Chapter 3: The Monster Youngest (2)

I didn’t know exactly how this happened either, but I spoke while managing my facial expression as naturally as possible.

“Is that so?”

“You must have practiced a lot on your own. Did you finally snap out of it after getting cursed at so much?”

Look at this guy. I suppressed the urge to give him a good smack out of sheer absurdity and spoke.

“It seems… that way.”

“It seems that way? Look at the way this punk talks.”

He muttered that and stared at me with a strange look in his eyes for a moment. Ah, seriously, let’s just endure it, endure it. Whether he knew my inner thoughts or not, he soon withdrew his gaze and spoke as he returned to his seat.

“It would be so great if you always worked that fast.”

At that, the expression of Go Ju-bong, who was behind me, brightened up.

“He’s really been working hard lately.”

He said that and smiled at me.

“Mind your own business, man. Kyung-chul Hyung is having a fit because your work is so sloppy.”

At those words, Go Ju-bong scratched the back of his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Always with the sorry. Just get to work. If the Hyungs wake up later and the work isn’t finished properly, we’re all dead.”

“Yes.”

However, a moment later, Lee Jung-ho tidied his desk, turned to us, and spoke.

“I’m going to go in and sleep now, so make sure you finish the rest perfectly. Got it?”

“Yes, sleep well.”

“Yeah.”

He replied and stared intently at me. I thought I knew what he wanted, so I smiled and spoke as well.

“Sleep well.”

He didn’t even answer, just tapped the back of my head twice and went into the room. Wow, that young punk, seriously. Well, I suppose I have to endure it since this body is nineteen. They say if you endure three times, you can even avoid a murder. I was swallowing my anger alone when Go Ju-bong spoke to me.

“Let me see that too.”

Go Ju-bong stood up, came over to me, and examined the manuscript. Then his eyes widened in surprise.

“You already finished this much? It’s clean, without any ink bleeding out. Wow, your skills really improved all of a sudden.”

It’s not “all of a sudden.” The speed got a bit faster, but I originally had this level of skill. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s detailed work. And speed, too.

“But, you.”

“Why?”

“You feel like you’ve changed a bit…”

“…Really?”

I asked back shamelessly with a look of complete ignorance. It’s not like I could tell him I’m not Park Yi-chang, but Go Min-guk. He wouldn’t believe me even if I explained what I’d experienced. Actually, it would be a problem even if he did believe me. If this fact got out to other people, I might get dragged off to a mental hospital. Anyway, Go Ju-bong, who was staring at my face, chuckled.

“Well, you were excessively intimidated for a while. Still, I’m relieved that you seem to be adjusting well, even if it’s a bit late.”

He’s a good friend, after all. Seeing how he cares like this. And then something suddenly occurred to me.

“Is there a mirror here?”

“A mirror? It’s over there.”

In a corner of the living room, a large mirror hung on the wall. It was a tacky-looking mirror with leaf-like patterns drawn all over the frame. Thinking it had been a long time since I’d seen a mirror like that, I reflected my face. But… I was horrified by the grimy face staring back. This is my state? Hah. I shouldn’t be judging Go Ju-bong, seriously. Still, the base features were much better than my original face. Of course, being young plays a part, but even taking that into account, it was a handsome face.

“You’re going to burn a hole through that mirror.”

Go Ju-bong laughed as he said that. But it was then. Surprised, I hurried over to him and grabbed his arm.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“You have a nosebleed right now.”

“What?”

Go Ju-bong wiped under his nose with a finger. Then, seeing the blood on his hand, he laughed awkwardly.

“Ah, again.”

I looked around, but I couldn’t see any tissues.

“No tissues? A roll?”

“What are you talking about? Where would there be luxury tissues here?”

“What? How can a studio not have tissues?”

Since we have to wash pens and brushes constantly, tissues are naturally a necessity. But to think they don’t have any. I didn’t think not having tissues would be this inconvenient. Ah, come to think of it, I remember using newspaper in the bathroom when I was a kid. If it’s 1975, it wouldn’t have been a common item. While I was dumbfounded, Go Ju-bong held his nose with his hand while keeping his head tilted back.

“It’ll stop soon if I stay like this, so don’t worry too much.”

He was saying that with a nasally voice.

“Don’t worry? You’re bleeding like a faucet. Look in the mirror before you say that.”

At my words, he went to the mirror, looked in, and grinned while blood was dripping down.

“Haha, you’re right.”

How absurd.

“You can actually laugh? Huh?”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Just go wash up with some water at least.”

“Got it.”

I let out a hollow laugh as I watched Go Ju-bong head outside with his head tilted back. And soon, I was left alone in the living room. Hmm… Only now did I have the leeway to look around the room. So this is what a manga studio in the 70s looks like. The lighting is dim, and the objects are awkwardly tacky, but the basic tools for drawing comics aren’t much different from what I used before. Mapping pens, ink, paper. Except maybe the fact that I don’t see any screen tones. Most of the comic books on the studio bookshelves were in terrible binding condition. Of course, they were mostly comics I didn’t know, but I occasionally remembered seeing a few when I was a kid. As I examined them, I suddenly wondered why I was being so calm. Normally, if someone experienced something this ridiculous, it would be normal for it to take a long time to recover from the shock, but right now, I’m surprisingly composed. As if I’ve experienced this kind of thing several times before. Isn’t this a bit strange? Should I just understand it as having an extreme ability to adapt?

“What are you doing?”

I turned around to find Go Ju-bong standing there with a clean face. He looked grimy earlier, but now he finally looked human.

“Why? Is something on my face?”

“I was just thinking you look handsome now that you’ve washed your face.”

“What are you talking about? It hurts my feelings when a guy with a truly great face says that. More importantly, we’re super busy right now. We have to finish the work quickly. Otherwise…”

“I know, I know. That those guys will throw a fit.”

He flinched and was startled by my words. Then, with very exaggerated movements, he spoke in a tiny voice.

“Hey, are you crazy? What if the Hyungs hear you?”

“If they hear… nothing can be done.”

“Hey, please. Just stop.”

“Why are you so startled?”

“…Don’t say things like that.”

I felt bad because the kid was so terrified. I had no choice but to nod.

“Fine, I get it.”

I replied that way because I had to, but this environment is by no means good. Honestly, didn’t they say there’s no salary? I also oppose living like a s*ave in a place like this. I don’t know when this body will return to its original owner, but even if that happens, staying here isn’t very helpful. That is my judgment for now. However, I don’t have any brilliant ideas at the moment. Since I was just a little kid in this era, I have no memories, so I don’t specifically know what to do. But I don’t think I can become a manga artist by serving guys like that in a place like this. And fundamentally, I’ll be ahead of these guys in everything, whether it’s experience or skill. So, staying like this is strictly only until I have a proper plan for how I’m going to live. After that, I’ll obviously have to leave this place.

“Come on, let’s just get to work.”

“Yeah. Got it.”

“But… you know.”

“What?”

“You feel like you’ve suddenly changed so much that I can’t adjust.”

Flinch.

“…….”

“What on earth did you dream about to change so suddenly like this?”

“I wish it were a dream. No, maybe it’s a new opportunity.”

“What?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

He looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“You said there’s no time.”

“Oh, right. That’s true.”

Go Ju-bong hurried back to his seat. Then he began working with a brush. Watching him, I also immediately resumed work. This kind of inking was simple when working on a tablet, but it’s subtly annoying. But on the other hand, painting it one by one by hand isn’t bad either. There’s a charm to repetitive manual work. Anyway, it’s nice to be able to see close-up things so well. The presbyopia that came in my mid-forties was incredibly inconvenient.

“What are you snickering about by yourself?”

“Don’t mind me.”

“…Do you know you’re being really strange?”

“No.”

“…….”

I was so engrossed in the manuscript work because it was fun that, before I knew it, all the work was finished. I stretched both arms upward, and the stiffness suddenly vanished. It’s great, a young body. I tilted my neck left and right a few more times and then turned my gaze toward Go Ju-bong behind me. Taking a peek, his work wasn’t even one-third of the way through.

“What, you’ve only done this much?”

“Huh? What?”

“You haven’t even done half.”

“How much did you do?”

“I’m done.”

“What? Really?”

He wore an unbelievable expression and stood up from his seat. Then he went to my desk and examined the manuscripts.

“W-what? You’re already done? You even did all the white-out? Why are you so fast?”

“You’re just slow. You.”

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Are you possessed by a manga ghost? It’s scary.”

“Stop talking nonsense and hand over everything except for a few pages. I’ll do it.”

“No. This is my quota, so I’ll finish it.”

“If we don’t finish, I get scolded along with you, right?”

He flinched at that and nodded while glancing at me.

“W-well, that’s true.”

“Then stop nagging and just say ‘Thank you’ and take it when I offer to help.”

Only then did Go Ju-bong smile awkwardly.

“Uh, thanks.”

I received several pages of the manuscript Go Ju-bong was working on and immediately started working. This kind of finishing work only gets harder the more you struggle to do it in too much detail. Fast and swift. And reducing mistakes as much as possible. That’s the core.

And after some time had passed. The work was completed.

“It’s already finished?”

“Come on, let’s wrap this up and get some sleep.”

“…….”

“Why, can’t you sleep?”

Go Ju-bong looked dazed and scratched the back of his head.

“It’s not that. It’s just the first time we’ve finished the work before the Hyungs came out.”

Looking at the clock, it was a little past 5 AM.

“Until what time in the morning can we sleep?”

“The Hyungs wake up around 8, so I guess it’s okay until then?”

“Then we can sleep for about three hours. Let’s hurry and sleep.”

“I guess these bastards have plenty of free time. Seeing how they’re chatting. You’re dead meat if you don’t finish everything by morning, seriously.”

I wondered who it was, and it was the shaggy-haired guy with glasses, Shim Kyung-chul. Oh, was my memory always this good? The name comes to mind instantly as if it were familiar. I suppose this is because it remains in the original memories. Anyway, he must have just come out after sleeping, because his hair was a mess and he looked ridiculous, yet he was putting a lot of strength into his eyes and threatening us. How should I put it? Perhaps because my original age was fifty, he just looked cute. However, it wasn’t like that for Go Ju-bong.

“U-um, the work is all finished.”

He spoke with a face full of terror. At those words, one of Shim Kyung-chul’s eyebrows twitched upward.

“What? The work is all finished?”

He said that, looked at the wall clock, and immediately approached our desks. First, he looked at the manuscript at Go Ju-bong’s seat, and then he checked the one on my desk. Thinking there must be a problem, he began searching with glaring eyes. But he won’t see anything special. Of course, if he tried to nitpick, it wasn’t like there was nothing.

“F*ck, this line bled out here. And this too.”

As expected, he’s nitpicking. He’s a hopeless guy.

“That’s not a big…”

“What, you saying it’s not a problem?”

“Ah, n-no. I’ll fix it.”

At Go Ju-bong’s words, Shim Kyung-chul cleared his throat a few times.

“Take care of it yourselves. Before you get cursed at.”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Shim Kyung-chul glanced at me, and his expression crumpled. Then he suddenly tapped my shoulder repeatedly. This is subtly annoying.

“F*ck, are you in a bad mood?”

I wondered what kind of question that was after he’d made me feel bad. It feels like I’ve re-enlisted in the army.

“Look at that expression, that expression. You’re openly showing you’re in a bad mood, huh?”

“Um…”

Go Ju-bong is more restless than I am.

“You stay out of it, you sh*t.”

Saying that, he pushed Go Ju-bong’s head with his fist. Ah, seriously. This bastard.

“Aren’t you just being cranky for no reason?”

“What?”

At my words, Shim Kyung-chul wore an expression of disbelief.

“What did you just babble?”