Re-Examination
Park Kyung-ho's hand reached for the unopened plastic bags.
The office was enveloped in a strange silence. Everyone gathered there believed they had already seen everything worth showing. Yet, they held their breath so completely that even the ticking of the clock went unheard, their eyes fixed on the boy's fingertips in anticipation that this young man might still have more to reveal.
Swish—
From the first of the remaining three bags came robot armaments. "Varied weapons would be good," Kamiyama thought, but he felt a sense of incongruity.
"This is……."
Kamiyama, the managing director, cautiously touched the lightsaber. It wasn't merely a shape mimicking a weapon. "Hmm…." Only then did Director Tomizawa seem to notice something, swallowing a groan as he closely examined the small weapon. The afterimage trail left when swinging the lightsaber was rendered in transparent resin—an ethereal color hue that seemed to shimmer with blue light.
"Simply replicating the form makes it hard to convey dynamism, so I added the afterimage."
"It's a unique attempt." Everyone still seemed not to grasp what this enabled. Kyung-ho continued calmly, opening another bag. Inside was an unfinished model with a rough texture. Though only the upper body in a bizarre form lay there, when Kyung-ho flipped up the chest armor, gasps erupted from the crowd.
Click.
A cockpit intricately detailed inside the armor. And within that narrow space, a pilot figure barely shaped in resin.
"……This is revolutionary."
This time, Kamiyama immediately pierced its potential. Time shortages had left finishing touches and shrinkage calculations a mess, but the implemented function alone shocked him deeply again. "Comparing human size to the robot lets you feel the scale just as intended."
Only after hearing Kamiyama did the staff nod. But it wasn't over. The final reveal was a robot base with some details etched in, though no resin work due to time constraints.
"That's it! We could turn the entire worldview into a toy line like this!" Kamiyama spat excitedly.
'That wasn't my intention.' Kyung-ho wordlessly fitted the robot's foot into the base's uneven surface. A perfect, error-free click. People watched curiously, but it wasn't particularly novel, so they quietly followed his hands. Only when Kyung-ho placed the lightsaber with its dynamic effect in the robot's hand, adjusted the pose to one swinging the blade, and fixed it did the gasps come.
"Ah!"
"……A plamo model."
"…I want one too?" Kamiyama could say no more. He stared long at the robot vigorously swinging its lightsaber on the base, then closed his eyes. In his mind, the robot moved naturally. "…Excellent."
Opening his eyes, he slowly turned to Director Tomizawa.
"Director Tomizawa."
"Y-yes! Managing Director!"
"Can we… take this kid with us?"
"Th-that's…!"
As Tomizawa looked ready to faint in shock, Kamiyama chuckled dryly and waved it off.
"Just kidding. I said it because I'm jealous."
The managing director looked back at Kyung-ho, eyes full of disbelief.
"You made all this alone in a week?"
"Not exactly." Kamiyama nodded, as if to say 'I knew it.'
"I got some help with shrinkage calculations and fine details."
At Kyung-ho's response, the director tilted his head. "Doesn't that still mean you made it alone?"
"I did it all with my own hands." Kyung-ho replied nonchalantly, while Yamada and the staff beside him wore equally indifferent expressions, as if it were no big deal. They seemed more absorbed in the robot model, marveling at details hard to grasp from keyframes.
Kamiyama felt oddly like he was overreacting, making himself the weird one. But that couldn't be. This boy was clearly abnormal.
'A monster.'
"Does Moonrise Production usually operate like this? Seeing art like this and staying unfazed?"
Tomizawa let out a deflated laugh. "We've given up trying to understand Kyogo, Managing Director."
At the honest reply, Kamiyama sighed in relief, surveying the models before gesturing to his secretary to carefully pack them in a bag.
"By the way, have you settled on an anime title?"
"It's finalized as Mobile Weapon Bandam." Kyung-ho perked up, listening to their talk.
"Bandam… Excellent. A name fit to usher in a new era."
While he was absent, the anime's title had been set—the same as in original history. Kyung-ho had worried his changes to the past might alter many things. Yet Bandam, which he'd heavily influenced, seemed immune to such trivia, inheriting its name intact. His mind grew complicated.
Kamiyama left the office ten minutes later. His secretary clutched the model bag like treasure, following behind. Outside the Moonrise building, a black luxury sedan waited along the curb.
Thud.
Spotting the car, Kamiyama froze like a statue. He'd seen it somewhere before.
Whirr—
The rear window slowly descended. Kamiyama squinted at the silhouette, then went expressionless.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Managing Director Kamiyama."
A refined, elegant voice. It was Tokita Mari.
"……Lady Tokita."
Kamiyama bowed politely. Even as Glober's executive, stiffening before Toei Animation's heiress was daunting.
"What brings you here…?"
"Private business. Nothing important enough to bother you with, so don't worry."
At the clear rebuff, Kamiyama offered a brief bow and returned to his car.
The moment the door shut after boarding, his eyes sharpened. "Was that car there when we arrived?"
His thinking secretary shook her head. "I'm not sure."
"Investigate."
"Pardon? What exactly?"
"Toei's connection to that student Kyogo… no, maybe even Tokita. Check their movements if possible."
The secretary asked puzzledly. "Is there really a connection?"
"No workshops around here. That quality means work done far away and brought in—Asakusabashi is likely. A lower-body paralyzed student wheeling alone from Asakusabashi here? Possible? And right on cue, Toei's car parks out front. Rank differences aside, Toei isn't Moonrise's partner—it's a rival."
The secretary's face hardened. Hearing it, even he saw the oddity.
"I'll investigate thoroughly."
Their sedan pulled away spewing exhaust. Soon after, Kyung-ho emerged from the building and boarded Mari's car rear seat. The interior carried her faint signature perfume.
"Looks like it went well."
Mari nodded subtly to Miyazawa at the wheel, speaking softly. Kyung-ho adjusted his bag and replied.
"Yes, for now. But how did you know it went well?"
"Intuition."
Mari replied curtly and started the car. No destination mentioned, familiar Tokyo streets sped by outside. Unable to hold back, Kyung-ho asked first.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Soon, they arrived at one of Tokyo's top general hospitals, its reputation enduring even into the future.
"Why here…?"
"Get examined."
Mari replied casually. Even under Kyung-ho's piercing stare, she showed no fluster.
'A flustered Mari was cute.' Realizing his thought, he hurriedly continued.
"No need to take your time, though."
"How I use my rights is my business. Why refuse?"
Escorted by Mari and Miyazawa into the hospital, waiting medical staff greeted him courteously. VIP-treated, he headed straight to the precision exam room. 1970s equipment, unfamiliar even from past-life knowledge, scanned his body.
From blood tests to nerve conduction. After the tedious exams, with Miyazawa's help moving, he found Mari in the VIP lounge, reading a book while waiting.
"You're back?" She set down her coffee casually, flipping The Human Revolution face-down on the tea table like it was her home.
"Yes. Thanks to you."
The Human Revolution was famous even in the future, but disliking text-heavy books, he didn't know its content.
"Results will take two or three hours. Let's eat first."
"Eat? Then somewhere nearby and modest. I'd prefer not too pricey."
But Mari ignored his concern, straightening her coat collar with gloved hands, replying firmly.
"If I say go, we go."
They ended up at yet another old high-end Japanese sushi restaurant, then returned to the hospital. Results ready, they were ushered to a consult room. A doctor entered bowing, thick chart in hand.
"The nerves themselves are intact and alive."
The doctor pointed his pen at the black-and-white X-ray. A faintly swollen area inside the blurry spinal line.
"But edema inside the spine is severely compressing the nerves. Right after the accident, we'd hope for natural healing, but half a year later, odds are low."
In Korea, they'd said the nerves were dead. Was there a way?
"Surgery to relieve the pressure is possible, but the delicate area risks worsening if damaged—deeper paralysis or permanent neuralgia can't be ruled out."
Mari's brow furrowed deeply. Unable to face Kyung-ho, she bit her lip, but the patient himself responded matter-of-factly, as if unsurprised.
"It's fine. I'm not that attached to my legs. As long as I can draw, it's okay."
His voice held no emotion, long resigned. Mari felt a pang at his calm. She gripped The Human Revolution tightly.