Chapter 36: Chapter 36 - A Dream Gone By (1/2)

Hey everyone,

SootyOwl and ShawnSuh here. We are loving the response you guys are having for the novel and for the work we are doing translating it. We come bearing some news that some of you might not like. As you know, The Great Storyteller is a Korean novel. Under Webnovel and Munpia's partners.h.i.+p to bring Korean novels to a greater audience, Munpia requested that their novels go premium after 40 chapters in order to protect their copyrights and for their authors' benefit.

We hope the you guys stick with us as we watch Juho's future change together, but we understand if you are unable to.

Thank you for your understanding.

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

”I have something I want to say.”

The woman's words lingered in Juho's heart. A topic stemmed from a question. An author questioned every existence and its form. He had to acquaint himself with reaching a dead end. Writing wasn't the same as learning an equation or applying that equation as a means to find an answer.

He simply wrote. If he wanted to, he could write about a phenomenon that was far from what scientific theories or physics could explain. For that reason, he had decide what to write about first. Worrying came first, and questions rose. There was nothing he couldn't write about, but he had to make a decision. Juho replayed his encounter with the woman at the park. He remembered every said word. Things she wanted to say, wishes, desires, situations, conditions.

”Finally,” he smiled with satisfaction. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath. It felt like he'd got a hold of a clue to a puzzle.

Nam Kyung came out of the office for dinner. The ma.n.u.script requests had made for an exhausting day. Making a phone call to an author had always been a nerve-racking task. Still, he was proud of his achievement of successfully setting up a meeting.

”Ugh, my shoulders,” he stretched and groaned in pain. ”I've been doing this way too long.”

He thought back to the time of his first project. The memory was still vivid. However, it was not pleasant by any means. In fact, it had been the beginning of his obsession with misprints. He had found a misprint the moment he had opened the book. It had been in the part when the name of the protagonist was revealed for the first time. All of a sudden, the character had gone through a name change. Every character had a different name for the protagonist. Even the protagonist's parents, how odd.

'Why didn't I catch this before?' Nam Kyung thought. It had been an obvious mistake. He had read through the ma.n.u.script a number of times, yet, he had missed it. He hadn't caught it, and so had been in a world of trouble. To this day, his heart pounded when he thought back to the shame and despair he had felt back then. He shook his head.

'Everybody makes mistakes at first,' he comforted himself.

”Maybe not that kid.”

Suddenly, he thought of an exception. It was an author who had been drawing ma.s.sive attention from the ma.s.ses. He went by the alias of Yun Woo. His real name, Juho Woo. Nam Kyung remembered his calm expression. There was something different about him. He didn't act his age. There was no awkwardness when he was talking to an adult. He didn't get intimidated. Normally, an author would be excited to know that his book was being made into a movie. Besides, they were in an age when kids were more used to moving images. Typically, an author Juho's age would be distracted by the fact that his own work was being portrayed by famous actors. The studio that had approached Nam Kyung about Juho's book was not a third-cla.s.s, no name studio. They had already proven themselves in the industry with a number of major works. Yet, Juho turned that offer down at once, and even declared that he didn't want his book to be made into a movie.

”Mr. Uhm was the same way.”

Nam Kyung had had a similar experience with Dong Gil Uhm. He hadn't been able to hide his astonishment as he listened to Dong Gil and Juho's conversation. Juho, a sixteen year old, had spoken with Dong Gil on an equal footing. He had even seemed relaxed.

He wasn't merely pretending to be an adult. That kid already possessed his own, distinct vibe. It was calm, yet it stood out ever so slightly. The adults in the scene had been completely captivated by it. On that day, Juho had been an author. ”Is that what all geniuses look like?”

”It felt like it was out of reach of my understanding,” Nam Kyung murmured as he stood up from his chair. After stepping out of his office, he headed toward a nearby restaurant. He was working overtime tonight and he had to head back to the office after dinner. He had to worry about the revisions he had fallen behind on, as well as his trip to j.a.pan. He also had to send an email to a publis.h.i.+ng company in the US about exporting copyrights. There was a lot to be done.

'Buzz.'

His phone rang, and he saw a familiar name on the screen, so he cleared his throat and answered it. On the other end of the call, was a woman. For a woman, her voice was quite deep.

”This is publis.h.i.+ng copyright agent, Nabi Baek.”

”The train is approaching.”

A voice came from above. It was telling that a train was coming in. People in line hardly moved from their spots. Finally, the train arrived, and a wave of people walked out of it. Another wave of people filled the train. People were dressed for a season between spring and summer. Some wore thick jackets, while others wore flowing dresses.

Everyone headed towards the stairway simultaneously. People climbed the stairs in synchronized rhythm. Next to the stairway, was a long line of people waiting to be on the escalator. Juho sat on a bench where he could see everything happening in a straight line. Seo Kw.a.n.g, Sun Hwa, and Bom were next to him. Baron was sitting on an inner bench. He was busy drawing something, his pencil moving about busily. With a piece of paper in their hands, the club members waited absentmindedly for Mr. Moon.

”It's Mr.Moon!” Sun Hwa shouted.

With a bag of delimanjoo in his hand, Mr. Moon walked down the stairway like he was swimming against the stream. Before he reached the students, the sweet smell of the snacks reached them first.

”Listen as you eat.”

”Yes, Mr. Moon!” the members answered excitedly at the sight of food.

People were glancing in their direction, but they were all going on their own ways. Juho's eyes had met with a person who had just been in the train before it took off. He had given the person a slight nod, but the other person had ignored him and taken out his phone.

”Juho Woo, focus.”

”Yes, Mr. Moon.”

Mr. Moon had somehow caught Juho and drawn the attention back to himself. Juho listened to Mr. Moon as he chewed on a piece of delimanjoo.

”Where are we?”

”A subway station,” Seo Kw.a.n.g answered. It was not a difficult question.

”Crowded, right?”