Chapter 35 – You’ve Flipped the Scene
<Brave King>, serialized in New Chance.
This comic… caused a huge ripple in the once-quiet Korean comic industry.
[Korean Comics Forum]
[SilentMan] Yo wtf, did you guys see the follow-up to Aureka this time?
└[RolinaNight] The quality is insane. Damn, it’s been ages since I saw an opener this strong.
[SaeromiJjang] : New Chance revival incoming ã„·ã„·ã„·ã„·ã„·
└[kjfk99] : Normally I’d tell people to chill with the hype, but this… I can’t even deny it.
└[hkamga] : Where the hell was New Chance hiding these artists? Aureka ends and they pull in a rookie this good ã„·ã„·ã„·
└[MillioRem] : Honestly, the talent gap is real. OTL ㅜㅜ…
Communities full of comic artists and aspiring creators were buzzing nonstop about <Brave King>.
And that wasn’t all.
“…This is really a rookie’s work?”
Han Yu-ra—who had battled (?) Min-hyuk tooth and nail at the Korea Animation High competition—saw this comic and immediately tripled her practice time.
“What the hell is this thing?!”
Tap tap tap tap!
Oh Dong-gyo, who had won the Excellence Award, was so hyped he was snorting like a bull while riding the wave on the forums.
“Hehe, Coup-ler is so cuteee.”
Kim Rok-hee, obsessed with anything adorable, was in her own space gazing at <Brave King> in New Chance, utterly enchanted… and already started doing secondary creations of Coup-ler.
Just one chapter.
A rookie’s work with only one chapter out had suddenly injected fierce tension into the lax Korean comic scene.
At that same time, inside the New Chance editorial meeting room.
Go Gwang-jin and Manager Song Mi-hyeon sat facing each other, talking.
“Hmmmm… so this is the storyboard for Chapter 7?”
“Yes.”
“His hands are fast too… already up to Chapter 7.”
“I told you there wouldn’t be any problems.”
Gwang-jin flashed a confident grin. Song Mi-hyeon quickly flipped through the storyboard copies.
“Hmmmm…”
She finished reading the entire thing in under three minutes, then tapped the table with her finger, face serious.
Gwang-jin swallowed nervously and asked,
“Any… feedback?”
“No—that’s the problem. There’s nothing.”
“Huh? Problem?”
“It’s fun. The characters are immersive. But the issue is that a third-year middle school kid is producing this. At this level already… I can’t even imagine how far he’ll grow later.”
“Ah…”
Song Mi-hyeon tapped her forehead with her finger and continued.
“I want to go all-out promoting this for the volume release. What’s your plan?”
“Ah, I’m already calling around to the rental comic shops. I’ve assigned Min-hyung as the editor in charge. Covers are being prepped in advance…”
“No, no—that’s all basic stuff. I mean is there anything more? We have to slam this hard the moment Volume 1 drops.”
A murderous glint filled Mi-hyeon’s eyes as she stared at Gwang-jin.
She looked ready to crush everything in her path.
“I’ll… prepare it.”
“Good. Get the plan to me in two days at the latest. If you’re short on hands, I’ll assign the youngest to help.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll pull all-nighters if I have to and get it done on time.”
“Anything else to check?”
“Nothing.”
“Then let’s get to work.”
“Yes!”
As Song Mi-hyeon stood up, Go Gwang-jin clenched his fist and rose energetically.
‘Alright—when the tide comes in, row like hell!’
Two straight days of overtime ahead.
But strangely, Gwang-jin’s face was overflowing with fighting spirit and energy.
***
Around the time early morning shifted into lunchtime.
Autumn had fully arrived, red maple leaves falling across the school field of a certain middle school’s third-year classroom.
“Zzz… huuuu…”
“Ughhh… Kang Min-hyuk… fix tone number 3 here…”
At the very back of the classroom, the insane duo (?) Kang Min-hyuk and Oh Seung-heon were once again happily snoring away in deep sleep.
The teacher at the front, mid-lecture, furrowed his brow deeply.
“Goddamn, those kids snore like pigs.”
“Pfft!”
Heh heh.
Smiles spread across the faces of the students in class, and quiet laughter leaked out.
Then, the glasses-wearing kid sitting right next to the two adjusted his frames and asked,
“Should I wake them up, seonsaengnim?”
“Nah, leave ’em. Our great artist-nims are tired from working… No point bothering them and getting cursed out.”
The teacher didn’t seem to genuinely hate the two either—he just smirked and continued the lesson.
Just like that, the usual peaceful(?) time flowed on.
Ding-dong-daeng-dong!
“Attention! Salute to the teacher!”
Break time arrived, and the kids swarmed toward the school store or bathrooms, turning the classroom into a marketplace in seconds.
Of course…
“Uuuugh…”
“Mnya… mnya…”
Min-hyuk and Seung-heon still showed zero intention of returning from dreamland.
But right in the middle of their deep slumber—
“Hey, Kang Min-hyuk! Hey, Kang Min-hyuk! Wake up.”
One kid shook Min-hyuk’s back vigorously.
Min-hyuk grimaced in annoyance and slowly lifted his head.
“Ughhh… what? Is it lunchtime already?”
“Nah, not that.”
“Then why wake me uuuup…”
A hint of irritation crept into Min-hyuk’s voice.
He’d been pulling all-nighters nonstop lately, so his nerves were frayed.
And on top of that…
-Min-hyuk, got the next storyboard yet? Next one? The manuscript is insane!
-I just sent you the storyboard over the phone a minute ago.
-It’s just so fun! Hehe! Oh, how’s the Volume 1 cover coming along?
-Please wait. That’s gonna take a few more days at least.
With Volume 1 coming out soon, there was a ton to do—covers, proofs, checks, everything.
And Go Gwang-jin kept hyping him up so much that Min-hyuk had accidentally overpaced himself in excitement.
In short, the current Kang Min-hyuk was a very sensitive, irritable human being.
“It’s not that. Someone came looking for you.”
“Who? Homeroom teacher? Or the principal?”
“Nah… out in the hallway. They asked if we could call you.”
“Huh?”
Min-hyuk stared toward the back of the classroom.
Through the half-open door, a girl was peeking her head in timidly.
“What is it?”
“How should I know?”
What the…?
When his friend just shrugged, Min-hyuk tilted his head and walked toward the back of the room.
“Uh… I heard you were looking for me?”
“Ah, yes! Ah—h-hello, sunbae-nim!”
A neat-looking girl with round glasses and her hair tied back in a clean ponytail.
The yellow name tag indicating second year read [Kim Mi-na].
A face he’d never seen before. Min-hyuk scratched the bridge of his nose and asked,
“Um… what for?”
“Th-that… could I maybe get your autograph?”
With that, Kim Mi-na pulled out a magazine she’d been hiding behind her back and held it forward.
It was the issue of New Chance that contained Chapter 1 of <Brave King>.
“…Huh? Autograph?”
“Yes, um… I heard you’re the artist of <Brave King>, sunbae-nim… Is that… not true?”
Min-hyuk turned his head and looked back into the classroom.
“Zzz… huuuu…”
There was Oh Seung-heon, still snoring away in deep meditation.
‘That bastard’s doing, huh.’
Well, he hadn’t exactly planned to keep it a secret forever anyway…
But if a second-year knew and had come all the way here, it was obvious something had happened.
“Uh, sorry. I’m not really the kind of person who gives autographs to others.”
“B-but I really want one… I loved <Brave King> so much. Couldn’t you… please, sunbae-nim?”
Kim Mi-na stared up at him with pleading eyes, asking again.
‘This is kinda burdensome…’
Min-hyuk squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then opened them and took the New Chance issue.
“Wait just a sec.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much, sunbae!”
Min-hyuk went back into the classroom, pulled out a ballpoint pen, and roughly scrawled his name across the cover.
‘Is this even how autographs are supposed to work…? I’ve never done this before, so how would I know.’
Then, the classmates who’d been watching started chiming in.
“Ooooh, Kang Min-hyuk. What’s up?”
“Krrrr, pro artist popularity is no joke!”
“Shut up, you guys are loud.”
Min-hyuk pushed through the kids who were teasing him and stepped back out of the classroom, handing the New Chance issue over.
“Here you go.”
“Th-thank you so much.”
“So we’re done here, right?”
“Um… actually…”
“What now?”
“Um… if it’s okay with you, sunbae-nim… could we maybe talk a little during lunch break?”
“Huh?”
What the hell is this all of a sudden?
Min-hyuk’s brow furrowed deeply.
***
Lunchtime, inside the cafeteria.
Oh Seung-heon was chomping away at a plate piled high with fried chicken and curry when he spoke.
“Dude, that’s 100% a confession. Iyoool.”
“Confession my ass.”
“No, seriously—she came all the way to our class just to get your autograph? That’s gotta be it. Krrrr, our Min-hyuk’s become super popular. If it works out, you better treat me!”
Should I just kill him?
Min-hyuk lifted his spoon menacingly and glared sharply.
“Whoa, whoa, put that down.”
“Huuu… fine.”
Well, Min-hyuk was flustered too, to be honest.
But he knew damn well this wasn’t the kind of “talk” Seung-heon was teasing him about.
Because…
‘Yeah, it’s obviously that thing.’
As a 34-year-old man in a kid’s body who’d seen it all, Kang Min-hyuk could easily guess why a girl named Kim Mi-na had come looking for him.
A short while later, the two of them left the cafeteria.
“Go on ahead. I’ve got an appointment.”
“Krrrrrr, when you come back you better tell me everything first, got it?”
“I don’t know what you’re expecting, but nothing like that’s gonna happen.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
“Shut up, I’m going.”
Min-hyuk waved his hand and headed toward the school field.
Watching his back, Seung-heon muttered,
“That jerk… never gives me anything.”
A faint, bittersweet expression crossed Seung-heon’s face for some reason.
***
One corner of the school field, under the shade of a tree near the water fountain.
“Ah, sunbae-nim! You’re here!”
When Min-hyuk appeared, Mi-na—who had been waiting on the bench—quickly stood and bowed.
Min-hyuk stepped into the shade, and Mi-na thrust both hands forward.
“H-here, please take this. I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought both.”
Chocolate milk and strawberry milk—one in each hand.
Min-hyuk snorted softly through his nose, took the strawberry milk, and sat down.
“Thanks. I’ll drink it.”
“Yes!”
And so the two sat side by side on the bench under the tree shade.
A brief silence.
“So… what did you want to talk about?”
“Um, well…”
At Min-hyuk’s question, Mi-na kept stealing glances before finally opening her mouth.
“Um… sunbae-nim, when did you start drawing comics?”
“When did I start?”
How the hell was he supposed to answer that?
The current Kang Min-hyuk had only been seriously drawing for about half a year, but there was also his previous life’s time to consider…
If he said too short, it’d sound suspicious; too long, same problem.
Either way, he couldn’t just tell the truth.
After a moment’s thought, Min-hyuk answered.
“Well… seriously getting into it? About four years, I guess.”
“Ah… I see.”
Another short silence.
This time, Mi-na spoke first.
“I really enjoyed <Brave King>! The character designs were so charming, and the tension while reading was insane—I was literally on the edge of my seat, heart pounding…”
“Oh yeah? Glad you liked it. Thanks.”
“And also… I saw the work you won first place with at the Animation High competition. The way you depicted the protagonist chained up… it really hit me hard. My nose stung… it oddly reminded me of my mom…”
At that, Min-hyuk lifted only the corners of his mouth in a faint smile and spoke in a calm voice.
“You seem like you have something you want to say to me… It’s okay. You can just say it comfortably.”
“Ah…”
For a moment, Kim Mi-na blinked in surprise.