Chapter 28 – Storyboard Meeting
In front of Min-hyuk’s door.
Hong Mi-seon poked her head in slightly, looking straight at Min-hyuk who was seated at his desk, and said,
“Why are you still up at this hour? You have school tomorrow.”
“There’s something I really need to finish urgently right now.”
“Ah… okay. If you’re hungry, should I cut some fruit for you?”
“It’s fine.”
“Then don’t stay up too late.”
“Yes, good night.”
Just as Hong Mi-seon gave an awkward smile and was about to leave the room—
She suddenly stopped mid-step, turned her head back toward Min-hyuk, and asked,
“Min-hyuk.”
“Yes?”
“Do you… really like drawing comics that much?”
Min-hyuk tilted his head, then lifted the corner of his mouth into a small smile as he answered,
“Yes. It’s fun. And I’m confident I can do it well.”
“I see…”
A bittersweet mix of worry and concern settled across Hong Mi-seon’s face.
Min-hyuk turned his body fully toward her and spoke again.
“Mom.”
“Hm?”
“Please don’t overwork yourself. If you’re doing it because of me… there’s really no need.”
“What are you talking about? It’s not like that.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
“…….”
A strange, heavy silence settled between the two of them.
Hong Mi-seon quietly closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, then turned away.
“I’m going now.”
“Yes.”
Click.
As the door closed and Hong Mi-seon returned to her own room, a complicated expression of bitterness and worry lingered on her face.
And inside the room, left alone…
Kang Min-hyuk let out a soft breath.
“…Huu, our Hong Lady must be really worried.”
I’m not some little kid anymore.
A fierce, determined look flashed across his face. He gripped his pencil tightly once more and buried his head back into the sketchbook.
The night deepened.
***
Midday, inside a café along a main road.
“Those people… they’re back again.”
The café staff kept stealing glances toward the corner of the shop.
A man with a rugged, almost gangster-like appearance sat facing a neat-looking boy who appeared to be a middle or high school student.
“They’re not making him do anything illegal, right?”
“It feels kinda suspicious… Last time they were talking about contracts or something too.”
All the staff had seen this exact pair about five days ago…
And since the memory had stuck with them, they were murmuring like this now.
Though, if there was one small dissonance—
“Krrrrr, so sweet and delicious.”
“Strawberry smoothie… Editor, you really don’t match the sweet stuff, do you?”
“Hey, what do you mean ‘don’t match’? This is called being tough on the outside, soft on the inside. And you—a third-year middle schooler drinking black coffee? Is that even right?”
“It’s iced Americano.”
“Whatever!”
The drinks each of them was sipping looked completely mismatched with their visuals.
Anyway.
After taking a moment to sip their drinks and catch their breath, Go Gwang-jin finally spoke.
“So… what are you planning to show me today, Artist Kang Min-hyuk?”
“Here—please take a look at all of this.”
Min-hyuk pulled a binder from his backpack and handed over a thick stack of papers.
Character sheets.
A single page summarizing the overall direction and planning.
And storyboards up to chapter 2.
“Hmm…”
Gwang-jin skimmed the character sheets and planning document with just a quick glance before immediately moving on to the storyboards.
‘The real judgment happens here anyway.’
At the end of the day, the core of a comic is whether it’s fun or not.
The storyboards are the best way to check that, which is why the planning doc and character sheets come second.
“Hooo… so it’s a school setting.”
“Yes, please read it.”
The beginning was fairly standard.
The setting was an ordinary liberal arts high school.
[Bin-woo, you dumbass. Huh? You can’t even tell the difference between chocolate milk and strawberry milk?]
[Aaah! Aaah!]
A group of bullies tormenting their classmates, with the main character at the center of the bullying.
What made it slightly unique was that the victim wasn’t just a complete pushover… he resisted even while getting beaten, showing strong defiance.
In addition, there were various archetypal characters: the athlete, the otaku, the hikikomori, the pretty girl, the money-obsessed guy, and so on.
Characters with instantly recognizable codes that could be grasped in a single scene.
‘Hmm… school violence story?’
Well, it’s still a genre that sells well…
But bringing it out as the main hook right now felt a little outdated.
The subsequent flow didn’t deviate much from expectations either.
[Those bastards… I’m going to crush every single one of them.]
The protagonist, Kim Bin-woo—the one being tormented by the bullies—seethed with rage, dreaming of revenge.
Gwang-jin’s face grew increasingly bored, and the speed at which he flipped through the pages quickened.
Then, right around the end of chapter 1—
Suddenly, Gwang-jin’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
[Hellooooo, everyone! I am the host who will be running a very fun game with all of you!]
A man in a suit bursts into the classroom—his entire body pitch black, a bizarre, eerie figure.
With this character’s appearance, the ordinary school story atmosphere flips completely.
[What the hell is that guy? Why is he dressed like that?]
[Hey idiot, get lost.]
Then, the most arrogant bully charges at the strange figure—
[Crack!]
His head explodes instantly, and the rest of the class falls into horrified shock—ending chapter 1 on that note.
‘What the—? The story turns like this… right here?’
Gwang-jin’s hands moved faster.
Chapter 2 continued with the Dalmatian-like host character scattering piles of money in front of the panicked students, then proposing a single game.
[Accept the game I’m about to propose. Survive seven games over the next forty-nine days. If you survive… you can obtain anything you desire!]
[Money? Honor? Sick parents? Your complexes? Disabilities? Anything you want… I will grant it to you!]
Each character’s hidden desires and insecurities—subtly hinted at in chapter 1—were now laid out with tempting offers.
While the others hesitated, the protagonist stepped forward first.
[I’m going to devour those filthy bastards.]
A near-hatred-fueled determination to destroy the bullies who tormented him.
He was the first to sign the contract the host presented.
And after that…
[I’m in too!]
[Damn it, you only live once anyway!]
Fueled by fear of the host and swept up in the shifted atmosphere, the rest of the kids rushed forward one after another to sign.
When it was all over, the students were transported to a different space…
[Isn’t this… Namsan Tower?]
[But why… is there no one here?]
And then, each child was handed a sword and sent plummeting toward the base of Namsan Tower…
Where they encountered their first game opponent: a horde of goblins.
Especially the goblins’ first appearance scene was depicted with overwhelming menace and grotesque detail, delivering a powerful impact.
When chapter 2 finally ended—
“Huuuuuu…”
Go Gwang-jin let out a long, deep breath.
Min-hyuk asked cautiously,
“How is it? This work?”
“…It’s beating.”
“Huh?”
“My heart is pounding because it’s so fun! Artist Kang Min-hyuk—are you really a third-year middle schooler? You’re not secretly an adult pretending to be a kid, right? Hahaha!”
Gwang-jin grabbed Min-hyuk’s shoulders and shook him roughly in strangely high spirits.
“Uwaaah—easy, easy!”
An awkward smile floated across Min-hyuk’s face as he was shaken like a paper doll.
‘Damn… this guy’s sharp in the weirdest places.’
He knew it was just talk, but somehow… it stung a little.
Right at that moment.
“U-um… is everything okay over here?”
“Hm?”
At the voice from the side, both of them turned their heads.
The café staff were standing there, faces full of worry.
The male manager in front had clenched his fists tightly, while the female employee behind him seemed to be half-hiding something behind her back.
‘Huh?’
‘Are we… being misunderstood right now?’
In an instant, the two of them suddenly became painfully aware of how their visuals must look to other people.
Then… Gwang-jin quickly released Min-hyuk’s shoulders.
“Ah—nothing, nothing at all! Haha! It’s really nothing, don’t worry about it.”
He shook his head and hands vigorously from side to side at the same time.
Of course…
“Really? Nothing’s wrong, right, kid? If something’s happening, just tell us. I’ll help.”
“…Ah, yes, really nothing.”
“You sure nothing’s wrong?”
“I said it’s fine.”
How long did they go back and forth like that?
“Sorry… we didn’t realize. Please continue with what you were doing!”
“Ah—no, it’s really okay…”
In the end, the two of them managed to explain(?) their situation by showing Gwang-jin’s Jangsan Publishing business card and Min-hyuk’s manuscript.
“Huuuuh… I’m drained in the weirdest way.”
“Yeah… So, you liked the manuscript?”
“Yeah, it’s fun. It starts off looking like a typical school story, then completely flips into a death game format… It grabs your attention right from the beginning. This feeling is similar to…”
“GETZ. I referenced it a lot.”
“Ahem… Isn’t that a 19+ work?”
“The comic café owner showed it to me.”
“What a great guy… Anyway.”
Gwang-jin waved his hand dismissively, then continued with a serious expression.
“I can definitely feel the influence from GETZ, but mixing in shonen codes turned it into something completely different. Honestly, in my judgment, this has more than enough to challenge the review board.”
To be frank, from Gwang-jin’s perspective, he was nothing short of astonished.
It wasn’t just that it was fun…
‘In such a short space, he packed in solid character designs and codes, and built anticipation for how these characters will develop and what direction they’ll take.’
‘He placed impactful cuts at just the right moments—great pacing control.’
‘And every chapter ending has a perfect hook that makes you want to read the next one. Top-tier level.’
Putting all those evaluations simply:
‘This isn’t just a comic carried by a good premise.’
Honestly, he was shocked.
He already knew Kang Min-hyuk had genius-level talent for his age, but he had assumed it was limited to short stories and art skill.
In other words, he was probably the type of artist heavily reliant on ‘premise power’ and ‘art power.’
Artists like that usually collapse spectacularly once they start long-form serialization…
But right from the start, this work had beautifully shattered all those concerns.
While Gwang-jin was trying to calm his racing heart, Min-hyuk spoke again.
“If you’ve finished the storyboards, please take a look at the planning document and character sheets too.”
“Sure.”
Flip flip! Flip flip!
“Hmm… so the story flows like this… and the character designs are like that. Got it.”
Gwang-jin nodded.
Compared to how wildly excited he had been while reading the storyboards, his reaction now was relatively calm.
Well, of course—getting overly hyped over a planning document would be weirder.
Anyway.
After finishing everything, he stroked his chin with a serious face and said,
“Min-hyuk, what I’m about to say is just a suggestion—not an order—so listen carefully.”
“Yes.”
“The storyboards, character sheets, planning… honestly, they’re all good. I can’t say for sure, but I think there’s a solid chance of passing the review…”
Gwang-jin trailed off, lips moving as though he had more he wanted to say but it kept getting caught in his throat.
Min-hyuk lifted the corner of his mouth and said,
“There are parts you want to revise, right?”
“…Yeah. There are places where I think it could be even better. But honestly, I was worried it might feel like too much of a burden for you.”
Min-hyuk shrugged his shoulders, then suddenly put on a very serious expression.
“Please speak freely. I came here fully prepared to throw out this entire storyboard and planning if needed.”
“Huh? What?”
What did this kid just say?