Chapter 37 – Playing the Adult (2)
The Pikachu-don katsu with its head blown off.
Holding it in his hand, Min-hyuk’s pupils had rounded completely as he stared at Seung-heon.
‘What the hell am I supposed to say to this?’
I want to become a comic artist.
Oh Seung-heon’s bombshell declaration that had suddenly exploded.
The tiny, faint possibility he’d half-suspected.
Now that those words had actually come out… Min-hyuk felt his breath catch in his throat.
And for good reason…
‘Seung-heon… has zero talent.’
What he’d seen at lunchtime from Kim Mi-na was on a completely different level.
Right now, Oh Seung-heon—exaggerating just a little—was barely at the level of drawing stick figures.
Sure, because he read so many comics, he sometimes showed decent sense during idea brainstorming sessions; Min-hyuk had to admit that.
He was still only in third year of middle school… if he kept at it steadily, there was plenty of time to improve his skills.
But still…
‘Is this really okay?’
Min-hyuk’s mind grew tangled.
Honestly, even if the webtoon market exploded in the future…
The profession of comic artist itself was, in many ways, far removed from stability.
The uneasy thought that he might be the reason this guy’s life goes off the rails filled Min-hyuk’s head.
Sure, in regression web novels and webtoons, the butterfly effect was a common trope…
‘But doesn’t it usually go in the other direction?’
Why would his best friend’s dream suddenly change to becoming a comic artist, of all things?
As Min-hyuk’s face twitched in bewilderment—
Perhaps catching that expression, Seung-heon spoke first.
“I know I don’t have any talent. I’m not in a position to go to Animation High like you, and even debuting might take forever—or maybe never happen at all.”
“No, that’s not what I was going to say…”
“But still… isn’t it okay to at least try once? I’m serious.”
“…”
An unusually serious expression on Oh Seung-heon’s face.
A trembling voice and a brief silence.
‘I’m going crazy.’
I really don’t enjoy doing this kind of thing.
Min-hyuk let out a long sigh and said,
“Huuu… why are you asking me that?”
“Huh?”
“Being a comic artist isn’t some big deal. It’s just a job. If you want to do it, then do it.”
“Can I really? Honestly… I feel like I might not have any talent at all…”
“People get better with practice. Sure, you might fail. Things might not work out. But if I had to say one thing—”
Min-hyuk squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
“It’s better to try and regret it… than to regret not trying. Though the responsibility is all on you.”
“Yeah… that makes sense, right?”
“That’s just my opinion. So… what do you think?”
Seung-heon thought for a moment before answering.
“I want to do it. I don’t know if I’ll change my mind later… but right now…”
“Then go for it. Once you start, you’ll figure out for sure whether it’s right for you. Just remember—you can quit anytime. ‘It’s your choice.’”
“…Yeah.”
Seung-heon chewed and swallowed the last piece of don katsu stuck to his wooden chopsticks, then spoke again.
“This is shameless, but… can I ask you one favor?”
“Speak.”
“When I start drawing comics… can you look at them for me? If I do it alone, I won’t really know if it’s good or not.”
At that, Min-hyuk furrowed his brow.
Smack!
“Aaah! Why—why’d you hit me?!”
Min-hyuk roughly slapped Seung-heon’s back with his palm.
“Why? Because you’re saying something stupid, that’s why.”
“What?!”
“Why are you even asking? Between us, you just shove it in my face. Done.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah, that’s how it is.”
“Then I’ll really show you? And no cursing me out when you see it?”
Seung-heon’s eyes sparkled as he spoke. Min-hyuk nodded, lifting the corners of his mouth as high as they’d go.
***
Kang Min-hyuk’s final semester of middle school passed by in the blink of an eye—truly fitting the phrase.
“Wow, holy shit—volume! It’s the volume! Dude, doesn’t this look legit as hell?”
“Hey… shut up, it’s embarrassing.”
“What’s embarrassing? We came to see your book come out. Boss! This comic’s artist is—mmph! Mmmph!”
Around early November, the first volume of <Brave King> was finally published.
“Show me your storyboard.”
“Is it a gag comic?”
“Yeah, I put my heart and soul into it. Look carefully.”
“…Hmm. This gag scene here—wouldn’t it be better to rearrange the cut order like this, then carry the punchline over to the next page for maximum impact?”
“Ooh, yeah, that definitely works better.”
In between work sessions, Min-hyuk would occasionally look over Seung-heon’s drawings or storyboards.
“Ah, sunbae-nim! Hello!”
“Hey. Have you been drawing any comics lately?”
“Ah, yes! I just started trying… it’s really hard! I should’ve started way earlier!”
Whenever they passed each other in the cafeteria or on the way to/from school, he’d have short, light conversations with Kim Mi-na like this.
<<Our Min-hyuk artist! I’m grabbing a meal with Pil-ho Artist-nim soon—wanna join us and show your face?>>
“Can I bring Oh Seung-heon too?”
<<Of course, of course! We’re using the company card anyway, so just eat light.>>
Every now and then, he’d also meet up with Pil-ho artist-nim and editor Go Gwang-jin to excitedly talk comics.
‘Man… my life is almost overly full right now.’
In his previous life, around this time… he’d mostly spend his days aimlessly flipping through barely readable books or cracking lame jokes to kill time.
In contrast, his current life felt like…
A perfect recreation of the life 34-year-old Kang Min-hyuk had always dreamed of—completely filled with comics.
Living day by day without making Mrs. Hong Mi-seon unhappy, yet still holding tightly to his dream… something he once thought impossible.
‘Is it really okay to be this happy?’
What if this was all a dream?
For a moment he even felt a strange fear—was this perhaps the life flashing before the eyes of the original Kang Min-hyuk, who had despaired over KN-X disease and taken his own life? A final hallucination?
Everything was going so smoothly that it almost felt unreal.
Maybe that was why…
“Kang Min-hyuk… why do you keep rubbing your wrist every time you work? Does it hurt somewhere?”
“Nah, it’s just… a habit.”
He’d developed the habit of rubbing or cracking his wrist in the middle of drawing manuscripts.
And so, that fulfilling autumn passed, and winter arrived.
“Ah, damn it… I failed!!”
“Nice!!”
The class split—some heading to one high school, others to another—each beginning their own path.
From the start of winter break to high school entrance…
Everyone would face a strange new period filled with both fear and excitement.
But for Min-hyuk, there was only pure anticipation.
He’d come back to the past just half a year ago.
And yet, in that short time—everything he’d seen, heard, and felt already made him feel so alive, so full…
What kind of life awaited him once he entered Korea Animation High?
He couldn’t even imagine.
Time no longer felt like a curse or something to fear.
For Min-hyuk, it had become a blessing—a step toward a future brimming with hope.
Like this… the first act of Kang Min-hyuk’s new life, once filled only with regrets, was coming to a very successful close.
***
Whoooosh!
The heavy snow from a few days earlier still hadn’t fully melted, and the biting wind turned cheeks bright red. On one such February day—
Inside the auditorium of Mirim Middle School, which Min-hyuk attended, the place was packed with kids.
Everyone stared straight ahead.
Some looked relieved.
Others wore gloomy expressions, as if the moment itself was sad.
[Mirim Middle School, 2006 – 42nd Graduation Ceremony]
“You, as proud students of our Mirim Middle School… will take responsibility for the future of Korea…”
Up on the stage beneath a large banner, the principal—noticeably balder than before—delivered the usual boring commencement speech.
<<Third-year Class 2! You guys worked so hard all this time! Even after you go to high school, contact your teacher once in a while! Congratulations on your graduation—really!>>
Afterward, they played a graduation video the teachers had prepared, gently tugging at everyone’s tear ducts…
“Now, finally, we will sing the school song.”
“Mi-rim’s lofty spirit… let’s charge forward… The energy of Dorim Stream—”
Everyone sang the school song at the top of their lungs one last time…
“And with that, we conclude the Mirim Middle School 42nd Graduation Ceremony. That is all.”
The period at the end of middle school life had finally been placed.
“Huuu… it’s over.”
“Hah, I’m starving.”
Kids went to meet their families or gathered in small groups with friends to take last photos.
And standing there, naturally—
Was Kang Min-hyuk, right beside Oh Seung-heon.
“Kang Min-hyuk… you really went through a lot.”
When Seung-heon spoke with an exaggeratedly teary face, Min-hyuk furrowed his brow and replied,
“What do you mean ‘went through a lot’? You’re talking like we’ll never see each other again.”
“No, but seriously… it’s gonna be hard to see each other from now on, right? You’ll be in the dorms, make new friends at Animation High… will you even have time to see me?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Just come home on weekends and we’ll see each other. It’s literally right next door.”
“Really? You won’t abandon me?”
“Ugh, stop with the nonsense. You’re embarrassing me.”
As the two bickered and walked out of the auditorium—
“Min-hyuk-ah!”
“Oh Seung-heon, over here!”
Mrs. Hong Mi-seon was standing there, along with Seung-heon’s entire family.
Min-hyuk gave a light wave and walked over.
“Mom! Dad!”
Seung-heon yelled (why, though?) and ran to hug his parents.
While Min-hyuk shook his head in disbelief, Seung-heon’s father looked over and said,
“Min-hyuk-ah, let’s take a photo together with Seung-heon.”
“Ah, yes! Sure. Oh Seung-heon, get over here.”
“Hngh… hngh…”
Seriously, why are you crying…?
“One, two, three! Now this time, let’s have just Mom and Min-hyuk together!”
“Ah, yes!”
After that, they took all sorts of photos with the school as the backdrop.
The one small difference from his previous life in this moment was—
- Hey, let’s take a photo!
- Nah, one’s enough.
In the past, his rebellious teenage side would kick in and he’d think photos were cringe.
But today, for some reason…
“Oh Seung-heon, let’s take one more here.”
“Again? We already took a ton.”
“Dude, photos are the only thing that lasts.”
Taking photos felt… genuinely enjoyable.
Or perhaps it wasn’t even about the photos themselves—
Maybe because this half-year in middle school had been so happy, he just wanted to preserve it in some form.
After the big photo session—
“Alright, let’s go eat. Would you like to join us?”
“Should we?”
“Marinated galbi! How about marinated galbi!”
“Min-hyuk-ah, is that okay with you?”
“Sure, marinated galbi sounds good. Isn’t Eunhwa-jeong’s galbi really tasty?”
“Krrrr, Kang Min-hyuk knows his stuff! Eunhwa-jeong is delicious! Wrap the galbi in naengmyeon and—krrrr!”
The two families decided to go eat together.
But on the way to the parking lot—
“Min-hyuk-ah.”
“Yes?”
Mrs. Hong Mi-seon tapped Min-hyuk’s shoulder lightly and said,
“That girl over there… do you know her?”
“…Hm?”
He followed her pointing finger.
A middle-school girl with round glasses and a neat appearance…
“Kim Mi-na?”
Why was a second-year here at the graduation ceremony?
As Min-hyuk tilted his head and met her gaze, Kim Mi-na subtly stepped back.
Mrs. Hong Mi-seon lifted the corner of her mouth and asked,
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“No, nothing like that.”
When Min-hyuk waved his hand dismissively, Mi-seon patted his shoulder again.
“Still… looks like she has something to say.”
“…Huu, wait just a moment. I’ll go say hi real quick.”
“My son, fighting~”
“It’s really not like that.”
Min-hyuk walked forward with steady steps and approached Kim Mi-na.
“Ah—h-hello, sunbae-nim!”
“Hey. What brings you here?”
“Um… well… it’s not really for any big reason, but… you helped me a lot before, so I thought it’d be polite to at least come say congratulations… but then I worried I might bother you if you’re busy… so I was just… um…”
Kim Mi-na avoided his eyes and rattled off her words in one breathless stream.
Min-hyuk gave a soft smile and said,
“Keep drawing comics hard. Let’s meet up sometime when there’s a chance.”
“Ah, yes! Sunbae! Congratulations on graduating!”
“Thanks. I’ve gotta go eat now.”
“Uh… uhh… s-sunbae?”
As Mi-na’s lips moved like she wanted to say more, Min-hyuk gave a small wave, turned around, and walked back to Mrs. Hong Mi-seon.
And from behind him, staring at his retreating figure…
“I’m going to aim for Korea Animation High too… so if we meet again there… that’d be nice…”
A murmured soliloquy drifted into the empty air, unheard by anyone.