Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent?
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“So, we’d like to turn [Return of the SSS-Class Hunter] into a webtoon.”
Representative Kwon cut straight to the chase.
He had already gauged Jeong Tae-seong’s personality.
Beating around the bush wouldn’t work and would only annoy him.
“Sounds good.”
Tae-seong accepted readily.
Representative Kwon let out a sigh of relief.
He had braced himself for a possible rejection.
After all, Tae-seong was an author who always defied expectations.
“How does the process work from here?”
“There are two main approaches. The first is where you provide the original content as the author, and the rest is handled by the webtoon artist. If needed, we can bring in a story adapter—someone who converts the novel into webtoon format.”
“Since novels and comics differ in expression and direction, having someone to bridge that gap would help convey the story more effectively.”
“Exactly.”
“And the second option?”
“The second is where you participate as the story adapter. In that case, you’d also have input on the adaptation and directing. It really depends on the author’s preference, so we usually leave it to their choice.”
“Hmm.”
Tae-seong fell into thought.
This wasn’t a decision to rush.
Sensing that, Representative Kwon gave him time to mull it over.
“You don’t have to decide right away...”
“Do you have a pen by any chance?”
“A pen?”
“Yes, even a ballpoint would do.”
“Here you go.”
“Thanks. And could I borrow a sheet of paper too?”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
A pen and paper out of nowhere?
Though puzzled, Representative Kwon handed them over without asking questions.
Tae-seong spread out the paper, took the ballpoint pen, and began sketching something.
‘A drawing? Right, he mentioned being a designer.’
Design work required a steady hand.
That was the common assumption among those unfamiliar with the field.
Representative Kwon didn’t think much of it.
Had he watched longer, he might have thought differently—but Tae-seong didn’t give him the chance.
“If we go ahead with the webtoon, how does it proceed?”
“Well, first we scout an artist. Your involvement is up to you, as I mentioned earlier, and the royalty split adjusts accordingly.”
“I’d like more details on that.”
“Sure. As the original author, you’d get incentives, but the share is on the lower side—around 10% of the royalty allocation.”
“And I wouldn’t have any further involvement?”
“Right. You’d just provide the original work and, if you want, offer supervision at most.”
“Not a bad deal.”
It was a way to generate extra revenue while writing novels.
From that angle, it was far from a poor option.
“What if I join as the story adapter?”
“Then we’d negotiate with the artist. Artists vary in caliber, of course. Those with strong artwork and name recognition command higher rates.”
“Given the differences between comics and novels, the artist’s influence is huge, so that makes sense.”
“Spot on.”
As they talked, Representative Kwon felt at ease.
Some novelists griped about artists getting a bigger cut despite only providing the original work.
It stemmed from ignorance of webtoon production costs and the artist’s efforts.
His job was to explain that.
But with Tae-seong, no such persuasion was needed, which was a relief.
“If we hire an artist at this level of quality, what would the split be?”
“Pardon?”
Tae-seong slid the paper over.
Representative Kwon glanced at it with a questioning tone.
“This is...”
He couldn’t trust his eyes.
It was the plain white sheet he’d given just moments ago.
And on it stood a single character.
“Choi Seong-oh.”
The protagonist from [Return of the SSS-Class Hunter].
Choi Seong-oh.
Even without explanation, he knew instantly.
The novel described his appearance only once.
Yet this character screamed Choi Seong-oh.
‘He drew this just now?’
Representative Kwon mainly handled novels.
He’d started as a novel editor.
Lately, he’d dealt with webtoons too.
His eye for art had sharpened as a result.
‘This is... on par with pros.’
It was just a sketch.
The lines still needed cleanup.
Even so, the skill shone through.
Above all, it captured Choi Seong-oh’s essence perfectly.
Not just the physical traits, but that aloof gaze was spot-on.
The outfit matched the novel’s description too.
What stunned him most was that Tae-seong had drawn it mid-conversation.
In barely ten minutes.
“Representative?”
“Oh... sorry. It’s so impressive, I lost myself staring at it.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Have you done art professionally before?”
“I’ve dabbled a bit through design work.”
“Ah...”
That was the answer he’d expected.
Before seeing the drawing, he’d have bought it.
Now? Not so much.
‘No need to pry.’
Everyone has secrets.
If the other person skirted it, no point pushing.
“Is it hard to find artists at this quality?”
“No, we could, but... at this level, they’d demand top dollar.”
“That’s fine. I can live with it if the quality’s this good.”
“Then I’ll look into it.”
“Please do.”
“Mind if I take this drawing?”
“Go ahead.”
With permission granted, Representative Kwon tucked it into his briefcase.
They then drafted the contract.
It permitted secondary rights usage.
Tae-seong limited it to webtoons only among secondary rights.
It felt picky.
But as the industry’s top author now, Tae-seong deserved leeway.
Representative Kwon wasn’t so shortsighted as to object.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my utmost to ensure the work shines as stellar secondary content.”
“Looking forward to it.”
[Return of the SSS-Class Hunter].
The first work’s webtoon adaptation was now official.
* * *
Representative Kwon hit the ground running.
He met various contacts to scout artists for the webtoon.
The webtoon scene had shifted to agency models lately.
Writers gathered under companies.
He had ties to several such firms.
First up: DY Agency.
Pioneers in webtoon management, they boasted the most affiliated artists.
“Long time, Representative Kwon.”
“Hope you’ve been well.”
After greetings with DY’s CEO Park Seung-cheol, Kwon got down to business.
“I’m here about a webtoon adaptation.”
“[Return of the SSS-Class Hunter]?”
“Word travels fast.”
“It’s blowing up, isn’t it? Number one on Grape Books, number one on Geulse World. Figured a webtoon was inevitable.”
“I see.”
Grape Books wasn’t just for novels.
Webtoons, comics, films, merch books—all under one roof.
[Return of the SSS-Class Hunter]’s sales dominated regardless.
“No support from Grape Books, I assume?”
“Correct.”
“Then I’ll compile a list of A-rank quality artists to start.”
“Thanks.”
Webtoon artists’ rates hinged on art and direction.
Agencies graded them accordingly and matched clients.
With Grape Books’ backing, A-grade or higher was the baseline.
“Any chance of finding artists who match this style?”
Kwon handed over a sheet.
“Concept art?”
“No. The original author sketched his vision of the protagonist when we discussed the webtoon.”
“The original... author drew this?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t he a novelist?”
“He is.”
“Hmm...”
Park Seung-cheol studied it intently.
His gaze turned serious.
“Wow—this is seriously good.”
“You think so?”
The long silence ended in genuine admiration.
Kwon echoed it.
“Yeah, it looks rough at a glance, but it nails the character’s traits. I haven’t read [Return of the SSS-Class Hunter] yet, but the protagonist’s got that cold edge, right?”
“Yes, exactly. How’d you know?”
“It’s in the character. Technically flawless too. This isn’t amateur work.”
“He’s currently a graphic designer.”
“Ah, makes sense. Maybe art major in school? Anyway, this quality is near S-grade. That okay?”
“The artwork’s that impressive?”
“It’s not just quality—it’s maintaining it over a serialization run. Takes real skill. Plus prep time.”
“How much prep?”
“For this level, one season... at least five months for a five-chapter buffer.”
“Five months?”
“Yeah. Tell the original author; he’d get it. This probably took him a full day, right?”
“...”
Kwon’s expression turned subtle at Park’s words.
“Representative Kwon?”
“Oh... sorry. But the original author drew this in... just ten minutes.”
“What?”
“Right in front of me... with a ballpoint pen.”
“What??”
Park Seung-cheol double-took in disbelief.
Seeing that, Kwon thought to himself.
‘Just who the hell is that author?’
Representative Kwon was thoroughly baffled.