Chapter 38 – New Beginning
Near Hanam and Geomdan, Gyeonggi Province.
In the Ani-Hall auditorium on the 5th floor of Korea Animation High School, built against the mountain, roughly a hundred students sat in chairs wearing school uniforms.
A banner hung in front of the podium on the stage:
[2006 Korea Animation High School Entrance Ceremony]
- Welcoming those who will become the protagonists of the future. –
And below it…
“Our school was established as a specialized high school to nurture the world’s top talent, beyond just Korea. In comics, animation, games, video… to become the leading figures in K-content—the future food of the industry—we base everything on ‘autonomy and creativity’…”
A man in a suit who looked far too young to be called a principal stood at the podium, speaking.
Neatly combed hair, stylish glasses, sharp features, and a handsome appearance.
Min-hyuk didn’t know the details, but apparently this was the principal of Korea Animation High.
His name was Ahn Kwang-ho, if he remembered correctly.
And right in the front row…
“Ahem. The principal’s speech is unusually long today.”
“Shh—quiet, Department Head!”
Including the madman obsessed with comics, Department Head Ma Dong-hyun, and the bald vice-department head teacher (?), the faculty of Animation High sat in a neat row.
Directly behind them…
Now officially a freshman at Korea Animation High, Kang Min-hyuk sat quietly, glancing around here and there.
‘Interesting… a high school has a venue like this.’
Unlike the regular liberal arts high school Min-hyuk had attended in his previous life, this place had a theater-like space called the “Ani-Hall.”
Apparently, it was often used for school events, festivals, or screenings organized by the video-related departments.
As his gaze wandered, familiar faces caught his eye.
Oh Dong-gyo, who had won the Excellence Award at the competition, and Kim Rok-hee, whose eyes would roll back at anything cute.
When their eyes met, they each raised a hand slightly in silent acknowledgment.
And finally…
‘Of course Han Yu-ra came too.’
Han Yu-ra—the one who had shown monstrous skill at the Animation High competition—was sitting in the very front row, staring straight at the podium.
But at that moment.
“Hm?”
Han Yu-ra slightly turned her head and locked eyes with Min-hyuk.
When Min-hyuk raised his hand in a small greeting—
Zing!
For some reason, she furrowed her brow in clear displeasure and whipped her head away.
‘…Why do I feel like she hates me?’
Did I do something wrong to her?
Well, it didn’t really matter anyway.
Still, knowing that kids he at least recognized were entering the same school gave Min-hyuk a quiet sense of reassurance.
He was 34—no, a year had passed, so technically 35—yet he was having thoughts like this?
‘No matter how old you get, being thrown into a completely new environment… you can’t help but feel some tension.’
Min-hyuk marveled at his own unexpected purity (?) in this moment.
‘That aside… the atmosphere really is completely different from a normal school.’
Min-hyuk turned his head this way and that, taking in the entire Ani-Hall.
Roughly a hundred students gathered here.
Compared to his previous high school, where a single grade had nearly three hundred people… this number felt incredibly small.
And from what he’d heard, each major had only one class.
Comic Creation Department.
Animation Department.
Video Content Department.
Game Production Department.
Four departments, each with a quota of about 25 students.
Looking at the scene in this Ani-Hall, the structure, everything…
‘It doesn’t really feel like a normal high school… more like a university, honestly.’
Min-hyuk once again realized just how special the place he’d come to was.
Around the time the principal’s long speech finally ended—
“Now, we will conclude with the reading of the entrance oath. Han Yu-ra from the Comic Creation Department, please come forward to the podium.”
At the emcee teacher’s words, Han Yu-ra, seated in the front row, slowly rose from her chair and walked toward the podium.
“Wow, that’s Han Yu-ra? The one whose dad is that famous painter?”
“No joke—she’s insanely pretty. I heard she’s top in both comics and studies…”
“She’s the valedictorian, that’s why she’s reading the oath.”
“Oh, really?”
Murmurs rose here and there from the students.
Han Yu-ra stood opposite the principal and gave a small nod.
Then…
“Oath.”
“Oath!”
As Han Yu-ra raised her palm to lead, everyone followed suit.
“We, the incoming students, have been granted admission to Korea Animation High School, the leader in Korean content. We pledge to strictly observe school rules, faithfully follow our teachers’ guidance in school life, and grow into Korea’s future talents in front of everyone. March 2, 2006 – Freshman Representative Han Yu-ra.”
“Welcome to the school.”
“Thank you.”
After the oath concluded, Yu-ra walked back down from the podium.
“With that, we conclude the 2006 Korea Animation High School Entrance Ceremony. Students, please follow your respective department heads to your classrooms.”
At the emcee’s closing words, the students began to stir and murmur.
At that moment—
“Alright, Comic Creation Department—over here!”
Whoosh!
Department Head Ma Dong-hyun sprang energetically to his feet, raising his hand and shouting.
His voice boomed so loudly it echoed through the entire Ani-Hall.
The kids nearby flinched in surprise, eyes widening.
“Department Head-nim… please lower your voice a little. You’re scaring the kids…”
“Hmph! First meeting—gotta show some spirit!”
“What good does showing spirit to kids do?”
The vice-department head beside him spoke in a weary, familiar tone, but Ma Dong-hyun didn’t even pretend to listen.
Slowly, the twenty-five Comic Creation students gathered timidly around him.
“Alright, everyone’s here—let’s head to the classroom!”
“Ah… yes.”
And so the twenty-five Comic Creation freshmen filed into the first-year classroom on the second floor.
Each desk had a name tag on it; the students naturally took their assigned seats.
The seat next to Min-hyuk…
“Yo! We meet again.”
“Yeah, nice to be neighbors.”
Oh Dong-gyo—the “otaku” who’d won the Excellence Award—gave a sharp hand-chop salute and grinned.
Once everyone was seated—
Department Head Ma Dong-hyun entered together with a young female teacher.
While the students waited with slightly tense expressions, Ma Dong-hyun boomed out in an energetic voice.
“Nice to meet you all, Comic Creation warriors! I am Ma Dong-hyun, head of the proud Comic Creation Department at Korea Animation High! And this is your homeroom teacher for Class 1-1, Choi Jung-an!”
“Nice to meet you, kids.”
Choi Jung-an smiled and gave a small wave.
Compared to Ma Dong-hyun, she had a relatively ordinary, gentle appearance.
‘The homeroom teacher looks kind—thank god.’
‘…Department Head-nim is scary.’
Everyone secretly let out a breath of relief.
Then Ma Dong-hyun raised his hand…
BAM!
He slammed his palm on the teacher’s desk and shouted.
And then…
“Welcome to Comic Creation! I—Ma Dong-hyun—carry the mission to raise every single one of you into Korea’s greatest comic artists! If you simply follow our curriculum and guidance! You will…!”
A sudden, inexplicable freestyle rap began.
Phrases like “staking my life” and “the greatest” repeated every sentence—delivering an overwhelming pressure that high school freshmen weren’t quite ready for. Terrified expressions appeared on the students’ faces.
But homeroom teacher Choi Jung-an simply smiled as if this were perfectly normal, nodding along.
‘As expected… you have to be at least this level to earn the title of “comic maniac.”’
In the midst of it all, Min-hyuk was deeply impressed(?) that the rumors and reality matched 100% in the case of Ma Dong-hyun.
The only slight problem was—
“Comics are life! Truth! The future! Therefore…!”
Ma Dong-hyun’s face was gradually turning redder, his voice rising higher and higher.
And on top of that…
Bam! Bam!
The way things were going, there was genuine concern he might actually split the teacher’s desk in half.
But right in the middle of Ma Dong-hyun passionately spitting fire for the tenth time—
Slide!
“Department Head-nim.”
“Hm…? What is it?”
The bald teacher wearing glasses poked his head in through the open door, let out a deep sigh, and said,
“There’s a department head meeting. Everyone’s already gathered, so please come.”
“Ah… right, there was that.”
“Yes, you need to go quickly. They’re all waiting.”
“Alright, kids… this is our proud vice-department head of Comic Creation, who also teaches Korean—Teacher Kim Hak-jung…”
At that, the bald man—Kim Hak-jung—strode boldly into the classroom.
“Come on, let’s go already!”
“I’m going, I’m going! I was just getting to know the kids since it’s our first meeting—why are you rushing me like this?!”
“The principal is waiting too, you old man!”
Grabbing Ma Dong-hyun by the wrist, he dragged him straight out.
“…”
A sudden silence fell over the classroom.
Then, in the spot where Ma Dong-hyun had stood, Choi Jung-an stepped forward with a gentle smile.
“Well… we’ve all heard our department head’s warm, heartfelt words…”
‘Warm? I think she might have misunderstood what “heartwarming” means.’
Everyone wore puzzled expressions.
“Now I’ll give you a proper introduction to the school, so follow along slowly.”
Without missing a beat, Choi Jung-an calmly continued exactly where she needed to.
***
Inside Korea Animation High School, 7th floor.
“Okay, this is Ani-Sports. You can do physical activities here. From now on, during PE class or creative activity time, you’ll use this space. Since the school doesn’t have a separate playground, sports day is also held here.”
“Wow… they have something like this on the top floor?”
“So cool…”
Choi Jung-an’s tour began from here.
The indoor gym on the 7th floor was stocked with all kinds of leisure sports equipment.
“This floor—6th—is the shared drawing studio for Comic Creation and Game Production. You’ll use it for class projects, entrance exam art, or any kind of work. You can’t use it today, but starting tomorrow, each of you will get your own assigned spot.”
“Woooow…”
“It’s huge… the studio.”
The 6th floor housed the very workspace Min-hyuk had eyed during the competition.
“This is the Ani-Hall where we had the entrance ceremony earlier, and over here is the rooftop garden. Be careful not to play around too much—it’s dangerous…”
“This is the third-year exclusive studio. Over there is the library—‘Ani-Books’—career counseling room… broadcasting room… and there’s also a recording studio mainly used by Animation and Video students.”
The explanations continued endlessly as they descended floor by floor.
At every stop, exclamations of “Whoa” and “Insane” burst from the students.
Of course, the 35-year-old mentality inside Kang Min-hyuk was reacting in the most mature way possible…
‘Holy shit.’
…by getting even more hyped.
‘What kind of high school is this? It’s basically a university.’
While everyone followed Choi Jung-an like ducklings in a state of pure excitement—
“Hmph.”
Only one person—Han Yu-ra—trailed behind with a sullen, displeased expression.
‘Man, her character consistency is unreal.’
Anyway, after finishing the full school tour and returning to the classroom—
“Haaah… haaah… haaaah… A-anyway… that concludes the school introduction…”
Their homeroom teacher, Choi Jung-an, was panting heavily, completely drained.
At first glance, it looked like she might melt into a puddle and disappear any second.
On the other hand…
‘Her stamina… is weak.’
‘Is she really this out of breath just from climbing stairs?’
The still-energetic students who hadn’t broken a sweat stared at her in complete bewilderment, unable to understand why she was like this.
Right after—
“Haaah… haaah… E-everyone… now we’ll do one-on-one interviews with me… so come to the counseling room when called… F-first… number 1, Kim Kang-hyun, follow me please…”
“Yes~”
And so, the first called student followed Choi Jung-an out of the room.