Pop-Up and Penthouse
Han-soon enough, a customer stood in front and a pop-up window popped up anyway. Embarrassment made Yusom’s face heat up as if it would burst.
“One chocolate fondue chocola cake with a big bite taken out, and a milk tea, please.”
Fortunately the customer seemed not to have seen anything, but Yusom still awkwardly cleared her throat and averted her gaze.
Why did these alarms always ring in front of other people? She promised herself she would turn off the push notifications from the 19+ webtoon platform the moment the customer left.
That moment passed, and a little free time settled over the store.
Chae-a, who had been busily making drinks beside her, said to the other part-time workers.
“Ha, this is so tough. The customers have mostly left, so Yusom and I will take a short break.”
“Yeah, yeah, do that.”
During morning shift there were four part-time workers with good teamwork.
They had been working together for two years now, so everyone’s hands were practiced, but the store was always so busy that it was common for just two of them to take breaks when there was a moment of respite.
“Yusom-ah, I saw the alarm window pop up on your phone earlier. You already read all the episodes of the webtoon I recommended yesterday?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t stop once I started. The author’s cut scene is insane.”
Because she had stayed up all night reading the 19+ webtoon, Yusom’s mind felt foggy. Her eyelids were heavy, and the webtoon scenes played like GIFs inside her head.
Sharp colors, explicit dialogue, situations that made dopamine surge. It was impossible to close the window.
“Yeah, yeah! That work is really something. The dialogue is completely wild.”
Yusom and Chae-a high-fived, delighted. Both were from the same university, same year, but Yusom majored in Western fine arts while Chae-a majored in Oriental painting.
“Somi, are you still steadily doing human anatomy drawing lately?”
“Yeah, of course. Want me to show you?”
Yusom’s dream was to become a webtoon artist. But the problem was her major. Why, of all things, Western painting?
Human anatomy drawing helped, yet it had nothing to do with the dynamic webtoon composition. She should have gone to animation instead. Yusom chewed on the belated regret.
Lately the story she was hooked on was also 19+, so she studied the 19+ webtoons while reading them for fun.
Yusom opened her phone gallery and showed the drawings to Chae-a.
“As expected of Lee Yusom. You draw a woman’s body so sticky and perfect.”
“Hehe, thank you for the compliment.”
“But nowadays it’s the male characters that sell well, right?”
Chae-a showed her own drawing on her phone.
Thick lines, lumpy muscles, bold poses with shoulders spread wide. Chae-a’s skill completely dominated Yusom’s.
“Male characters are definitely Chae-a! Really beautiful.”
Yusom’s mouth fell open. Just looking at handsome 2D men was enough to wash away the day’s fatigue.
As pure art majors from the world-famous art university, only Yusom and Chae-a in the department wanted to go the webtoon route.
Everyone else was busy with employment or solo exhibitions now, yet the two were dismissed by their seniors for drawing webtoons, especially low-grade adult comics.
But Yusom didn’t waver. If anything, their prejudice only lit her determination higher.
“I have to fill my portfolio fast. I should draw male characters seriously too.”
“Chae-a, how are you so good at drawing?”
“Um, I’m the type who looks at real life. You know, I literally run around on foot. I work as an assistant staff for male models and check muscle details at bodybuilding competitions.”
“I see.”
“Somi, don’t you think you should look for reference people around you? You draw female bodies so well, you just need to get good at male ones.”
Chae-a sipped her strawberry smoothie through the straw. During break time, drinking the store’s most expensive drink was the small happiness of the part-time workers. Of course, it was done with the owner’s permission.
“Yeah, got it. I’ll try!”
For women’s webtoons, whether NL or BL, the male lead had to carry the hard part and devour everything.
Yusom already knew that, so she planned to focus on designing male characters from now on.
“But Yusom-ah, don’t only watch the lewd stuff. Last time I had an upper GI endoscopy and I started saying crazy things. Just thinking about that moment makes me want to die.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“It… I blurted out the webtoon dialogue straight. I can’t say it. The dialogue was so crude. Luckily I was muttering, so maybe no one caught the exact words.”
She hadn’t expected such side effects. Yusom suddenly became terrified in her sleep that she might blurt out 19+ webtoon dialogue like Chae-a.
“Anyway, Yusom-ah. Do everything in moderation, moderation! You have to go for a walk in the park and look at the grass and trees too, okay?”
Chae-a nodded vigorously. As a hardcore BL webtoon writer aspirant, she regularly argued that one must keep the mind clear.
“To avoid social ostracism, you have to act like a normal civilian most of the time.”
“But Chae-a, aren’t you preparing for a contract work?”
“Yeah, but I can’t find an assistant. Probably because my network is too narrow.”
Chae-a already had a contract work. Her close friend had succeeded, so she was very happy, yet she was also a little anxious.
“That’s so good. I want to debut soon too.”
“Why? Where’s the story stuck?”
Chae-a read between the lines even when people spoke plainly. Since they were both creators, it was easy to understand each other.
“Exactly. The male and female leads haven’t formed a relationship yet, and I don’t know how to advance the story from the scene without any gaps.”
It was a difficult problem. With 19+ webtoons, dragging things out too long made readers drop off.
But she couldn’t just make things up without logic, so Yusom felt her chest tighten at the gap.
She finally understood why so many authors tore their hair out in this exact section.
“Yeah. We have to advance fast. Let’s feed each other drinks first.”
“Is that really the only way? It’s too cliché.”
“Yeah, but one thing is certain—we have to take action.”
Action. Again in Yusom’s mind floated the number 7 million won.
Yeah. First, pay for the repairs, then think about everything else.
“Everyone, time to switch.”
The short break was already over. Yusom and Chae-a sitting on the stairs behind the store stood up and dusted themselves off.
***
“I was told there was no one here, but there really is.”
Yusom entered the accommodation Se-hyun had told her about. She was still wearing the cafe uniform. She figured she would wash it later and use the cleaning uniform in the meantime.
Meanwhile, the oppas’ accommodation was shockingly luxurious.
When Se-hyun oppa had told her it was a 70-floor building in the middle of Gangnam, she had already thought he was crazy, but seeing it with her own eyes made it even more unbelievable.
“Wow, Se-hyun oppa must be pretty rich.”
The moment the elevator door opened, a penthouse occupying half a floor revealed its grandeur.
Suddenly the air around Yusom felt different. The Greek natural marble floor reflected her pink slippers perfectly.
“…The ceiling really is high.”
It felt like she had stepped onto a movie set. Through the windows, the Gangnam view beyond was so vast it seemed to pierce the entire glass wall.
The ceiling had custom art lighting instead of the old chandelier. Already bright sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, yet the lighting matched it perfectly.
At the end of the living room, an automatic folding door led to the rooftop garden.
“To live in a place like this, one never even considers going out of the house.”
Yusom clicked her tongue at the thought of Eun-geon. People, no matter how you looked at it, lacked humility.
It was too luxurious to call the accommodation of national athletes.
Of course, once Eun-geon, Teo, and Gang-bin retired, the advertising fees from their exclusive contracts would cover everything, but the scale still seemed excessive.
“Ha, shall we start?”
Yusom sighed and rolled up her sleeves.