Chapter 99 – The Perfect Gamble
What the hell is she suddenly talking about?
“Traitor? What are you even saying.”
When Min-hyuk twitched his eyebrow in response, Han Yu-ra glanced sideways at Dong-gyo and answered.
“I said let’s go get coffee. But you came with Oh Dong-gyo.”
“Did I say that? I…… don’t remember hearing anything like that.”
“I was going to. But Oh Dong-gyo spoke first.”
“…….”
In an instant, both Dong-gyo’s and Min-hyuk’s eyes narrowed.
“So basically, you’re lonely and don’t want to drink coffee alone?”
“I just needed someone to talk to.”
“Ahem, Yu-ra-san? People usually call that ‘being lonely’…….”
“Enough. From now on, if you’re coming here, take me with you too.”
A look of bewilderment settled on both their faces.
Min-hyuk and Dong-gyo exchanged glances.
‘What’s up with her all of a sudden?’
‘I have no idea either.’
Han Yu-ra, who had maintained an aloof attitude throughout the entire first semester—as if she wouldn’t even speak to anyone else.
And yet now she was the one suddenly saying things like this. How should he put it……
‘She’s starting to get a little scary.’
‘Maybe she’s got some ulterior motive.’
For no particular reason, both Min-hyuk and Dong-gyo took a small step backward.
Right then.
“Oho, this feels kinda unfair!”
Kim Rok-hee hopped over and clung to Han Yu-ra’s shoulder, then smiled brightly as she spoke.
“Yu-ra, you never asked me to hang out, but you’re bringing it up to these guys first?”
“You’re always with other people.”
“Ayy, when was I ever like that? From now on, talk to me comfortably too. We’re comrades who ran a Comic World booth together—comrades! Hahaha!”
As Rok-hee spun around laughing and rattled off whatever came to mind, Yu-ra let out a deep sigh and replied.
“Fine. I’ll try next time.”
“Ooh really? You’re really gonna do it!”
Thump thump thump!
Even as Rok-hee enthusiastically patted her back, Yu-ra didn’t so much as flinch and just calmly sipped her coffee.
At that moment, Min-hyuk stared straight at Yu-ra.
‘Has her personality changed a bit too?’
He had felt something similar when he read the doujinshi she drew last time……
And it seemed like it wasn’t just his imagination after all.
Well, good things are good things.
If they could keep getting along like this going forward, that would be nice.
Just as the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.
“Kang Min-hyuk, why are you smirking.”
“Hm? What do you mean.”
“You just laughed.”
“I wasn’t smirking.”
“Then what kind of laugh was it?”
“Just…… because it looked nice?”
“That’s exactly what smirking is.”
“No, how did the conversation even turn into this.”
As the two of them bickered back and forth.
“Kuuu, they’ve gotten close. Really close!”
Rok-hee nodded with a contented expression.
“No we haven’t.”
“……What?”
When both of them whipped their heads around and glared daggers at her.
“Hiiiing…… scary.”
Rok-hee shrank back slightly and hid behind the vending machine.
But right when the four of them were making a lively ruckus like that.
Vrrr vrrr! Vrrr vrrr!
“Hm?”
A vibration came from Min-hyuk’s pocket.
When he pulled out his phone, a familiar name was displayed on the screen.
[Editor Go Gwang-jin]
“Ah…… I’ll take this call real quick.”
There shouldn’t be any reason for a call right now. Why was he suddenly calling?
And at this hour, no less.
Min-hyuk quickly stepped out into the corridor and pressed the answer button.
Then.
<<Artist Kang, is now okay to talk? It’s break time, right?>>
“Yes, it is. What’s the matter?”
<<Ah, I called because there’s something urgent I need to tell you. The thing is…… there’s good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?>>
“……The bad news first?”
<<Yang Jae-han artist-nim is going to take Our Comics Awards.>>
The strength drained from Min-hyuk’s shoulders in an instant.
“Ah, really?”
Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed at all, but it was also a conclusion he could understand.
‘Well, it’s Yang Jae-han artist-nim after all.’
School of Deadline was more than qualified for it.
The early hooking was excellent, but after that, it kept raising the bar with every chapter.
The apartment and real estate issues.
Parents who arbitrarily wield their children.
A rigid hierarchical culture reminiscent of military life, and so on.
When the zombie outbreak hits and the characters’ positions flip, the contradictions embedded in those problems are laid bare through reversals.
It maintained the fun of a zombie story while exposing the contradictions and issues in Korean society within that framework.
Compared to his previous work Aureka, which focused purely on genre enjoyment, this was a huge shift.
It was an adventure, a real gamble.
And those elements……
‘Are exactly the kind Our Comics Awards loves.’
Our Comics Awards is fundamentally an award that places heavy weight on ‘artistic merit.’
If it was the great writer Yang Jae-han that Min-hyuk knew, he wouldn’t have pushed the work forward without fully understanding that.
That was probably where the difference was decided compared to Brave King, which stubbornly focused only on the work’s entertainment value and technical skill.
Then why didn’t Brave King try the same approach?
‘A hundred out of a hundred times, it would have ruined the work.’
Min-hyuk knew himself well.
The issues dealt with in School of Deadline were things Yang Jae-han had thoroughly internalized, and he could handle them because he knew the details of each topic intimately.
If Brave King had clumsily attempted something similar, the entertainment value would have dropped along with any sense of purpose.
Writer Kang Min-hyuk had made choices and focused, and he simply received the report card that matched those choices.
<<Sorry, Artist Kang. I tried desperately too, but this was the majority decision. Ah! The vote difference wasn’t that big. It was really a razor-thin race……>>
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Yang Jae-han artist-nim deserved it more, so that’s how it turned out. So…… what’s the good news?”
<<We’re entering it for the Bucheon Comic Awards instead.>>
“……Excuse me? What did you say?”
<<Brave King is going to be nominated for the Bucheon Comic Awards instead of Our Comics Awards. You might not know much about it? Bucheon City’s promotion agency runs comic-related projects, and even though it hasn’t been around long, it’s still pretty decent……>>
The corners of Min-hyuk’s mouth rose.
And not just a little.
“That’s why it’s bad news? That’s great news. Seriously great.”
<<Huh? R-really?>>
Bucheon Comic Awards.
In the 2024 that Min-hyuk had come from, the Bucheon Comic Awards held the highest authority among comic awards in Korea.
After Bucheon City set its slogan as ‘Fantastic Bucheon,’ it began pouring all its resources into film festivals, comics, and animation.
In that process, it started the Bucheon International Comic Festival in 2004, and through the Bucheon Comic Awards, it selected the comics of the year.
At this time the scale wasn’t huge yet, but it grew every year until it eventually became the biggest in Korea.
The difference from Our Comics Awards was that, because it was held alongside the festival, it linked well with various programs within the event.
Since general audience participation was quite high, rather than placing heavy emphasis on artistic merit……
‘It puts more weight on pure genre enjoyment and commercial performance.’
In other words, this was a much better stage for Brave King to run wild on compared to Our Comics Awards.
Min-hyuk’s lips trembled slightly.
“Yes, I really wanted to win the Bucheon Comic Awards.”
<<Really?>>
“Yes. I’m glad we’re entering.”
<<Then that’s a relief. Ha, haha……>>
Had he not expected this reaction?
Gwang-jin let out an awkward laugh.
Well, at this time Our Comics Awards was still considered the much bigger prize.
It was natural for him to react that way.
Min-hyuk took a deep breath and added one more thing.
“Editor-nim, so when is the Bucheon Comic Awards ceremony?”
<<This year it’s in mid-December. A bit late, but…… they seem to be timing it to match the year-end atmosphere.>>
“Then, can I make one suggestion?”
<<What is it?>>
“I’m going to finish Brave King. By early December.”
<<Huh? W-what do you mean……>>
“I was planning to end Brave King at volume 7 anyway. But if New Chance can give me just a little more magazine space…… I think I can wrap it up completely by then. Ah, you don’t have to increase the manuscript fee. This is me asking as a favor.”
<<Uh, uh…… So you’re voluntarily increasing the manuscript volume to finish it faster?>>
Gwang-jin’s voice was full of confusion.
Why would someone deliberately rush to conclude a work that was performing well?
And not just conclude it, but speed up serialization to do so?
Moreover, finish it all within this year?
Was that even physically possible?
To him, everything from one to ten must have seemed questionable.
But Min-hyuk was resolute.
“Yes. If I time the conclusion with the Bucheon Comic Awards ceremony, it should give us a big advantage for winning. And I’m confident I can wrap up the ending spectacularly.”
<<……You’re serious about this?>>
“When have you ever seen me joke around?”
<<Is it even physically feasible?>>
“Yes, 100%. Anyway, second semester at our school doesn’t have year-end projects, so it’s relatively relaxed.”
<<Artist Kang, sometimes your ideas…… are hard for me to keep up with.>>
“Why? Is it not possible? If not, just tell me in advance.”
A brief silence followed, then a sigh and a reply.
<<How could it not be possible? If the artist wants to do it, then do it. I’m just worried you’re overdoing it.>>
“What’s there to worry about? I’m the one who’s greedy for the Bucheon Comic Awards and wants to push myself.”
<<Ughhhh…… If that’s really how it is, then there’s no helping it. I can’t give you an immediate answer though. I’ll have to discuss it with the department head too. We’ll need approvals and all that.>>
“Yes, please talk it over and get back to me.”
<<Okay then…… Let’s talk again soon.>>
Click.
The call with Go Gwang-jin ended.
And then……
Thump! Thump!
Min-hyuk’s heart began pounding wildly.
‘It feels like the god of comics is helping me again.’
Right when he was thinking about concluding it, Brave King gets nominated for the Bucheon Comic Awards, and the ceremony is scheduled for December.
The timing fit so perfectly it almost felt divinely arranged (or maybe not).
Thanks to that, second semester was going to be absolute madness, but when he thought about the results that would come from pulling it off, he couldn’t suppress the excitement at all.
Bucheon Comic Awards.
Though its authority wasn’t fully established yet, for any comic artist drawing in Korea…… it was the award everyone dreamed of.
“Alright.”
Slap slap!
Min-hyuk lightly patted his own cheeks with both hands.
Then…… he turned back toward the drawing room, eyes burning with determination.
‘I’ll make the finale of Brave King absolutely legendary.’
So that no one who reads this comic can give it anything less than the grand prize.
Ding-dong-daeng-dong!
Just then, the bell signaling the start of drawing time rang.
To Min-hyuk’s ears, that sound felt like war drums calling a warrior onto the battlefield.
***
A short while later, inside the counseling room.
Choi Jung-an sat at the teacher’s desk, sipping tea.
Since she was supervising today’s self-directed drawing session…… she had stayed at school until this hour.
“It’s not easy, not easy at all…….”
With one hand, she idly scribbled something on the sketchbook laid out on her desk.
It was a storyboard.
“Trying to start a new work after so long really isn’t easy.”
A few months ago, Choi Jung-an had concluded her romance comic Hello, which had been serialized in Jump Comics.
After that, she had been resting until a PD approached her with a serialization offer, and now she was idly sketching like this.
But perhaps because it hadn’t been long since she finished a long-running series.
No matter how hard she tried, nothing felt like ‘this is it,’ and she felt completely blocked.
The number of storyboards she had already discarded because they didn’t feel right had easily surpassed twenty.
Her chest felt tight and suffocating.
While she was lost in thought, mechanically moving only her mechanical pencil.
Knock knock knock.
“Teacher, it’s me.”
Someone knocked on the door and spoke from the other side.
“Come in.”
Slide!
The door opened, and a girl stepped inside.
A girl with a serious, almost grave expression. Her name was……
“Sit down, Yu-ra.”
Han Yu-ra.
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