Chapter 139 – For Someone It’s the End, For Someone It’s the Starting Line
……End? What ended?
Min-hyuk blinked at Dong-gyo’s message.
“So he really failed.”
He let out a heavy sigh and was about to grab his hair when,
[Han Yu-ra: What do you mean “end”? Speak properly.]
[Oh Dong-gyo: S-Sorry. Everyone wrote so many messages that I got nervous and typed wrong. I meant I finished talking with Editor Pan Hee-hyun and passed.]
[Kim Rok-hee: Huh? You talked with the editor?]
[Oh Seung-heon: What did she say?]
[Oh Dong-gyo: Ahem! What she said was…… drumroll!]
When Dong-gyo dragged it out, Min-hyuk swallowed hard.
“What is it?”
[Han Yu-ra: Get to the point. Unless you want to get hit.]
[Oh Dong-gyo: ……It passed. She said we’ll start serializing at the end of next month, so I have to work hard from now on.]
“Eh?”
Min-hyuk raised an eyebrow and quickly typed.
[Me: So you’re saying…… you passed the screening?]
[Oh Dong-gyo: Yeah. She said it was fun. Hehe! Min-hyuk-kun’s feedback definitely helped a lot.]
“Huuuuu. Of course.”
A long sigh of relief escaped Min-hyuk’s lips.
With this, everyone in Team Brave had successfully debuted as pro comic artists.
Min-hyuk smiled brightly and typed,
[Me: Then from now on, we’re competitors.]
[Oh Dong-gyo: Competitors?]
[Me: Obviously. We’re all going to be serializing on the same platform around the same time. We’re no longer colleagues, we’re rivals now.]
[Kim Rok-hee: Ooh, a duel challenge? I accept, Comic artist Kang!]
[Me: I’ll do my best to take you down.]
[Kim Rok-hee: I won’t go down easily. Uahaha!]
[Oh Seung-heon: ……Am I a competitor too?]
[Kim Rok-hee: Of course! Since it’s the same gag genre, I’ll start by crushing you first.]
[Han Yu-ra: Don’t run too fast, everyone. Once my serialization ends, I’ll come to destroy you all.]
[Oh Dong-gyo: P-Please come as slowly as possible……]
[Han Yu-ra: Oh Dong-gyo, you and I need to meet separately once school starts.]
[Oh Dong-gyo: Ahem, I’m going back to work!]
“They’re all excited.”
Before he knew it, a big smile had settled on Min-hyuk’s face.
***
Inside the middle school class at Hongdae Anipoa.
“Alright, alright, the entrance exams aren’t completely over yet, so keep working hard.”
“Yeees.”
The students diligently moved their watercolor brushes, deeply focused on their tasks.
Some were working on entrance exam panel comics, others on situational expressions, and some were organizing portfolios or preparing for interviews.
The reason everyone was so busy was because……
It was currently the entrance exam period for animation high schools.
However, the atmosphere was strangely gloomy.
Because a week ago, the entrance exams for Korea AniGo had already ended.
“Uuuugh, I can’t focus.”
“If I got into Korea AniGo, I wouldn’t have to be doing this, right?”
“I hope I get into Korea AniGo.”
Korea AniGo.
[TL Note: I will be using AniGo instead of Animation High where MC is studying]
Among the many animation high schools in Korea, it had the fiercest competition rate.
It was located in Hanam, Gyeonggi-do — the most accessible location.
It had the symbolic value of being the first one established.
The quality of its curriculum and faculty, among other things.
For various reasons, Korea AniGo enjoyed overwhelming popularity.
Because of that, the competition rate for popular departments like the Comic Creation Department and Animation Department easily exceeded 20:1 every year.
But this year……
“Damn it, how can the competition rate jump to 40:1?”
Ha Byeong-man, sitting in the corner of the classroom, let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.
Then,
“Be quiet, Ha Byeong-man.”
“But seriously, Teacher. How can the competition rate suddenly double from normal? This is ridiculous, it’s too much!”
Kim Mi-na, sitting next to Byeong-man, nodded in agreement.
“Honestly, I agree……”
The only slight problem was that the person responsible for this ridiculous competition rate was Mi-na’s senior.
‘Senior Min-hyuk, because you won the Bucheon Comic Awards…… my chances of passing dropped.’
Starting this year, under the banner of “Contents Korea,” the Bucheon Comic Awards decided to award the Presidential Award.
Brave King, which was already very popular, had won after a fierce competition against Crow King.
Even that alone was enough to become a huge issue……
“Nooooo, why does the author of Brave King have to be a student at Korea AniGo?!”
Ha Byeong-man clutched his head again and screamed.
The homeroom instructor smacked him on the head and said,
“Is that Kang Min-hyuk’s fault? Stop talking nonsense and organize your portfolio.”
“But…… but I have to get into Korea AniGo. I respect David…… no, Comic artist Kang Min-hyuk more than anyone!”
“Shut up. Whether you respect him or not, there’s no one here who doesn’t want to go.”
The genius high school student Kang Min-hyuk, who beat the formidable Shin Yo-seop and took first place at the Bucheon Comic Awards.
And of all places, that Kang Min-hyuk turned out to be a student at Korea AniGo.
“And didn’t I tell you? Even if the competition rate goes up — it’s all filler anyway. How many kids in the whole country are actually drawing comics? Do you think they’re going to sprout from the ground or fall from the sky?”
“No matter what you say, isn’t it easier to beat 20 people than 40, Teacher?”
“Ah, seriously, why are you all being so negative all of a sudden?”
“People who draw comics are usually like this.”
“If you were positive, you wouldn’t be drawing comics in the first place!”
Perhaps because of the excitement,
Everyone mixed half-joking and half-serious comments as they chattered.
“Alright, alright, quiet down! I told you to work! The entrance exams aren’t over yet!”
The teacher was banging on the desk with his palm, trying to regain control of the atmosphere, when,
Bang!
A middle-aged man with a shiny bald head and horn-rimmed glasses burst into the room and shouted,
“Hey, kids! The Korea AniGo results are out! Hurry up and check!”
Kim Jung-gi.
The director of Anipoa rushed forward and slapped a printed sheet of paper onto the desk.
“The results!”
“Move over!”
The middle school class students immediately swarmed toward the paper.
Mi-na, standing behind them, stood on her tiptoes to see,
“Ah, ah……”
But with the kids pushing and shoving like a herd of bulls, she couldn’t squeeze in at all.
“Oh! Ooooooh!”
“Goddaaaaamn! Why isn’t my name here?!”
Screams of despair and cheers alternated.
Meanwhile, Ha Byeong-man, who had also been pushed back, furrowed his brows deeply.
“Kim Mi-na, go wait outside for a bit.”
“Huh? Why?”
“We need to check the results too.”
“……What are you talking about?”
At that moment,
“Move oooooout!”
Byeong-man thrust his shoulders forward and shoved his way into the crowd.
Thanks to his unusually large build,
Kids were bouncing off him left and right during the scuffle.
“Hey, what are you doing, Ha Byeong-man!”
“We’re looking too!”
“Are you the only ones looking, you idiots?!”
Complaining voices and Byeong-man’s gruff shouts mixed together.
‘What is he doing?’
While Mi-na was tilting her head in confusion,
“Move!”
“Ugh!”
Thud!
Byeong-man pushed through the kids and burst back out.
Like a rugby player charging forward.
“Run!”
As Byeong-man shouted while holding the paper, Mi-na instinctively understood.
“Ah! Okay!”
Now that she grasped the situation, Mi-na immediately turned and sprinted toward the door.
Then……
“Hey! How can you just take that?!”
“Wait for ussss!”
A few kids reached out to grab them, but the two had already run far away.
“Director, what do we do now?”
“……He ran off with it!”
“Should I go catch him? I’ll put a leash on him!”
“Ah, you crazy kid.”
The students looked troubled.
Some were fuming, others were stomping their feet in frustration.
Kim Jung-gi stroked his shiny bald head, tilted his own head, and answered,
“Catch him? Why catch him? Just print new ones.”
“Huh?”
“Wait here for a bit. I’ll print three or four extra copies.”
“……Ah.”
Only then did the students realize that what Ha Byeong-man had “stolen” wasn’t some treasure map……
It was just information that could be checked online anytime.
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