The Great Storyteller

Chapter 42: Pollen in the Air (5)

Translator: ShawnSuh Editor: SootyOwl

The weather was perfect for a walk. Juho and Nabi walked past the playground and into a trail. There was plenty of sunlight, and they walked without saying anything for a while. The sound of children playing rose in the distance. They sounded excited. ‘What are they so excited about?’ Juho wondered. They almost sounded like they couldn’t hold back the joy they were feeling. He looked in their direction and felt ever so slightly jealous.

“The breeze feels nice,” Nabi said.

She was in a good mood. It had been a while since she had gone out for a walk. When she was with this young author, it almost felt like the time went by slower than normal. She assumed that it had something to do with the unique, calming aura that surrounded him.

“It’s especially nice today.”

The two kept up an empty conversation while walking. Neither tried to rush things. Nabi was the same way. The center of a typhoon tended to be quiet. As they reached the end of the trail, the botanical garden appeared up ahead.

“Should we?”

“Sure,” she agreed to his suggestion at once. ‘If my client wants to go, that’s where I’ll be,’ she reminded herself.

As they went inside, they were greeted by an earthy smell that was distinct to botanical gardens. The air was damp as if the plants were breathing. Among various tall growing trees, there were bird sculptures in between the branches. Palm trees and banana trees were showing off their enormous leaves.

‘Blob,’ drop by drop, water dripped down from above.

‘It’s calm and peaceful here. It suits him,’ she thought. They walked together quietly. Soon, they reached a spot that seemed like a decorated pond. There were large carps swimming in the water. They walked past the pond and reached a flowerbed. Red, orange, white, there were many colors, and the two stopped walking for a moment.

“They’re pretty,” he said. She had thought the same, but she ended up not saying it.

She was more than capable of speaking her mind. It was easy, yet challenging. So, she answered with a faint smile, “Yes, they are.”

Where there were flowers, there were also bees. They flew around the flowers busily and took turns sitting on each flower to suck on the honey. They looked cute with their plump belly.

“I’m going on a business trip soon. I fly out tonight.”

“I see,” he answered briefly since he had already heard the news.

She continued as she flexed her abdomen. His eyes slowly met with hers, “I’ll tell the people I’m meeting about you.”

“About me?!”

“That an incredibly talented author has appeared, so whoever’s capable needs to tell the world about Yun Woo’s book.”

“I’m not sure if they’ll agree,” he answered light-heartedly, but she was serious.

“They will. I’ll make them.”

“Why is that?”

It was a basic question, but she had never been asked such a question before. ‘Why?’ It was simple, yet it reached deep into her heart. Still, she was prepared to answer that simple question. She had always been thinking about it. There was a clear reason.

“Because I’m your fan.”

Juho chuckled.

“I see.”

“There are times when I can’t tell if what I’m doing is work or a hobby. It happens when a book is amazing. Your book is like that. My work hasn’t been feeling like work as of late. I’m intending on keeping it that way this time as well,” she added to his response. She was slightly excited. She’d never had a conversation like that with an author. Her mind responded as if somebody was forcing it to, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

He glanced over at her. It had been quite a compliment and, perhaps, slightly overbearing. It had sounded like there had been a word in the middle somewhere that was kind of odd, but he didn’t mind. That wasn’t what was important.

She continued, “I’m going to be working very hard for this. I want to distribute your book all across the world.”

She had great pride in her work. She loved that her job allowed the books to reach the many.

A butterfly flew out of a yellow flower. It was a butterfly with white wings. As it sat on a flower, its petals shook a little bit. The butterfly busily moved its wings towards another flower. Nabi looked at Juho. He was peacefully following the butterfly with his eyes, and she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. Even after so many conversations, she still couldn’t get a grasp of who he was. For that reason, she had given up. Instead, she had decided to be honest about herself.

“It’s almost time.”

She closed her eyes as she checked the time on her wristwatch. She had given up. She didn’t want to force things to happen. If things didn’t work out, profit would no longer be a priority. She didn’t want to ruin the moment. She had found satisfaction in the fact that she had simply gotten to have a conversation with Yun Woo.

There was a gentle breeze. It wasn’t clear where it was coming from. Through it, she heard the sound of Juho’s voice, “I would like for you to manage my books exclusively.”

He felt her staring in his direction.

“Pardon?” she asked.

Juho answered with a smile, “I would like to leave my book to you.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened. Her face flushed, and her eyes shook. She had countless things that she wanted to say at that moment, but she swallowed them all and answered, “It’d be my pleasure, Mr. Woo.”

---

“Ugh… my whole body’s aching.”

She stretched as she walked out of the plane. Long flights were always exhausting. Yet, she still had a smile on her face. Whenever she thought about what Yun Woo had said, she felt invigorated all over again. ‘That composure, he knew his push and pull too. He was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker.’

After getting into a taxi, she covered her face and twisted her body. She would never forget the conversation with Yun Woo by the flowerbed. The moment she had decided to put everything down, there was his voice.

“This is some crazy stuff.”

She looked forward to his growth. She genuinely hoped for him to grow up to be an outstanding writer. She was even willing to invest a third of her paycheck into him. ‘I’ll buy every single one of his books.’ Her hands shook, and she smiled from ear to ear. She couldn’t help herself. She felt satisfaction from just thinking about that day with Yun Woo. ‘He is a great author. It is rewarding to work with him.’ It was his book that she had the privilege of working with, and she had to work as hard as she could for the best possible results. She took a deep breath.

“Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down.”

She cleared her throat when the driver gave her an odd look. ‘Calm down.’

“Whew. Finally here.”

She arrived at her hotel and unpacked her bag. It was almost time to meet with Molley. For the time being, she applied a pack onto her face. ‘Hope the makeup comes out OK,’ she thought as she mentally prepared herself for the meeting. She had already bought a new perfume. To portray intelligence, she tied her hair in a ponytail and applied a nude lipstick onto her lips. The woman in the mirror was plenty beautiful, and she was satisfied with how she looked.

“I look good today!”

After applying her perfume as a final touch, she headed for the nearby cafe. She had been there with Molley from time to time to converse with him over tea. This time time was no different. As she opened the door to the cafe, she was immediately greeted by the smell of roasted coffee beans. She walked past the black barista and went further into the cafe. Though the cafe was packed, one person stuck out in particular, a gentleman with white hair.

“Molley.”

“Ah! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!”

Taking his eyes off the book he was reading, Molley raised his chin at the sound of Nabi’s voice. They happily greeted each other. After ordering coffee, they took some time to catch up with one another.

“You know about Coin’s new book, right?”

“Of course. She has an incredible fan base in Korea. I’ve already prepared an offer.”

She drank her coffee.

“Speaking of which, she debuted pretty early too, didn’t she?”

She was looking for the right timing to slip something in regarding Yun Woo.

“She wasn’t received well at first.”

She was well acquainted with Kelley Coin’s debut. She had debuted at an early age, but her book had not been well received. It had been harshly criticized in every possible way. When Nabi thought about it, the book hadn’t actually been that bad. The jealousy towards Coin had been oddly strong at the time. Yet, she didn’t wait to write her next book. Nabi tried to shake off the thoughts on Coin. She shook her head sideways and changed the subject. She had to focus from then on.

“Yun Woo is different. ‘The Trace of a Bird’ is genuinely charming. It’s controlled. This author speaks in a friendly manner, but there’s a strong tone behind his words. The more you think about his age, the more shocked you will be.”

“Controlled… It’s hard to imagine.”

“Right?”

She gave him a synopsis of the book and shared the clues that she had gotten out of her conversations with Juho.

“I’ve had many conversations with him,” she spoke the truth. Bluffs or exaggerations wouldn’t work with the veteran agent. “I was shocked. It was hard to imagine his age from his attitude. We were able to communicate, and he had a deep understanding of literature. You’ll know when you get a chance to read his book, but more than anything, his book is pure and childlike. Yet, the author himself might as well have been an adult. That’s how calm he was.”

“You’re not usually this excited. I’m interested,” he answered as he brought his coffee to his mouth.

He was creating a buffer as the conversation picked up the pace. Yet, his eyes were sharp. ‘He’s definitely interested in Yun Woo,’ she thought. That was an opportunity.

She continued with a slightly sad face, “Honestly, I initially wanted to have an upperhand in our interaction. I underestimated him because of his age. I wanted to talk him into working with me.”

“That’s a common mistake agents make. So how’d it go?”

“By the time I came to my senses, I was being dragged around by him. He turned down my offer at once. He was still willing to have a conversation though. While I was waiting for an opening, he kept himself shut, but by the time I was about to give up, he wanted to work with me. Because of that, I’m on fire at the moment.”

“Huh!”

He sounded astonished. She had to keep on.

“I don’t think he’ll stop at just one book. I came to learn that he has a serious attitude towards literature.”

She kept her eyes fixed on Molley as they spoke, and he listened to her carefully until the end.