#77. PT
#77. PT
"Yeah. Alright. Minho this time."
"Yes. Professor-nim. Hello."
"How's it going? Made a lot of progress?"
Personally, I hated that line before a critique even started.
The last time I confidently answered 'Yes' was the first semester of freshman year.
Saying you've done a lot of work carried a ton of implications.
Thinking a lot didn't mean you'd done a lot of work, and just moving your hands nonstop to make stuff didn't guarantee it either.
The real meaning hidden in that question was whether you'd rationally and meaningfully produced a ton of work fitting the development process.
And of course, I...
"Yes... well... I tried this for now..."
A lame response.
I hated myself for it, but you had to lay some groundwork first to get gentle feedback.
"Alright. Let's take a look."
The nagging followed.
Still, progress was decent now, so the Professor-nim didn't straight-up tell me to scrap everything.
Occasionally, he'd make someone redo a month and a half's worth from scratch, but luckily, I'd never gotten hit with that yet.
The girls would cry their eyes out if they got that extreme feedback once.
"Still, the sense of form has improved a lot. Like what you did last time too."
Illustrator-nim. Thank you.
The parts Na-eun had given feedback on last time got rave reviews.
People have changed. Why'd you hide this till now?
I felt good, but since it wasn't purely my skill, I just gave an awkward smile.
"Thank you. I'll do more."
"Alright. Let's push hard till the deadline."
"Yup."
After leaving the classroom, I pulled out my phone and called Na-eun.
[Yeah. I'm done.]
[Come to my place by 5.]
[Huh? Not school?]
[I'm heading home now.]
Wait. We're supposed to go on a date.
Why'd she go home alone?
Plus, if we're dating at home, wouldn't it be better to go together?
[That's fine, but why'd you go first?]
[Oh. I've got stuff to prep before Oppa gets here.]
[No need to cook. I'll grab something.]
[Sheesh. Who said anything about cooking? Just get one diet cola on the way.]
[Got it. Then I'll get food I wanna eat.]
[Do whatever.]
The call cut off after that.
Sigh... My girlfriend was still as unpredictable as ever.
I headed up to the Design Room to grab my stuff, and there was Hwi-min staring at his laptop screen with hollow eyes.
"Dude. Pulled an all-nighter?"
"Oh. Don't talk to me. I'm second up."
I peeked at his laptop screen...
"Dude. How do you even make this?"
"Just run Grasshopper and it spits out something like this."
Modern science is amazing.
"Alright, I'm heading out first. Good luck."
"Off to see the wife?"
Hwi-min finally peeled his eyes from the screen and looked up at me.
"Oh. Wife my ass."
"You knocked her up, so wife it is. Own up, man."
"Oh, come on, it's not like that."
I put on a serious face to show I was pissed.
Of course, we almost did...
"Touchy much? Get outta here."
Hwi-min smirked and smacked my back.
"Fine. I'm out."
Ah... I'm so tempted to take a leave of absence.
After telling her to think up novel characters, Na-eun barely talked to me.
I figured weekdays were busy, but it felt kinda neglectful.
Normally, she'd suggest eating together, text more, stuff like that, so her half-assed vibe bugged me.
But calling me to her place today meant no hard feelings...
After getting off the bus, I pondered what to grab for dinner.
Hmm... What'd be good...
What food does Na-eun like?
Thinking back, she wanted tteokbokki on movie day.
Not my fave, but I packed two portions from the nearby tteokbokki joint and snagged a diet cola from the convenience store.
5:15.
A bit late.
Ding-dong-ding-dong.
I rang her front door bell at the Officetel.
Footsteps approached.
The door opened, and out came Na-eun.
"...What's this."
"What."
"You know what. Your outfit."
A slightly oversized white dress shirt.
A black miniskirt hugging her hip line perfectly.
And below that, black stockings.
An office look straight out of Kang Suyeon from [I Imprisoned Her.].
What the hell is this?
She even had round glasses on today.
"Come in first."
Stepping inside the Officetel, the first thing that hit me was the living room setup.
"...Why's the dining table here?"
The table that used to be by the kitchen was smack in the middle of the living room today.
"Put the food by the sink first."
"What. No dinner first?"
"Dinner can wait."
I wasn't that hungry anyway, but it'd get cold and gross.
Na-eun sat me in a dining chair and drew the curtains.
"Why the curtains?"
"Why so many questions today? Chairman-nim."
Chairman what?
She bustled around on her short legs, turning off all the lights.
"Alright. Let's begin."
Whirrr.
Computer booting up.
What's she up to? I started fake-coughing.
Cough-cough.
"No. Hey. What's this now."
"Announcement commencing."
With all lights off, Na-eun projected her laptop screen onto the white wall via beam projector.
A pretty standard PPT template slide you'd see anywhere.
But the title on that page was wild.
[I Imprisoned Her.] Heroine Proposal.
The projector light softly illuminated my girlfriend's pale skin.
"...Pfft."
She was smirking too, like it cracked her up.
"So... I'll... start... the presentation?"
For Na-eun holding back laughter with all her might, I nodded vigorously.
It was weird, but she prepped it for me, and I asked for it.
Matching this vibe was no biggie.
"Proceed."
I crossed my legs like a smug CEO and listened to her presentation.
"Ahem... AHEM! First candidate!"
The slide flipped, and I couldn't help but freak.
"Hey. You drew this yourself...!"
"Excuse me! Questions during Q&A later!"
"Oh... yes..."
But seriously, shocking. HNE Author-nim did rough sketches herself, even though she's great at lineart.
With other candidates, that meant more drawings like this...
The girl character right in front of me was in a doctor's coat.
"First candidate: doctor character."
"I know nurse is popular, but I thought doctor and nurse have different vibes, so I brought this one."
Hmm... doctor, huh...
Yeah, in doujinshi and such, they often come as a set with nurses.
"...Any personality or traits beyond looks?"
Na-eun would draw any character sexy.
What mattered was the heroines' personalities, values, behavior patterns.
"So this one..."
Na-eun pulled a tiny notebook from her shirt pocket and started reading notes.
"Concept: perfectionist. Obsessive cleanliness as a trait. Highly respected at the hospital, but cold personality makes her hard to approach."
After reading her prep, Na-eun eyed me like a wary kitten.
Forget the content—Na-eun was too cute.
Why's she checking my reaction?
PPT and art were top-tier, yet she acted like she showed up empty-handed to a design critique.
Wanting to savor this vibe more, I opened my mouth in a gruff CEO tone.
"Next."
No feedback, just 'next candidate,' and Na-eun looked stiff, like she hadn't expected it.
"Next... secretary."
O! I'd thought of that too.
Whoa. She draws so well.
The heroine as secretary on screen was on her knees, teary-eyed.
Visual guys would lose their minds over.
Rough sketch already had massive boobs—what'd the final look like?
"Tell me about the character setup."
"Yes. This secretary..."
Na-eun flipped through her notebook pages again.
If you're noting, use a bigger one—can't even read the writing.
"Fresh young newbie super excited about landing a big corp job. Then gradually learning what real work life is..."
Hmm... Solid concept.
Nothing super unique, but hearty like beef soup.
"What if readers ditch cuz they think she's non-virgin working under a male boss?"
A worry I'd had.
But assuming a female boss fixes that.
Testing Na-eun's quick wit, I tossed the question—her reaction made my smirk grow.
"...Hing."
Na-eun pouted, looking bummed.
"Didn't think that far."
The round glasses doubled the cuteness of her pouty face.
Ah. What am I gonna do with you, Na-eun?