Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent?
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‘She doesn’t quite fit in right away, does she.’
It was the concern others had voiced.
Tae-seong knew it too.
Even so, he had chosen her for one single reason.
Tae-seong glanced at her portfolio on his desk.
A single drawing.
An angel shining brilliantly against a dark background.
The image even conveyed a sense of holiness.
It was a drawing so outstanding that the other team members had been impressed.
But Tae-seong saw something else.
‘The drawing is alive.’
To others, it was just an exceptional piece of art, nothing more or less.
However, Tae-seong, who had reached the pinnacle of drawing, could see it.
The drawing contained life.
It carried that vital energy felt only in world-renowned masterpieces.
That was why he had selected her.
He was already looking forward to seeing what she would show once she adapted to the team.
* * *
The call from Deputy Manager Im Byeong-cheol came three days later.
-Approval has come down from the top.
The process had been surprisingly swift.
He had expected it to take at least a week or two, given it was a major corporation.
-We’ll need four models as prototypes. How about starting with about 50 units in stock for each?
“That sounds good. Then we’ll move forward with full production on our end.”
-Please direct all future communications about character merchandise to me.
“Understood. Thank you.”
After hanging up, Tae-seong dove into the real work.
TS Media didn’t have a dedicated character merchandise department yet.
It was all on him to handle.
‘Making 50 units entirely in-house would be too much.’
Acquiring a factory was an option, but hiring staff right now was impractical.
Figure production in Korea required specialized talent.
Assembling a team quickly wasn’t feasible.
‘I’ll create the blueprints myself and outsource the rest.’
There were plenty of figure manufacturers in Korea.
He planned to commission one of them.
First, though, he needed to draw up the blueprints.
The characters for the figures had already been decided.
Choi Seong-o, the protagonist; Kim Seul-gi, the heroine; Mirine, the other female supporting character; and Sobyul, the mascot.
As the protagonist driving the story of *The Return of the SSS-Class Hunter*, Choi Seong-o enjoyed immense popularity.
The other characters each had their unique charms and played key roles in the plot.
‘I’d love to make the creatures too, but...’
For now, prioritizing characters with proven merchandise appeal was key.
Since it was their first product launch, demand was uncertain.
Creature figures could come later.
‘First things first: select a manufacturer.’
Tae-seong had already narrowed down a few candidates.
* * *
Figure World.
The company dominated the domestic figure market.
Korea’s figure industry wasn’t that old.
Back in the 2000s, owning figures often drew weird looks from those around you.
But the 2010s brought a global boom in character merchandise, changing everything.
Adults who collected figures—known as “kidults”—formed a massive market.
American superhero movie figures, in particular, had an enormous market.
Figures ranged from tens of thousands to millions of won, yet fans eagerly opened their wallets.
As global trends shifted, Korea saw a surge in figure companies.
The explosion came after 3D printers became commercially available.
They made figure production incredibly straightforward.
Figure World had aggressively adopted 3D printing to rise as Korea’s top figure maker.
At its helm was CEO Jang Seong-ho.
A pioneer in Korea’s 3D printing scene, he was now meeting with TS Media’s CEO.
“Oh ho...”
TS Media had proposed the meeting a week ago.
Despite a packed schedule, the mention of webtoon figures had him clearing everything to make it happen.
At the meeting, Tae-seong from TS Media presented 3D printer blueprints.
“We’re commercializing these four characters from the blueprints. We’ve already made a sample of one.”
Tae-seong pulled out Sobyul to show.
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Of course.”
“Oh ho, this is well-made. I expected good quality from the blueprints, but... this is really impressive. The coloring is spot-on too.”
After examining Sobyul, Jang Seong-ho set it down and said,
“At this quality level, you could produce it in-house. So why outsource...?”
“I want the absolute best.”
That one sentence explained it all.
The sample Sobyul was undoubtedly well-crafted.
Objectively, it was upper-tier quality.
But “the absolute best” was another level.
“You may not know this, but we use only the finest materials and talent. That drives up the base cost considerably. Is that alright?”
“Yes. As long as you deliver the best product, cost isn’t an issue.”
“Understood. We’ll take the commission.”
CEO Jang accepted without hesitation.
He was one of millions of Korean webtoon readers.
He knew *The Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* well—and was a huge fan.
‘To make figures from a series like this.’
It was worth dropping everything for.
* * *
A formal contract was signed with Figure World.
He sent over the three blueprints he had prepared in advance.
But one blueprint remained unfinished.
“Hmm, this is trickier than I thought.”
The character giving Tae-seong trouble was Mirine.
Mirine had contracted with the Fire Spirit King, specializing in flame magic.
She had a fiery personality but was surprisingly a pure-hearted romantic, always trailing after Choi Seong-o.
Reality mirrored that.
She had chased him relentlessly, confessing her love.
He had firmly rejected her, but she never left his side.
Not until her death.
“No clear image coming to mind.”
Was her impression on him too strong?
Unlike the other characters, he couldn’t get a feel for the figure’s pose.
He had sketched and scrapped layouts multiple times.
“Hm?”
Just then, he heard footsteps outside the studio.
Opening the door, he saw Ki Min-jeong hurriedly turning away.
“Min-jeong-ssi?”
“Ah... H-hello!”
“Hello. You’re already here? It’s early for work.”
Staff arrived at 10 a.m.
But it was only 8 a.m.
He had come early just to work on the figure blueprints.
“Ah... I... I wanted to do some personal work... S-sorry!”
“No, it’s fine. Feel free to use the place outside business hours.”
“Th-thank you!”
Ki Min-jeong bowed deeply.
Her timid nature was on full display.
‘If only she could overcome that personality, she’d adapt just fine.’
He knew her skills were top-notch.
But her personality was the obstacle.
The problem was, others couldn’t fix someone’s personality for them.
‘Hm?’
Then he noticed her sneaking glances at the 3D printer behind him.
“Interested in the 3D printer?”
“Ah! A... a little.”
“Want to take a quick look?”
“R-really?!”
Her voice finally carried some energy.
She must really like it.
Tae-seong stepped aside to let her in.
Entering the studio, Ki Min-jeong marveled at the 3D printer nonstop.
Her “Wow!” and “Ooh!” reactions made her look like a three-year-old with a new toy.
Then her eyes landed on the scattered blueprints nearby.
“Oh... It’s Mirine...”
She was a reader of *The Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* too.
She loved it so much that when Tae-seong founded TS Media and started recruiting, she applied without a second thought.
She adored many characters, but Mirine was her favorite.
Bold and assertive—the polar opposite of her own shy, friendless self.
She envied that.
She even drew Mirine alone, spinning fantasies into stories.
And now, here she was.
With her interest in 3D printers, she recognized it as a sketch for blueprints.
Suddenly, her eyes caught the pen beside the paper.
Her greatest strength—and weakness—emerged.
Scribble-scribble!
Grabbing the pen, she effortlessly sketched Mirine in the blank space.
Tae-seong’s eyes lit up as he watched.
‘Flow state.’
People sometimes lose themselves in a task, forgetting their surroundings.
A flow state—extreme focus.
Tae-seong wrote faster than others because he could enter this state at will.
Physically average, but mentally beyond human limits, his concentration was naturally superior.
Now, that state unfolded in someone else.
She forgot Tae-seong was even there, lost in her drawing.
That was her flaw.
To others, she looked downright scary right now.
Her eyes locked solely on the paper in hyper-focus.
In this state, she couldn’t hear anyone calling.
That’s why her few friends had drifted away after seeing it.
After a few childhood incidents, she lost her confidence.
The courage to make friends vanished too.
‘Impressive.’
But Tae-seong, who understood flow states well, focused only on her drawing.
It was Mirine.
Right hand raised to chest height, finger pointed upward.
Left hand haughtily on her hip, eyes looking down disdainfully.
Her long hair, once covering her hips, now flared toward the sky.
Her signature red flames swirled around her like a trademark.
The outfit was spot-on too.
The red dress she wore in the novel and webtoon clung tightly, accentuating her curves.
‘I overcomplicated it.’
Seeing the sketch, he realized his mistake.
He knew Mirine too well.
Her sadness, her backstory—he knew it all.
Trying to capture everything had ruined his attempts.
‘I forgot what Mirine fans actually want.’
Min-jeong had drawn purely what she loved.
“Ah...!”
About 30 minutes later?
Finishing the drawing snapped her out of it, and she dropped the pen.
She whipped around to face Tae-seong.
“S-sorry! I’m so sorry!”
She apologized.
Realizing she’d slipped into that “scary” state people hated.
Jeong Tae-seong was her favorite author.
She wanted to work here more than anything.
She’d achieved that dream, only to show this side—now she feared getting fired.
That’s when Tae-seong spoke.
“Min-jeong-ssi.”
“Y-yes...?”
“Want to work in the figure division?”
Her eyes blinked wide at the unexpected offer.