Chapter 5: The Monster Youngest (4)

After lunch, once the Teacher left for the day in the late afternoon, the real work of the studio began. Lee Ki-chul, having received the rough storyboards (name/conti) from the Teacher, started the drafting process. As it turned out, the eldest pupil, Kang Dong-moon, was on the verge of his debut, so he had almost no responsibilities left in the studio. Thinking about it, he was exactly like a “sergeant in his last month” from my army days.

Since I was a case of someone who became a professional manga artist directly without ever being a studio pupil, I hadn’t known much about this world. I had started in an amateur club, and after being discharged from the military, I won a runner-up prize in a newcomer contest hosted by a weekly magazine. At first, I truly thought becoming a manga artist meant making a fortune. But just as I was moving past my rookie phase, the IMF crisis hit, and the downfall of the Korean comic industry began. Ah, just thinking about those times gives me a headache even now. Well, let’s set aside those frustrating memories for now.

At that moment, Shim Kyung-chul opened his mouth.

“Hey, Park Yi-chang…”

He called me, but when I looked at him, he suddenly avoided my gaze. He immediately turned his head toward Go Ju-bong and called him instead.

“I mean, Go Ju-bong.”

Huh? Didn’t he have business with me?

“Yes, Hyung.” “Get me a cup of ginger tea.”

He spoke with a stiff face, glanced at me briefly, and then looked away. It seemed our “private conversation” had definitely left an impact.

“Yes.” “Me too.” “Me too, please.”

At the seniors’ requests, Go Ju-bong stood up and asked me in a small voice.

“Yi-chang, do you want a cup too?” “No, I’m fine.”

Maybe if it were coffee, but ginger tea is a bit much for me. Though coffee seems to be quite a luxury in this era. My palate was used to drinking at least three cups of instant mix coffee a day, so it was a bit disappointing. I have no lingering regrets about life in 2020, but I already miss those small happinesses. To adapt, I’ll have to shake off this “rotten spirit” accustomed to the conveniences of advanced civilization. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying here, after all.

Once Go Ju-bong finished passing out several cups of ginger tea, the pencil-drafted manuscripts were handed over to him from Lee Ki-chul’s desk. Go Ju-bong filled in the panel borders of the pencil drafts with a pen. It seemed Go Ju-bong was in charge of all the border inking. Well, if one is skilled, it’s better for one person to do it. Even though it’s a simple task, if multiple people do it, the spacing and line weights might vary. Even for the 70s, this kind of work was surprisingly meticulous. As soon as the borders were finished, the manuscripts were passed back to the seniors. Shim Kyung-chul handled the character ink lines. Once those were completed, Heo Dong-soo and Lee Jung-ho split the background work. Backgrounds are inherently labor-intensive. Of course, that’s only compared to character touches; from my perspective, I couldn’t help but feel they looked a bit crude.

From the 90s onward, highly detailed manga began to pour out, and I had lived my life as an artist competing in that era. The webtoons I dived into in 2020 were beyond comparison. Of course, back then, for the sake of efficiency, we bought 3D assets for background work.

Before I knew it, the manuscripts reached me. I began inking the areas marked with an X. I had done this at dawn as well, but this was essentially just repetitive manual labor. I didn’t intend to work myself to death, so I just worked at a relaxed pace. Even so, my speed was quite fast. It was the first time I felt my hands were truly remarkable. Then, while looking at the manuscripts, I felt a strange sensation. Awkward scenes, and even missing drawings. I glanced around; everyone was so focused on their own work that no one seemed to be paying attention to me.

I picked up a pen and moved it rapidly to make a few corrections. Looking at the drawings I corrected faster than I expected, I felt satisfied. I was too flustered yesterday to notice, but was I always this good at drawing? I’m not a fool; I’ve known my own drawing skills for decades. Due to ingrained habits, there were many hand quirks I couldn’t even fix as I got older. But now, those were gone. Rather, it was as if I could draw incredibly well, almost miraculously. It felt as though I could express any thought into an image with this hand. Well, that’s just a feeling—surely it couldn’t actually be like that. Regardless, I can’t remember how long it’s been since I felt that drawing was fun. Yes, I simply couldn’t throw away that initial happiness. That’s why I clung to it for so long. I never thought I’d feel this way while doing such simple tasks.

Evening came, and Lee Ki-chul, having finished his work, stood up. He went straight into his room. He probably intended to sleep now that his part was done. Soon after, Shim Kyung-chul, who was in charge of character lines, also finished and got up. The total was about ten pages, but since it was a “cheerful manga” with low detail, it didn’t take very long. Though in this era, this level of detail was likely the standard.

“Dong-soo, I’m heading in first.” “Yeah, go ahead.”

After hearing Heo Dong-soo’s reply, Shim Kyung-chul went straight to the room. Now the remaining people were Heo Dong-soo, Lee Jung-ho, Go Ju-bong, and me. Because they were in charge of backgrounds, their work took quite a bit longer. Any pages finished in the meantime were handed to us, and the inking and white-out work began. After a few more hours, Heo Dong-soo stood up.

“Ju-bong.” “Yes.” “Is there warm water?” “Water for washing up?” “Yeah.” “Yes. I have some on top of the briquette stove.” “Oh, really? Then I should at least wash my face.”

Heo Dong-soo shrugged his shoulders with a pleased expression and walked toward the outer door. Lee Jung-ho, seeing his back, chased after him and shouted.

“Dong-soo Hyung, leave some for me too!” “You brat, you wash with cold water.” “Aw, seriously. How can I wash with cold water in this bitter winter? Share some!” “Alright, alright. I should go to a public bathhouse this Saturday evening.” “Go with me!” “Ugh, you leech.” “Hey, come on Hyung. I’m your assistant, aren’t I?” “Assistant, my foot. Don’t cling to me, kid. It’s creepy.”

Heo Dong-soo pushed away the clinging Lee Jung-ho, and they went outside together. I watched them and then turned to Go Ju-bong.

“Is there any warm water left for me to use?” “I’ll put some more on once the Hyungs are done.” “Does it heat up fast?” “Yeah. It’ll be usable in about 30 minutes.” “…30 minutes? Is there no briquette water heater?”

Go Ju-bong tilted his head at my question.

“Briquette water heater? What’s that?” “Ah.”

I asked because I remembered using one as a kid, but seeing his reaction, it seems they haven’t hit the market yet. Ah, seriously. It’s been so long that it’s hard to adjust. It’s been so cold since yesterday that I haven’t even dared to wash properly. At this rate, even washing my hair won’t be easy. I was lost in thought when Go Ju-bong suddenly made a strange noise.

“Ah! W-what do I do?!” “…!”

I rushed over to Go Ju-bong’s seat and instinctively furrowed my brow. Ink had spilled all over the manuscripts. And it wasn’t just one page; three pages had been ruined by an ink bombardment. The kid had made a serious mistake.

“…I’m dead. Seriously!”

Go Ju-bong picked up the ink-stained manuscripts with a look of pure misery. It was understandable; this wasn’t the kind of problem that could be fixed with white-out. I quickly grabbed a rag and started wiping the surrounding area. The ink on the desk didn’t matter, and the wooden floor was already dirty anyway, but he had ruined three pages of the manuscript. Go Ju-bong clutched his head in despair, agonized.

“…Ah, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”

He repeated the same words over and over in pain. Then he looked at me with a tearful face.

“Yi-chang, what do I do? I’m going to get kicked out at this rate.”

It was unfortunate, but there was no other way. I crossed my arms, shook my head, and spoke.

“Go call the guy who did the drafts and ask him to do them again.”

Go Ju-bong flinched in shock.

“K-Ki-chul Hyung?” “Yeah.” “Absolutely not. Never.” “Hey, just say you’re sorry and ask for a favor.”

We’d have to ask the other seniors for their parts too, but… why is this kid’s expression like this? He looked as despairing as a cow being led to a slaughterhouse.

“Hey, why are you really like this?” “What did I do?” “Don’t you remember Ju-cheol Hyung from before?”

How could I remember? My memories only start from yesterday.

“That Hyung accidentally tore a manuscript, and Kyung-chul Hyung…”

But just then. Shim Kyung-chul, with bleary eyes, came out into the living room and called for Go Ju-bong.

“Ah, sh*t. Cough, why is my throat so dry? Hey, Ju-bong, is there any drinking water? Is there any barley tea… Huh?”

Shim Kyung-chul’s eyes snapped wide open as he rushed over to where we were. He snatched the manuscripts from Go Ju-bong’s hand to check them and was stunned.

“W-what? What happened to the manuscripts?”

Go Ju-bong was restless.

“Ah… ah…” “F*ck, what is this?!” “U-um. I’m sorry.” “Is being sorry going to fix this?!”

Veins popped out on Shim Kyung-chul’s neck. He looked back and forth between me and Go Ju-bong. Of course, even now, he couldn’t meet my eyes properly.

“Who did this? Who?!” “I… I made a mistake.”

At Go Ju-bong’s words, Shim Kyung-chul’s face twisted violently.

“This bastard has completely lost his mind!” “…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” “Fck, stop repeating the same thing like a parrot. It’s annoying.” “…….” “What are you going to do about this? Don’t you know if Ki-chul Hyung finds out, we’re all dead meat today? Fck, I’m going to get chewed out so hard.” “…….” “Ha, f*ck. And what about the backgrounds that Dong-soo, Jung-ho, and I did? We have a mountain of work for tomorrow too.”

Shim Kyung-chul couldn’t calm his excitement and kept huffing. He ruffled his hair wildly and glared again with bloodshot eyes.

“You bastard, be prepared for tomorrow. If I get chewed out by Ki-chul Hyung, I’m not letting this slide.” “…I’m sorry.” “Hey! I told you to stop saying you’re sorry! F*ck, seriously, what sin did I commit in my past life…”

“I’ll try to do it.”

When I suddenly interjected, the raging Shim Kyung-chul faltered. He turned to me.

“What?” “I said I’ll try to do it.” “What can you even do?” “Restore the manuscripts.” “…This little sh*t, seriously.”

He must have been incredibly heated because he glared at me with bulging eyes.

“Do I look like a joke to you?! Huh?!” “I never said you were a joke.” “You…”

He started to speak, but when he saw the look in my eyes, he flinched. He was angry, but since he couldn’t attack me, he just huffed more. He seemed to think for a moment, then, with a scowl, one corner of his mouth twitched.

“You just said you’d restore them, right?” “Yes.” “Can you actually take responsibility for those words?”

I nodded.

“Yes.” “F*ck, you better take responsibility for what you just said! If you can’t restore them, I’ll make sure you’re kicked out.” “Go ahead.” “…You! Seriously!”

He flared up again, then turned and went back into the room. But he suddenly stopped, came back out, poured water from the small kettle on the briquette stove into a cup, and gulped it down.

“Ah, hot!”

He shouted and then immediately disappeared back into the room. I laughed at the absurdity of it, and Go Ju-bong approached me with a worried face.

“Y-Yi-chang.” “What?” “Seriously. Why did you do that?”

He said that with tears in his eyes.

“Why are you taking the fall for this? Why?” “What fall am I taking?” “Ah, seriously. I could have just quit.” “Hey, if everyone quit over one mistake, would there be anyone left in the studio? Everyone learns by making mistakes.” “…If you get fired like that, how can I stay here?” “What are you talking about? Why would I get fired? Stop talking nonsense and just help me. We don’t have enough time to finish the remaining work and do the restoration.”

At those words, Go Ju-bong’s teary eyes widened.

“You’re actually going to do it?” “What have you been listening to this whole time? Are you deaf?” “N-no. But is that really possible?” “Shut up and just start finishing the remaining pages. Leave the three ruined pages to me.” “…….”

Go Ju-bong blinked and stared at me with a face full of confusion.