Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Prototype Review (2)
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<<Director, it's Jo Hyunsoo. Are you in the prototype review meeting right now?>>
“Yes, I am… What’s going on?”
<<How's the atmosphere? The CEO isn't at the meeting, is he?>>
“How did you know that?”
Shin Chihwan had only just realized that CEO Oh Geoshin hadn't come to the meeting room.
But... Jo Hyunsoo knew?
He had a gut feeling that Jo Hyunsoo must have a plan up his sleeve to be saying this.
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“How?”
<<There's no time, Director. Are you in or out?>>
He knew full well that everything PD Jo Hyunsoo had said so far had come true.
And honestly, no matter how silver-tongued Shin Chihwan was, it was impossible for him to escape the trap Seo Donghyuk had so openly set all by himself.
In the end... it meant he had no choice but to bet everything on Jo Hyunsoo's unknown gamble.
“What do I need to do?”
<<You just need to drag out the meeting time, Director, and delay the vote as long as possible.>>
“That time... how long do I need to stall?”
<<About 30 minutes should be enough. Just don't let it get to a vote in that time.>>
“Got it. I'll buy you time even if I have to flip the table.”
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The call ended, and Shin Chihwan let out a deep sigh, gathering his thoughts.
‘Thirty minutes... Well, causing a scene isn't exactly difficult.’
First, he killed time by wandering around during the break.
Breaks were usually about ten minutes, but he spent fifteen, then twenty minutes, only sluggishly heading back in when another executive came looking for him.
“Director Shin Chihwan, what took you so long? I think everyone's been waiting for an extra ten minutes.”
“Ah, haha, my apologies. I was taking a dump.”
At Chihwan's flippant remark, the executives, including Seo Donghyuk, wore displeased expressions.
Even among the executives, he was the head of the 5th Division with the least seniority, so his behavior was bound to be met with displeasure.
“Then let's proceed with the vote on the prototype.”
Seo Donghyuk moved to start the vote immediately, as if he'd been waiting for this.
If things continued like this, the prototype would be rejected, no two ways about it.
He had to do something to turn the situation around.
*Thwack!*
“I object!”
Shin Chihwan slammed his hand on the table and shot up from his seat.
At the sudden turn of events, all the executives' eyes turned to him.
“Before we vote, there's something about the prototype that I haven't explained yet.”
“Well... I think we've discussed it enough. There's no need to reopen the discussion.”
“No! There's something truly important I haven't mentioned!”
“...Then go ahead. But please, keep it as brief and concise as possible.”
“Thank you, Managing Director Seo Donghyuk.”
By being uncharacteristically insistent, so unlike his usual cool-headed self, Shin Chihwan managed to secure the right to speak.
Now, he had to come up with some plausible remarks to stall for time, and he had to think of what to say.
A line of reasoning that Seo Donghyuk, who was moderating the meeting, wouldn't be able to shut down... something that could buy the most time.
In a brief moment, Shin Chihwan succeeded in thinking of it.
‘That's it... With that, I can keep talking for a while.’
After a dry cough, Shin Chihwan slowly began to speak.
“I... believe this ‘Pass On Dream’ prototype has many problems. No, I think the concept itself is problematic.”
“What? What are you...”
“But Director Shin Chihwan, isn't that completely different from what you've been saying until now?”
The executives reacted with bewilderment at his words.
However, Seo Donghyuk raised his hand with a smug smile and said.
“Director Shin Chihwan might have had a lot to think about during the break. There's nothing wrong with correcting one's own mistaken ideas, is there? In fact, I believe it's a courageous act that deserves applause.”
It seemed Seo Donghyuk had concluded that Shin Chihwan was conceding to him.
And in front of the top brass of this empire called NB Soft, he intended to solidify his position by showing just how powerful he was.
Of course... Shin Chihwan's intentions were entirely different.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Managing Director Seo Donghyuk. To continue, as Director Seo Donghyuk mentioned earlier, this Pass On Dream is a type of game our company has never made before. If this game were to fail, it could damage the NB Soft brand, and it's true that it's receiving far too much attention compared to its expected revenue.”
Perhaps because he was in charge of it and knew it best.
Shin Chihwan was tearing apart PD Jo Hyunsoo's project piece by piece, with a ferocity that could separate bone from flesh.
Of course, a significant portion of his remarks were just repeating what Director Seo Donghyuk had already said.
But... Seo Donghyuk, perhaps thinking this confirmed the validity of his own logic, simply listened with a smile on his face.
‘Agh... Just how much longer do I have to stall?’
He was starting to run out of things to ramble on about.
After all, most of what Seo Donghyuk had said during the meeting wasn't based on strong logic but were just nitpicks designed to find fault.
It was an ordeal to keep talking in circles and stalling for time with such material.
Seo Donghyuk seemed to be catching on to the atmosphere, as he raised his hand and spoke.
“Director Shin Chihwan, I fully understand what you're trying to say. Please start wrapping it up.”
“Haha, is that so? I still have much more I'd like to say.”
“No. Everyone is busy, so we should move on to the vote now.”
Dammit... Dammit... Think of a way to stall for more time...
As Shin Chihwan broke out in a cold sweat, desperately trying to think of something.
*Creeeeak!*
Suddenly, the meeting room door opened.
“Hasn't the meeting ended yet?”
A middle-aged man with a face like a bulldog.
The most powerful man at NB Soft, the very 'Oh Geoshin' who was said to have a meeting with members of the National Assembly today, was standing there.
The moment they saw his grumpy face, the fortunes of everyone in the room diverged.
‘I'm saved!’
Shin Chihwan, who had been stalling, let out a sigh of relief.
‘Dammit, what is that man doing here!’
Seo Donghyuk, who hadn't anticipated this situation at all, forced a sour smile.
“CEO. Didn't you say you had a meeting with Assemblywoman Seo Youngran scheduled until tonight?”
“Haha! I forgot about this game review when I scheduled it. So I just had lunch with the assemblywoman, made an excuse that I'd treat her properly next time, and got out of there. For someone running a game company, making games is what's important, not entertaining some nobody like Seo Youngran, right? She said something urgent came up, so I also agreed to see her next time and came back like this.”
While Shin Chihwan was inwardly marveling at the CEO's eel-like cunning, he couldn't stop the corners of his lips from curling up at how the situation had turned out.
‘Damn, how the hell did that bastard PD Jo Hyunsoo get the CEO to come here?’
No matter how much CEO Oh Geoshin enjoyed attending prototype meetings, it was unusual for him to cut a meeting with a National Assembly member short to be here.
This was clearly... a situation where Jo Hyunsoo had pulled some strings behind the scenes.
He didn't know exactly what method he'd used, but to Shin Chihwan, what just happened felt like magic.
“Alright then, let's restart the meeting. Where were we?”
“We were just about to take the final vote.”
“Oh-ho, is that so? I came at the perfect time. Give me a brief summary of the meeting. Shin Chihwan can do it, since he's the director in charge.”
The executives' gazes once again focused on Shin Chihwan.
Since he was the one who had just been spouting negative comments about Pass On Dream, everyone... surely expected him to repeat the same things.
However...
“Yes, I believe this prototype version of Pass On Dream is perfect... no, it's a masterpiece that transcends perfection. There were some minor disagreements along the way, but this was my basic stance.”
Shin Chihwan flipped his stance as easily as turning over his palm, reverting to his original argument.
At that moment, Seo Donghyuk's expression soured as he realized he'd been blindsided.
The other executives didn't know what to do, merely glancing back and forth between the faces of Seo Donghyuk and CEO Oh Geoshin, trying to read the room.
“Ahahaha, I didn't know this guy had a talent for exaggeration! Still, I played it myself, and I absolutely loved it! I was sick and tired of the company making the same old games all the time, but this one... what should I call it... It tickles your emotions and your artistic soul! It has that something. That's what I mean!”
“CEO... if I could just say a few words about some of the negative opinions.”
Just then, Seo Donghyuk let out a low groan and slowly opened his mouth.
However, Oh Geoshin, as if displeased by the interruption, pouted and retorted.
“You're not about to start with that obvious nonsense about the BM, or how the tone and manner don't match our existing IPs, or what it'll do to the company image, are you?”
“...My apologies.”
Oh Geoshin cut off his escape route, as if he already knew exactly what was going to be said.
In the end, Seo Donghyuk could not continue.
“Alright, alright, let's vote on what you all think about the prototype. Those in favor, raise your hands!”
With a hearty voice, Oh Geoshin raised his hand.
Then, Shin Chihwan followed suit with a grin, and as Oh Geoshin's gaze swept over the executives one by one, more hands went up.
No matter how much they had sided with Shin Chihwan, they wouldn't want to get on the bad side of the absolute authority, Oh Geoshin.
When everyone had cast their vote in favor, only one person remained with his hand down, staring at the table with a beet-red face.
It was Seo Donghyuk, Head of the 1st Division and Managing Director.
“Managing Director Seo Donghyuk, are you going to vote against it?”
“No, sir... On second thought, I believe what you said is a hundred percent correct.”
In the end, he too had no choice but to raise his hand.
Seeing his hand tremble slightly, Shin Chihwan lowered his head just enough so others couldn't see and raised the corners of his mouth.
“Excellent! The result is good, Director Shin Chihwan. Make sure to provide good covering fire so that Jo Hyunsoo can proceed with his work, and start officially recruiting personnel.”
“Understood, CEO.”
And so... the prototype meeting ended in a victory for Jo Hyunsoo and Shin Chihwan.
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<<You have gained a large amount of experience, and your level has risen from 7 to 9! You have acquired 10 points!>>
<<You have obtained the achievement '(Greatly) Proven Fun!'>>
- Acquisition Condition: Clear the Main Quest 'Let's Make a Prototype!' with an S-rank or higher.
- Effect: Acquire an additional 10 points.
At that moment, sitting in Director Shin Chihwan's office, I knew as I saw the system window pop up before my eyes.
‘The prototype review... it passed.’
It meant that the result of a whole month of hard work by me and my team had paid off.
Feeling at ease for the first time in a while, I sat there...
*Creeeeak!*
The office door flew open, and Director Shin Chihwan rushed inside.
“PD Hyunsoo...”
“You worked hard, Director. The prototype review went well, didn't it?”
“You bastard... what kind of magic did you pull?”
Now, it was time to answer his questions.