The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

From then on, Seo Kwang had been barraging the author with questions through every possible means: texts, phone calls, emails, etc., no matter where Juho was or what he was doing.

“How’s the tone here? Do you think it needs to be more aggressive?”

“Yes,” Juho replied.

“Could you send me some data on gynecologist/obstetrician clinics in the US?”

“Sure thing.”

Then, Juho’s phone started to go off as soon as he picked it up.

“That took you long enough! So, it’s about the scene of the character getting admitted into a psych facility.”

The translator wasn’t even afraid to ask the most trivial of questions, which Juho applauded.

“You’re a brave soul.”

“What do you mean?”

“Asking questions takes a lot of courage.”

“Well, that’s the first time somebody told me that,” Seo Kwang said, laughing. Although it was quite a hassle, Juho liked that Seo Kwang had a lot of questions. Not only was the translator incredibly fond of the book, he also had the skill to back it up. Looking at the book, Seo Kwang translated it while trying to understand the author’s intent, wrestling with how to deliver that to the readers. Whenever Juho would get a question from Seo Kwang, the author would have a feeling that the translation would turn out OK. Imagining how the translation would turn out was also quite fun.

“It’s done”

It took about two months until Juho was notified that the translation had been completed.

“I’m confident in my work,” Seo Kwang said, appearing unfazed. When Juho locked eyes with him, a bright smile appeared on Seo Kwang’s face, which brought a sense of peace to the author’s heart, something Juho didn’t recall ever feeling before. By the time the translated version of the book was released, it was a snowy winter.

—

“Good job!” Mr. Moon said, showering him with praise, patting the author on the back. Juho couldn’t stand still because of the impact.

“Well done. Well done.”

Juho was the center of attention. People were laughing, and shutters were going off. When Juho looked to Seo Kwang for help, his translator friend giggled, joining those who were laughing. In the end, Juho said, “Mr. Moon, please. Get a hold of yourself. I haven’t been to school in a while and I don’t wanna throw up.”

“I’m very, very proud of you,” Mr. Moon said still deeply emotional.

“It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Moon!” Seo Kwang said, only to fan the flames. In the presence of the students looking into the staffroom from outside and his fellow teachers who were taking pictures of the three: him, Juho, and Seo Kwang, Mr. Moon hugged his two pupils. The translated version of Juho’s novel was on the teacher’s desk.

It had been Seo Kwang who had suggested that Juho deliver the book to the teacher in person, to which Juho had agreed willingly. The author had also been curious about how the school had changed after he graduated. If only he had known that he would become the center of attention.

“I’ve already bought the book. Why didn’t you come sooner?” Mr. Moon had said upon reuniting with his former pupils.

“You know… I’ve been busy.”

“Well, it’s made my life better. You did a fantastic job!”

Then, Juho’s line of sight started to shake vigorously. Juho had never seen Mr. Moon get so excited, and seeing him in such a state was a rather new experience. Catching his breath, the teacher said, “The translation was really good,” looking toward Seo Kwang. At which point, a proud smile appeared on the translator’s face.

“Right? I couldn’t believe that I did all that either.”

“I don’t know how many times I cried reading it.”

“You cried?”

“There’s no doubt that that book was written by Yun Woo.”

At that, Juho saw Seo Kwang’s shoulders drop with relief.

“That’s a relief.”

The process had been exhausting. At that moment, a hand came up and patted the translator on the back.

“It was so hard,” Seo Kwang said.

“I’m sure it was.”

Bearing Yun Woo’s name was anything but easy. Then, looking toward Juho, Seo Kwang said, “I’ll do even better next time.”

“That’s my student!” Mr. Moon said. Starting to get emotional again, he shouted, “I’m so proud of you both!”

From then on, the three took their conversation to a different room, which had been provided by another teacher.

“I wouldn’t have thought in my dreams that I’d see you on TV.”

“I was just third wheeling.”

“It was funny seeing how nervous you were.”

“Oh! C’mon, Mr. Moon!” Seo Kwang said.

“Yun Woo,” Mr. Moon said.

“Yes?”

“Everyone else has visited me at least once, bringing snacks to the kids in the Literature Club when they did. What took you so long?”

“You know the position I’m in, Mr. Moon.”

“You could’ve just come and see me,” Mr. Moon said stubbornly, something Juho was more used to. As Juho chuckled, Seo Kwang said, “Well, I brought him! Better late than ever, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Otherwise, he probably would’ve never shown, even up until you retired.”

Although Juho denied it initially, it did sound like something he would’ve done. Since he had been running into Mr. Moon at Yun Seo’s house from time to time, he hadn’t really felt the need to go visit the teacher at school. Because Mr. Moon seemed to think otherwise, Juho realized that deciding to visit the teacher at school that day had been a wise choice.

“Well, you can’t leave without seeing the Literature Club, right?”

“Of course!”

Since he was also curious about how the Literature Club had changed since he had graduated, Juho nodded. It had been for that very reason that he and Seo Kwang had decided to visit their old school while it was still in session.

“Hope they’re excited to see us.”

“They sure are. They’ve been waiting for you guys,” Mr. Moon said, adding that he had been telling the new club members about their predecessors visiting him at school.

“They wouldn’t stop asking me when you guys were coming. It’s almost like you guys owe them something.”

“I would have been the same way if Yun Woo had gone to my school.”

Juho rubbed the back of his neck. The idea of standing in front of students as their predecessor was foreign to him.

“We did hear a lot about the club. Heard it got a lot bigger.”

“That’s right. Now, it’s the biggest club in the entire school. It’s a hassle, really.”

Juho followed Mr. Moon down the hallway. Then, noticing that they were walking away from the science room, he looked back and asked, “What happened to the science room?”

“It’s gone back to being a storage space. They even lock it up now.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Seo Kwang said.

“It’s a good thing. It means the new club members get to write in a more spacious environment,” Juho said with a bitter smile.

“Here we are,” Mr. Moon said, opening the door. Stepping aside, he pointed toward the room. At which point, Juho smiled embarrassedly and went inside, becoming the center of attention almost instantly.

“There are so many.”

The club looked nothing like before, when there had only been five members. At that moment, the club members erupted into shouts.

“It’s Yun Woo!”

Having followed after Juho, Seo Kwang elbowed the author on the side. In response, Juho secretly stepped on Seo Kwang’s foot. Meanwhile, raising both of his hands, Mr. Moon calmed the club members down. They moaned as they stared at the celebrity author in front of their eyes.

“These are your predecessors. I’m sure everyone here knows who this is. It’s Yun Woo,” Mr. Moon said, looking toward Juho.

With a subtle bow, the author introduced himself, “Hello, Yun Woo.”

At that, the club members erupted into cheers and applause yet again. Then, Seo Kwang raised his hand and introduced himself briskly, very unlike the attitude he had during the interview.

“Hello, I’m his translator.”

The same cheers and applause went to Seo Kwang. Ecstatic that they were meeting Juho and Seo Kwang in person, the students whispered their names to each other as if seeing celebrities. Then, having Juho and Seo Kwang stand behind the podium, Mr. Moon sat on his comfortable-looking chair and said, “If you have any questions for them, now would be the time to ask.”

After glancing at the familiar-looking chair, Juho looked ahead. The new club members were staring at each other awkwardly, uncertain of what to ask first. The author looked around the new classroom, which was significantly more spacious than the old science room. Not only was it clean, but the chairs and the desks all seemed completely different. The walls were decorated with a variety of English writing, adding to the welcoming feel of the classroom. At that moment…

“Me!”

A hand went up in the air along a series of quiet chuckles. That had to be the most popular student in the club. With a welcoming smile, Seo Kwang pointed at the student and asked, “Yes?”

“You two have been friends since high school, right?”

By that point, Yun Woo’s relationship with his translator had already been packaged as an encounter of fate.

“I read an article recently, and there was a critic who thought that your relationship seemed to contribute to the translation. What are your thoughts? Do you think your relationship with your translator actually had an effect on how the translation turned out?” The student asked.

At which point, Juho gave Seo Kwang the floor. Without a moment of hesitation, the translator replied, “I’m sure the product was good enough for that to make sense, right?”

The students nodded emphatically.

“Understanding the author before translating their work is a necessary step. Now, since we were already friends, I’ll say that that process came easy to me. You see, by the time we started working together, I already knew him pretty well, from how he usually talks to his book preferences, his favorite walking trails, and food. On top of that, we went through high school together.”

As the students responded with envy, the translator urged them on even more, “You know what, though? I know what Yun Woo was like when he used to be anonymous.”

At that, the students erupted into cheers, and Juho took a step back from Seo Kwang. Cackling, Seo Kwang asked, “Anything else?”

That time, quite a few hands went up in the air. When Seo Kwang chose a certain student, they glanced at the author before fixing their eyes on the translator and asked, “So, I remember reading that even the publisher didn’t know that you two were friends, and Mr. Woo didn’t know who had won the contest either, and that he was surprised to see you at the end. How did you feel back then?”

As Seo Kwang glanced over at Juho, the author came out to the front and gave them an answer, which was the same answer he had given at an interview once, “A lot of things. I don’t think I can just pinpoint what I was feeling back then. Initially, though, I was glad to see him. He’d always brag about translating my books, even when we were part of the club.”

At that, the students’ faces lit up. They whispered to each other, deeply inspired. To the students who were curious about what a translator did, Seo Kwang gave a brief summary of his work. Similarly, Juho also shared some tips on becoming an author.

“Was Mr. Woo’s book hard to translate?”

“It wasn’t anything like ‘Language of God,’ but this book introduces sentences in different languages. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you read the book, but the protagonist’s older brother is a polyglot. Sometimes, he would insist that he was from Israel, or a mathematician from the UK. Writing about topics like that often requires the author to do some research, which means I had to do something similar as well.”

“So, the translator is the one responsible for all those things?”

“That’s right. Yun Woo’s writing tends to be unpredictable. Even the simplest, most unsophisticated piece of writing will quickly turn into something incredibly complex in his hands. Yun Woo’s an author who actually excels at writing about two opposing ideas. He’s been that way since we were in the Literature Club. In fact, he does it on purpose. This might be my first time working as a translator, but something tells me that I won’t have to ask other authors as many questions as I asked Yun Woo.”

The students seemed to understand what Seo Kwang was saying. They were essentially learning how the book came to be.

“Are you satisfied with how everything turned out, Mr. Woo?”

After staring into the air for a brief moment, Juho replied, “Yes.”

“I knew it,” somebody murmured.

The student who had asked the question seemed to be expecting the same answer. Then, seeing Seo Kwang filled with confidence, Juho burst out laughing.