Chapter 69 – Understanding Has Increased
Inside the auditorium.
Choi Jung-an stared straight at Min-hyuk and Yu-ra.
She gave a bright smile, shook the carbonated drink cans in her hands, and spoke again.
“Here, take them. I’m giving one to everyone in the class.”
“Ah, thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Thank you.”
Bow.
Min-hyuk and Yu-ra bowed their heads in unison.
Then, Choi Jung-an stroked her chin and asked,
“By the way, you two seem to have gotten a lot closer than I expected?”
“…Well, there were some circumstances.”
“We’re not close. Absolutely not.”
Min-hyuk shrugged, while Han Yu-ra thrust her palm out in firm denial.
“Reeeally? Just now it looked like your coordination was perfect though? Well, if you say so.”
Seeing the playful grin spreading across her face… it was clearly a teasing probe.
To the eyes of the 35-year-old teenager Kang Min-hyuk, that little trick was completely transparent.
The most effective response in times like this… was deflection.
“Teacher, did you come to check if we’re practicing well?”
“Yeah. Well, I was also curious how well the pizza promise was working.”
“Can I ask you just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Did you make a bet? With the other teachers?”
Twitch!
For the briefest instant, Choi Jung-an’s shoulders jolted.
“Ah, th-that… it’s nothing big, just a simple drinking bet or something. Just for fun! For fun! Haha! Hahaha!”
‘So that’s how it was.’
Now that he understood the shadowy mastermind behind why the Comic Creation Department kids had been swept up in pizza mania—and why he himself was going through all this chaos with Han Yu-ra—a strange wave of reality hit Min-hyuk.
Well… he was having some fun with it too, in his own way.
“Ahem! Ahem! Aigo, the air in here feels kinda stuffy.”
Perhaps trying to cover her embarrassment,
Choi Jung-an fanned herself with her hand and then casually tossed out to Min-hyuk as she passed,
“Anyway, I hope both of you are enjoying it. Experiences like this… can sometimes give you inspiration, you know?”
“Hmm.”
Han Yu-ra answered with a face that clearly said she wasn’t buying it.
‘Inspiration, huh…’
Could that really be the case?
Min-hyuk nodded seriously and opened his mouth.
“Um, Teacher, by any chance…”
But when he looked up, Choi Jung-an was already gone.
A voice floated back a moment later.
“Alright, everyone—keep up the hard work! Teacher’s heading out!”
“Take care, Teacher!”
“Study hard!”
With her arms waving enthusiastically, Choi Jung-an’s retreating figure disappeared from the auditorium.
“…Huu.”
She didn’t even give me a chance to speak.
‘As expected, she’s no ordinary person.’
Well, questions like that could wait for later.
Min-hyuk roughly scratched his head, stood up, and asked Yu-ra,
“I’m planning to practice a bit more before I go. What about you?”
“Let’s do it.”
‘Since we’ve started, might as well go all in.’
Gripping the badminton racket tightly in his hand, Min-hyuk lifted the corner of his mouth in a faint smile.
***
Even after that day, the same routine repeated.
No—to be precise… it got even more intense.
Taaang! Taang! Taaaang!
“My!”
“Back!”
As their coordination improved, the number of times they swung the racket only increased.
And in the midst of it all…
“You still read a lot of comics these days?”
“Obviously.”
“What’s good right now?”
“Whenever ‘This Comic Is Amazing’ comes out that year, I read everything without fail. Women’s edition, men’s edition. All of it.”
They occasionally slipped into casual otaku talk while chatting away.
In fact, the conversations they’d had in the past few days preparing for the sports festival probably outnumbered all the talks they’d had since enrolling.
And once they actually started talking…
‘She’s actually taking it pretty well?’
Sure, the way she phrased things sometimes came off in a way that could easily be misunderstood…
But in reality, her actions were just those of a normal high schooler who loved comics and hated losing in certain areas.
The only real difference was that she was exceptionally good at comics.
Anyway, once the mood was right, other behaviors naturally followed.
“This storyboard doesn’t feel right to you?”
“Yeah… I guess you could say nothing really hits me hard.”
The words Min-hyuk had casually mentioned back in the auditorium.
Now Han Yu-ra was looking through the plans and storyboards he had prepared for the grade project and giving her comments.
“…Overall, they’re pretty decent. What exactly are you worried about?”
“I told you—nothing really clicks.”
“Are you bragging?”
“No, it’s not bragging…”
“If I have to pick, the second one is the best. The story is intuitive, easy to twist or vary. Even just borrowing the structure would probably be fine.”
“Hmm, the second one, huh.”
Her feedback was so blunt and straightforward that it almost felt like she was mocking him.
But strangely enough, that very bluntness was helpful in its own way.
After dealing with one round of his complaints(?) like that…
“Here, the manuscript.”
“Okay.”
This time it was the other way around—Han Yu-ra handed over the manuscript she was preparing for the Jump Comics Newcomer Contest, and Min-hyuk began reading it.
He read through it slowly with a fairly serious expression.
‘As expected, she’s good.’
The premise was simple.
A fantasy world setting.
A child born as a complete orphan with no family, who survived by working as a mercenary… dies while conquering a cursed dungeon and is reborn as the child of a high-ranking demon.
At first glance, it sounded like it would be heavy and dark, but in reality, it wasn’t.
‘The core is going to be family love.’
In his human days, the child carried deep-rooted loneliness from never having a family…
Now, as he is acknowledged by his high-ranking demon parents and grows as a member of that family, it becomes a sort of healing story.
Honestly, it was fun.
The high-ranking demon father somehow gave off the vibe that he was hiding his true power…
And the scenes where the protagonist uses knowledge from his mercenary days to shine were bound to be entertaining.
And above all—
‘It feels like… she’s deeply immersed in this herself.’
In the early parts, during his mercenary days.
[Why was I born like this?]
[What did I do wrong?]
[I… had no choice but to live this way.]
A life twisted and hardened because of the absence of parents.
The protagonist’s raw, painful recounting of being rejected and despised by the world.
The directing in this section was incredibly powerful—it pulled you right in.
If the author herself hadn’t experienced or at least deeply thought about something similar, it would be hard to achieve this level of detail.
‘This is probably…’
For a moment, Min-hyuk recalled the short comic Han Yu-ra had drawn for the Animation High competition back then.
—Father God, please watch this dance. This will be my final offering to you…
The title had been something like ‘Father God, Please’?
There was an oddly overlapping feeling between that comic and this one.
Min-hyuk stared at Han Yu-ra with a slightly displeased expression.
Perhaps sensing it, Yu-ra frowned and asked,
“What? Is there a problem? If there is, say it quickly.”
Min-hyuk took a deep breath and said,
“This is going to win an award.”
“…How can you be so sure?”
Of course, it wasn’t like there were no areas that could be polished further.
But that didn’t matter right now.
What this girl needed wasn’t half-hearted advice… but a single, confident declaration.
“Because… it’s fun.”
His voice was almost declarative.
Yu-ra’s eyes widened slightly.
“This is fun. The protagonist’s situation is easy to understand, and it’s easy to empathize. This… feels like it’ll win something. I don’t really have anything else to say. It’s perfect.”
At Min-hyuk’s continued words, Han Yu-ra blinked several times.
Then, with a bizarre expression that looked half like laughing and half like crying, her body trembled slightly.
Thud!
“If… there’s nothing more to say, give it back.”
Was she embarrassed?
She quickly snatched her manuscript away.
A brief silence settled in.
“Umm? What’s this—you two are showing each other storyboards?”
“Hm?”
Kim Rok-hee approached with a wide, mischievous grin, staring straight at them.
Her expression clearly said she had just witnessed something very entertaining.
Min-hyuk instinctively sensed it.
‘Ah… we’re screwed.’
He could already tell that something not-so-great was about to happen.
“You two have been playing badminton together all this time, and now… you’ve even reached the stage where you show each other storyboards. I see, I seeee. I’ve never once exchanged storyboards with Yu-ra, though~”
Rok-hee spoke deliberately loudly, the corners of her mouth twitching with mischief.
Then…
“Ahem, ahem… I’ve never talked about the grade project with Min-hyuk-kun either.”
Dong-gyo, who had been sitting quietly, subtly chimed in and added his piece.
A strange atmosphere began to fill the classroom.
‘They’ve found ammo…’
The air was thick with the unmistakable glee of people who had just discovered prime teasing material and were thoroughly enjoying it.
Bang!
Han Yu-ra slammed her palm on the desk and said,
“Kang Min-hyuk.”
“What.”
“Show them your storyboards too.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“Then there’s no problem, right? See?”
No— they’re just teasing us, why are you trying to “solve” it like that?
A deep crease formed between Min-hyuk’s brows.
“I’m going to the school store.”
Yu-ra abruptly stood up and quickly exited the classroom.
“Did she just… run away from the vibe? What even is this atmosphere?”
“Min-hyuk-kun! What is this?! You’re exchanging storyboards with her but not with me?!”
With Han Yu-ra—their usual suppressor—gone,
Rok-hee and Dong-gyo immediately closed in and started enthusiastically gnawing at Min-hyuk even more aggressively.
‘Ah… I’m tired.’
How the hell do I get out of this one?
Min-hyuk let out a heavy sigh and pressed hard on his temples.
***
Tuesday, the first week of June.
Through the windows, sunlight poured in so intensely it almost stung the skin—a bright, clear morning.
Inside the Ani-Sports auditorium, a fairly large crowd had gathered.
“Come on, everyone from the Animation Department—line up and sit over here!”
“Game Department, to the far right!”
All first-year students of Animation High School, along with their four homeroom teachers and four department heads.
Plus the P.E. teachers and a few assistants helping out.
In total, around 110 people—a massive turnout for Animation High—were all assembled in one place.
Hanging prominently above the auditorium was a large banner:
[2006 Animation High ‘Strongest!’ Sports Festival.]
The long-awaited day of reckoning had finally arrived.
Ma Dong-hyun, standing in front of the Comic Creation Department group, clenched his fist tightly and declared,
“The second- and third-year seniors couldn’t take the championship, but you first-years… give it everything you’ve got and make sure to get revenge!”
His voice carried such solemn intensity that it almost sounded like he was about to launch a northern expedition.
One might wonder who would actually respond to that, but—
“Yes, Teacher!”
“We will definitely get revenge! For pizza!”
“Teacher Dong-hyun, what’s your prize promise if we win?”
The pizza zealots responded quite faithfully to Dong-hyun’s dramatic speech.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones hyping themselves up.
“Video Department, fiiiighting! Let’s go, let’s gooo!”
“Today, Animation Department—let’s do our best, everyone!”
Each class’s homeroom teacher shouted with faces full of fighting spirit, exchanging glances with one another.
The source of that fighting spirit was probably partly a matter of pride among the teachers…
‘If we win, we save on drinking money.’
‘Please, just don’t come in last… That hanwoo is disgustingly expensive.’
But more accurately… it stemmed from very ‘adult’ and ‘dignified’ reasons.
Amid all this, the ones raising the most intense energy were—
“Game Department! Since the second- and third-years won last time, we first-years are going to crush everyone this year! Uwaaaaaah!”
The Game Department students and their homeroom teacher roared like wild beasts.
At that moment, Han Yu-ra, sitting next to Min-hyuk, muttered with a displeased expression,
“This pisses me off.”
“…What does?”
“That.”
She pointed with her finger.
Over there—the gorilla couple, no… the two badminton duo from the Game Department were glaring fiercely in their direction.
‘YOU DIE.’
You could practically hear the words just from their expressions.
On top of that, one of them drew a finger across his throat in a slicing motion.
“…They really know how to get on people’s nerves.”
“Can we win?”
“We have to.”
I didn’t realize it, but… my competitive spirit is actually a lot stronger than I thought.
Min-hyuk clenched his fist tightly and lifted the corner of his mouth in a smirk.
**************
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