—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The meeting began.
The eight of us, myself included, sat gathered around a table.
Club President Yoo Bam, seated in the center, presided over the meeting.
“Has everyone finished uploading to the shared drive?”
“Yes, I’ve uploaded mine.”
“Me too.”
“Mine is still uploading.”
Bam Noona pointed to the front.
“We’ll start with mine, then we’ll go in the order of who uploaded first. Everyone follow along on your tablets, but please watch the front as well. I’ve connected my tablet.”
The beam projector installed on the ceiling lit up the screen. An image appeared on the large screen at the front. The first presentation was Yoo Bam Noona’s proposal.
Bam Noona began presenting her plan.
“The theme of my proposal is a ‘Korea Tour.’ A travelogue of Korea as seen through the eyes of a foreigner. The idea is to introduce Korea’s tourist spots, famous products, and traditions through a foreigner’s… um, that is, through my perspective.”
The sights of Korea from a foreigner’s point of view.
‘Simple and pretty good.’
I felt it was a theme that Bam Noona, being an exchange student, could give a uniquely distinct flavor. It also seemed to fit the format of an ultra-short animation that needs to convey its theme within five to ten minutes.
Since the theme was so clear, I could naturally picture the animation in my head.
If I had to point out a flaw, it would be that it felt a little cliché. If done poorly, it could feel as dry as an educational video made by the government.
Well, maybe if she could present the perspective of an actual exchange student in an interesting way, that could be overcome.
“That’s all. Any questions?”
“…”
No particular questions came up.
In truth, there wasn’t much to ask. Not only was the theme clear, but she had also attached supplementary materials detailing which of Korea’s various famous locations and features she would introduce and how.
“Next up is… A-reum.”
“Yep!”
A-reum stood up from her seat to present.
…Or did she stand up? She’s so short, it’s hard to tell the difference between her sitting and standing.
“I want to make a short animation about a school band. Oh, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a school setting. The idea is to briefly show the characters’ distinct traits and then fill about three to four minutes with a song that we compose ourselves.”
I blinked, staring at A-reum.
‘Compose it ourselves…?’
Has she been getting way too into anime like K-On! or Love Live! lately?
Unable to hide her excitement, A-reum passionately continued.
“It would be even better if we could each play an instrument. Wouldn’t it be fun to have the animation and reality overlap? For reference, I can do some simple composition, and I can play the piano.”
This was the first I’d heard that A-reum could compose and play the piano. It’s amazing to think those tiny hands of hers could handle a piano.
But then A-reum suddenly declared,
“Kang Cheol will be the singer!”
“Wh-what?! What are you talking about all of a sudden? I haven’t heard anything about this.”
How can she be so assertive about something she never even mentioned to me beforehand?!
I tried to object, but A-reum replied with a shameless look on her face.
“It’s fine. You’re a good singer, so you can do it.”
“No, I’m not that good.”
“Well, do you know how to play any instruments?”
“…No.”
“So you can just sing then.”
She was being completely unreasonable.
I shook my head from side to side.
“Let’s say I agree to sing. What instruments would everyone else play?”
“Uh, umm. We could learn starting now…”
“Just making the short animation is going to take us a full year. Learning instruments on top of that would be too much. It’s not like we don’t have other club activities.”
“…Tch.”
While the club’s ultimate goal was to produce a short animation, other activities were planned as well, like setting up a booth at Seoul Comics or doing cosplay.
Trying to learn instruments on top of all that would mean giving up all of our personal lives and pouring every waking moment into the club, and even that might not be enough.
As the two of us faced off, Bam Noona stepped in to settle things.
“Alright, let’s talk about the finer details after the presentations. We’re going to vote on it later anyway.”
“Okaay…”
A-reum sank back into her seat with a gloomy face. It seemed that after her initial excitement, she had belatedly realized it wasn’t feasible, and her energy drained away.
‘I feel kind of bad… Hmm, but still, what’s impossible is impossible.’
Next up was Sung-joo hyung’s turn.
He was still more of a regular guy than a full-blown otaku. I wondered what he had prepared.
Uncharacteristically for him, Sung-joo hyung began with an awkward expression.
“Well… I did manage to put together a proposal, but…”
Sung-joo hyung began his presentation with a voice lacking confidence.
After listening to what followed, I understood why.
‘This is plagiarism.’
He’d been hanging out with Ahn Sung-hyun and getting all sorts of manga and anime recommendations lately, and his proposal was a jumbled-up mix of unique elements from existing anime.
“This won’t work.”
“Hyung, these are the anime I recommended to you…”
Han Saebyeok immediately shook her head, and Ahn Sung-hyun stared at Sung-joo hyung with a dumbfounded expression.
Bam Noona shook her head and said,
“Okay, Sung-joo. Please take your seat.”
“Yes…”
Sung-joo hyung was cut off before he could even finish his presentation and sat back down.
But judging by his expression, it seemed he had expected this outcome. It looked like he had just thrown something together to meet the requirement. In the first place, it was too difficult a task for him, having only recently been introduced to anime.
Next came presentations from Hana and Ahn Sung-hyun.
Hana’s was the one I’d seen before, ‘The Rom-Com Between a Loner Cosplayer and a Popular Photographer,’ while Ahn Sung-hyun’s was a rom-com titled ‘Listen to My Voice,’ with ‘voice acting’ as its theme.
What was surprising was that both of their proposals showed a considerable degree of expertise.
Personally, I found Ahn Sung-hyun’s proposal more surprising. With Ju Hana, it made sense since she was a famous cosplayer herself, but I was amazed at how much research Ahn Sung-hyun had managed to do on the topic of ‘voice acting.’
‘Though judging by the description of the voice acting academy, it seems to be based on the Japanese industry.’
While the Korean and Japanese voice acting industries seem similar, they are quite different in many ways. Individual talent aside, when it comes to the entertainment business side of things, the Japanese system is much more established. An Sung-hyun’s proposal was clearly aimed at the Japanese voice acting industry.
There were only a few people left.
Bam Noona looked over at Seora Noona.
“Seora-unni, you said you don’t have a proposal, right?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, but I’m a little busy this year…”
“No, it’s okay. Thank you for participating with us.”
Bam Noona, along with every other member of the club, nodded in understanding.
Seora Noona was a fourth-year student, about to graduate. It was a time when she would be busy enough just preparing her graduation project or thesis, not to mention preparing for job hunting. On top of that, she was already working as a personal trainer at a gym.
Considering most fourth-years don’t even participate in club activities, we had to be grateful that she was helping out at all. It would be shameless to ask her to take the lead on a proposal for a year-long project when she was already offering her help.
“Then, next up is Saebyeok’s presentation.”
I smacked my lips in disappointment. I had wanted to present somewhere in the middle, but it seemed my upload speed had been the slowest. The file size was just too large, even after converting it.
Han Saebyeok’s proposal appeared on the screen.
[Tattoos and Scars]
The presentation that began with that title showed an even greater level of expertise than Ju Hana’s or An Sung-hyun’s.
From an explanation of what a tattoo artist is.
To the process of getting a tattoo.
To the positive and negative perceptions of tattoos.
To the psychology of people who get them.
“I want to tell the story of a tattoo artist and their clients, who carry scars. The scars can be physical ones etched onto the body, or they can be invisible scars of the heart.”
After finishing her general explanation, Han Saebyeok added in a low voice,
“This isn’t directly related to the animation production, but…”
Her voice trailing off, Han Saebyeok’s gaze briefly shifted towards me.
“I work as a tattoo artist in Hongdae. I have four years of experience… no, it’s five years now, as of this year. So if you ever need a consultation, let me know.”
Five years as of this year?
For a moment, my thoughts got jumbled.
‘Isn’t she 22 years old?’
If it’s been five years, that means she started tattooing at 18… I questioned if that was even possible.
Meanwhile, Sung-joo hyung, who was next to me, muttered in quiet admiration.
“Wow… five years? Should I get a consultation?”
“What? You’re going to get a tattoo, hyung?”
“Yeah. I already have one on my arm, but… I don’t like it, so I was thinking of getting a cover-up. It’s hard to find someone really skilled.”
I had only ever seen him in long sleeves, so I had no idea he had a tattoo. Could Sung-joo hyung be a scary person too?
While I was lost in that thought, my turn came.
“This is the last one. Cheol-jin, please present.”
“Ah, yes.”
My proposal was displayed on the screen.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to begin the presentation,
‘Ah, right. I have to lay the groundwork.’
I started laying the groundwork I had planned before the presentation.
“Ahem. First, the theme I’ve come up with is ‘A Shut-in’s Escape from the Corner of His Room.’ As a side note, the setting and characters might look familiar, but that’s not because it’s based on personal experience. It’s because I used a real middle school, our university, and our club as references to add more detail to the story. I happened to turn the club members into characters, so I’d appreciate your understanding.”
Alright, that should be enough of a detailed disclaimer, right? I explained everything.
I wet my parched lips with my tongue and said to the members,
“Before I begin my explanation, I’d like everyone to look at the comic in the shared drive on your tablets. Ah, the quality is a bit low because it’s a storyboard, so please understand…”
While Kang Cheol-jin awkwardly glanced around.
The members began to read the comic that appeared on their tablets.
Ju Hana was shocked when she saw the file size.
‘Huh? Didn’t Cheol-jin just start working on this four days ago?’
Considering the presentation was today, he’d only had three days to work, yet the comic was over 100 panels long.
‘Hmph. I think I’m going to cry again…’
‘Sigh, I shouldn’t have done that back then.’
Pi A-reum and Ahn Sung-hyun, who had already seen the comic once, were pressing their lips together, trying to hold back their tears.
‘So this was the comic the kids were looking at earlier. Looks like it’s Cheol-jin’s personal story.’
The quick-witted Kim Sung-joo immediately figured out the comic’s true nature.
‘He called it a storyboard, but the quality is incredibly high.’
Han Saebyeok glanced back at Kang Cheol-jin, inwardly impressed. Not only was the line art clean, but it felt more like reading a finished comic than a proposal storyboard.
‘Oing? This isn’t the art style I’m familiar with.’
‘Cheol-jin is an amazing artist.’
While each of them had different thoughts as they read the comic, there was one thought they all had in common.
‘It’s based on his personal experience.’
As expected, everyone had figured it out.
‘Ah, this part. This is when I gave him water.’
‘A cigarette burn… so that’s why he uses a cover sheet…’
‘Hmm. So this is how Kang Cheol was born. Those bad people.’
Kang Cheol-jin watched the members anxiously. It was because he could feel them periodically looking up from the comic to glance at him. He had expected to be found out, but now that it was a reality, his lips went dry.
‘How many of them know? I expected Hana to figure it out. I bet Seora Noona knows too…’
Kang Cheol-jin couldn’t have possibly imagined that every single one of them had figured it out.
After all the presentations were over,
The meeting concluded with a vote.
“Everyone, please pick the project you like the most. Of course, it’s an anonymous vote! Oh, and you can’t vote for yourself!”
The voting was over in an instant.
[Korea Tour – 1 vote]
[Tattoos and Scars – 1 vote]
[Escape from the Corner – 6 votes]
‘What?!’
I gasped internally and looked around. I had hoped to get at least one vote, but I never imagined it would win by such an overwhelming landslide.
‘I thought either Korea Tour or Tattoos and Scars would be chosen.’
Contrary to my thoughts, Bam Noona clapped her hands as if she had expected it and said,
“As expected. I knew Cheol-jin’s would be picked.”
“Cheol-jin, I’m saying this just in case you misunderstand, but I chose yours objectively. It was the most detailed.”
“Mhm. And I… I liked that all the members were in it.”
Bam Noona, Ahn Sung-hyun, and Ju Hana spoke in order.
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head and looked around at the members.
“Are you guys really okay with this? I voted for Tattoos and Scars…”
Personally, I had some reservations about the subject of tattoos itself, but I voted for it because I liked the theme. I also thought the mood and direction would be unique when presented as an ultra-short animation.
Han Saebyeok’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at me, then she nodded.
“I voted for Korea Tour… but Escape from the Corner is fine too. I think I can still show what I want to show with this.”
“R-Really?”
Everyone seemed to be in agreement.
Is it really being decided like this? I felt a little dazed and proud, but also daunted by what lay ahead. In the end, this meant I had to turn my past into an animation, right?
“Of course! We’ll have to cut out some of the scenes from the comic—no, actually, quite a lot of them. The runtime is short, after all.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
“We’ll only show the necessary core parts of the past briefly. And I think it would be better to show the bright transformation in the present and future.”
She was right. Focusing too much on my past would make the atmosphere too heavy. At the time, I was so immersed in drawing it that most of the content was focused on that, but since the theme itself was ‘escape,’ it was right to show the changed self that came after, rather than the gloomy past.
“Alright, today’s club meeting is over! Let’s all work hard from now on! Great work, everyone!”
“G-Great work, everyone.”
“Good work!”
The meeting ended.
And Bam Noona pulled her wallet out from her bag.
“Alright, let’s go for a team dinner now, a team dinner! It’s my treat! I’m buying something delicious!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
