign ability had never come to him as pure joy. Juho clasped his hands together, naturally focusing on One, resonating with everything the character saw, read, and translated.

“It is foolish to mock God.”

Juho and One were strangers to each other. Having first met in the young author’s fantasy, the two had parted ways without ever becoming friends. Just as every person in Juho’s world was different, everyone in One’s world was also different. However, the movie gave Juho the illusion that he had become one with the character on the screen.

“This water exists so that we can cross it. It’s a way for us to see something greater,” One said.

Then, along with the land, the sea stretching into the endless horizon appeared on the screen, which was far wider than the span of Juho’s arm, and far longer than he could ever reach. A world so big that it overwhelmed those who saw it. That was precisely what the young author had envisioned. Licking his lips, Juho murmured, “Very nice.” At which point, Jenkins swallowed nervously.

After what felt like thirty minutes, the three-hour-long movie finally came to its end. When the movie ended, it took Juho a little while to adapt to the silence. While Juho was massaging his brow, Jenkins asked as they were left alone in the theater, “What did you think?”

“You were blatantly observing me, weren’t you? What do you think I was thinking?”

“I can’t say,” the director said, crossing his arms.

“You can’t say?”

“I was too nervous.”

When Juho looked at Jenkins, he had a stiff smile on his face. He looked like he had held his breath for the last three hours. Juho unclenched his hands. He had been just as nervous

“A beer would’ve been nice right about now,” Juho said, drinking the Coke that had gone flat. Then, breathing slowly as though savoring the drink in his mouth, Juho relaxed on the seat. When he locked eyes with the director, there was excitement and the lingering effect of the movie in the young author’s eyes.

“To say that letting you direct this movie was the best decision I ever made…”

At that, a look of delight spread on Jenkins’ face.

Then, the young author added, “… would be a slight overstatement.”

At which point, the look on the director’s face quickly turned into that of perplexity. Juho wasn’t comfortable with being transparent with his emotions in front of Jenkins. By the time the director reached the limit of his patience, Juho shared his honest thoughts, saying, “I really enjoyed the movie. I learned a lot from it.”

At the young author’s genuine response, Jenkins’ blue eyes started shaking. When Juho had seen those eyes for the first time, he hadn’t been able to picture them being so vulnerable.

“I think I’m gonna cry,” Jenkins said, teary-eyed and covering his mouth.

“I’m sorry?”

Upon seeing the director having an emotional moment, Juho straightened up, confused as to whether he was acting or genuinely happy.

Then, springing up from his seat, the director shouted, “THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!”

Whatever that meant, it made the young author quite uncomfortable.

—

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