The Great Storyteller

Chapter 67: A White Piece of Paper from the Sky (3)

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Juho handed over the pages he had picked up one by one. They were all dirty and out of order. The man just stared at what was once his composition.

“It’s trash.”

“I went out of my way to pick it up.”

“You can keep it then. I want nothing to do with it. I’m not writing anymore,” he said

“I really gotta pull myself together. I’m getting older and I’m without a job. I should at least have some sort of license if I want to put food on the table… It’s getting embarrassing to see my teacher now,” he added as he teared up. The reality of giving up writing was causing him a great deal of pain.

“When you hang onto something for a decade, you eventually start to feel numb. You feel anxious and excited at first, but when it gets repeated, you start losing your confidence and your health. All you are left with is your mouth, making empty promises,” he said with a sigh.

“An author can’t afford to grow numb. I’ve been done with all along. I just couldn’t accept it because I’ve been so attached to it… Are you listening?”

When the man looked up after he had finished complaining, he saw Juho was distracted by something.

Juho snatched the stack of paper from the man, leaving him behind at a loss for words.

“Hey!”

“Give me one moment,” Juho answered half-heartedly as he focused on reading a sheet of paper.

“… Aren’t you a weirdo? I can’t even complain now. Keeping your ears open, huh? That’s fine, I didn’t even expect you to anyway. You’re not even a counselor or anything, so I guess the fact that you even stuck around means something. In the end, I don’t have any stories to tell, and my writing’s just depressing,” he murmured, but Juho paid no attention.

He had turned the page, and then the next. After some time, the overall plot started to make sense.

The composition was about cannibalism. A person ate another person. The story unfolded amid the atrocity. It was depressing, colorless and unsettling. He saw the lack of confidence in the writing. It had been provocative and terrifying, but it wasn’t bad.

“This is good.”

“What?” he asked weakly.

“This composition. I like how depressing it is. It almost feels like it’s digging into the depths.”

The man didn’t say anything.

“It is gruesome and terrifying, but it comes to me as shocking more so than offensive. That’s why I can keep on reading,” Juho added as he kept reading.

The man couldn’t take Juho’s words seriously, thinking that he was just a kid. Yet, Juho shared his honest opinion.

“It’s almost refreshing how depressing it is. You’re not holding back on the cruel side of human nature. There’s weight to the story, and it lingers in my mind,” he said. “When it comes out, I’d like to savor it from cover to cover.”

The man stayed silent for some time. Eventually, he opened his mouth and asked, “Did you like it?”

“Yes, I did,” Juho said as he nodded. It had been a good read.

“You were going to submit this, right?”

“… Yeah.”

“But then you found yourself losing confidence and feeling depressed, so that’s why you threw it off the bridge.”

“… Yes, you sassy brat.”

“You’re not numb,” Juho said with a smile.

It had been true. Despite the lifeless look on his face, the man hadn’t grown numb. He had misunderstood. He had simply overlooked the remnants of his emotions that had sunk down to the bottom.

Juho looked at the composition. Though it was colorless, the emotions were definitely there. He was able to feel them.

“If you’re not submitting this, can I keep it?”

“What?”

“You said you’re quitting. You won’t need it then. Man, this must be my lucky day. Thanks, take care.”

Juho turned around, leaving the man dumbfounded. Without delay, he started walking away. There were still no signs of movement, so he kept on.

Soon, there was quite a distance between the two, but when he saw the end of the bridge, a voice boomed from behind him.

“Wait!”

Juho looked back.

“Yes?”

That time, the man approached him. He had run and was now gasping for his breath. The dark circles around his eyes had gotten slightly red.

“I never said that. Give it back,” he shouted shamelessly.

“I thought you said you were quitting?” Juho smiled and asked.

“What are you talking about? This is a masterpiece. You might not know, but things like this happen to artists all the time,” he said as he snatched the pages from Juho’s hands. The sheets crumpled up from his forceful grasp.

“Careful.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to print it again anyway. I’ll clean it up and send it over to a publishing company.”

With that, he rushed past Juho, who watched the man from behind. Suddenly, the man stopped in his tracks.

“Thanks. It had been a while since I was complimented.”

“I was only speaking my mind. I’ll buy the book when it comes out,” Juho answered with a shrug.

“Haha! OK, you hang in there till then.”

A new emotion had appeared on the once lifeless face. When he couldn’t see the man anymore, Juho started walking.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t even ask his name.”

‘Would I be able to find his book?’ he thought as he scratched his head.

A few months later, Juho would find a book titled ‘Sad Face’ at the bookstore.

“Writer: Geun Woo Yoo”

After finishing the book, Juho found a special thanks at the end of the book.

“Special thanks to a sassy brat I met on the bridge.”

The sighing echoed throughout the science room. Unlike usual, there were no comic books or snacks on the desk. Instead, things had been replaced by a depressing silence.

“What’s gotten into you guys?” Juho asked as he closed the book he had been reading.

Nobody answered. There was not a trace of happiness in the club members’ faces. Baron was the same way.

“The weather is so nice. Look outside.”

“I guess so…”

“I see birds.”

“Yeah…” Bom said lifelessly. Everyone with the exception of Juho was burying their heads in their arms. Things in the science room had been the complete opposite of the weather outside.

Juho scratched his cheek. There had to be a reason for why the club members were so lifeless when they’d always been full of life.

“It’s OK if you didn’t get the award,” Juho said in order to encourage them.

“It’s NOT OK! None of us got an award!” Sun Hwa snapped as she turned teary eyed. She was used to getting good grades, so she was having a hard time accepting the situation.

“This is unheard of. I thought we were good writers? How come we didn’t get the award?”

“Enough with the awards. I’m hurting as it is.”

“I want the award! It should’ve been us!” Sun Hwa raised her voice all the more at Seo Kwang’s response. He let out a deep sigh and turned his head toward Juho.

“Actually, what really doesn’t make sense is that you didn’t get an award. Shouldn’t you have won?”

“Well, what can I do? They wouldn’t give it to me,” Juho answered light-heartedly.

“This is serious! There might be some sort of conspiracy behind it, like lobbying, or bribes,” Seo Kwang cried out as he lost his temper.

A conspiracy theory, they must have been really disappointed.

“You didn’t get your award either huh, Baron?” Sun Hwa asked weakly.

“It’s unfortunate, but wouldn’t it be odd for the Literature Club to celebrate a member winning an award at an Art Contest?”

“Oh, you don’t have to be so modest. You were very much included when I said that none of us got an award.”

“Well, what can I do? They wouldn’t give it to me,” Baron answered like Juho.

Soon, the science room grew silent once again. The birds were chirping outside, and the kids were playing in the schoolyard. The hallway was quiet.

Though Juho did prefer a quiet environment over a busy one, the silence in the room was rather uncomfortable.

‘I was going to wait, but I guess there’s no other way,’ Juho thought as he stood up from his seat.

‘Drag,’ went the chair across the floor, and everyone turned their eyes in the direction of the source.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to find something.”

“What are you looking for?”

Instead an answer, Juho walked toward the chalkboard where there were still flyers for various contests.

“You want an award?” Juho asked as he looked at the flyers.

“… Duh. Not that we’re writing strictly for awards, but yeah.”

“Then, you come find it too.”

“Find what?”

Juho turned around as he took off one of the flyers from the chalkboard.

“Your next contest.”

He sat back down and looked through the flyer he’d taken. It was going to take place at a park, and it was the second time it was happening, so it wasn’t one with history and tradition. Still, it would be perfect for a casual competition.

The club members stared at him as he carefully examined the flyer. Soon, everyone rose from their seats.

“You’re kind of annoying at times. You know that?” Sun Hwa said.

“You too? I thought it was just me,” Seo Kwang agreed with her.

Bom smiled quietly. The three walked briskly toward the chalkboard like they were racing.

“Move, I can’t see.”

“You move! There’s the special recognition you like so much.”

“I’m going to apply somewhere else this time!”

“Guys, calm down.”

Juho looked at the freshmen standing next to one another. As usual, Seo Kwang and Sun Hwa were quarreling, which seemed unnecessary considering the available space.

“They’re so rowdy,” Baron said with his chin resting on his hand.

“What about you?”

Baron took out a leaf of paper from his sketchbook. In thick letters, it read “Sketching Contest.”

“I found it a while ago.”

“Man, aren’t you a man of action?!”

“Of course!”

In the end, everyone found a new contest to compete in.

‘How do I encourage these kids?’ Mr. Moon was thinking when he walked into the science room, but he soon found out that he no longer had to worry about encouraging those students. The club members were driven by the prospect of their next contest.

‘Maybe teaching is what I was meant to do all this time,’ he thought as he looked at them proudly.

“OK, please submit your work by noon! If you need more paper, please come to us with your paper and student ID,” the host explained.

Juho yawned as he listened. After a brief announcement, the host continued as he turned the page, “The topics for the 2nd Literature Contest are gratitude for your teachers, traveling, and fall.”

‘Gratitude for your teachers, traveling, and fall.’ As the host finished speaking, the contestants each took a seat throughout the park. The current time was nine in the morning, so there was plenty of time.

Juho looked around in search for a place to write, but all of the benches had already been taken. There were people who had come to the park with their children, and they looked at the contestants with curiosity.

He went further into the park and found a shade under a tree. The trail was surrounded by big boulders, so there was no one around.

‘This seems like a good spot.’