A Lewd Sketch Artist in a Gender-Reversed World - Chapter 102

Chapter 102 : Background Check

What is a regular customer?

There’s no need for a lengthy explanation. It refers to someone who builds a rapport with a business and keeps coming back consistently.

Before I knew it, they’d grown fond of my creations, regularly spending money on them.

In this harsh world, they create a steady income for me.

On top of that, they give me a sense of confidence that my products have value.

Not only do they boost my self-esteem, but they also fatten my wallet. There’s no better cost-benefit ratio than that.

That’s why I’ve always loved the term “regular customer.”

…At least, until now.

"HAaaaaaa!!”

It’s been three whole weeks since I accepted a commission from qwer1.

I was sitting in front of my monitor, screaming.

“Stop! Stop commissioning me, damn it!!”

The reason was simple. qwer1, that crazy person, kept relentlessly commissioning awful drawings without ever getting tired.

And this was already the fourth one.

To be honest, the first drawing they commissioned was finished quickly.

Drawing a tied-up person wasn’t a big deal, and since I didn’t want to drag out something I disliked, I poured my mental energy into finishing it as fast as possible.

I thought that was the end of it.

…It wasn’t.

They must have liked the drawing because, from then on, they started commissioning me regularly.

“Regularly” meant about once a week, but… that alone was enough to exhaust me.

Even for a commission, drawing a single piece takes at least two days.

Sketching the lines, setting the composition, coloring, and adding details time flies by quickly.

During that time, I had to cling to the gay-themed drawings they requested all day long.

And since they paid a lot, I couldn’t just half-ass it… My conscience wouldn’t let me feel okay unless I delivered quality work for the money.

As a result, my mental state was deteriorating day by day.

Now, here’s the question that arises.

If I hated drawing it so much, why not just cleanly refuse?

If the supplier says no, what can the client do?

I thought about this a lot.

Wouldn’t it be better to give up the money and spend that time drawing "S-Virus" instead?

I’m already making enough to live comfortably, so wouldn’t it be fine to refuse?

But 200,000 won wasn’t something I could easily let go of.

Earning almost three times the average commission rate for a single piece?

I couldn’t pass up such a sweet deal.

And it was hard to outright refuse from my side.

Once, I refused a commission because I really didn’t want to do it.

Then qwer1 said this to me:

[qwer1: Gasp!]  

[qwer1: Are you really going to refuse me here too?]  

[qwer1: What should I do? I came all this way and paid a lot because I like your work, but you’re refusing me… ㅠㅠ]  

[qwer1: If that’s the case, I might get sad and stop commissioning you…?]  

They started threatening me with money!

This person knew their value.

They knew there weren’t many people who’d commission with such large sums!

If they disappeared, my wallet would feel pretty empty. This sweet deal might not come around again, just like they said.

Honestly, with how unpredictable they were, it felt like they might actually do it.

“Ugh…”

So, I had no choice but to comply.

I couldn’t ruin our relationship over a single refusal.

It felt like a limited-time event if I missed it, they might never come back.

‘Should I be happy about this or not…?’

It was truly ironic.

My wallet was getting fatter, but my mental state was wasting away day by day…

Even now, when I close my eyes, I see images of male characters in handcuffs… Those awful gay drawings were more than enough to pollute my mind.

“Ugh, whatever.”

In the end, after clinging to my computer for a while, I threw it aside.

I hadn’t even started coloring, let alone finished the line art… but I didn’t feel like working on it right now.

It wasn’t a commission with a set deadline, so I figured I could push it off for a few days.

With that thought, I lay down on my bed to rest.

The soft bed soothed my overworked back.

“Haaa…”

Honestly, I wanted to rest all day like this, but unfortunately, there was still a lot of work to do.

I’d have to sit back at my computer and get to work soon.

‘Ugh, I also need to work on S-Virus…’

Recently, S-Virus had reached its fifth episode.

Thankfully, the community response was great.

With a lot of content, an interesting premise, and a variety of characters, it had enough appeal to draw people in. Thanks to that, my Pinbox subscriber count was growing rapidly.

If I added the money from qwer1’s commissions, I might be earning over 2 million won a month.

Earning the equivalent of an office worker’s salary alone in the middle of the city was something to be proud of… but, separately, drawing was a massive pain.

‘…Ugh, I don’t want to do it.’

Because, in the end, it still involved drawing men.

Sure, I didn’t have to draw single cuts like qwer1’s commissions.

But even so, there were still a ton of male characters, so it was just as annoying to draw.

Why do I have to draw male characters…? Why is the world designed like this…?

Overwhelmed by a rare wave of burnout, I couldn’t bring myself to get up.

I was starting to feel skeptical about my job.

‘This is so damn frustrating.’

At some point, I even thought:

‘At this point, shouldn’t a webtoon platform reach out to me?’

I’ve got the content, the entertainment, and even the appeal.

Recently, it’s even gained traction in the community.

Shouldn’t a company contact me first by now?

But not a single email had come. The arrogance of those companies made my blood boil.

I want to serialize officially too!

I want to step into the spotlight and make money off people!

But the reality was that I was just an amateur artist making pocket money by uploading to Pinbox.

The world is full of talented people. The path to official serialization is long and tough.

‘Well, official serialization isn’t that easy…’

After some venting, I slowly started to accept reality.

While I was wallowing in gloom, my phone pinged.

*Ding!*

I looked up to check the message, and it was from someone called “WannabeArtist.”

This was a friend who sent me feedback every time I uploaded a comic overwhelming but appreciated.

[WannabeArtist: I read your comic.]  

[WannabeArtisr: This episode was fun too. I always enjoy reading it.]  

A simple, straightforward message with no fluff.

But even from that, I felt a small spark of inspiration.

‘Ugh!’

This is why I do this work.

These little reactions plant seeds of encouragement in me.

Thanks to that, the burnout caused by qwer1 was starting to fade a bit.

Alright.

I’ll rest a little more and then get back to work.

‘Let me just mess around on my phone for a bit.’

I’m already lying in bed getting up right away feels too cold.

So, I decided to take a short break.

But this time, I didn’t go to YouTube or Tartalos.

Sure, those would kill time quickly, but… I had something I wanted to check.

‘Who is this person, really?’

It was about qwer1.

At first, I thought they were just some rich jerk… but with how often they come back, I couldn’t help but get curious.

Honestly, I also wanted to stop drawing those male character NSFW pieces…

So, to find a way out, I decided to do a little background check.

And the place I chose for this investigation was none other than Pixiv, a hub overflowing with NSFW art.

Since it’s a place where all sorts of human desires converge, it seemed perfect for digging into their tastes in detail.

‘Hacking their account would be best, right?’

I once snooped through Eunbyul’s bookmarks to tease them.

People tend to let their guard down behind anonymity, scattering clues everywhere.

And those clues are usually concentrated in the bookmarks where they save their favorite art.

qwer1 is probably the same.

If I dig through their bookmarks, I might learn something I don’t know about them.

‘But first, I need to know their nickname…’

Luckily, I knew their nickname well.

They used the same one in the chat as they did elsewhere.

‘qwer1…’

*Tap tap tap.*

I typed the nickname into the search bar, and a single account popped up.

An account with no posts or comments a pure lurker’s account.

Doing this felt a bit like being a stalker invading their privacy… but my curiosity was unstoppable.

I clicked on qwer1’s account, thinking:

‘Please don’t let it be private.’

Otherwise, I’d have to find another way.

I prayed to the heavens and checked their followers and bookmarks.

And, as expected, I was met with disappointment.

“Ugh…”

qwer1’s bookmarks were completely empty. Even their follower count was a clean zero.

That meant everything was set to private.

qwer1 was thorough, even in anonymity.

And that’s when I felt something off.

“That’s weird…”

Usually, only a handful of people know how to set things to private.

Even if they do, even fewer bother to actually do it.

The system is so clunky that you can’t do it on mobile you have to use a PC to make it private.

So, finding a private account is like one in a hundred.

Even I haven’t set mine to private, and yet they did…

“Hmm…”

They’ve already revealed their preferences by commissioning me, so why bother hiding?

‘Is something up?’

My instincts were starting to kick in.

Something felt off.

It felt like they were hiding something, covering their tracks like this.

“…”

Of course, it was just a guess.

There was no evidence, not even a solid basis just a conspiracy theory.

Maybe I was overthinking, and qwer1 was just a meticulous person.

But even so, my gut told me qwer1 might not just be someone who likes bondage.

After all, who has just one preference?

Everyone has a hidden fantasy or two.

While I was lost in these wild speculations, my phone pinged again.

*Ding!*

A new message came in.

[qwer1: Hello. How’s the drawing coming along?]

It was from qwer1.

_____________________

Translated by Reversalnovel.web.id