Chapter 95 – Comic Land (1)
Above the booth, the kids were busily setting everything up.
“Hold this side.”
“Ughhh…….”
“Cable ties.”
“Here, here!”
They raised the booth signboard and spread out the pre-prepared goods neatly in a row.
They also inserted the price tags they had prepared in advance into acrylic stands and set up the doujinshi.
All of this……
- Wow, is this Kang Min-hyuk’s house?
- Come on, let’s hurry up and start. We don’t have much time.
- Okay.
These were the results of the hard labor they had done together at Min-hyuk’s house a few days ago, working all day long.
When they were suffering through making all of this, their minds were a mess and they had no idea how it would turn out……
‘Now that I see it like this, it actually looks pretty decent.’
On one side stood a colorful signboard using Kim Rok-hee’s illustrations, and on the opposite side was a black-and-white signboard made by mixing the doujinshi illustrations of Rok-hee, Seung-heon, and Dong-gyo.
Lined up together, it gave off the feeling of quite an organized and plausible booth.
And what was especially impressive was.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
“Hurry up. We need to finish setting up before the event starts and also hand over the things we need to deliver.”
“Uh, yeah.”
It was Kim Rok-hee’s insanely fast hand speed.
She looked like someone who had done this more than once or twice.
She was handling everything alone—stuff that would normally take two or three people—and even taking care of the fine details.
When all the setup was finally complete.
“Okay, Vincent. Sit here.”
“Huh?”
Kim Rok-hee placed her ball-jointed doll best friend, Vincent, in one corner of the booth so that he was facing toward the customers.
Min-hyuk blinked and asked.
“……You’re really putting that— I mean, your friend—there?”
“Of course. Vincent is the mascot of my booth.”
“Ah…….”
Moreover, the clothes Vincent and Kim Rok-hee were wearing today gave off a couple-look vibe.
‘She really is amazing in so many ways.’
A slightly awkward smile appeared on Min-hyuk’s face.
Several things he wanted to say and questions came to mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice them and just nodded.
“Okay, everyone focus. The event starts in 15 minutes, so I’ll explain how we’re going to proceed. If you receive cash, put it in the money box on the left here, and take change from the box on the right to hand over.”
“Ah, got it.”
“Oh Dong-gyo. Try it once. Here, ‘Please give me one copy of this doujinshi.’”
“Ahem, here you go!”
Dong-gyo received the cash, handed over the doujinshi, and then the change in sequence.
Then Rok-hee slapped the back of Dong-gyo’s hand and said.
“What was that? You did it wrong.”
“W-what do you mean I did it wrong…….”
“When you hand back change, do it with both hands politely! They’re customers, customers. And for people who spend more than 10,000 won, put it in these transparent bags here to give it to them. And also…….”
A rapid-fire barrage of words poured out like a machine gun.
Everyone’s faces carried a slight tension.
Clap!
After unleashing a torrent of instructions, Rok-hee clapped her hands and said.
“Okay, that’s all for the precautions. Seating order at the booth: me and Kang Min-hyuk, and the other three sit at the side booth. It’s better if the person who made it sells their own work.”
“Ah, right.”
“Then I’m going to go say hi to some other creators before we start, so keep the spot.”
With that, Kim Rok-hee lightly tapped the table with her palm, then walked over to a nearby booth……
“Hello, Russell-ssi!”
“Ah! Loki-nim came!”
“Kyaaa! The last Ocan was so fun!”
She greeted other creators without the slightest hesitation or distance.
Her voice volume rose as if she were meeting extremely close friends……
She even handed out some of her own goods little by little as small presents.
After that, she roamed around the Comic Land venue looking for people she knew, moving freely in every direction.
The remaining kids who were sitting watched the scene with dumbfounded expressions.
“Rok-hee…… is seriously impressive?”
“Sigh, the new goddess of Comic Land, huh.”
“She’s a goddess, no doubt.”
Even though they liked comics, the kids still weren’t fully familiar with this world’s culture(?).
To them, seeing Kim Rok-hee like that was simply fascinating in many ways.
After finishing her one round of greetings.
“Okay then, let’s do our best. It’s starting soon.”
Rok-hee returned to her seat and sat down at the booth.
The current time was 8:58……
Two minutes remained until the event began.
And the moment 9:00 arrived.
‘Hm……?’
‘Huh, not that many people coming right from the start?’
Everyone tilted their heads.
In their minds, they had imagined that as soon as it hit 9:00, people would come rushing in like a flood.
Just when they were starting to feel a tiny bit of mental leeway.
“Ah, don’t push!”
“Come on, please enter carefully!”
“You have to get your stamp first!”
“Please don’t run! Someone could get hurt!”
A buzzing noise started coming from far away.
Thud thud thud!
People began rushing over at a brisk pace.
“Uh…… that’s quite a lot, isn’t it?”
Dong-gyo adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
“……That’s a seriously huge amount.”
Oh Seung-heon blinked repeatedly, adding to the comment.
It looked just like the crowd surging forward at the starting line of a marathon.
“Here, this one, this one, and this one please.”
“Ooooh! Hello, author-nim!”
People immediately swarmed the booth and started buying things……
And among them, quite a large number.
“Kyaaaa! Loki author-nim!”
“Hellooo!”
Rushed straight toward Kim Rok-hee and lined up in front of her.
“Amazing, the goods this time are so pretty!”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re selling Headler of Cold Steel!”
“Please upload your oekaki drawings more often too!”
The kids’ eyes and mouths fell wide open as they realized one clear fact.
What she had done earlier—greeting the other creators—was nothing.
Kim Rok-hee was actually……
‘So this is what being a named figure looks like.’
‘Kim Rok-hee really was famous. For real.’
In this world called Comic Land, it became painfully clear just how big of a deal she was.
And then……
“Here, number 1, 3, and 9 please!”
“Number 3 and 6 for me.”
“Kang Min-hyuk, change here!”
“Ah, thank you!”
Thanks to all of that, Min-hyuk had to move his hands nonstop.
“Kyaaak! So pretty!”
Most of the customers visiting the booth were female readers (customers?), which made sense given the nature of the work Cold Steel’s Headler.
Naturally, the sales of the most popular characters—‘Headler’ and ‘Filer’—were overwhelmingly dominant.
On the other hand……
‘As expected, no popularity at all.’
Min-hyuk’s doujinshi sat there all alone next to them, completely unsold.
“What’s this?”
“Ah, this is the doujinshi my friend drew! It’s fun, so please take a look.”
Thanks to Kim Rok-hee’s occasional recommendations, a few people would flip through it here and there.
“What kind of character is this?”
“That…… isn’t it the commentator who pops up here and there in the work?”
“Ahhh…….”
They’d flip through a few pages, then put the doujinshi back down.
They didn’t say it out loud, but their expressions said everything.
‘Why bother?’ …that’s what they’re thinking.
They clearly had no idea what on earth Min-hyuk’s radical choice even meant.
In a way, it was only natural.
Comic Land is, after all, a doujin event.
People come here to consume the characters or creators they already like, and then suddenly there’s this oddball thing thrown in the middle—no wonder it wasn’t getting any attention.
‘Well, I figured it would be like this, so I printed only a small number…….’
Knowing it in advance didn’t make it hurt any less.
Seeing those reactions right in front of him made Min-hyuk’s insides sting a little.
“Huuu…….”
After the first tsunami-like wave passed and the booth work started to feel familiar, Min-hyuk turned his head to the side.
And then……
“Ooh, these drawings are really pretty! Original characters by the author, right?”
“Hehe, yes indeed. I put a lot of care into drawing these kids.”
In front of the booth, people were occasionally buying the beautiful girl character goods drawn by Oh Dong-gyo.
Not as much as Kim Rok-hee, but it still felt like quite a decent amount of popularity.
And……
“Oh, this comic looks pretty good?”
“I’ll take one.”
“Sure.”
Han Yu-ra’s doujinshi was also selling from time to time.
On the other hand……
“Uuu, p-please read my comic too, everyone…….”
Was it because of the art quality?
Seung-heon’s face was practically in tears as he begged the people who picked up his doujinshi only to immediately put it back down.
And in the middle of all that……
“Huh? Isn’t this the artist of Earth-Destroying Level Gag Impact?”
An older man who looked to be in his late middle age saw Seung-heon’s doujinshi and asked with a surprised expression.
At that, Seung-heon—who had been wilting like a dried-up mackerel—suddenly perked up and wriggled.
“Ah yes! That’s me!”
“Ooh, I read this one online and found it really funny!”
“R-really?”
Seung-heon’s eyes sparkled.
Then the man flipped through the pages to the right, reading along, and—
“Pfft!”
He let out small bursts of laughter, the corners of his mouth rising as he said.
“Here, I’ll take two copies of this one, author-nim.”
“W-wait, you’re actually buying this? This one?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…….”
Then Oh Seung-heon took a deep breath.
“Thank you so much! I will serve you as my lifelong benefactor!”
He shouted loud enough to shake the entire venue.
“…….”
For a moment the surroundings went quiet, and everyone’s eyes turned toward Seung-heon.
Then……
“Ah, ahh…… G-good luck, author-nim!”
The middle-aged man who had been standing in front backed away, then practically fled from the booth.
“Hey, guys, did you hear what that customer just said? My comic is freaking amazing! He called it a masterpiece!”
“He didn’t say that.”
“……Then why the hell were you yelling like that?”
“Uh, well…… I-I’m just happy! Haha! Ahahaha!”
Only then did Seung-heon calm his excitement a little and give an awkward laugh.
And this was just the beginning.
“Ooooh, this comic is actually fun.”
“I’ll take numbers 2, 5, and 7 here!”
The goods at the right-side trio’s booth also started picking up speed and selling steadily.
For their first time participating in Comic Land—and with original doujinshi instead of secondary creations—achieving this level of sales was proof of each person’s own character and skill.
Except……
‘Everyone except me.’
A bitter expression appeared on Min-hyuk’s face.
‘So that’s how it is.’
He had thought it was quite a fresh attempt, honestly.
Was there really no place in the market for commercial art that went completely against the flow?
For the first time, Min-hyuk felt he could understand—even just a tiny bit—the feelings of all those Senior artists who starved to death while stubbornly walking their own path.
While he was diligently selling Rok-hee’s goods like that.
“Excuse me, I’ll take one copy of this.”
“Hm?”
Suddenly a doujinshi appeared right in front of Min-hyuk’s face.
When he looked up, one of the female readers who had come earlier to buy Rok-hee’s goods was standing there holding a copy.
“That…… you’re buying this one?”
“Yes. You’re the one who drew it, right?”
“Well, yeah, I am.”
“Then could I possibly ask for a signature too?”
“A signature?”
“The comic was fun, and your art is really good. You feel like someone who’s going to make it big someday…… so I wanted to get your signature in advance.”
In that instant, the woman’s face came into clear focus.
Large tear-shaped moles under her eyes, slim narrow eyes, a thin build……
A woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties.
‘What the……? Why does her face feel so familiar?’
A face he was sure he had seen somewhere before.
When Min-hyuk blinked in confusion, the woman asked again.
“Is it not okay?”
“Ah, no no, of course it’s okay.”
Min-hyuk hurriedly signed it, and the woman gave a small smile before moving to the side……
“Here, I’ll take one of each of these too, please.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Thank you.”
She bought one copy each of Seung-heon’s and Yu-ra’s doujinshi as well……
“And if it’s okay with you two, could I get your signatures too?”
“Ah, yes!”
“I’ll do it!”
After getting their signatures, she disappeared somewhere.
And then……
Perhaps because of the influence of that one action?
“I’ll take one copy of this.”
“Can I get a signature too?”
“Ah, yes yes, of course.”
From time to time, Min-hyuk’s doujinshi began selling one by one.
Most of them were slightly older customers who had originally come for Rok-hee’s stuff.
They probably remembered reading it earlier and came back to buy it and help out.
Moreover……
“Come on, take a look at this doujinshi too. It’s really fun!”
Thanks to the ‘great’ Rok-hee’s charity—no, her work recommendation.
“Huuu…… I survived.”
By the time afternoon arrived, Min-hyuk had somehow managed to sell a whopping (?) thirty copies.
By then Rok-hee’s booth had also cleared up from the earlier traffic jam and become relatively quiet compared to before.
‘But that woman earlier…… who was she again.’
Around that time, one thought that Min-hyuk had pushed to the back of his mind slowly crept forward again.
His super-minor, niche doujinshi……
The benefactor who had cast the first spell to make it sell at all.
No matter how much he thought about it, that face was definitely one he had seen somewhere before.
And right then.
“Huh?”
‘I remember now.’
Who that person was.
Min-hyuk’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
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