Chapter 43 – Understanding Comic Direction (3)
After they finished reviewing Group 1’s entire storyboard,
Choi Jung-an lifted her head and asked,
“By the way, who mainly drew this storyboard?”
“I did.”
Kim Rok-hee confidently raised her hand in response.
“When you were laying out the storyboard, was there any particular part you paid special attention to or focused on? Could you explain?”
“Cute things! I was dead-set on showing nothing but cute stuff, so I chose angles and dialogue that would make the characters look their absolute cutest. Everyone threw in ideas along those lines too!”
Kim Rok-hee said this while rolling her eyes playfully and flashing a bright smile.
She looked genuinely delighted.
Choi Jung-an nodded, then began speaking in a voice that carried a hint of amusement.
“First off, this storyboard clearly shows what Group 1’s friends like. It shows exactly what you wanted to express through it. Those elements came through strongly, and because of that, you managed to sprinkle in a bit of your own directing style here and there. I think that’s fair to say.”
Kim Rok-hee and the other kids in Group 1 exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
However, Kang Min-hyuk, watching from the side, instinctively sensed it.
‘This is going to be a rollercoaster.’
He could already guess what kind of words would come out of Choi Jung-an’s mouth next, judging by that subtle expression on her face.
“But aside from that… this is a very, very bad storyboard.”
“…Huh?”
“You got so caught up in what you wanted to show that the directing as a whole completely failed to keep up. Dialogue, layout, panel spacing, everything. None of the elements are actually serving to give this comic a coherent overall flow. Let me go through it one by one.”
Starting from the first page, Choi Jung-an methodically dissected Group 1’s directing choices and gave detailed feedback.
“In this part, there was no real need to zoom in so tightly on the character’s face, right? If the goal was to intentionally avoid showing emotion directly, showing just the mouth or a hand gesture would have been enough. Or you could have pulled back to show the night sky far away and indirectly conveyed the protagonist’s feelings that way. But honestly… you just wanted to show off how cute the character is by making her big on the page, didn’t you?”
“Y-Yes…”
Even though she spoke in a gentle, soft voice, it felt no different from grabbing someone by the collar and beating them down.
The more the feedback continued,
“Ughhh…”
The faces of Kim Rok-hee and the rest of Group 1 grew paler and paler.
“That’s all the feedback for Group 1’s storyboard. From now on, when you make storyboards, try to keep what I pointed out today in mind and apply it.”
“Y-Yes…”
While the kids in Group 1 melted like sad, deflated slimes,
Choi Jung-an continued without pause.
“Let’s move on to Group 2’s storyboard.”
The pattern was the same again.
“Overall, the story’s twist and structure itself were pretty good. Especially the dialogue on this second page was nice, and the character’s sense of lack came through clearly. However…”
It started with a little bit of praise,
“…but in the process of unfolding it, there were far too many mismatches between content and directing. Directing doesn’t have one single correct answer, but a lot of these choices made it impossible to even understand what the intention was. For example…”
Then, as if the earlier praise had never happened, she launched into a relentless, breathless barrage of criticism, picking apart the manuscript page by page.
“That’s the feedback. Please keep working hard going forward.”
“Y-Yes…”
Group 2 ended up the same as Group 1…
No—actually even worse. The kids’ souls seemed to have completely left their bodies.
And then, the long-awaited Group 3.
“Let’s take a look at Group 3’s now.”
[For a hero to exist in the first place, a villain is an absolute necessity.]
[What a joke.]
Everyone stared at the screen with serious expressions.
In the meantime, Min-hyuk quietly nodded to himself.
‘Of course it’s Han Yu-ra. Well done.’
The overall content was a very common trope when it came to the relationship between hero and villain…
Reinterpreting the mutually complementary existence of villain and hero as a form of love.
As far as Min-hyuk knew…
‘This was something that got really popular around 2008 when Dark Knight hit big.’
Two years from now, a famous director’s reinterpretation of Batman would become a massive blockbuster.
In that film, the relationship between the villain and hero would be properly explored, elevating it to masterpiece status.
The ambiguous affection-or-hatred dynamic between hero and villain used there felt very similar to what was being done here.
Of course, this was in the medium of comics, and the quality level was different.
But considering that this was early 2006, and it came from a first-year high school student during class time…
‘She really is a monster.’
The thought of going to the same school as a monster like her in the future made Min-hyuk’s heart pound with a strange sense of anticipation.
At that moment, Choi Jung-an spoke.
“Hmmmm… For this one, Yu-ra mainly handled the storyboard, right?”
“Yes. I came up with the original draft, and the group members gave feedback and directing suggestions.”
Swish! Swish!
Choi Jung-an flipped back and forth through the storyboard pages several times, checking and re-checking repeatedly.
Then, with a somewhat troubled expression, she let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“The storyboard is well done.”
“…….”
“The overall directing ability is solid, and the way you twisted the theme of love between hero and villain one more time shows exceptional skill. The theme is clearly front and center, yet it’s still entertaining… The drawing is rough, but you can feel the skill level. It’s good enough to pass as something a pro made.”
Han Yu-ra slightly lifted the corner of her mouth.
The other kids in her group exchanged glances and brightened up as well.
At that moment, Choi Jung-an spoke again.
“So, what did you feel during this class?”
“…Huh?”
“I’m asking what parts you studied or realized while making the storyboard.”
Han Yu-ra scratched her forehead as if she didn’t quite understand the question itself before answering.
“Not really?”
“…Is that so? That’s a bit of a shame. This could have been a chance to look into other perspectives and ways of thinking.”
Other thoughts? Perspectives?
‘With this big of a skill gap to begin with, how could there possibly be…’
Han Yu-ra just blinked.
“Yu-ra, it would be good for you to take a look at how the other friends think, how they approach their work, and study those perspectives. It’ll make drawing comics more enjoyable for you too, and it’ll help improve your skills.”
“…Yes.”
Her reply sounded reluctant.
“And the rest of you—don’t rely on Yu-ra too much. This doesn’t really feel like Group 3’s storyboard; it feels more like Yu-ra’s solo work.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Everyone nodded with awkward, embarrassed expressions.
Even though the storyboard was well made, the feedback for Group 3 ended in this ambiguous atmosphere. Then they moved on to Group 4, and finally…
“Okay, lastly, let’s all take a look at Group 5’s storyboard. Did Min-hyuk mainly lead this one?”
“Ah, more than me… it’s closer to something Dong-gyo did. I just handled overall coordination.”
“Oiii, Min-hyuk-kun.”
“What? It’s true, isn’t it?”
‘Kang Min-hyuk didn’t do it?’
What are those guys thinking?
Han Yu-ra tilted her head as if she couldn’t make sense of the answer.
Meanwhile, Choi Jung-an lifted the corner of her mouth slightly and said,
“Then shall we take a look?”
Page by page, the paper slowly turned.
And then…
“Pfft!”
Laughter burst out from Choi Jung-an and kids all over the room.
‘They actually let Kang Min-hyuk go along with something like this?’
Only one person—Han Yu-ra—had a serious expression on her face.
The content was simple.
[Hehehe, what should I wear todayyy…]
A love-comedy-style comic about a villain who has a crush on the hero. She keeps committing villainous acts while hiding her identity just to meet him… and even when her identity is on the verge of being exposed, it turns out the hero was in a similar situation all along. The misunderstandings and mix-ups get resolved in a heartwarming, comedic way.
In the middle, there were scenes of the villain agonizing over outfits and makeup that basically screamed “this is the same person,” or the hero shyly confessing, putting the characters’ charm and cuteness front and center.
It had its own kind of fun, sure.
‘But there’s no trace of Kang Min-hyuk’s signature style, and it’s way too safe and ordinary.’
Why would he do this? I don’t get it…
Having already tasted Kang Min-hyuk’s real skill during the competition, Han Yu-ra found the result utterly incomprehensible.
While she was just blinking in confusion, Choi Jung-an asked,
“So, Dong-gyo, what was the thinking behind leading this storyboard?”
“…Ahem, I thought it would be nice if the heroine—no, the villain—was c-cute.”
More laughter erupted again.
Choi Jung-an also raised the corner of her mouth.
“It definitely came out cute. It’s fun too. Overall, the intention is clear—what you wanted to do—and from the reader’s perspective, it’s the kind of storyboard that naturally makes your mouth curve up.”
“Ah, th-thank… I mean, thank you!”
Perhaps surprised by the unexpected praise,
Dong-gyo bowed his head deeply with a tense, nervous face.
“Now, I’d like to ask the other group members a bit. Min-hyuk… how did it feel for you while working on this storyboard?”
“Hmmmm…”
Min-hyuk stroked his chin as if pondering for a moment before answering.
“It was educational.”
“It was educational?”
“Yeah. This isn’t really my strong style. I could tell Dong-gyo is really specialized in this area, and I learned a lot about what kind of thinking and standards go into laying out a storyboard like this. There are tons of things I can apply the next time I make one myself.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. What about the rest of you?”
“It was fun for me too. The chemistry between the characters? The way it pulled off that cute mood was really nice, and adding details to the ideas was great as well.”
“Same here. At first I thought it was super cringy, but once I opened my mind a little, it actually taught me quite a bit?”
Everyone answered in slightly excited tones.
Their faces looked satisfied.
‘Wow… this is straight-up a 120-point answer sheet.’
Is the presence of a genius enough to draw out even more talent from the other kids?
Choi Jung-an gave a warm eye-smile, then spoke in a gentle voice.
“I hope Group 5 doesn’t forget what you felt today and puts it to good use going forward.”
“Yes!”
The kids in Group 5 nodded with pleased expressions. Then Choi Jung-an clapped her hands once and said,
“Alright, that’s it for today’s class. Everyone, enjoy your lunch.”
At her words, the kids glanced toward the clock.
It was pointing close to 12 o’clock.
Min-hyuk’s eyes widened.
‘Whoa… time flew by.’
How could something like this even be called a class? The time had passed in the blink of an eye.
Was it because the class itself had been so substantial?
Or because lunch hour had finally arrived?
Anticipation was practically radiating from every kid’s face.
But then, a bucket of cold ashes was dumped over everything.
“Oh, by the way—there’s homework.”
“Aaaaaah…”
Sighs of despair erupted in the once-joyful classroom.
“The content can be anything you like. By this time next week, each of you needs to bring in one A4 five-page storyboard. That’s all for today—class dismissed!”
Clap!
With one final clap, the kids rose from their seats and surged toward the cafeteria in a noisy wave.
“Food! Let’s eat!”
“Ughhh, I’m so tired…”
The kids rushed out in a horde.
Min-hyuk was walking along with a content expression when—
“Hey, Min-hyuk-kun.”
“Hm?”
“Thanks for today.”
Oh Dong-gyo said this with a surprisingly serious face.
“For what?”
“For letting me… do my storyboard. For letting my passion show in this world.”
“Not your desires?”
“It’s similar, but… that word sounds kinda dirty.”
Min-hyuk gave Dong-gyo’s back a light pat with his palm and said,
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. Like I said, I learned a lot thanks to you.”
“Ahem… well, if that’s the case, then good.”
“Enough of that—let’s go eat. Using my brain this much made me starving.”
“Y-Yeah!”
Dong-gyo clenched his fist tightly with enthusiasm, and at that moment—
“Kang Min-hyuk, let’s eat together too!”
“Is it okay if we join?”
The other kids from their group called out.
Min-hyuk shrugged casually.
“Why wouldn’t it be? Let’s go.”
The entire Group 5 headed toward the cafeteria together in a lively cluster.
And then—
‘Yeah… coming here was the right choice.’
Really… the right choice.
A warm, satisfied smile spread across Min-hyuk’s face, mixed with genuine joy and contentment.