The Great Storyteller

Chapter 59 – HongSam’s Confession (1)

Translator: – – Editor: – –

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Juho nodded in agreement.

“I’ve thought about that too. I wonder if he’s actually busy.”

HongSam couldn’t have run the blog with a daily job. If he had no time to read, then he would have nothing to write about either. Though Baron’s theory was the most realistic among the others, there were still things that needed explanation.

“He’ll come back eventually. Wait, have you always been a fan of HongSam?”

“He’s a big influence when I’m buying a book,” Baron said as he quietly looked at Juho. “I know you’re also looking for some sort of explanation.”

“Haha! You got me.”

It was true. They had been learning more about each other as they spent more time together. It was a good thing that Baron had started taking more interest in lowerclassmen.

“To be honest, I got an eerie feeling from his latest post,” Juho said with a smile.

“Eerie? His latest post as in… his review of ‘One Room,’ right?” Baron remembered heading straight to the bookstore after reading the review, and Juho nodded. “What about it? I didn’t notice anything different.”

“It’s just that… it’s odd.”

“What is?” Baron asked with a confused look on his face.

“HongSam is an honest person. You can tell if he liked the book or not from the length of the post. He’s also a fan of Seo Joong Ahn, and the book ‘One Room’ is his first bestseller in five years. It’s been getting a lot of good reviews and it actually is a good book. I’m sure the book suited his taste.”

Yet, there was nothing different about his latest post. It was odd. As a frequent visitor of his blog, Juho had a gist of HongSam’s taste in books. If ‘One Room’ hadn’t suited his taste, he wouldn’t have hesitated to express his disappointment in his post.

“Now that I think about it, you’re right. I didn’t get the impression that HongSam was excited about the book. That’s strange.”

“Right?”

The two immersed themselves in thought. ‘What would make him distance himself from reading?’

“Here are your pancakes!” With a loud voice, the old lady brought a large plate out to them.

While Juho put his thoughts on hold to eat, he suddenly hesitated when he saw the food on the table.

“Ma’am, I believe we only ordered two.”

“It’s on the house. You’re from afar.”

Juho looked at Baron. There was another plate in front of him, and he calmly thanked the old lady.

“Thank you very much.”

“You speak good Korean. I’m sure you didn’t get to eat well back home. Let me know if you need more.”

As if he had been used to the situation, he brushed off her kind-hearted discrimination. Juho had heard her mention something about a poor country, but Baron interjected before Juho had the opportunity to say anything, “I’m used to it. Besides, more for me.”

“That’s not a good thing to lie to yourself about,” Juho said as he stared intently at Baron.

Baron smiled as if he had given in.

“Fine! You know what? I still don’t like it. Happy?”

“Now, since you are complaining, I can dig in without having to worry about shame.”

At that, they picked up their chopsticks together.

---

“What’s with you lately?” Juho asked Seo Kwang as he brought a spoonful of rice curry into his mouth.

“Huh?”

Seo Kwang hadn’t been himself as of late. So far, he hadn’t been caught reading his book during class, and lately, he had been getting in frequent trouble with the teacher even when he hadn’t been reading in secret. Because he sat right behind him, Juho too had been called out several times for dozing off.

Whenever there was time, Seo Kwang quietly looked out the window and sat in a daze. Something must have happened. On top of that, he had been the only person who hadn’t decided which competition he was going to sign up for. Juho asked as he rubbed his tired eyes, “Did somebody burn all of your books?”

“I don’t even want to think about that, so do me a favor and keep that thought to yourself.”

“Then, what is it? Why have you been walking around like a zombie? Is there something going on at home?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” he stalled.

“Did you get yourself into trouble?”

“Nope.”

“Do you need money?”

“I’ll take it gladly if you have some.”

“Did you get heatstroke?”

“My health is fine,” he answered as he mashed the rice with his chopsticks.

‘Maybe it’s something he can’t talk about openly,’ Juho decided not to be nosy.

“Well, if you did something wrong, it’s usually best to just confess,” he added as he continued eating his food.

If he really had done something, it would have been best for him to come clean to the others around him. ‘Did he steal something?’ Juho shook his head at the thought. Seo Kwang didn’t have the guts to do such a thing. Despite his character around others, he had a careful side to him that prioritized safety.

Juho thought some more as he took another spoonful, ‘First, HongSam, and now, it’s Seo Kwang. Things have been weird lately.’ Then, he remembered the time when HongSam had presumed Yun Woo to be a ‘book-loving girl.’ At that moment, his hand stopped in midair as he was about to take another bite.

“A book-loving girl.”

“Huh?”

Juho looked up slowly, calmly chewed his food and swallowed. He saw the puzzled look on Seo Kwang’s face as he picked at his own food with his chopsticks.

Meanwhile, Juho quietly organized his thoughts, ‘Seo Kwang was the first person who told me about HongSam. It’s been a month since he wrote on his blog.’ He thought about the time when Seo Kwang started acting strangely, and it had been about a month. The corners of his mouth turned up slowly as he reached his conclusion that Seo Kwang and HongSam were into the same type of girl, a book-loving girl.

“You’re HongSam!”

Seo Kwang froze.

“Yeah,” he confessed suddenly.

Juho took his spoon that had been buried in a pile of rice curry out and said, “Let’s eat for now.”

“… OK.”

As they ate, the two didn’t say a word to each other.

---

After eating, the two sat on a wooden bench in the schoolyard, each with a carton of apple juice in their hands. There were other kids lingering around, and Juho asked Seo Kwang as he sat quietly, “Mr. HongSam?”

“Yes, sir,” he answered calmly. The fact that Seo Kwang had been hiding his identity as HongSam was not a big issue. One wasn’t obligated to reveal everything about his life to his friend.

“So, what’s your occupation?”

“Hey, don’t be like that,” he said with an awkward smile. Seo Kwang was nervous because he had been acting as an “adult” in the blog.

“I really thought HongSam would be a corporate worker.”

“My dad’s a great reference.”

“You really did your research, didn’t you? It was well put. Why don’t you write a novel? I see potential,” Juho said jokingly. Seo Kwang started to loosen up and smile. Juho wasn’t looking to criticize him, but he was curious about one thing, ‘Why did he have to be an adult?’

Noticing that Juho was quiet, Seo Kwang took the initiative to explain himself, “I first started my blog in middle school. That’s when I first learned that my age could work against my favor. People were talking down to the books I’d review because some middle school kid had read it. I get why they would do that to a middle school kid, but the book? I was so angry, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

“After I calmed down a little, I started asking myself a questions, ‘How are these people so brave? How can they attack others so boldly?’ The answer was simple – anonymity. So I gave it a shot, and what you’ve been looking at is the result – the birth of a popular blogger. I felt bitter, but the result was good, so I kept going.”

Juho felt traces of Seo Kwang’s anger in his calm tone of voice.

“What does HongSam mean?” he asked after listening quietly.

“I saw my dad drinking red ginseng concentrate, and it looked like a good symbol for tired adults.”

(TL’s note: Hongsam is red ginseng in Korean.)

People around his father’s age tended to eat anything for the benefit of their health, and Juho pictured the person who he had never met. A father had the responsibility to stay healthy. It was a responsibility he had taken up himself because there were people he worried about in case he passed away.

After staring out at the schoolyard for some time, Juho asked the burning question in his mind, “Why haven’t you written anything in your blog for a month?”

If it weren’t for that absence, Juho wouldn’t have been fazed even if he had found out that Seo Kwang had been HongSam all along. Whether he was HongSam or InSam, he would have left encouraging comments and treated him as the person he wanted to be. However, Seo Kwang looked weary. He seemed concerned and no longer happy.

(TL’s note: Insam is ginseng in Korean.)

“So, funny story…” Seo Kwang hesitated.

“If it’s something you don’t want to talk about, I won’t pry it out of you. Think about it. Is it something you can do anything about?”

His eyes looked up and came back down. They moved busily as he thought.

“I think I’m in love,” he said.

‘Love!’ Juho blinked slowly.

“Are you confessing to me?”

“You crazy weirdo!”

Juho cackled out loud. Coming from Seo Kwang, the word ‘love’ sounded so pure and innocent.

“Good times,” he said, feeling relieved on the inside. ‘Good thing it’s not anything serious.’

After a good laugh, he asked Seo Kwang, “It’s not a character from a book, is it?”

“No!” Seo Kwang answered fiercely.

---

After school ended, Juho headed over to Seo Kwang’s house with him. He had invited Juho over with enthusiasm.

There was a subway station at the end of the furniture district that stretched into the distance. His house was in a corner of that intersection. The first floor was a small neighborhood bookstore, and Juho looked up at the building.

“Let’s go inside,” Seo Kwang said as he leaned into the glass door.

“First floor?”

“Yep. It’s our store.”

Now it made sense as to why Seo Kwang was such a bookworm. ‘Who would’ve thought his parents actually owned a bookstore?’ It was such a fitting family business for him.

As he followed Seo Kwang into the store, he was met by a small counter with books on it. There was also a hand written suggestion list on top of the books.

The register was in the innermost part of the store, which looked more like a book cafe than a bookstore. There were drinks and a dessert menu on the wall and a small kitchen space in the back.

“We sell alcohol at night too. A lot of people like to read while they drink.”

“Have you tried it?”

“I’ve begged my parents for a sip once. They want me to wait till I’m an adult,” he said, slightly disappointed. Cafe, bar, that was how a small neighborhood bookstore survived. In front of the register, there was a generous looking lady staring at the two.

“He must be a friend,” she said.

“Yeah, this is Juho.”

As Seo Kwang introduced him, the lady’s eyes widened.

“Why, hello! You must be that Juho! I’m Seo Kwang’s mom.”

“How are you doing?”

She smiled brightly as he greeted her with a bow. Her somewhat mischievous smile had a striking resemblance to Seo Kwang.

“I’ve heard about you a lot. It must be tiring to hang out with Seo Kwang.”