The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

After thinking about Juho’s cold-hearted remarks, Seo Kwang asked, “You haven’t read it yet, haven’t you?”

“Eh?”

“You wouldn’t be able to say things like that if you had.” Seo Kwang added as Juho blinked awkwardly, “Well, he became successful at an early age, so his age definitely works to his advantage when it comes to drawing attention, but it doesn’t mean that the quality of his work has suffered. He left a remarkable achievement and he didn’t stop at ‘The Trace of a Bird.’”

With that, he took out the book he had brought. Gray background. An empty chair. And a bird. It gave off a rather lonely impression.

“I wouldn’t have been able to even imagine something like this. ‘The Sound of Wailing.’ He’s lived for seventeen years, but he knows how to vividly describe a pregnant mother. I can make things sound pretty too. That’s easy. Heck, I can even criticize someone, but I wouldn’t know what to do with a character like her. On one hand, she’s like a young girl. On the other, she’s incredibly cruel. By the time I think of her as someone who is worn out beyond recovery, she proves herself to be a strong individual. Even as I think of her as the worst human being on the planet, I find myself feeling sorry for her.”

The nameless mother had taken shape within Seo Kwang’s mind.

“I can’t. Maybe in thirty years, but I can’t write anything like that.”

With that, he forcefully put the book in Juho’s hands. Juho accepted it quietly as he felt the weight of the book that he was well-accustomed to.

“So read it. You won’t regret it,” said Seo Kwang as he took out his phone. After tapping on it busily, he shoved it at Juho’s face. Juho couldn’t see anything. The phone was simply too close. As leaned back, he saw that Seo Kwang had logged into an online bookstore. He had VIP access.

“Are you showing off?”

“Not that, underneath it.”

Below his VIP rank, there was a rank for the bestselling books. At the top, ‘The Sound of Wailing’ ranked number one.

“Number one, ‘The Sound of Wailing.’ I think I’ve said enough.”

“Impressive,” said Juho half-heartedly.

Taking offense to his lukewarm response, Seo Kwang said, “So, you try harder. The way I see it, you have what it takes to be like Yun Woo.”

‘Duh, I am Yun Woo,’ he thought. Then, he answered light-heartedly, “That’s flattering.”

“You don’t believe me? You know how much I read! I swear, your compositions are good too!”

“Yeah?”

“When you become an author, you show Yun Woo how it’s done. While you’re at it, get his autograph for me too.”

He was asking for a lot.

“You’re asking a lot.”

“You know, you tend to underestimate yourself. The Juho Woo I know is a man who can take hold of both victory and peace at the same time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Juho as he looked around. It was the beginning of the semester, so it was louder than usual. The class smelled somewhat of dust while the desks weren’t lined up. It felt like a messy room that hadn’t been cleaned up. Amid the crooked desks, there were books.

‘The Sound of Wailing,’ Yun Woo’s new book.

‘I wonder what these kids were thinking when they bought the book,’ thought Juho as he imagined them at the bookstore. The books were being displayed at the most visible spot in the bookstore. It was among the first things people saw as they walked in. They walked toward it subconsciously, examining and evaluating the book, thinking: ‘It can’t hurt to read every now and then. Everyone seems to be talking about it, so I should at least have a look. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve read.’

It could also have been possible that they knew the name Yun Woo, the young, genius author.

‘I wonder what’s making people call him a genius. It’s important to keep up with the trends.’

They may have picked up a copy, drawn by its author’s name, especially with students his age. A genius author as their peer. Some may have wanted to see what the fuss was about, looking to criticize it.

A person had the freedom to choose regardless of the motive with which they picked the book. Juho thought of the people who he had seen at the bookstore buying his book. They too, had their respective views toward the book. At that moment, he heard the students talking.

“A novel? What’s gotten into you?”

“This book’s really good, you should read it.”

“What is it?”

“‘The Sound of Wailing.’”

“Oh, yeah! By Yun Woo?”

“Yeah.”

“I did hear about it. I don’t understand why it’s so popular though.”

“That’s because you haven’t read it yourself.”

“Eh, I don’t do books. Besides, a book is just a pot stand.”

“You’re such a simpleton.”

“What’d you call me punk?”

A class rowdier than usual. Excitement in the air. Crooked desks. Feeling somewhat dizzy, Juho looked away. The window was closed. As he reached for it, a bird met his eyes. It had black feathers.

—

“Thanks for cooking, mom,” Juho said as he brought a piece of grilled mackerel up to his mouth. Its butteriness was quite pleasant. “This is great!”

“Eat more. There’s plenty,” said his mother as she picked up a TV remote. After flickering through several channels, the screen stopped at a certain channel.

“I like this show.”

“What is it?”

“They do book reviews. It made me think of you. Watch.”

Juho turned his eyes to the TV screen. “The Great Book Club.” He had been fond of its title. The hosts were in the middle of an introduction. The show had just started. Like his mother had said, it was a show where a book was critiqued by six cast members. The cast was composed of one celebrity, three hosts, one book critic and a poet. As Juho watched, he saw a face that he was well-acquainted with. It was Pyung Jin Lee, the book critic. Though Juho never met him or heard his voice, he knew of Pyung Jin by his harsh, edgy critique of Juho’s second book in the past. It had been rather sharp. Feeling the old memories welling up, Juho focused his attention on the show.

“So, I’ve heard that the book we discussed last week is selling at a tremendous rate. Is that right?”

“It made the bestseller, again!”

“And all thanks to our lovely viewers!”

The two female celebrities exchanged cheerful words. As the cast members applauded, there were messages of gratitude in the announcement bar.

“Mr. Lee, what were you up to after filming last week?” a male celebrity sitting in the middle asked.

The camera focused on Pyung Jin. His green tie stood out quite a bit. ‘I wonder if he’s wearing that tie because he’s on TV,’ thought Juho as he ate.

“Why, I read Yun Woo’s new book.”

Juho almost spit out the food in his mouth. Pyung Jin had called out his name out of nowhere.

“Hey! That’s you!” his mother exclaimed.

“Yep, that’s my name.”

“My goodness! My son’s on TV!”

Though they had just called out his name, Juho wanted to let his mother enjoy the moment, so he smiled quietly. At the mention of his name, every cast member took a turn to chime in.

“Ah, Yun Woo!”

“I’ve read it too!”

“He recently came out with a new book. It’s been hot!”

The celebrity sitting in the middle added, “Who here has read his book?”

“I have.”

“Me too!”

With the exception of one person, everyone had raised their hands.

“Hey, come on now. We’re in the ‘Great Book Club!’ How is it that we have a person who hasn’t read Yun Woo’s book yet?” He said playfully, bringing the crowd to laughter.

After things calmed down, the man asked Pyung Jin once again, “So, how was the book written by the hottest figure in the publishing industry at the moment?”

Everyone else looked in his direction, waiting for his response. He was a professional critic, so they were probably looking forward to hearing what he had to say.

“First off, I was rather surprised.”

“Surprised? In what sense?”

“That Yun Woo wrote a story like that,” he continued explaining. With his somewhat ridiculous tie, he spoke in an intelligent manner. “He showcased his potentials through ‘The Trace of a Bird,’ but that doesn’t mean that the content wasn’t appropriate for his age. It was both beautiful and pure.”

“That’s absolutely right. You’d know what I’m talking about if you’ve read Yun Woo’d books, but it leaves a clean after taste.”

“Yet, its successor was quite different, especially when it came to describing the death of the protagonist. I was shocked by how explicit it was. Now, the thing to be mindful here is the sentence structure. Unlike the rest of the book, that scene wasn’t dressed in any way. Rather, it was distorted deliberately.”

“Ohhh.”

“I was quite impressed. I wasn’t aware that Yun Woo would have such a side. I’d heard he was turning seventeen this year, but he didn’t seemed to hold back when it came to creating this character. Same goes for the son. Most of all, his style was quite stable.”

“Boy, it’s not everyday Mr. Lee compliments an author like that!”

“Yeah, he tends to be stingy with compliments. Aside from Hyun Do Lim, I think it’s my first time hearing compliments from him.”

Amid the astonishment, he went on to wrap up his opinion, “My opinion is that through this book, Yun Woo has proven himself as an author you can trust. I’m already looking forward to his third book.”

“We should have a special Yun Woo episode!” a cast member said, having been quiet up to that point. ‘Yun Woo Special.’

With that, the male host continued, smiling, “Is he showing his face for the first time in our show?”

“That’s exciting! Can we make it happen?” The host exchanged words with the producer. His tone was filled with joy.

At that moment, the announcement bar said, ‘Mr. Woo, if you’re watching, please contact us!’

“Oh my! Are they going to ask you to be on the show?”

“Should I?”

“Take me with you. I should put my face pack on before I go to bed tonight.”

As they joked around, the show entered into its main portion. They introduced different books on travelling. As Juho watched while eating, he came to learn that it was a decent show. They had in-depth discussions on books, reciting parts that stood out and analyzing characters of the books or talking about the authors. There were jokes in between to keep things from being overly rigid. As he kept watching, he felt like he was starting to remember having watched it in the past.

“Thanks for dinner,” he said as he picked up after himself. Pyung Jin had praised his book. The kids he had met earlier that day had had a positive response as well.

Entering his room, he turned on his computer to look at reviews for ‘The Sound of Wailing.’ Upon visiting a website, he found countless comments and posts on the book. Because of its book critiquing nature, the length spanned anywhere from a few lines up to several thousand words. He clicked the post that was at the top.

“A book that will bring you regrets, yet make you want to share it with those around you. This is how I’d describe Yun Woo’s new book.”

After that, he moved onto the next post.