The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

“Don’t waste my time asking questions like that,” Coin said emphatically and with dazzling confidence. The host hesitated at the author’s blatant refusal to answer the question. Then, a couple of audience members beat the host to it, yelling, “C’mon!”

“Tell us!” a lady shouted from the audience. After which, a man who appeared to be her friend covered her mouth in a hurry. Although the host calmed them down with a smile, Coin remained completely unfazed.

“Nobody can force me to answer a question. This is not a court.”

At that, Juho covered his mouth, resisting a chuckle. Although it was unfortunate that he wouldn’t find out which one of his books Coin liked the most, Coin was also staying true to himself in the way he had answered.

“I don’t have a favorite. He still has a ways to go until I can even consider which one of his books I like the most.”

“Is it because you like them all? Is that why you’re having trouble deciding?”

“I never said that.”

While the host was looking at Coin, trying to think of an angle from which to approach him, Coin said added, “But…”

“But?”

“… Since we’re talking about our debut titles, I do have something to say in that regard.”

“What would that be?” Juho asked, puzzled.

“Whether people love it or hate it, authors tend to have certain elements that they carry from the very beginning of their writing careers. It doesn’t matter what they do to cover it up. They’re bound to show somehow. For example, I’ve written about lies a number of times, and it shows up in other stories that are about completely different things because it has found a way to infuse itself in other areas in my writing. But ‘Trace of a Bird’ is… How should I put it? It’s unique.”

“What do you mean by that?” the host interjected. At which point, Coin looked at him as though he was asking an obvious question.

“You people rave about it all the time. Split personality this and that.”

People were referring to the different writing styles Juho possessed. However, Coin had noticed the difference long before everyone else. After some contemplation, an irritated look appeared on Coin’s face.

“Does that mean you have questions for Yun Woo? From one author to another?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Then what?”

“Why don’t we move on?”

To Juho, ‘Trace of a Bird’ was the connecting piece between his past and present. Whether when he had been homeless in the past or after remaining an author in the present, the book had kept its place. Juho looked at Coin, who was growing increasingly irritable. Soon, the interview moved on to another subject.

“Frankly, I can’t really remember what things were like before Yun Woo anymore. That’s how big of a presence he is in the literary world. You two are known for being prolific writers, but you, Mr. Woo, just came back from a two-year hiatus.”

“That’s true.”

“I heard you kept writing even after you were discharged from the military?”

“Yes, I did,” Juho said.

“And I also heard that you were planning the sequel for quite some time?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as calling it planning, but I did have a vague image in mind.”

“So, this was probably about six years ago.”

“Yes. I didn’t actually start writing until I got to Germany.”

“You mean at the bookfair, right? Kelley was on the stage back then.”

“What happened back then was completely unexpected.”

“You signed a contract with Zara Jenkins, right? I remember jumping up and down when I found out that ‘Language of God’ was getting made into a movie. As far as I’m aware, you were pretty firm about not doing another film adaptation. What made you want to work with Zara Jenkins?”

At that, Juho answered according to the script. As the audience listened to him intently and with interest, the screen on the set showed the host dressed like one of the characters from the movie.

“So, I heard that the three of you got together at one point? As in Kelley, you, and Zara?” the host asked Coin, who proceeded to share a few things that had occurred while they had been in Germany.

“When Yun Woo was about to fly back to Korea, I ended up having to send him off somehow. At the same time, there was Jenkins, who was hungover like no other, throwing up left and right. Probably, at least six times on our way to the airport.”

“Do you think you could tell us more about that? Did you all drink together?”

“No, he drank on his own. I didn’t wanna throw up in the plane. If I were to let everyone in on a secret, Mr. Jenkins has a peculiar drinking habit of wanting to squeeze himself into tight spaces when drunk. Of course, that day wasn’t any different, and he seemed to be really fond of the restroom that day. I remember being exhausted from trying to pull him out of there all day.”

Then, the host dug deeper into their time in Germany, from pubs to restaurants, bookstores, libraries, museums, and other tourist attractions. When the conversation started to feel like it was dragging on, the host asked, “So, Kelley, how was it spending two years of your life without Yun Woo?”

To which, Coin replied without hesitation, “It was very good.”

“Did it give you some room to breathe?”

“The world was my oyster back then, but that isn’t to say that his absence affected my life in any way. Yun Woo didn’t have any impact on my life.”

“But there had to be some… OK, I hear you. You wrote a book back then that did really well. I believe it was nonfiction? How did that make you feel, Mr. Woo? Did Coin’s success make you anxious at all?”

After some contemplation, Juho replied, “A little bit, but he was in a completely different situation from mine, and I wasn’t exactly slacking off either. I did like that there were a lot of books around to read.”

“Great! Now, let’s change things up a little, shall we?” the host said with a satisfied look on his face. Then, with a silly look on his face, he shoved himself under the desk and pulled out a box.

“In here, we have different topics that have been chosen by our amazing audience. But, I have to warn you, you might end up with something that makes you uncomfortable. Say, first love.”

Then, looking toward Juho, the host asked, “Do you have a girlfriend at the moment, Mr. Woo?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why not? I’m sure there are plenty of ladies out there who want to date you. So, do you think you can let us in your private life a little bit?”

At that, Juho groaned and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m pretty sure that it’ll look nothing like the picture you have in mind.”

“How are they different?”

As Juho zipped his mouth, the host asked no further. Nabi was standing behind the cameras with her arms crossed and an intimidating look on her face.

“All right. Not a problem. But, should you come across a paper that asks about your private life, there won’t be a way out,” the host said, handing the box over to Coin, who reached into it indifferently and pulled out a piece of paper. Upon checking what was written on it, an ambiguous look appeared on the host’s face.

“OK. Back to the basics. I can appreciate that,” he said, flipping the paper around, which read: ‘The reason why you were born.’

For the first time since the taping had started, Juho agreed with the host. The audience applauded as if jeering the question.

“You go first,” Coin told Juho. Although he needed more time to think about the question, Juho was left with no choice. In the end, sighing, Juho replied, “I don’t know. What do you think? To write?”

Coin sneered at Juho thinking out loud. Since Juho had already expected him to behave that way, he didn’t take it personally.

“Well, what about you, Kelley? What do you think?”

“Sperm fuses with ovum, leading to fertilization, which then proceeds to grow into a fetus. Birth of a human being.”

“Wow! I thought I was in science class for a minute there!” the host said as if encouraging the author. Knowing that Yun Woo was the only person who wasn’t intimidated by Coin, the host wanted to expose the nature of their relationship to the fans. The two authors were on equal footing, which meant that they would be able to hold a discussion on an even level.

“What about making up for my past mistakes?” Juho said.

“That’s not even funny.”

“What makes you say that, Mr. Woo?”

Although Coin had an arrogant look about him, he still seemed to take interest in the young author’s answer to some extent.

“What? We’re bringing past lives into this, now? Making up for mistakes? That’s what idiots do.”

“Do I sound like one?”

“Yeah, you do. Humans go their entire lives doing nothing but making mistakes. As for myself, I’m the prime example of that. My entire life is defined by mistakes. Yet, to say that you were born again just so you could try to make up for that? That’s absurd.”

“Hm,” Juho let out. After some contemplation, Juho approached the subject from another angle, “OK. How about this? Not repeating the mistakes I made in the past.”

Coin pouted his lips as if Juho’s answer had improved only slightly.

“You can do that without being born again.”

“… Sure, assuming that you stay alive,” Juho said, adding after looking around at all the cameras, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I shouldn’t be the one to take my own life.”

After the bizarre conclusion, Coin looked at the host, who asked quickly, “What makes you say that?”

“You know, I just don’t like this subject. The reason why I was born? Why would anybody wanna know that?” Coin said.

“Why wouldn’t they? Doesn’t everybody think about that at some point? Mostly when their hormones are raging during their teenage years,” the host replied.

“I thought it was an interesting subject,” Juho added.

“Right!?”

“But I also get where Coin’s coming from,” Juho said, and the host looked toward him. Sitting up on his seat, Juho added, “We’re not objects, after all.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“As in, we’re not born with set values,” Juho said, picking up his cup from the table. “Like this cup. It’s made to be used a certain way. But, that’s not so with humans. It’s not that simple for us.”

One’s search for the significance of their birth could also mean that they were searching for their purpose in life. It was similar to looking for warnings or the ingredient labels of products.

“When we’re lost and confused in life, we all wish that we were born to do one certain thing, like this cup. For example: when we’re deciding on a career path. We also have the ability to adapt to different situations. Say I’m thirsty, but I don’t have a cup on me. In that moment, I would drink out of my hands like I would out of a cup.”

However, at the end of the day, a cup could never be human, not by any circumstance.

“Actually, Coin talked about something similar in one of his novels,” Juho said. That had been why he had expected Coin to sneer at him.

“What do you know?” Coin said in his usual tone of voice.

“Or not.”

If Juho had been wrong, Coin wouldn’t have bothered to wait for him until he had finished talking. Meanwhile, the host made it so that the two talked to each other more candidly.

“Are there things that you guys don’t like about each other? Like just now, when you guys didn’t see eye to eye. Why don’t we start with you, Mr. Woo?”

Juho put his brain to work. Meanwhile, Coin glared fiercely at him. Then, just as the the silence was about to get uncomfortable, Juho said, “You need to stop breaking your cups.”

“Cups?” Coin and the host asked simultaneously.

“You see, Coin has a habit of breaking his mugs on a regular basis. I really wish he’d be more careful. I feel really bad for all the mugs that get replaced. Whenever I’m at his house, I always see pieces of what used be mugs.”

“Hmph,” Coin let out, looking at Juho as though it was none of his concern.

“Anything else? Do tell more! You’re surrounded by cameras, so you’re safe. Besides, it’s not every day you get to do this.”

“Honestly, we low-key trash talk each other on a regular basis. Though, I’m having a hard time thinking of an example now that I’m actually trying.”

“What about you, Kelley?”

“I can’t stand his very existence.”

The host smacked his lips. However, he still had cards left to play, and they were bound to incite the two guests.

“So, my understanding is that you were both nominated for the Nebula Award.”

At the mention of the award, which Juho had been expecting, he sat up on the sofa.

“And you two have a special connection to that award ceremony. I remember when Coin received the awards on Mr. Woo’s behalf. Are you planning on attending the ceremony yourself this year, Mr. Woo?”

“Yes, I am,” Juho replied. He wasn’t going to send somebody to the ceremony to represent him.

“Which means you two will be sitting next to each other at the ceremony,” the host said, looking delighted.

“First, I’d like to ask Kelley: What’s it like to have such a young rival? Do you get pressured by it?”

Then, Coin opened his mouth and said…