Chapter 7 – The Old Cartoonist (3)
A small studio apartment with only one refrigerator.
Three people sat around the table.
The owner of this office and studio, Andrew Shin.
His temporary assistant, Johan Seo.
And…
"Sir, do you have any more kimchi?"
"…"
Andrew froze.
"I'm sorry. I ran out."
"What kind of house doesn't even have kimchi?"
"This isn't a house. It's a studio."
"Hey, that's enough. Why are you being so picky?"
Even William Oh's son was there.
At first, Andrew thought it was strange.
—Sir, let me order something for you too.
—Are you also an aspiring cartoonist?
—No, I'm just bored.
—If you're bored, shouldn't you just go home and play?
—Why? Why do you hate me even when I say I'll help?
Since Johan had decided to work as an assistant, Ethan had naturally stayed behind to help.
Honestly…
Andrew appreciated the kid's enthusiasm.
But…
"...Etan."
"I told you, it's Ethan. Why do you keep getting my name wrong?"
"Ahem. Ethan. I'm sorry, but do you really need to stay here?"
"Why? Am I bothering you?"
"No, it's not that. It's just… you're probably going to have a hard time here. And since you're William's son, if something happens…"
"It's not hard."
"Huh?"
"Why would it be hard? This place is fun."
Ethan smiled.
"The old man makes ramen for me, Johan is here, and drawing comics is interesting."
Fun?
Was this some kind of kindergarten?
You've never even drawn comics before.
All you do here is erase.
Even that—
You make mistakes and tear holes in the manuscript.
You cut the screentone incorrectly.
When I tell you to fix mistakes with white ink, you spread it everywhere.
At this point, shouldn't making comics have become miserable?
Why is this kid enjoying it so much?
—Of course, Andrew couldn't say that directly to his friend's son.
At that moment, Andrew scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sir, you're not angry, are you?"
"...Huh?"
"I think your face is a little red."
"Ahaha. No, no. It's just hot. That's all."
"Then can I stay?"
"No, that and this are different…"
Andrew turned away with an embarrassed expression.
Then his eyes moved toward Johan.
Johan quietly poured water into everyone's cups.
Andrew looked between the two boys.
'How can they be so different?'
Actually, Johan had always been strange.
Even if you were in your third year of middle school, you were usually just a kid.
But this guy…
He acted like someone completely different.
'Wait.'
Andrew narrowed his eyes.
'If there's one good thing in this world… there's always one bad thing too.'
With a deep sigh, Andrew finished his ramen.
After eating every grain of rice and emptying the bowl, Ethan spoke.
"Mr. Andrew."
"Why?"
"I'll wash the dishes."
"You?"
"Yes. You made ramen for me, and you're busy. Please take Johan and continue working."
Andrew blinked.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The boy smiled.
"It's not difficult."
Andrew stared at him.
Then he quietly nodded.
"...Thanks."
Well.
At least the kid had manners.
"Let's go back inside, Johan."
"Yes, sir."
Back in the studio room, Johan sat down and picked up the manuscript paper.
"Page nine is finished. Please check it."
Andrew took the manuscript and examined it carefully.
"Hmm…"
He scratched his chin.
'This…'
Who would believe this was drawn by a third-year middle school student?
The clean pen strokes.
The accurate facial expressions.
The controlled lines.
Just that alone was enough to call it professional work.
But Andrew wanted to teach him something.
Even a small thing.
"Everything is good, Johan."
Andrew placed his own manuscript beside it.
"Compare yours with mine."
Johan looked carefully.
"Something feels slightly different."
"Can you tell what?"
Johan stared for a moment.
Then his eyes widened.
"Oh."
He snapped his fingers.
"The line thickness."
"Exactly."
Andrew nodded.
"The objects in the foreground use thicker lines. The background uses thinner lines."
He pointed at the manuscript.
"That creates depth and makes the page feel three-dimensional."
"I see…"
Johan's eyes sparkled.
"Thank you, sir."
A smile appeared on his face.
'So this is something I didn't know.'
In his previous life, Johan had only worked with digital webtoons.
Unlike webtoons, where color and layers could create depth, printed comics relied entirely on black-and-white techniques.
Line weight.
Ink control.
Composition.
Those were skills from a completely different world.
'Interesting.'
Scratch.
Scratch.
Johan immediately applied what Andrew taught him.
The drawing changed.
The characters suddenly gained more volume.
Andrew quietly watched.
The corners of his mouth rose.
'A sponge.'
That was the only way to describe him.
It wasn't just talent.
It wasn't just fast learning.
Johan accepted every piece of advice without hesitation.
And his improvement speed was terrifying.
'Is this what they call a genius?'
Andrew took years to develop his own techniques.
But this kid absorbed them within minutes.
If Johan wasn't a genius…
Then who was?
Johan looked up.
"Is something wrong with the manuscript, sir?"
"…"
Andrew shook his head.
"No. It's perfect."
He smiled slightly.
"Keep going."
"Yes!"
Tap.
Andrew lightly patted Johan's shoulder.
And Johan smiled too.
'Coming here was the right choice.'
What he needed now was the complete process of creating a traditional comic manuscript.
Pen lines.
Screentone.
Ink work.
Composition.
Everything.
And here, he had access to materials.
More importantly—
He had a teacher.
Andrew Shin.
A professional cartoonist who had spent years mastering this craft.
Compared to learning everything alone, this saved months of trial and error.
And Andrew also benefited.
Because of Johan and Ethan, his manuscript crisis was solved.
A perfect win-win situation.
'Now…'
Johan looked at Andrew.
It was time for the next step.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Hm?"
"Could you teach me how to work with screentones?"
Andrew blinked.
"Screentones?"
"Yes."
Johan smiled.
"I want to learn everything."
Andrew stared at Johan for a moment.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Just doing the assistant work is already helping me a lot. You don't need to do more."
Johan shook his head.
"No. I want to learn."
He smiled sincerely.
"When will I get another chance to learn from someone as skilled as you?"
The moment Andrew heard those words—
Thump.
Something moved inside his chest.
A great teacher?
His nose suddenly felt itchy for some reason.
Andrew turned his head away and scratched it awkwardly.
'This kid…'
He was different.
A level of skill that didn't match his age.
The ability to recognize someone's experience.
And the courage to challenge himself instead of avoiding difficult things.
Looking at Johan, Andrew felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Hope.
Maybe…
If someone like this entered the comic industry…
Maybe the dying Korean comics market could change.
Andrew clenched his fist.
"Fine!"
His voice became louder.
"I'll teach you! I'll teach you everything I know!"
That was when—
Crash! Bang! Clatter!
A loud noise came from the kitchen.
Both of them turned their heads.
Then Ethan's voice echoed.
"Ah! I broke a plate. Sorry, sir!"
"…"
The hope-filled expression on Andrew's face slowly disappeared.
Right.
That kid was still here.
***
Two Weeks Later
"It's finally finished!"
Andrew stood in the corner of the studio, holding a carefully sealed envelope above his head.
"Finally!"
His voice was full of emotion.
Johan, sitting beside him, sighed deeply.
"Whew… We worked hard."
Ethan stretched his arms and smiled.
"Yeah, we really did. Sir, since we worked so hard, can you buy us something?"
Andrew and Johan both looked at him.
"…"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ahem. Nothing."
Johan shook his head.
"No, it's fine."
But inside, he was thinking the same thing.
'What exactly was difficult for you?'
***
—Ethan! I told you not to touch the screentone!
—But I was trying to help!
—No! What if you put it in the wrong place?!
—Are we supposed to paint this part white?
—That's correction fluid, not actual white paint!
—Oh.
—Why are you saying "oh"?!
For the past two weeks, Ethan had caused countless accidents.
But strangely…
He never gave up.
Most people would have quit after making so many mistakes.
But Ethan just kept trying.
'Well…'
Andrew smiled faintly.
'At least we finished without destroying the manuscript.'
Thanks to those two.
Well…
Mostly Johan.
Andrew had managed to complete his work on time.
He avoided another disaster with the editorial department.
And soon, a new assistant he hired would arrive at the studio.
Everything had worked out.
"Alright."
Andrew stood up.
"I'm treating you guys today."
He smiled.
"What do you want? Meat? Sashimi?"
"Meat, obviously."
Ethan answered immediately.
"Right, Johan?"
"Yeah. Pork belly sounds good."
The two boys answered happily.
Andrew laughed.
"Alright. Let's go."
He picked up the envelope.
"We'll stop by the post office first and send this."
Then he smiled.
"After that, we'll eat until we're full."
"Okay!"
"Thank you, sir."
The three of them walked down the old villa stairs.
"Hey, slow down."
"Come on, sir!"
"Kids these days…"
Andrew shook his head.
But he was smiling.
***
When Ethan and Johan reached the first-floor lobby—
Bang!
"Whoa!"
Ethan, who was walking ahead, suddenly crashed into something.
He fell backward and landed on the floor.
"Huh?"
Johan stopped walking.
He looked up.
A man was standing in the lobby.
For a moment, Johan's eyes widened.
Because the person blocking their way looked like someone straight out of a crime movie.
'A gangster?'
He wore jeans and a flight jacket.
His body was muscular, with broad shoulders and tanned skin.
His hair was styled neatly.
And his expression…
A little intimidating.
The kind of face that made people nervous.
The man looked down at Ethan.
One hand was in his pocket.
The other hand held a half-eaten ice cream bar.
Chomp.
He took another bite.
"Kid."
His voice was deep.
"You shouldn't run around like that in a place like this."
"I-I'm sorry!"
Ethan immediately apologized.
His body was stiff.
Johan watched carefully.
'What should I do?'
Should he step in?
Should he call the police?
The situation looked suspicious.
At that moment—
Andrew came down the stairs behind them.
He blinked.
Then he sighed.
"Oh, come on…"
The man turned his head.
"Andrew."
"Editor."
Johan and Ethan looked confused.
Editor?
This guy?
The man looked nothing like an editor.
Andrew rubbed his forehead.
"If you walk around dressed like that, people will misunderstand you."
The man shrugged.
"This is comfortable."
He took another bite of his ice cream.
"What can I do?"
Then he looked at Andrew.
"The problem is you care too much about what other people think."
Andrew sighed.
"Kids, say hello."
He pointed at the man.
"This is editor Samuel Ko. He's in charge of my work."
Johan nodded politely.
So this was the editor.
Appearance really was misleading.
Samuel looked at the two boys.
"Are they your nephews or something?"
"Well…"
Andrew scratched his head.
"It's complicated."
Then he remembered something.
He lifted the envelope in his hand.
"Oh, right."
"You came to pick this up, didn't you?"
Samuel looked surprised.
"Hm? What's that?"
"What do you think? The manuscript."
"This week's manuscript?"
"Yes."
"But the deadline isn't for another three days."
"I finished early."
Andrew casually said it.
But his eyes secretly glanced toward Johan.
Even without words, Johan understood.
'Thank you.'
That was the message.
Ethan suddenly puffed out his chest and gave Andrew a thumbs-up.
'Why are you so proud?'
Johan almost laughed.
Then Samuel smiled.
A very suspicious smile.
"Oh?"
"So you have some free time now?"
Andrew's expression changed.
"Technically… yes."
"Then…"
Samuel placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder.
"Writer Andrew."
He smiled brightly.
"You know I really like you, right?"
Andrew's face immediately stiffened.
"Just say what you want."
"That smile makes me nervous."
Samuel cleared his throat.
"Anyway."
"Writer Andrew."
"Write me a short story."
"16 pages."
"The deadline?"
He smiled.
"Two days."
Andrew froze.
"...What?"
Johan, watching from behind, slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
'Oh?'
Something interesting just happened.