Chapter 7

Chapter 010. This Time Will Be Different

"Teacher, what kind of education did you give Seo Jun? This is a comic drawn by a 12-year-old?"

"I didn't do anything."

"You're lying again."

"I really didn't do anything... "

Park Jin-ho sweated profusely under Hee-won's interrogation and denied it to the end.

Seeing his pitiful state, I took the initiative to speak.

"You didn't do anything? Uncle, Seo Jun learned a lot while working at your studio."

"No, this is all your doing! Seo Jun, your comics are really interesting."

Park Jin-ho patted my shoulder.

"It's thanks to your own efforts. You've grown a lot. I really look forward to your future, Seo Jun!"

If it were other artists, they might boast about nurturing a genius, but Park Jin-ho showed no such attitude.

"Still, if I were to point something out, the coloring seems a bit lacking because it's on manuscript paper without screen tones. A little adjustment would do."

"Oh, I see."

There were very slight areas where the ink wasn't fully filled.

It wasn't very noticeable, but I wanted to create a perfect manuscript, so I accepted it immediately.

'Busy, busy!'

Time was running out.

In the midst of the rush, I went to school and home to continue working on the manuscript.

Only one day was left until the submission deadline for the contest.

Holding the envelope with the thick stack of manuscript pages, I stood in front of the mailbox.

'In those days, postal submission was the norm.'

I handed the manuscript in my arms to the counter staff.

'Please arrive safely at the editorial department, my manuscript!'

I thought back to my first submission to a contest.

The excitement and the overwhelming feeling.

It was the same feeling as now.

Even though I didn't win a prize back then.

'This time will be different.'

Confidence overflowed.

Arriving at the studio with a confident stride, it was quieter than usual.

As expected, Park Jin-ho was working alone.

"Where is Hee-won?"

"Oh, you're here? I gave Hee-won the day off today. Seo Jun, take this and rest well today."

He got up from his seat and handed me something crumpled from the bookshelf.

My eyes widened.

'Pay envelope!'

This was my first paycheck since coming to this era.

Come to think of it, it was already the last day of June.

The envelope contained the pay for the period from mid-May to the end of June.

"Thank you!"

When I took the envelope, I felt an unexpected weight.

'Heavy?'

The envelope was thick.

Very thick.

I wondered if it contained thousand-won bills, but the contents were all green.

Counting them one by one, there were exactly one million won.

'Huh?'

My brain seemed to freeze for a moment, but I quickly regained my composure.

Something was wrong.

'You must have made a mistake in the calculation, right? No, this is way beyond a simple calculation error.'

I worked at the studio five days a week, and even then, only about five hours a day.

The minimum wage in 2000 was 1,600 won.

For an assistant, it was common to receive about half of the minimum wage.

But the money Park Jin-ho put in the envelope was several times more than the minimum wage.

'I can't just take it as it is.'

Especially since I knew Park Jin-ho wasn't in a comfortable financial situation, I couldn't accept it easily.

"Uncle, please check the pay envelope again."

"Why? Is the amount too low?"

"No, it's ridiculously high."

"High?"

Park Jin-ho laughed heartily and looked at me.

"Seo Jun, that's a bonus."

Bonus?

A bonus of hundreds of thousands of won?

"Still, it's too much."

One million won in 2000 was a significant amount, not like in 2020.

"Take it. It's a token of my gratitude, so there's no need to refuse."

'Gratitude...?'

I had a vague idea.

Was it gratitude for turning around the struggling 'Reverse Police'?

After all, if the popularity ranking was maintained, the single-volume sales revenue would be significant.

'He's showing gratitude despite his difficult circumstances.'

I decided to accept Park Jin-ho's gesture.

"Thank you."

"Good job. Rest well today, and see you tomorrow!"

I bowed politely and left the studio.

'What should I do with this now?'

My head was full of thoughts about how to spend the money.

Saving it was certainly a good option, but I needed to make it work for me.

'How can I use this one million won well?'

I wanted to invest it in what I needed most.

What was it?

As I walked down the street, I noticed an electronics store.

'Right, a computer!'

I had forgotten. A computer was the next thing I needed after drawing tools.

'I'll check the prices. If there's a good one, I'll buy it right away.'

Curious, I entered the electronics store and looked at the price tags, but my heart sank.

Are these prices for real?

The amounts were beyond imagination.

It was the early days of widespread computer use, but the prices were still high.

'With one million won, I can't buy anything at this price.'

If I received next month's pay, I could buy the cheapest computer, but waiting another month felt too long.

'Wait a minute?'

Thinking about it again.

It's 2000.

My uncle had a computer store at this time.

'He eventually went bankrupt after trying to make online games.'

I remembered vividly because my uncle lived with us for a few weeks after his bankruptcy. He later worked in various factories.

'Should I ask my uncle?'

If I'm lucky, I might be able to get a computer with the money I have.

* * *

Sejin Computer Land Grand Store.

Looking through the glass, I saw a short-haired uncle with glasses sitting at the counter, carefully cleaning computer parts.

This was my uncle in his younger days.

He looked about the same age as I was before I came back in time.

In fact, my uncle was in his early 30s in 2000.

"Hello."

"Welcome... Oh, Seo Jun?"

When I opened the door and entered, my uncle looked a bit surprised.

"Seo Jun, what brings you to my store? Did your sister send you on an errand?"

"No, I want to buy a computer."

My uncle chuckled and got up from his seat.

"Finally, your sister has recognized the greatness of computers. She said she wouldn't even take one for free, but it seems she's changed her mind. She wanted a 30GB hard drive, a Pentium 3, and a GeForce 2 Ultra. Ha, impossible now."

"No, I want to use it myself."

Hearing my answer, my uncle scratched his head, looking puzzled.

He then lightly nodded and patted my head.

"Seo Jun, it's great that you're moving into the IT world, but I'm in business to make money. I can't just give you something worth hundreds of thousands of won, no matter how much I love you."

"Of course. I came to buy it."

"Do you know how much a computer costs? Even if you filled a piggy bank, you couldn't afford it."

"I have a rough idea of the prices from other stores, but I'm a bit short."

"A bit short?"

My uncle looked surprised as I handed him the envelope.

He opened it and his mouth dropped open.

"H-how much is this?"

"Exactly one million won."

"One million?!"

He cleared his throat and looked outside cautiously, then whispered to me.

"Seo Jun, did you steal it?"

"No, I earned it through honest work."

"Ah, I see. That's fine."

He tousled my hair.

"I won't ask where you got the money. Still, a million won for a primary school student, you're different from the start! It's like seeing my younger self."

After checking the money in the envelope again, my uncle extended his hand.

"I'll add a little. Now you're part of the IT world. Congratulations."

He meant to shake hands.

I took his hand with both of mine and shook it lightly.

"Thank you. I want one that can draw without any issues, Uncle."

"Draw? For drawing, you need a good monitor and graphics card."

He picked out a few parts from the corner and wrote something on an estimate sheet.

"I was going to give this to your sister, but I'll pass it on to you. Pentium 3, GeForce 2 Ultra, 15GB hard drive, 256MB RAM. A high-resolution monitor. I'll even take a loss, but I'll invest in you since you're my nephew."

He immediately started assembling the parts into an empty case.

"Uncle, what's this?"

It was hard to see due to the dust.

A plastic pen on a thin plastic board.

If my guess is correct, this is a tablet.

"Yes, it's a Wacom Intuos 1. It's a revolutionary product with pressure sensitivity. A great tool for the future industry."

Intuos!

Just as I expected.

There were tablets in Korea even in this era.

"But it's not selling, so it's about to be scrapped. It shows that this country still sees IT as a novelty, tsk tsk."

I can understand that.

In those days, few people in Korea used tablets for drawing.

"If you're going to throw it away, can you give it to me?"

"You want this?"

My uncle stroked his chin and nodded reluctantly.

"Rather than scrapping it... Sure, why not. It's a good investment in a future IT talent."

He wiped off the dust and handed it to me.

The design looked outdated, but considering the era, it was the latest model when the dust was removed.

"Ready? Now we just need to install Windows."

The computer was assembled and booting up. The familiar Windows 98 appeared with a blue background and black text.

It felt nostalgic.

'Windows 2000 wasn't widely used in Korea, so that's why.'

Windows 98 would work fine, so I didn't worry about it.

"Windows installation complete. I've also installed popular games like Pokémon and StarCraft. I'll move the computer for you. Get in the car, and I'll take you home."

"Thanks, Uncle."

As I opened the door to leave, I remembered something and answered immediately.

"Please keep it a secret from Mom."

"A secret? But you're going to install it at your house, right?"

"No."

"Huh?"

* * *

I headed straight to the studio and shouted as soon as I opened the door.

"Uncle!"

"Uh, what? I told you to rest."

Park Jin-ho was focused on his work, but I got straight to the point.

"Do you want to try using a computer?"

"Computer?"

For a moment, he looked like he was thinking, "What's this nonsense?" but then he nodded slightly.

"I'm not uninterested. I've heard that some artists draw with computers, and you can watch videos and read news online. It's very convenient. I'd like to try it."

"Would you be okay if someone installed a computer for free?"

"Ha ha, I'd be grateful and accept it. But that's not going to happen..."

"Uncle, install it here."

I opened the door, and my uncle, carrying the computer, appeared.

"Oh, sorry. Where should I put it?"

"Yes, yes. In this room."

Park Jin-ho briefly guided my uncle and then whispered to me.

"Seo Jun, what's going on?"

"I bought it from Uncle with the pay you gave me. It can be used for drawing."

I pointed to the tablet that came with the computer.

"Wouldn't it be better to use it together? If I install it at home, my mom will scold me, but it's a win-win if I install it at the studio where a computer is needed."

"You could have bought something delicious with that money. I gave it to you to use well."

I shook my head at Park Jin-ho's response.

"I used it well. Besides, I don't want to waste the precious money you gave me. There are many things I can do with a computer. It will be useful for meaningful things in the future, so I didn't buy it carelessly."

Park Jin-ho's eyes widened.

Did he sense my sincerity?

He patted my back lightly, as if agreeing with my answer.

"You really... Okay, you must have thought it through."

"Good job." He added, allowing the computer to be installed.

"Installation is complete. You'll need to call a professional for the internet... I heard you're Seo Jun's drawing teacher. Please take good care of him."

"Oh, no! I'm grateful to you for entrusting me with such a talented child!"

I haven't gotten permission from my mom to draw comics yet, but it seemed best to let it slide.

"I also like comics. I'd like to talk about the IT world from a comic artist's perspective, but I have to leave the store now. I'll see you next time. Seo Jun, I'm going. Call if you have any problems."

"Thank you, Uncle."

I bowed to my uncle as he left the studio.

Now everyone's attention was on the computer.

"Seo Jun, turn on the computer."

"Press this button."

When I pressed the round power button, the Windows desktop appeared. Uncle Park just kept exclaiming, "Oh!" as he looked at the computer monitor in amazement.

"The internet isn't set up yet. It needs to be activated."

"I'll pay for it. It's called Megapass, the latest internet service that came out last month. I'll call someone tomorrow."

As Park Jin-ho was looking through a local directory.

-Ding dong!

The doorbell rang shortly after my uncle left.

'Did Uncle forget something?'

When I opened the door, it wasn't my uncle but someone else.

I saw a person about my height for the first time at the studio.

"An Seo Jun?"

"Huh?"

It was a familiar girl my age.