Chapter 76 – Cringy-Humor Comic
Cringy-humor comic.
Short for “X-god-like taste” comic.
A type of gag comic that throws away logical leaps, plausibility, and any sense of context, treating sheer nonsense as a deliberate gag style.
It is considered to have originated from the Japanese comic artist Uster Masuke’s gag work ‘Sexy Kenpō: Awesome Mahiru’… (In the Japanese comic industry, they call this kind of thing “sur-gag.”)
It was also a genre that swept through the Korean comic industry hard during the webtoon era of the 2010s.
Oh Seung-heon’s self-indulgent comic was displaying exactly that cringy-humor style, straight and unfiltered.
“So? What do you think, Kang Min-hyuk?”
At Seung-heon’s cautious question, Min-hyuk scratched his forehead and answered bluntly.
“It’s fun.”
“R-really?”
Well, there was no other way to put it.
It was fun.
From the art style to the bizarre lines and reactions unique to it…
If this had been a normal comic, maybe not—but the moment he realized the setup and flow were all intentional on the author’s part,
He couldn’t help but let laughter leak out.
If Min-hyuk had read this purely as a reader instead of someone giving feedback, he probably would have burst out laughing multiple times throughout.
“It’s funny, and it’s entertaining. I can clearly see what you were aiming for.”
As he said it, he only now remembered.
Oh Seung-heon was the kind of guy who would spout absolute nonsense out of nowhere…
And do whatever ridiculous thing it took to make people laugh.
In fact, back in his previous life—
During middle and high school…
Whenever classmates talked about who the funniest guy in class was, Oh Seung-heon’s name came up more often than not.
How should he describe it?
Add to that Seung-heon’s obsession with carbonated drinks, and you get the birth of this comic called <Cola! Cola! Cola!>.
And above all…
‘For a contest, going all-in like this is probably the right move anyway.’
Oh Seung-heon’s absolute skill level is lacking.
Whether in direction, drawing ability, or anything else— he decided to become a comic artist less than half a year ago. If his skill were already good, that would be the weird part.
But this work definitely had a sparkling potential as a commercial comic.
If you think about it another way…
‘Is this… talent?’
Not talent in the usual comic-drawing sense, but the strange way that the human Oh Seung-heon’s inherent charm bleeds straight into the work.
Capturing that fully on the manuscript pages—that could be seen as the victory of the planning itself.
“This planning—was helped by Artist Shin Pil-ho, right?”
“Yeah. I showed him the rough storyboards and stuff. He said this was good.”
So even though he got some help, the core idea was still something Seung-heon came up with on his own.
‘Damn… I really didn’t know anything about Oh Seung-heon.’
He had just thought of him as a fun, bright, good friend.
He never knew the guy had this kind of talent his whole life.
At that moment, Seung-heon asked back,
“You said it’s fun, so why do you look so serious?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing. You’re submitting this to the contest now, right?”
“Yeah, I was planning to tomorrow… Is there anything I should fix?”
“No. Just submit it as is.”
Min-hyuk answered readily.
But for some reason, this time it was Oh Seung-heon who made a dissatisfied face.
“Just submit it? You’re really saying it’s fine?”
“I’m telling you it is.”
“…I’m hurt. I’m actually hurt.”
“Huh? Why?”
Seung-heon let out a sigh.
“I came here specifically to get feedback, you know. At least give me one proper comment. I’m… really desperate here. Even Uncle Shin Pil-ho didn’t give me any feedback.”
He stomped his feet lightly and bit his nails anxiously.
Min-hyuk shook his head and answered.
“If I do, it’ll flop.”
“Huh?”
“If I give feedback on this work, it’ll flop.”
“What… what are you even saying? You gave me feedback just fine last time.”
“That was then. This is different. This is the kind of work you shouldn’t give normal feedback to.”
Right now, Oh Seung-heon’s comic has a unique charm.
From the start, its comic-making rules stray far from the standard techniques most comic artists use.
If you try to force ordinary comic logic onto it…
There’s a high chance it won’t help at all.
“No way—there’s no such thing. The more feedback the better, right?”
“You think so? Then fine, I’ll give you feedback.”
“Yes! Go ahead!”
Min-hyuk let out a deep sigh and began.
“First off, it’s childish.”
“Huh?”
“‘Cola-being’ from the start… come on, are you kidding? And the lines the characters spit out are way too far removed from how normal people think. Also…”
Min-hyuk rattled off criticism endlessly.
Oh Seung-heon’s face grew darker and darker, until finally he squeezed out one strained sentence.
“No, you’re right about that. But… I did it that way because it’s funnier like that.”
His voice trembled slightly—uncharacteristically so.
Min-hyuk took a sip of the watermelon juice in front of him before replying.
“You’re right.”
“Huh?”
“I’m saying you’re right. Like I told you earlier—it wasn’t exaggeration, and it wasn’t half-assed. This comic right now is fun. And if you revise it the way I suggested in my feedback, it’ll probably stop being fun.”
“What does that even…”
“This work doesn’t need feedback. From the start, it’s not the kind of style anyone else can imitate, and ordinary advice has no meaning here. If you awkwardly try to apply feedback, it won’t help at all—it’ll probably just hurt it.”
Back in his previous life when he was a webtoon artist, he had seen this exact type of creator multiple times.
- Artist-nim, I revised it like this. How is it? Huh? It’s worse than before? But… I worked so hard on the revisions.
- Just do the comic you want to do. I don’t think more feedback will be meaningful anymore.
- But…
Creators who lacked confidence in their own work, constantly asking for feedback and revising endlessly.
But in that process, they lost their center and the original fun and concept of the work, wasting time in the end.
As far as Min-hyuk knew, for people like this… until they developed their own center and judgment, feedback actually became poison.
‘He’s a beginner when it comes to comics, lacking fundamentals, but if the sense and planning are good—this is a common phenomenon.’
That’s why Min-hyuk couldn’t give Seung-heon feedback.
No matter how many decorations you add on top of a well-made sandcastle, the castle itself won’t become prettier.
Min-hyuk took a breath to steady himself and said,
“If you want to become a comic artist, you have to hold your own center. No matter how great an artist is, no one knows your work better than you do.”
“Ah…”
Had something clicked?
Seung-heon’s eyes widened like saucers for a moment, then he lowered his head and let out a pained groan.
And then…
“Aaaaaah!”
He suddenly shouted, grabbed the spoon in front of him, and shoved a massive heap of patbingsu into his mouth.
His cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s.
With a serious expression, he chewed furiously.
Gulp!
After swallowing, he said,
“Okay, I get it. The artist has to hold their own center. Got it.”
“I’m not saying don’t listen to feedback at all.”
“I know what you mean. In the end, the one who decides is the artist himself, right?”
“You caught on quick.”
When Min-hyuk lifted the corner of his mouth, Seung-heon leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
“Haaaa, I’m so nervous I could die. I… probably won’t make it, right? The contest.”
“Objectively speaking, yeah.”
“I hope I do. Please…”
Min-hyuk gave a sly grin and said,
“There is one secret technique that could raise your odds.”
“What is it?”
“Buy me an expensive meal. Then the heavens will look kindly on you and definitely raise your prob—”
“Are you gonna talk shit? I’m being serious here?”
Min-hyuk shrugged.
“So what if you don’t make it? You did well.”
“Huh?”
“For your first try, this is seriously impressive. And you’re only a first-year in high school—you’ll have tons of chances to challenge again in the future. Isn’t it greedy to expect to be full from the very first bite?”
Well, compared to quitting a company job at 31 and starting over, this path was way more hopeful.
“Hearing that from you… doesn’t make me happy at all.”
“I’m the stork, you’re the crow.”
“That actually pisses me off.”
“It’s just facts.”
“Whatever. Let’s just eat the bingsu. Somehow it’ll work out.”
Maybe he realized whining here wouldn’t change anything.
Seung-heon picked up his spoon and started earnestly digging into the patbingsu.
Then.
‘Well… if luck is even a little on his side, he might actually fill his stomach from the very first bite.’
Min-hyuk smiled faintly to himself as he sipped his watermelon juice.
***
Another week began at AniGo.
“Ughhh, I’m really gonna die…”
“Can you make the deadline?”
“Whether it turns into porridge or rice, I’ve gotta submit something.”
As the deadline for the Tujiman chang project drew closer, the kids grew more and more anxious.
Ever since entering Animation High, the atmosphere in the drawing room had never been this heated.
And naturally, that applied to Kang Min-hyuk too.
Ding-dong-daeng-dong!
The moment the break bell rang, Min-hyuk immediately went down to the lounge on the lower floor and started stretching.
“Huuuu, I’m exhausted.”
Brave King and the grade project—he was pouring every ounce of energy into both without holding back. It really felt like he might collapse.
If he kept going like this, he might actually end up bedridden.
‘Once the grade project is done, I’ll take it easy for a while.’
Read some comic books, eat some good food.
Before long, vacation would arrive.
Back then, he even thought about taking Madam Hong somewhere nice—like maybe a trip to Jeju Island.
‘Time really flies.’
Late June 2006.
It had already been almost a full year since Kang Min-hyuk returned to the past.
It felt like he’d been mindlessly drawing comics the whole time, yet somehow the calendar had already turned this far.
Well… that was fine.
At least over the past year, there hadn’t been a single day he regretted.
‘Speaking of which… 2006 means webtoons are about to start appearing soon.’
The twilight era of print comics that Min-hyuk had jumped into.
At the same time, it was also the period when a new medium called webtoons began to stir.
Bluehouse and Lemon Tree.
Two platforms, each backed by their own major portal sites.
Starting around this time, they began pulling in web cartoonists who had been serially posting daily life comics or light gag strips on personal blogs, officially kicking off the webtoon era.
That gradually drew more traffic, diversified genres, and—with the widespread adoption of smartphones—eventually exploded.
But.
‘It’s still too early.’
Honestly, Min-hyuk had no particular desire to jump into the webtoon market right away.
Even though it was the twilight era for print, right now gag comics still reached far more readers…
And financially, print was still way ahead.
He had no intention of forcing his way in prematurely and taking unnecessary hits.
‘Right now, the top priority has to be… properly completing Brave King.’
He wanted to finish serializing Brave King at a quality level he himself could be fully satisfied with.
Through that process, he wanted to raise his skill even further, gain countless experiences, and build up his foundational strength and stamina.
Only when he truly felt ready would it be worth considering entering the webtoon market—and even then, it wouldn’t be too late at all.
“Huuuuu, Kang Min-hyuk, you’ve really grown up. Worrying about stuff like this now.”
He remembered the old days when he would have desperately clawed just to debut somehow.
Min-hyuk gave a slightly sheepish smile and looked out the window.
At that moment, a voice came from behind.
“Talking to yourself again?”
“…You should at least make some noise when you approach. You’re not a ghost.”
Min-hyuk, now used to it, huffed through his nose and turned his head.
There stood Han Yu-ra in front of the vending machine.
She pulled out two cans of coffee, then held one out to him.
“Drink. And stop talking nonsense.”
“Why are you giving me this?”
“You looked at my manuscript last time. Payment for the feedback.”
“Ahhh… right. You’re very thorough with your calculations.”
Pop!
Min-hyuk cracked open the can, took a sip, and said,
“So, you submitted to the contest okay?”
“More or less. I think it’s not bad.”
“Good to hear.”
This… probably isn’t going to be easy.
Once again, Min-hyuk silently prayed for Oh Seung-heon’s soul in his heart.
Just then.
“Ah! Han Yu-ra, there you are!”
“Hm?”
When he turned his head, Kim Rok-hee was staring wide-eyed and pointing accusingly at Han Yu-ra.
“You said we’d drink coffee together! How come the second I look away you’re over here? And what’s Kang Min-hyuk doing next to you?!”
“Ah, well… it’s…”
Kim Rok-hee’s face was a strange mix of hurt and anger.
This felt like it could turn into a real hassle if he got caught in the middle.
‘Time to slip out gracefully.’
Min-hyuk gave a light smile and answered,
“Nothing big. I just passed by, saw her, and mooched a coffee.”
“What? Yu-ra bought it? For you?”
“No, wait—it’s because—”
At that moment.
Grab!
Rok-hee seized Han Yu-ra by the collar and shook her vigorously while shouting,
“Buy me one too! Buy me coffee toooo!”
“No thanks.”
“Why are you being so stingy and only buying for Kang Min-hyuk?!”
Han Yu-ra, true to form, put up an iron wall.
At that point…
“Ahem, well then, I’ll be going.”
Min-hyuk quickly backed away and naturally slipped out of the lounge.
“Buy me coffee toooooo!”
From down the hallway behind him came Kim Rok-hee’s roaring cry.
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