The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Juho had been curious what the club members had been up to throughout the summer break.

“I’ve been going to school. I applied for after school classes,” said Sun Hwa. There was a backpack behind her.

“Is that where you were earlier?”

“Yep. I go everyday except the weekends.”

“It must be tiring.”

“I don’t have to get up as early, so it’s not too bad,” said Bom. There was a backpack behind her as well.

“You’ve been going too, huh?”

“We’re in different classes though. Sun Hwa’s in intensive classes, but I can’t keep up.”

There was no trace of cowardice in her expression. She knew her limits, and she had found her place accordingly.

“You guys have been going to the same private institute, right?” Sun Hwa asked Baron and Seo Kwang. Seo Kwang had been studying English while Baron had been taking art lessons since the sketching contest. They both had made their decisions accordingly after deciding on a career path.

“How have the art lessons been? Are they fun?”

“My arm kind of hurts sometimes, but it’s fun.”

“Do you draw statues like Venus or Agrippa?”

“Of course!” Baron answered the freshmen as they questioned him curiously about his lessons.

At that moment, Juho’s drink made its way to the table. The taste of peach spread in his mouth as he took a sip.

“What have you been up to?” Baron asked. All eyes were on him.

“I’ve been writing,” he answered indifferently.

“Hehe! We have a true Literature Club member right here,” said Seo Kwang with exaggeration.

“I’m sure you guys have been too,” answered Juho with a smile.

As a club member himself, he had been watching the club members write, and they had enjoyed every bit of it. They wouldn’t have stopped writing altogether just because they were on summer break.

“You know, he scares me sometimes,” Sun Hwa said as if she was trying to prove his point.

“He can be like that,” agreed Bom quietly. Seo Kwang shook his head as if he were used to it while Baron shrugged nonchalantly.

“What did you write about?” Juho asked Sun Hwa.

“I’ve been transcribing! I’m almost done with the second book. Time for ‘nother round of candy,” she said proudly as if she’d been waiting for the question.

“I started working on my third book,” said Bom as she quietly raised her hand.

Seo Kwang added with a scoff, “Well, I’m almost done with my second book too.”

“Huh, you’ve done quite a bit. I remember you were pretty slow, both you and Juho.”

“It’s a proof that I haven’t been lazy.”

Sun Hwa scrunched her forehead. She didn’t like the fact that Seo Kwang had caught up to her. By contrast, having caught her, Seo Kwang taunted her all the more.

‘And that’s how you get punched in the face,’ Juho thought.

“How about you Juho, how far did you get?” Bom asked.

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m still on my first book,” he answered as he thought about the copy of his manuscript buried somewhere in his room.

“Eh?”

Ignoring the puzzled looks on everyone’s faces, Juho took another sip of his iced tea. The scent of peach was rather pleasant.

“Didn’t you say you’ve been writing?”

“He must have been working on something else,” muttered Seo Kwang.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It was so obvious that I couldn’t help myself. What are you goin’ to do?”

While Sun Hwa and Seo Kwang quarreled, Bom interjected, “Mr. Moon did say that transcription isn’t about speed.”

“Still, the difference is so jarring. He could finish it in no time,” said Sun Hwa as she looked at Juho with baffled eyes.

“I’ve been doing other stuff,” Juho answered calmly.

“Other stuff?”

Juho felt slightly uncomfortable with being the center of attention.

“Like relationship counseling.”

“Cough!”

Somebody coughed loudly, and it was obvious who it was. Both of the girls’ eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Dating!?”

“Who?”

Even Baron seemed to be interested. Juho felt someone staring daggers at him from the side.

“It’s a real tear-jerker. I’d hate to make you guys cry,” said Juho with a smile.

‘Including Seo Kwang,’ he thought.

As expected, Seo Kwang took the initiative to calm the grumbling club members.

“Yeah, where’s the fun in listening to another person’s dating life? Why don’t we talk about books? Have you guys heard the news?”

“What the, hey, move! I have to hear this!”

“He said it’s a tear-jerker. I don’t want to cry when I don’t have to.”

“Since when are you the emotional type?”

To counter Sun Hwa resisting his effort to change subject, he took a more forceful approach.

“Yun Woo’s new book is coming out!” he blurted out.

Juho felt Sun Hwa looking away from him and turning to Seo Kwang. ‘I suppose that’s one way to change the subject,’ he thought.

“Already? It hasn’t even been that long since ‘The Trace of a Bird.’”

“It’s been less than a year, hasn’t it?” Bom said as she retraced her memory.

Seo Kwang nodded.

“That’s what makes it even more amazing. The genius that shook the entire country is making a comeback with a new book within a year!”

“Is that for sure?”

“He’s the most searched person on the internet right now. I saw an article this morning. You guys are probably the only ones who didn’t know.”

Before anybody else, Baron quietly took out his phone and looked for the article. It didn’t take long at all. ‘Seventeen-Year-Old Author Yun Woo Writing Next Book.’

“Wow, it’s true,” murmured Sun Hwa as she took Baron’s phone from his hand. Juho had been expecting an article to come out around that day. The publishing company had told him that they were planning on starting the promotion early.

“Apparently, the publishing company is figuring out a release date. I didn’t think it’d happen this soon,” said Baron as he read the article.

Juho quietly looked at him and asked, “Why is that?”

“Huh?”

“Why did you think that you’d have to wait longer?”

“Well, a big burden tends to follow after a big success. People have been calling him things like genius, so he probably wouldn’t be able to act so quickly,” he answered as if the answer had been obvious. On the screen, the word ‘genius’ actually appeared multiple times throughout the article. It was also a commonly-found word in articles regarding Yun Woo.

“I didn’t realize how difficult writing was until I actually started writing myself,” said Baron.

In the Literature Club, Juho had been the only person who had gotten a writing sample from him. It had been the only piece of writing Baron had ever done since joining the club.

“Honestly, I thought writing wouldn’t take all that long. Well, I’m not saying that I actually thought that, but that’s the feeling it carries. I thought I’d be able to pick it up quickly after some practice. I’ve written plenty of book reports.”

“But?”

“It was completely different from writing book reports.”

Writing a novel was different from writing a book report for school. The ability to write wasn’t necessarily equivalent to the ability to write an original story. Baron thought about the first composition he had ever submitted. Even the thought of it was embarrassing. He had been inexperienced then. Writing a story in his head had been as difficult as writing a song with a melody in his head.

“The embarrassment is a plus. It almost felt like I was standing butt naked in the middle of a crowd. You don’t really feel that when you’re writing a book report. I don’t know why I felt so exposed,” said Baron with an awkward face.

“All in all, what I’m saying is that Yun Woo is incredible. I admire him for pushing through that painfully embarrassing process.”

“But he’s a genius,” Juho said after a brief time thinking.

“They’re people too. They might be several times more sensitive than us, which means they feel pain several times more intense than ours.”

“That’s an interesting thought.”

“Is that right?”

“Don’t you think the word ‘crisis’ isn’t applicable to a genius? They just do things with such ease. That’s why people want to be like them.”

“That’s true, but I don’t get that from Yun Woo for some reason. There’s a sense of urgency in his writing. Maybe that has something to do with it.”

Juho had no choice but to change the subject, “You’re fanboying pretty hard there.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Yeah!” Seo Kwang interfered.

“Yun Woo is a gifted author. You should work hard so you don’t fall behind. You don’t have time to be doing other stuff. You should be writing!”

“Oh, yeah? Whose dating life were we talking about just now?”

“Ah!”

“Juho Woo! Quit keeping us on our toes! Who is it? Is it somebody I know?”

“Oh, hey! Here’s another article.”

“Hey! Move!”

Seo Kwang had somehow managed to bring the subject back to Yun Woo, and Juho quietly sipped his iced tea as he watched the commotion.

*

“I love my work.”

There was another person who was filled with joy at the news of Yun Woo’s next book, and that was none other than Nabi Baek, the publishing agent.

She was humming cheerfully on the inside from the fact that she would be able to read yet another book from her favorite author.

She had heard the news that the new book was set to reach marketplaces before the end of the summer. Before the end of that scorching summer, she would be able to get her hands on Yun Woo’s new book. She couldn’t help but hum cheerfully. She couldn’t contain her excitement.

Besides, ‘The Trace of a Bird’ was doing rather well in the US market. She thought about the day when she first introduced the book to Molley. He had read through the sample she’d brought in one breath.

“My God,” he said.

A veteran agent had exclaimed that, and she felt the suppressed excitement behind those two words. Behind the eyes that sparkled, there was the overwhelming joy of an agent meeting a new author.

With the heart of a proud parent, she added, “He is sixteen.”

“Incredible.”

“You’re right. The entirety of South Korea is going through a Yun Woo fever. I want to spread that fever to the world.”

“… We’ll get on it as soon as possible,” he said as he dialed his agency on his phone. Now, the story of Yun Woo would be made known to the world. Nabi was certain. Other agents who would hear from Molley would read the sample, and they too would be astonished. She wanted to distribute the book throughout the world, like a nabi, a butterfly.

In the end, Nabi’s prediction had been accurate. The book was an enormous hit across Japan, China, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, and many more.

Finally, she’d received a long-awaited offer from an American publishing company. It hadn’t been from an ordinary publishing company either. It had been from a world-renowned company that represented the US – ‘Fernand,’ and Nabi had screamed for joy.