Chapter 116 – The Strong Recognize Each Other
The moment they heard the three letters of the name Shin Yo-seop, a strange feeling rose in everyone.
‘My… rival.’
In Han Yu-ra’s case, since he was the top artist in the magazine she was serializing in, it was natural that she would be conscious of him.
For the other three,
‘Defeat Shin Yo-seop!’
‘A bloody duel with Crow King!’
With the Bucheon Comic Awards title match on the line, that name carried significant weight.
But honestly, setting all that aside……
“I want to get a signature.”
When Min-hyuk said that, everyone’s eyes widened.
“A signature…?”
“He’s your rival? You’re supposed to face him at the Bucheon Comic Awards?”
“That’s that, and this is this. I’ve always liked Crow King.”
Min-hyuk shrugged his shoulders and naturally got in line behind the signing queue.
Well, even though he was competing with Shin Yo-seop as artists, that was strictly work versus work.
Personally, he really liked Crow King, and as a comic artist he respected Shin Yo-seop’s life and career.
Above all, today Kang Min-hyuk had decided to fill the entire day with enjoyment.
For him, this was a line he absolutely had to join.
“Well, if you guys don’t want to line up, go look at other things and we’ll meet up later.”
When Min-hyuk shrugged and said that, the remaining three seemed to think for a moment.
“Khm. There’s nothing particularly interesting anyway.”
“I… actually want a signature too.”
“I like Crow King as well.”
Naturally, the three lined up behind him.
‘Heh, how cute.’
The corner of Min-hyuk’s mouth lifted slightly.
Then,
“Come come, take a number ticket. Number ticket. Huh?”
A man handing out number tickets suddenly widened his eyes.
“Aren’t you comic artist Han Yu-ra?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“I’m Assistant Manager Kim Min-yong. Do you remember me? I gave you my business card at Comic Land. We met at the awards ceremony too.”
“That… yes, I think I remember…”
For some reason, an awkward expression appeared on Han Yu-ra’s face.
‘She forgot.’
‘That’s a bit much.’
‘Yu-ra-san……’
The other three shook their heads slightly.
Even the three of them clearly remembered this person’s face (largely thanks to the big fight with the New Chance editorial department), yet the Jump Comics artist Han Yu-ra herself couldn’t remember……
Her indifference was impressive in a different sense.
“What brings you here? Ah, are you here on a school picnic?”
“Yes, something like that.”
Kim Min-yong glanced behind them, seemed to grasp the situation, stroked his chin, and then said after checking the line,
“Hmm, if you’re here to see comic artist Shin Yo-seop, don’t waste your energy standing in this line. Come back in about two hours. Once his schedule ends, I’ll arrange a separate time for you to meet him.”
“Uh… well…”
Han Yu-ra slightly turned her head and looked behind her.
The kids were all nodding vigorously.
‘That would be perfect!’
‘Say yes, say yes!’
It was clear to anyone that getting a signature would require waiting quite a while.
There was no reason to refuse an offer to save that time.
“Then, we’ll do that.”
Han Yu-ra answered calmly.
***
Two hours later.
“Whew… Thanks to Yu-ra, we saved an hour.”
“Khm, having a comic artist friend is pretty nice.”
With both hands full of food, the kids walked back toward the center with faces full of happiness.
The two hours Han Yu-ra had secured for them.
During that time, Kang Min-hyuk’s group had enjoyed SECAF to the fullest.
They stopped by various booths in between to complete the stamp tour, and even went down to the Myeongdong streets to eat plenty of the area’s famous street food.
They wasted not a single step in enjoying the festival — truly great jungle… no, Animation High students.
By the time the four of them returned to the center,
Han Yu-ra made a phone call.
“We’re here now. Yes, yes.”
Han Yu-ra turned her steps to one side and walked toward the end of the first-floor corridor.
There, a room labeled “Staff Waiting Room” stood prominently.
With an indifferent expression, Yu-ra knocked on the door and said,
“It’s Han Yu-ra.”
Creak!
The door opened, and Assistant Manager Kim Min-yong poked his head out.
“Please come in.”
The four of them entered at the same time.
“Comic artist Shin Yo-seop, these are comic artist Han Yu-ra and her friends I mentioned earlier.”
“Hello.”
Then, the man who had been sitting stood up and bowed his head politely.
He wore a gothic-style outfit with chains dangling all over, reminiscent of a rocker.
A very thin and tall frame, pale skin, and an expressionless face.
If someone were to personify the comic Crow King, this was exactly what it would look like.
“Hello.”
“Ooooh! Hello! I’m a fan of your work!”
“Ah, h-hello!”
After each of them gave a greeting, Shin Yo-seop lifted the corners of his mouth and extended his hand.
“Comic artist Han Yu-ra, I’ve been enjoying Melton: Chronicles of the Demon World. It feels like your skills are improving even faster these days. The directing is solid, the dialogue is good, and the characters are becoming more three-dimensional and warm.”
“Your comics also seem to keep getting better. Is it because of the Bucheon Comic Awards?”
Han Yu-ra smiled faintly and shook his hand.
‘Wait, is that how you normally talk to an adult?’
‘Han Yu-ra really isn’t normal either…’
Watching from the side, her characteristically blunt and straight-to-the-point attitude felt somewhat precarious.
“Well, something like that. I’m thinking of it as my last chance to burn everything. With strong works like ‘Brave King’ and ‘School of Deadline’ pouring out, I think I should at least struggle. Ah, of course, that includes your work too.”
“…Fighting.”
“Thank you.”
Unlike her usual self, Han Yu-ra clenched her fist tightly and offered words of encouragement.
There didn’t seem to be any emotion behind it, but at least she said the words.
“Anyway, you wanted signatures, right?”
“Yes.”
“Please do it for us!”
On the way here, they had stopped by a bookstore and bought the first volume of Crow King.
Each of them held out their copy.
The first was Kim Rok-hee.
“What is your name?”
“It’s Kim Rok-hee!”
“Ah, I saw the short comic you did at Animation High. Your skills are really good.”
“Ooooh, really?!”
“Wasn’t it called ‘Makeri’ or something? I don’t remember the exact title. It was about a doll maker who gave up on her dream, then met a doll from her past and remembered that dream again.”
“Wow, amazing! That’s right! I’m honored that you even remember the content! How did you know about it?”
“I ask Assistant Manager Kim Min-yong every year to get me all the comics from Comic Creation.”
Shin Yo-seop remembered Kim Rok-hee’s work and gave specific comments on it.
That meant he had read every comic published in Comic Creation and remembered their contents.
The corner of Min-hyuk’s mouth rose.
‘As expected, there’s a reason why great comic artists are great.’
It was obvious without even asking.
If he was the type of person who even read and remembered comics drawn by high school students, one could easily imagine his usual reading volume.
And what kind of attitude he showed toward comics.
“What is your name?”
“Oh, I’m Oh Dong-gyo.”
“Ah, you’re the one who draws beautiful girls extremely well. Your art is truly at a professional level. Aren’t you serializing anything?”
“Ah, th-thank… I mean, thank you! Hehe, I am aiming to go pro.”
“I’ll cheer you on. When you have manuscripts ready later, please show me.”
“Yes!”
While everyone was strangely excited from the praise of the big-name artist Shin Yo-seop,
It was finally Kang Min-hyuk’s turn.
“May I have your name?”
“It’s Kang Min-hyuk.”
“Hmm… Kang Min-hyuk.”
For some reason, Shin Yo-seop’s eyes narrowed.
Unlike how he had actively talked to the other kids, he finished the signature with a calm expression.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
What was that sudden change? Did I do something wrong?
Or was it because the grade project wasn’t that great?
Even so, I thought it turned out pretty decent…
As Min-hyuk stepped back with an uneasy expression, Shin Yo-seop stared straight at him and asked,
“Are you perhaps comic artist David?”
“……”
At that moment, Kang Min-hyuk’s eyes widened.
‘Huh?’
The instant those words were spoken, the entire waiting room froze coldly.
Both Dong-gyo and Rok-hee blinked, unable to hide the bewilderment on their faces.
Then, Assistant Manager Kim Min-yong grabbed Shin Yo-seop’s shoulder and shook it, saying,
“Haaah… Artist, why do you keep doing this again? I told you it’s not him.”
“What… do you mean?”
Min-hyuk asked with an awkward smile. Kim Min-yong scratched his head and answered,
“Ah, if I misunderstood, I’m sorry. When I saw the short comic you drew, I felt that the art style was similar to Brave King’s artist. The dialogue, the directing, even the overall tone.”
“Ehh, what do you mean similar? The genres are completely different.”
“But there are rumors that comic artist David is a high school student.”
“That’s all something the New Chance guys spread to mess with us. They’re trying to stop people from contacting the artist. Does it make any sense that someone with that level of skill is a high school student? It’s all nonsense.”
Kim Min-yong shook his head. Shin Yo-seop lifted the corner of his mouth and replied,
“…Well, that’s true too. There’s no way comic artist David is a high school student. My apologies, comic artist Kang Min-hyuk.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Kang Min-hyuk shook hands with Shin Yo-seop.
Their eyes met.
Shin Yo-seop’s gaze was piercing, as if looking right through him.
The moment their eyes locked, Min-hyuk instinctively knew.
‘…He knows.’
Comic artist Shin Yo-seop was almost certain that he was David.
At the same time, he was pretending to be fooled out of consideration for the difficult situation Min-hyuk would face if his identity were revealed here.
On one hand, Min-hyuk felt grateful, thinking what a considerate person he was.
‘As expected… this is comic artist Shin Yo-seop.’
He could now feel just what kind of monster the artist he would have to face at the Bucheon Comic Awards really was.
He was on a completely different level from comic artist Yang Jae-han.
If Yang Jae-han was someone with innate talent for comics who simply loved drawing them,
Then the Shin Yo-seop standing before him was…
‘A terrifyingly obsessive hard worker.’
The solid calluses on his hands that didn’t match his slender frame at all.
The massive input volume that allowed him to know even the grade projects of Animation High students.
And those eyes that saw through the other person’s situation and capabilities based on that.
This was a realm that could not be reached by talent or intuition alone.
Like a martial artist throwing ten thousand grateful punches every single day.
Like a batter swinging the bat thousands or tens of thousands of times daily.
It was a realm only reachable by someone with an obsession to become the best in their field and the grit to push forward step by step with sheer willpower.
For Kang Min-hyuk, who had not even been drawing comics for a full three years yet, it was an unreachable height.
When he came to his senses, the artist standing in front of him looked ten times — no, twenty times — larger than himself.
Thump! Thump!
Min-hyuk’s heart pounded.
‘This is going to be fun.’
At the Bucheon Comic Awards, I really… have to pour everything into it.
As Kang Min-hyuk made that resolution, Han Yu-ra spoke.
“Thank you for the signatures. We’ll be going now.”
Then……
Min-hyuk had the illusion that the darkly tinted scenery around them was returning to normal.
“Yes, everyone, keep working hard on your comics.”
Shin Yo-seop smiled again and clenched his fist to cheer them on.
The moment they left the waiting room,
“Whew… I thought we were done for. We almost got caught. Comic artist Shin Yo-seop’s eye for detail is insane. How on earth did he notice?”
“Oioi, that was dangerous.”
The kids let out heavy sighs.
Then, Han Yu-ra crossed her arms and said,
“What are you talking about? He already figured it out.”
“Huh? What do you…”
“I’m right, aren’t I, Kang Min-hyuk?”
“Yeah.”
When Min-hyuk answered with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth,
“What do you mean?”
“Min-hyuk-kun, explain it properly!”
The kids asked in surprise.
Min-hyuk took out his phone for a moment, checked it, then shrugged and said,
“Anyway, it’s almost 4 o’clock now. Let’s hurry. I’ll explain on the way.”
As Min-hyuk walked down the corridor……
An expression mixed with tension and excitement rose on his face.
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