Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Meeting the Master (2)
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“I can’t believe you’ve played my game, Mr. Han. It’s amazing.”
“Ahaha, I quite enjoy games that are story-driven. For games with a high degree of polish in their direction and storytelling, like *Forgotten Andersen's Story*, I tend to go over them again and again to find inspiration for my own work. It was truly enjoyable.”
Many people had told me they’d played my games, but hearing it from Han Sanghyeok felt special in its own way.
It wasn’t simply because he was a star author.
I had been reading his work for over a decade, and I’d been quite influenced by his comics in terms of direction, character design, and storytelling methods.
‘Besides, he’s the reason the company I work for is still around.’
Furthermore, back in the late 2000s when NB Soft was struggling financially, an MMORPG based on his webtoon ‘Brave King’ had served as the company’s main pillar.
If ‘Brave King’ hadn't existed back then, the company wouldn't have had its resurgence with *League of War*, and I wouldn't be working here either.
Han Sanghyeok. He was a star author who, in many ways, had played a direct and indirect role in my life’s story.
And now he knew who I was and even declared himself a fan of my work?
It made me wonder if today’s meeting was not a coincidence, but fate.
“Your work has also influenced me a great deal, Mr. Han. I especially remember the first time I saw *Hellscape*. I was in university at the time, and it was a real shock. I thought to myself, ‘I want to create a masterpiece like this someday.’”
“Oh, really? That’s quite an honor, haha! It’s thanks to Mr. Yoon Byeongjong that we’re having such a pleasant meeting.”
Starting on a positive note, the conversation naturally flowed into sharing our thoughts on creative works.
At first, I wondered why CEO Shin Hoyoung and Han Sanghyeok had come here, but I quickly grasped their intention.
‘They also wanted to get some ideas from a new conversation.’
Just as I had hoped to find inspiration for the final chapter of POD at this gathering, it seemed Han Sanghyeok, who was preparing a new work, was also looking to gain inspiration from conversations with new people.
In my case, since I was from a completely different field, he seemed to find it even more interesting.
Of course, I didn't mind that at all.
In fact, I felt like I was gaining experience points from this conversation.
‘He’s definitely a bit different from other authors. He’s constantly thinking outside the framework of webtoons.’
He was the first to insert BGM into a webtoon, use forced scrolling for jump scares, and utilize SketchUp for backgrounds.
Han Sanghyeok was a man who had always made groundbreaking moves, earning the title of ‘first’ more than anyone else in the webtoon industry.
Perhaps because of that, while other authors’ innovative ideas remained confined within the format of a webtoon, he gave the impression of coming up with ideas completely outside the box of common sense.
“Um. If you don’t mind, I’ve drawn up the storyboards for my new work up to the third chapter. Would you all be willing to read them and give me some feedback?”
“Oh, yes, of course!”
“Wow, this sounds exciting!”
Han Sanghyeok then took a tablet out of his small bag, displayed the storyboards for his new work, and held it out to us.
The title was ‘The Underdog’s Game’.
Set in a high school, the story was quite intense, revolving around characters whose weaknesses manifest as superpowers, leading them to fight and kill each other.
For example, a student who limped from a leg injury gained the superpower to make others’ feet slower than his own, while a student with poor eyesight gained the power to blind others.
‘It feels like there’s a bit of satire about modern society in here.’
It seemed to be a metaphorical expression of how, in contemporary society, an individual's perceived weakness can become a weapon, granting them social power.
What was interesting was that, as expected of Han Sanghyeok, he didn't oversimplify the subject matter.
With this kind of theme, it’s easy for an author to get lost in their own message and channel all their opinions through a single character.
But this comic presented various attitudes through multiple characters while still driving the plot forward with a sense of speed.
‘It feels like I’m watching some kind of magic trick.’
After finishing the comic, I immediately spoke my mind.
“Are you planning to make this a 19+ rated comic?”
“Ah, yes. This time, I’m trying to move completely away from commercial attempts and tell a story I really want to tell.”
“To say it’s not commercial, it’s too fun and amazing.”
It wasn’t flattery; it was my honest feeling.
Although we worked in different fields, his skill and talent were so great that I felt envious.
“I really enjoyed it too. Honestly, I don’t have any feedback to give.”
The other authors seemed to feel the same, as they all chimed in with praise.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
However, he wore a strange expression, as if he wasn’t quite satisfied, and continued.
“Hmm, but there’s one thing that’s bothering me. I want to create a kind of teaser video for this webtoon’s prologue.”
“A teaser video?”
“Yes, like a promotional trailer for a movie.”
In this day and age, putting a video in a webtoon prologue isn’t particularly special.
Major works pushed by platforms or webtoon agencies often make this choice.
However.
“I want the video format to be something special. I have the whole scenario written, and I was thinking of making it in an animation format, but nothing clicked. I spent a long time discussing it with CEO Shin Hoyoung today.”
“Could I take a look at the scenario?”
“Of course.”
The scenario’s plot was simple.
It explained the origin of how the weaknesses of the underprivileged manifested as superpowers. The story was told like a fairytale, but it had an unsettling and eerie undercurrent.
The authors who read it offered their opinions, recalling animations they had seen or things they liked. I stroked my chin, watching them silently, until something clicked in my mind, and I spoke up.
“How about sand animation?”
“Huh? Sand animation?”
“Yes. I think this story would really come to life if it were made with sand animation.”
After asking for their permission for a moment, I used the tablet to play POD’s cinematic video from the cloud.
“This is the cinematic for a project I’m currently working on. I think if you try making it in this style, the feeling will be just right.”
“Wow! It’s a perfect fit.”
The moment he saw Oh Hana’s high-quality sand animation, Han Sanghyeok looked startled.
“If you need it, Mr. Han, I think I can introduce you to the director who did this work. Her outsourced work on our project is almost finished anyway.”
“Hmm.”
But then, as if something had occurred to him, he asked with a serious expression.
"But... you said this sand animation is for your next game, didn't you, Mr. Jo? My webtoon will launch much sooner. I’m a little worried that it might have a negative impact on your work.”
Oh Hana's sand animation has a unique style of direction and acting that captivates viewers.
What he was saying was that if it were revealed first in a medium like a webtoon, which in some ways spreads more quickly to the public than a game, it might diminish the impact of my own work later on.
But no matter how much I respected and admired him, I was no fool.
If you give something, you should get something in return.
“It doesn’t matter. In exchange, would it be alright if I asked you for a favor as well, Mr. Han?”
“Please tell me what it is.”
“I’d like to request a promotional webtoon for POD before its official launch.”
As far as I knew, Han Sanghyeok was famous for never having done a promotional webtoon or any kind of advertisement, despite countless requests.
An author like that drawing a promotional webtoon for the first time?
That would undoubtedly generate buzz, which was why I was throwing it out there as a bit of a gamble.
“Hmm. A promotional webtoon.”
Han Sanghyeok crossed his arms, nodded, and thought for a moment before speaking.
“Does that mean I can get to play POD first?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Hmm. I definitely want to do it. The task of reinterpreting POD's story sounds fun in itself, and I think working with you, Mr. Jo, would be a great learning experience.”
Unbelievably, Han Sanghyeok readily accepted my proposal.
For a moment, I was so overcome with joy that I wanted to dance, but I suppressed the rising corners of my mouth and hid my emotions as best I could.
Han Sanghyeok thought for a moment, then turned his head to the left and asked.
“Would it be alright from the company’s perspective to accept this outsourced work from Mr. Jo, CEO Shin?”
“Well, we still have quite some time before the new launch, so it should be fine. Actually, we also think that a project with Mr. Jo would generate quite a bit of buzz. We will review it positively.”
“If I may ask, what would the approximate cost be?”
CEO Shin Hoyoung pondered for a moment before answering.
“Mr. Han has never taken on outsourced work before, but internally, he is classified as our only SS-class author. On our rate table, the production cost per chapter would be around 50 million won. The price would go up with banner ads or other additional options.”
“Hmm, it’ll be tight, but I think we can afford that.”
One hundred million won. I figured I could somehow make that work.
Of course, making this choice would mean drastically cutting other promotional expenses, but I decided it was better to do one thing right.
Just as the conversation began to drift toward practical matters.
Han Sanghyeok chimed in again.
“I don’t need 50 million won. I received help from you, Mr. Jo, so just a tenth of that will be fine.”
“Really? You’d do that?”
“Well, it’s not like I’m in dire need of money anymore. Instead, there’s something I’d like to do with the difference.”
“A request?”
“Let’s use that cost for translation and spread it all over not just the Korean platform, but overseas as well. I think that would be more fun for me too.”
His bombshell statement made my head spin.
Han Sanghyeok was an author who was popular not just in Korea, but globally. Moreover, Greenhouse Webtoon currently had local platforms in North America, Japan, Europe, and other overseas regions.
Using that situation to promote POD with Han Sanghyeok's comic all over the world?
Since POD was also targeting the global market from the start, it would have a definite marketing effect.
This crazy author was effortlessly accomplishing something I couldn't even dream of attempting if I were to approach Greenhouse Webtoon as an outsider.
“Hah. There goes Mr. Han, making waves again.”
“I’m counting on you, CEO Shin. I think working with Mr. Jo will be fun.”
“Well, I agree with you, Mr. Han. In fact, doing so would be positive for raising our company’s profile as well. And since our company has a connection with NB Soft to begin with, the discussion shouldn't be difficult.”
Although he pretended to agree reluctantly, CEO Shin Hoyoung also seemed to view the collaboration between Han Sanghyeok and me quite favorably.
And so, an unbelievably amazing day was drawing to a close.