Chapter 122 – Nice to Compete With You
A quiet corridor a little away from the drawing room.
Min-hyuk and Han Yu-ra stood facing each other.
With her arms crossed and her eyes slightly turned to the side……
Han Yu-ra looked uncomfortable no matter who saw her.
Min-hyuk let out a breath and said,
“I saw you made it onto the Bucheon Comic Awards candidate list.”
“…So what? What about it?”
Han Yu-ra replied somewhat aggressively.
Seeing her react like that, he roughly understood why she had been acting that way.
The Han Yu-ra he knew was a person with zero tact…… like a straight bamboo stalk.
She had never once mentioned entering the Bucheon Comic Awards and had acted as if she wasn’t interested at all.
She had even answered bluntly a few times when asked directly:
- Aren’t you submitting to any comic awards this year?
- Not really. With my current skill level, it’d be lucky if I didn’t embarrass myself.
But now her name was suddenly listed as a candidate for the Bucheon Comic Awards?
‘It must feel embarrassing and awkward.’
Given her personality, it made sense that she had been avoiding him.
He could also roughly guess why she had made that choice.
‘She really can’t be honest, can she?’
If she had just said it outright, who would have eaten her alive?
He swallowed a sigh inwardly, smiled, and extended his hand.
“Just congratulating you. It actually feels good. Feels like I’ve gained one more competitor.”
“Are you being serious or sarcastic?”
“Both?”
“Haa…… Whatever.”
Han Yu-ra clenched her fist and bumped it against his open palm.
Her tone was curt, but the tension seemed to have eased a little.
“Are you planning to eat with the team for a while?”
“…You noticed?”
“I’m not an idiot either.”
Han Yu-ra’s eyes widened for a moment before she nodded.
Then,
“Want to make a bet? Just for fun.”
“What bet?”
“We fight like hell over the Bucheon Comic Awards. The loser pays for the entire team’s meal at Hwangje-seong.”
He slowly extended his palm again.
Then……
Han Yu-ra moved her lips, stared at his palm for a long time, and
Clap!
She grabbed his hand and said,
“Plus the canteen expenses for a whole week.”
“Deal. Nice to compete with you.”
“Don’t let your guard down. I’m serious too.”
“I’m looking forward to it, comic artist Han Yu-ra.”
As their words went back and forth, the atmosphere between them softened.
Han Yu-ra had returned to her usual blunt, sharp-tongued self.
“Then I’m going back to work. The team is waiting.”
Min-hyuk waved his arm and walked down the corridor.
“Whew…”
Was he deliberately acting like that?
‘Pretending to be an adult. How annoying.’
As she watched his retreating back, the tension that had filled Han Yu-ra’s face slowly melted away, replaced by a faint smile.
***
Bucheon Comic Awards and Our Comics Awards.
The two most important comic awards in the current Korean comic industry.
With the recent announcement of the final candidates, all the players for this battle had been decided.
For the Our Comics Awards……
“As expected, School of Deadline looks like an easy win on this side, right?”
“Yeah. Yang Jae-han really did well this time. At this level, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a masterpiece of his life.”
To anyone looking, it was obvious who the final winner on this ring would be.
But the fight on the other side was a slightly different story.
[4 Days Left: Is the Bucheon Comic Awards lineup this year for real?]
[Korean Comic Otaku: I think comic artist Shin Pil-ho and Han Yu-ra also put up a good fight. It’s not impossible for either to win the grand prize. The subject matter is quite fresh too.]
[jangbob: Bullshit. Anyone can see this is a David vs Shin Yo-seop fight. Both works have insane quality and narrative, and they’re openly racing toward completion in December. This is a battle of who finishes better.]
[4 Days Left: My heart feels so grand right now. How long has it been since we’ve had this kind of matchup in the Korean comic industry? And there’s even the Presidential Award on top of it. Kuuu!]
Anyone with even the slightest interest in comics, whether online or offline……
Had their eyes glued to the Bucheon Comic Awards.
In line with the “Contents Korea” slogan personally announced by the president, Bucheon City was pouring in local government budget for massive promotion……
And with strong candidates entering the fray, a proper competitive structure had formed.
It would have been stranger if attention wasn’t focused here.
And with the situation like this, the artists who made the final candidate list instinctively realized it.
‘The person who wins the grand prize this time will take everything.’
‘This really is winner-take-all.’
That this Bucheon Comic Awards was more than just receiving one award……
And could hold even greater value.
Naturally, such a situation brought about a rise in quality.
“Alright, let’s fight! Everyone, please check carefully. Especially when drawing the background for pages 13-16, make sure the mood I mentioned is properly expressed.”
“Yes, artist!”
Shin Pil-ho’s studio also shifted into high gear.
It was the scene where the protagonist of Comics Are First Love confessed to the heroine for the first time.
He explained in a pathetic, desperate, yet somewhat honest way why he liked the heroine.
Complex and subtle emotions ran wild together, finally ending with the simple line “I like you.”
To bring out the best directing and mood for that scene, the assistants in the studio gritted their teeth, moving their pens and cutting screentones.
And.
“…Today we’ll go up to page 17. After we finish, we’ll have a final chapter storyboard meeting. After that, I have a meeting to attend.”
“Yes, confirmed.”
“You also need to give feedback on yesterday’s manuscript, artist.”
Shin Yo-seop’s studio ran like a well-oiled machine, with each person’s tasks fitting together perfectly.
Determination filled their faces, and a battle atmosphere hung in the air.
It felt less like people drawing comics and more like athletes preparing for a racing competition.
In Han Yu-ra’s case……
“Waaaa, the background for this chapter is insane. Yu-ra, you’ve been doing all of this by yourself until now?”
“Yeah.”
“Amazing, amazing. A real genius is different~”
“Genius? Me?”
“Of course you’re a genius. A high school student serializing in Jump Comics and making the final candidate list for the Bucheon Comic Awards. If that’s not a genius, then who is?”
“…I see.”
Thanks to active support from teacher Choi Jung-an and department head Ma Dong-hyun, two students were temporarily acting as assistants.
Han Yu-ra held occasional meetings with them to raise the quality of her manuscripts……
And was proceeding at a pace to finish one major episode in early to mid-December.
It was an episode where the sub-leader of the villain faction’s Holy Knight Order ‘Crossren’ fought alongside the protagonist Melton and Melton’s father, achieving victory……
And causing an expansion of the world setting.
Originally, she would have consulted with Kang Min-hyuk, Rok-hee, or Dong-gyo about this.
But this time, she didn’t ask for help or even pose any questions.
It wasn’t because of the awkward feelings like before.
She knew the three of them were also risking their lives for the Bucheon Comic Awards and didn’t want to disturb them……
‘Because this is a fight.’
She felt that only by testing her limits in this Bucheon Comic Awards and accepting the results……
Would she be able to convince herself.
Of course, there was pressure.
She was honestly afraid of what kind of gaze her father would give her if she failed to produce results.
But precisely because of that, she was giving it her all.
She was struggling desperately to shine with her presence in this competition and to shout that she could play her role as one person.
And finally, ‘Team Brave’.
“Let’s goooo!”
“Corosuuuu!”
“We’re going to wiiiin!”
The three of them, who had been running for months, now looked like pandas with dark circles.
Yet the more exhausted they became, the higher they raised their tension and shouted with spirit.
‘Just a little more, just a little more and we’ll make it.’
‘We’re really going to take the Bucheon Comic Awards!’
‘Uoooo, the power of friendship!’
They were all certain.
If they just did well.
If they could properly draw out their capabilities and create synergy……
Then no matter who stood against them, they could win.
No matter what reader came, they could give proper enjoyment and draw out tears.
The ten artists who made the final candidate list.
Each fought the war in their own way on their respective battlefields.
And before long, November raced toward its end.
In the case of Team Brave……
‘One week left. Just one week.’
‘If we finish two more chapters, we’re free.’
‘I-I feel like I’m going to die.’
All three had hair matted with oil and antennas sticking out everywhere, their eyes were sunken, and a sweet smell rose from their mouths.
But they squeezed out every last bit of strength.
Now only one final chapter remained.
They knew that if they could just land this last punch properly, they would win, so they poured everything into it.
And they all had similar thoughts.
‘The storyboard came out well. Even better than I thought.’
The content of the final chapter itself was simple.
In the previous episode, Kim Bin-woo’s group faced the ‘Black King.’
Using everyone’s deaths as a stepping stone, Kim Bin-woo and Jeon Gang-pae succeeded in defeating the final boss, the Black King, through combination play.
In the midst of that, the dying Black King……
Revealed the truth of the game.
[This whole farce was just a party for that host (Coup-ler). You were just struggling meaninglessly.]
The explosive revelation that the game itself was not meant to grant the players’ wishes, but a grand scheme crafted by the being called ‘Coup-ler’ to achieve his own goal.
And they learned that all the beings they had thought were merely horrific monsters were in similar situations to the kids from Class 1 of the third year……
And had fought to fill their own deficiencies and fulfill their wishes.
Kim Bin-woo burned with rage at having been toyed with.
Bin-woo and Jeon Gang-pae made their choices.
[Bring back everyone who died in this game, you son of a bitch. That’s my final wish.]
[My wish is to kill you, Coup-ler. And to make sure this shitty game…… never repeats again.]
One person’s wish was to revive everyone.
The other person’s wish was to kill the host so that this hell would never repeat.
And so, the final battle began.
[Ohoho, ohohohong! What interesting wishes. Well, I’ll grant them. Try killing me in a very ‘fair’ fight~]
Kim Bin-woo and Jeon Gang-pae.
The bullied kid and the bully.
Two people who could never get close, never forgive each other……
Like water and oil.
Yet these two, who had once been like that, stood back-to-back and fought the Dalmatian in a suit.
All kinds of magic unfolded, but the two trusted each other and advanced with their lives on the line.
In the end, the two succeeded in cutting off Coup-ler’s head……
And the two disappeared somewhere.
And the children revived by Jeon Gang-pae’s wish welcomed a peaceful daily life without them.
[Who was that again?]
The heroine Baek Seol-hee tilted her head while looking at a familiar but unremembered username in the online game she enjoyed.
For some reason, it felt nostalgic.
Just looking at the username ‘Brave King’ that belonged to Kim Bin-woo made her eyes grow moist.
Then, at that moment.
[Brave King has logged in!]
The scene showed a character logging into the game……
And the story ended with a feeling that Kim Bin-woo might return someday.
‘All I have to do is implement this properly as the manuscript.’
The storyboard he had checked until the very last moment.
Not a single line of dialogue, speech bubble, cut placement, or character tone was lacking.
He thought it was perfect to put the final period on Brave King, a work that had received overflowing love.
Now all that remained was to turn this into the actual manuscript.
And……
“It’s done!”
Team Brave ultimately succeeded in completing this manuscript.
It was quite good — no……
It was a good manuscript, held in Kang Min-hyuk’s hands.
“Ugh… Can we finally rest now?”
“It really is over~”
But as the team members let out sighs of relief and loosened up their bodies,
‘Is it really okay to end it like this?’
For some reason, a slight uneasy expression appeared on Min-hyuk’s face.
**************
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