Chapter 10: Star Five (3)

First, I laid out a brief background explanation before diving into the story, starting with the bleak situation of humanity currently living as wanderers in space. Although it was planned as a two-volume set, the page count per volume was small, so it was actually about the length of a single volume compared to the era I came from. Keeping that in mind, I breezed through the beginning with quick explanations.

Still, I wanted to leave a strong impression in the opening. I focused on how desperate the lives of the Earthlings were. They finally found a planet with great difficulty, only to be discovered by enemies and attacked before they could even settle. Many humans were killed. There, the protagonist loses his parents, siblings, and friends, falling into an abyss of despair. His once bright personality turns dark and cold. While a large number of humans fled the planet without even being able to recover the bodies of the fallen, the protagonist is left behind, wounded. A hopeless situation where no solution is in sight.

That’s when he hides in a cave to escape enemy fire and happens to find a buried gem. Naturally, that is the first treasure.

The rest follows a typical progression. With this, the protagonist gains new power and fights the enemy to win. Of course, because of what he’s been through, his personality has become cold; he begins to fight for himself rather than to help humanity. Perhaps that icy heart will change later.

I developed the story based on the most memorable protagonists from the manga and anime I had seen over the years. Even if it was just a simple storyboard, I had to create separate setting sketches for the backgrounds, spaceships, and robots. I wouldn’t be working on this alone. With that, I began drawing the storyboards in a notebook.

As soon as I started, I couldn’t help but be surprised again. I wasn’t a total novice at storyboarding, but it shouldn’t have been flowing this smoothly. It was that same strange feeling I had during the manuscript restoration. Not only was the speed incredible, but even in rough sketches, I was capable of quite detailed descriptions, and it wasn’t difficult at all. Since the work was progressing so easily, I started getting ambitious with the directing. More dynamic developments became possible.

Based on the information I had about the original Park Yi-chang, he was definitely not this skilled at drawing. Nor was I ever this good. It was clear that some new ability had been added when I possessed his body—perhaps a synergy between the two of us. Well, I didn’t necessarily need to understand the “why.”

If this was the case, the game had changed. No need to overthink; I just had to run with it. Hehe. My heart pounded with the feeling that something quite interesting was being created. All right, let’s see where this story goes.

The Next Day.

Teacher Park Chul-min asked with wide eyes.

“You did all of this in one day? Did you stay up all night?” “Yes.”

I responded while making sure my entire body broadcasted just how exhausted I was. I yawned, cracked my neck side to side, and kept my eyes slightly unfocused and half-lidded. I went for the “I’m so tired I might die” look. In reality, I had finished the work early. Since the ideas were pouring out and my hands were moving without hesitation, a storyboard was a piece of cake. Moreover, this studio had a mattress the Teacher used occasionally, so I had actually slept properly for the first time in a while. I was quite refreshed.

How could this man possibly know that?

In any case, Park Chul-min stared at me with round eyes before immediately flipping open the storyboard notebook.

“The title is Star Five?” “Yes. If you have a better title, feel free to change it.”

Honestly, I thought of titles like Galactic Hero Something-or-Other or Guardians of the Whatever, but my conscience stopped me. Besides, there’s a certain sense of pride in having something feel original. But that was just my opinion. The Teacher was stroking his chin in silence, deep in thought.

Is the title too tacky? Now that I thought about it, it reminded me of an old bed advertisement I saw once. Oh, man. Did I underestimate this era too much? Just as I was furrowing my brow in regret, Park Chul-min nodded, looking unexpectedly satisfied.

“No, this isn’t bad. it sparks just the right amount of curiosity.”

Whew, what a relief.

“Manga feels more like ‘Science Fiction’ when there’s a bit of English in the title. Star Five! Hmm, good rhythm. I like the feel of it.” “······.”

What, you liked it just because it was in English?!

As I was thinking that, Park Chul-min flipped the page. He began to slowly examine the drawings and dialogue scrawled in the penciled notebook. I had drawn the characters as simple “wooden dolls” with only basic features, but even I thought the situation and the directing were quite well-executed. After flipping through a few more pages, he turned to me.

“By the way, Yi-chang, go hit the public bathhouse. Just looking at you makes me feel bad.”

He rummaged through his pocket and handed me a 500-won bill.

“Go, and have a bottle of milk too. No, wait, I’ll give you another 500 won. Eat lunch and take your time coming back.”

To think that a bath, milk, and lunch could all be covered by 1,000 won. I wished the cost of living was like this in my original time—provided the income stayed the same, of course. While I was having these useless thoughts, Lee Ki-chul, who was standing nearby, had a strange expression. I really couldn’t read that man. I couldn’t tell if he was smiling or annoyed just by his face.

Regardless, I left the Teacher’s office, leaving the two of them behind. The seniors stared at me with inquisitive faces. Lee Jung-ho pressed me immediately.

“What did he say? Huh?” “He told me to go to the bathhouse.” “What? The bathhouse? Now?” “Yes. I guess I look like a mess right now.”

The seniors looked at each other in disbelief. Heo Dong-soo let out a smirk.

“Who in this place doesn’t look like a mess?”

Just then, the eldest, Kang Dong-mun, walked in with a disheveled face. He blinked at the strange atmosphere in the studio.

“What’s with the mood? Did something happen?”

Heo Dong-soo spoke up with a grin. “Dong-mun Hyung, you wouldn’t know because you weren’t here yesterday.” “Wouldn’t know what?” “Him. Park Yi-chang. This kid barged into the Teacher’s room yesterday.” “What? Barged in? What kind of nonsense is that?”

Kang Dong-mun’s round face bobbed as if he was hearing a fairy tale. Heo Dong-soo glanced at me and continued.

“This kid boldly told the Teacher he’d create a science fiction story himself.” “What?!”

To be precise, I didn’t say I would create it all. I just intended to give him the setting and offer some support. However, since I had already finished the storyboard, his words ended up being true anyway. While I was lost in thought, Kang Dong-mun, who had presumably heard the full explanation from Heo Dong-soo, looked at me and laughed with a bizarre expression.

“Well, look at this little snake. So, how much did you get?” “A thousand won.” “A thousand won? Really?” “Yes.” “Wow, our stingy Teacher actually gave that much?”

Just then, a dry cough echoed from inside the private office.

“Ahem. Dong-mun, I can hear everything.” “Haha! I don’t know what you mean, sir, but you must have misheard.” “My ears are still perfectly fine.”

As expected of the leader of the pupils, he laughed it off smoothly. He’s about to leave anyway, so he can afford to be cheeky. Regardless, since I had the Teacher’s permission, no one challenged me further. In fact, most of them looked envious. Go Ju-bong even urged me to make sure I scrubbed thoroughly. Scrub thoroughly, my foot. I left the studio behind, feeling relaxed for the first time in a while.

I had looked around the neighborhood once before, but the houses on the hillside were mostly a dull grey, typical of the 70s. Most were just finished with cement without any paint. I remembered seeing many houses like this when I was very young, along with the occasional thatched-roof house, but seeing it vividly in person felt different.

And why were there so many children in the neighborhood? Most had short-cropped hair, and I saw quite a few toddlers running around without any pants on. Hey, hey, that kid is eating dirt! Shouldn’t someone stop him? But no one nearby paid any attention to the child’s actions. Man, children back then were just released into the wild to grow up freely. Or maybe I was being too optimistic.

Oh? That man with the basket. I remembered seeing that a long time ago. What did they call them? Ah, a ragpicker (neongmajui). Man, it really is the 70s.

Anyway, as I was wandering around looking at the sights, I remembered one crucial thing I had forgotten. I hurried toward a passing man and asked.

“Excuse me, sir. Could you tell me where the nearest public bathhouse is?”

Lee Ki-chul, who had finished reading all the storyboards Park Yi-chang had drawn overnight, set the notebook down on the table.

“Well?”

At Park Chul-min’s question, Lee Ki-chul fell into thought for a moment. Park Chul-min watched him while resting his chin on his hand, curious to see what would come out of Ki-chul’s mouth.

A moment later, Lee Ki-chul spoke.

“It’s interesting.”

Park Chul-min let out a deflated sigh. “What, is that it?” “Pardon?” “Never mind. It’s my fault for expecting a detailed review from you.” “If I were to say more…”

Park Chul-min showed interest again. “Yeah, what else?” “It is extremely interesting. More than I expected.”

Park Chul-min slumped his shoulders again, sighing like a leaking balloon. “Sigh, fine. I get it. Let’s stop there.” “······?” “You’re quite strict with Kyung-chul, aren’t you?” “······.” “Never mind. What goes on between you guys isn’t for me to meddle with. Let’s drop it.”

Park Chul-min picked up Yi-chang’s notebook again.

“This Park Yi-chang kid… he’s really something. Isn’t the concept of this story amazing?” “Yes.” “······.”

Park Chul-min gave a hollow laugh at the short response and continued.

“He had a decent idea and was talking big, so I told him to ‘give it a try’ without much expectation. But this story is the real deal. It’s short, but it leaves an impression. It might be hard to reach the popularity of Babel II, but comparing the two stories, I actually like this one better.”

Park Chul-min nodded with a satisfied face and put a cigarette in his mouth. Lee Ki-chul struck a match to light it and brought the ashtray over to him.

“This Park Yi-chang… should we keep him as our story lead from now on?” “He’s good with his hands, too. I think he’ll do well with whatever he’s assigned.” “Really? A man of many talents.” “Are you going to start working on this immediately?”

Park Chul-min took a long drag of his cigarette, blew out a stream of smoke, and nodded.

“Of course. I can’t hesitate; it would be a problem if this fell into someone else’s hands.” “Then, when do we start?” “Immediately, starting today. I’ll handle the basic drafting, so Ki-chul, you finish up the current project as quickly as possible.”

Lee Ki-chul nodded. “It’s going to be a busy for a while.” “I suppose so.” “And, what about that bonus?”

When Ki-chul asked, Park Chul-min smirked.

“What do you take me for? I gave my word. If the results are good, of course I’ll keep it.”