Chapter 44 – Defensive Battle (1)
As lunch hour was drawing to a close, inside the meeting room right next to the faculty office.
Choi Jung-an, Ma Dong-hyun, and the other teachers from the Comic Creation Department were all seated with serious expressions.
At that moment, Department Head Ma Dong-hyun, arms crossed, opened his mouth.
“The studio tour—is Teacher Choi Jung-an handling that today?”
“Yes. We’ll clean it up… and right after homeroom ends, I’ll guide them. The second-years agreed to help.”
“Alright. It’ll be a bit of a hassle, but thanks for taking care of it.”
“Yes.”
After that, Ma Dong-hyun continued leading the meeting.
“Teacher Hak-jung, how’s the atmosphere in the general subject classes?”
“Well, not bad at all. No one seems to be slacking off in particular. Everyone’s fine, right?”
“Yeah, nothing special.”
“Overall, they all seem pretty well-behaved.”
Kim Hak-jung, the proud bald vice-department head of the Comic Creation Department, adjusted his glasses as he answered.
“Did we request the missing school jackets?”
“Yes, the supplier said there’s a slight delay… but even if it’s late, they should all arrive next week.”
“Hmm. Looks like everything’s been checked.”
Ma Dong-hyun nodded, then stood up as if wrapping things up.
“Since it’s the beginning of the semester, teachers—do your best to help the students adjust. If there are any issues, bring them up quickly.”
“Yes.”
Just as everyone was about to stand and leave the meeting room—
“Um… Department Head.”
“Hm?”
Choi Jung-an, the homeroom teacher for first-year Comic Creation students, raised her hand high.
“I have something urgent to report.”
“What is it?”
“I have something to report regarding student Kang Min-hyuk.”
“Min-hyuk? What about him?”
When he blinked in confusion, Jung-an lifted the corner of her mouth slightly and said,
“Min-hyuk is currently serializing in a magazine, apparently.”
“Magazine serialization? Which magazine?”
“New Chance…”
“Huh?”
In an instant, the eyes of all the practical-subject teachers widened dramatically.
It was as if they’d just heard something unbelievable.
The vice-department head tilted his head and asked,
“New Chance? What’s that? Why are you all reacting like that?”
“You don’t know New Chance?”
“Is it some singer’s name or something?”
“Haaaah… Teacher Kim Hak-jung. Please don’t ever say you’re a Comic Creation Department teacher in public.”
“Wait, why are you acting like this?”
Bang bang bang!
Ma Dong-hyun slammed his palm on the table, then plopped back down into his chair and said,
“It’s New Chance! New Chance! One of Korea’s top two comic magazines—New Chance!”
“Huh? So… you’re saying student Kang Min-hyuk is serializing in that magazine right now?”
“Is that… a big deal?”
When the general-subject teachers blinked in confusion, clearly not grasping the situation, the practical-subject teachers let out sighs or shook their heads in disbelief.
Dong-hyun clenched his fist in frustration and shouted,
“He’s a first-year! A first-year high school student! A first-year has already debuted as a pro!”
“Ahhh…”
“Imagine if a first-year high school kid became a teacher and started getting a salary!”
“That’s… really impressive?”
“Impressive doesn’t even begin to cover it!”
Whether from excitement or sheer joy, Ma Dong-hyun’s energy was through the roof.
Jung-an continued,
“So, I asked him to check whether serializing a comic while enrolled violates any school rules.”
“I’ll review that part…”
As the vice-department head adjusted his glasses to reply, Ma Dong-hyun glared at him and cut in.
“Review what? It’s unconditionally allowed! No—if it’s not allowed, we make it allowed!”
“Um, still… there are rules. Shouldn’t we at least review it as a matter of principle?”
“Are you serious? This is a school for drawing comics, and a kid wants to draw comics—and you’re asking if it’s allowed? Come on, man!”
“Ughhh… well, when you put it that way…”
Kim Hak-jung mimed zipping his mouth shut as Ma Dong-hyun’s expression twisted like a goblin mid-rap.
Dong-hyun asked again,
“So, what comic is he serializing?”
“Um… ‘Brave King’. You know it, right?”
“Br-Brave King!”
“Crazy!”
“Huuuh?!”
The practical-subject teachers once again gaped in shock, mouths hanging open.
“What’s the big deal?”
“Tell us too!”
“It’s Brave King! Brave King! The mysterious rookie who appeared in New Chance! The one who replaced Aureka and became New Chance’s new flagship title!”
“Aureka? What’s that now?”
Most of the practical-subject teachers were either active comic artists or had serialized comics in the past.
Naturally, they were people who loved comics so much that comics were practically their daily life—so there was no way they wouldn’t know about Brave King.
For the Korean comic industry, which hadn’t had a proper hit in a long while, this was the first real buzz in ages. And the fact that it came from a complete rookie had set every comic-related community on fire.
And now… that rookie was a student who had just enrolled in their school?
Thanks to that bombshell, the meeting room was buzzing with excitement. Choi Jung-an maintained an awkward smile as she continued.
“Anyway… because of that, he requested to be allowed to do personal work during drawing time.”
“Of course! We have to let him!”
“And personally, I suggested that some of the assignments given during class could be substituted with his serialization manuscript pages. For that part… I think we’ll need the teachers’ agreement.”
When Jung-an looked straight at the practical-subject teachers, they pondered for a moment before nodding one by one.
“Well, I don’t see any problem with it.”
“As long as he completes the midterms and finals properly… it shouldn’t affect the evaluation much.”
“I agree. If student Min-hyuk isn’t aiming for the absolute top score, giving him around average should be fine.”
Ma Dong-hyun scratched his chin for a second, then lifted his head with a look of resolve.
“We’ll support Min-hyuk to the fullest, but each class teacher should give scores at their discretion—making sure there’s no unfairness or discrimination toward the other students.”
“Yes.”
“And… let’s keep the fact that Min-hyuk is a pro comic artist strictly among the teachers. There’s nothing good that comes from the kids finding out.”
The teachers nodded in agreement.
‘Huuu… This is… way bigger than I thought. We really hooked a massive fish.’
A serious, almost solemn expression deepened on Department Head Ma Dong-hyun’s face.
***
After that, afternoon classes continued.
From Min-hyuk’s perspective, the overall impression was—
“Okay, number 13, continue reading from the next sentence.”
“Our lives are like flowing waves. The reason is…”
For general subject classes, it felt like they pinpointed the key points and taught as efficiently as possible.
Since class hours were shorter compared to regular liberal-arts high schools, and quite a few students at AniGo aimed for university entrance… the direction seemed geared toward that goal.
On the other hand, during specialized classes—
“Okay, everyone come up one by one and present about the main character you’ve set up.”
“I set up a character whose father built a chicken empire in the neighborhood, but after his death, the character jumps into the chicken industry for revenge!”
In addition to the direction class, there were character design classes and scenario writing classes…
The content and quality were generally quite high, and the process actively encouraged interaction among the students.
And the one thing all the teachers kept saying was…
“Fundamentals are truly important! If you want to have a long career as an artist… don’t get too caught up in flashy techniques…”
“I hope through this class, you all build a rock-solid foundation in character design.”
First: fundamentals. Second: fundamentals. Third: fundamentals.
The strong impression was that they were guiding the students here to develop the long-term stamina needed as comic artists and creators.
Maybe that’s why—
“Okay, homework!”
“Aaah…”
“Thirty croquis sheets each by next week!”
Really, how should he put it…
‘Homework season has arrived in full force.’
From the very first period, they were already showering assignments left and right.
Honestly, even from Min-hyuk’s perspective, the volume wasn’t small at all.
And from what he’d heard in advance—this wasn’t even everything.
‘They said midterm and final periods are flooded with even more assignments. And at the end of the year, there’s the grade-wide project too.’
If the current atmosphere was anything to go by, life at AniGo would be a nonstop battle against assignments all year round.
Only now did Min-hyuk fully understand why drawing time was scheduled longer than regular class time.
‘Well… it makes sense. In the end… input has to match output.’
When he thought about juggling Brave King serialization on top of this barrage of assignments, the sheer scale felt dizzying.
In this situation, he found himself newly grateful for Teacher Choi Jung-an’s consideration in allowing some assignments to be substituted with Brave King work.
Ding-dong-daeng-dong!
“Huuaaah, class is finally overrrrr!”
At 4:30, the school day ended and the bell rang.
After that, just like regular students—
They cleaned their assigned areas, then headed into homeroom time.
The important point for today’s homeroom was…
“Okay, starting today we finally have the self-directed drawing time that everyone’s been looking forward to, right? As soon as homeroom ends, I’ll assign everyone their individual studio seats, so follow me.”
“Yes!”
Finally—the moment Kang Min-hyuk and all the kids at AniGo had been (supposedly?) eagerly awaiting had arrived: they could finally use the actual work studio.
They walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a room with huge letters carved into the sign: “First-Year Work Studio.”
Screeeech!
The door slid open, and inside—
It resembled a large reading room in layout, but the scale was on another level. Endless rows of massive desks stretched out across a space that looked at least twice as wide and deep.
Choi Jung-an clapped her hands and said,
“Each seat has a name and number written on it. Sit according to your assigned number! No arbitrary switching!”
“Yes!”
At her instruction, the students began claiming their seats one by one.
They set down their art supply boxes packed with tools, then stuck drawings of their favorite characters on the walls around their desks.
And Min-hyuk…
“I’m at the very end, huh.”
Perhaps a school-wide consideration.
He had been assigned a corner seat that wouldn’t overlap with anyone else’s path. He unpacked his things there.
“Alright, drawing time starts now. No talking—work on assignments or personal projects. During drawing time, comic books and phones are prohibited. Got it?”
“Yes!”
And so began the very first work session.
“……”
Silence descended as if nothing had ever been noisy. The kids pulled out their assignments and started moving their hands.
Min-hyuk let out a deep sigh, then took out his practice sketchbook, pencil case, and a document envelope containing manuscript paper from his bag.
‘Huuu… Let’s get started.’
What he held in his hand were Brave King manuscript pages for chapters 11–14.
Copies of the saved drafts—material that had already been fully completed and submitted to the New Chance editorial department.
Normally, today he would jump straight into storyboarding chapter 15.
But the reason Min-hyuk was re-examining these earlier pages like this was…
‘Let me check whether this really is my best.’
Because in two months, Yang Jae-han—the creator of Aureka—would be making his comeback.
He wanted to confirm once more: when the time came to go head-to-head against a colossal giant like him, would these pages be strong enough to hold their own?
‘Hmmmm…’
Swish! Swish!
Min-hyuk read through his own manuscript with serious eyes.
The story flow covered the “Goblin King at Namsan Tower” episode—the first major battle of Brave King—and the slice-of-life episodes that showed the characters’ growth afterward, now wrapping up.
The next four chapters would build up to the second major battle: the early stages of the long-arc “Immortal King of Gyeongbokgung,” featuring Eastern-style fantasy monsters.
Since this was a major shift to new content, he had held repeated meetings with Ma Dong-hyun about the storyboard… and paid careful attention to dialogue and overall direction.
But…
‘Is this really my best?’
It wasn’t a bad manuscript.
Honestly, it was even fun to read.
Yet when Min-hyuk thought about the opponent he now had to face—Yang Jae-han—this manuscript somehow felt… strangely flat.
Yang Jae-han’s new series would launch right around the time Brave King chapter 15 went up.
Min-hyuk kept thinking it over and over.
If he continued drawing the rest of this manuscript as planned, could it really stand up against Yang Jae-han’s new work?
Swish! Swish!
He read the storyboard again and again, mentally outlining the flow of chapter 15, exploring every possible way to create impact in certain scenes.
And after nearly an hour of deep contemplation…
Min-hyuk finally reached his own conclusion.
“No—this won’t cut it.”
A fierce, almost predatory glint appeared in Min-hyuk’s eyes.