The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

”Oh, yeah! Hey, did you read that article?” Seo Kwang asked as he turned toward Juho, and the clacking of the keyboard stopped. With the exception of Bo Suk, the other club members had been coming up to the computer lab one by one to use a computer.

When Juho looked at Seo Kwang with the same glaring eyes he had been using to stare at the monitor, Seo Kwang said in a murmur, ”It’s recess man…”

”I didn’t say anything. I was about to take a fiver myself,” Juho said.

Rotating his stiff shoulders, Juho thought of the books he had read recently. However, what came out of his mouth had nothing to do with books.

”So, about that article?” he asked and thought, ’Which one is he talking about?’

As he waited patiently, a corner of Seo Kwang’s mouth turned up.

”They announced the release date for the ’Trace of a Bird’ movie.”

”Oh, that.”

Although Juho had already been informed by Sang Young over the phone, he didn’t go out of his way to elaborate.

”People are already getting antsy. The cast is really impressive too. I guess it’s only fair considering how beefy of a novel the original is.”

Then, a voice sounded from the side, ”I’m not expecting much.”

It was Baron. Though he sounded calm, his affection toward the original was apparent in those words.

”Really?”

”Honestly, I’m not expecting a whole lot either,” Seo Kwang answered Juho. Baron and Seo Kwang got along quite well.

”It’s hard turning such a long book into a movie.”

”And I’m sure there will be parts that get left out. I love every scene and sentence in that book, and it pains me to think about that.”

Juho was aware of what the two were wanting to say.

”I turned it down at first.”

”Oh, yeah! I remember reading an article it back then too: ’Yun Woo turns down offer for film adaptation.’ Man, I still can’t believe that same Yun Woo is sitting right in front of me. Tell us more!”

”There’s not much to it.”

At the sound of the name ”Yun Woo,” even Bom and Sun Hwa started to show interest.

”Did you ever visit the set?” Bom asked cautiously.

”No, I didn’t.”

”Why not? You could’ve met the celebrities in person! The actor who plays ’Yun’ is super good-looking,” Sun Hwa said without hiding her feelings. The actor she was referring to would often play leading roles in the various dramas she watched. Being one of her favorite actors, his fame was growing due to him having had started as a child actor.

”I think he’ll be a great fit for the role,” Sun Hwa said as she covered her face with her hands.

Bom agreed and brought up yet another actor, ”I’m a little concerned for the other actor, the one playing the brother.”

At that moment, the actor’s dull appearance crossed Juho’s mind.

”Oh! Myung Joo Mu, right? I’ve never seen him before.”

”Right?” The brother was such a strong character in the book, so I thought the role would go to a famous actor. It was kind of unexpected.”

”He got that role through an audition, so I think that he’ll be a decent actor.”

”You think so?”

Then, Seo Kwang interjected, ”Speaking of which, casting Ji Hye Goo was a great move.”

”She’s the one who buries the bird, right?”

”Yep. She’s a big star, but she’s known for her action sequences too. That positive image of hers really suits her role.”

”Yeah! She’s gorgeous and stylish. She’s got the best of both worlds.”

Juho had always portrayed the actress’ role as ”the role that involves burying a carcass” in his book. Burying carcasses was a daily task for her, and it usually took place at night. Yun’s encounter with her brings him a critical realization.

”They do have pretty similar images,” Juho said, and the club members responded excitedly.

”Wow! Really!?”

”That’s it. The author has spoken.”

Juho nodded. It was inevitable that celebrities would have careers with images attached to them, and as for Ji Hye Goo, her image was of a talented actress who was both bright and positive.

In the book, she was the only creature that shone brightly in the dark of the night. When Juho was writing about her, he had frequently thought of the image of a firefly. There were just some people who tended to shine brighter at night, and the actress definitely had a lot in common with the character she was playing.

”How are they similar?”

”Maybe it’s because I’m more familiar with the character.”

”What’s familiar about the character?”

Juho had another reason for saying that the actress shared a similar image with her role. She was familiar to him because she had played the exact same role in the past. Before he fell into the river, she had played the same character in the movie. Although her interpretation of the character had been quite different from now, the fact that she had played the same role in the past remained the same.

In the past movie, Yun had been her lover, and it had left both the audience and Juho with much to be desired. Juho had wished that the two characters had been a bit more distant from each other.

He had hoped the director and the filming crew had understood his intention for the characters better. It wasn’t out of mere convenience that Yun exchange conflicting words with her at night with a deep pit between them.

’It should look different this time around,’ he thought.

”They’re not gonna make her date Yun, are they?” Seo Kwang cringed at the anxious thought that suddenly rose to the surface.

”They might,” Juho said with a smile.

”If that really happens, I won’t ever forgive the director for what he did. ’Trace of a Bird’ is just not the kind of book, and she’s just not that kind of character!”

Seo Kwang was getting quite worked up despite it having not actually happened. Out of nowhere, he placed his hand on Juho’s shoulder and said, ”You have to stop him. You can’t let them mess with your work like that!”

”What are you talking about?” a voice sounded as the door flung open, and the room sank into silence. It was Bo Suk. ”Did something to happen to Juho’s books?”

Seo Kwang shook his head in a hurry, and without asking any further, she went on to explain the reason for her visit, ”I was told to check if you guys were goofing around.”

”What!? Who does Mr. Moon think we are? That’s disappointing!”

”And I see that he was right.”

”This is a discussion, all right!? A serious discussion about a book.”

With that, the chatter about the movie suddenly turned into a serious discussion.

”Aren’t you lonely being the only person sitting through his lectures?” Bom asked.

”It’s OK. Being alone isn’t all that bad, it turns out,” she said with a smile.

”You’re starting to sound like Baron.”

”It’s a good mindset to have,” Baron said with a satisfied smile. Then, she walked toward Bom and asked, ”Bom, did you hear? They announced the release date for the ’Trace of a Bird’ movie.”

”Oh, yeah! I heard. Why?”

”I wanted to go watch it. Would you like to go with me?”

”That sounds good, but I already made plans to go watch it with Sun Hwa.”

”Let’s go together. I’ll buy you some popcorn!” Sun Hwa said enthusiastically, and in no time, the three went on to deciding what they would have for dinner.

”... How’s movie night sound?”

”You should go with them. I’m planning on going on my own,” Juho said.

”Why? I’m curious to see how you’d react to the movie!”

”You should be watching the movie at a movie theater. Why even bother looking at me?”

Then, Juho rested his chin on his hand. He wanted to watch the movie in peace, alone and uninterrupted. At the emphatic urges from his friend, Seo Kwang let up as he smacked his lips, and then moved on to striking up a conversation with Baron.

A few days later. Juho saw the ecstatic look on the three girls’ faces.

”It was sooo good!”

”It was amazing!”

”Yeah!”

’What’s going on?’ Juho wondered and caught on immediately as he saw them crowded around Bom’s seat.

”Is the movie out already?”

”Hey! You shouldn’t be the one asking that?!”

Looking enthusiastic, Sun Hwa opened her mouth as if she had a lot to say, but held back and remained quiet.

”It is out. You should go watch it, Juho. It was really good,” Bo Suk said cheerfully.

”Really?”

”Yeah! I’m in love with that movie. Especially the brother! Bom and Sun Hwa were bawling their eyes out.”

”Hey! I didn’t cry?!”

”Yes, you did!”

Bo Suk was quite excited, and Bom admitted, saying, ”The imagery was really pretty. The background was dark, but there were distinct colors. It gave me the impression that the director is a very detail-oriented person.”

”I see,” Juho answered as he thought of Sang Young. He did have a detail-oriented side to him.

”It was incredible!”

Bo Suk had been repeating the same praise for some time, and she seemed like she needed to work on expanding her vocabulary. With that, Juho took a seat and raised his hand to get their attention.

”OK, why don’t we stop there? I don’t want to be taken away from my movie experience.”

”Then, go watch it ASAP! Join the club!” Sun Hwa said. It was obvious that she was into the movie.

”I’m gonna read both of Yun Woo books at home!”

Juho chuckled and asked, ”You mean you still haven’t?”

”The world is filled with great comic books. I’ve been putting it off, and… Well, here I am,” she said in a quieter voice as if she were pricked in the heart. ”I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way and I’m sure more people will read Yun Woo’s books after watching this movie. Anyway, hurry and go watch it!”

”OK.”

Despite his answer, Juho didn’t go to the theater for quite some time, and in the end, he was the only person in the entire club who hadn’t watched the movie.

”I can’t help but like it.”

”This is probably the director’s masterpiece.”

Seo Kwang and Baron said. They had been the most skeptical toward the movie, meaning that they were fans of the original. Seeing how the movie moved the hearts of such skeptics, Juho felt hopeful that he might have something to look forward to.

”The movie was good.”

Mr. Moon affirmed, and Juho started receiving texts or phone calls from the authors around him. ’Trace of a Bird’ was shaking the world yet again. Not only were the streets covered in its posters, but the book was also among the most searched words on the internet. The name ”Yun Woo” was also frequently mentioned.

’When should I go watch it? When things die down? Maybe tomorrow? It’d be better to watch it at the theater, which means I can only put it off for so long,’ Juho thought as he lay in his room. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Seo Joong.

”The movie was impressive! I think it’s the first time in this country’s history that a film adaptation was done right!”

An excited voice came through as soon as Juho picked up his phone. It sounded like Seo Joong was calling immediately after watching the movie. Before he had the chance to go on, Juho rushed to say, ”I haven’t seen it yet.”

”What?! Why??” Seo Joong asked in a puzzled voice.

”Just because.”

”Did you not get a ticket to the premier?”

”I turned it down. It would be like advertising that I’m Yun Woo.”

”Still! I would’ve made it a priority to go watch it if I were you!” Seo Joong said, clicking his tongue. ”Even Dong Gil liked it. He thinks that it did a good job portraying the original. The visuals were quite nice too. I might even say that the movie is a step up from the book in terms of visual presentation.”

”That’s a mean thing to say to the author of the original.”

”So, go watch it! Why haven’t you yet?! Are you afraid of getting disappointed?”

Juho thought for a brief time and said, ”I’m pumping myself up as much as I can.”

”Pumping yourself up?”

”Or I’m gathering energy...”

”Energy?”

”You can say that I’m starving myself.”

”You’re starving? Have you been not eating?”

”No, but I’m just about to go eat.”

”Is it a buffet sort of situation?”

”Something like that.”

Hunger was the best seasoning, and Juho intended on savoring his experience to his heart’s content. He planned on facing the experience while being in the best state he could be.

”Still, I’m sure it’s not good to starve for too long. Everything’s a balance.”

”That’s right. You shouldn’t starve for too long. Your stomach will shrink, so you won’t be able to eat all that much.”

”I better get my tickets now then.”

”Oh, yeah? Did our conversation stir up your appetite?”

As the conversation ended after a little while, Juho turned on his computer and logged into a website in order to purchase a ticket. He immediately saw the title ’Trace of a Bird.’ The actors’ faces also became visible along with the movie’s colorful poster. It was quite sensuous.

The poster was placed at the topmost, as the first movie, and had the phrase ”Number One Pre-Ordered Movie” written in small letters under it. After looking intently at it, Juho clicked on the poster and chose a theater that was a slight distance from his house. He preferred to be at a place he had never been to. After choosing his seat, he purchased a ticket for a late-night showing.

Then, his phone started ringing yet again. That time, it was Sang Young Ju, the director.