NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24
It all started with a phone call from Tanaka.
[Director, how have you been?]
“I’ve been the same as always. How about you, Tanaka?”
[I’ve been doing the same. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to reach out.]
“Haha, we’re all the same. By the way, what is the matter?”
[Well, we’re looking for a particular writer. Would it be possible to receive a bit of your assistance, Director?]
“Ah, yes. Of course, I will help you. But what kind of assistance…?”
[We’re looking for a manga artist who creates 4-panel comics. We tried contacting them first, but were unable to get a response. After some investigation, it appears that the artist is likely Korean.]
“I see. But we don’t have access to the whereabouts of Korean-based artists…”
At my response, Tanaka replied with a surprised voice as if waving their hands.
“No, no. We certainly don’t expect you to assist to that extent. We’ll send you the artist’s account information. If by any chance you manage to get in touch with them, please kindly let us know.”
“That much, well… alright.”
After hanging up the call, I waited for a moment, then an email from Tanaka arrived in my inbox.
Opening the email, I confirmed the contents which contained a Bixiv link along with a text file including various pieces of information.
‘Let’s take a look…’
Accessing the Bixiv link Tanaka had sent, numerous submitted artworks immediately came into view.
Since this was an unrestricted art site, the ratio of adult content was high, so I swiftly activated the 19+ filtering function.
‘At least it’s in the private office; it could have been disastrous if I had opened this in the Team Office…’
Despite it being an era that was more lenient about suggestive materials than the 2020s I knew before the regression, caution was still necessary.
After confirming that the filter was functioning correctly, I began looking through the works of the artist.
First of all, the 4-panel comic Tanaka had mentioned.
Reading from the first to the latest episode, it became evident why it was popular.
Firstly, the art style.
Preserving the characteristic style of Girls’ Memorial, the artist’s deformed illustrations in the style of SD (Super Deformed) stood out.
Next was the setting.
Among the writers who create fan comics based on original works, there are quite a few who disregard such settings.
Such people are typically referred to as “fallen nobles,” but this artist showed no signs of such tendencies.
Even with the characters deformed to four heads high, accessories, clothing patterns, and physical traits were meticulously adhered to.
Additionally, considering the everyday life stories occasionally appearing in the story used as comic material, it was evident that this artist was without a doubt playing Girls’ Memorial.
Finally, the scene composition.
The easiest way to tell apart skilled manga artists is through the proficiency of their scene composition.
From that perspective, this artist seemed to be at least a well-known doujin artist or even professional-level.
That said…
‘This art style feels very familiar.’
After enjoying all the 4-panel comics and looking over the illustrations, I kept having this thought.
As I thought it over, a name came to mind.
“Ah, Lee Yerin.”
It came so naturally because Yerin’s character design drafts often used a very similar art style.
The Girls’ Memorial art style, they said, had been slightly adjusted for uniformity…
Thinking to that point, I immediately checked the nickname.
“ye12na”
It was the nickname of Yerin’s younger sister, Yena, that the community users with knowledge back before the regression had uncovered.
‘There you go…’
If this artist was indeed Yena, Yerin’s younger sister, her level of skill and popularity made sense.
After all, she had been an art director with the same career path as Yerin before the regression.
That said… a headache began as I realized the artist SFLAG was looking for was Yena.
In principle, I should have sent this information I discovered directly to Tanaka and that would have been the end of it.
However, I couldn’t.
Firstly, she was not just any stranger—Yerin’s younger sister, and it felt off to simply hand over personal information.
And more importantly, because Yena had no external activities before the regression.
After a brief moment of thought, I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket.
“First off… I should just hear it from Yerin herself.”
*
Securing a spot at the cafe where we had made the appointment, I waited a short while and saw Yerin enter.
“Over here.”
Waving my hand while seated at the table, Yerin spotted me and promptly approached.
“What’s the matter? I’ve already been so overwhelmed with preparing for the event…”
“Sorry. I have an urgent question to ask.”
“Alright?”
Yerin sat across from me with an expression of surprise at my response.
“Why the long face?”
“It’s not really… it’s surprising that there’s something you don’t know. I haven’t heard this kind of question from you in so long.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, usually, even if you don’t say anything, you seem to figure most things out, so I thought that was just the case. Though, whatever.”
After listening to Yerin, it dawned on me.
‘After re-living everything, I may have been acting too complacently.’
Thinking I should be more careful from now on, I sipped my coffee.
“Would you like me to get you something?”
“No, I’ll order.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yerin headed to the kiosk on the table to place her order.
After collecting the order with her vibrating bell, Yerin went to the counter and collected her coffee.
It was a frappuccino full of Yerin’s favorite sweet treats—java chips, chocolate mousse, and whipped cream.
Though it should have been a strictly off-limits question for a woman, I was unable to hold back.
“If you keep eating such sweet snacks, how come you don’t gain any weight…?”
Surprisingly, Yerin, whose question was rather sensitive, responded with a surprisingly nonchalant expression.
“Yes, I don’t seem to gain weight.”
“Really?”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s my constitution or from exercising, but I’ve been eating like this since high school, and there hasn’t been much of a difference in my weight.”
After exchanging some brief casual chatter to loosen the mood, we moved onto the main topic.
“So, onto the main topic… I received a request from SFLAG.”
“Yes.”
“They asked me to find an artist active on Bixiv. This account.”
As I finished speaking, I showed Yerin my turned-on smartphone.
“This is…”
“You’re familiar with this account too, Yerin.”
“Y, yes…”
“That’s your younger sister’s account, right?”
At my question, Yerin nodded slowly.
“I guessed from the art style. Yerin, the character design drafts you do when you’re relaxed are exactly like this.”
“Director, your observational skills are unexpectedly sharp.”
Yerin chuckled as she spoke, but I didn’t reply.
It seemed Yerin wasn’t expecting a reply either, as she took a sip of her frappuccino and continued.
“The account Director showed is indeed my younger sister, Yena. From what you’ve said, it seems you already have detailed knowledge about Yena?”
“Not exactly knowledgeable, just her face. You showed me last time, didn’t you? That popular internet sister duo doujin artist.”
At my comment, Yerin blushed slightly, looking a little embarrassed.
“Anyway, Director, what are you going to do now?”
“Hmm… If it were just some random person, I planned to simply pass the info along to Tanaka and be done with it. Since publishers from the publishing side were the ones pushing for this, I didn’t feel the need to deeply involve myself.”
“But the reason you didn’t do that…?”
“Because she’s Yerin’s younger sister. With the person being the younger sister of a close junior, I thought it was only polite to directly ask the person herself.”
At that moment, Yerin’s eyes widened.
It seemed she was slightly shocked. After spacing out for a moment, Yerin suddenly smiled and spoke.
“I always feel this, but Director is really considerate.”
At this unexpected response, I felt flustered, gave a small cough, and continued.
“Yeah, well… So, that’s why I’m asking. Is there anything wrong with Yena?”
“Something wrong?”
“Well, like… does she have any physical ailments preventing her from doing external activities?”
“No, not at all.”
“Huh?”
At my question, Yerin shook her head with a blank expression.
“I don’t know what kind of misconception Director might have, but Yena is very healthy.”
Yerin’s answer left me somewhat baffled.
“Completely healthy? Then why not before…?”
“Well… unemployed… actually, she would call it a noble unemployed,” laughed Yerin, “After graduating from the Fine Arts Department of S University, instead of working, she chose to live off the money she earned from doujin activities and waste her life.”
At this point, Yerin seemed to have a lot bottled up within her and began venting.
“With her skills, there are definitely countless companies in the gaming or advertising industries where she could work, yet I don’t understand why she chooses to waste her life like this…”
Listening to Yerin’s narration, it became clear that she was trying her best to put up with her sister.
From my knowledge in the previous life, I knew that Yerin eventually brought Yena into the company where she worked because she couldn’t stand it anymore.
In this life, I had planned to be the one to bring Yena into the company.
“One more thing I’d like to inquire about…”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
Was it because of the momentary emotional release? Yerin was slightly breathing heavily as I continued.
“Did Yena ever do anything besides doujin activities? Like freelance work?”
“Hmm… Oh, right! About a year ago, she mentioned doing freelance work for 3D modeling.”
“Bingo.”
“And then?”
“Probably… after doing a few jobs and earning the money she needed, she quit.”
“I see…”
After listening to Yerin’s story, it became evident that things hadn’t changed from my previous memories.
Most of it matched the stories Yerin had casually mentioned before the regression.
“From this, the 3D modeling project that I conceptualized last time… might work, right?”
“Yerin, your goal is for your sister to find a job and engage in social life, right?”
“Uh, right?”
“In that case, how about this?”