Chapter 106 – Acceleration
Hongdae Academy Street.
Visual design, industrial design, sculpture, Western painting, Oriental painting, and so on.
This area is lined with academies handling entrance exams for all kinds of art-related departments.
At the very end of it, on top of a building with Isaac Toast on the first floor.
A building covered wall-to-wall with all sorts of character illustrations catches the eye.
‘Anipoa.’
An animation-specialized entrance exam academy personally founded by a famous comic artist.
Inside one of its lecture rooms.
“Alright, everyone, 30 minutes left! Manage your time well! Start wrapping up soon!”
A man who appeared to be the instructor, wearing an apron, clapped his hands and paced around, making the students’ hands move even faster.
Swish! Swish!
Someone added touches with a watercolor brush, another built texture with colored pencils, and yet another layered the background with poster color.
What these kids were working on was panel comics.
On a 4-sheet-sized sheet of drawing paper, they had to complete roughly 10 cuts of a comic in just 4 hours.
Along with situational expression (expressing a given theme with characters and their situation on a single sheet of paper), it was one of the most commonly adopted entrance exam formats for animation and comic departments.
And among them……
‘Quick, highlight with white!’
A middle school girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail stared intently at the paper, moving her brush nonstop.
Her name was Kim Mi-na.
Kang Min-hyuk’s middle school junior, currently preparing for the entrance exam to Korea Animation High.
‘Just a little more…… this time, I have to get at least an A-.’
The final touches: expressing reflected light with white to increase the density of the drawing.
Once she cleaned up the unfinished outlines and filled in the speech bubbles, the work would be complete.
Perhaps from concentrating for so long, her hand holding the brush trembled, sweat beads formed on her forehead, and strands of hair stuck to her skin one by one.
Just from the aura she gave off, you could feel how desperately she was fighting.
And there was a reason for that……
- Honorable mention……?
- Yeah, well done, Mi-na! This alone gives you a big bonus point! Even just an A- should get you in comfortably!
The Animation High Comic Creation department contest she had staked her life on.
Winning the grand prize would have been a free pass to admission……
‘Why did I have to come in fourth of all places!’
With that dream shattered, all she could do now was pour everything into the entrance exam with life-or-death determination.
How much time passed like that.
“Alright, everyone, hands off.”
“Haaa…… It’s, it’s done.”
Kim Mi-na’s face turned deathly pale.
It really felt like she had poured every last drop of herself into those 4 hours.
Her wrist felt completely numb.
“Okay, 15-minute break, then we’ll do the critique session. Wait here.”
“Yes~”
After collecting all the drawings, the homeroom instructor left the classroom.
‘Let’s…… rest a bit…….’
Today felt especially exhausting.
Mi-na let out a heavy sigh as if drained, laid her forehead on the desk, and slumped forward.
While she was enjoying that brief moment of peace.
“Crazy, this is insane…….”
Excited, exhilarated words mixed with disbelief came from beside her.
Mi-na’s ears perked up.
She tried to ignore it.
“Is this guy for real? What even is this?”
Was he saying it loud on purpose?
The tone was way too blatant.
When Mi-na turned her head sideways……
“As expected, as expected!!”
A buzz-cut academy student, Ha Byeong-man, was looking at this week’s New Chance and letting out continuous gasps of admiration.
‘When the hell did he buy that?’
With the exam right around the corner, how did he even have the mental capacity to buy it?
At that, Yu-ra frowned and said.
“Ha Byeong-man, shut uuuup…….”
“Shut up? Right now, we’re witnessing a historic moment! How can someone who wants to do comics be so laid-back?”
Instead, Ha Byeong-man barked back in anger.
Mi-na asked back.
“What historic event this time…….”
She knew his personality was already eccentric, and he got excited over something almost every day, so she figured it was just another one of those.
At that moment, Ha Byeong-man rubbed his buzz-cut head vigorously with his palm and answered.
“This week’s Brave King is insane. Wow damn, this…… doesn’t make sense. This is beyond Korean level. Brave King really…… haaaa.”
‘What did Senior Min-hyuk do?’
At those words, life returned to the dying face of Kang Mi-na.
“Can I take a quick look?”
“Hurry up and look…… then tell me your thoughts.”
As if he had been waiting for exactly that, Byeong-man slammed New Chance down in front of Mi-na.
Mi-na flipped through New Chance for a brief moment, lost in thought.
‘Last week’s story…… was about capturing the enemy’s king, right?’
Currently, Brave King was unfolding quite an exciting development.
Unlike the battles against monsters so far, this time the opponents were…… living humans, just like the protagonist.
In this episode, breadcrumbs about the mysteries of Brave King’s worldview were presented, while at the same time forcing the protagonist’s party into the extreme situation of ‘kill fellow humans or die.’
The protagonist’s party succeeded in a strategy of targeting the enemy ‘king’ and striking the rear with deception tactics.
They managed to hold a blade right at the enemy king’s throat……
But the moment their eyes met, protagonist Kim Bin-woo hesitated to kill the opponent, putting the entire party in danger.
How on earth are they going to get out of this? ……The chapter ended at exactly that cliffhanger, so all readers were desperately waiting for the next installment.
From the looks of it, this chapter had clearly provided a clean resolution.
Flip flip! Flip flip!
Mi-na turned page after page until she reached Brave King’s section.
And the content was……
[Everyone…… get out of the waaaay!]
[Ma, Ma Hee-ra?]
[What the hell are you doing!]
The character Ma Hee-ra charged straight toward the enemy king from his blind spot.
And it wasn’t just drawing attention or launching a simple attack.
[Aaaaaahhh!]
Ma Hee-ra activated a technique that staked her very life, blowing the enemy king’s head apart!
Originally, she had always been the cheerful type who got along well with everyone……
A character who seemed almost obsessively consistent in appearing as a ‘good person.’
Yet here she was, covered in blood, charging at the enemy.
It felt so out of character……
‘……Is this really okay?’
Conflicting feelings arose.
It was certainly a shocking development that broke reader expectations, but at the same time, the character’s action felt too abrupt.
[Game over! Game over! By killing the opposing king, you have won the game!]
And at the moment of victory in the game.
[Haha, haha…… Looks like this is the end for me.]
Black cracks began to spread across Ma Hee-ra’s body.
It looked as though her entire form could shatter like glass at any second.
Because she had just used a life-staking technique, death was now coming for her.
As ash rose from various parts of her body, her figure began to scatter into the air.
And every time the ash drifted away, flashes of Ma Hee-ra’s life passed through her mind.
In her childhood, Ma Hee-ra’s family had been harmonious.
Especially her mother, who was very family-oriented—she always played with Hee-ra, talked to her a lot, and acted like a friend.
That mother stroked Hee-ra’s head and said these words.
[You have to become a good person, Hee-ra. A life lived for others…… ultimately makes yourself happy too.]
[Yes, Mom!]
Her mother repeated those words like a habit.
Young Hee-ra simply enjoyed her childhood without thinking too deeply about it.
But happiness can never last forever.
[Now, only one month remains. Please prepare yourselves.]
[One month?]
The year Hee-ra became a high school student, her mother was diagnosed with an incurable disease and began to die.
And in her final moments, the words her mother left her.
[Hee-ra, do you remember what Mom said?]
[Yes, Mom. I’ll be a good person. I’ll keep trying…… to live as a good person.]
[That’s right, good girl. If you listen to Mom well…… someday, you’ll definitely be able to meet Mom again.]
Those final words from her mother.
But the words spoken simply wishing for her child’s well-being became a curse to Ma Hee-ra.
[Here, use mine!]
[B-but is it really okay?]
[Yeah! I have two of them.]
[Thanks, Hee-ra!]
After that, Hee-ra struggled her entire life to become a good person.
Even if it meant taking losses herself, even if it hurt her deeply.
To be seen as a good person, to be good to others, she tormented herself.
Because she believed that only by being a good person could she see her mother again.
Because she believed that was what her mother wanted.
She had become almost pathologically obsessed with becoming a ‘good person.’
……And in that final moment.
When the protagonist’s mistake put everyone in crisis, on the verge of being wiped out in reverse.
The same hallucination rang in Ma Hee-ra’s mind.
[Live as a good person, Hee-ra.]
That voice was what finally moved the shrinking Ma Hee-ra.
‘Mom.’
The enemy ability user slaughtering her friends right in front of her eyes.
Toward him, she offered the greatest sacrifice she could make……
Her very life as the price, and finally landed a blow.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
[Ma, Ma Hee-ra!]
[Why on earth…….]
As Ma Hee-ra’s body collapsed, the classmates standing around stared at her in shock.
Especially protagonist Kim Bin-woo, who knew this disaster had happened because of him……
Looked at her with an almost tearful face.
[I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…… If only I hadn’t done something so stupid.]
[Kim Bin-woo.]
[Y-yeah?]
[Am I…… a good person?]
In her final moment, Ma Hee-ra asked Kim Bin-woo.
Their eyes met.
Kim Bin-woo trembled all over, gritted his teeth, and answered.
[……Yes. You were a very, very good person.]
[Hehe, then that’s enough.]
Ma Hee-ra lifted the corners of her mouth slightly.
The same bright, sunny smile as always.
But in the next instant.
Crack!
Ma Hee-ra’s neck snapped, her head fell to the ground……
And turned into black ash that scattered away.
[Ma Hee-raaaa!]
As all the kids cried out her name in shock.
The viewpoint in the story shifted to the dead Ma Hee-ra.
[……Am I dead.]
A pure white void of nothingness.
Within it, Ma Hee-ra rose to her feet and looked around.
Then.
[You’re here?]
A woman looked at Hee-ra.
Ma Hee-ra’s deceased mother.
As their faces met, Ma Hee-ra let out a deep sigh and said.
[I’m home.]
[Welcome back.]
Their expressions crossed, and this chapter of Brave King came to an end.
Then……
“Huuuuh…….”
Transparent liquid welled up in Kim Mi-na’s eyes as she finished reading.
‘Amazing.’
Honestly, when Ma Hee-ra first charged in staking her life, it felt far too sudden.
In the story up until now, Ma Hee-ra’s backstory had barely been touched on, and she had just been……
A character who mindlessly acted nice, without much depth.
But with this kind of ending.
“How is it? Insane, right? Doesn’t it hit you why Ma Hee-ra was portrayed that way all this time? The emotional line is crazy, the direction too…… instead of exploding emotionally, it lands so cleanly and simply.”
“Yeah, that’s why it feels even sadder.”
“Writer David is seriously a genius, isn’t he?”
“……Yeah, genius.”
It felt like being hit in the head with a hammer.
Ha Byeong-man spoke excitedly.
“Haaa, what kind of person is Writer David really? I really want to meet him once…… Don’t you feel the same, Kim Mi-na?”
“I want to meet him. Definitely.”
“Right? It’s completely insane.”
Mi-na squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists.
‘That’s why…… I have to get into Animation High no matter what.’
Absolutely. Without fail.
Words welled up in her throat, but she swallowed them back hard.
She could say those things directly to Min-hyuk after getting into Animation High and seeing him in person.
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