Me: "I'm going to start drawing comics."
Mom: "What kind?"
Me: "I haven't decided yet."
Mom: "Why not draw a romance about everyday life?"
Me: "Uh, I've never been in a relationship."
Mom: "That's not a problem."
The next day.
Mom borrowed her friend's son and introduced him: "This is Yuan Shi. A meteorite hit his house, so he'll be staying here for a while."
Me: ???
*
One day, I was coming up with characters.
I racked my brain trying to figure out how to stack up the trendy tropes.
"Money power, a heaven-blessed genius, feuds between wealthy families, and a fake young master mistaken for the real one."
Yuan Shi: "Are these really the standard features of a slice-of-life romance protagonist?"
Me: "Then how about a cold, aloof top student? Should we add a groveling-after-the-breakup arc?"
Yuan Shi: "That's too much for a male lead who's still in high school."
Me: "All right..."
*
After my comic was approved, I was so excited that I stayed up all night.
The next day, I opened my bedroom door, barely able to speak. "I can still draw."
Yuan Shi was making breakfast. "Should I call an ambulance?"
"No. Also, can I hope breakfast is a tamagoyaki and cheese sandwich?"
Yuan Shi: "You can order takeout."
Me: "Actually, now that I think about it, you may not have the male lead's special move of pinning someone against a wall, grabbing their waist, and kissing them with red eyes, but at least you can make delicious sandwiches."
Yuan Shi said calmly, "Then the readers will realize the male lead is just a cooking tool."
He handed me a plate with a tamagoyaki and cheese sandwich on it.
"The real male lead is the sandwich."
Theme: Balancing your hobbies with your studies
