Chapter 137 – The Courage to Be Hated (2)
“Um… may I ask what you mean by that?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said I should say that after seeing the manuscript.”
“It’s exactly as I said. We’ve already seen the sample pages Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk made. I think it’s better to judge whether horror is okay or not… after seeing those pages.”
“Ah, I see…”
Min-hyuk smiled and opened his laptop.
“Just a moment.”
He tinkered with it briefly, then opened a webtoon scroll viewer.
‘He just uploaded it so it can be viewed in Explorer?’
Since there was no internet connection, it seemed he had simply prepared it as a local viewer.
[“Now focus on the candle. You have to take it seriously.”
“Seriously my ass.”]
[‘What the… why is it so cold?’]
The story flow was simple.
University students belonging to an occult club enter the ruins of a pseudo-religion from the past and perform a séance.
It was a typical occult/horror genre setup, similar to many horror movies and comics.
Already, worry began to appear on Pan Hee-hyun’s face.
‘This isn’t the kind of protagonist that has Kang Min-hyuk’s unique immersive quality.’
Hee-hyun believed the reason for Brave King’s success lay in its protagonist.
Kim Bin-woo, who lived as an outcast in class but showed fierce spirit by swinging a box cutter in rage against the bullies.
In the early scenes where he was being bullied, he didn’t simply wallow in victimhood like typical school stories.
He portrayed the delicate emotional line of objectively looking at himself and desperately wanting revenge, drawing readers in deeply……
Then came the catharsis of using the power gained from entering the Brave King game to beat down the bullies.
After that, as the character was built up, the multi-layered catharsis shown through Kim Bin-woo was enormous.
On the other hand……
‘Compared to Brave King, the emotional line in this comic is flat.’
She knew it was natural in a way.
In most comics, the protagonist’s early emotions, lacks, and desires create purpose, which then organically connects to the work’s concept or theme.
But horror is different.
The situations themselves are so bizarre and surreal that even if lack or desire is portrayed, the emotional line usually gets crushed.
That’s why many artists who are good at plot or visual directing but lack confidence in character handling often fall into horror or thriller.
Of course, even with genre limitations, one could try to make use of strengths……
‘But this one intentionally killed the character appeal.’
Disappointment filled Pan Hee-hyun’s face.
The protagonist had no particular desire or purpose and was simply swept along by the occult club members as he prepared for the séance.
She couldn’t feel any charm from the protagonist here.
Of course, there were strengths……
‘The scroll placement and speech bubble arrangement maximize readability to the extreme.’
Starting from presenting the sample pages as a scroll, the spacing between cuts, font size, and other elements showed clear intention and detail.
Moreover, the distribution of color and cut sizes felt one level above other artists.
It was clearly designed to suit the ‘web’……
A continuous display of techniques that pushed readability to the limit.
But precisely because of that, Hee-hyun felt even more regretful.
‘If this had been a decently drawn royal road story? Or…… at least a more popular major genre.’
She was convinced it would have created much greater impact.
The current situation of the Webtoon Department was not good.
Manpower, resources, and treatment within the platform were all lacking.
They were latecomers compared to competitor Lemon Tree, and they needed quick results for this webtoon service to survive.
“Huuuu……”
Pan Hee-hyun steadied her churning heart and continued scrolling down.
She scrolled for a long time when,
Tap! Tap!
‘Huh? What is this?’
Suddenly the web scroll started jerking upward.
Thinking it was a bug, Hee-hyun tilted her head when,
[What’s wrong with you?]
[No, it’s just…… I feel like something is pulling me.]
The characters’ gazes in the webtoon crossed with Hee-hyun’s as she looked at the screen, and the dialogue struck her.
It felt as if the characters were speaking directly to her from beyond the screen.
[What nonsense. You’re doing it again for no reason.]
At that moment, confusion flooded Hee-hyun’s mind.
‘Is this…… intentional?’
But how did he force the scroll to move?
Hee-hyun tilted her head in confusion and scrolled down.
With a slight sense of tension.
‘Well, this is about the right timing for a ghost or monster to pop out.’
And just as expected, the anticipated scene unfolded.
[Hey, what the hell is that?]
[Huh? Uh…… Yeah, what is it?]
On the other side of the screen, a man with his body grotesquely twisted stood small in the distance.
Half his head was bald, and purple age spots bloomed across his skin.
Honestly, the tension had already cooled off.
‘From the start…… it’s too predictable that a scary scene is coming.’
It wasn’t because of any mistake or lack of skill on Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk’s part.
Using this kind of buildup and release to control fear through page turns was a very basic technique of the horror genre.
However……
At that moment, Hee-hyun thought,
‘Webtoons and horror don’t go well together.’
In printed books, when the reader turns the page, a forced momentary blank in perception is created.
Horror comics usually take advantage of that timing, using the full spread or entire single page to deliver overwhelming pressure or fear.
But in webtoons……
The scroll itself acts like a video timeline.
Naturally, the vertical length of the screen becomes longer, so the top of the next cut inevitably lingers at the bottom of the viewer’s field of vision.
‘The reader is inevitably able to predict in advance that something scary is about to appear.’
It was a very subtle difference.
But fear is something that hinges on these subtle differences.
That was why……
She already felt the tension cooling off.
And sure enough……
[Did you bastards…… call meeeee?!]
A grotesque figure.
Something that was neither fully human nor monster spoke with empty eyes.
Its appearance was sufficiently overwhelming and bizarre, but honestly, it wasn’t surprising or scary.
From Hee-hyun’s perspective, she had already predicted that this thing would appear.
‘……As expected, horror is difficult.’
Thinking that, she was about to scroll down when,
[Kyaaaaaaaah!]
[Run!]
[M-My legs won’t move!]
The scene of the characters panicking and trying to run away from the monster.
Hee-hyun licked her lips and was about to scroll down indifferently when,
“Huh?”
Clunk! Clunk!
The mouse scroll wouldn’t go down.
‘Is it a bug?’
It had moved strangely earlier too……
Wondering what was happening, she tried a few more times when,
[Where do you think you’re running tooooooo?!]
Suddenly, bright red text moved from top to bottom, forcibly advancing the scroll.
And then……
The monster’s face, twisted with rage, rushed closer to the screen, growing larger and larger.
It all happened in less than two seconds.
“Kyaaaaaaaah!”
Startled, Pan Hee-hyun let out a scream.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know…… What was she looking at?”
Murmurs spread.
The eyes of many people inside the café turned toward them.
Hee-hyun smiled awkwardly, quickly lowered her head, and said,
“S-Sorry! I’m sorry. It’s nothing, please don’t mind me.”
Then she raised her head and looked forward.
Grin!
‘Huh?’
Kang Min-hyuk, Song Mi-hyeon, and Go Gwang-jin.
All three of them had wide, satisfied smiles on their faces.
If she had to describe the expression……
‘Got her?’
It was the look of people who had successfully lured their target into the trap they had prepared.
Hee-hyun’s eyebrows twitched as she began scrolling down again.
‘There won’t be more of that…… right?’
Thinking that, she continued……
Hee-hyun now scrolled down as carefully as if she were navigating a minefield.
How much time had passed?
[I must…… find those bastards and atone.]
The protagonist, who had performed a séance in the ruins of a pseudo-religious building and lost his entire family……
Vowed to track down the cult and take revenge. With that, the webtoon sample ended.
“Huuuuuu……”
Along with a sigh, cold sweat trickled down Pan Hee-hyun’s forehead.
Director Song Mi-hyeon took a sip of her drink, smiled brightly, and asked,
“So? After seeing the sample pages…… has your mind changed even a little?”
“……”
A complicated mix of emotions appeared on Pan Hee-hyun’s face.
‘What the hell is this?’
She was stunned.
She had thought Kang Min-hyuk had an unusually deep understanding of webtoons, but she had never imagined he could freely move the scroll up and down at will.
“May I ask what exactly you did here, Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk?”
“Ah, that? Well…… Editor Pan Hee-hyun, do you know what the Bluehouse webtoon viewer is based on?”
“It’s…… Flash-based, right?”
“Correct. So I played around a bit using Flash functions that can be embedded in web environments. I thought it would fit perfectly with the horror genre.”
Kang Min-hyuk spoke with a casual smile.
“So…… you used Flash script to implement this function?”
“Yes. There’s a Flash function called scrollToBottom. When it reaches a specific coordinate, it moves the scroll. I used that to forcibly shift the timeline within a set time.”
“……Huh?”
Bewilderment filled Pan Hee-hyun’s face.
“Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk, do you know how to program as well?”
“No, not really. I just looked things up on the internet and made it.”
Honestly, it hadn’t been that difficult.
‘I simply took functions other people were already using and adapted them for webtoons.’
What Kang Min-hyuk had done was a crude imitation of the techniques that Horror Tiger would showcase a few years later.
There was definitely a gap in detail and quality.
But the important thing was the “concept” that this was possible.
If you knew that the webtoon viewer was Flash-based and that you could insert code to implement such functions……
Then it wasn’t impossible.
In fact, after Horror Tiger introduced this technique a few years later, the number of comics on Bluehouse using this kind of directing increased exponentially.
The only problem was that most artists were weak in coding concepts, so very few could implement it properly.
Later……
In 2020, when Flash support on the web ended, Bluehouse tried to develop this function internally.
However,
‘Because the web and app became too heavy and slow, it was never properly utilized.’
In other words, this kind of technique was best used precisely during this period.
Of course……
‘To raise the completion level further, I’ll need help from “that person.”’
Kang Min-hyuk had no intention of being satisfied with just this level of quality.
“Huuu……”
Pan Hee-hyun opened and closed her mouth with a face like she had seen a ghost.
At that moment, Editor Go Gwang-jin leaned forward and said,
“We were also worried when Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk said he wanted to do a horror comic. But with this level of quality and sensational directing…… honestly, I think it’s going to work. I believe this will succeed.”
“B-But…… if you do it this way, will it be okay when submitting manuscripts to New Chance?”
“Please check this as well.”
“Ah, yes.”
This time, Kang Min-hyuk handed over a small booklet of the manuscript edited and printed in black-and-white for double-page binding.
“This is……”
“It’s the version edited for print — the one that will go to New Chance. Take a look and see how it feels.”
He had prepared even this?
Shock colored Pan Hee-hyun’s face.
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