#3. Mailbox
#3. Mailbox
I was pissed off, but I wasn't confident about continuing the conversation any further.
Buildup. I needed time to prepare the buildup.
"...Pick up when I call. If you don't, I'll print out your author name and illustrations and scatter them all over the school."
Of course, I had no intention of actually doing that.
She wasn't just some junior who got caught drawing Erotic Illustrations.
She was none other than my illustrator partner. My collaborator, you could say.
The last thing I wanted was for her—of all people—to quit her work or leave the industry because of me.
But backing down in this state? My pride wouldn't allow it.
"...Just pick up, then."
She gave a curt reply once I specified what I'd do.
I didn't like her uncooperative attitude, but that could be fixed gradually...
After leaving Han Na-eun's spot, I headed back down to the first floor to grab the human figures.
The originally white human figures had been perfectly painted over in red.
As if they'd been red from the start.
It even tied in with my novel I Imprisoned Her.
The story starts with the protagonist kidnapping an innocent girl who knows nothing.
Whip and carrot. Mercy and ruthlessness.
The protagonist relentlessly pushes the Heroine to her mental limits without respite, ultimately succeeding in turning her into a completely different personality.
The pure, innocent girl vanishes without a trace, reborn as a devoted sex slave who offers her body and soul entirely to the protagonist—that's the main plot of the story.
Maybe Han Na-eun...
I shook my head vigorously as her face flashed in my mind for a moment.
I needed to get a grip on myself.
"Chant it. Real life is real life! Real life is real life! Real life is real life!!!!"
Do you know when an Erotic Novelist feels the most endangered?
It's when inspiration strikes in an everyday situation that wouldn't faze anyone else.
Work is work, and real life is real life.
The moment that boundary crumbles...
I thought it was the perfect profession for slipping into becoming a real criminal with seriously bad karma.
I gathered up the figures and started planting them one by one into my final model with tweezers.
The distribution looks about right...
Human figures are just tools to show the scale of the building model.
They didn't need to be that numerous.
As I added trees and furniture pieces, I noticed the sun starting to rise.
"Ahh..."
I could feel the energy draining from my entire body.
It felt like I'd just been sitting here watching the sunrise yesterday...
Having to watch another one rising from my spot again.
Tal-geon... I needed to Tal-geon ASAP.
Panels...
I still had to print the panels too...
After finishing the model to a decent degree, I pulled out my laptop for final computer touch-ups.
...What the hell.
Where's my charger.
The laptop charger I'd meant to bring wasn't in sight.
For real? Seriously?
Even after turning my bag inside out and shaking it empty, no charger.
I'm fucked. Really fucked.
I checked the time on my phone and calculated the trip home.
About an hour from my place to school.
Round trip, two hours.
If I got unlucky and hit rush hour, call it three hours generously.
Plus printing time...
There was no way I could make deadline like this.
I needed a computer, stat.
"Hey! Hwi-min!"
I yelled his name dramatically from next to him, and Hwi-min looked at me with hollow eyes.
"Why... you're full of energy... even yelling that loud."
"Can you lend me your laptop?"
"Nah... I need this for some perspective tweaks. What's up. You in a rush?"
"I left my laptop charger at home."
Hwi-min gave me a look like, what the hell is wrong with this guy.
I know. I get it.
Stop staring like that.
"Hmm... But most people are in final crunch mode right now, probably all working on their computers, right?"
He was right.
At this hour, everyone was wrapping up materials for the final presentation.
The most chaotic time.
"Circle the Design Room first. You might find someone who's done with models and free."
"Yeah. Good idea."
Panicking, I scanned the Design Room again.
Laptop... someone not using their laptop...
Gotta grab someone working on models first...
And that's when I spotted Han Na-eun scoring acrylic for window frames.
"Na-eun!"
I rushed to her spot, yelling her name, and she let out a weird yelp, startled.
"Eek! You scared me!"
She dropped the knife she'd been holding onto the floor.
Her glare was full of hostility.
"I'm dying here with work, what now? You said that was it earlier."
"No, not that—can I borrow your laptop?"
"Why do you need a laptop?"
"I left my charger at home..."
She looked up at me with utter disbelief.
"Who forgets their laptop charger on deadline day?"
Part of me wanted to snap, 'Shut up, you bitch,' but right now, I was the one begging.
"Come on, please. If you're not using it, just till my deadline? Cool?"
"...What programs do you need?"
"Me? Just CAD and Rhino? I saw you have Photoshop earlier."
"Haa..."
Han Na-eun sighed deeply, like it was a huge hassle.
"Take it. But only for your own work, oppa. Don't touch my folders or anything. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Obviously."
At this moment, I didn't care if it was the HNE Author's laptop or not.
As long as I could survive this one day, I'd deal with the devil himself.
Han Na-eun opened the laptop and unlocked it for me.
"I'm saying it again: do. not. touch. my personal folders. Got it?"
"I'll keep it in mind! Thanks!"
Taking her laptop, I opened the browser to download my backed-up files from my email.
I clicked the email, but it wasn't the screen I usually saw.
This... isn't my account?
It must've auto-logged into hers.
Gotta log out quick and into mine...
But one email caught my eye, super distracting.
The subject line was...
[Nam Ga-yeon Final Version. JPG]
I'd found the finished illustration I'd commissioned right there in her inbox.
Should I open it? Or not.
It was in the sent folder anyway, so no read receipt.
I glanced around, confirmed Hwi-min passed out slumped over, and swallowed hard.
Click.
The finished version of my illustration appeared on screen, unveiled.
Hips thrust high in the air.
Lewd fluids dripping obscenely between her pussy lips.
Gigantic tits defying gravity.
For real, all I could think was, "Fuck, this is hot as hell."
Was this seriously drawn by her?
Shock. Pure shock.
I let go of the mouse for a sec and glanced back at Han Na-eun.
She was grunting, struggling to cut the acrylic cleanly.
I'd wondered what it'd be like meeting someone like HNE Author in person.
Probably some creepy dude holed up in his room sketching porn...
But the Han Na-eun in front of me was just a delicate, fragile girl.
With what felt like 100K Instagram followers...
Anyway, I couldn't leave the illustration open, so I closed the tab and logged into my account.
Even in my inbox, the same subject was pinned at the top.
[Nam Ga-yeon Final Version.JPG]
Great illustration and all, but I'd save the reverent viewing for home.
I hurriedly downloaded the file and started retouching.
The retouching didn't take as long as I'd thought.
Shadow shading, material textures, and some blurred people.
I could've gone more detailed if I pushed it, but time wasn't on my side.
After finishing the panel layout, I headed to the print room and slapped my name on it.
"Huu..."
It's done...
Finally free from this goddamn Neighborhood Facility Project.
Back at my spot, I flopped into my chair.
The fatigue hit all at once.
But if I slept now, I wouldn't wake up for the presentation.
Laptop... gotta return the laptop.
I double-checked logout, hit shutdown, and trudged over to Han Na-eun's spot.
She'd finished her model and dozed off, head on the desk, breathing softly.
I quietly set the laptop down and eyed her model closely.
Han Na-eun had great craftsmanship—the finishes were impeccably clean.
Even the tricky curved surfaces that could easily go wrong had perfect angles. Impressive as hell.
Just looking at the model, she'd crush it as an architect. So why the hell was she drawing Erotic Illustrations so obsessively?
And that afternoon...
I got a bit of an idea why she'd made that choice.
"Na-eun-ssi. What's the point of a pretty model if there's no substance?"
"Architecture isn't art. Pretty doesn't cut it. It's the concept inside that matters."
"Haa... Your technique is so good, maybe you're fooling yourself—time to question that?"
Han Na-eun stood before the professors like a pathetic sinner, unable to say a word, head bowed low.
"I'm sorry..."
She was apologizing for her own work.