The Great Storyteller

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Juho stared out of the window of the bus as the scenery rushed past him. Countless publishing companies stood at its destination. Along with publishing companies, there were also tens of print shops and large-scale book distribution companies, all making up one large publishing district. On top of that, there were used bookstores and book cafes throughout.

He got off the bus before it arrived at its last stop. He wasn’t planning on going to the publishing company that day. Rather, he was on his way to a lunch meeting with his editor.

‘It was definitely around here somewhere.’

After walking for some time, the sight of a familiar street met Juho’s eyes. Just around the corner of that familiar street, there was a small Korean restaurant. In front it, Nam Kyung Park had come out to meet Juho, who was happy to see him.

“How you doin’?”

“You made it in one piece.”

Nam Kyung greeted Juho while pushing his glasses up onto his nose. In his mid-thirties, he was a capable editor who was responsible for working with several big-name authors.

As the two went inside, they were met with other customers having their meals. They walked past them and went into a room with a sliding door. When the door closed, the sound of the outside world faded away. That was one of the reasons why Nam Kyung preferred that restaurant.

“I guess we won’t have to worry about people eavesdropping on our conversation here.”

“Of course! For a restaurant, their walls are thick.”

Once Juho and Nam Kyung secured a spot, the waitress, who had come into the room with them, brought them a menu. After ordering a light meal, Nam Kyung asked Juho, “So, how are things? Has your cover blown yet?”

It was a slightly playful question, and Juho answered with a smile, “I don’t even have to try. Nobody suspects me.”

“Haha! I was looking forward to hearing some stories.”

“In that case, I do have a thing or two.”

“Like what?” Nam Kyung urged him.

He was quite friendly, but at the same time, he wasn’t overbearing. It was a proof that Nam Kyung was a skilled editor. Maintaining a relationship with an author was an important part of his job description.When it came to interpersonal interaction, Nam Kyung was exceptional at keeping an appropriate distance. Feeling at home, Juho shared the stories of the things that happened at school.

“Kids are scary nowadays,” Nam Kyung said in response to Juho’s story about the fight between the two girls. His eyes were filled with interest.

“How about you? Do you have anything?”

“You want to hear a story about working overtime?”

It was a roundabout way of saying that he didn’t have a story. He added that working overtime as an editor was as normal as daily meals.

“I just came from proofreading a draft up until a moment ago.”

“You spend a lot of time doing it, don’t you?”

“I can’t stand misprints.”

Nam Kyung was strangely obsessed with misprints. There were always flaws in all books. There were times when the wrong word ended up getting used. There were times when a typo ended up in the final print. Although books went through tens of inspections, there was always something that had been overlooked. Nam Kyung was tormented whenever he found such oversights. For that reason, he spent more time and energy into proofreading. The recent trend among publishing companies was to outsource the proofreading process. The editor’s responsibility started at project planning and coordination. In other words, there was enormous workload. There was a limit to how much a single editor was capable of achieving. Yet, Nam Kyung would always say, “I want to make books that are both elaborate and thorough.”

“Even then, there will always be misprints.”

People made mistakes, and books were made by people. It was inevitable to find misprints in a book. Everyone writhed in pain at first, but soon came to terms with the reality. However, Nam Kyung was adamant.

“That’s why you keep proofreading until there are no more misprints.”

Juho felt secure as an author to be working with an editor like him.

“You work so hard.”

“I’m still single, thanks to my work,” Nam Kyung complained light-heartedly. Even for somebody whose dream was to make books both elaborate and thorough, working overtime was deeply undesirable.

“Your meal’s ready.”

The sliding door opened, and the waitress put down her tray. Along with various side dishes, Juho’s tofu soup and Nam Kyung’s pollack stew had been placed on the table. An intoxicating smell wafted into Juho’s nose, and the two picked up their spoons.

“This is great!”

“Right?!”

Juho exclaimed after taking his first bite, and Nam Kyung answered with a proud expression on his face. He seemed happy about bringing in another satisfied customer to his favorite restaurant.

As they ate quietly, Juho suddenly thought of something that Nam Kyung had said in the past.

“Wait! Now that I think about it, didn’t you say you worked with Hyun Do Lim in the past?”

“Yes I have,” Nam Kyung reminisced as he shoved a big spoonful into his mouth. He remembered how nervous he was when he met the author for the first time. “Why do you ask? Are you a fan?”

If he put it that way, then perhaps. He was incomparable as an author to Juho in terms of both experience and skill.

“I’m in the middle of transcribing one of his works. I just thought I should ask.”

“Transcribing?” Nam Kyung asked as if it were unexpected. Soon, he nodded as an expression of acceptance, but there was still suspicion in his face. “Authors often transcribe as well. I see. You transcribing Hyun Do Lim’s book…”

“What’s with your expression though?”

Nam Kyung thought for a brief moment and said, “I just had a thought that you and Hyun Do Lim might fall under a same category.”

“What do you mean?”

Nam Kyung started telling his story about the author, “Mr. Lim is… How should I describe him? He is very delicate, yet broad-minded and friendly. But rough around the edges at the same time.”

“That description… You should be an author.”

“I know. All in all, he’s a respectable figure.”

Juho knew that much. Reading his book had always aroused a sense of respect in him.

‘What had Nam Kyung’s meant by putting him and Mr. Lim into the same category? If he had meant it as an compliment, he would be incredibly overestimating.’

“But you’re not.”

“Is that right?”

It was a relief and a pity at the same time.

“Except for one thing, if we’re talking about similarity between you and Mr. Lim.”

“If?”

There was a prolonged silence. In the meantime, Juho had another spoonful of his soup. It was smooth and spicy.

“I’m not too sure.”

“Why would you even bring it up then,” Juho murmured silently.

“I can’t pinpoint it, but I have a feeling. I can only explain it as an editor’s intuition.”

“That was disappointing. You should stick to being an editor.”

“I appreciate that.”

Throughout their meal, Juho and Nam Kyung talked about the decrease in the reading population or a certain publishing company going out of business.

“So, are you still against having your book made into a show or a movie?”

“Yes,” while helping himself with side dishes, Juho answered and stopped in his track.

That was one of the topics that had come up while the two were making plans for lunch over the phone, which meant that there was a studio interested in purchasing the copyright. Since he was already aware of the outcome, Juho declined at once.

Nam Kyung said quietly, “If you agree to it, your book will be made into a motion picture. There will be famous actors playing the major characters. It’s a book written by Yun Woo, so they’ll really make sure not to mess with the original too much. They’ll invest a lot of money into it too.”

Nam Kyung was obviously trying to lure Juho in, but Juho answered with a smile, “It’s not easy to adapt a novel.”

At Juho’s rigid attitude, Nam Kyung immediately changed his posture as he murmured, “I knew you weren’t as immature as you let on. This is a really a mouth-watering opportunity from the promotional point of view.”

“I didn’t know that my book needed publicizing? It’s already doing really well,” Juho answered light-heartedly, but Nam Kyung returned with a serious face.

“There’s no end to corporate greed. You need to ride the wave while your book is doing well.”

Marketing. Juho fully understood Nam Kyung’s perspective. Of course, promoting a product was an essential element of sales. That was no different in the publishing industry. If anything, the power of marketing was much greater in publishing.

That was the reason why editors built relationships with bookstore employees in an offline capacity while putting up with incredibly temperamental literature merchandisers online.

That also applied to gaining exposure for a book.

It was common for a publishing company to compete for the most visible spot in the bookstore. Some companies even paid bookstores for a display stand. The amount ranged from hundreds up to thousands.

The online market was exactly the same way. It was crucial for online bookstores to work with a merchandiser because they had the ultimate authority in terms of exposure. It was a struggle to earn the title of ‘Merchandiser’s Recommendation.’ That title spoke louder than any other form of advertisement. It was an opportunity that no publishing company could afford to lose. For that reason, there was an obvious contractual relationship between a merchandiser and a business, which explained the occasional buying-spree controversies. Once a book entered into the bestseller ranking, there was a noticeable increase in sales as well as promotion.

Juho was well aware of that situation, and he had a reason to turn down the offer to adapt his book.

“They’re not adapting the story in its entirety. Once the story is made into a screenplay, things are bound to be taken out. I don’t really know how the director will interpret my book either. The thought makes me uneasy.”

“I guess you have a point.”

“I’m sure they’ll emphasize the romance.”

“You don’t know that. Don’t you think you’ll have a better idea once you talk to these people in person?” Nam Kyung asked.

He wasn’t aware that Juho’s decision was based on his life experience. He had said the same thing in the past, “You’ll know better once you talk to these people.” However, that wasn’t true.

“This is when my age works as a disadvantage.”

Back then, Juho’s mind was as old as his age, seventeen. Communication had not been possible between an adult who’s a skilled negotiator and the seventeen year old Juho.

The studio was a well-known company with several major works, so Juho’s expectation had been through the roof. It had been like a dream to have real actors performing the story that he wrote.

However, the result had been far from his expectations.

In the end, ‘The Trace of a Bird’ had left a legacy as a failed example in novel cinematization. Unlike his usual self, even Nam Kyung had had a bitter expression on his face then. As a book enthusiast himself and the editor in charge of the book, he must have felt terrible.

“If its a request made by the author himself, they’ll listen. If dealing with adults is too much for you, I can go on your behalf.”

“I don’t know,” Juho answered vaguely. “I’m not really looking to make things complicated either.”

Although the situation was different this time, Juho wasn’t really looking to make any demands. Even if he decided to actively involve himself in the production to make sure the movie did well, he felt that he wasn’t going to be genuinely happy.

‘Well, maybe things could be different if a director approached him saying that he wanted to try to make ‘The Trace of a Bird’ into a movie with all his heart. That would probably never happen, however.’

“I’m sorry to say this, but I’m not interested.”

“It’s your work. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Recognizing that he couldn’t convince Juho, Nam Kyung brought the water cup to his mouth. He must have been doing a lot between Juho and the publishing company. Juho turned his attention to his tofu soup and slowly finished his meal.

“Done?”

“Yes.”

“How about a cup of coffee before you go?”

“I’m always up for that.”

After paying for the meal and the dessert, Nam Kyung went back to his work. On his way, he groaned in misery at having to work overtime again.

<Elaborate and Thorough> The End