Mija had an exceptionally unusual birth.
Back in the days when tigers smoked cigarettes… during the Japanese colonial period, her grandfather, who was Korean, and her grandmother, who was Japanese, became a couple. That alone was unusual. And her father, born from that union, went on to marry an American female soldier who was visiting Korea.
A family with three different nationalities. Just that alone made Mija’s birth a story worthy of a documentary.
Mija also looked unique.
Despite being a mix of East Asian and Caucasian, her features strongly resembled those of a Caucasian. This is due to the dominant gene traits, which tend to favor the more pronounced physical traits of one side, such as skin pigmentation. In fact, Mija was the only one of her three siblings who was born like this.
‘Mija’s two older brothers both look more East Asian, right?’
Lastly, Mija was the only one in the family who aspired to pursue a career in the arts.
The way she got into painting was also quite unusual.
I couldn’t believe it, so I asked again.
“Wait, so your grandmother taught you Japanese, and then your brother brought back manga from Japan, and you started drawing because you wanted to try it?
And then, you found out you had talent and dreamed of becoming a manga artist? And then you decided to attend the prestigious gifted school everyone recognizes?”
“Yup!”
“…..”
Mija nodded enthusiastically.
“Unbelievable.”
The process through which Mija started art was also amazing.
‘She’s like a character from a manga…’
She developed an interest in manga by chance and even showed talent at a young age. What made it even more surprising was that her mother was a former soldier and her father ran a computer sales business.
‘Wait, how could a character like this even exist…?’
If you analyze it, it wasn’t so strange after all. But the fact that all these events happened to just one person was hard to believe.
I muttered to myself absentmindedly.
“Really, really… such a unique kid.”
“Hey, you’re the one who’s called the youngest genius in Hanul, aren’t you?”
“I’m just like a modified computer or something.”
“What does that even mean…?”
“There’s such a thing.”
Truly…
I could only say that she was an incredibly unique child.
She looked like a Caucasian from America.
Her cultural and linguistic identity was Korean.
Her favorite hobby was Japanese culture.
And her career path was in the arts.
“……”
What kind of identity is this? She was more in line with the values of “freedom and democracy” than anyone else in South Korea.
‘If someone says that South Korea is a homogeneous nation, I could use her as the first counterexample.’
I shivered with excitement.
This kid.
She was full of potential to become a big hit if she entered the entertainment industry.
‘She’s cute too, and just talking about her experiences—[grandfather and grandmother from Korea and Japan, and her mom and dad arguing over each country’s national holidays]—would definitely attract viewers.’
…..
Wait, suddenly, I’m curious…
“Uh… when it comes to family holidays or cheering for the Olympics or World Cup, whose standards are we talking about…?”
But really, I couldn’t touch on the Taluula issue.
So, half-joking, half-serious, I said,
“…This is a prodigy chosen by the gods of the streaming world. Are you interested in VTubing?”
“V-VTubing? What’s that?”
“A dream and hope for cute girls who want to hide their faces. The key points are convenience stores and face cam exposure.”
“What does that even mean…? C-Cute girls…? I’ve never heard anyone in Korea say that. Huh, are you an otaku?”
“I can’t deny it. I read a lot of manga and novels.”
“…!”
Mija widened her eyes in surprise.
At that moment, the fluorescent light in the dorm room reflected off her eyes, glistening in blue. Every time I noticed that the light was blue, I found myself staring at it. It was such a mysterious color.
“..…”
The black pupils moved restlessly across the surface, like a clear lake.
I had never had the chance to observe a Westerner’s eyes so closely.
It felt strangely fascinating to think about it.
‘When I look at it like this, the pupils stand out so much. Asians’ pupils don’t show up as much, but they say that the lighter the eye color, the more sensitive it is to light, which causes it to change more often, right?’
I had heard that the reason Western video games have such strict brightness adjustments compared to Eastern companies’ games was because of this.
‘Mija isn’t exactly Western though.’
This kid… Her English pronunciation, though, was incredibly “Kimchi Man.” Just from that accent, I couldn’t deny that she was pure Korean.
While I was thinking about that, Mija seemed to have snapped out of her stunned state.
“…That’s amazing.”
“What is?”
“When I say I like otaku culture, everyone just looks at me strangely. I’ve never heard a girl my age say ‘I’m an otaku’ before.”
“What do you mean…?”
I was about to brush it off casually when I remembered that it was still the romantic year of 2004.
‘Ah, back in this era, the term “otaku” still had a bit of a dangerous image, didn’t it? It wasn’t just something used as a joke yet.’
Thanks to comics like One Piece or ones about alien monkeys battling with martial arts, many had been exposed to Japanese manga. But the image of subculture fandoms was still rather negative back then.
…Actually, even 20 years later, it wasn’t all that great, but back then, it was the era of pure otaku culture.’
In other words, there was a difference in the weight of the word “otaku” between what Mija understood and how I felt about it.
Was that why?
Mija hesitated slightly and said,
“Uh… then, by any chance, do you like manga too?”
“Uh… I do.”
‘To be exact, I used to love it.’
In my past life, I was a regular at manga cafés, and I’d debate with myself for five minutes over whether to click the preview button on webtoons. By the way, I eventually ended up spending money…
I couldn’t press it.
‘But in this life, I just casually read it when I was bored.’
Basically, it was because of my uncle’s concerns.
I avoided places where a lot of boys gathered, so I couldn’t.
Mija seemed curious about how I could like manga despite that.
“Of course! Special kids are different! Where do you read manga? In a manga café? Or do you buy the books?”
“No… I just read the ones at places like the corner of a Chinese restaurant or the library.”
“Huh? Really?! What kind of manga do you read? Shonen? Action? Romance? Horror? Sports?”
“Uh… I guess I like shonen and action. Romance isn’t bad either, but I can’t read horror because it keeps me up at night…”
“So cute!!”
“Ugh, hold on! Don’t rub your cheek on mine.”
As the questions continued, I pushed Mija away a little each time.
But the difference in strength was clear.
‘Damn, I didn’t notice before, but she’s way taller and bigger than me…?!’
Is this a racial issue…?
The golden little girl came closer again. Her sparkling eyes twinkled as she took a step toward me and began chatting excitedly.
Step by step.
“Then, do you want to read manga with me?”
“Huh? What, what do you mean?”
Step by step.
“This kind of special encounter is rare! I want to get closer to you by reading manga together!”
“Well… I don’t know about the manga café…”
Before I knew it, my back was pressed against the dorm wall.
I was pushed into the corner of the room.
And she was much bigger than me.
Wait.
Wait a minute…
This… this is a bit…
I broke into a slight cold sweat, feeling a bit flustered.
‘What is this? I’m not in some “wall-press” situation, am I…?’
But Mija seemed oblivious to everything around her. She was now eagerly nodding her head right in front of me.
“Ah~ Me too! My older brothers and mom told me not to go! Haha! So there’s something special about people like us!”
“R-right. You have such a hearty laugh.”
“Haha! This is amazing! I can’t believe I met someone like me!”
“Is that so…? My laugh doesn’t sound like that, though.”
“We like the same things, right?!”
“Well… isn’t that just because we go to the same arts school…?”
“U, uh-huh?! That’s right! We’re from the same school, right?! Friends, right?!”
“Uh, uh, yeah… right. So, uh, wait a second, step back…”
Mija, now slightly flushed, said with excitement,
“Hey, then I have a manga I want to recommend. Want to read it together? It’s a new manga by a rookie who’s been getting a lot of attention in the shonen manga magazine. It’s a story about people with special abilities who fight against demons. The main character has a mysterious, unorthodox ability in one of his arms…!”
“Ugh, hold on!”
“Or how about a romance? This one came out not too long ago, it’s about a butler who gets sold to a rich family’s daughter. It’s a story about the butler noticing the lady’s loneliness and a pure love between them. It’s about the loneliness of special people, too. But surprisingly, it’s pretty comic…”
I finally shoved Mija’s face away and shouted,
“Alright…! I’ll read it with you, so calm down!”
“Yay! That’s right! Where should we read it? A manga café is a no-go… How about my place? Do you want to come over?”
“Uh, yeah…”
“Great! Let’s get along from now on, Hana!”
“yeah…”
“Oh, right. Grandpa said I should be back by dinner!”
“….”
In an instant, Mija stepped away, put on her shoes, and then looked around my room, smiling contentedly.
“Haha! I’m glad I came to school early. Now I’ve made a friend like this!”
“….”
A (forced) friend.
But Mija had a bright smile on her face.
“I’ll come again tomorrow morning! I’ll tell my older brother to bring me here!” she said.
“Right…”
Thud!
“Hahaha!! I’ve made a friend!!”
“…”
The voice of the golden elementary school girl slowly faded away.
‘Her voice is so loud, but there’s something… a bit middle school-ish about her vibe.’
It felt like every manga she recommended emphasized the dilemmas of the “special protagonists,” and her romantic gestures, like reassuring herself in an empty lot (or not), felt a bit too much.
Hmm.
Well…
Anyway, I guess it’s nice that I now have a friend who provides free access to manga cafés, right?
I decided to think of it that way.
I scratched my head.
‘So… which country should I support for the Olympics…?’
I’d been meaning to ask her someday.
*
“Mija, is there no next volume for this?”
“Nope~”
“Isn’t it out yet?”
“Nope~”
“I see. Do you know when the next volume will come out?”
“I don’t know~ The author takes breaks a lot.”
‘Damn, if I’d known this mystery manga was so interesting, I should’ve gone and seen it from the future.’
I struggled to put the manga books I’d finished reading onto the bookshelf. They were so big that I had to climb up onto the chair to reach the top. Mija’s room had seven of these massive bookshelves.
Of course, all of them were filled with manga. Some were in Japanese, while others were in Korean. I was reading only the Korean editions.
I couldn’t help but sigh to myself.
‘When she said her family runs a computer company, I knew she was from a well-off family. Of course, if her dad’s the one paying for the art and sports academy, it makes sense.’
Who am I?
The ungrateful child who was sent to art school by my uncle, sucking up to him all the way. I still feel guilty toward my uncle.
‘A dirt spoon just cries…’
Sigh…
After finishing my moment of self-reflection, I spoke to Mija, who was rolling around on her bed.
“So, Mija, should we draw something?”
“Huh? Should we? Wait a sec…”
Mija quickly began typing on her laptop.
– Tada-dak!
“…”
Yes, that’s right.
A grade-schooler had her own laptop.
Sigh…
Mija rapidly typed away, saving something. I had been hanging out at Mija’s house for a week now, and this had become a familiar sight.
By the way, Mija’s family had welcomed me with open arms.
Even the nickname “Mija” was freely used by her family.
‘But her Japanese name is Haruko, so why Mija…?’
Who knows?
Mija came up to me, thinking about it, and said,
“Are we going to learn how to draw people today?”
“Yeah, let’s go over proportions again.”
“Oh! I haven’t learned that at the art academy yet! Amazing!”
“It’s doable once you learn.”
I often taught Mija how to draw the human figure. I felt guilty just lounging around at home, spending my time aimlessly.
“The important thing is starting with the head… You measure proportions little by little like this. Measure the head size with your finger at the tip of the pencil, and then count one, two, three…”
“Like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Who should I draw?”
“Anyone from the street. But since we’re at home, let’s use a photo…”
Just as I was gradually teaching her, the door to Mija’s room opened.
Standing there was her grandmother, with a kind expression, holding some snacks.
“Here, have some snacks.”
“Grandma!”
“Thank you.”
“Take your time and relax.”
“Thank you.”
Mija’s grandmother looked more Korean than I expected.
‘Well, she’s lived most of her life in Korea…’
As I ate the snacks her grandmother had given me, a sudden curiosity arose within me.
‘So… when the Olympics come around, which country does her family cheer for…?’
I hesitated…
But I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
So instead, I kept talking about drawing while munching on the snacks. It was a pleasant time, all things considered.