Coding Heaven, Planning Hell (7)
A yellow sunset was settling in. Beneath Pangyo's skyscrapers, office workers wrapping up their day scurried about like ants. They came in all shapes and sizes. The successful and capable alongside the rest. Those who loved their jobs and those who didn't. Dreamers and the dreamless.
Han Yu-ra watched them from the rooftop of the Pangyo Shared Office.
"..."
The end of an exhausting day. The evening breeze gently tousled the red strands at her temple. Kim A-ram stood awkwardly beside her.
Han Yu-ra had a mountain of problems to untangle.
- How to handle the open beta.
- Why Kim A-ram had made that choice.
- Was Shin Na-young really her rival?
- Would Im Seong-u choose her?
A tangle of emotions throbbed at her temples. She spoke.
"Kim A-ram."
Han Yu-ra recalled their college days. They'd pulled all-nighters in the club room together, debating which systems were more fun. They'd drunk late into the night and fought over game tastes. It made sense. Han Yu-ra was a classic core gamer. She loved AAA titles, retro games, visual novels. Elder Scrolls, God of War, Doujin games... Her place was stocked with a PlayStation and Nintendo. She rarely touched what everyone else was playing. As club president, Yu-ra often felt sidelined when online games came up.
Kim A-ram, on the other hand, had totally different tastes. She was all about mobile and online games. "No matter how hard you work on GTA, it can't touch Fate/Grand Order's revenue," she'd say nonstop. She'd nag Yu-ra to try Lineage or Nexon games, to learn how they sucked money from players. They clashed constantly.
- Wow, you're really clueless about games, A-ram.
- Shut up, sis.
- How's a game club member who wants to make games not even own a PlayStation?
Of course, the club president dumping Im Seong-u had been a mistake, but that was the vibe. It was a noisy club. Feelings got hurt a lot. They drank often, and things somehow resolved dramatically sometimes. They'd run a Kickstarter campaign, handed out pamphlets at the Busan Game Expo, even won an award at a small game jam—an all-night event where people frantically prototyped games. Those days still lingered warmly in Han Yu-ra's heart. She remembered debating dreams over money.
Back then, Han Yu-ra had shone like a star. Kim A-ram had too.
We were friends then.
But had time ruined that friendship?
I might end up hating you.
Hating Im Seong-u made some human sense. Even a year ago, Han Yu-ra had found him grating. His constant overtime complaints were "unfathomable," leaving a sour taste. As a planner herself, she couldn't help it.
But deleting the server? That was beyond comprehension.
"Why'd you do it?"
"...Huh? Yu-ra...?"
Kim A-ram was sweating bullets.
"What, did some other company put you up to it?"
Han Yu-ra knew it sounded ridiculous. No big corp or rival indie studio would sabotage Sepiros Online like that—it didn't add up. But without some excuse, she couldn't forgive Kim A-ram.
"Why'd you nuke it? The server. Can't you hear me?"
Backlit by the sun, her red hair glowed. Her eyes glared with raw fury. The failed planner swallowed hard, then bowed deeply, showing her crown.
"S-sorry!"
"You think I called you up here just to hear 'sorry'?"
Han Yu-ra was pissed. At Kim A-ram. At Im Seong-u. At Shin Na-young. At the investors. She desperately wanted to vent somewhere, or her heart would shatter.
Kim A-ram rolled her eyes, swallowed, then suddenly dropped to one knee. A few smokers from nearby offices glanced over.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
Normally, Han Yu-ra would've stopped her, but she had no energy left. Let her film a video or whatever—Yu-ra sipped her Americano, staring coldly down.
"Enough."
"Y-you... forgive me?"
"A-ram. Let me ask you something. Are you actually insane?"
Thinking back, she'd been like this in the club too.
- A-ram, got nothing better to do?
- Huh? Sis? I'm planning right now?
A-ram had been sipping whiskey. That was just her.
I'm the crazy one for hiring her.
Yu-ra realized the truth.
"Cut the bullshit and stand up."
"...Okay."
A-ram awkwardly rose from her half-kneel. Yu-ra's brow throbbed. If you're gonna kneel, do it right. But she popped up the second I told her—even that was infuriating.
"We'll decide your status after open beta."
"I-I'll work hard!"
"...Casual speech?"
"Yes!"
"Fine."
A-ram waddled up beside her like a penguin.
"But... sis. You going through something tough lately...?"
Kim A-ram was sharp about that stuff.
Because of you, you bitch...
A blue vein pulsed on Han Yu-ra's forehead. Wasn't she the root of all this? Her blood pressure spiked; a brain aneurysm wouldn't surprise anyone.
But she calmed herself.
Kim A-ram has dated a lot.
True. Unlike dream-obsessed college Yu-ra, A-ram had lived leisurely. She'd dated whoever, rumors swirled. Not real relationships, though.
- For real, sis! Men are simple! Say you're dating, and they buy dinner!
She'd dated a senior six years older, mooched meals, never gave it up. Guys weren't dumb; most dumped her in a month...
- But even one free meal's a win, right?
A-ram was always nuts, so it didn't matter.
"...A-ram."
"...Yeah?"
"Drop the formal talk."
Han Yu-ra felt a pang of sadness. This company was her lifelong dream. Games had been her sole light during hellish retry-year prep. The company was the grand vehicle to that dream.
To A-ram, it was just company playtime. No need for polite talk off-hours with her.
A-ram—
"Got it. Sis."
What a fucking bitch.
Instant switch—ridiculous. Han Yu-ra sighed.
"A-ram. I think I've fallen for a guy."
"Ooooh! Badass! Classic sis!"
"Shut your mouth."
"Okay..."
"We just hooked up as sex partners. But... my heart's leaning his way."
Han Yu-ra was growing fond of Im Seong-u. It hurt. His revenge wasn't mere sex. If he rejected her love at the end, that would be true payback. Just imagining it dropped her heart.
"And he seems to like another girl."
Yu-ra's gaze sank. She'd beg forgiveness a thousand times if it meant his love.
I sinned against you, Seong-u. Always ignoring you.
She sank deeper. She'd tormented him every way a small-company CEO could.
Ugh...
Tears threatened. Because of her screw-ups, she'd lose the kind guy from college. Nothing left in life but work. Love was brutal. If Im Seong-u left, she'd marry games for real.
What was he feeling now?
Of course he wants revenge on me.
If only he'd take her body. At least then, no proud romance with Shin Na-young. Cowardly, she knew. But imagining him tangled with that girl burned her throat.
Shin Na-young. Now "that bitch" in her mind. Holding hands, kissing—things he hadn't done with her—her heart raced madly. First jealousy.
Han Yu-ra sighed at the blood-red sunset. Leaning on Kim A-ram hurt in this reality.
"What should I do? To escape a body-only thing."
"Sis, you're an idiot?"
Should I shove her...?
Magma fury surged. She was serious; this girl lacked basic manners.
"Take one punch."
"Sure! B-but... cut my payout later...?"
"..."
"...F-fine, I'll talk."
Kim A-ram spoke like it was obvious advice.
"Just poke a hole in the condom."
"?"
Han Yu-ra's brain lagged decoding it. Lunch pasta energy drained.
"What?"
A-ram said it casually.
"Poke a hole in the condom? Get pregnant. Pregnant, and he's your slave!"
"...?"
"What if he doesn't love you? You got a kid?"
Han Yu-ra's rage-cooled head chilled further. Was this human? Or even a person?
No, some 60s auntie?
An '88-vibe joke. Migraine hit. Wanted to yeet her off the roof.
Why so auntie-like? Regressor maybe?
What if A-ram lived 30 more years, twisting fate on purpose to make her succeed?
- Yu-ra sis. Shin Na-young was fated to marry Im Seong-u. I wiped the server to change that future...
If true, Yu-ra'd apologize later.
- Wiping the server makes Im Seong-u rape you, get physical first over Na-young, compete as rivals, and snag him. That's my plan.
- A-ram! Fuck! Kim A-ram!
- Bye, sis... Be happy.
Chills. Brain-breaking.
Shocked, Kim A-ram said,
"Yu-ra sis. How do you know if a guy loves you?"
"Feels like it..."
"That's your feeling?"
Yu-ra wanted to snap but A-ram's seriousness dazed her.
"Can't you control your feelings?"
To some extent...
Possible, as a businesswoman who'd devoured self-help books. Humans could steer their souls somewhat. A-ram's thick brows in sunset light weren't joking.
"And how do you know his feelings?"
"..."
"Even couples after 10, 20 years can't be sure? Love's unprovable even sawing skulls. Don't start assuming you're loved."
Han Yu-ra's jaw dropped.
"Don't love with heart first. Get physically close."
Is she truly insane...?
But persuasive. Partly right. Hated admitting, but A-ram won the argument.
Yeah... Bodies close, hearts follow.
If Im Seong-u couldn't quit her body, maybe her heart too.
Seong-u.
I don't want your money. In a year, not even your labor.
Just stay by my side. Give me your heart. She prayed.
"So..."
"...Huh? Sis?"
Yu-ra felt slight gratitude. Trash who tried to tank her company, but still.
She voiced old suspicions.
"You saying this 'cause you've fucked guys?"
Yu-ra checked, just in case. A-ram probably had.
Answer shocked.
"No...? They bought dinner without it?"
Han Yu-ra sighed.
"Go do overtime."