บท 38: Release Day
The day of the new book release arrived quickly.
After school in the afternoon.
"Hurry up, Eunseo, today is the release day of Porter's single volume!"
Claire, with her backpack on, urged her little best friend anxiously.
"What's the rush?" Eunseo, hands on her knees, gasping for breath, looked at her friend who was unusually impatient today.
"Even though you've already read 'Your Name,' why buy the single volume? Wouldn't it be better to just rip out the pages you want from the manga and bind them together?"
Eunseo didn't understand the point of buying the single volume.
After all, they had already seen it. Isn't buying something you've already seen a waste of money?
"If you love something and it doesn't affect your life, you definitely should support it," Claire said assertively. "If authors don't make money, they might stop writing. Look at Porter's manga; the frames are as beautiful as wallpapers, he must have hired assistants. Even if they aren't given room and board, the salary must be quite substantial."
Hearing this, Eunseo nodded.
She agreed about the artwork quality of 'Your Name,' having seen some interviews where authors mentioned what they pay their assistants.
And those assistants' skills aren't even as good as Porter's, so it must be expensive.
However...
Looking at the bookstore.
It was packed at the moment, and she worried if they would even get a copy.
Luckily, about ten minutes later, it was finally their turn.
Claire had been eyeing the bookshelf for a while and quickly grabbed two copies.
"Eh? Why did you buy two? Are you collecting one and using the other for preaching?" Eunseo was surprised.
She didn't know her friend had the money to buy one to keep and one to give away.
"How could I?" Claire's head shook like a rattle drum: "I don't have that much money to do that. This is Porter's new work!"
New work?
Eunseo's tastes differed from Claire's.
Claire liked beautiful, heartwarming works, whereas Eunseo preferred action-packed stories for boys.
So she paid less attention to these types of works.
About 'Your Name,' she appreciated the art style more than anything.
"Ah, it's about cuisine."
Cuisine?! Eunseo's little antenna twitched.
Aside from the battle-type manga she enjoyed, Eunseo also had a passion for eating!
She liked niche food literature too.
After hesitating, she ultimately didn't buy one, uncertain if it would be good.
After all, didn't her friend just buy one? Why spend the extra money?
But...
"Claire, aren't you buying Mr. Warren's work? It's also his release day."
Eunseo knew her friend used to buy from Picca Comics primarily for Warren's works.
Now, had seeing Porter's good work changed her mind?
Oh, women!
"Mr. Warren, huh..." Claire sighed. "There's no way, who made him ruin his reputation? If he had finished his previous work and then changed companies, that would be one thing, but he didn't finish his work and switched companies for money; I can't accept that."
"True."
Anyone would be upset by that. Spending money on manga only to have it unfinished is frustrating.
...
Evening.
Picca Comics Company.
"How many copies of 'Your Name' have sold? Should be out by now, right?" an editor quietly asked another.
"It's over seventy thousand now, quite astonishing, isn't it? We only issued two hundred thousand copies; it looks like we might need a reprint."
"Seventy thousand! And a reprint?" Hearing this, the inquiring editor was taken aback.
Just one day in, and already seventy thousand copies? What would a week bring?
Surely it would exceed two hundred thousand.
If they sold out early, they would need to request a reprint from the printing department.
"Can you believe Porter is a newcomer? His first single volume is achieving these numbers?"
"What about Porter's new book?"
"It's also reached over a hundred thousand in sales so far, and it's scoring 9.6 on Douzhi Net, constantly receiving praise."
"Although it's just the initial sales, the popularity is high."
"Porter is really amazing!"
Everyone couldn't help but admire Porter's ability.
After all, two mangas with continuous high ratings aren't usual for a newcomer.
"Speaking of which, has anyone seen what Porter looks like?"
This sparked everyone's interest.
Although Porter had been published in the company's magazine for so long, no one had seen him in person.
"Who knows, but the boss definitely knows since she always brings Porter's manga."
"I bet it's a shy cute girl; no one else could produce such delicate, wallpaper-like artwork."
"I think so too, you can tell 'Cooking Master Boy' was drawn by a girl foodie, but I have to admit, reading that manga got me pumped."
"Let me tell you," the chief editor joined the conversation, shaking his head, drawing everyone's gaze.
"Could it be, chief editor, you know?"
"Hmm~~" the chief editor coyly raised his head, producing a cringe-worthy coquettish sound.
"Tell us!" Quickly, an eager editor fetched some tea.
"According to our building's security guard, apparently, a man was seen leaving the company with our boss, just a few days before we got 'Your Name.' What's more, he seemed to be with the boss's daughter, looking very much like a family of three."
"Oh??"
Everyone was now more interested in the man than in the sales figures.
Although they knew the boss had a child, they had never seen her husband.
Rumors had circulated that the boss was divorced, but now?
"How does he look?" The chief editor didn't really know and was about to make something up when...
Suddenly, a cough echoed through the office.
The room fell silent.
"Right, I need to hurry some manuscripts."
"Huh? Seems like something didn't print right."
"..."
The crowd dispersed, leaving the chief editor alone, turning to see who was behind him.
"Boss?"
"Write me an analysis of 'Cooking Master Boy,' over five thousand words."
"Five thousand words!!!"
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