Chapter 168 – New Series (2)
Seo Joo-hwan muttered in a slightly bewildered mood.
“I’m a webtoon artist…….”
Webcomic. No matter how many times I checked with Choi Ma-hwa, these words do not feel realistic.
‘Actually, looking at the grades, it’s not that strange.’
He achieved the first place in monthly sales three times on the largest novel platform in Korea, Guljoa, and achieved that overwhelmingly.
Of course, the reason why it was able to take first place in monthly sales by a large margin was the ignorant Yeoncham, but excluding the Yeoncham, it would have been in the top 5 even if the performance per episode was counted. After the completion, the number of purchases was on the rise. So, it was not strange that the offer of a webtoon came.
However, it reminded me of the days when I used to write one episode and live for a day, and I felt new.
“It turned out to be really good.”
A proud smile appeared on Seo Joo-hwan’s lips. The completed ‘Master of Possession’, Moorim’s achievements, was a work that had a special meaning to him.
This is the work that got the best grades while writing ‘Die in the Closet’. A work that I finally wanted to see the light of day as an artist. However, the work that eventually became a posthumous work in the wind that died right after the pay-per-view.
For that reason, the work with many regrets in many ways was ‘The Master of Possession’.
‘Because now is 2016… It must have been a while since I started making webtoons in earnest.’
Webtoon adaptations of web novels had been done before, but it was around 2015 that he started riding the trend in earnest in his memory.
In 2015, ‘Moonlight Joxa’, a super hit in the days of a rental store, was turned into a webtoon on a yellow page. After that, other works gradually started to become webtoons one by one.
In conclusion, webtoonization of web novels is a great success.
Did you envy the success of the yellow pages? It’s a bit late, but ‘Navy Webtoon’, the largest webtoon platform in Korea, is also starting to pay attention to web novels. Afterwards, Navy Webtoon expanded and linked its own web novel platform to create a webtoon based on the original web novel.
‘Who would have known that the minor otaku market would grow that much in Korea.’
Seo Joo-hwan returned after living in the future nine years from now. So I was sure. This market, which is still in the shadows, will see tremendous development in the next few years.
The value of web novels as one source multi use (OSMU) increases over time.
Of course, it’s not just about being successful. There were countless secondary creations that took the wrong direction and were criticized by the public. In particular, the handling of gamification was not good. However, by 2023, it is early to produce animations based on web novels, like Japan, an island country next door.
‘Will I be able to do it later?’
It was a time when there weren’t that many webcomic works yet. If you are doing webtoon now, it can be said that it is the point where you can say that you are at the forefront in your own way.
‘Let’s work hard.’
Seo Joo-hwan had a desire system that expanded the limits of his talent. All he needs is points (LP), hard work, and a bit of luck.
“I need to write a new book soon. I have to finish the quest too.”
Seo Ju-hwan relaxed and sat down in front of the computer again.
『New series』
▶ You have finished the work that you could not finish before returning with good grades.
However, my thirst for writing is still not quenched, so I want to write the next piece as soon as possible.
Any work is good, so write what you want to write.
However, it must be approved by Mihwa Choi, the editor in charge.
▶ Achievement condition: New serialization.
▶ Reward: 5,000LP
It seemed that he would be able to solve the sixth desire quest soon.
*
In the cafe on Saturday.
As usual, Seo Ju-hwan came out earlier than the scheduled time and was waiting for Choi Mi-hwa.
‘Lucy, don’t you think the reward for this quest is too salty?’
[Because the clear difficulty is low. How about aiming for additional compensation?]
‘What are the conditions?’
[Sorry, Master. I can’t tell you.]
‘Flaw. Actually, I didn’t expect much.’
The desire quest detects the desire of the user, Seo Joo-hwan, or people around him, and randomly creates a quest. The difficulty of the quest varies greatly accordingly. The sixth desire quest was the least difficult so far.
‘Anyway, I just have to write what I want to write.’
Of course, there was a condition that he had to get a confirmation from Mi-hwa Choi, but I wasn’t too worried. This is because Master of Possession believes in his greatly improved writing skills compared to when he started ‘The Moorim Gongjeok’.
‘I also sought advice from Sora noona.’
We broke up on Monday and have already called three times.
The cost of consulting Jeong So-ra set is an interesting story. If you don’t have anything to say, you can sing or recite a poem, but there was still a lot to say, so there was no pressure.
“Hello, writer.”
Just then, a woman of intelligent charm wearing round glasses came forward. She was Choi Mi-hwa, his editor in charge.
Seo Joo-hwan stood up from his seat and exaggeratedly bowed his head.
“Oh, why are you being so respectful all of a sudden, cursing PD-nim?”
“Oh, when did you say I cursed at you?”
“Mihwa, have you gained weight that I haven’t seen before?”
“It’s a dog. What’s steaming!”
Choi Mi-hwa immediately spat out swear words.
Well. This is how Choi Mi-hwaji is. Seo Joo-hwan giggled at her and offered her a seat.
“It’s a joke. I’ve lost a lot of weight It has become prettier.”
“Huh. It’s too late to flatter now. I won’t look at you and I’ll shake you off.”
Choi Mi-hwa snorted and sat down. But she seems to have liked her praise her, and she has a faint smile on her face.
‘Let’s see. Huh, I lost 7 kilos.’
Her height of her when she first saw her and her weight of her were 161 cm and 53 kg. On the other hand she has lost weight up to 46 kg now. Originally, she had the image of an intelligent career woman, but her thinned face made her look more intelligent.
“Anyway, it’s nice to see your face after a long time. I lost too much weight, so someone did it at the moment.”
“What did you say.”
Choi Mi-hwa spit out curtly and glanced at Seo Ju-hwan.
‘He’s talking to someone else.’
What are you talking about after you have changed so much?
‘He lost weight and became very handsome.’
While Choi Mi-hwa was saying hello to her, she glanced at Seo Ju-hwan’s face her. She had quite a bit of flesh when we met before, but she showed how slim she had been, her sharp jawline showing under her thick face her. If you ask if she just lost weight, she’s not like that, she’s taller and bigger, so I thought she was a different person for a moment. She wonders if she walks into the cafe and she can’t find him and she must have been lost for five minutes.
‘I did well to lose weight.’
I didn’t lose weight because I wanted to, but I was forced to lose weight because I was hit by work, but now I feel rather fortunate.
She intermingled with him once. She made me feel like meeting her ex her, whom I hadn’t seen in months. That said, her pride as a woman reared her head.
“Yes. These days, that was fun.”
“There are other things. It’s a managed material, but I read it without hesitation.”
“It’s not Webso, but the recently released mystery novel…….”
Choi Mi-hwa laughed while talking happily with Seo Ju-hwan for a while. She’s felt it before, but it’s fun to talk to someone who also shares her hobbies with her. This man seemed to be reading as much as himself, a print addict. Thanks to that, the story continued uninterrupted.
But good times are short. The purpose of coming here was not to recommend novels and chat with each other.
She felt Seo Joo-hwan’s glance at her and took a small breath before speaking.
“Shall we talk soon? I read what you gave me.”
“Ugh. Okay. How was it?”
Seo Joo-hwan looked at Choi Mi-hwa with renewed tension. It was because her mood was her, which she had been laughing and talking just a moment ago, changed in an instant. One of Choi Mi-hwa’s talents came to mind.
Vicious language (C/B+).
The moment when the dry saliva goes over.
“I think it would be better to change the first half.”
Feedback started.
*
Choi Mi-hwa’s talents displayed on the status window are discernment (A/A+), speed reading (B+/A+), communication (C+/B+), and vitriol (C/B+).
Talent specialized in discovering and nurturing talented people. In fact, Choi Mi-hwa used to find artists like gemstones who she hadn’t seen the light of day yet. Thanks to this, she will have the nickname ‘Headhunter’ in the future.
Choi Mi-hwa’s feedback on her was quite sharp.
“It doesn’t fit the breath of a web novel. As far as I can see, if it’s you, you can adjust it to suit you better. Let’s change the beginning. I will help you. You can read and give feedback as much as you like.”
“The writing is too heavy from the beginning. I’m not saying don’t write what you want. Even considering the influx, it’s good to be able to lightly press the next episode in the beginning.”
“Are you going to capture the target audience of readers only with a military pen? There are too many terminology explanations. Oh, rather, the explanation was omitted to broaden the target audience? Of course, you can’t explain too much to the point of becoming a brick. But a brief explanation will allow the reader to imagine more concretely.”
Seo Joo-hwan’s head was dizzy at the words that continued after that. Clearly, he wrote it diligently, seeking unprecedented advice with his advanced writing skills, but how can he be so rude?
‘The kids said it was fun!’
Before she showed it to Choi Mi-hwa, she received feedback from her friends about her, including Jeong Ha-yeon.
Reviews are all praised.
I said that it was an unfamiliar genre, but it was fun, that I read it in an instant, and told me to put out the next part quickly. Of course, because of the difference in taste, there were reviews saying that ‘Master of Ice’ was more fun… I never imagined it would be this far.
“Hmm.”
Choi Mi-hwa, who was pouring out her words, corrects her glasses and catches her breath. Today, the shiny silver-rimmed round glasses felt cold.
‘This witch… !’
She wanted to shout that, but she had no choice but to keep her mouth shut because the specific feedback was clearly convincing. However, her appetite was bitter because she was convinced.
Did Choi Mi-Hwa feel the same? She finished her sentence and adjusted her spectacles. She said with a bitter smile.
“You don’t have to accept all my thoughts. I just expressed my opinion, because you, the writer, are writing.”
“… No. I’ll try to fix it. I think I can write better.”
“Yes. I said it because I thought it would be possible.”
“I am very sick…….”
“Put. Would you like some medicine then?”
“Approximately?”
Choi Mi-hwa opened her mouth again, smiling softly, unlike a moment ago.
“Looking at it, it seemed like he wanted to write a dramatic story even though the background was military.”
“… Right.”
“I think it’s good that you chose the military background. The space can be reduced and expanded freely, and new characters can be added continuously while maintaining a certain number of characters.”
“That’s right too. Recruits arrive, get discharged. If you add a character with a new story, you’re demobilizing another character. Then I thought I could make it less messy.”
If you want to expand the space, you can expand from the dormitory to a platoon, from a platoon to a company, or to a battalion or division level. When you go on vacation there, the background changes in itself.
Mi-Hwa Choi saw through such a point at once.
“And you said you were consulted?”
“Yes. My older sister is an active duty officer.”
“Sister…? Anyway, maybe because of that, not only the soldiers but also the executive characters were very three-dimensional. It’s not enough to explain the terms, but it was good because each character has a distinct personality.”
“Flaw. Do you even give me compliments?”
“Then did you know you could just peel it off?”
Seo Joo-hwan laughed when he saw Choi Mi-hwa talking playfully. She wouldn’t be so famous if she had only been a vitriol. Her ability for ‘communication’ was as high as her talent for ‘venomous speech’.
“Anyway, to put it simply, it’s fun. Before reading it, I was worried because it was military stuff, but it turned out to be a useless worry.”
“Whoa. Thank god.”
“Still, don’t expect sales like the previous one. After all, there is such a thing as a taste that goes through the web site. Maybe even 200 per month will barely come out.”
“That’s what…….”
Seo Joo-hwan nodded her head as if it were natural. If she had cared about profit in the first place, she would have written in a different genre. It would be nice if she looked after her a lot, but she had already put it down to some extent.
However, Choi Mi-hwa, who told her to lower her expectations of her, had a slightly different idea.
‘It’s just not suitable for Webso, but it’s fun enough. Rather, I like this more than the previous one…….’
He was so ignorant of the military that even he found it amusing. She said that the explanation of the terms was poor, but that was not a big deal considering the fundamental fun of writing.
‘You just need to refine it to fit the web site. And with a little luck…….’
Eat enough.
Choi Mi-hwa thought so.
*
After the conversation, the two left the cafe and went to have dinner. After talking for a while, I was exhausted and hungry.
“Expensive food, let’s eat expensive and delicious food unconditionally.”
“Why are you crying out for something so expensive? Do you have a lot of money?”
“It’s okay because I’m going to scratch it with a law knife. The boss told us to buy a lot of delicious things for writer Seo.”
After all, since there was a profit he made in just three months, expensive food would not be a waste.
Completed over 400 features in just three months. The average number of purchases is over 7,000. It’s because it was completed so quickly, considering the number of purchases that will continue to go up for a while, even an average of 10,000 was ridiculous.
The two of them went into a seemingly luxurious restaurant and even received a solitary room. We ate the food that came out afterwards and talked about what we couldn’t finish.
“The boss seems to have liked your novel. They said that now is an opportunity and they are strongly promoting webtoonization.”
“Thank you for taking good care of me.”
“Of course you should look good. Having completed more than four hundred episodes in three months… How much money did you make in a short period of time? Even if I were the president, I would have made it into a webtoon.”
“Flaw. The serialization was a bit quick.”
“Rather than that, look at this.”
Choi Mi-hwa held out her phone and showed some pictures. They were dynamic pictures with bold lines.
“This is Popol, the artist the boss has been looking for. I’m not familiar with drawing, so I don’t know… How is it? Don’t you think you draw well?”
“Well. I don’t know either… It seems to draw well. It’s a figure suitable for martial arts.”
“If nothing else happens, this person will draw it for you. Ah, the preparation period until the serialization starts is quite long. Usually, it takes a year, but I could start serializing it at the end of this year at the earliest.”
Since then, there have been various discussions about webtoons.
Seo Joo-hwan was interested in the fact that his writing his was reborn as a picture, and Choi Mi-hwa expressed her anticipation her as a reader because she enjoyed his work her.
So, the two of them had a pleasant conversation late into the night, drinking expensive food and drinks they bought with the law car.
