Melting Point — Chapter 26.1

HEHE

DID MY HEART JUST... FLUTTER...?

WHAT WAS THAT...?

PUT SOME CLOTHES ON FIRST...

POPULAR JOCK WHO'S NEVER BEEN SINGLE SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL...

HE'S NO STRANGER TO GETTING PHYSICAL WITH OTHER GUYS, HOWEVER (THANKS TO LOCKER ROOM CULTURE), AND HAS HIS OWN REASONS FOR REACTING THE WAY HE DOES TO IAN. MORE ON THAT IN SEASON 2.

PAST

PRESENT

IT'S GOING TO BE A BALANCING ACT BETWEEN FLASHBACKS FROM THE PAST AND THEIR PRESENT RELATIONSHIP!

I'D BEEN STRUGGLING TO COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS FOR OVER A YEAR AFTER FINISHING MY LAST PROJECT WHEN I GOT THE IDEA FOR MELTING POINT, AT A NEW YEARS' PARTY WITH MY FRIENDS.

HI, THIS IS PIBI! THANKS FOR READING MELTING POINT!

WE'RE ENDING SEASON 1 WITH A SCENE FORESHADOWING HOW EUNSAN'S FEELINGS ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE. IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN AN UPHILL JOURNEY GETTING A STRAIGHT GUY TO DATE ANOTHER GUY!

I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN QUESTIONING EUNSAN'S SEXUALITY, BUT HE REALLY IS 100 PERCENT HETERO. HE'S ONLY EVER DATED WOMEN AND NEVER STRAYED AFTER HIS MARRIAGE, EITHER.

...BUT ONLY EVER GOT TO 2ND PLACE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL. YEAH?

ONE OF MY COWORKERS USED TO PLAY [REDACTED] AND ALWAYS WON 1ST PLACE AT THE REGIONALS...

FRIEND Y WHO WORKS AT A SPORTS COMPANY...

(ALL-TIME LEGEND IN [REDACTED]).

WOW...NO WONDER...

SPORTS IS TOUGH, MAN... THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH THAT HARD WORK CAN DO IN THE FACE OF BORN TALENT. CUE BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS...AND...

...A SIZZLING ROMANCE BETWEEN THE NUMBER 1 AND NUMBER 2 PLAYERS!!

SO THAT WAS THE FIRST KERNEL OF MELTING POINT. THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE #1 AND #2 PLAYERS GOT NIXED (SINCE HOCKEY IS A TEAM SPORT) AS THE STORY DEVELOPED, BUT STILL FORMED THE BASIS OF IAN AND EUNSAN'S CHARACTERS.

CHOOSING ICE HOCKEY OF ALL SPORTS WAS A PRETTY BOLD MOVE FOR ME...

COMPLETE LACK OF SKET*HUP MODELS...

ULTRA-MINOR SPORT IN KOREA...

TONS OF RESEARCH...

...BUT I DECIDED TO GO WITH IT FOR TWO REASONS.

WHO WON 1ST PLACE, THEN?

FIRSTLY... THE RIZZ FACTOR...

SHOULDER PADS ACCENTUATE ALREADY-BROAD SHOULDERS...

BODY-CHECKING ENCOURAGED!

WIDE-OPEN VISUALS OF ICE RINK...

ALL THESE AND MORE MADE DRAWING IAN'S ICE HOCKEY SCENES A REAL PLEASURE. OF COURSE, THE HOCKEY DETAILS INDIVIDUALLY WERE A PAIN IN THE ASS.

SECONDLY, I THOUGHT IT COULDN'T HURT TO GIVE THE COMIC A DISTINCT IDENTITY.

BECAUSE AT ITS HEART, IF YOU TAKE AWAY THESE DETAILS, MELTING POINT IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD LOVE STORY.

WHAT'S YOUR GOAL IN LIFE?

...BAEK EUNSAN.

JUST LIKE IAN, EUNSAN NEVER REALLY GOT TO EXPERIENCE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE GROWING UP, EITHER. SO THIS IS A STORY OF TWO BOYS STARVED FOR LOVE HEALING EACH OTHER'S WOUNDS... I'LL NEVER TIRE OF MUTUAL REDEMPTION ARCS!

SO I WAS REALLY STRESSED WHEN PUTTING THIS PROJECT TOGETHER. IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S SET IN A SPECIAL 'VERSE, AND IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S A HUGE CONFLICT, AND THE MATURE SCENES ONLY SHOW UP REALLY LATE...

WILL ANYONE STICK AROUND TO READ SUCH A SNOOZE?

AT LEZHIN, THE HOME OF #OBSESSIVE_TOPS?

THANKFULLY, YOU SHOWED MELTING POINT SO MUCH LOVE THAT I WAS ABLE TO PUT THOSE WORRIES TO REST. THANK YOU SO MUCH, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!! THANKS A MILLION...!

MELTING POINT IS MY FIRST COMIC IN COLOR, TOO, AND I REALLY STRUGGLED IN THE BEGINNING.

CL*P STUDIO HAS ALL THESE FEATURES?!

ONLY USED THE PEN AND ERASER FUNCTION WHEN DRAWING IN B&W...

I'M STILL NOT SURE HOW I'M DOING, BUT HOPEFULLY OKAY ENOUGH THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL READING...? THANKS GUYS, YOU'RE THE BEST. :')

THERE WERE STILL LOTS OF MOMENTS, THOUGH, WHEN I WISHED THAT I HAD MORE TIME. I USED UP MY SAVED EPISODES PRETTY QUICKLY AND WAS LITERALLY DRAWING FOR MY LIFE THE WHOLE SEASON.

DRAWING IN COLOR IS SO HARD...

MAD RESPECT FOR ALL COMIC ARTISTS... I'M DYING WITH A 10-DAY SCHEDULE, HOW DO PEOPLE POST WEEKLY?!

I HOPE YOU DON'T FORGET MELTING POINT...

I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY EDITOR SOYEON FOR ALL HER ADVICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT WHEN I NEEDED IT THE MOST, MY WHIZZ ASSISTANT HD FOR ALWAYS PULLING THROUGH WITH BASE COLORS AND SHADING AT A MINUTE'S NOTICE, MY TRANSLATION EDITOR FOR JUGGLING MY SCHEDULE EVEN UNDER PRESSURE OF A GLOBAL RELEASE, MY EDITOR ON THE KOREAN COMIC TEAM... THANK YOU ALL!

DURING MY BREAK, I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET SOME EXERCISE AND PRACTICE MY DRAWING SOME MORE WHILE I PREPARE FOR SEASON 2. I'M NOT A FAST WORKER, SO I'M AFRAID THAT MEANS IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME FOR ME TO BUILD UP ENOUGH EPISODES FOR THE NEXT SEASON. :'( I'M THINKING ABOUT SIX MONTHS NOW. I'LL TRY TO COME BACK BEFORE NEXT SUMMER AT THE LATEST!

BUT EVEN... ...IT WAS NICE... ...AND I TRULY... ...YOU DO...

...IF YOU DO... ...HAVING YOU... ...HOPE THAT... ...COME BACK...

THAT'S A GOOD BOY...

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, SEASON 2 WILL FEATURE MORE OF IAN AND EUNSAN'S BACKSTORY THAN SEASON 1.

FROM THE FIRST TIME IAN AND EUNSAN MET TO THEIR HIGH SCHOOL DAYS, THE PLAN IS TO SHOW WHERE IAN'S TOTAL DEDICATION TO EUNSAN COMES FROM, AND WHY HE HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN EUNSAN'S HEART.

A LOT OF THE SCENES I'VE BEEN WANTING TO DRAW SINCE I FIRST STARTED PLANNING THIS COMIC ARE SET DURING THAT TIME, SO I'M ALREADY PSYCHED! (OF COURSE, NOTHING TOO RACY WHILE THEY'RE MINORS...)

I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH MY ANSWER TO THE QUESTION I GOT A FEW TIMES ABOUT WHAT ANIMALS IAN AND EUNSAN MIGHT BE.

IAN: SIBERIAN HUSKY ?

EUNSAN: GINGER TABBY

I DIDN'T DECIDE ON THESE FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT THEY CAME TO MIND NATURALLY OVER TIME, WHEN I WAS DRAWING IAN AND EUNSAN REGULARLY!

OH, AND BY THE TIME THIS CREATOR'S NOTE GOES LIVE, EPISODE 23 SHOULD HAVE BEEN RE-UPLOADED WITH EXTRA PANELS! I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE FEEDBACK THAT THE TRANSITION FROM EPISODE 22 COULD HAVE BEEN LESS ABRUPT, SO I ADDED SOME PANELS TO THE BEGINNING OF EPISODE 23.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO READ EPISODE 23 BEFORE THIS CREATOR'S NOTE, PLEASE DO CHECK OUT EPISODE 23 AGAIN!

GOODBYE!

WHEW, THANKS FOR READING ALL THAT! I'LL BE BACK WITH SEASON 2 AS PROMISED. STAY HEALTHY EVERYONE, AND DON'T FORGET IAN AND EUNSAN!