Chapter 16: Money is the Priority for Now, But… (2)

“Hello! My name is Go Mun-bu. I’m 17 years old. I’m from Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, and I graduated from middle school not long ago!”

The new recruit introduced himself in a booming voice. Immediately, Shim Kyung-chul’s voice cut in.

“Is all of Jecheon your house?!” “No, sir.” “Then speak properly! You made me think you were the precious son of some wealthy landlord family!” “I’m sorry, sir!”

Then Lee Jung-ho chimed in.

“Why would a landlord’s son do this kind of work anyway?” “True point.”

The studio members were having a field day teasing the kid. Fortunately, he seemed to have good social skills and enough grit to handle it. But 17 years old… it was a common age to start working in this era, and I had finally grown accustomed to it.

His name was Go Mun-bu. It had a similar ring to my peer Go Ju-bong. He inherited the desk I used to use, as the most senior pupil, Kang Dong-mun, had “retired” from the studio yesterday to start his own work. This led to a bit of a musical chairs situation with the desks. The prime spot by the living room window naturally went to Lee Ki-chul. He was now the most senior pupil, so it was his right.

As for Kang Dong-mun, he was reportedly starting his first manuscript at his own private workspace. Thanks to the agreement between Teacher Park and the publisher, he had officially debuted as a manga artist. Being a rookie, he was starting with a single-volume project, but he looked like he’d be buried in work for the foreseeable future.

With a new junior in the mix, the atmosphere shifted subtly. Of course, this Go Mun-bu kid became Shim Kyung-chul’s primary prey.

“You brat, seriously! Do you have a tremor? You can’t even fill in the blacks properly?! Do you want to experience a ‘torture’ as painful as your name?” (Note: Mun-bu sounds similar to Gomun, meaning torture). “I’m sorry, sir!” “Ugh, so noisy. Speak quietly. My eardrums are gonna burst.” “I’m sorry, sir!” “Damn it, I said you’re being noisy!”

Shim Kyung-chul was back at it, picking on the kid. No one asked him to, but he just couldn’t help himself. Since the Teacher’s room only had a thin sliding door, the noise drifted right in.

“Hey, Mun-bu!” “Yes, brother.” “Man, wash your hair properly. Why are there so many lice in your head? It’s filthy!” “I’m sorry, sir!” “Stop saying sorry and go wash. No, wait. Go Ju-bong, is there any hot water?” “Yes, there is.” “Boil this kid’s head. Get all those lice to drop off.”

Shim Kyung-chul was in high spirits. It seemed he had a lot of pent-up energy from not being able to lose his temper properly around me lately.

The Teacher had left early for a meeting of manga artists, so I was alone in the office. The other seniors purposefully avoided entering this room now. Perhaps thanks to the bonus they received, everyone—including Shim Kyung-chul—had been acting quite warm toward me lately.

Knock, knock.

Shim Kyung-chul tapped on the door and asked from the other side.

“Yi-chang, I bought some red bean bread. Want some?” “I’d appreciate that.” “Alright.”

He opened the door cautiously, laid down a piece of newspaper in front of me, and placed two buns on it.

“I bought a few today. Two are for you. Enjoy.” “I’ll eat well.” “Yeah. Ah, I shouldn’t disturb you. Keep up the hard work.”

He hurried out of the room. I still wasn’t used to him acting so kindly. It felt a bit strange how much his attitude had shifted recently. Ju-bong mentioned that Kyung-chul had been treating him well too, and because of that, Ju-bong’s personality had brightened significantly. He apparently sent his bonus money back home to his family, who were also struggling.

Chewing on the bread, I began plotting the sequel. The world-building was already established, so now it was time for expansion. Since all five gems had been collected, the protagonist’s initial upgrades were complete. This meant it was time for a new enemy—something more powerful that could truly push the hero into a corner.

What if I add a new alien race besides the AI legion? I thought of a popular national game from the 2000s—three factions: Humans, AI (machines), and an insect-like biological alien race.

The rough plot: Humanity finally begins its counterattack, and the power balance with the AI shifts. But the AI faces a new problem: the emergence of the insectoid aliens. The insects infiltrate the AI’s central core, causing the machines to lose their territory. The insects then merge with the AI technology, becoming “mechanized insects”—even more powerful entities that begin slaughtering humans.

The hero, despite being strengthened by the five gems, is overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the mechanized insect army. Humanity is pushed to the fringes of the galaxy. The hero, near death, crashes onto a desolate planet. There, he accidentally discovers another hint left by the creator of Star Five: the gems can be “refined.”

Plot convenience? Sure. But in this era, it’s a classic trope.

Eventually, he finds a planet inhabited by legendary blacksmiths. The “Master Blacksmith” is entrusted with the gems. Of course, I shouldn’t skip the part where the blacksmiths initially refuse, citing how humans once mistreated their kind. Then, the hero does something to touch their hearts—saving a life or achieving something they’ve failed at for centuries. The Master then changes his tune: “I have no choice. I will put my soul into refining these.”

The ultimate upgrade begins.

Meanwhile, humanity is at a total loss against the robot insects. They aren’t complete fools, though; they manage to revive a few friendly AIs to fight a desperate last stand. At the final moment, the Master Blacksmith declares: “It is finished! Behold, the greatest masterpiece of my life!” The hero dons the new, gorgeous mechanical armor and starts cutting through the robot insects like a knife through tofu. A single wave of his arm fires a massive beam, disintegrating thousands of enemies. The Insect Queen flinches and signals a retreat.

I’ll need to add more dramatic subplots, but that’s the gist of it.

Hmm. Not bad. It’s a bit of a mish-mash of things I’ve seen in my previous life, but for this era, it’s fresh and innovative.

An upgraded robotic suit powered by five refined gems. I’ll make it look sleeker. If it were in color, I’d go with gold like Saint Seiya, but since it’s black and white, I’ll just add more rugged, high-spec equipment.

I spent time sketching and refining the designs. The insect robots needed a lot of variety, too. Creating a proper setting guide would take time, but since the second volume of the current series was still in production, I had plenty of it. I outlined the sequel’s plot into four parts and finished the character designs. Next was the storyboarding.

A few days later.

As I was finishing the rough storyboard for the first volume of the sequel, news arrived that the first volume of Star Five had reached the provincial wholesalers and spread to rental shops across the country. The reaction was nothing short of explosive. Every shop was demanding more copies, and inquiries about the second volume were flooding in. I even heard that owners of major regional wholesalers were showing up at the publisher’s office with stacks of cash, refusing to leave until they secured more stock. The printing and binding houses were reportedly running 24 hours a day.

At that perfect timing, the second volume was finished and handed over. The reaction from the publishing staff was legendary.

Two days later.

For the first time, the studio stopped working for a day. Since the previous project and the second volume of Star Five were both complete, the Teacher decided to take everyone out for a meal.

The morning was frantic. Men who usually looked scruffy and disheveled headed to the public bathhouse at dawn to clean up for a group outing. I joined them and scrubbed off all the grime. Just as everyone was dressed in their best clothes and ready to head out, the plan changed.

“I was going to take you to the local Chinese place, but the publisher wants to treat everyone, so we’re changing the location.”

And so, we boarded a bus as a group and headed to a restaurant in a large hotel downtown.

Arriving at the hotel, everyone looked up at the building with bewildered faces.

“Is there really a restaurant up there? In a hotel?” “He said it’s a high-class restaurant.” “Do we have to pay to go inside?” “Why would you pay? Is this a movie theater?” “I don’t know, it just feels like we should pay.”

Everyone shuffled inside tentatively. Watching them, I had to suppress a laugh. Back at the studio, they acted like all-powerful seniors, but in this new environment, they looked like total country bumpkins.

As everyone headed for the stairs, Teacher Park stopped them.

“Are you all going to walk up? Do you even know what floor the restaurant is on?” “What floor is it?” “The 10th floor.” “We can make it.” “Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

He led us to the elevator. Lee Jung-ho whispered to him.

“Don’t we have to pay to ride this?”

The Teacher laughed. “What are you talking about? Why would you pay?”

The elevator doors opened. Everyone stood there stiffly as we saw a neatly dressed woman inside. Wow, an elevator girl. I hadn’t seen one since I was a little kid at a department store. What were they called back then? An elevator attendant? Anyway, she greeted us.

“Welcome.”

Everyone bowed back awkwardly.

“Hello.” “Nice to—” “What are you doing? Get in already.” “Ah, yes!”

Once everyone was inside, the attendant asked, “Which floor, please?”

Everyone looked at each other, eyes darting around in panic.

“Which floor was it?” “What floor do you think?” “Is it the top?” “Maybe we should just go to the top and walk down floor by floor?”

Teacher Park chuckled. “Haha, you bumpkins. I told you just a minute ago and you already forgot? Miss, the 10th floor, please.” “Yes, 10th floor. Going up.”

She pressed the button.

A moment later, the doors opened, and everyone stumbled out. A few of them looked pale.

“Ugh, I feel motion sickness.” “Me too.”

Go Ju-bong and Go Mun-bu—the “Go duo”—staggered out. Looking at the other seniors, they didn’t look much better. Only Teacher Park looked unfazed. He smirked.

“Does everyone feel sick? What a waste, especially after coming to such a fancy place.” “N-no, sir! I can definitely eat!” “Me too!”

A few of them raised their hands desperately.

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