After the small Christmas gathering ended,
Juri returned to her home in Jeju Island as planned.
Perhaps she was reluctant to leave after bonding so much with us in just one day.
When she saw us at the airport to send her off, she cried.
Mari, Mija, and I comforted her as we watched her tear up.
“It’s just three months until we’ll live together in the dorms for six years, but in moments like this, she seems like an elementary school kid.”
Or is it that, at this age, even three months feels like a long time?
Juri said with a sniffly voice
“…Hana, Mija, Mari, I’m so glad I got to know you.”
“Really, though, in three months, we’ll be so sick of seeing each other in the dorms. Anyone would think you were moving to another country. We’ll see you again soon.”
“Hehe, really? It just feels like three months is so long.”
Mija grinned and replied,
“Hey, don’t cry too much. You’ll look weak.”
“Right… Hehe, this is a little embarrassing. I need to wipe my tears.”
Hearing that line, I froze.
Mija, no way… That line is from…?!
Control yourself.
Control your voice.
Don’t raise it…
But I was the only one here who recognized where that line came from.
Juri moved on without noticing.
Smiling bashfully, Juri waved as she left.
Mari, standing behind me, hugged me and said:
It seemed like even mature, composed Juri had opened her heart a bit to Mari.
“When school starts next year, come hang out with us. Let’s draw together!”
“Okay! Sounds great!”
Wait…?
“Am I automatically included in this plan?”
“Huh? Hana and I are one and the same, aren’t we?”
“…I didn’t know that. Since when?”
“Really… you didn’t realize? Even today, you’re coming over to my place.”
“Your place? Why?!”
“To my room, of course!”
“Me?! Wh-why?!”
Juri chuckled at our antics.
“Haha, Mari and Hana, you’re both so…”
With that, Juri waved goodbye and headed back to Jeju.
Time passed, and soon, the remaining days of 2004 could be counted on one hand.
Yet my daily routine hadn’t changed much.
“Spending time in the dorm drawing, hanging out with Mari or Mija, occasionally visiting my uncle when he’s in Seoul… Life’s pretty relaxed.”
Today, I went to Mija’s house to read manga.
Mija’s home, now familiar like a second home, felt as cozy as ever.
As usual, I was lying around reading in her room.
Out of the blue, Mija put her manga down and asked:
“H-Hana-chan.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have a mini-homepage or a b-blog?”
“……Wow, that’s such a nostalgic word.”
“What is?”
“Nothing, nothing.”
Goodness.
A mini homepage.
For someone who’s lived through the era of social media,
just hearing those words was enough to make my brain freeze in nostalgic disbelief.
Come to think of it, this was right around the time when internet culture was starting to spread widely.
“I guess I never noticed because I’ve lived pretty distantly from computers, but this was definitely when things were starting to go digital in so many areas.”
The internet was no longer just a tool; it had become a platform for individuals to take the lead in presenting themselves.
The mini homepage, essentially a primitive form of social media, was part of that trend.
“Of course, it eventually got swallowed up by blogs and social media, disappearing altogether.”
Mija tilted her head, looking at me as if puzzled by my moment of silent reflection.
“Uh, anyway… Hana-chan, you don’t have a mini homepage or anything like that?”
“Hmm, it’s not that I’m completely uninterested. But to be honest, I can’t. We don’t have a computer at home.”
“Oh… I see.”
“But why the sudden question about mini homepages?”
“…”
Mija flinched and hesitated for a moment.
She stayed silent, visibly wavering.
Then, as if steeling herself, she took a deep breath and said:
“I-I-I, um, you see…”
“Yes?”
“Well, uh, um, the thing is…”
“Go on.”
“L-L-Look, if you think it’s stupid and laugh at me, I won’t forgive you!”
“Of course I won’t.”
“What could she possibly want to tell me? She’s suddenly stammering a lot more than usual.”
Still, this was exactly the kind of moment where you need to listen patiently.
It was clear she was struggling to share something difficult.
Finally, after seemingly finishing her internal debate, Mija opened her mouth with a weighty tone
“I-I… actually upload comics online.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Y-yeah… On my mini homepage, little by little. I don’t leave guestbook posts or comments or anything, and I don’t get many views, but… I’ve been doing it since elementary school.”
“….”
I stared at her with my jaw slightly agape.
“I don’t usually get surprised, but…”
This girl was already doing self-promotion.
If I wanted to exaggerate a bit, she was already building up a portfolio to present as an artist.
For creators, a portfolio is as vital as “inner strength” in martial arts or “mana” in fantasy stories.
The more you accumulate over time, the more it benefits you.
“I’d always seen her typing away on her laptop, thinking she was playing games or something… but wow. Maybe it’s because her family runs a computer company, so she’s been familiar with this stuff since she was little.”
I couldn’t help but feel impressed.
“Wow… That’s amazing. To think you’re already posting your work online. I knew you wanted to be a manga artist, but you’re seriously preparing for it.”
“R-really? Is it, um, really that a-a-a-amazing?”
“Of course it is. Can I see it sometime?”
“…Yeah.”
Mija nodded shyly.
It seemed like Mija had gathered quite a bit of courage to share this with me. Her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head as she went to grab her laptop.
When she returned, she booted it up with practiced ease.
Soon, she opened her mini homepage, saved in her favorites.
The page had a lovingly customized UI and background, complete with background music playing.
“Oh, it even has music.”
“Uh, uh-huh! It’s a song by my favorite band.”
“A Japanese band?”
“O-of course. Korean songs are all just sappy love ballads. That’s not really my style…”
“…”
“Isn’t that the same for every country, though…?”
I decided not to point that out.
If that’s what she believed, there was no need to argue about it.
Click.
Mija navigated to a board labeled [Comic Series].
She clicked on it, and after a slight lag, her comic began loading on the screen.
But it didn’t all load at once.
“….”
“…”
The high-resolution images seemed to be the culprit.
They loaded bit by bit, with long pauses in between.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Really…
It was painfully slow.
“….”
“….”
I couldn’t believe I had to wait just to view a webcomic.
Yet here we were.
“Wow… internet speed is so old-school right now.”
This agonizing pace was torture for someone used to the instant gratification of the dopamine-fueled modern internet. I could feel a yawn building already. Man, I wished I could at least play a quick mobile game to kill time.
“…”
“…”
After what felt like ages, the comic finally finished loading.
“Oh, it’s all up now. Let’s see, starting with chapter one—”
“W-w-wait!”
“Huh?”
Mija suddenly scrambled away from her seat.
“F-from here, y-you’re on your own!”
“On my own?”
She blurted out her words in a panic and then bolted to her bed, jumping onto it with surprising speed. She flipped her pillow over her head and started kicking her feet in embarrassment.
Peeking out from under the pillow, her forehead was glowing bright red.
– Thump, thump, thump, thump…
She stomped her feet so furiously that her legs left visible marks on the blanket. On closer inspection, her calves were flushed red even through her socks.
“Why is she so red…? Is she embarrassed?”
I cautiously broached the topic.
“Mi-chan, want to watch together?”
“N-no, I don’t want to…!”
“Why? Having the creator explain next to you is the best experience.”
“It’s… it’s so embarrassing! Do you even know how mortifying it is for an otaku to watch someone read their comic in front of them?!”
“By that logic, art exhibitionists shouldn’t even visit their galleries.”
Mija yelled back, shielding her head with a pillow.
“I don’t care! It’s embarrassing!”
“Mi-chan, your feelings are really delicate.”
“Otaku are delicate… Don’t underestimate the fragile heart of an otaku—it’s softer than cotton and more breakable than glass!”
“Fine, I’ll read it alone.”
“…Tell me when you’re done.”
“Are you just going to stay like that until then?”
“…Yeah.”
Mija buried her face into the pillow and went silent.
‘What a sensitive one.’
Resigned, I grabbed the mouse and scrolled. The loading screen disappeared, and the first chapter appeared at the top.
– Whirr…
As I slowly took it in, I started noticing details.
“……”
‘This comic…’
It wasn’t created with a digital drawing tool. The paper texture was clearly visible on the screen. It seemed the comic had been hand-drawn on manuscript paper, then scanned and edited later.
‘She’s diligent, for sure…’
– Whirr…
“…..”
The comic’s plot revolved around the adventures of a space girl. After a rocket launch experiment, she ends up stranded in space, wandering across different planets. Along the way, she befriends aliens and gradually moves forward.
A straightforward, simple story.
Of course, compared to the works of professional webtoon studios twenty years later, it felt clumsy. The flow was choppy at times, and the artwork was inconsistent.
‘But it’s a kid’s work, so that’s not really an issue. Actually, there’s something charming about it. If you look at the overall structure, it’s pretty fun.’
What stood out the most was her persistence in maintaining a continuous narrative. Considering the tedious process of creating it, she must have been working on it for a long time.
It was an extraordinary level of dedication for an ordinary elementary schooler.
‘The content is quite like a fairy tale. Most comics at this age are just short slice-of-life stories.’
“…”
Was this the limit of such a labor-intensive serialization method?
The story abruptly cut off midway. It seemed like all the backlog had been used up—the last update date was a month ago.
Finished reading.
“…..”
In a good way, the comic had an amateur charm. It was truly romantic—there was something admirable about boldly pushing forward with the story she wanted to tell.
‘It’s unique how it mixes Japanese, American, and Korean comic sensibilities. That subtle blend felt quite trendy. And though it’s fantasy, it almost felt like reading Mija’s personal essay…’
“…..”
As I was lost in thought, a blonde head popped into view beside me. Her sapphire-like eyes sparkled curiously.
“H-how was it…?”
“Hm? You’re embarrassed to let me read it, but you’re okay with a review?”
Her curiosity seemed to have won out in the end.
“Ugh! J-just answer the question!”
“It was fun.”
“Ugh… S-such a typical response…”
“Hmm…” I took a moment to choose my words before giving my thoughts.
“It was a work that revealed the artist’s beautiful inner self.”
“Uh, what?”
“The freedom and lack of constraints in the protagonist’s personality, contrasted with her ultimate goal of returning to her home planet. It’s contradictory yet poetically understandable. In the end, the protagonist longs for people even as she avoids getting too attached.”
“…..”
“The interactions with aliens were awkward at first, but eventually she adapts. However, leaving them behind adds a poignant touch. She’s leaving to reunite with the people on her home planet.”
“Ugh…”
“That bittersweet, heart-stirring feeling… It’s like a beautiful essay.”
“S-stop it! Stop it! Please stop!! You’re making me die of embarrassment!!”
“Ugh?!”
Flushed from head to toe, Mija lunged at me to cover my mouth. In the process, she toppled over onto me while I was folding my arms.
“Whoa?!”
“Argh?!”
We ended up squished together like a sandwich on the floor. Even in that position, Mija flailed, desperate to shut me up.
“Wh-what are you even talking about?! Essay?! What do you mean, essay?!”
“But it felt like an essay—your feelings as the creator were just dripping out of it—”
“Arghhh!! Stop talking!!”
“Mmff!!”
-Knock, knock.
Just then, the door to Mija’s room opened.
Standing there was Mija’s grandmother.
“Mija, Hana, it’s time for… Oh?”
“Eek?!”
“Ah?!”
“…..”
“…..”
Mija’s grandmother chuckled softly, then closed the door quietly.
“Ah, youth.”
-Thud.
“…..”
“…..”
I muttered absentmindedly,
“She totally misunderstood, didn’t she…?”
“I don’t care…”
“Anyway, get up. We need to eat.”
“Ugh…”
As I dusted off my knees and stood up, a thought occurred to me.
“Oh, by the way, Mija.”
“Hm?”
“Why didn’t you draw directly on the computer? Why use manuscript paper and then scan it?”
“Because I started drawing it ages ago. Back then, I was just like, ‘I wanna draw!’ and went straight for paper.”
“Ah, I see. Do you know how to use a tablet?”
“Well… I kinda do. I begged my dad for one as a birthday gift, so I have one. But I don’t know how to use it properly. The graphic software’s in English, so it’s hard to read.”
“See? That’s why studying English is important. Even at Hanul University, the general courses use English textbooks.”
“Ughhh…”
And with that, we trudged to the kitchen.
I got a message from Mari later that evening.
「Mari: Let’s watch the sunset together, the three of us!」