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Yoonseo’s Perspective

To be completely honest, I thought there wouldn’t be much to a cartoon.

Of course, Bora, who has been exceptional at drawing since our clueless kindergarten days, might have a shot at being decent.

Maybe it could even go beyond just decent and reach a level worth seeing.

However, even if it could… being good at drawing and being good at cartooning are essentially two different matters.

No matter how outstanding the drawing skills are, if the story is terrible?

That’s not a cartoon; it’s merely a collection of nicely drawn pictures.

Because of that, I didn’t really expect much from cartoons and instead thought I’d use it as a means to pour out tears-worthy “reviews” instead—

“What is this… why…”

Is it making me feel entertained?

That can’t be right—no, it shouldn’t be…!

The only thing that was clear was that it felt different from the typical stuff I casually looked at.

So… should I say it has a more minor vibe?

But… even so, it was enjoyable.

That’s why I was confused.

I thought this wasn’t my type, but… perhaps it actually was?

Maybe I had no idea until now.

Until now, I had overlooked genres related to the cartoon I was peering into, assuming it wasn’t for me, but what if that was just a prejudice and that this genre actually suited me?

Feeling some enjoyment wouldn’t be strange, would it?

So maybe that’s why it feels fun?

I wanted nothing more than to dig into my pocket, retrieve my mobile phone, and search for cartoons in a similar genre to what I was watching right now.

Because then it would become clearer.

Yet, the reason I didn’t act on that impulse was because I noticed Dogun, whose attention was heavily focused on a different manuscript even while my head was overflowing with thoughts.

And while my mind was filled with all these thoughts, my eyes steadily scanned the manuscript, absorbing the contents of the cartoon.

I didn’t like the fact.

So, I tried to stop my wandering eyes, which didn’t know the owner’s heart, but much quicker than that, the last page of the manuscript revealed itself before me.

“…Huh?”

Is it already over?

That can’t be!

Even though I had many other thoughts in between, it felt like only about 5 minutes had passed. With my fingers, I hadn’t even flipped through two pages of this rather thick manuscript!

Leaving everything aside, physically, that shouldn’t be possible.

It must be as it should…

“How is it?”

While I was in the midst of such thoughts, Dogun’s voice echoed in my ear.

Naturally, I had no choice but to panic.

“Uh, yeah?”

“The cartoon. What do you think?”

Dogun’s gaze was fixed on the hand gripping the last page of the manuscript.

It felt like he was silently asking, “Haven’t you read it all?” or “If you did, please give me your review.”

“Well… so…”

What should I respond with?

No, what am I supposed to say?

After a moment of thought, I eventually pulled out a blunt voice and continued.

“Just wait a bit. It’s only been about 5 minutes.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not 5 minutes; it’s been over 20 minutes.”

“…?”

Has it really been 20 minutes?

That can’t be right!

I immediately looked up and glanced at the clock on the wall, hoping against hope.

What I saw confirmed that my previously leisurely time had shrunk, just like pot-brewed ramen broth.

I couldn’t easily accept that fact.

So, I tightened my brows a bit, and what echoed in my ears was—

“Oh dear… Did you completely lose track of time and get immersed?”

That was precisely what I heard.

The real problem wasn’t that statement itself, but rather what followed it.

“Is that right, Bora?”

“R-Really? Thank goodness…”

With that response, it felt like Bora, hearing those words, let out a sigh of relief, as if she was someone who had just dodged a bullet—was that just my imagination?

One thing was clear; regardless of what I imagined, I genuinely disliked this situation itself.

So, I wanted to say something, but… lying about it felt wrong too…

“Well… it’s not bad. Not bad at all.”

In the end, I had no choice but to settle for that.

Dogun’s Perspective

After finishing the self-evaluation, there was a weird standoff between Yoonseo and Bora, but regardless, I managed to get okay signs from Yoonseo, the quintessential audience according to this world’s standards, and with that, I no longer had any reservations, so I helped Bora upload the completed manuscript to the ongoing competition platform.

And thanks to that, I successfully breathed a sigh of relief when I received an “SOS request” from none other than my Senior.

“I heard it from your sister.”

“Yeah?”

As I was tidying up after another evening of “offerings,” I was taken aback by what my Senior said.

Naturally, I had no clue what she was talking about.

And as if she anticipated my reaction, my Senior, brushing away some fine, white threads stuck to her mouth with a delicate finger, immediately continued speaking.

“I heard you decided to try learning about being a manager?”

“Ah… yeah.”

I finally understood what she was referring to; it wasn’t a secret. I nodded immediately, only to see my Senior’s vague smile turn into a request for help.

“That’s great. Then… could you help me out this weekend?”

Her face bore a peculiar weariness.

It was evident she had been busier than usual due to missions and such since I hadn’t seen much of her at home recently. Was it related to that?

Regardless, considering the situation where she, of all people, was asking for help, I figured it was definitely important, so I nodded.

After I nodded, I recalled that I hadn’t received Chae-rim’s permission yet, and it bothered me.

“Ah, but about that…”

Just as I was about to bring it up?

“If it’s because of your sister, don’t worry. I’ll talk to her separately.”

“Ah, yes.”

Just as I expected, my Senior took the initiative first.

So what exactly should I be helping with?

Since she mentioned managing, it seemed related to that, but… I hadn’t learned anything specific yet, so I couldn’t guess why she wanted my help.

I asked her, but what I got in return was an ambiguous reply about knowing naturally on the day itself, which wasn’t much of an answer.

To summarize, her words weren’t incorrect.

Since the weekend came when I agreed to help her, as soon as I arrived at the Association with her, I instinctively grasped what I was meant to do.

As a novice who just started learning, I didn’t know everything like a professional yet, but anyway, one of the duties of a hero’s manager was to handle “traffic control.”

To put it simply, it involved analyzing real-time deployment requests and classifying them based on road conditions, site situations, and routes to assist the hero currently on duty in completing their tasks more efficiently.

And my Senior, who had been working without the help of a manager up till now, had managed until now just fine.

“Up until now, it was fine to operate that way.”

“Ah…”

That made sense.

No matter how much my Senior was the top scorer in the Seoul region this year, they would see her as just a beginner who had just crossed the threshold of the qualification exam compared to those who had been active before her.

So surely, deployment requests must have been limited to those manageable for new heroes, ensuring they wouldn’t be overwhelmed.

Sure enough, according to her following words, that had been the case originally.

That had been the case, but—

“For some reason, I’ve noticed there’s been a sudden rise in deployment requests recently. And along with that, the cases have become more complicated.”

While she tried to manage it alone as before, she would naturally end up overexerting herself, as she explained.

Recognizing this issue early on, the Association suggested she hire a manager instead, and—

“Of course that would be convenient, but…”

She said she declined it.

“Why?”

Genuinely curious, I asked, and my Senior, who had been staring at my face for a moment, slowly opened her mouth.

“If I were to hire someone as a manager, it’d be a problem if that someone wasn’t you, Dogun.”

 

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