Chapter 131 – Please Believe Me (1)
“So…… you’re saying you want to do webtoons? That printed comics have no future?”
“Hmm.”
Song Mi-hyeon and Go Gwang-jin’s eyes widened as they asked again, their expressions showing complete disbelief.
Min-hyuk nodded firmly.
“Yes. Webtoons are the answer.”
A brief silence fell. Song Mi-hyeon stroked her chin.
‘Why is he suddenly saying this? Kang isn’t the type to talk nonsense without thinking.’
The fact that Min-hyuk, who had steadily been doing printed comics until now, suddenly wanted to switch to webtoons felt as absurd to her as a chef running a high-end Italian restaurant announcing he would switch to fast food.
At that moment, Gwang-jin scratched his forehead and said,
“Comic artist Min-hyuk. Um…… I don’t know why you’re saying this, but maybe you should reconsider? Webtoons…… even though they’re showing up more often these days, aren’t they just a degraded version of printed comics? Is there really a need to do that?”
What he said was technically correct.
In the current era, webtoons had no proper profit model, and the page rates were ridiculously low.
It was so bad that there was even a story about a representative artist from Bluehouse seriously debating between drawing promotional comics for a gas station and doing webtoons.
But Min-hyuk’s thinking was different.
Because he knew the future that was about to unfold.
“I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean……”
“It’s exactly as I said. Soon, webtoons will become the mainstream of comics. When that time comes, I believe the market for printed comics will end. That’s why I want to challenge webtoons before it’s too late.”
“On what basis?”
Min-hyuk tapped the table with his finger and said,
“Have you two heard of smartphones?”
“Ah…… you mean the ones that are popular overseas?”
“I’ve heard of them. But what about smartphones?”
“I believe that soon, everyone will read comics on smartphones.”
A short silence followed.
“Hahaha! So that’s why you want to do webtoons?”
Go Gwang-jin chuckled and continued,
“Comic artist Min-hyuk, aren’t you worrying too much? You can already read comics on this phone. If that was a problem, printed comics should have been eaten up by smartphones long ago.”
He shook his own phone as he spoke.
And on the surface, it was a reasonable point.
‘Because back then, I thought the same way.’
How much bigger smartphone screens would become.
That free Wi-Fi would be installed everywhere across the country and unlimited data would become possible……
If someone had told him that at this time, he would have simply dismissed it as nonsense.
“It’s because you haven’t used a smartphone. Smartphones are completely different from feature phones. The internet is much faster, it’s free, and it’s comfortable to scroll up and down. On the other hand……”
Min-hyuk closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and spoke firmly.
“Comic books are big, heavy, and inconvenient. To buy one, you have to go to a bookstore, or if you order online, you have to pay shipping or wait for delivery. But…… in the era of webtoons, none of that will be necessary. Webtoons lower the barriers of time and space, so they will grow explosively. I am 100% certain that this future will come.”
“…….”
Both of their eyes widened.
‘He thinks that deeply?’
‘So it wasn’t just a vague reason.’
No matter who heard it, those were not words that would normally come from a high school student.
Song Mi-hyeon carefully countered,
“Still, wouldn’t it be hard to match the emotion and feel of printed comics?”
“For now, yes. But that will change soon. Digital comics have faster serialization speed and easier communication with readers. If more artists keep entering this environment, the quality will keep rising…… and naturally, printed comics will lose their competitiveness. Of course, printed comics won’t disappear completely. But by then, I believe the main stage will be webtoons.”
Song Mi-hyeon closed her eyes, then opened them again and stroked her chin as she asked,
“I understand what you’re saying, Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk. There are some convincing parts. But…… then how exactly do you plan to structure the contract? New Chance is based on the printed comic format, and we have no foundation at all to create a webtoon platform.”
“Y-yeah, Comic artist Min-hyuk. You said you’d contract with us!”
Min-hyuk calmly answered while pressing his fingers together,
“Please collaborate with Bluehouse.”
“What?”
“Explain in detail, Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk.”
Director Song Mi-hyeon crossed her arms and asked with a serious face.
Min-hyuk continued calmly,
“Here’s the plan. We contract so that the comics I draw are supplied simultaneously to both New Chance and Bluehouse. The page rates will be split fifty-fifty between the two companies.”
“Split the rates fifty-fifty?”
“Then what profit do we get?”
“Bluehouse gets to bring in a skilled comic artist to their platform, and New Chance can use the Bluehouse platform to attract a lot of traffic. Isn’t the reason New Chance publishes the magazine even while taking losses…… precisely for this kind of promotion?”
“Hmm. I see.”
……It did make sense.
Song Mi-hyeon nodded.
The reason printed comic companies published magazines at nearly free prices even while operating at a loss was simple when you thought about it.
‘It’s for promotion.’
They supplied their various comics at the cheapest possible price to attract readers, then guided loyal customers to purchase the physical volumes.
In other words, Min-hyuk was saying that webtoons could take over part of that promotional role.
“Depending on how we structure the contract, it could be a good deal for both sides. For example, New Chance could take a more favorable ratio for physical volume sales, while Bluehouse takes the advantage in web distribution.”
“……Yes, that’s what I was thinking too.”
As expected from Director Song Mi-hyeon.
She understood everything instantly.
Min-hyuk smiled and continued,
“Anyway, I don’t think New Chance will suffer any loss even if you try this. And who knows? If webtoons really explode like I said…… that would be good in its own way.”
“……Yes, that’s certainly true.”
Song Mi-hyeon looked at Min-hyuk carefully.
‘He really is rational.’
It was a strategy that allowed him to enjoy the advantages of both printed comics and webtoons at the same time.
However, there was still one thing that bothered her.
“But the question is whether Comic artist Min-hyuk can handle it……”
“Handle it?”
“As far as I know, webtoons usually involve color serialization. The editing style is also different. The workload will increase significantly. Will you be okay?”
Min-hyuk gave a relaxed smile.
“Don’t worry. I can handle it. Bluehouse has already reviewed my proposal positively. If needed, I can arrange a meeting.”
“You’ve already talked to them?”
“Yes.”
“This…… is quite sudden.”
Go Gwang-jin let out a deep sigh.
“It’s an important matter, so we should at least think about it for a while……”
“Let’s set the meeting.”
“Excuse me? D-Director.”
At that moment, Director Song Mi-hyeon answered firmly,
“Get a hold of yourself, Editor Go Gwang-jin. We are the ones who want to work with Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk. And Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk…… has never once broken any promise he made with us. Isn’t that right?”
“Well…… that’s true.”
Deadlines.
The success of Brave King.
Even the buzz from the Bucheon Comic Awards.
Kang Min-hyuk had kept every single promise he made to New Chance.
“If it’s something that comic artist wants to do, then at the very least…… we should try following him once. We can worry about the rest later.”
“Ugh…… I guess you’re right.”
When Go Gwang-jin finally nodded in understanding, Song Mi-hyeon spoke again.
“I’ll set up the meeting with Bluehouse as soon as possible. Just give me the contact information, Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk.”
“……Yes. Thank you, Director Song Mi-hyeon.”
……As expected.
A smile appeared on Min-hyuk’s face.
***
December 24th, Christmas Eve lunchtime.
Inside the Animation High cafeteria.
“Wow, the nutritionist must have gone all out since it’s Christmas.”
“Yeah, it looks really good.”
Min-hyuk and his group sat in their usual corner and ate together.
Sweet and spicy chicken, pumpkin salad, japchae, and even cake for dessert……
The lunch lineup was much more luxurious than usual, and satisfied smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.
Perhaps because of that,
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I don’t have any plans.”
“Then, karaoke?”
“Oh, sounds good!”
The entire cafeteria was lively and noisy.
Of course, today was the last day before break…… and tomorrow was Christmas, which was the bigger reason.
At that moment, Rok-hee stuffed a piece of sweet and spicy chicken into her mouth, chewed, and said,
“Yu-ra, do you have any plans? Going on a date with your boyfriend in the evening?”
“Nonsense.”
Yu-ra frowned and answered.
Then, Dong-gyo smiled contentedly and said,
“Tomorrow I’m planning to watch the theatrical version of The Battle of Akane’s Christmas. Hehe!”
“Ew, nobody asked.”
“What?”
Of course, as always, he received the usual barrage of criticism.
Min-hyuk laughed while chewing his japchae.
‘These are good times.’
After the Bucheon Comic Awards ended, Min-hyuk had spent the past few weeks resting comfortably.
Well, he did some school assignments in between……
And read various comics here and there, but compared to the days when he was serializing Brave King at full speed, it was almost like taking it easy.
Thanks to that, both his body and mind felt quite recovered.
However……
‘This peace is only temporary.’
Tomorrow, they would have to start running again.
Not only Kang Min-hyuk himself, but also Dong-gyo and Rok-hee……
The three of them would have to grind through project planning and early manuscripts, pushing the quality up as much as possible to enter Bluehouse.
At that moment, Han Yu-ra, who had been picking at her cake with chopsticks, glanced at Min-hyuk and asked casually,
“So, how did the contract go?”
“Huh? Me?”
“You said you’d connect New Chance and Bluehouse.”
“Ah, that worked out well.”
Min-hyuk recalled what had happened a few days ago.
- Please take good care of me from now on, Editor Pan Hee-hyun.
- Same here. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with a capable publishing company like New Chance. We will do our best so that we can grow together.
In a café, Editor Pan Hee-hyun and Director Song Mi-hyeon had discussed the contract and stamped it right there on the spot.
As originally discussed, New Chance would take the larger share on the printed comic side, while Bluehouse would handle the web side.
Both parties looked more expectant than worried — overall, they seemed quite satisfied.
Then,
“The world really is easy for some people.”
“Me? Why?”
“Just because you say you’ll do the contract like that and it actually happens. It’s amazing.”
“Is it?”
Dong-gyo and Rok-hee quickly chimed in as well.
“Yu-ra is right about this one, Min-hyuk-kun.”
“I agree.”
“W-well…… yeah.”
Of course, the only reason Min-hyuk could even do something like this was thanks to his regression.
Once again, he felt just how absurd and unbelievable the things happening to him — and the things he had done so far — truly were.
And when he thought about it that way,
‘This really is something to be grateful for.’
In his original life, at this age, he wouldn’t have even dreamed of drawing comics.
He would probably have been stuck in the classroom, suffocating under heavy pressure.
Only when he was almost thirty would he have realized his thinking was wrong and belatedly chased after his dream.
This moment made him newly realize just how precious it was to have received a new life and to be able to freely, wholeheartedly do what he wanted.
Yu-ra asked,
“Why is your expression like that?”
“Huh? What about it?”
“You just had a dead look on your face.”
“……Ah, I was thinking about something else for a second. Haha!”
When Min-hyuk waved his hands awkwardly with a laugh, Yu-ra let out a small sigh.
“Let’s get going. If you’re all done eating.”
“Yeah.”
They picked up their empty trays and started walking.
Rok-hee, who was walking in front, smiled brightly and said,
“Hey guys, what are you doing after the closing ceremony today?”
“Not sure.”
“How about PC bang or a comic café?”
“What are you talking about…… so gloomy.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
“Board game café? Or pocket billiards? Karaoke is fine too.”
“Pocket billiards…… not really.”
“What? Isn’t what I suggest better, Yu-ra?”
“Both are about the same.”
“Ehey, no way.”
They were chatting casually as they walked when,
Step.
Min-hyuk suddenly stopped and looked out the window.
“What’s wrong, Min-hyuk-kun?”
“It’s snowing.”
“Huh?”
Everyone turned their heads toward the window at the same time.
“Wow! It’s snowing!”
“Is this the first snow?”
“Kuuuu, it’s a White Christmas.”
Outside the window, white snow was pouring down heavily.
‘This really is something to be grateful for.’
The corners of Min-hyuk’s mouth gently lifted into a smile.
_____________________________________________
TL Note:
This novel is fully completed.
You can either:
- Unlock this novel individually through its Collection "Comic Artist" and access all remaining 69 Chapters for only $3
- Or join the Premium Tier ($7) for access to all 6 novels and ongoing updates
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
____________________________________________