48
Chapter 48 Wow! Fable, Fable!
The three painters could no longer think about Jan van Goyen.
“…Should we put up a new canvas?”
In just two hours, Mino had filled almost all the empty space, and they were now seriously considering replacing the canvas for him.
The visitors surrounding the Doodle Paradise also hoped the painters would quickly bring a new one.
The problem was—
Replacing the canvas meant discarding the current one.
“Can I ask what you drew?”
More than anything, the three wanted to understand what exactly Mino had created.
Even though the drawings were in a simple cartoon style, they were far beyond what a child could produce.
‘How is this possible?’
They were astonished not only by his speed, but by his imagination.
‘Are there characters like this somewhere?’
As art majors, they acknowledged his talent, but they couldn’t believe all of this came purely from his imagination.
“These are animals from my fairy tale, visiting Fantasy World.”
“Haha, what?”
“I wrote a story based on what happens after The Tortoise and the Hare.”
‘So maybe it’s based on existing works?’
They nodded, thinking it might be adaptations.
“But were there animals like this in that story?”
“They appear at the beginning. The rabbit meets a cheetah, the god of running.”
“Ah, I see.”
‘The cheetah is well designed.’
The tall, slender humanoid cheetah clearly looked like a runner.
“So you created this cheetah yourself?”
“Yes. I made all of them.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“…Not copied?”
“No. I made them all.”
‘This is professional level.’
The painters were speechless.
“That way, my story can become a book, a TV show, even a movie.”
‘Not just the drawings, even the concept is good.’
They were not just painters.
They were aspiring animators hoping to join Fantasy Publishing and Fantasy Pictures.
So they immediately recognized both the artistic and narrative value.
“But what’s this one?”
“A Welsh Corgi.”
“Haha! The long-bodied dog?”
“Yes.”
“Well observed.”
All the animals were drawn as upright humanoids.
The corgi, with its long body and short legs, looked amusing.
“But why does it have a long tail? I thought they had short tails.”
“In my story, animals don’t have their tails cut.”
“…Oh.”
“Corgis aren’t born with short tails. They’re cut. Same with Dobermans’ ears.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You must have a lot of animals in your story.”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell us the story?”
“I can give you the manuscript.”
“You have that too?”
“Of course.”
Mino took out a thick envelope from Kang Jiseop’s bag.
‘This is…’
The handwriting alone was shocking.
Neat, dense, like an adult’s.
And the content was even more impressive.
‘Who is this kid?’
“You really wrote this?”
“Yes.”
“No way. Your father wrote it, right?”
They looked at Kang Jiseop.
“I don’t have a father.”
“…What?”
“He’s just someone I know.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
They fell silent.
Not because they felt guilty—
But because envy was turning into despair.
‘At least the drawings are definitely his.’
The character designs matched the canvas.
“Are you selling these drawings?”
Visitors, unlike the painters, were already captivated.
“I want them displayed at Fantasy World.”
Mino pointed at a nearby exhibition area.
Various selected doodles were displayed there.
‘He could definitely be featured.’
Even among professional works, his stood out.
“Perfect timing. I wanted to display your work.”
The Fantasy World LA branch manager arrived.
“But what is this?”
“My manuscript.”
“I see.”
He skimmed through it.
‘A story about finding talent… interesting.’
Even in a short time, he saw potential.
“This is worth submitting to headquarters.”
He was interested in publishing it.
“But did you really write this?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
He stood in front of the cheetah drawing.
“Then what kind of character is this cheetah to the rabbit?”
“A role model.”
“Not a rival?”
“The turtle beat the rabbit because of laziness. But the cheetah isn’t lazy. The rabbit can’t beat it.”
“Haha, I see.”
“But the rabbit beats the cheetah later.”
“What?”
“The cheetah doesn’t like running.”
Mino drew over the image with a red crayon.
“The cheetah is the fastest, but it prefers arm wrestling. It gives up running.”
“…Interesting.”
“The rabbit looks for talent but finds none.”
“I see.”
“But it finds something fun.”
“What is it?”
“The piano.”
“The rabbit isn’t the best, but it becomes a happy pianist.”
‘That’s good.’
“The cheetah supports the rabbit.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Like Fantasy World.”
“Haha, what do you mean?”
“I want to show this place to my characters.”
‘He really is the author.’
“But maybe I’ll change my mind after visiting the San Diego Zoo.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some animals might prefer the wild.”
“Ah.”
“So I want to write about that too. Animals in zoos and animals in nature.”
‘The more I talk to him, the more I like him.’
“Zoo animals are like workers?”
“Yes.”
“And they invite wild animals to Fantasy World.”
“Haha! Brilliant.”
‘I must introduce him to the company.’
The manager approached Kang Jiseop.
“Are you his father?”
“I’m more like a guardian.”
“You have an amazing son.”
“He’s not my son, but he’s a genius.”
“…I see.”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is whether the story is worth publishing.”
“Haha! Agreed.”
“Shall we discuss this somewhere quieter?”
“I’d like that.”
‘This is a huge opportunity.’
‘One day of effort for a year of comfort.’
They moved—
Ready to turn this into something big.