Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: A Warning Shot (2)
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*What a fucking psycho...*
"How much did you make from your game?"
At Lee Hyeonho's absurd question, I furrowed my brow and replied bluntly.
"Well... it wasn't bad."
"Did I misspeak? I didn't ask if it was bad, I asked how much."
Look at this bastard... acting like a boss ordering around a subordinate.
Since it had come to this, I had no intention of taking a subservient attitude.
"Is there any reason I should tell you? And you're acting like my superior. I'd appreciate it if you'd drop that attitude, especially since we've just met."
My tone was curt, openly displaying my displeasure.
Then...
"Ahahaha! You've got guts."
Lee Hyeonho burst into a wild laugh as if he found the situation ridiculous. He filled a water glass to the brim with the alcohol on the table and downed it in one go.
Director Shin Chihwan tried his best to maintain a calm expression, but the bewilderment on his face was obvious.
Just then... Seo Donghyuk, the director of Division 1, spoke up with a smirk.
"PD Lee Hyeonho, it seems you have a lot of advice for the new PD. Why don't you take it to the room next door? The directors have things to discuss amongst themselves."
"Ah, sure. That suits my tastes better anyway."
Lee Hyeonho nodded, got up, and I followed him to the adjacent room.
A table with drinks and food, just like the one in the previous room, was already set up there.
This meant they had planned to send PD Lee Hyeonho and me here from the very beginning.
Lee Hyeonho sat down, arrogantly crossing his legs, and started tossing words at me.
"Your Steam game sold well, so what? 200 million won? 500 million? At the very most, you probably pocketed about a billion."
"Is that relevant to us having a drink right now, PD Lee Hyeonho?"
"Haha, you think you can stand on my level just because you lucked into a PD title?"
In that moment, I understood their true purpose for calling us here.
*A childish attempt at intimidation, is that it?*
Recently, thanks to the success of the Phoenix Project, President Oh Geoshin had taken an interest in me and Director Shin Chihwan.
Director Seo Donghyuk calling us here, and bringing Lee Hyeonho along, was likely a warning of sorts.
I had expected something like this, but I hadn't anticipated such a blatant move to keep us in check.
These were employees of NB Soft, one of Korea's top game companies... I was naive to expect even a minimum level of decorum.
And just as I grasped the situation...
<<Understanding of Lee Hyeonho has been unlocked!>>
<<Understanding of Lee Hyeonho is increasing!>>
[Lee Hyeonho / PD]
- A new PD in Division 1. Calls himself a magician of mass-produced games that are 'guaranteed' to make money.
- Has significant personality issues and has never stayed at one company for long.
- A troubleshooter dispatched to solve Seo Donghyuk's most critical problem.
- Holds strong animosity towards you and Director Shin Chihwan.
(※ Additional information will be unlocked as your understanding increases.)
God Game Maker confirmed their intentions by displaying the understanding window before my eyes.
*Hmm... how should I handle this?*
I stroked my chin for a moment, contemplating.
I had to decide whether to back down and yield to Lee Hyeonho in this situation.
Or... steer things in the direction I wanted.
However, the deliberation didn't last long.
*If I was going to be timid about it, I never would have become a PD in the first place.*
I was the one who had spoken my mind to PD Oh Gwangseok, Pateujang Go Yeongmi, and even President Oh Geoshin himself.
In the past, I would have trembled before a piece of shit like Lee Hyeonho, but now, he just seemed like a nasty piece of trash... nothing more, nothing less.
I scowled and spoke in the coldest voice I could muster.
"It's not about standing on your level; we are, in fact, equals as PDs, are we not? You should use formal language, Mr. Lee Hyeonho. Otherwise, I'll speak informally to you as well."
"Mr.? Miiister? You little bastard, you have no idea who I am, do you?"
Perhaps my aggressive stance—being so young and less experienced than him—had struck a nerve.
Lee Hyeonho's face, once filled with arrogance and contempt, instantly twisted into a demonic scowl.
But I didn't back down an inch and retorted.
"I know you well, Lee Hyeonho, the guy who makes money churning out mass-produced games. Great track record, but you're also famous for having such a shitty personality that you can never stay at one company for long, right? Is that why they call you the Devil Locust?"
"You son of a... What kind of fucking psycho is this?"
Lee Hyeonho sighed in disbelief, then slowly continued, grinding his teeth.
"Your name is Jo Hyunsoo, right? You seem to think you're hot shit because one measly indie game of yours got popular... While you were earning a few hundred million with that pathetic game, the games I made were raking in tens, even hundreds of billions. A piece of scum like you isn't even in the same league to be talking to me. Trying to act tough like this will only make your life at this company harder."
"Then instead of pulling these childish stunts, why don't we let our results do the talking? I made Forgotten Andersen's Story by myself, and I didn't grind my subordinates into the dust like you do. I'm proud of my career. I've achieved not only commercial success but also critical acclaim from game reviewers."
"Proud? Getting good reviews from critics? If you're going to be proud of crap like that, then get lost. Go out and play artist. Why are you causing trouble here? This is a company, a place to make money, isn't it?"
Lee Hyeonho continued to corner me with his ridiculous, forced logic.
*Don't get worked up... The best way out of this is to stay as calm as possible and refute his words.*
"Well... isn't it possible for a company game to have great gameplay, earn positive reviews from critics, and achieve commercial success all at once? Hmm... maybe you're just rationalizing because you don't have the confidence to do it yourself."
"What kind of bullshit is this bastard spouting..."
"It's not bullshit. You haven't even seen what kind of game I'm making, so how can you be so certain? And... don't throw around such strong words right from the start. It makes you look weak."
"Look weak? Me? Ahahaha, you're a cute little psycho, aren't you? I've crushed my fair share of lunatics, but you seem like you'll be fun. I'll take special care in crushing you. It'll be quite a treat to watch you cry and beg me for forgiveness later."
As Lee Hyeonho growled, I, not to be outdone, grabbed a bottle of soju and chugged the entire thing.
Was it because I was so agitated? The alcohol, which I normally would have grimaced at for its taste, felt like water.
*Thud!*
I slammed the soju bottle down on the table and shot to my feet.
"Just you wait. You'll soon find out which one of us will be crying and begging."
There was no need to waste any more words on this piece of trash.
I opened the door, stormed out of the room, and flung open the door to the directors' room right next door.
Shin Chihwan and Seo Donghyuk stared at me with surprised eyes.
"Directors, I have something urgent to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."
"Urgent? What..."
As Seo Donghyuk asked, I gave a faint smile and closed the door again.
"Ah, well... it seems my late great-grandmother is dying. So, if you'll excuse me."
I immediately left the restaurant and headed to a nearby café.
*Sigh... I fast-tracked my way to a PD position, and now I have to see all sorts of dirty shit.*
Normally, I'd order an iced Americano even if I were freezing to death, but I felt like the tension wouldn't subside if I did, so I ordered herbal tea instead.
After getting my drink and sitting down, I noticed my whole body was trembling slightly.
I had acted confident in front of Lee Hyeonho, but the atmosphere had been so menacing. It was the first time I'd ever experienced someone directing that much baseless malice toward me.
*Calm down.*
After drinking some of the warm herbal tea and calming down a bit, I grabbed my smartphone and sent a message to Shin Chihwan.
[Me: Director, I'm having tea at the Starbucks near the office. When you're done, let's talk here for a bit.]
[Director Shin Chihwan: Okay, wait for me.]
I took out the laptop I always carried in my backpack and passed the time by drafting the detailed prototype document.
About two hours passed like that...
"Oh, PD Jo."
From the front entrance of the café, Director Shin Chihwan waved and walked toward me.
Unlike his usual confident self, a strange shadow hung over his expression.
"What on earth happened between you and PD Lee Hyeonho in that room? After you left, he stormed out in a huff too."
"Well... it wasn't exactly pleasant."
I recounted everything that had happened with Lee Hyeonho in the room, in as much detail as possible.
Shin Chihwan was on my side, and I figured that giving him an objective understanding of the situation would prevent any trouble later on.
After hearing the whole story, Shin Chihwan looked shocked and spoke.
"Wow... Lee Hyeonho was famous in the industry for being a psycho, but he's even worse than I thought. I'm sorry, you went through that because of me."
"Not at all. Lee Hyeonho's just a lunatic."
Apparently, Shin Chihwan had heard something similar on his end.
The only difference was that Seo Donghyuk, being sly as a snake, hadn't been as direct as Lee Hyeonho, instead drawing out his words over several hours.
Director Shin Chihwan and I came to the same conclusion.
"Should we see this as a sort of declaration of war?"
"Haa... I suppose it's easier to think of it that way. This is a headache. Nothing good comes from getting on Seo Donghyuk's bad side in this company..."
"I don't really know the specifics, but if the director of Division 1 has it out for us, what exactly can he do to harm us?"
"That's the problem—we don't know specifically what he'll do. The PR team, marketing, business development, HR... there isn't a single department in this company that his influence doesn't reach."
The emotion I could read on Shin Chihwan's bitter face was fear.
"Well... I guess the only way is to get someone on our side who can cover for us against Seo Donghyuk."
"Who in this company can stand up to the director of Division 1?"
"There is someone."
I said, pointing a finger at the café ceiling.
"President Oh Geoshin."
"...And how do you plan on getting the President on our side?"
Shin Chihwan retorted, his expression incredulous.
I answered with a smirk tugging at one corner of my mouth.
"How else does a game developer win allies? By making a kick-ass game, of course. You saw it, didn't you? The President was completely sold on me during the strategic planning presentation."
"That's a rather unhelpful, textbook answer..."
"Do you have a better alternative?"
"Of course! Not..."
"Then just watch. I'll blow the President's mind with the prototype... no, I'll completely captivate him."
"Haa... alright. I trust you, PD Jo. Who else am I going to trust at this point?"
Shin Chihwan shook his head as if conceding defeat.
I pulled the laptop I had set aside back in front of me and spoke.
"Well, since you're here at the café anyway, please take a look at my document. The detailed prototype plan is ready."
"What... is this why you messaged me to come to the café in the first place? That aside... you already finished it?"
"Well, let's just say I'm killing two birds with one stone."
"You know, looking at you now, you're not exactly sane either."
"In this situation, you have to be crazy to survive."
At my spirited reply, Director Shin Chihwan grinned, placed his hands on the laptop keyboard, and said.
"I agree. In this industry, you have to be crazy to make it."