Chapter 88 – Closing Ceremony for Vacation
“Ahh, I hope all of you treat summer vacation not simply as a time to play… but as a meaningful period in your own lives. And since our Animation High is filled with so many students overflowing with creativity…”
Inside the Animation High auditorium.
While the principal stood at the podium and droned on and on.
Normally the kids would have been blatantly showing how bored they were, but today their faces were surprisingly lively.
Because today was the closing ceremony—the official start of summer vacation.
‘Finally, vacation…’
‘Ugh, let’s just rest during break.’
The first-year kids who had been squeezed dry all semester with grade projects, assignments, and everything else.
For them, this was truly their first real break in a long while, so it felt like sweet honey.
Of course…
‘Ah, damn… the cram school special lectures are gonna be brutal.’
‘I hate vacation even more.’
‘Shit, I’d rather just stay at school.’
For the second- and third-years preparing for college entrance exams and destined to be buried in various cram schools… this vacation felt a little… different. That was the trap.
Anyway, after the principal’s speech—cliché, predictable, and utterly boring—finally ended.
“Vacation’s hereee!!”
“Let’s gooo—!”
The Animation Department, Comic Creation Department, Game Department, and Video Department.
A total of around 300 students, all with suitcases and bags slung over their shoulders, rushed toward the parking lot in a huge wave.
The rows of shuttle buses lined up looked almost like something out of a school trip.
“Come on, Comic Creation students, over here!”
“Ah, I think that’s the side.”
When Teacher Choi Jung-an waved his hand and shouted, the Comic Creation kids swarmed in that direction.
“Alright, sit down and let’s start roll call by number.”
“One.”
“Two!”
……
Once the students lined up by grade, each homeroom teacher began checking attendance.
In the meantime, the maniac of Comic Creation, Ma Dong-hyun, casually slipped in among them.
“Everyone here?”
“Yes, first-years all accounted for.”
“Second-years no problem.”
“Third-years too.”
After receiving the crisp, orderly reports from each homeroom teacher, Ma Dong-hyun cleared his throat.
“Ahem! You all worked hard this semester. Before you go, just one last nagging word from me…”
Ma Dong-hyun clenched his fist tightly, then thrust it forward into the air like a punch as he continued.
“Everyone—don’t ever let go of your passion and fighting spirit for comics during vacation! And when you come back fully rested, we’re going to kill the entire school—no, all of Korea—with comics! Got it?”
A statement that was somewhat—no, blatantly—extreme.
The vice department head standing nearby gave an awkward smile and quietly muttered,
“Um, Department Head? Even so… saying we’re going to ‘kill’ people with comics in front of the students… it might be a bit too much…”
“Hey! Too much? To become Korea’s greatest talents, you need this level of resolve! Right, kids?”
Ma Dong-hyun roared again.
Even though a man who looked like that was yelling, the kids didn’t seem intimidated at all…
“We’ll kill them!”
“Department Head is the besttt!”
“Kyaaahhh!”
“Korosuuuuu!”
The kids got even more hyped, making dinosaur roars or cheering along with Ma Dong-hyun.
It was all thanks to Ma Dong-hyun’s usual skillful “public sentiment management” (?).
“I’ll kill them!”
Right then, Kang Min-hyuk randomly shouted once and lifted the corner of his mouth in a grin.
‘Being around the comic maniac seems to turn everyone into comic maniacs too.’
Honestly, he liked it.
Killing with comics.
The phrasing was extreme, but it meant everyone was approaching this industry with their own passion and seriousness.
Of course…
“Haaaa, I really wonder if this is the right way to teach kids.”
Of course, the vice department head seemed genuinely worried about the scene and let out a sigh while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Right at that moment.
Vrrrrrrrm!
The shuttle bus revved up and its doors opened with a hiss.
Ma Dong-hyun crossed his arms and shouted,
“Alright, everyone get on the bus!”
“Yessss!”
“Have a great vacation, Teacher Dong-hyun!”
“See you after break, Teacher!”
The kids hurried up the steps into the shuttle.
Soon both buses were packed to the brim with everyone on board.
“Alright then, we’re departing.”
With the driver’s cheerful remark, the bus pulled out of the school grounds.
The view of Animation High growing smaller in the distance.
Thinking that he wouldn’t be coming back here for over a month gave Min-hyuk a strangely bittersweet feeling.
Right then.
“Min-hyuk-kun.”
“Hm?”
Oh Dong-gyo, sitting next to him, adjusted his glasses and asked.
“What are you planning to do during vacation, Min-hyuk-kun?”
“Ah, me?”
What to do during vacation…
Well.
Min-hyuk stroked his chin for a moment.
A month—exactly about 40 days—of rest.
The only thing he absolutely had to do during this time was the Brave King manuscript.
But even that was biweekly serialization, and during the semester he had managed to handle it while crushing mountains of assignments like the grade project and everything else.
In short, if he just focused solely on Brave King’s manuscript…
‘…I’d have quite a lot of time left over.’
Knowing that well, Min-hyuk had been thinking a lot even before the closing ceremony.
What could he do to hear people say he spent vacation better than anyone else?
How could the comic artist Kang Min-hyuk grow as a comic artist?
He had considered cram school or the special lectures prepared by the school…
But honestly, nothing really appealed to him.
“Hmm, I haven’t decided on anything specific yet.”
When Min-hyuk answered, Oh Dong-gyo frowned and shook his head.
“Tsk tsk, how can you still not have decided? Min-hyuk-kun, if you don’t plan what to do during vacation in advance, it really flies by like lightning. You have to make plans ahead of time.”
“…Then what are you going to do?”
“Me? Of course… I’ve made a completely perfect plan.”
Snap!
Oh Dong-gyo pulled out a notebook from his chest pocket and smiled brightly.
On the cover, the words ‘Vacation Plan’ were written large.
“This body has put a truly perfect plan inside this notebook.”
“…Can I take a look?”
“Of course.”
Dong-gyo handed over the notebook and crossed his arms, staring intently at him.
Flip flip! Flip!
Min-hyuk let out a shallow breath and turned the pages one by one.
As he did, faint wrinkles formed between his brows.
“This is… your plan?”
The notebook was filled with countless titles.
In other words, the names of all sorts of different comics and animations, categorized by type.
“Heh heh heh, for a comic artist, input is absolutely essential. I plan to binge every anime and comic I couldn’t watch during the semester. Min-hyuk-kun… would you like to join this plan? Watching the same works together and having passionate discussions as fellow comic artists would be a very good experience, don’t you think?”
“…I’ll pass.”
“Tch, what a shame.”
Min-hyuk gave an awkward smile and handed the notebook back.
Of course, Min-hyuk himself did like comics and anime to some extent, but the Kang Min-hyuk here was someone who had returned from 2024 Korea.
His tastes differed greatly from a high school first-year like Oh Dong-gyo, so if he watched that entire list as-is…
He’d probably fall into qi deviation.
Especially the biggest problem with Dong-gyo’s list was—
‘It’s all just cute girl stuff.’
Starting with the mega-hit ‘Suzume Haruko’s Melancholy,’ the so-called “cute girl zoo” genre—full of pretty girls flirting and getting cozy—was overwhelmingly dominant.
That was the biggest issue.
He wasn’t a high schooler the same age as Dong-gyo anymore; this was the soul of a 34-year-old Kang Min-hyuk, and that genre wasn’t something he could look at with soft, fuzzy feelings like before.
“Well, if you change your mind, contact me anytime. I’m an open-minded person.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
After that, Min-hyuk and Dong-gyo chatted about small things.
He tried to steer clear of any talk about watching cute girl anime together and discussing them…
Perhaps because of the strange atmosphere that vacation brought.
The entire bus was buzzing with noise.
While they were talking like that.
“Alright everyoneee, we’ve arrived.”
Before long, the bus reached the final stop near Sadang Station.
The kids poured out, pulling their suitcases from the luggage compartment.
“See ya!”
“Let’s meet after vacation!”
Some headed toward the subway, others toward the bus stop, scattering in every direction.
“Huuuh, then see you next time, Min-hyuk-kun.”
“Yeah, take care.”
Dong-gyo and Min-hyuk parted ways at the fork in the road.
‘What should I do during vacation…’
If he didn’t want to waste time, he really should decide on something.
Anyway, while Min-hyuk was idly rubbing his chin in thought—
“Hm?”
Min-hyuk blinked as if something had just occurred to him, then lifted the corners of his mouth into a grin.
Because of the sports festival, grade project, and everything else keeping him busy, it had been several months since he last went home.
That meant he hadn’t seen “that” for a while, and now—for the first time—he could finally see “that.”
The moment he remembered, all the trivial worries about what to do during vacation vanished…
And for some reason, his steps felt lighter.
But as he approached the subway area.
“Min-hyuk-ah!”
“Hm?”
A familiar shout pierced his ears.
When he turned his head, he saw a red Matiz and the familiar face of a middle-aged woman.
“Mom?”
It was Hong Mi-seon, smiling gently.
When Min-hyuk blinked in surprise, Hong Mi-seon waved her hand and said,
“What are you doing? Put your suitcase in the trunk and get in the passenger seat.”
“Ah, yes.”
Min-hyuk quickly loaded the suitcase and climbed into the car. The Matiz glided smoothly out onto the road.
At that moment, Min-hyuk scratched his forehead and asked,
“You really didn’t have to come pick me up.”
When Min-hyuk spoke in a half-joking tone, Hong Mi-seon gave a contented smile and replied,
“Didn’t have to come? How were you supposed to find your way home all by yourself?”
“Just tell me the address and I’d be fine. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“High school first-year is still a kid, you know.”
That was right.
The reason Hong Mi-seon had insisted on coming to pick Min-hyuk up was because “home” was no longer the same place it used to be.
- And with that money… Mom, I’d really like it if you moved.
- Moved?
- Yeah. We’ve lived in this house for so long. Let’s go to a nicer place now. Something cleaner, bigger. Use that money toward the deposit.
- But…
- Mom, please.
The yellowish linoleum floor, the damp room.
Every summer the ceiling would develop leak stains…
And not infrequently, you could spot “those black bugs” crawling around.
Min-hyuk had hated that house so much that he handed over the money he earned from Brave King’s volume sales.
If he kept coming home to that same environment forever, he felt like he’d lose all motivation to even return.
Anyway, after she accepted his earnest request(?),
Hong Mi-seon had apparently added a bit of savings and taken out a small loan to buy the place outright.
The destination the Matiz was heading toward now was exactly that dream house—the new home.
As they approached the neighborhood…
Vrooooom!
Instead of turning into the narrow alley they used to use, the Matiz headed toward the main road.
After driving for about two or three minutes like that.
“That’s our house right there, Min-hyuk-ah.”
“Oh.”
A flat, open apartment complex came into view.
It was located right at the very front of Min-hyuk’s neighborhood, so its name was “Cho-ip Maeul Apartment” (Entrance Village Apartment).
Public housing built by LH in the early 1990s, corridor-style apartments.
Even in this era, the price was around 200–300 million won—still relatively affordable.
And in the future…
‘After reconstruction, the price skyrocketed. Enough to make your jaw drop.’
Since returning to the past, Kang Min-hyuk had no intention of speculating.
If God had given him this chance, what He wanted from Min-hyuk was… to draw the comics he had so desperately longed to create, or so he believed.
If he wasted time on land speculation, Bitcoin, stocks, or playing with money like that, he felt like the happiness he had now would scatter like dust.
But…
‘Well, there’s no reason to stop Mom if she wants to buy it.’
If there really was a God…
This much wasn’t something he did of his own free will, so please… cut him some slack…
That was the vague feeling he had.
Anyway, after parking the car in the lot,
The two of them took the elevator straight up.
Beep beep beep beep!
And… when they unlocked the door lock and stepped inside.
“So, what do you think, Min-hyuk-ah? This is where we’ll be living from now on.”
A neatly wallpapered, tidy and spotless room awaited Min-hyuk.
The furniture from the old house had been brought over as-is, yet somehow…
Maybe furniture really does take after the house, because everything looked mysteriously much prettier than before.
He realized it anew.
It wasn’t that Hong Mi-seon had bad taste—the old house had been so hopeless that no amount of effort could have made the interior look nice.
Min-hyuk smiled softly and said,
“Wowww, I almost thought we walked into a hotel by mistake. Who on earth found such a great place?”
“This kid and his smooth talk… What do you want to eat? Today Mom will make whatever you want, so just say the word.”
“Can we eat something expensive?”
“Why wouldn’t we? My son drew comics and even bought us a house.”
“It’s not quite to that level.”
“Eh, same difference.”
Min-hyuk and Hong Mi-seon locked eyes, both lifting the corners of their mouths at the same time.
Sunlight pouring onto the veranda.
The sparkling light in their eyes and the strangely warm atmosphere.
Words couldn’t fully express it, but somehow, just through the mood and their expressions, the feelings between mother and son were conveyed perfectly.
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