Chapter 4 – Goal: Animation High School
Clink-clink.
At the dinner table, mother and son sat facing each other, eating their evening meal.
The menu consisted of simmered tofu and burdock root salad that Hong Mi-seon had brought home in plastic containers from the restaurant where she worked.
Miso stew boiled without meat, a few pieces of Yonggari chicken, and kimchi—that was all.
It looked simple, but considering the family’s circumstances at this time…
‘This is practically a feast.’
Min-hyuk glanced at Hong Mi-seon while eating.
She only touched the burdock salad, kimchi, and stew.
She didn’t even lay a finger on the main dish—the Yonggari chicken.
—“Mom, why don’t you eat the Yonggari chicken?”
—“Just… it doesn’t taste good. You eat a lot.”
In the past, he had taken her words at face value, but the 34-year-old Min-hyuk knew better.
He knew full well that it was a blatant lie.
“Mom, try some of this too.”
Min-hyuk picked up a piece of Yonggari chicken and placed it on top of her rice.
“Huh? I don’t want it… you eat it.”
“I’m telling you to try it.”
When Hong Mi-seon put the chicken back on the plate, Min-hyuk picked it up again and placed it on her rice.
She frowned slightly and moved it back to the plate.
Clink. Clink.
“Eat it.”
“I said I don’t want it.”
“I’m telling you to try it.”
“Stop it.”
How many more rounds of this chopstick battle went on?
“Kang Min-hyuk! I said I don’t want it—why do you keep doing this?!”
Hong Mi-seon let out a lion’s roar.
In the old days, he would have widened his eyes in shock and bowed his head, but he was 34 now.
“Hey, come on—I’m only insisting because it’s delicious. Mom, you’re giving it to me because you want me to eat it, right?”
Min-hyuk replied with a sly grin.
Surely she’d get the hint at this point—
“What are you talking about? That’s not it at all.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I’m not giving it to you so you can eat it. I really hate that stuff.”
He could see it on her face.
The same look of disgust she gave cockroaches or bugs.
The expression she wore whenever he was about to get into big trouble.
In other words, she was telling the absolute truth.
But… did that even make sense?
“You hate it? Yonggari chicken?”
Sweet honey mustard sauce, thin crispy batter.
The top-tier side dish that burst with savory flavor the moment you bit into it.
She truly didn’t eat it because she disliked it?
“It’s dry. The sauce is too sweet too. That’s kid food.”
“…”
Ah… so that’s how it was.
An awkward silence settled for a moment as he felt embarrassed.
‘Maybe I didn’t know Mom as well as I thought.’
Hong Mi-seon let out a huff, and Min-hyuk forced an awkward smile before lowering his head.
“Ahem… sorry.”
“…Let’s just eat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
In the end, the two finished their meal in silence.
‘Tch, it’s so good though.’
Of course, all the Yonggari chicken ended up going to Min-hyuk.
“I-I’ll do the dishes and clean up. Mom, you rest.”
“No need. Why are you suddenly doing things you never do? Did you get into some kind of trouble?”
“No, really, it’s nothing like that.”
After a brief scuffle, he managed to push Hong Mi-seon out of the kitchen.
True, at this age, suddenly insisting on doing the dishes—something he’d never done before—must have looked suspicious from a mother’s perspective.
But since the chicken gambit had failed, he had to do at least this.
Swishhh.
He wet the plates under running water, applied detergent, and rinsed them.
“Mom.”
“Yeah?”
“When I’m done here, can we talk for a minute?”
“Talk? About what?”
“I’ll tell you when I’m finished.”
“…Haa, why are you acting so strange today? You really didn’t get into trouble, did you?”
“Hey, I told you it’s not that. I just have something I want to say.”
Min-hyuk waved his hands dismissively, and Hong Mi-seon let out a big huff before shuffling into the living room.
She flopped down onto the worn brown sofa and picked up the remote.
<<KBO 9 O’Clock News, this is anchor Jeon Yong-ho. We begin with our top story. Our precious island of Dokdo—starting this September, civilians will now be able to set foot on Dokdo, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration…>>
Half-reclining on the sofa, Hong Mi-seon stared blankly at the TV.
‘If I’m going to do this, I should just say it quickly.’
Min-hyuk bit his lip hard.
In the old days, maybe not—but really, it wasn’t that big a deal.
I want to become a comic artist.
That’s why I want to go to animation high school.
I’ll handle all the money and living expenses myself.
All he had to do was deliver that sincerely and persuasively.
Sure, he had been utterly crushed by Mi-seon in his previous life, but the him back then and the him now were different.
Damn right they were.
His goal was to become the god of comics.
A guy like that wouldn’t fail to convince one Hong Mi-seon.
This wasn’t even a big deal.
‘It’s… not a big deal, right?’
Truth be told, she was a little scary when she got angry.
Just as Min-hyuk was rinsing plates with a worried expression, the anchor’s voice continued from the news.
<<In other news, a man in his mid-twenties, identified only as Mr. Lee, suddenly collapsed and died in a comic book café. Mr. Lee had no steady job, and according to witnesses, he frequently read harmful Japanese comics…>>
In that instant, Hong Mi-seon’s previously drowsy eyes widened.
“Min-hyuk, look at that. See? Someone died from reading too many comics.”
“…Huh?”
Someone died? From reading comics?
An ominous feeling began creeping up.
“You should cut back on those comic books too. If you keep going in and out of those comic cafes and get addicted… who’s to say you won’t end up like that later?”
“…”
“Are you listening to me?”
“Mom, comics aren’t necessarily that bad. The news is just exaggerating a bit…”
“A person died from being that addicted—how is that not bad? Is it good, then?”
A large bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
‘This… the timing is really, really bad.’
Is now the right moment to bring it up?
No matter how much he was the 34-year-old Kang Min-hyuk, this was…
Cruelly, the stack of dishes in the sink was also running out.
As Min-hyuk wiped his hands on a towel,
Hong Mi-seon turned her head sharply and asked,
“So, what is it?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You said you had something to tell me. Go on, son.”
“Ah, well… it’s about my high school plans…”
“Hm? Why? Did your final exam grades come out? Did you bomb a test?”
“No, no, it’s not that.”
“If you’re thinking of hiding your report card, don’t even dream about it. If you get caught, you know what happens…”
Hiding his report card? Why would he bother?
What kind of image did I have in Mom’s eyes at this age?
The fact that a 34-year-old man is hearing this kind of talk… makes me legendary— no, that’s not the point.
“Don’t even think about hiding it. Mom can find out anything if she wants to.”
“I told you it’s not that.”
“Then what is it? Why have you been acting so weird all day?”
“…”
“Speak up! Or should I call your teacher?”
“There’s no need to go that extreme…”
Her slightly narrowed eyes looked just like a predator’s.
‘This isn’t going to be easy.’
Well, of course—even after regressing, Hong Mi-seon was still Hong Mi-seon.
The tough-as-nails Korean mom who had raised me, Kang Min-hyuk, admirably (?) all by herself without that deadbeat dad.
But what choice did he have?
The answer… was a frontal assault.
“Mom, I want to become a comic artist!”
<<A prominent parents’ association, the Mothers’ Group, stated that due to the violent content in the comics Mr. Lee was reading, he had long struggled with interpersonal relationships… and expressed serious concerns about…>>
The news commentary continued at the exact same moment.
Hong Mi-seon’s mouth fell wide open.
‘Damn that parents’ group…’
Tears of the soul streamed inside Min-hyuk’s heart.
Mi-seon twitched her eyebrows and asked again.
“You’re joking, right?”
“No. I’m completely serious. One hundred percent.”
“Comic artist? What comics? Since when have you even drawn? If this is just nonsense because you don’t want to study…”
“…”
Min-hyuk silently went into his room, pulled out a sketchbook, and handed it to her.
On the pages were pencil doodles that immediately caught the eye.
“Is this…?”
“Yes, I drew them.”
Hong Mi-seon’s eyes widened.
“You… drew these?”
Min-hyuk nodded, and her gaze locked back onto the sketchbook.
Vivid expressions, dynamic poses—male and female characters.
From handsome/pretty faces to chubby men, babies, old people, and more.
All sorts of people were drawn.
Even someone with zero knowledge of art could tell at a glance.
The person who drew this was highly skilled.
“You didn’t steal this from a friend, did you?”
But from her perspective, it didn’t make sense.
She had never seen Min-hyuk draw.
She’d never even noticed any signs…
“Why are you trying to turn your son into a thief?”
Min-hyuk huffed, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
He took the sketchbook from her, grabbed a pencil, and quickly sketched something on a blank page.
Confident, flowing strokes.
“Here, look.”
“Oh…”
On the page Min-hyuk showed her was the face of a woman.
Well-permed hair, thick eyebrows, freckles scattered across her face.
And a bright, natural smile that radiated warmth.
It was stylized in a comic-like way, but it was unmistakable.
The subject of the drawing was Hong Mi-seon herself.
“…”
Hong Mi-seon looked back and forth between Min-hyuk and the portrait of herself in the sketchbook.
Her face was full of confusion, her lips moving wordlessly.
“So… what do you think? Is this good enough… to pursue comics?”
“B-but… Min-hyuk. Comics can wait until later…”
“I’m not planning to do it as a hobby. And I’m not saying this because I hate studying.”
Min-hyuk spoke calmly, softly, with relaxed confidence.
But with that single sentence, Mi-seon couldn’t respond right away.
“It’s… too sudden. If you just decide this on your own, Mom… Mom will…”
It was only natural for her to be confused.
Her son suddenly declaring he wanted to draw comics was already a headache, and on top of that, it clearly sounded like he meant it with all his heart.
Min-hyuk looked straight into Hong Mi-seon’s eyes.
—Kang Min-hyuk, everything I say is for your own good. Do you think anyone can just become a comic artist? Drawing pictures isn’t that easy—
—But—
—Listen to Mom.
The memory from his previous life surfaced—the moment he had told her about his dream of becoming a comic artist.
The 16-year-old third-year middle schooler Kang Min-hyuk, cornered and unable to say a word, only nodding in defeat.
But now, with just a few words and a few drawings, he had turned the tables and put Hong Mi-seon in the corner instead.
Perhaps because of the bewilderment on her face…
She even looked a little pitiful.
But this was how it had to be.
‘Because I have no intention of repeating the same mistakes.’
For Mom’s sake.
Because of money issues.
He didn’t want to run away from what he truly wanted with all sorts of excuses, only to end up a pathetic fool crippled in both arms again.
I’m going to become the greatest comic artist.
I’ll earn so much money it’ll rot, and I’m confident I can let mom live in comfort.
I’ll do what I want to do and live the way I want to live.
Without a single regret.
So right now, it was time to be stubborn.
“…So what exactly are you planning to do? Quit school and draw comics? Mom can’t allow that!”
“No, of course I’ll go to high school.”
“Then are you telling me this just to prepare me?”
Min-hyuk shook his head and said,
“There’s a place called Korea Animation High School in Hanam. I want to go there.”
“Y-you don’t… you don’t have to go to a place like that to become a comic artist, right?”
Hong Mi-seon’s face turned into that of a frightened herbivore.
She must be overwhelmed and confused.
But Min-hyuk knew exactly what was at the center of her thoughts.
‘As expected, she’s worried about tuition.’
Schools with fancy names like art high or science high somehow feel like places only rich families send their kids to.
Even he had thought that way back then.
Min-hyuk grinned and waved his hand.
“Hey, Mom. Don’t start off so negative. In the first place, it’s not like I can just go there because I want to.”
“Then… what do you mean you’re going to that animation high school? Explain it properly so Mom can understand.”
“To get in, you need good middle school grades. You also have to prepare for the art practical exam. That means I’d probably need to go to a prep academy. Starting now would already be pretty late.”
And above all, the academy fees would be a huge burden.
“…Then how exactly do you plan to get in?”
Min-hyuk pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket, smoothed it out, and placed it in front of her.
Something he had printed at Seung-heon’s house.
Written on it was the following:
[Korea Animation High School Contest]
- Grand Prize: 5 million won cash, plus special admission benefit
for the winner!
“I’m going to take the grand prize here.”
“The grand prize? You?”
“Yes. I’ll win it. And I’ll give the prize money to you, Mom.”
“…W-what if you don’t win? What happens then?”
“I’ll do whatever you say. I won’t ever mention drawing comics again, and I’ll just study hard.”
“Really?”
Min-hyuk nodded firmly.
“Yes. So please… let me enter this contest.”
He said it with the most serious, earnest expression in the world.