A Lewd Sketch Artist in a Gender-Reversed World - Chapter 86

Chapter 86 : Comfort

[I will take a break for about a week]

There have been some mentally exhausting moments... and I thought it would be a good time to start working on a new piece, so I plan to take about a week to recharge.

So please don't worry and wait patiently. I would be grateful.

I'm sorry.

Ah, please don't stop your support just because I'm taking a break... If you do, I might end up soiling my pants.

__________________

"Hehe."

I can already imagine the shocked faces of people reading this notice.

After writing the notice, I immediately posted the break announcement on Pinbox.

The tone is somewhat formal but carries a hint of desperation. This should be appropriate for a break notice.

Perhaps due to the sudden break announcement, comments started pouring in quickly.

[bandark: ?? What's going on? Is everything okay?]

[DarkRat: Ah, it seems like you're really having a mental breakdown.]

[FullOfHatred: And you're taking a break because of that? You ^^bastard.]

Thanks to them, the comment section briefly caught fire, but I decided to ignore it. My already upset mind wasn't going to be soothed by their flames.

Besides, I had been thinking about a new work for a while, so now might actually be the perfect time to start, even if it feels like I've been forced into it.

After posting the break notice, something interesting happened. Some readers who were angry about the notice went back to the review section to argue.

Comments like "Your criticism is too harsh" or "I was enjoying it, but your comments ruined it" started appearing on the post.

Of course, these were a minority compared to the total number of comments... but it made me chuckle to know there were people on my side.

"Hehe."

Good, let them keep burning and destroy that person's post.

With that thought, I slowly turned off my computer. There was nothing left to do on it anyway.

Now I have a week of free time, and I plan to enjoy this freedom thoroughly.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'll just play around aimlessly.

This week of freedom is something I've exchanged for the lifespan of my Pinbox account.

I'll work hard on planning a new piece during this week, create something amazing, and make a triumphant return.

Just thinking about the consumers who will regret and feel remorse makes me smile.

"......But, what should I write?"

Of course, it's all just imagination.

At the moment, I don't have a single idea in my head. It's only natural.

It's already difficult to cater to people's tastes in the original world, and now I have to appeal to women in a reversed world?

It's enough to give me a headache.

Moreover, I just experienced a setback with "Kim Tae-yang." I have learned from that experience, so I can't help but be cautious.

'First, I should avoid having only one male character.'

Pushing forward with a single character might lead to losing readers. I clearly felt that with "Kim Tae-yang," and I don't want to repeat it.

'And... I should increase the screen time for male characters.'

In fact, most of today's criticism of "Gorosi" was about the lack of male scenes. I inevitably have to increase the presence of male characters.

In the end, I tried to take the lead with male character screen time and ended up here.

I need to increase the proportion of male characters in the scenes and... draw the pictures more carefully.

"Damn it."

Thinking about that made me curse under my breath. The anger I had barely suppressed was rising again.

This damn world won't leave me alone.

"The world is ganging up on me. Sniff!"

I rolled around on the mattress with my hands covering my face. If I didn't do this, I felt like I would cry from the injustice.

Why can't I draw what I want, which is clearly naked women, and instead, I'm being pushed to draw men like some gay artist.

Why can't the world let me live the way I want?

All kinds of negative thoughts were tormenting me. Ah, creation is this difficult.

Ring!

While I was rolling around on the mattress and throwing a tantrum, an alarm went off on my phone, which I had casually thrown beside me.

'...Who is it?'

I tilted my head and checked the notification.

And I couldn't help but feel a little moved. Someone in the chat room had sent me a warm message of comfort.

[WannabeArtist: Cheer up, author. I really enjoyed your comic "Kim Tae-yang."]

[WannabeArtist: So please don't be too disheartened and come back soon.]

"Sniff!"

Reading that made my heart warm. I never thought someone would come all the way to my personal chat room to comfort me. It was truly a kind heart.

'WannabeArtist...'

Now that I think about it, this person pointed out that the human body proportions were off last time.

At that time, I was a bit taken aback, but it seems they genuinely gave me feedback. There's no way someone who cares about me would be bad.

I tapped on the keyboard and sent a reply.

[hala: Thank you. I'm not disheartened, so don't worry.]

[hala: I'll be back soon.]

[WannabeArtist: Okay.]

[WannabeArtist: Ah, but please increase the screen time for male characters. Honestly, the solo shots of female characters were a bit too much.]

[hala: Ah.]

[hala: Yes.]

Indeed, this friend is reliable when it comes to feedback.

'Solo shots of female characters were a bit too much...'

From my perspective, it might have been solo shots of naked male characters.

"Ugh..."

Of course, it's said that women's sexual spectrum is wide, so it might not be that extreme.

Anyway, it seems I was wrong. The solo shots were too much... it was a habit from the past.

After that, I spent some time reflecting and left the chat room.

Looking again, there was another chat besides 'WannabeArtist.' It seems it came while I was rolling around on the bed.

The new chat was from a suspiciously rich friend named 'qwer1.'

[qwer1: LOL.]

[qwer1: I thought your comic was shaking a bit, but you finally collapsed like a dog.]

This damn kid, is she mocking me?

[qwer1: Well, don't worry. People's opinions are always divided. There are people who didn't like it, but there are definitely people who enjoyed it. I was the latter.]

...No, it seems she was just trying to lighten the mood.

After exchanging a few messages, I got a sense of what kind of person she is. Her tone is a bit rude, but there's some consideration beneath it.

Seeing me, who just got criticized, and laughing is not pleasant, but he also gave comforting words, so I decided to forgive her generously.

I tapped on the keyboard and sent a reply, just like before.

[hala: Thank you.]

[qwer1: By the way, author, I'm just curious... are you really a lesbian...?]

Reading that, I frowned.

Truly, the world is full of lies and slander.

[hala: No.]

[hala: I'm not.]

I said that and closed the chat window. Talking more with this person would only make me more annoyed.

So I threw my phone back towards the mattress.

'...Still, thank you.'

A smile escaped my lips.

After all, they came to comfort me after seeing the post on Tartarus.

They seemed to care about whether I was feeling down. How could that not be pleasant?

"Good!"

Now it's time to use this emotion to draw an amazing comic. I will soon be Korea's Aknagi or Miyazaki Hayao.

Creative desires were welling up in my mind.

I quickly got up from the mattress and turned on the graphic tablet again. It would be more helpful to think while drawing something rather than just lying down and thinking.

Swoosh, swoosh.

For a while, only the sound of the pen moving echoed in the room. My vision narrowed, and soon the small desk in the room became my whole world.

That's how focused I was.

The light coming in through the window gradually changed. The bright orange sunlight turned into a dim red as time passed.

Thud!

Around the time the sun set on the horizon, I put down the tablet pen.

"...Hmm."

Then I muttered.

"This sucks."

I racked my brain but couldn't come up with any idea that felt like "This is it!" All the concepts I came up with had flaws.

Well... if a new work could be created just by racking my brain for a few hours, I wouldn't be living in a single room right now.

If that were the case, I would probably be a top-tier webtoon artist living in Gangnam by now.

"Phew..."

Having already used up all my energy, I let out a tired sigh and buried myself in the mattress again.

Right, it's not like a new work can be created in a day after the previous one ended. It's only natural.

It's natural, but the sense of futility in the moment is inevitable.

A sense of despair slowly crept into my mind. Negative thoughts started to surface one by one.

Am I destined to fail and starve to death like this...

Just then.

Ring!

My phone alarm went off again. Maybe because I got criticized today, I feel like the alarm is ringing a lot.

I moved my hand sluggishly and checked my phone.

This time, it was a text message from Eunbyeol.

[Eunbyeol : Are you okay, oppa?]

As expected, since she's a regular on Tartalos, she knew about what happened today.

She came to comfort me like this. I felt grateful.

I was a bit sad, but there was no need to tell her that and make her worry.

I sent a reply saying I was okay.

[Se-won: Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks.]

[Eunbyeol : Hehe, I'm glad.]

[Eunbyeol : Then, would you like to go watch a movie with me tomorrow?]

"Huh?"

For a moment, I couldn't help but frown at her reply.

What? What is this girl thinking?

Didn't she come to comfort me in my sorrow?

Is it just an excuse to start a conversation, and she's actually asking me out to play, oblivious to the situation?

If that's the case, she really has no empathy at all.

I said I'm okay, so comfort me!

Empathize with my sorrow!

Unable to contain my rising irritation, I sent her a text message.

[Se-won: Hey, are you asking me out to play in this situation?]

Somehow, I felt like I was becoming more like a gay mindset, but I was sensitive at the moment, so I couldn't help it.

When I sent this message, she sent a flurry of replies in panic.

[Eunbyeol : Ah!]

[Eunbyeol : No, no, that's not what I meant!]

[Eunbyeol : I thought watching a movie might help you change your mood.]

[Eunbyeol : Oppa, you clearly look like you're having a hard time because of the comic, right?]

"What?"

I quickly looked around the room. My always messy room came into view.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any secretly installed hidden cameras.

I thought there might be a hidden camera installed somewhere because she knew my current state too accurately.

"...Phew."

I sighed in relief.

Even as I was doing this nonsense, her words continued.

[Eunbyeol : And who knows, you might get some inspiration while watching the movie.]

"Hmm..."

I nodded my head.

Indeed, that's true.

There is something called inspiration in creation.

To create something, you need materials to base it on.

You need a certain amount of input to produce output.

Come to think of it, I haven't really engaged in any cultural activities since I came here.

At most, I've only played computer games occasionally... I haven't watched movies or comics much.

The only movie I've watched is the melodrama I saw with Arin...

As she said, it might be good to take a break and enjoy a movie to change my mood.

[Eunbyeol : While we're at it, you can relieve some stress with me... hehe.]

I chuckled.

Her words sounded plausible, but it seems her main goal was still that.

'Cute kid.'

I sent her a message.

[Se-won: Okay, sounds good.]

There was no need to refuse her offer.

-

Translated by Reversalnovel.web.id