Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Preparing for Marketing (1)
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“Rokhui. I like you! Will you go out with me?”
In high school, at art academy for college entrance exams, and even in university, Seol Rokhui had always been popular with the opposite sex.
At first, Rokhui simply enjoyed it.
She thought that someone liking her was a form of acknowledgment, a way of proving her own worth.
She believed it was because she was good at drawing, skilled at making comics, or had some other charm, and that her looks were just one talent among many.
But.
“I drew a new comic. Could you take a look at the storyboard?”
“Ah. We’re on a date, so I’ll read it later.”
From the subtle actions, words, and attitudes of the people she dated, Seol Rokhui began to think something was wrong.
Her self-esteem eroded in the face of partners who seemed to have no interest in her beyond her appearance.
A thought took root: *Maybe I’m just an empty shell without this.*
That feeling weighed heavily on her heart throughout her twenties, lightly snatching away her self-worth and the richness of life, rendering her world monochromatic.
These experiences made her extremely passive when it came to romantic relationships.
*I don’t want to go through that again.*
Time passed. After long efforts, she debuted with Greenhouse, tasted a measure of success, and color slowly began to seep back into her life.
Whenever she attended artist gatherings, there were once again artists who showed interest in her.
For a moment, she hoped that this time would be different, since they shared the same profession and were all comic creators.
-With my current work, I’m making about 20 million won a month. What are your sales like, Ms. Rokhui?-
Money, money, money.
Most of the artists were people who, rather than having serious conversations about their work, were obsessed with the numbers that represented money.
Their words brought back memories of her colorless past and made her put up a wall against their advances.
A difference in values.
To put it simply, that was it. But Rokhui’s heart was sinking under the weight of these sand-like things piling up, layer by layer.
It was around that time, while she was working on her first project at Greenhouse.
*This isn’t fun.*
Rokhui was feeling a sense of monotony with her own work.
The readers were responding, but there wasn't a single person with whom she could have a serious conversation about herself and her work.
The other artists were all busy with their own projects, and everyone else seemed more interested in her looks than her comics.
In that environment, her initial spark of creative desire dulled, and the days dragged on, with the weekly webtoon serialization itself becoming a chore.
Then one day.
“What’s this? This game is fun.”
Rokhui came across an indie game called ‘Forgotten Andersen’s Story.’
As someone who had always enjoyed games, and with its fairytale theme strongly piquing her interest, she didn't hesitate to play it.
*Amazing. Truly amazing. To think a game like this could be made by a solo developer.*
And that game gave Rokhui a fresh shock.
The overflowing inspiration sparked a powerful creative urge, becoming the driving force that allowed her to safely continue her precarious first project.
She was grateful.
*Who on earth could have made such a game?*
Just by playing the game, she could tell how sincerely the person had made it, how much they sparkled.
If she ever had the chance, she desperately wanted to meet that person.
Then, one day.
[Yeon Kim: C’mooon~ Please, just go with me this one time, Rokhui!]
Yeon Kim, an artist she was close with, asked Rokhui to go on a group date with her.
She said there was an artist she was interested in, whom she’d been talking to on social media, but she felt awkward meeting him alone and wanted Rokhui to come along.
Naturally, Rokhui, being cautious about such meetings, refused several times.
But an unexpected remark from Yeon Kim changed everything.
[Yeon Kim: The guy on the other side is a game developer, apparently? Forgotten Andersen’s Story? Didn’t you say you really enjoyed that game, Rokhui?]
The moment she heard those words, Rokhui’s heart sank.
To think she could meet the person she had been constantly thinking about in this way.
The night before the meeting, after telling Yeon she would go.
Rokhui couldn't easily fall asleep.
*What should I talk about when I meet him?*
He was, in a way, no different from a ‘muse’—the person who had rekindled her will to create.
She spent the night thinking over and over about what kind of conversation she would have with him.
And then, the day of the meeting arrived.
“Hello. I’ve heard so much about you! I’m a huge fan of Forgotten Andersen’s Story.”
Gone was the person who had been so reluctant to meet new people; Rokhui actively struck up a conversation with Jo Hyunsoo.
And what followed were more amazing stories.
“Oh? You’ve read my work too, Hyunsoo?”
“Yes, yes. Since we were both working with a similar theme of fairytales, I looked at a lot of different works. I’m sure I was influenced by it to some extent.”
The creator of Forgotten Andersen’s Story, whom she had admired so much, said he had been inspired by her comic.
The fact that they had influenced each other’s work, in completely different mediums, without ever having met, felt like fate.
And this feeling solidified into certainty the more she talked with Jo Hyunsoo.
His attitude toward his work, the stories he wanted to tell through it, the dreams and future he wanted to achieve with it, and so on.
Jo Hyunsoo was the person Seol Rokhui herself dreamed of being. No, he was someone who saw even beyond that, and she felt a sliver of respect for him.
*If I’m with this person, I think I could enjoy creating for the rest of my life.*
This meeting began to paint Seol Rokhui’s once monochromatic life in rich watercolors.
****
And back to today.
My hands trembled slightly as I looked at Rokhui’s face and spoke.
“Uhm, I’ve never done this before, so I might not be very good at it.”
“This is a good time to learn, then. You might have to keep doing it in the future, right?”
Rokhui smiled playfully and shifted slightly, revealing the white nape of her neck. As if bewitched, I moved forward to fasten the necklace.
My hands slipped several times, but Rokhui waited patiently, and I finally succeeded in putting the necklace on her.
Then Rokhui turned around again with a twirl. Her short hair and the necklace spun with her, and the bar’s soft lighting reflected off the turquoise, creating a beautiful shimmer.
“Does it look good?”
“Yes. It’s really beautiful.”
It was a statement born from sincerity, without a hint of exaggeration.
My lips parted, and I began to slowly push the words I had intended to say today up from my throat.
“Rokhui. Um. This might sound very sudden. But this is something I’ve really thought long and hard about before saying.”
“What is it? Please, speak comfortably.”
“How would you feel about dating me with the intention of marriage?”
My voice cracked slightly, and my tone wavered a little.
It felt like I’d messed up by trying too hard to set the mood.
Rokhui’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at me.
Beads of sweat began to form on my forehead, and a single thought filled my mind.
*Ah. I blew it!*
Lately, as I received a lot of help from Rokhui, various thoughts had started to inflate like balloons in my heart.
*It has to be her.*
*I don’t want to lose her.*
*I want to be with Rokhui forever.*
As those feelings grew, I became impatient and worried that other pests would start buzzing around her.
That’s how charming the Rokhui I knew was, a person with her own distinct color and style.
“.”
After a silence that felt as long as an eternity, about a minute or so.
Rokhui, who had been still, smiled playfully and tossed out a question.
“Hmm. Why do you want to marry me, Hyunsoo?”
In that moment, too many thoughts flooded my mind again.
But I felt that if I poured them all out at once, I would fail to convey my true feelings.
*Calm down. Think of this like a competitive presentation and say something that gets right to the core.*
I took a deep breath and slowly opened my mouth.
“Rokhui, you’re a charming and radiant person on your own, but the time we spend creating things together, cheering each other on, and helping one another… those moments have been so joyful and happy for me. I thought it would be truly wonderful if we could spend our lives like this 10 years from now, 20 years from now, and even after that. I don’t know what you think, but I became certain that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and that’s why I wanted to pick up the pace a little instead of taking the long way around.”
“Heeh. Is that so?”
Rokhui’s lips curved up slightly into her characteristic cat-like expression, tinged with a bit of mischief.
“How should I answer thisss?”
She then fiddled with her fingers, stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then met my gaze again and opened her mouth.
“I think… I feel similarly to you, Hyunsoo.”
“Oh. Then…”
“It’s fun being with you, and even though we’re dating, you’re someone who lets me shine as myself, you know? I also think that if I could continue this kind of relationship for the rest of my life, it would be a pretty happy and good life.”
Rokhui gave a small nod, and I had to take a deep breath to contain my overwhelming emotions.
“Well, then. Since we’re on the topic, would it be okay to talk about things a little different from usual? For example, where we’d want to live, things like that.”
Getting married.
It was just a short phrase, but this new premise unlocked a bolt in our conversation, allowing us to take another step forward.
Where we wanted to live, and at what standard.
Our thoughts on children or pets.
The future we dreamed of, the kind of life we wanted to live, and realistically, how much money we had saved.
It became an occasion to confirm our thoughts on many things as we talked.
“It’s amazing, how we seem to be so similar in these aspects too, Hyunsoo.”
Perhaps it was because we had been dating while sharing similar values and thoughts.
Our stories overlapped in many areas, and the parts that differed were within a range where we could find common ground through compromise.
In the process of having this conversation, a vivid picture of our future selves emerged, which was enjoyable in its own right.
“So, when should we get married?”
And then came the most important topic: the timing of the wedding.
Normally, the most crucial things for marriage are money and housing, but we were quite free from those concerns.
I alone had nearly 700 million won in cash from the incentives for Forgotten Andersen’s Story, and it seemed Rokhui had also saved a few hundred million.
That would be more than enough for the two of us to buy a home.
“Hmm. Rokhui, when do you think you’ll finish the work you’re on now?”
“Probably around the middle of next year?”
“Then after that would be good. My game will be released early next year, and I’ll have some more free time while managing the live service. We can start preparing around the time your series ends and have the ceremony in the fall.”
“That sounds good. That time would be perfect.”
The one thing that ran through both my life and Rokhui’s was our ‘individual dreams.’
That was why we reached a conclusion that would prevent our wedding, a joyous occasion, from becoming an obstacle to achieving those dreams.
After that, we talked for a long time about our families, and our futures and dreams as an artist and a game developer.
“My dream is to one day become a Grand Prix winner at the Angoulême Comics Festival. You know that award has never been given to an Asian person, right?”
“My dream is to receive the most GOTY awards with my games.”
One drink, then two. The number of cocktails grew as our conversation flowed.
Unlike usual, we held one hand tightly, let down our guards without hesitation, and poured out our honest feelings and words, constantly reaffirming our emotions for each other.
A few hours passed like that.
“Have a good night!”
We were finally able to slowly leave the bar, and by then, the time had passed midnight.
“Rokhui, are you taking a taxi?”
“Mmm. I guess I should.”
As we walked together toward the main road nearby, a sense of disappointment washed over me.
We had talked about so many things at the bar, but my thirst for conversation remained, and I wanted to spend more time with Rokhui.
For some reason, I felt both my hand and Rokhui’s tighten their grip.
By the time we reached the main street.
“Uhm—”
“Excuse me—”
We turned our heads almost simultaneously and faced each other.
“You go first, Rokhui.”
“No, no, it was nothing. You first, Hyunsoo.”
I cleared my throat slightly in embarrassment and then slowly opened my mouth.
“Rokhui, if you’re not busy tomorrow, would you like to spend the night with me?”
“Oh, that’s quite a bold statement for you, Hyunsoo!”
Rokhui spoke with a somewhat sly smile, as if she knew exactly what my words implied.
I found her expression so cute that I wanted to pinch her cheek.
As I stood there not knowing what to do, making a strange face, Rokhui spun around and said.
“Well then, shall we go?”
“Pardon?”
“You asked me to stay with you tonight.”
Really. It was a dream of a day, so much so that I wondered if it was even real.