Chapter 226: Santa Claus and Translation (1)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
“Please tell a way to get a hold of Mr. Woo,” Nam Kyung read the email he had received out loud. It had been sent by a person by the na of Taylor Sanders, the translator who had translated the sensational ‘Language of God’ into English. “I’d like to et with Yun Woo.” The reason the editor was taken aback was because that sa translator had previously rejected the opportunity to et with Yun Woo in person. It was a well-known anecdote in the publishing industry.
“So, even the almighty Sanders is struggling with ‘Sublimation,’ huh?”
Sanders was also the translator in charge of translating ‘Sublimation,’ which was scheduled to be published in the near future. Although having translated an entire epic novel series without even an ounce of help from the author, Sanders was struggling to make progress with ‘Sublimation.’
According to the translator’s own words, he was not confident in his work in translating ‘Sublimation,’ and Nam Kyung was able to relate to the situation Sanders had found himself in. They were both in the position of having to work with Yun Woo’s sentences directly. The young author’s sentences were like beams of light that inevitably cast shadows over those standing behind them.
“Well, better talk to Mr. Woo first before I write back to him.”
The editor rose from his seat and went out to the terrace. Decorated with man-made flowerpots, there were benches available on the terrace. Leaning against the silver rail, Nam Kyung dialed the number, chuckling as he was reminded of the sheer number of people who were desperate to know it.
“Mr. Woo! This is Nam Kyung.”
“Hello, what can I do for you?”
A dry voice contradictory to his dazzling fa sounded off from the receiver, and after clearing his throat, Nam Kyung got to the point. The young author had hardly changed from the ti Nam Kyung had first t him.
“I’m sure you know who Taylor Sanders is, right?”
“Yes, he translated my novels, didn’t he?” the young author said with a crisp voice, and Nam Kyung fixed his eyes on the pointed tower of a church in the distance.
“Precisely. So, it turns out he wishes to have a word with you.”
“A word?”
“Yes, regarding his most recent project, ‘Sublimation.’ It appears that there’s sothing about the ending of the novel that’s bothering him.” Nam Kyung said, adding the latter half of the sentence while the young author remained silent.
“I hope you understand, Mr. Woo. The ending to that novel, in particular, is quite the punishnt for those who have to work with those sentences directly.”
At that, instead of an answer, a dry chuckle ca from the receiver of the editor’s phone. ‘I an, if THE Taylor Sanders is struggling with it, that says it all,’ Nam Kyung thought to himself and asked the author for his decision.
“What would you like to do?”
“Mr. Sanders is in the US, right?”
“Yes, but he told that he’s more than willing to fly to Korea as long as you’re willing to et with him in person.”
Sanders had stated that he was willing to visit Korea at any given mont in his email to the editor.
“Well, if I can be of any help, then of course, I’ll et with him,” the young author answered briefly. Nam Kyung thought of Sanders waiting anxiously for his reply. Those who knew nothing about Yun Woo would have no idea of how unfazed Yun Woo was at all tis, distracted by the colorful images surrounding the author.
“Hello?”
“Yes, hi. Then I’ll go ahead and arrange a eting with him.”
With that, Nam Kyung wrote back to Sanders without a delay.
The day after the translator’s arrival, Nam Kyung was on his way to pick up Yun Woo. The weather couldn’t be any better.
“You put your seatbelt on?”
“Yes.”
Noticing Yun Woo slowly looking around his car, Nam Kyung drove gently and headed to a famous Korean restaurant in Gangnam that provided private rooms for their guests. Closed-off space was a must when eting soone with Yun Woo, and Nam Kyung said while driving, “From what I hear, Mr. Sanders has been getting a lot of attention.”
“Yes, I saw the articles.”
When an author won an award, a series of in-depth analysis of the results followed, and among them, were opinions on the translators. Having thoroughly translated Yun Woo’s writing into English, Sanders started growing in popularity in Korea after the young writer won the Nebula Award.
“It seems like he’s been getting overwheld with questions too, questions of whether he’s ever t you.”
“But we never have.”
“That’s not an answer a journalist would settle for, unfortunately. Well, I guess my position is not all that different from Sanders’.”
On top of the journalists, even people around Nam Kyung flooded him with questions since they knew he was Yun Woo’s editor:
“Show a picture of him, will ya?”
“Can you let talk to him on the phone, just this once?”
“What’s Yun Woo been up to these days?”
The list went on.
“So how do you go about handling that predicant?”
“I tell them that I’m not looking to get buried alive in the industry for leaking information about Yun Woo.”
“Buried alive, huh.”
“Oh, it’s far from being an overstatent. Trust . Even the foreign press would start raving about it. ‘According to Nam Kyung Park, Yun Woo’s editor-in-charge, the winner of the Nebula Award is such and such.’”
Now that Yun Woo had won the award, any ntion of him would spread to an international scale, and Nam Kyung was fully aware of that.
“That’s what I should’ve said while I could, anyway. When I didn’t have to worry about the aftermath as much.”
“The higher you go, the scarier the fall gets.”
The higher one climbed, the more terrifying the height beca. Made curious by Juho’s calm and unfazed remark, he wondered, ‘Then, what does that an for him? He’s already so high up when he hasn’t even graduated high school. Treated as a national author, the youngest, first Asian and Korean winner of a literary award with half a century of history, and now, aiming for the double crown. How terrifying of a height would that be? I can only imagine.’
“Yawn,” the young author yawned quietly.
“Did you not sleep well last night?”
“I was writing. I’ve been working on a piece to have exhibited at my school.”
Upon hearing Juho’s answer, Nam Kyung let out a chuckle.
“Man, I wonder how your friends will react once they find out who actually wrote that.”
“I’m sure it’ll draw more attention.”
Nam Kyung glanced over in Juho’s direction at his nonchalant remark. He was well aware that the young author knew what he was saying, yet his response was as indifferent as ever.
“When you slap the na Yun Woo on to a piece of stool, people suddenly see it as a gold nugget.”
“It won’t mask the sll though. Readers aren’t that stupid, and they won’t fall for a trick like that just from the na they’re seeing.”
“... Touché.”
Despite his accomplishnts, Juho was still a student in uniform, active in a Literature Club at his school, who ca with a piece of writing every now and then. However, if that had been the extent of his talent, there wouldn’t have been a need for a sense of responsibility like the one he was showing. At that mont, the car shook slightly.
“Are you looking forward to eting Mr. Sanders?”
“Yes. I’m curious of what he has to say.”
Then, glancing over in Juho’s direction once again and seeing the peaceful look about him, Nam Kyung looked straight ahead. The editor genuinely hoped that the young author would stay up in the sky for much longer and without any burdens, writing as he soared up even higher, learning and experiencing even more things.
“You can get so shut-eye until we get there.”
“Oh, it’s not that bad.”
At that, Nam Kyung pressed harder on the gas pedal.
—
“Sir, your party has arrived.”
Not too long after their arrival, a voice said to the editor and made him flinch. The seat next to him was empty. Yun Woo had gone to the restroom, so Nam Kyung rose from his seat in order to greet the guest.
Then, as a male manager capable of interacting with foreign custors opened the door, the significantly older translator greeted Nam Nam Kyung in English, sounding slightly rigid.
“Pleasure to have you, Mr. Sanders. I appreciate you coming all the way here from so far.”
Then, Sanders smiled brightly and said, “Oh, no. It’s always a pleasure to visit a country I’m not familiar with. Even if it’s for work.”
The two sat down after exchanging a handshake, with Sanders sitting across from Nam Kyung. Because there was space carved out for the feet, the translator didn’t have to sit in a way that was awkward and uncomfortable for him.
“Is Mr. Woo here, yet?” Sanders asked, and Nam Kyung waved his hand in denial and said “Oh, no. He’ll be here any minute now. We ca together.”
“Ah, I see.”
From his eyes, Nam Kyung was made certain of how curious the translator was. Yet, he was the sa translator who had refused to et with Yun Woo while translating ‘Language of God.’
“So, Mr. Woo is...”
As Sanders said after taking a sip of water, the door opened, and the translator looked toward it by reflex. There was a young person standing at the door. Then, recognizing that shift in the expression on Sanders’ face, Nam Kyung greeted the young author in a hurry.
“Ah, speak of the devil!”
“Sorry, I had so trouble rembering how to get back.”
As the translator spoke to the young author in English, the young author answered also in English, impressing the translator.
“It’s a pleasure to et you, Mr. Woo.”
That ti, the words that ca out of the translator’s mouth were in Korean.
—
Taking his hands off of the automatic water faucet, Juho walked out of the restroom while shaking the moisture from his hand. Then, as he made his way back to the room, he realized that he had trouble rembering how to get back. Because all the doors looked identical, there was no way to know which one was the one he was looking for. In the end, after contemplating peeking into a room at random, Juho was able to return to the right room after asking an employee passing by. Upon opening the door, Juho saw a foreigner who he had never t sitting in the room.
It had to be Sanders. At the sight of the man’s chubby figure and bushy beard, a thought ca to Juho that Santa Claus would have looked just like that when he was younger. Needless to say, he had never t Santa Claus in person, let alone a young Santa Claus, but sothing told him that that was how the Santa Claus in illustrations or advertisents would have looked before aging and leaving his hair and beard white. Sanders looked just like he had in the picture Juho had seen.
“It’s a pleasure to et you, Mr. Woo.”
Hearing Santa Claus speaking in Korea made for a rather odd experience. Then, as the man introduced himself as Taylor Sanders, Juho bowed in response.
“Yun Woo. My real na is Juho Woo, but please feel free to call whatever na you wish to call by.”
As Juho introduced himself with clear enunciation, Sanders reiterated the young author’s na, his beard moving up and down with his mouth.
“It’s probably best to call you by your real na when we’re outside.”
“Yes.”
“Speaking of which, congratulations on winning the Nebula Award! I wanted to tell you that when I t you.”
“Thank you.”
As assortnts of side dishes and scrumptious-looking food made their way to the table, Sanders tasted each and every one of them, expressing interest. Then, bringing up the things that had taken place since his arrival and the places he had visited up to that point, the translator continued the conversation. The subjects of the conversations that were taking place during the al effectively kept the atmosphere relaxed and comfortable. Unfortunately, looking away from Santa Claus, who was skilled in using a pair of chopsticks, was proving to be quite the challenge.
“I studied Chinese characters in college, and I’ve been translating compositions from all over Asia. Learning and translating Hangul was actually a relatively recent developnt. I gotta say, the language is quite charming. I fell in love with it and started looking into it before I even realized.”
The fluency with which he was speaking only proved his point further.
“So, have you read the translated version of ‘Language of God?’”
“Yes. I thought it was beautifully done. I was very grateful.”
Juho had read it. At the sa ti, he had been able to read it. Sanders’ translation contained an interpretation of his own. Despite having followed the original, strictly speaking, it was more accurate to consider it as a separate piece of writing. Nevertheless, that didn’t make it a bad thing. It was only natural. After all, what he had done was translate the book, not copy or transcribe it.
“‘Language of God’ was delightful. As a person obsessed with language, I’ve read it over and over. Repeatedly.”
“Were there any difficulties when translating that book?” Nam Kyung asked, and Sanders chuckled, looking and sounding even more like Santa Claus.
“Of course! It was a lot of work translating a world with such an elaborate structure. To be frank, Mr. Woo, your writing is on the trickier side for translators.”
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