Chapter 15 – First Impression
Meeeem! Meeeem! Meeeem!
As if refusing to let summer end.
As if they couldn’t die without leaving offspring.
The cicadas’ cries echoed noisily from every direction.
Min-hyuk walked straight through the long parking lot in the middle of it all.
“Phew… finally here.”
No matter how he looked at it, he liked what he saw.
Clean air, buildings far more refined than a typical high school.
Gazing at the full view of Korea Animation High School, he even felt his body tremble lightly.
Not from worry or fear.
No matter how talented the opponents were, they were middle schoolers.
First place was a given—he’d spent the last two weeks training under a teacher for exactly that.
There was no chance he’d underperform.
This wasn’t arrogance or overconfidence—it was simple fact.
The one who’d come here wasn’t a third-year middle schooler.
It was 34-year-old Kang Min-hyuk.
The one who’d climbed almost to section chief in a public corporation, gritted his teeth for two years, and debuted as an official Bluehouse webtoon artist.
His current concern wasn’t about failing…
Just then—
“Fighting, my son!”
“I’ll do great, Mom!”
“Give it your all, sweetie!”
“Yeah!”
All around the parking lot, kids getting cheered on by parents.
Since special admission benefits were on the line, most were third-year middle schoolers.
He hadn’t noticed with Seung-heon…
But seeing the other kids, he suddenly felt how young they really were.
How to describe it…
‘Like crashing a kids’ party.’
A twinge of embarrassment and guilt hit him, but what could he do?
He had to get in, and this was the only way.
Forgive this old man, kids.
When I make it big, I’ll do lots of good things for you.
And honestly… in my previous life, I only drew comics for a few years.
‘So let’s call it even.’
Yeah, exactly.
Min-hyuk strolled leisurely, looking around.
Just then—
Beep-beep!
“Huh?”
A harsh horn from behind.
Min-hyuk turned his head.
“?!”
In an instant, a black imported B-brand car barreled toward him.
He reflexively threw himself backward.
Thud!
The art supply box beside him toppled, spilling materials across the ground.
“What the…!”
Who drives like that in a parking lot?
If this were later times, huh? Min-sik Law would—
‘Wait, that doesn’t apply to middle schoolers, does it?’
Anyway, that wasn’t the point.
The point was—who drives this badly in a parking lot?
Min-hyuk let out a big sigh and brushed himself off.
Just then—
“A-are you okay, kid?!”
A young man in a black suit and sunglasses jumped out of the driver’s seat of the abruptly stopped car and helped Min-hyuk up.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Sh-should we call an ambulance?”
“No, I’m not that injured.”
The man frantically checked Min-hyuk over, face pale with fear.
‘Huh… not what I expected.’
Someone driving like that should be a tattooed thug nine times out of ten…
But this overly polite attitude made Min-hyuk feel oddly deflated.
Just then—
“Driver Kim, how long are you going to make me wait?”
A cold voice from behind made the suited man whip his head around.
“Ah, Miss! Sorry! But this boy might be hurt…”
“Handle that later. The contest is urgent right now.”
“But…”
Min-hyuk’s gaze fixed on the girl standing stiffly behind.
Wearing a wide-brimmed bucket hat in summer—like some mountain hermit artist or a certain famous Japanese comic creator.
A girl.
Below the hat, she wore a crisp shirt and skirt that screamed “rich girl.”
Her hair, bleached blonde down to her waist.
She looked like she was proclaiming her free spirit with every fiber of her being.
Pale skin, sharp-lined eyes—the full “beautiful girl” vibe radiating from her.
Min-hyuk’s eyes narrowed.
‘Why does her face look familiar?’
Where had he seen it before… he couldn’t quite remember.
His eyebrows twisted as he stared at the girl.
Just then—
“K-kid, here—take my card. If you’re hurt or anything happens, call me right away. I have something urgent right now…”
The suited man tried to hand over a business card and head back to the car.
Min-hyuk glanced at the card and said coldly,
“That’s hit-and-run.”
“What?”
“If you leave now, I’m reporting you for hit-and-run. Abandoning an injured middle schooler you hit with your car. Right?”
Min-hyuk smiled brightly. The suited man’s face crumpled.
“B-but you just said you weren’t seriously hurt! I gave you my card…”
“I’m not hurt. But these guys are.”
Min-hyuk pointed at the scattered materials on the ground.
An ink bottle had shattered, spilling across the floor.
It had ruined several sheets of screentone.
Items gifted by Senior Shin Pil-ho—now damaged.
Sure, he could probably still compete without them.
But tools are better the more you have, and Min-hyuk was aiming for first place…
‘And that expression pisses me off.’
Min-hyuk glanced at the bucket-hat girl behind him and continued,
“You’ll have to compensate right now.”
“C-compensation for materials? Will this cover it? If you need more…”
The suited man hurriedly pulled a 100,000-won check from his wallet.
Min-hyuk pushed it away with his palm.
“I don’t need paper. I need materials for the contest right now.”
“B-but how am I supposed to get them immediately…”
Min-hyuk pointed at the black car.
“That girl over there—she’s here for the contest too, right? She’s got comic supplies in the car. Let’s share some.”
“…”
The moment Min-hyuk said that, the bucket-hat girl closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and answered,
“I understand what you’re saying, but no. This contest is really important to me.”
A firm refusal—she had no intention of giving anything up.
‘This is kinda getting on my nerves.’
Min-hyuk smiled faintly and stepped forward.
“K-kid, wait a second.”
“Hold on.”
Perhaps flustered.
Before the driver could stop him, Min-hyuk walked around to the back of the car and approached the bucket-hat girl.
An unpleasant expression crossed her face.
Just then—
Whoosh!
Min-hyuk turned his head sideways, grabbed the car door handle, and yanked it open.
Then… he reached in, grabbed the handle of a luxurious art supply box, and pulled it out.
“Sorry, but this contest is really important to me too.”
“What?”
The girl’s eyebrows twisted.
Seeing that expression, a face from the past flashed in Min-hyuk’s mind.
—“I believe trash comic artists are bound to be weeded out.”
‘Ah… no wonder she looked familiar.’
He remembered now.
Cat-like features, that signature irritated expression.
This girl was definitely Han Yu-ra—one of Bluehouse’s flagship artists when Min-hyuk was 34.
From a prestigious family with five generations of artists, her father a fairly famous painter…
She was infamous for her pride in her skill and for spewing venom in media and on SNS.
‘Most of what she said was true… but her delivery was a bit much.’
She wasn’t a bad person deep down—just had some personality flaws.
But her skill was undeniable.
Even in 2024, on the cutthroat battlefield of Bluehouse webtoons, Han Yu-ra’s works always ranked in the top five.
Meeting the childhood version of such a famous person here was nice…
‘Sorry, but I can’t back down either.’
He knew it wasn’t Han Yu-ra’s fault—it was the driver’s.
But… he couldn’t just let it go when the damaged items were precious gifts filled with Senior Shin Pil-ho’s heart.
“G-give it back!”
Thud!
Han Yu-ra grabbed the art supply box and pulled.
Min-hyuk let go lightly.
“Step back!”
The suited man jumped in, pushing Min-hyuk and Yu-ra apart.
“Anyway, choose. Give me the materials, or deal with the police.”
“Miss, I’m sorry, but please go in first. I’ll handle this…”
Han Yu-ra glared at Min-hyuk with full displeasure, then turned sharply and walked away with her art supply box.
Just then, Min-hyuk stretched his neck sideways and said,
“What, scared you’ll lose without them?”
“What?”
Yu-ra stopped, turned her head, and stared at him.
“Sorry, but I’m planning to take first place in this contest.”
“You’re taking first place?”
Beyond confident—she acted like it was a given.
Yu-ra’s eyes widened as she repeated it. Min-hyuk continued,
“Yeah. As long as you properly replace the materials you ruined.”
“…Ha?”
An incredulous expression crossed Yu-ra’s face.
“Are you seriously saying that?”
“Yeah. I think it’s totally possible.”
Yu-ra’s brow furrowed.
She flipped her hair back, let out a big sigh, and—
Thud!
She shoved her art supply box toward Min-hyuk as if dumping it on him.
“Take it.”
“M-Miss?”
The driver’s face turned troubled.
Min-hyuk’s mouth curved upward.
‘Got her good.’
Her pride was as strong as rumored—she fell for that little provocation.
Han Yu-ra continued,
“Take as much as you need. I won’t lose to you even without a few materials.”
“Calm down, Miss. This was my fault—I’ll take responsibility…”
“It’s fine, Driver. I just… want to do this.”
“If… you say so…”
The driver couldn’t say more and stepped back with a troubled look.
‘Her personality… was fiery even as a kid.’
Nicely put: stubborn. Harshly put: bullheaded.
Min-hyuk huffed through his nose, crouched down, and opened Han Yu-ra’s art supply box.
“Let’s see… what should I take~”
He hummed a tune as he looked inside. Han Yu-ra suddenly shivered, a strange unease crossing her face.
‘H-he’s not… going to take everything, right?’
She’d provoked him out of pride—wanting to see what this arrogant kid who claimed first place could do.
But now that it had come to this… she couldn’t help worrying.
She only had that one box, after all.
Just then—
“This, this, and this. I’ll take these.”
“Huh?”
Kang Min-hyuk pulled out two basic screentone sheets and one pen nib.
‘That’s all?’
What was I worrying for…
Han Yu-ra let out a relieved sigh.
“That enough? If you complain later…”
Thud!
But mid-sentence,
Min-hyuk closed the box, handed it back to Han Yu-ra, and said,
“I won’t complain. This is plenty. And today… I’m definitely taking first place.”
“…”
Another arrogant line. Yu-ra’s brow furrowed.
Just then—
“Take care, sir.”
“Ah… y-yeah.”
Min-hyuk greeted the driver first, then turned to Han Yu-ra.
“You draw well today too.”
“…”
“I’d do well even without you saying that.”
“Yeah? Good then.”
Han Yu-ra answered with an unpleasant expression. Min-hyuk shrugged, picked up his own art supply box.
And then…
“Let’s go.”
Humming a tune, he walked lightly toward the animation high school building.
Han Yu-ra stared at his retreating back, let out a deep sigh, and muttered to herself,
“First place, my ass…”
First place… is definitely mine.
A competitive fire filled Han Yu-ra’s face. The driver beside her watched with a worried expression.