After I Rescued a Beautiful Woman From a Stalker, She Started Spoiling Me and Turning Me Into a No-Good Freeloader - Chapter 8 - Actually, I Wanted Him to Stay [Ijichi’s POV]

Chapter 8 – Actually, I Wanted Him to Stay [Ijichi’s POV]

[Ijichi’s POV]

“Why can’t you do something as simple as this?”

I ended up yelling again today.

I know.

Unless it’s someone who can read minds, it’s an impossible task to keep changing the drawing to match the image I have in my head.

However, if the image that was born in my head and the finished image are different, then I have no choice but to say that they are different.

I certainly thought it was fine a minute ago.

However, when I think about it now, the image is different.

“I can’t do it anymore, Sensei. I’m quitting.”

How many assistants does that make today?

It’s always like this.

Assistants come and go for manga artists.

It doesn’t always last long.

The one who was there when I first started was good.

He’s older than me, can do a lot of things, and does what I want.

However, as my manga began to sell more and more, I felt that I had to create even better products, so I continued to do my best.

As a result, he gradually became unable to keep up with the level I wanted.

Especially with character drawings.

His backgrounds were also a problem.

The chief assistant could only handle tones.

Perhaps he grew tired of being like that and quit.

What remained in his place was a new, dull rookie. This rookie is good at drawing. However, this rookie’s slow and doesn’t listen to my requests.

I fired him twice during his assistant days, but for some reason, he stayed, and before I knew it, besides him, there was no one else who could assist me.

That’s why the old editor tried to persuade me to keep him many times.

When I wasn’t drawing manga, I tried to be kind to him by making sure he had food, clothing, and shelter, and paid his salary.

That was all I could do since I had poor communication skills to begin with.

Even though my editor changed and my assistants changed, he was the only one who was always by my side.

Because only he could draw the background that I imagined.

He was a strange person.

He’s about three years older than me, and although he was a dull person at first, he gradually got better at drawing manga and started drawing in a way similar to me.

It allowed him to create characters and backgrounds that matched my expectations.

But he lacked overwhelming creativity.

The drawing was still good.

However, he didn’t have enough vocabulary to think about the story.

He only drew pictures and had no interest in anything else.

His only experience with love was when he was a student, and since graduating from university he has been working at my place and hasn’t felt inspired at all.

So when I read his four-panel manga, they were incredibly boring, yet oddly surreal and amusing.

But that’s a problem.

If he’s gone, I can’t do my job.

I believe that the reason I am still able to stay active as a manga artist is because he helps me with everything.

But then it happened.

A big job had arrived.

My manga was going to be used as the cover art.

That’s why I wanted to pay close attention to the characters and background.

He felt the same way and asked me about the background many times.

I wanted to concentrate on the characters, and even as I listened to his questions, I somehow thought that he would be able to draw it to fit my image.

However, when I looked at the finished background and the coloring, it was clearly different from what I had imagined.

I knew he wasn’t wrong.

He did the job exactly as I ordered and painted it the color I ordered.

However, as usual, he would add some quirks to my request and provide a result that was even better than mine.

Yes, he surpasses me in terms of background.

That’s why I entrusted it to him.

If he had surpassed me, he would have had to exceed my expectations.

However, he submitted a work that fit within my imagination.

It was a background as per my order, colored.

That’s why I said it,

“You’re fired!”

Words I didn’t even mean, when honestly, I want him to stay with me forever.

But if you can’t surpass me, you’re fired. I hate the fact that I can’t help but say that.

“Do you understand? We’re right up against the deadline. If you fire me, it won’t be finished on time.”

“You’re so noisy! It’s your fault for not drawing as I instructed! The background isn’t what I specified! I never ordered you to do it like this!”

I’m not looking for a drawing that is exactly as I ordered.

You draw works that exceed my orders on casual occasions, but why do you draw backgrounds that fit my image on such an important occasion? Even though you are much more amazing.

“Okay. I’ll stop.”

He put down his pen and picked up his bag, which was small to begin with.

“You should have said so from the beginning! Leave the dorm room by the end of today too! It feels good to finally get rid of you!”

“Is that so? Please pay me for my work until today. If it’s not transferred, I’ll sue.”

Even if we have a fight like this, he will come back.

I’ve fired him four times so far.

But he always comes back with a nonchalant face, sitting at his desk the next day.

I also put on a casual face and go to work.

This incident resembled a spat between long-time partners, like a married couple’s fight.

But I was the only one who thought so.

Because the next day, he didn’t come back.

His stuff was gone, his smartphone remained on the desk, so I called the editor.

“I won’t be able to meet the deadline. Let’s go on hiatus.”

This was my first hiatus since starting this job.