Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Outsider Running the Character Event
-----------------------------------------------------------------
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the day of the Seoul Character World event, we gathered at the venue at 6 a.m. to prepare for running our booth.
Mid-May, and the early morning was still chilly.
That's weird. Before my regression, by mid-May, even dawn didn't require an outer layer. So why is my breath visible now?
Still, I knew the cold was only at dawn, and it would get hot once daytime hit.
Since the venue's air conditioning wasn't great yet, we might end up seeing clouds of sweat and breath from the participants if things went wrong.
Before the event started, looking at the wide-open space lined with tables that would become booths felt refreshing.
In just a few hours, this vast area would be packed with bustling visitors and all sorts of booths.
We checked our booth location first, and I headed to the event office to pick up the merchandise we'd left in their care.
But the event staff were unusually friendly to me.
Well, more precisely, to Han Si-a.
"Yes, take those over there... Oh! You're Jeong Yi-an from the same circle as Han Si-a, right? Goodness... We meant to come find you first, but we've been so busy... Haha! Use this cart for transport, and just return it later. Actually, why don't you come with me? I can pick it up on my way back!"
"And have you prepared display stands for your merchandise? You haven't? We happen to have an extra one that's not being used—it'd be perfect for you. Rental fee? Oh, come on... We're just here to help circle members participate in our event and have a great time! Taking money would be absurd!!"
The staffer's name tag showed he wasn't just some regular operator—he was pretty high up.
What the heck? This is scary...
Back at the booth, I asked Han Si-a, who was holding down the fort, what was up. Turns out the organizers weren't listening to her, so she brought in her dad.
What kind of person is Han Si-a's dad, anyway? Must be insanely rich, right?
Life really is about money. Happiness is living off money. Gotta buy Bitcoin for sure.
For the record, Yoo So-mi already knew Kim Ji-su had been banned from the venue.
When the event organizers notified Kim Ji-su of the ban, she called Yoo So-mi and vented with a bunch of curses.
After that, she tried spreading her tale of injustice on SNS... but her true colors had already been exposed among the other doujin creators, so it got zero attention and buried.
Of course, I didn't tell Yoo So-mi that it was the result of my and Han Si-a's joint operation.
Heh heh heh... If I run into Kim Ji-su later, I wanna say, 'Hey. Hey. You couldn't help So-mi at all and just blamed everyone else? Total failure as a friend. Thanks to you, I got a great friend~ Super lucky~'
But when I said that to Han Si-a, since the blonde tanned thug meme didn't exist yet, she just treated me like an idiot.
As Han Si-a and I decorated our booth and set out the merchandise, I could feel people's gazes gathering around us.
"Guys~ Sorry to keep you waiting... I went to change. What do you think?"
Turning around, there was Yoo So-mi, now in cosplay.
White skin-tight leggings with one thigh fully exposed in a high-leg cut, and the top clinging like a figure skater's outfit, showing off every curve.
The leggings had various decorations, and there was fur trim around the neck, so it looked like some kind of dance costume...
But the cleavage was way too deep... Honestly, this was blatantly too much for a high schooler.
She knew it too, fidgeting awkwardly under the stares.
As I froze looking at her, Han Si-a grabbed a coat without hesitation and draped it over Yoo So-mi.
Only after her body was covered did the surrounding gazes start drifting away.
Hmm... What should I even say?
"So-mi, that outfit looks pretty on you, but it's too revealing for a crowded place like this... Did you pick it out yourself?"
Yoo So-mi blushed at my words and answered softly.
"Ahaha... I guess it's not right, huh. Ji-su unnie picked it out. I didn't know the character well, so I said no, but..."
"...she kept insisting I buy it until I said okay, so I just did."
"..."
...That fucking bitch. Why force that on her?
When I learned Kim Ji-su was just a 'repeater who stole others' art to boost her ego,' I felt a bit sorry for her. But now, if she were in front of me, laws be damned—I'd beat her half to death.
I looked it up later: it was a sexier mod of the dance outfit for 'Le☐ra He☐turn,' a lead character from the anime '☐Ray Star.'
In the fandom, she's often shipped in yuri with the protagonist...
Honestly, as a guy with eyes, I thought Yoo So-mi looked stunning in it and it suited her perfectly.
If she were an adult choosing it herself, I'd have complimented her freely without issue.
Great figure—who wouldn't look good?
But this exposure level isn't for minors, and she was strong-armed into it.
I don't wanna be some nag about a girl's clothes, but this pissed me off too much.
Hey, Han Si-a. You think the same, right?
She nodded back at my glance, her face clearly holding back anger, signaling agreement.
So I smiled at Yoo So-mi and said,
"So-mi, have you heard of school uniform cosplay?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As the event kicked off, people started pouring in through the entrance.
Some headed straight to pre-planned booths, while others strolled leisurely, planning to check every single one.
Major booths with established fame had dedicated line managers to keep queues from blocking neighbors, while others looked desolate with no buyers.
For us, we went with two pretty high school girls in uniforms handling customer service up front, while I managed stock and change from behind the counter.
"Hello~ Come check out our cute little sister characters~"
Honestly, these two were top-tier looks for the entire venue—no contest.
Of course, otakus at events like this sometimes shy away from women too stunningly beautiful, feeling alienated. But since we had no name recognition or promo, the pros outweighed the cons.
Big booths with tons of items covered their fronts entirely with racks or banners, leaving just holes for cash and goods exchange.
No idea if it was to avoid face-to-face or just too many products.
But we only had three items.
So we minimized rack space and pushed our front-facing high school girls to draw eyes.
Sure, using the girls' looks felt a tad ethically iffy...
But since Han Si-a came up with the plan, I claim zero responsibility.
Besides, this venue was cosplayer heaven.
Plenty of shoppers in cosplay, and sellers hawking in costume too.
So no one should complain about active high school girls running a booth in school uniforms.
.
.
.
It was about lunchtime, so we cracked open the convenience store bentos I'd bought and tallied sales.
First, the translucent file folders with overwhelming art quality sold like hotcakes.
Low production cost let us price cheap, but even a thousand won more per unit would've raked in huge profits.
The blankets with the same prints sold less due to price.
But highest margin per sale, so at this rate, we'd clear break-even easily.
Finally, the character stickers...
As expected, the iffy art quality meant almost zero sales.
"It's fine. I knew this might happen... The art for these was drawn with a computer program, and it was my first time—no pen tablet or anything."
Yoo So-mi brushed it off casually.
Though she must've been pretty bummed deep down.
But honestly, churning out that quality with just keyboard and mouse was impressive.
...Then, past 2 p.m., some slightly odd customers started showing up.