The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

“I can’t put my finger on it, but that’s what it feels like,” Sung Pil said with a serious look on his face as he brought a piece of soondae to his mouth. “It feels more real.”

“Did ‘The Trace of a Bird’ feel like it was made up?”

Sung Pil shook his head slowly.

“It’s just different,” he answered, then went on to share his honest opinion. “It’s provocative from the start. A twisted character tends to feel distant, but not in this book. It almost feels like the author based the character on his observation, probably because of the details in the description. To me, it feels like Yun Woo’s evolved even further in his distinctive style.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, you’ll see what I mean. I mean, how can one write like this? Do you think it’s possible that there is an actual person the author used as reference?”

“Perhaps,” Juho answered. He was keeping his answers short.

“Because of all the details, it makes it really easy to picture what I’m reading. It’s immersive. In other words, it’s easy to read. Considering how dark and heavy the subject is, it’s very impressive.” Sung Pil added with his eyes sparkling, “It hasn’t even been a year since his debut title…”

Juho quietly looked away.

“Yun Woo is incredible.”

‘This is uncomfortable,’ Juho thought as he scratched his nose.

“You think so? I’m not too sure.”

“That’s because you haven’t read his books. Tell you what, I’ll lend you the book after I finish reading this by the end of today.”

‘No need,’ muttered Juho internally. He knew that Sung Pil wouldn’t back down even if he had said those words out loud. If anything, it would have prolonged the situation.

“I want to be a novelist too…” Sung Pil said quietly.

Juho changed the subject nonchalantly, “You’re planning on it.”

Sung Pil’s dream was to be an author. In the near future, that dream would come true. In the past, Juho had witnessed his long-running career as an author.

“That’s right,” said Sung Pil with a nod. He wasn’t the type to be ashamed of his goals. “I like the food here,” he said.

“Ditto,” Juho agreed as he smiled faintly.

After eating quietly for some time, he picked up his cup. From its weight, he realized that there was no more water in it.

“Summer break is almost over,” he said as he looked into the empty cup intently.

With that, Sung Pil stopped eating for a brief moment.

“Sad.”

It wasn’t like him to say such a thing, so Juho added playfully, “Don’t you wish the summer break would last for the rest of your life?”

“Maybe another month,” he gave an answer that was more realistic.

“What would you do with the time?”

“I’d probably read ‘The Sound of Wailing’ in peace,” Sung Pil said with his eyes on the book.

“For an entire month though?”

“I think I’m going to be writing by the time I finish reading this book,” he said after a brief time thinking.

“What are you going to be writing?”

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling.”

Juho, too, had that feeling from Sung Pil’s calm tone of voice. Something was telling him that what Sung Pil had said would be coming true. He had a feeling that that very piece would lead Sung Pil to his goal.

“I think you’re right.”

“Huh?”

“I think you’ll be writing too.”

There wasn’t a rule that said that an author had to write their debut work on the year they debuted. Perhaps Sung Pil was getting off to an early start, taking his time to polish his craft and debut as an author.

“Can you show me what you write later?”

“I might not end up writing, you know.”

“IF you do.”

Sung Pil nodded willingly. Juho had already started to look forward to his writing.

“What if you really end up becoming an author?” Juho asked jokingly.

“That’d be nice.”

“You never know. They say ‘be careful with what you wish for,’” he said with a shrug.

“If I actually become an author, do you think the day will come for me to meet Yun Woo?” Sung Pil asked.

“… I’m sure it will.”

Though Juho had been calling him Sung Pil, his real name was Pil Sung. The day would come when they would meet not as Juho and Pil Sung, but as Yun Woo and Sung Pil. He would make his debut, and Juho would continue writing.

“I don’t think we’ve had enough,” said Pil Sung as he ate the last piece of tteokbokki. The two ended up ordering another plate of tteokbokki and fritters.

—

After changing into his uniform, Juho left for school. Once he climbed the hill and came back down, the school became visible. The closer he got to the school, the more students in uniform there were.

“Hey, Juho!” a familiar voice called out. It was Bom. “How was your summer break?”

“Good, how about yours?”

“Mine too, although I spent more days at school than I did at home.”

The two walked alongside one another. Despite the silence, neither of them felt uncomfortable. Seeing the well-acquainted sight of the school building, Juho walked toward it.

“Did you read the book?”

“What book?”

“‘The Sound of Wailing.’”

‘Caw!’ a crow sounded at just the right time.

“Well… It seems like you definitely have,” Juho answered ambiguously.

“Of course! It’s Yun Woo.”

She, too, was a fan of Yun Woo after all. Juho remembered seeing her in the crowd when the impostor had been giving out her signature. Though she might not be as apparent as Seo Kwang or Baron, she was definitely a fan. Just as any avid fan would, she poured out her praises.

“I knew Yun Woo wouldn’t disappoint. It’s hard to believe that he’s my age. It baffles me how he’s able to write like that. He’s respectable even.”

“That good, huh?”

“Yeah! It was incredible! I got so angry, but kind of sad on the other hand. I kind of felt that from ‘The Trace of a Bird,’ but I think Yun Woo excels at writing sad stories – a story that makes the reader sad rather than a sad story itself.”

“I see.”

Unlike her usual self, Bom was filled with excitement, and Juho listened to her quietly.

“Hey, guys!”

“It’s Sun Hwa!”

Sun Hwa approached them from afar, waving her hands. Bom happily waved back as Juho also waved his hands lightly.

“Bom, did you read that book?” she asked.

“What book?”

“The comic book I recommended to you! Living Legend just came out with a new comic! Oh my g… I’m so happy!”

It was a common conversation between the two. Usually, they would have gone on for a while, but that day, that conversation came to a sudden end.

“Sorry, I’ve been busy reading another book.”

“Eh?! What the? I was so excited to talk about this!”

“Haha! Yun Woo came out with a new book too. Have you read it?”

“Oh, Yun Woo,” said Sun Hwa as she scratched her head. “I bought one seeing how crazy people were getting, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet because of the new comic book. Living Legend cannot be beaten, even by Yun Woo,” she said with a serious tone.

Juho smiled awkwardly, being set aside by Living Legend.

“Yun Woo would be upset.”

“Too bad. There’s no way around it. I may be part of the Literature Club, but I prefer comic books.”

“Then, go join the Comic Book Club,” interfered yet another familiar voice.

“Hey, Seo Kwang!” Bom called out.

Before he even had time to greet Juho, Sun Hwa said annoyed, “You’re bringing this up now? After I’ve been part of this club for so long?”

“That’s why this is a bigger issue. You’ve been part of the Literature Club for a while now, yet you still prefer comic books over real books.”

“Pff. We have an artist in the club. I don’t see anything wrong.”

“Guys, the teachers are looking in our direction.”

Teachers monitoring the dress code looked in the direction of the commotion. Despite Bom’s desperate effort to break them up, Seo Kwang and Sun Hwa glared at each other like they were about to eat each other alive. Some things simply didn’t change, including Bom.

“Were you looking for me?”

“Hey, Baron!”

“Hey.”

With his hands in the pocket, the sole artist of the club, Baron, was walking toward the rest of the club members. His large frame made him stick out like a sore thumb.

As the club members all came together, they chatted cheerfully among themselves as they climbed the stairs. Everyone seemed to be well.

When they reached the first years’ floor, they ran into Mr. Moon coming out of the staffroom, looking exhausted.

“I was just wondering about the noise. It’s you guys.”

“Hello, Mr. Moon!” Sun Hwa greeted him cheerfully, and he sighed heavily.

“The break is over. Aren’t you sad?”

Typical Mr. Moon. The exhaustion in his face made his words all the more genuine. Juho couldn’t help but chuckle, and the others laughed joyfully as well.

“It’s OK, Mr. Moon. You still have the Literature Club, the joy of coming to school.”

“Right. I’ll see you all later.”

“Yes, Mr. Moon.”

With that, everyone went their separate ways. Baron climbed up to the floor above while Sun Hwa and Bom made for their class together. Juho and Seo Kwang did the same.

Before Juho even had a chance to put down his backpack, Seo Kwang asked him suddenly, “Hey, did you read that book?”

“Haha!”

It was a question he had been hearing often as of late. Seeing his hearty laughter, Seo Kwang happily added.

“I knew it! ‘The Sound of Wailing!’ I was seriously moved. By the time I came to my senses, I’d already bought two more copies from the internet. Yun Woo’s incredible, that one.”

With excitement, he poured out praises for Yun Woo, one after another. He went to great lengths on Yun Woo’s talent, as well as the book’s literary value, plot, and overall tone. While resting his chin on his hand, Juho quietly listened to his friend, nodding from time to time.

“The bird left me a strong impression this time also,” said Seo Kwang suddenly with a serious look.

“The bird, huh.”

“Yeah, the bird was an object of fear in ‘The Trace of a Bird,’ but this time around, it was much more profound. A bird that came back from the dead.”

“Hmm.”

“I thought it had something to do with motherly love in the beginning. I thought the bird was symbolizing that motherly love never dies, but on the other hand, I thought it might be a way to escape reality.”

It was quite an interesting interpretation.

“Escape reality? How?”

“The mother doesn’t hold back on her habit of smoking and drinking even though she’s pregnant. She knows that it’s not good for the baby. She probably didn’t want to think about regretting it in the future. My guess is that she put the baby in the position of the bird she had killed in the past, thinking that the baby would come back like the bird did,” explained Seo Kwang. It was rather plausible.

“That’s a good interpretation,” said Juho as he nodded.

“The author never talked about the bird till the very end, which means he left it up to the readers to interpret it. I love that Yun Woo thinks as far as bringing joy to his readers. He’s an amazing author.”

In the end, he concluded with more praise and after that, Juho felt the urge to be playful.

“Do you really think Yun Woo included the bird in his novel as a calculated decision?”

“Eh? What are you saying? Are you saying that it’s a coincidence? Like his name?” he asked with a scowl.

(TL’s Note: Again, last names come before first names in Korea. So “Yun Woo” would be “Woo Yun,” which sounds like the Korean word for coincidence.)

“I was just wondering if people are overestimating him in some way. Some people are saying that it’s all pretty dressing too,” Juho answered with a shrug.