Chapter 8: Star Five (1)

“Yi-chang, it’s time to wake up.”

“······!”

I opened my eyes to Go Ju-bong’s voice. I felt like I had been dreaming about suffering in a factory, but the memory faded instantly. It was likely a nightmare; back then, every single day was a struggle. At any rate, another new day has begun. Yesterday, I spent a great deal of mental energy restoring those three manuscript pages. Nevertheless, it seems I’m finally adjusting to life here, as I feel less exhausted than before.

“I’ve already finished preparing breakfast, so just wash your face. I even set out some warm water for you.”

“What? You prepared it all by yourself?”

“Yeah. You worked so hard yesterday. Thanks to you, I was able to get plenty of sleep.”

So it wasn’t that I had adjusted; it was that Go Ju-bong had woken up early to do everything himself and let me sleep in. This guy is young, but he’s incredibly diligent. I’ve certainly lucked out with a good peer.

“I’m sorry for letting you do it alone.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s nothing compared to what you did.”

He smiled as he spoke. What a likable kid.

While I washed up and did some light morning cleaning, the seniors began to emerge from the other two rooms. There are three rooms in total for the pupils. Go Ju-bong and I use the smallest corner room. Lee Ki-chul and Shim Kyung-chul share a slightly larger one, and Heo Dong-soo and Lee Jung-ho share the last. I heard the eldest, Kang Dong-mun, sometimes sleeps in that last room, but he mostly stays at his own studio-apartment nearby. Since he’s planning to debut and go independent soon, most of his belongings are already there. Perhaps that’s why he was nowhere to be seen this morning.

During breakfast, Shim Kyung-chul kept stealing glances at me. His expression seemed to say, ‘What exactly are you?’ It’s understandable, considering he must have seen the manuscripts from last night. Honestly, even I—the one who finished them—was surprised. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell him anything. I just ignored him and ate my meal.

By the way, the side dishes were truly… depressing. Kimchi, perilla leaves, some soy sauce, and a few other vegetable dishes were all we had. Looking at the meager spread, a sigh escaped me. After working so hard to draw, this is it? I heard there were eggs, but apparently, those are reserved for the Teacher or the eldest, Kang Dong-mun. Seriously, how stingy can you get with food? And Kang Dong-mun is practically out the door. He should share with the ones staying behind. Do they not know the saying about sharing even a single bean?

Regardless, for a job with no salary, the food is just too poor. I heard that except for the actual leader, Lee Ki-chul, the other seniors barely make any money. It seems Shim Kyung-chul, who handles character inking, gets a bit more than the background artists, but even then, working at a construction site or a factory would probably pay better. Then again, I don’t exactly know the average wages of this era, so I can’t be sure. On the other hand, I wonder if I could even properly adapt to a factory in this time period. Good grief, looking at this poor meal surrounded by nothing but greens, all sorts of thoughts flood my mind.

After breakfast, I took a walk around the neighborhood. I felt stifled staying in the studio all the time, so I headed out. Yesterday, I was too busy adjusting to think about leaving. When I mentioned I was getting some fresh air, Shim Kyung-chul gave me a look that said, “What?” regardless, once I stepped outside, the scenery triggered old memories, giving me a strange feeling. Passing by an old bakery, the smell was incredible. Since I’d had such a meager breakfast, my mouth started watering.

I opened the worn-out wallet in my pocket to find a 500-won bill and three 100-won coins. The rest were two 50-won coins and a single 10-won coin. A total of 910 won. It felt like a lot of physical change, but only amounted to 910 won. In the future I lived in, this was an amount you could barely do anything with. I couldn’t help but chuckle. My entire fortune was 910 won. I really need to do something about my situation. I could probably buy a few pieces of bread with this, but after some internal conflict, I turned back toward the studio. I couldn’t afford to spend my entire net worth so recklessly.

Near late afternoon, Teacher Park Chul-min arrived. For some reason, his expression was dark. I didn’t know much about the man yet, but it was clear his mood was significantly worse than yesterday. Did something happen? The other seniors noticed his face and started checking each other’s reactions. The Teacher was definitely in a foul mood.

The Teacher barely acknowledged everyone’s greetings and, unlike yesterday, didn’t even check the manuscripts. After a while, he stepped out of his private office and called Go Ju-bong.

“Is there any soju?” “Yes, there’s a little bit left from before.” “Good. Bring that and some dried anchovies for a snack.” “Yes, sir.” “And Ki-chul! Come see me.”

Lee Ki-chul stood up immediately and followed the Teacher into his office. The atmosphere in the studio sank; something was wrong. Shim Kyung-chul, who seemed to know something, muttered to himself.

“Ah, f*ck. It looks like the reaction to this work isn’t great either. The last manga didn’t do well, and now this. If things go wrong, the studio is in big trouble.”

Heo Dong-soo asked with a serious face, “Kyung-chul, have you heard something?”

Shim Kyung-chul started the story as if he’d been waiting for someone to ask.

“I heard this from Dong-mun Hyung the other day. Apparently, the Teacher went to the publisher recently and came back under a lot of stress.” “Why?” “Why else? The popularity of his current manga isn’t what it used to be. Plus, he got flagged a few times by censorship. But this time, the publisher suggested he try a science fiction manga for his next project, and that pushed him over the edge.”

Science fiction manga. I haven’t heard that term in a long time.

“Science fiction? SF?” “Yeah. You know that manga Babel II currently being serialized in magazines? Its popularity is insane. Because of that.”

Babel II? Wow, I remember reading that when I was a kid. It brought back memories. It was really fun—a protagonist with superpowers, a giant demon bird, a panther, and a strangely reliable super-giant robot. At the time, I wondered why such an incredible artist was serializing in an 80s magazine, only to feel betrayed later when I learned it was a Japanese manga. Since it was published under a Korean name, I had naturally assumed it was local.

Right now is even earlier than when I read Babel II. Since it’s a series I have such fond memories of, it’s natural for me to be interested.

“Ah, that one. I’ve seen it too. It was really interesting,” Lee Jung-ho chimed in.

“I know it too. If you go to the comic book rentals, they have pages clipped from magazines and bound into books. And—”

When Shim Kyung-chul shot him a look, the chatterbox Lee Jung-ho flinched and shut up.

“Anyway, that’s so popular that a lot of science fiction is coming out lately. So the proposal went to the Teacher as well.” “Has the Teacher ever drawn something like that?” “As far as I know, never.” “Then isn’t it going to be difficult?” “Probably. That’s why he’s so stressed out.”

Hearing that, I could understand why the Teacher was in a dilemma. Shim Kyung-chul continued.

“So he’s probably discussing that problem with Ki-chul Hyung right now.” “Wouldn’t it be better to discuss it with Dong-mun Hyung instead of Ki-chul Hyung?” “Dong-mun Hyung is debuting soon, so he’s practically a stranger now. That’s why he’s talking to Ki-chul Hyung.” “I guess so. Dong-mun Hyung is busy enough with his own debut work. But Ki-chul Hyung probably doesn’t have experience with science fiction either.” “True. Ki-chul Hyung learned everything he knows right here.” “Man, this is a real problem.”

The three of them sighed deeply, looking worried. Makes sense. If a company stops getting orders, the next step is layoffs. In this era, a studio like this was a rare find; they’d want to stay no matter what. Looking over, Go Ju-bong looked worried as well. The seniors had skills and experience, so even if the studio failed, they could find work elsewhere. But Go Ju-bong was in a different position. Of course, the same went for me in this body.

After listening to the worried conversation for a while, I spoke up.

“So, the problem is solved if we just make a decent-level SF manga, right?” “……What?” “…….”

Shim Kyung-chul and Heo Dong-soo turned to me with wide eyes. Lee Jung-ho stared blankly for a second before scowling.

“Hey, Yi-chang. Do you think we don’t know that? And why are you acting so arrogant, cutting into a conversation between seniors?” “Isn’t the important thing to save the studio right now?” “What?”

Lee Jung-ho glared at me, his brow furrowed in disbelief.

“Yi-chang, did you eat something wrong? You think we don’t know that?” “Then I’ll try talking to the Teacher.”

Everyone was shocked when I stood up. Shim Kyung-chul asked with a frozen expression.

“Hey, Yi-chang. Are you really going to go into the Teacher’s office? Are you crazy?” “I have an idea.” “An… idea? What idea?” “I’ll tell the Teacher directly.”

As I started walking toward the office, Lee Jung-ho chased me and grabbed me.

“Hey, Yi-chang! Are you insane? Did you drink in the middle of the day? What’s wrong with you?!” “I’m perfectly sober.” “Kid, would a sober person say something so ridiculous?” “I am sober, so please let go.”

I said that as I pried off Lee Jung-ho’s hand, which was gripping my arm tightly. Just then, the door to the Teacher’s office opened, and Lee Ki-chul poked his head out.

“What’s going on? Why is it so noisy out here?!”

Lee Jung-ho flinched next to me.

“I-I’m sorry! Yi-chang here is talking nonsense.” “Yi-chang?”

He looked at me. After locking eyes with me for a moment, Lee Ki-chul looked away.

“We’re talking about something important with the Teacher, so be quiet.” “Yes, sir.”

As Lee Ki-chul started to close the door, I spoke.

“Um, there’s something I’d like to say.”

Lee Ki-chul paused and looked back at me.

“If it’s not important, later.” “I’d like to say it now. To the Teacher as well.”

Lee Ki-chul, who was about to go back in, froze.

“What?” “It’s something I absolutely must tell both of you.”

At those words, the faces of the other seniors in the studio turned pale. I heard Shim Kyung-chul mutter under his breath, “This crazy bastard is really doing it.”