A Lewd Sketch Artist in a Gender-Reversed World - Chapter 112

Chapter 112 : Reveal

After Song Hara’s nerves settled, they continued with light conversation.

“By the way, how old are you, Hara?”

“Me? I’m 24.”

“Hmm, younger than I thought.”

“Oh… really? Do I look older or something?”

“No, it’s not that. I just assumed you’d be older since you’re a team leader.”

“Ah, that’s because I skipped college and went straight to work.”

Since diving into work talk right away with the beef in front of them felt too impersonal, they chatted casually for a bit.

“So, the promotion is just a gift box notification and a week on the end page of the main banner?”

“Yeah… I tried to push for more, but unfortunately, that’s the best we could do. Sorry.”

“No, I mean… for a rookie, that’s more than enough.”

They discussed the kind of ads he’d get, even throwing in some light jabs at the higher-ups.

Contrary to her initial concerns, it was a fairly relaxed and enjoyable time.

At least, Sewon’s personality wasn’t as prickly as she’d feared.

In fact, despite his appearance, he was quite laid-back and straightforward.

Honestly, she half-wondered if he might as well be a woman.

At one point, this conversation came up:

“By the way, what’s the next development in your story?”

This was purely her personal curiosity.

She was genuinely interested in the work, and knowing the upcoming plot would make future revisions easier.

Currently, his work, S-Virus, had five episodes out.

It followed various characters trying to survive in a society suddenly overrun by lust-crazed zombies.

The main group had narrowly escaped a subway and was now hiding in a convenience store to find food.

Unbeknownst to them, two healthy female zombies were in the store’s storage room.

With such an intriguing setup, she couldn’t help but be curious.

What would those two zombies do? Who among the many characters would they “devour,” and who would they turn into lustful beasts?

It was a major point of interest for her.

True to being the work’s creator, he answered in great detail.

“Oh, that’s when Song Hangil, a male college student, opens the storage door… and they pounce on him. He gets gang-r4p3d, causing a commotion in the store, which attracts nearby zombies who were, uh, ‘busy.’ The main group has to flee again…”

“…”

It was so detailed she was momentarily at a loss for words.

Hara couldn’t help but feel cognitive dissonance.

The man in front of her was seriously talking about gang rape and sex.

Sure, it was work-related, but it still felt strange.

Drawing that kind of comic in the first place wasn’t exactly normal.

“He’s really something else.”

She thought as she looked at him.

The more she saw, the more peculiar he seemed.

Even setting aside his talent for drawing adult art, the fact that someone with such a striking appearance was creating such dark, intense work was astonishing.

She even wondered if she was meeting one of the last rare specimens in South Korea.

This reinforced the idea she’d had a few days ago. Her four years of sales instincts were telling her:

Selling this artist’s identity would definitely boost promotion.

So, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Writer, are you really not considering a face reveal?”

Now they were getting to the main point.

__________

_

After devouring the Hanwoo, I listened to her explanation.

She outlined the benefits of revealing my identity, how it would affect my work, and so on.

Unlike the casual chatter earlier, she explained with a serious demeanor.

It was undeniably appealing.

Enough to make the risk of exposing my identity online worth it.

“So… you’re suggesting noise marketing?”

“Well, if you put it that way, yeah.”

The idea was to stir up controversy around me to create a trickle-down effect for my work.

It was a bit surprising that a mere face reveal could cause a stir, but… well, that’s the kind of world we live in.

It was intriguing, and it felt good, too.

“My face could make money?”

Man, it seems there’s nothing better than good looks for living the sweet life.

I felt a surge of gratitude toward “Lee Sewon.” I’m still using the moisturizer he left behind.

Of course, it wasn’t just about looks.

The uniqueness of being a male adult webtoon artist, combined with the hardcore nature of my work, would create a ripple effect.

“I hadn’t thought that far.”

All I’d ever done was draw because it was what I was good at, and it was how I made a living.

In my original world, I was just an average guy, so I hadn’t considered this angle.

I knew being a “male” artist was juicy gossip, but that was it.

I hadn’t thought about the broader impact.

“So, what do you think…?”

As I was lost in thought, Song Hara asked again.

“It’s not a bad offer for you, either.”

“It does sound good.”

It really did.

I wasn’t someone who shied away from exposing my identity, nor did I have an aversion to showing my face.

Maybe in the past, but now I had the respectable title of webtoon artist.

There was no worry about getting hauled off by the police, either.

But.

“Still, I’d like to hold off on the face reveal for now.”

I said.

“What? Why?”

Her face showed surprise.

She’d been listening eagerly, so my sudden refusal must’ve caught her off guard.

But I had a clear reason.

“Well… I’d like to, but there’s this troublesome drawing on my fanbox…”

My avatar was the issue.

Traces of my avatar were still on my fanbox, actively “stirring” female fans.

If I revealed my face now and people connected it to those drawings?

…Just imagining it was horrifying.

“Oh, aha…! Right, I see.”

Realizing what I meant, she nodded in understanding.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed. She must’ve pictured “that drawing” in her mind.

“Ahem, *cough*…”

An awkward silence fell over the table.

To us, “that drawing” was like Voldemort.

I was embarrassed for creating adult art with my body, and she’d said things like “it’s so hot” and “it’s my type” about my avatar.

It was uncomfortable for both of us to bring up.

The air around us grew awkward.

In that moment, I inwardly burned with hatred for one person.

“Damn Eunbyeol…”

If you think about it, wasn’t this awkwardness her fault?

Next time I see her, I’ll make her kneel and raise her hands.

In that fleeting moment, her fate was decided once again.

“Anyway, I’m fine with revealing everything up to my face.”

“Then let’s do that. Sometimes keeping things hidden works better…”

The silence didn’t last long, as we still had plenty to discuss.

How to share the information, how far to go, and so on.

We talked for quite a while at the Hanwoo restaurant.

_______

A few days later.

I was casually browsing Tarta)os. When I asked Hara, she said I could reveal it however I wanted.

So here I was on Tartalos.

A place where all sorts of perverts hungry for adult art and slightly unhinged weirdos gathered.

Among them, [Adult Art Prison] had the most users.

You didn’t even need to post adult art any art-related talk was fine, so the post turnover was high.

People raved about how “hot” an artist’s work was, criticized it, or gossiped about the artists themselves.

Sometimes, attention-hungry artists came to promote directly.

And I was here for some promotion after a long time.

+

[Hello, I’m a rookie webtoon artist, hala]

I’ve just registered my work on BestToon.

(Picture)

Look at my pathetic view count ;;

I need your support. Please lend me your strength.

The artist’s heart is hurting.

+

A clean and simple promotional post.

The reason I wrote it was simple: I just wanted to see their reactions one last time.

[Oh, what’s this?]

[It’s already registered?]

Maybe because I’d been active here before, the comments came in faster than expected.

Even if that weren’t the case, a new webtoon naturally draws attention.

*Ding! Ding!*

Notifications kept popping up on my phone.

Each one was a comment.

[Support = money lol. Just say you want cash]

[Why so formal? Talk like usual, lez]

[Her work’s got too much maso and lez vibes, kinda hard to read ;;]

Of course, most comments were useless.

Given the community’s nature, comments like “I’ll go check it out” or “I support you” were rare.

Instead, it was full of teasing.

As always, they mocked me as a “masochist lesbian” based on my work’s themes.

Since there were many scenes of women “suffering,” I was obviously a masochist. Since there were “suspiciously” many women, I was a lesbian.

The derogatory term “mazo-lez” had somehow become my nickname.

[But her art style’s good, it’s kinda hot lol]

[I can’t respect lez, but I can respect m4so]

It was amusing.

I’d never revealed any personal info, yet the internet had decided I was a woman.

Since most people consuming adult art were women, and most artists were women, I was naturally assumed to be one, too.

People seem to have a habit of arbitrarily deciding ambiguous information based on their common sense.

It makes processing new information easier.

They build a tower of knowledge on flawed foundations.

But what happens when they realize the foundation itself is wrong?

Naturally, the information built on it would crumble.

*Tap tap.*

I typed on the keyboard. The sensation felt oddly different today.

Anyway, I asked them:

[hala: I’m curious—why am I automatically assumed to be a woman?]

[?]

[What, are you saying you’re a guy or something lol?]

[Lez… no matter how harsh the world is, you shouldn’t deny your identity…]

Mocking comments came in quickly.

Unfazed, I continued.

[hala: I never said I was a woman. Why can’t I be a man?]

[Why even bother saying that lol]

[Why would a guy be in a place like this lol]

[Lol fr]

They genuinely couldn’t imagine I was a man.

Did I *really* pull off the woman cosplay *that* well?

Prejudice is scary it prevents people from even considering they might be wrong.

No wonder my reputation’s like this.

[hala: I’m actually a man. What do you guys think?]

[Lmao a man? If you’re serious, prove it. Show us your junk]

[No proof, no truth]

“Alright, you jerks.”

I muttered, standing up.

The “mazo-lez” nickname was starting to piss me off, so I decided to settle this once and for all.

Maybe I would’ve revealed my gender even without Song Hara’s nudge.

This misunderstanding had to be cleared up.

[hala: Here’s your proof]

[Lol prove it… wait, what?]

[??]

I grabbed my phone and stood in front of a full-length mirror.

It was a mirror “Sewon” had bought, probably to check his fashion.

It was the perfect size to see my whole body.

I took a Post-it from a drawer and wrote on it.

Just “hala,” my nickname, and a middle finger for those jerks.

*Click!*

The shutter sound rang out, freezing my image.

Wearing a short-sleeve shirt and shorts, holding the Post-it awkwardly, my slim figure was captured.

My neck was conveniently cut off, so my face wasn’t visible.

Goddamn… taking this kind of photo in my room? I felt a bit pathetic, but it was fine.

This one post would free me from the long humiliation.

So, I uploaded the photo to Tartalos.

+

[I’ve proved it, you jerks]

(Picture)

Stop mocking me now.

+

A slightly aggrieved post with a photo of a man’s body.

And so, at 1 PM during the lively lunch hour,

In an internet community,

[??]

[???]

[??????]

A ripple spread.

______________________

Translated by Reversalnovel.web.id