The Great Storyteller

Translator: – – Editor: – –

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

“Transcription? That’s the original draft!” the impostor insisted. She was probably planning on responding calmly, but she had made a mistake.

Juho continued while smiling, “I guess you did write it.”

The impostor became flustered by his words. She finally realized that she had made a mistake, and an implicit sense of anxiety came upon her like a wave.

‘No, it’s not over yet,’ the girl tried desperately to think of a way to escape that situation.

Juho continued as if he were trying to comfort her, “To someone who isn’t familiar with transcribing, they might think that this was the original. Unless you’re an enthusiast or an aspiring writer, you wouldn’t come to think about copying a book.”

“I told you, this is the original!”

“And I told you, I’m in the Literature Club.”

The girl clenched her hands tightly under her desk, and they were turning pale. If he really was in the Literature Club, he would know. He would know that an original couldn’t be that sloppy. He would know that a book couldn’t be written from scribbles on a cheap notebook, with no traces of endless anguish and editing on its pages.

Still, she kept on, “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, but if you’re going to be unreasonable, you should leave. No, I will.”

The girl stood up, rattling her seat. Even then, Juho was still looking down from above. Her pride hurt from having to look up from below.

He blocked her on her way out, and she grimaced at him. Her composure was already lost. Juho replayed the events from a moment ago. Along with a crowd blocking the hallway and students keeping their cell phones to take pictures, the students had been impacted by Yun Woo in many other ways. It was only going to get worse.

Besides, the impostor standing in front of him didn’t seem all that happy anymore. For the first time, someone had cast doubt on her. It was a firsthand experience. Though every person seemed to be worshipping her at the moment, it was certain that there were others who doubted her underneath the surface. It was just that for Seo Kwang and Mr. Moon.

The longer she stayed as Yun Woo, the more people’s doubts would eventually rise to the surface to suffocate her.

Juho looked up to the ceiling for a brief moment and thought, ‘It’s probably best for everyone else if I stop her now.’

He moved aside and let her through. As she walked past him, Juho said, “It was a lie that wasn’t going to last from the get-go.”

The girl stopped in her tracks. Juho had camly declared her end.

“A lie? It’s nothing like that!”

“It’s not enough to trick your schoolmates. It won’t cut it if you are to handle a name like Yun Woo.”

“…Why not?” Yun Woo turned around angrily. Her expression was filled with jealousy and a sense of inferiority. “What’s so great about Yun Woo that I can’t handle? He’s just an author. People might call him a genius or ‘the youngest author to do this and that,’ but he’s no more than a writer at the end of the day.”

She bit down on her lips. It was over. She might as well have confessed the truth. Yet, Juho nodded with a smile.

“You’re right. I don’t understand why everyone’s going crazy.”

“… Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you a fan of Yun Woo?”

“Nope.”

“…”

‘This guy just agreed with me,’ the girl thought in midst of surprise. ‘This isn’t the end. It’s already impossible to trick him. He’s the only person who knows that I’m not the real Yun Woo. As long as I keep his mouth shut, I can be rid of this anxiety.’

“Then, can you keep all of this a secret?”

“I don’t think so.”

Juho turned her down immediately, but the girl continued to beg him.

“How come? I thought you weren’t a fan.”

“I never said I dislike him.”

As she was about to continue, Juho raised his hand to stop her. At that point, there was no point in arguing whether he liked or disliked Yun Woo. He decided to set her free from her illusion.

“Like I said, this was a lie that wasn’t meant to last. You’re thinking that you just have to keep my mouth shut, right? But think about it. Do you really think I’m the only person you need to worry about?”

Her eyes moved restlessly. She was still having trouble understanding, and Juho calmly explained to her the things she would experience.

“The rumor spread to the teachers too. Your homeroom teacher will be looking for you soon because being Yun Woo is a big plus when moving up to college. You’re going to need a document that proves your identity.”

“I’ll just tell the teacher that I won’t be going to college.”

Her voice began to shake. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.

“Your photo could be an issue too.”

“Photo? What photo? I’ve been telling people not to take pictures of me.”

“That won’t stop these kids. Do you know how many kids are taking pictures of you from afar without you knowing? They’re probably showing it around to their families and friends saying things like ‘Yun Woo is in our school. I even got her autograph. This is her photo.’ On top of that, do you think they’ll stop at families and friends? If they upload their pictures to the internet, this becomes an even bigger issue. Reporters will come looking for you, and the publishing company will probably want confirmation. You’ll come out on the news too. At that point, you’d have already been caught, and then some. ‘A female fellow high school student who impersonated Yun Woo – I just wanted to be Yun Woo.’”

Her face grew more and more pale.

“No way! That’s not true!”

“Yun Woo is a celebrity already. On top of that, he’s staying anonymous and refuses every single interview. The reporters are probably dying to talk to him. If your identity becomes known, these people will be in a race to get to you first.”

Juho wasn’t merely trying to intimidate the girl. The name carried real weight and significance in reality. Having just understood the weight of her predicament, the girl trembled in fear.

“So, you should stop while you can. Your teacher hasn’t called for you yet. You haven’t had a reporter wanting to interview you either.”

“How can I!” lowering her head, the girl screamed desperately. “How can I confess? What would happen to me if I tell everyone that I’ve was a fake all along?”

“It’s probably going to be a tad embarrassing.”

“A tad!?”

She was writhing in despair. Being a genius was fascinating. He or she had left behind a beautiful piece of work and received praise from all over. The girl wanted to be a genius like that. One day, Yun Woo suddenly came into existence. Simply put, he was a genius. His work was innocent and pure. Before she knew, she had been captivated by it.

Then the girl began to transcribe his book. She had copied everything that could be found in his book onto her cheap notebook. It was hard to believe that her and Yun Woo were the same age. How could they be so different? She was swept into a storm that made her feel inferior and loathsome. So, she ripped up her notebook. She didn’t want to live any longer.

It was a coincidence that her friend had found her notebook. No, she had actually hoped for it to happen. She wanted the name to be hers. She wanted everyone to think that she was the real Yun Woo. She had left her notebook on her desk on purpose and then left it unoccupied.

With the notebook in her hand, the friend asked, “Are you really Yun Woo?”

The girl had hesitated, but her friend continued, “I’ll keep it a secret. Just tell me.”

So, the girl answered, “Yes, I’m Yun Woo.”

It had been thrilling to say those words.

“This is it. It’s all over.”

Just like that. It had felt so good, but it was all over. The life she knew had crumbled away.

It was a disaster. Her hair covered her face as her head lowered itself. It felt like she was surrounded by darkness. It was suffocating. Nobody could live like that. She wanted to jump off the school building. She wanted to run away. She wanted to end her life.

“Hahaha!”

Laughter.

There was sound of laughter. When she looked up, Juho was laughing with his hands on his belly. ‘Is he laughing? Seriously? How can he laugh in a situation like this?’

“Are you laughing because this has nothing to do with you? How could you?! I’m even contemplating my life!”

“Over this? It’s fine. You’ll be fine.”

“What?”

‘What is this guy thinking. Does he not know what I’ve been doing? How can he say that it’s going to be fine?’

“You were just so shameless when you were giving out your autograph, so I thought you would have the guts to survive through the troubles of being a celebrity.”

Autographs. She felt a wave of heat traveling up to her face. Her illusion had shattered, and now she was back to reality. A chaotic storm of shame and humiliation had overcome her mind.

‘I can’t. I can’t tell the truth. I just want to die.’

As if he were able to see the state of her heart, Juho said, “You know that it only gets worse the longer you stall, right?”

“I don’t know! I don’t care!”

Juho continued through her confusion, “Would you like to know why you weren’t able to handle living as Yun Woo?”

“What are you talking about?”

She was already aware of the truth. She didn’t need to be told that she wasn’t a genius. She didn’t want to be.

“It’s because it wasn’t your name.”

“It wasn’t my name?” she asked again, caught off guard by Juho’s answer.

“Yes,” he affirmed.

“It’s folly to live under another person’s name. Folly. Do you really want to take your own life over something like that?”

“Folly,” she muttered after Juho. ‘Folly. Living under another person’s name.’ His words were floating around in her thoughts. Something felt quite empty. At the same time, she felt her burden had lightened.

‘What is this? Was I burdened by something?”

Her mouth hung idiotically, and Juho laughed again at the sight.

“Well, you might have to reimburse a handful of people who got their books signed. Oh! And you should expect some people wanting to beat you at night. You might even have nightmares about it. You did do something that was rather stupid.”

“Stupid.”

Nothing had been solved. If anything, her life was now full of things to make up for. There was not a single piece of good news.

“I’ve been stupid all along… Haha!” she laughed simply, like an idiot.

*

Mr.Moon went into the classroom to begin his lesson. Class 7, it was the class Yun Woo was in, supposedly.

As usual, he opened his book and began his lesson. On the other hand, he was looking around the classroom. Frankly, he was looking at one particular student, Ina Jang. She was the student who was supposedly known as Yun Woo. The mole on her cheek made her stand out among the others. As if she had been told a joke before class, she had been snickering throughout the lesson. The mole on her cheek moved up and down as she did.

Mr. Moon called out a student to wake him up from the after-lunch slumber. Then, he asked him to answer a question from the textbook. After some thought, he answered with a mischievous smile, “Mr. M, I don’t know what the answer is. You should ask Yun Woo.”

Though he wasn’t intending on it at first, Mr. Moon turned his eyes to Ina. He was curious about how she would respond. After thinking for a brief moment, she stood up.

“I’m not Yun Woo.”

There was silence. Even the students who were laughing at first began to grasp the situation one by one. Ina continued, “I’m not Yun Woo.”

She wasn’t crying or smiling. She confessed as if she were sharing a fact.

“The real Yun Woo is probably…”

‘The real Yun Woo is probably somebody like that guy. Somebody who can change a person’s heart in the blink of an eye. Juho Woo was it?’ Ina thought as she looked around.

The students were dumbfounded. Some were fiercely glaring at her as if they had suspected it. There was chaos in the classroom. Ina clenched her fists and stood still. She didn’t want to run away from that.

“You’re a psycho!” One student said. Ina remembered her. It was the student who had asked for a special note.

“Psycho. Idiot. Potato, potahto.”

“What?”

Ina decided to stop her foolishness. She lowered head and apologized to the class.

“I was stupid. I’m sorry. I wanted attention. If I signed your book, bring it to me, and I’ll get you a new copy. Again, I apologize. I’m sorry.”

The class was filled with confusion. Mr. Moon grasped the situation and sighed. He had been somewhat looking forward to meeting Yun Woo in person.

Mr. Moon resumed his lesson.

*

“Finally, some peace and quiet,” Seo Kwang said as he looked out at the empty hallway.

Juho agreed. Things had settled down at school since the appearance and the exit of the impostor, at least on the surface.

Since it had been revealed that Ina Jang was not the real Yun Woo, everyone who claimed to be her fan had turned away from her. Among the group were her friends who first called her Yun Woo.

“Is that girl doing OK?”

“Who?”

“You know, the impostor. Ina Jang was it?”

“Why do you ask me?”

Seo Kwang asked back with a confused look on his face, “Didn’t you go to Class 7 during lunch?”

“What makes you think that?” Juho asked curiously, blinking his eyes in surprise.

“She confessed in front of her class right after you disappeared during lunch. I thought you had something to do with it.”

“I think you need to base your thoughts on something more solid.”

“I had a feeling, to be frank. It wasn’t you though?”

Though he described his thought to be a mere feeling, Seo Kwang was getting a strong impression that Juho was somehow involved. It might have been that he had a strange image of Juho after his bet with Baron. Nevertheless, Juho gave an affirming nod to Seo Kwang’s question.

“I did go to Class 7.”

“Are you serious? What did you do to make her confess?”

“You know, this and that.”

Juho didn’t say much. Being the quick-witted person he was, Seo Kwang rephrased the question, this time, focusing on the present.

“So, how’s she handling the aftermath?”

“It seems like she’s reimbursing others for the books she signed for now.”

Thinking about the kids who were criticizing Ina, Seo Kwang asked again, “I saw her eating alone earlier. Aren’t you going to eat with her?”

Juho snickered at him, “Apparently, she’s always been eating alone, even as Yun Woo. She didn’t want my company.”

“Of course. I guess she did have the guts to steal Yun Woo’s name all along.”

With his chin, Juho pointed outside, through the window. Wearing her P.E. uniform, Ina was standing on the schoolyard, and Seo Kwang turned his eyes to her.

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. A girl who’s into special things?”

Ina was having a conversation with another girl. It was clear that they weren’t talking about pleasant things.

“It looks super serious.”

The two girls were now scowling at each other. On the other hand, not one person looked away.

“You never know how a relationship will turn out.”

“What are you saying? What the, they’re fighting! They’re grabbing each other by the hair!”

“They’re going to be famous.”

Everyone focused their attention at the brawl in the schoolyard. Regardless of their year, a crowd of people gathered around the two in a circle.

A few days later, she was no longer eating alone.

The End