------------------
HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
------------------
Chapter 6: Did you just threaten us into serialization by faxing a full manuscript?
A hotel on the outskirts of Seoul.
With the call still connected, Matsuda sent a fax. On the other end of the line, Team Leader
Hashida’s bewildered voice came through loud and clear.
- …What is this?
“It’s a serialization storyboard.”
- …Wait, what? Did I black out for a month? I only meant to take a quick nap.
Yeah, ‘that’s’ the reaction he expected.
Matsuda let out a satisfied chuckle as he listened to Hashida’s confusion.
“Nope. Today marks exactly two days since I left for this trip.”
- …Then why did I just get the storyboards for Chapters 1 through 4 by fax?
“That… is a gift from Jung Junhyuk, the author.”
- ……
Hashida had clearly started reading the faxed pages.
A few minutes passed.
- Matsuda.
“Yes?”
- Let’s put this straight into the serialization meeting.
The determination in Hashida’s voice was so clear, Matsuda could practically see him already dashing toward the deputy editor’s office.
* * *
Serialization Meeting.
The serialization meeting was a regular fixture at the editorial department.
Upon reviewing the overwhelmingly high reader poll results for ‘D Note’ and the manuscripts that were already at a professional level, the editorial team concluded that Jung Junhyuk was more than ready to become a core contributor right away.
Still, it wasn’t like they could skip protocol and greenlight serialization without going through the official meeting.
The process itself wasn’t complicated.
Each team leader brought to the table a project they believed was worthy of serialization, and all submissions were compared.
While the final decision rested with the Editor-in-Chief and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, the team leaders' opinions held considerable weight.
Now, you'd think that would lead to team leaders going to war to push their own candidates through…
“Hmm… Hashida’s project is way too strong this round.”
…but not quite.
If a team pushed a title into serialization only for it to flop and get canceled early, that backlash landed right on their heads.
So if they genuinely believed another team’s project was better, they’d step aside.
“I do think the work itself is solid. The storyboards for chapters 1 through 4 are actually fun. There’s some real depth to it—it feels fresh compared to what we’ve done before. That said…”
Team Leader Miura turned toward Hashida.
“Are you seriously telling me a foreign ‘elementary schooler’ wrote this?”
Miura’s face practically screamed— ‘Are you kidding me?’
“…Yes.”
On this particular point, even Hashida couldn't speak with absolute confidence.
“From what Matsuda confirmed directly, it seems almost certain it’s not a case of impersonation.”
“Even if it’s true, this raises a ton of issues—contracting with a minor, and the risk that a kid that age might just get bored and bail halfway through serialization.”
“Still, wouldn’t it be a huge waste to ignore talent like this just because of their age?”
“They were already drawing at a pro level during the New Artist Submissions. If we pass, another magazine’s going to scoop them up in a heartbeat. I’d lose my mind if we missed this.”
Opinions were split.
Some thought they should move forward with serialization right away.
Others thought they should wait and nurture the creator a little longer.
Once the initial discussion wrapped up, every eye in the room turned to the Editor-in-Chief.
The vote on whether to serialize was split 50/50.
And that meant it was the Editor-in-Chief’s time to make the call.
“Everyone made good points.”
Adjusting his glasses, the Editor-in-Chief looked toward Hashida.
“Hashida.”
“Yes?”
“According to Matsuda, the storyboards for chapters 1 through 4 were already completed, right?”
“Yes, apparently the author finished them before Matsuda even arrived.”
“Then it’s possible more exist. If there are additional storyboards, ask for them. If not—have them draw up to chapter 10 and submit those.”
“Sorry? Ten chapters’ worth of storyboards?”
It was already rare to get even 1–4 chapters’ worth of content in advance.
Now they were asking for ten, for a series not even confirmed for serialization?
If they decided ‘not’ to go through with it after asking for that much, it’d be a total slap in the face to the author.
The Editor-in-Chief knew that full well.
“If this request offends the author, I’ll apologize to them personally. But I need you to get those storyboards—even if it means being a little impolite.”
“…Understood.”
Hashida, thinking about his junior Matsuda out there alone in a foreign country, felt a pang of guilt.
It wasn’t easy to pressure his junior into demanding ten chapters’ worth of content from the author.
So, with all that guilt and hesitation bundled together, he called Matsuda and carefully broached the subject.
- Oh, the storyboards? I’ve already got up to chapter 25 done.
“…What?!”
Hashida was shook.
* * *
"Huh..."
"Should I call this shocking, or just downright audacious?"
"You drew all those storyboards just because you ‘felt’ like it? 25 chapters’ worth? Even though serialization wasn’t even guaranteed?"
"And the storyboard quality’s nearly at the level of clean drafts. So this wasn’t just extra polish on the first few chapters—this is just how they draw?"
After ‘D Note’ was featured in the Newcomer Award spotlight, strange things began happening over at the Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial department.
First, they broke precedent by running reader surveys for a debut work.
Now, they were holding two serialization meetings in a single day—something almost unheard of.
Once the 25 chapters’ worth of storyboards were laid out, even the team leaders who had been skeptical—citing the creator’s age and foreign nationality—were left speechless.
This wasn’t just some amateur grinding out content for the sake of volume.
Each and every chapter was ‘legitimately’ entertaining—25 times over.
With this level of preparation, what more could anyone even say?
Chrak—
The soft shuffle of paper as the Editor-in-Chief set down the last stack of storyboards.
In that instant, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto him.
"It’s good. If someone can sustain this level of quality for 25 chapters, then it’s fair to say we can expect a lot more going forward."
At that, Hashida clenched both fists under the table—victory surging through him.
"Hashida."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"You said Matsuda’s with the author right now, didn’t you?"
"He mentioned they were having dinner together, so probably yes."
"Can you patch me through to them real quick?"
With a crisp, "Yes, sir!", Hashida snapped to attention and immediately called Matsuda.
In that sweaty-palmed moment, Matsuda handed his phone to Jung Junhyuk, while Hashida passed his to the Editor-in-Chief.
And so it happened.
"Pleased to meet you. I’m Aizawa Touji, Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump."
The young prodigy and the seasoned editor-in-chief finally came face-to-face.
* * *
- Pleased to meet you. I’m Aizawa Touji, Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump.
His voice was low and composed, his tone formal and weighty.
Hearing the heavy resonance through the phone, Jung Junhyuk glanced at Matsuda.
Matsuda looked like he was barely holding it together—fidgeting, nervous, squirming in place.
Well, it ‘was’ a pretty overwhelming moment, especially for someone like Matsuda, who hadn't even hit his third year yet.
To ease the tension for him, Junhyuk calmly switched the phone to speaker mode and replied—
"Nice to meet you. I’m Jung Junhyuk."
- I’d heard, but your Japanese is excellent.
"Thank you. Honestly, I wouldn’t say I’m that fluent, but Mr. Matsuda’s been kind enough to see it that way.
A bit of formal back-and-forth—standard pleasantries. Then Aizawa got right to the point.
- Thank you for the 25 chapters' worth of storyboards. We hadn’t even given you any kind of confirmation yet, but we pushed a pretty unreasonable request on you.
"It’s no trouble. I had intended to draw this series to completion regardless of whether it passed the serialization meeting."
- You must be very fond of the story.
There are all kinds of manga artists out there.
Some treat it like a craft—a job.
Others, like Junhyuk, create not for trends or popularity, but for the love of telling ‘their’ story.
Those are the ones who keep drawing, regardless of whether they’ve secured a serialization slot or not.
Aizawa assumed Junhyuk belonged to that group.
That’s why he thought the 25 chapters existed—not out of strategy, but out of passion.
But then came Junhyuk’s next line—blunt, clear, and devastating to that assumption.
"No, I drew them to submit elsewhere if Jump didn’t pick it up."
CLINK—
The glass Matsuda had been holding shattered in his hand.
Shattered like his nerves. Shattered like his soul.
For a few seconds, there was silence.
- ……
Only the sound of Matsuda's will to live evaporating in the background.
Junhyuk continued calmly, stepping right over the stunned silence—
"If it’s my age or nationality you’re worried about, I assure you, it won’t be a problem. I understand it’s been hard to come to a decision in the serialization meeting, but if I may add what I just said to the discussion—how does that change things?"
- ……
A faint breath echoed from the other side of the phone.
And then, a chuckle.
A small, knowing laugh, followed by Aizawa’s voice—
- The consensus was already leaning toward approval, but your statement just sealed the deal.
"I apologize if what I said was off-putting."
- Not at all. On the contrary, it wiped away every concern I had.
"Glad to hear it."
As things began to wrap up smoothly, Matsuda finally let out a long, silent sigh of relief.
- As of now, your series ‘D Note’ has been unanimously approved for serialization. Matsuda will walk you through the contract details. We’re looking forward to seeing more of your work.
"Thank you. I hope we meet again soon."
* * *
“Haha.”
As the editor-in-chief ended the call with a chuckle, every eye in the meeting room turned toward him.
‘D Note’ revolves around a deceptively simple premise—if you write a name, the person dies—and builds on that to explore a deep narrative about justice through its characters.
The editor-in-chief had been skeptical that such a story could have come from an elementary school student.
But now he knew.
‘It was real.’
He could now be certain after that phone call.
The child prodigy was the real deal.
- It’s no trouble. I had intended to draw this series to completion regardless of whether it passed the serialization meeting.
If they wouldn’t serialize it, he’d take it somewhere else.
Depending on how you looked at it, that could’ve been dismissed as a childish provocation or an immature outburst.
But for the editor-in-chief, who carried years of experience in the field, it didn’t sound like either.
And the words that followed erased any doubt he had left.
- If it’s my age or nationality you’re worried about, I assure you, it won’t be a problem. I understand it’s been hard to come to a decision in the serialization meeting, but if I may add what I just said to the discussion—how does that change things?
He’d heard that the kid had a good grasp of how the industry worked. But to actually read the room—to ‘strategically’ position his own value to shift the weight of the discussion toward serialization?
That wasn’t just intelligence—that was poise, nerve, and a deep understanding of his worth as a creator. A level-headedness that rivaled most adults. And this kid was still only in elementary school.
As a manga artist, he was already a finished product. The editor-in-chief couldn't help but wonder—if he was this good now, what would he be capable of as he grew?
With a flicker of hope and excitement, he found himself—for the first time in a long while—feeling like a reader again.
------------------
HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
------------------