Chapter 002. This Time.

I took a step back and glared.

‘This kid must have done something.’

I felt it instinctively.

About 40 cm tall, a 4-head figure.

It looked like a cute character, but given the situation, I had no time to think about that.

Just as I was on guard, the kid lunged at me.

Whoosh! It hit my shoulder with something.

“Ouch!”

It was so sudden.

I fell on my butt and bowed my head.

After a while, I felt something was off.

‘It doesn’t hurt at all.’

I couldn’t feel any injury.

I squinted my eyes and saw the weapon the kid was holding.

It was...

‘Manuscript paper?’

No doubt about it.

After spending half my life with it, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it.

This is definitely a manga manuscript paper.

‘Did it just hit me with manuscript paper?’

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

As I lifted my head to look up, the kid leaned in and shouted.

“How can you draw manga like that!”

“What? M, manga?”

I was completely taken aback.

“Just because you got popular once, you go overboard and draw until your body aches. Are you still a pro? You should have restrained yourself when you started feeling pain in your wrist. Body management is every pro’s duty! It’s absurd that you didn’t know this basic fact and still received royalties.”

What is this all about?

I stammered, my mouth trembling at the sudden outpouring of words.

“Ah, no, that’s... because the survey rankings dropped a bit, I tried to improve the quality to bounce back...”

“What was the result? It backfired, didn’t it? Your wrist was completely wrecked, and you even got your series canceled, didn’t you?”

“...”

I couldn’t say anything. I lost most of my readers due to a single wrong decision.

‘In the end, it was a foolish act.’

Though it hurt, I had to admit it to myself.

“By the way.”

I stood up again.

Looking alternately at the 4-head figure and the surroundings, I continued.

“Did you turn back time?”

I spoke with a serious tone, but...

The kid tilted its head.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then who...”

“God did.”

“Huh?”

God?

I widened my eyes at the unexpected answer.

What kind of nonsense is this?

“I was sent by God to help you achieve your goal.”

Goal?

I was about to ask, but...

A memo in a frame flashed through my mind.

“...”

I tightly closed my mouth.

There’s no point in doubting it.

I’ve already returned to the past, to my elementary school days.

There’s no time for doubt when I can see it all before me.

“You were sent back in time by God to achieve your goal. So, what you gained isn’t just your wrist.”

“What?”

“By returning to the past, you have a huge advantage, just by being here.”

Indeed.

Even if my wrist is back to normal, the biggest advantage is having the memories up to 2020.

“Then what are you?”

“I’m the manga fairy, Lapis.”

“Fairy... Lapis?”

The kid smiled.

“I was sent by God. It seems He wants to help the hopeless Seo Jun. Be grateful.”

Though he said it like that...

“Wait, so you’re going to help me?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Yes, I am.”

It seems this kid is my assistant.

I don’t know what value it has, but...

“Since time has been turned back, shouldn’t you achieve your dream?”

“Dream...”

The piece of paper with my goal written on it flashed through my mind.

My fists clenched involuntarily.

‘This time.’

It really was.

My grand but stagnant dream.

‘If I do it now, I can achieve it.’

It was something I couldn’t achieve originally, but now that I’m back in the past, it’s a different story.

‘If I draw manga this time, will it be my next work and my debut work?’

The irony of time being twisted made me chuckle, but it’s okay. Being reborn is a blessing.

A blessing that will help me achieve my dream, something I couldn’t even dream of before.

“Let’s not stay here too long. Let’s go outside.”

I wanted to see the scenery that only existed in my memories with my own eyes.

As I walked towards the entrance, I saw students reading fantasy novels.

‘Even though baggy jeans look a bit old-fashioned.’

It’s not a problem.

This is the latest fashion trend of the time.

It even feels nostalgic.

“Going?”

The old man, no, the uncle sitting at the counter glanced at me while flipping through the newspaper.

As always, I bowed 90 degrees.

“Yes, Uncle. Ah!”

I had forgotten about Lapis.

‘If the otherworldly fairy is seen by others, it’ll cause a commotion.’

I turned around hurriedly, and Lapis had a relaxed expression.

“Don’t worry. I’m invisible to others. Just call me when you need me.”

Poof! Lapis disappeared.

What a convenient setting.

I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Next time, don’t read in the corner. Sit down and read. If you do that from a young age, your back will hurt.”

“Yes, see you later!”

I bowed again.

It was just as I remembered.

‘Right, today was the first day I read manga at Baegseok’s best manga room.’

I had returned to the time when I first encountered manga.

The streets were filled with the nostalgia of the past. Snack shops that had disappeared in modern times, the sounds of running children.

‘I really have returned to the past!’

As I stepped out of the manga room, my heart swelled with excitement.

Looking up at the sky, I saw the red sunset.

‘Let’s go home first.’

That was the only thought I had in the current situation.

* * *

The way home was etched in my body.

The playground was filled with the noisy sounds of children.

The nearby stationery store was packed with kids.

With each step, I was lost in memories.

I stopped in front of a public apartment on the second floor.

I hesitated for a moment at the front door before opening it.

‘Phew.’

As naturally as possible.

“I’m home.”

“Son! Did you have fun?”

My mother, whose wrinkles had significantly decreased, turned to me with a bright smile from the kitchen.

The image of my mother from 2020, who had suffered because of me, flashed through my mind.

Tears almost welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t answer naturally anymore.

‘This time, I’ll make sure you don’t suffer.’

I clenched my teeth and ran to my room.

“Hey! Take a shower and eat!”

“Yes!”

I took a deep breath, closed the door, and looked ahead.

“I didn’t expect to come back here.”

What can I say?

The feeling of stepping into the nostalgic room of my school days. The past memories and the present before my eyes perfectly aligned, stirring up nostalgia.

Returning to the cherished space of my memories. It was the most realistic experience in my 20-year regression.

‘I really have come back.’

All the doubts flew away, and I realized it clearly.

I have returned to 20 years ago.

‘What should I do now?’

Currently in 2000, the future up to 2020 is in my head.

It’s like a smooth road ahead.

‘If I could, I’d buy Bitcoin right away.’

Of course, it’s not just Bitcoin. Knowing the future, I could have anything—wealth, fame, anything.

It was a tempting choice for someone who wasn’t well-off.

‘But that would make the regression meaningless.’

The 4-head manga fairy, Lapis, came to mind.

Its cute appearance seemed to condense all the innocence and longing I had.

A manga fairy...

‘Right, I’ll draw manga.’

That’s the only thing I need to do.

‘I’ll dominate webtoons and black-and-white manga.’

I sat at my desk and opened a notebook.

‘In this era...’

I recalled the facts I knew.

According to what I knew, 2000 was a kind of ‘dark age’ and a ‘turning point’ in the manga industry.

After the IMF crisis, the publishing manga industry suffered a severe blow, and many companies went bankrupt. The industry was still in a state of confusion.

‘Manga rooms are doing well.’

Manga rooms, or ‘rental shops,’ were at their peak in 2000.

‘With the sudden rise of unemployed people, many saw rental shops as a good retirement business.’

It was an era when adults who had lost their jobs could easily start a business without any expertise.

Thanks to this, the struggling publishing industry was able to produce books to meet the demand of rental shops, ensuring at least a minimum profit.

Ironically, this led to a brief boom in manga magazine publishers that were on the verge of collapse.

‘But...’

This ‘peak’ won’t last long.

People will start leaving rental shops.

‘As the world transitions from analog to digital, the video rental business, which was the mainstay of rental shops, will start to decline.’

If video rental shops start to collapse, the publishing industry, which relied on them, will suffer a significant blow. The decline will begin.

‘Even so, it’s too early to start drawing webtoons at this point.’

Webtoons hadn’t become mainstream yet.

‘The trend was to publish on blogs, not through contracts with publishers.’

There were no webtoon platforms in this era. It was just a hobby for amateur manga artists, nothing more.

‘I want to start publishing right away, but...’

There are two problems.

The first is financial.

‘It’s a problem to buy a tablet for drawing, and I can’t ask my parents for a computer...’

The expected cost is about 1.5 million won.

It was the beginning of the PC boom, but computers were still expensive.

‘I have to put webtoons on hold for now.’

Webtoons naturally fell to the bottom of the list.

I decided to think about it after buying a computer.

‘The second problem is my age.’

Being too young was a hurdle.

‘There’s no way a rental shop would accept an elementary school student.’

Of course, anyone can publish if they have the skills, but it’s hard to trust a young child with a business.

For an elementary school student like me, the best option would be...

‘Contests.’

Domestic black-and-white manga contests.

The largest-scale contests were hosted by magazines like Jump, Comic Champ, and Chance.

Here, I could only compete on a fair playing field with my skills.

If I win a prize, I might be able to buy a computer.

‘I have a good chance of winning.’

I’m not being overconfident.

Ten years as an assistant, five years of publication.

I have 15 years of experience.

Moreover, I’m not just a regular person; I’m someone who has regressed from 2020. It’s a clear advantage.

Of course, I could submit to Japan with this skill.

‘But my Japanese isn’t good enough yet, so I’ll do it later.’

I plan to learn Japanese for at least one to three years before submitting.

Since I originally relied on management, I didn’t know much Japanese.

In 2000, there were no management companies to help connect with Japanese publishers, so I had to do it myself.

‘Being a sixth-grader is also a good time for studying.’

I decided to think positively.

‘Should I start drawing manga from tomorrow?’

I thought, but then I realized...

In my current state, I can’t draw manga.

‘I can’t even participate in contests.’

Drawing manga also costs money.

I needed to buy manuscript paper, pens, ink, screen tones, and other supplies.

‘Money is the problem.’

I couldn’t ask my parents for money to buy manga tools.

We weren’t well-off.

Since I’ve regressed, I can’t ask my parents for money this time.

As I was deep in thought, a knock came from outside the room.

“Jun! What are you doing? I told you to take a shower and eat.”

“Yes! I’ll be right there!”

Right. I’ll take a short break.

I decided to put the troublesome thoughts aside for a moment.

* * *

11 PM.

I turned off the lights and left a small lamp on.

I was definitely sleepy, but I couldn’t fall asleep.

After tossing and turning in bed for a while, a thought struck me.

Maybe Lapis could solve the money problem?

It’s supposed to be my assistant!

“Hey, Lapis. I need to buy tools to draw manga. Can you get me some money?”

Poof! Lapis appeared and immediately made an X with its hands.

“No, I can only help you in two ways. First, by giving you advice on manga. Second, by allowing you to use the shop.”

“Shop?”

I blinked.

“Yes, you can buy various items that will be useful to you.”

“Like manga... manuscript paper?”

“No, it’s much higher than that. Items that no one else can get, only you can.”

Items that no one else can get,

Only mine?