Creator’s Favoritism

“What are you all doing up? Get to your dorms quickly. Lights out soon.”

An awkward silence hung in the air. Suddenly, without warning, the door of the conference room burst open. 

The one who grabbed the doorknob and issued the warning was the female dorm supervisor.

As if on cue, we hurriedly gathered our belongings and filed out of the conference room. And so, the event to assign senior partners ended with a fizzle.

Hyun So-ra went to wash up first, while my exhausted body and mind sprawled against the mattress.

It was at that moment that a narration box with brightly glowing outlines popped up.

「Tito, sitting on the subway looking at the Han River Bridge, recalls the conversation he had with the webtoon manager in the morning.」

Oh.

I straightened up and focused on the narration box.

「‘The monster design is unique, but your artist identity is so strong that it might be hard for readers to immerse themselves,’ Tito seriously reconsiders the manager’s advice.」

He said that? The platform needs to secure as wide a readership as possible.

From that perspective, it was somewhat understandable advice.

「Tito thinks it might not be a bad idea to feature a famous monster that readers can recognize at a glance, just once.」

What are you up to now? A sense of unease began to creep over me.

「Tito formulates a plan in his head to assign a new monster to Sun-woo, who’s interning at the Gangnam branch, partly to show the manager. Tito hurriedly opens his phone’s memo app before he forgets the plot development.」

Bad feelings never lie. 

The Gangnam branch was the only place where Yeo Wook and I were interning among the first-years. 

I wish he’d at least give a hint about what this monster is. But no more narration boxes appeared. 

In an instant, I became as anxious as a death row inmate who doesn’t know their execution date.

The slime was innocently playing, creating sparks. The already tiny sparks seemed to grow even smaller, eventually dwindling to mere flickers. 

Even that seemed tiring, as Nemo yawned widely. I brought my palm with the slime close to my face and lowered my voice.

“Nemo, is that all the firepower you’ve got? Can’t you make it any bigger? You’re actually S-rank, aren’t you? Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

At my whispered question, Nemo made an openly sour expression. Despite its simple features, the feeling of ‘what more do you want from me?’ came across clearly.

“Tch.”

For now, all I could do was focus on what I could do myself.

* * *

-Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!

I opened my eyes immediately upon hearing the bizarre alarm sound. Hastily turning off my phone alarm, I checked on Hyun So-ra in the next bed.

So-ra mumbled something sleep-talking and pulled her blanket up to cover her head. Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t woken her.

The window outside was still dimly dark, not yet 6 AM.

I snatched up Nemo, who was sprawled asleep next to my pillow, and stuffed him into my hoodie pocket.

Arriving at the sports field, I looked around at the empty surroundings. It was utterly quiet except for the occasional chirping of mountain birds.

Worried that Nemo might get motion sickness if I ran with him in my pocket, I carefully placed him at the starting point of the track.

I needed to build up my stamina during the spare time before morning classes and after practical lessons.

Generally, when exercising, people calculate muscle-building time and deliberately take a day or two off for rest.

However, hunters’ bodies are much stronger than civilians’, and their recovery is surprisingly fast.

This means that no matter how much you exercise, it won’t harm your body unless you’re literally tearing your flesh.

It was truly a system made for being pushed to the limit.

While it might not compare to skills powered by abilities, there’s no downside to becoming physically stronger.

Since my character development was set as the hard-working type, with luck, this might be a chance to catch Tito’s attention.

-Bang!

An artificial white light burst from beyond the mountain ridge surrounding the school.

「Tito draws a small picture of ‘Maeng Sun-woo’ in gym clothes running on the track. Tito’s hand is busy drawing how each first-year spends their morning.」

After glancing at the mountainside where the square of light had appeared, I started running at a slightly higher speed.

With each step on the urethane track, the impact transmitted through the soles of my running shoes.

After running about five laps at full speed, I tasted metal at the back of my throat. My thighs were starting to ache sharply, but there was no time to stop. I just mechanically moved my arms and legs.

Every time I completed a lap around the track, Nemo at the starting line waved his arms as if cheering me on.

Thanks for the support.

「Tito draws a single panel of ‘Kang Chagyeong’ sitting dejectedly on a bench in front of the dormitory.」

Just then, a narration box appeared before my eyes.

I read the content that popped up in the box while catching my labored breath.

“Maybe I should go talk to the protagonist.”

Muttering to myself, I took a deep breath and zipped up my coat all the way to my neck. After making sure not to forget Nemo, I headed toward the dormitory without hesitation.

I could see Kang Chagyeong sitting alone on a bench from afar. His slightly curly hair swayed gently in the dawn breeze.

His eyes widened slightly as he spotted me coming up the hill.

“Oh, hi.”

I waved my hand, pretending I hadn’t known he was here.

“Hi, Sun-woo.”

Chagyeong, shyly greeting me, was holding a can of hot chocolate with both hands.

As I approached him, he took out a drink of the same brand from his coat pocket and offered it to me.

“Want one? It was buy-one-get-one-free, so I got an extra.”

“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”

I rolled my eyes around, trying not to be obvious as I scanned the surroundings, but the light that appears when webtoon panels are created didn’t show up.

Feeling slightly disappointed, I took a seat next to Chagyeong, leaving a bit of space between us.

At this point, I didn’t really have any business with him, but it would be weird to suddenly leave.

“What are you doing here at the crack of dawn? I heard from Chan-yu that you went to the hospital.”

“…”

Chagyeong just hemmed and hawed, unable to speak for a while. From the outside, he didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere.

“Are you injured?”

“…I’m not injured. Chan-yu fought for me instead.”

As he spoke quietly, Chagyeong repeatedly clenched and unclenched his right hand.

“She’s completely different from someone like me… She can fight well. Did you hear that Chan-yu awakened her manifestation skill yesterday?”

I swallowed an exclamation internally. The manifestation skill was almost essential for proper performance in fieldwork. As expected of an A-rank, he awakened it quickly.

“She must be the first among the first-years, right?”

Chagyeong’s expression looked gloomy as he continued muttering. It seemed like I needed to find a way to cheer him up somehow.

“Come on, why are you saying things like that?”

I encouraged him with an intentionally bright voice, but his expression remained dark. I had no idea what words would comfort him.

At that moment, Nemo, who I had carefully tucked into my coat pocket, wriggled out. 

A faint curiosity appeared in Chagyeong’s expression as he noticed the transparent slime.

“Do you always carry that around? Your slime.”

“Oh, Nemo?”

I promptly placed the slime on my palm and showed it to him. His gaze was serious as he carefully examined Nemo.

“Its name is Nemo?”

“Yeah.”

Nemo raised its stubby arms and waved them as if greeting. A faint smile appeared on Chagyeong’s lips, but it quickly disappeared.

“It’s cute.”

Chagyeong added in a timid voice, then awkwardly rubbed his face with his palm.

There’s probably no one in Korea who doesn’t know that Chagyeong’s ability is S-rank. The reason someone like him can’t fight properly in the field was clearly a psychological issue.

After slightly gauging his mood, I quietly opened my mouth.

“You know, my grandmother…”

“Hm?”

“My grandmother used to say this often: it takes a long time to write a signboard inscription properly.”

Grandmother used to tell me that the inscriptions hung above doorways traditionally take a long time to write.

“Of course, if you’re the signboard inscription, I’m more like the Bible script. I mean, what I’m trying to say is…”

As I awkwardly tried to comfort him, my words became more and more incoherent. It was rather fortunate that this scene wouldn’t appear in the webtoon.

Chagyeong looked at me and gave a weak smile.

“…Sun-woo, you seem really kind.”

Kind, my ass. 

Honestly, if Chagyeong wasn’t the protagonist, there’s no way I’d be this considerate and nice to him.

Looking at his innocent eyes made me feel a twinge of conscience, but I was prepared to devote myself to anyone to impress Tito.

I laughed casually and subtly avoided his admiring gaze.

Chagyeong, who had been chewing his lip for a moment as if pondering something, suddenly spoke up.

“Sun-woo, actually, there’s something I want to talk about…”

It was at that exact moment that a new narration box appeared.

「Tito contemplates how to utilize ‘Maeng Sun-woo’, who has unexpectedly gained a higher importance and character depth than initially planned for his impromptu appearance.」

“Talk about what?”

I asked lightly while scanning the surroundings. But if his ‘talk’ was really about something important, the square light that should obviously appear was nowhere to be seen.

‘I guess whatever he wants to talk about isn’t that significant.’

「Tito sits deep in thought, with a memo pad in front of him showing the names of the six first-years and a rough relationship chart.」

While seriously reading the sentence in the narration box, I opened the can of drink I had received from Chagyeong.

As I took a sip of the warm hot chocolate, a box with content I could never have imagined appeared in succession.

「Then Tito draws a straight line between ‘Yeo Wook’ and ‘Maeng Sun-woo’, and adds a small heart above the line.」

Ack.

Caught off guard, I choked and burst into a fit of coughing. Tears welled up in my eyes as the drink reversed into my nose.

“Gasp… Sun-woo, are you okay?!”

Chagyeong asked in alarm, but there was no way such thoughtful concern could reach my ears right now.

What the hell is this nonsense?

Wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes with the back of my hand, I read the continuously appearing narration boxes.

「Tito feels relieved that there’s a female character he can pair with a significant male character, especially since it was already difficult to use ‘Lee Chan-yu’ in a love line.」

‘What the hell is this nonsense!’