Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Pork Cutlet... Is Delicious? (2)
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A sharp-looking man in a suit.
As he rattled on, Rokhui simply smiled and nodded.
The man scratched his head, looking flustered, but continued speaking.
It seemed like he was trying to convince Rokhui of something.
‘Here I go.’
After a deep sigh, I headed to our table.
“What’s going on, Rokhui?”
The man in the suit feigned surprise and looked at me.
“Ah, are you her boyfriend, by any chance?”
“Well…”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I was racking my brain for an answer.
“Yes, he’s my boyfriend. That’s why I can’t give you my number.”
“Ah, I see. My apologies.”
Seol Rokhui spoke first, a bright smile on her face.
The man in the suit finally seemed to give up, bowing his head to us before returning to his table.
“I’m sorry, Hyunsoo. He kept asking for my number, so I used you as an excuse.”
The moment I heard that.
<<Your understanding of Seol Rokhui has increased!>>
- Many members of the opposite sex show interest in Seol Rokhui. However, she turns them down for various reasons.
God Game Maker sent a message.
It seemed what I'd heard from Yoon Byeongjong and the scene I just witnessed had contributed to my increased understanding of her.
‘Turns them down for various reasons, huh.’
Seol Rokhui put her hands together in a gesture of apology.
The moment I saw her expression, I imagined myself confessing to her and getting brutally shot down.
It had been so long since I'd dated that I felt like I'd forgotten how.
My clueless heart bounced around inside me until a single sentence escaped my lips on its own.
“Rokhui, what do you think of me?”
An impulsive question.
It seemed the man's advances just now had made me feel a bit rushed.
Rokhui’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“Well, you’re a good person, and…”
“I don’t mean it like that. I’m asking how you feel about me romantically. To be honest, I have feelings for you, Rokhui.”
Honest and unadorned, just my sincere feelings.
At my words, Rokhui lowered her head for a moment, letting out a soft hum before slowly opening her mouth.
“Me too. I think I have feelings for you too, Hyunsoo.”
A short phrase, spoken in a trembling voice.
My heart was pounding so hard I couldn't hear anything else around me.
My mind went blank, unsure of what to say.
Silence lingered between Rokhui and me.
After some time had passed, my lips began to move, seemingly of their own accord.
“I’m busy making games. I often work late, so I miss messages and can’t reply right away. Sometimes I even have to go to the office on weekends. So, so it’s a difficult situation for me to be in a relationship.”
My mouth rambled on its own, with no clear idea of what I was trying to say.
Rokhui tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand what I was getting at.
But my lips couldn’t stop until they had spat out the final words lurking in my subconscious.
“But if you’re okay with all that, would you… consider going out with me?”
Silence fell once more.
My gaze was fixed on Rokhui’s complex expression and the lips that would give me her answer.
Small, glossy lips coated in a soft red lipstick.
They parted as if to say something, then…
“Pfft! What was that, Hyunsoo?”
She suddenly burst out laughing.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Rokhui managed to stifle her laughter and continued.
“Hyunsoo, you know what I do for a living, right?”
“Yes, of course. You’re a webtoon artist.”
“Well, I’m busy drawing webtoons. I often pull all-nighters, so I miss messages and can’t reply right away. Most weekends, I have to work because I’m behind on my deadline. But, I’m here today to see you, aren’t I?”
Rokhui threw my own words back at me, a playful smile on her lips.
I finally understood what she meant.
“So, will you go out with me?”
“Of course. I was waiting for you to ask.”
I tried to act nonchalant, but I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up.
“Then shall we have another cocktail?”
“Yes, let’s.”
The cocktail we ordered was a Midori Sour.
Watching Rokhui sip the pale green, melon-flavored cocktail, I felt dazed.
A relationship… The fact that we were actually dating didn't quite feel real.
“So, now that we’re dating, can I ask you some deeper questions?”
“Of course.”
“Hmm… then, do you have any siblings, Hyunsoo?”
“Ah, I have an older sister. We’re pretty close.”
The conversation resumed.
Family, values, and so on. For some reason, the topics felt deeper than usual.
It was completely different from making a new colleague; it felt like I had truly gained someone on my side.
A sense of fulfillment that was hard to describe washed over me.
“Should we start heading out for today? You have work tomorrow, Hyunsoo.”
As we talked, the time flew by, and it was already well past eleven at night.
“Mmm, we could stay a little longer.”
I replied, wanting to stay, but Rokhui shook her head.
“You said you’d be busy for a while. I don’t want you neglecting your team members because of me.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Rokhui was being considerate, so I wouldn’t have to be the one to worry about it first.
I was grateful for her thoughtfulness, and a smile naturally formed on my lips.
“Come on, let’s get up. Time to go.”
Rokhui took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
The pleasant warmth from our clasped hands compelled me to stand.
I hailed a taxi and saw Rokhui off first, then caught one myself.
Then, as I was getting close to home, I made a call.
“Did you get home safe, Rokhui? Ah, yes, yes.”
She said she got home fine since she didn't live far from there.
She said she was going to wash up, get a little work done, and then go to bed.
I arrived home not long after and we chatted a bit more over messenger.
‘It feels like the night's not over yet.’
It felt like the day wasn't quite over.
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Rokhui, if you’re going to work, would it be okay if I joined you? I heard artists often work together on things like Hangouts.”
<<Oh, should we? I think that would help me focus, too.>>
Hangouts, Google’s video chat program, was often used for sharing screens while working.
It was a popular method among webtoon artists and remote workers because the feeling of someone watching your screen helped you stay on task.
We shared our screens and focused on our respective tasks.
The feeling of being connected was nice, and perhaps because of it, I was able to concentrate even harder on my work.
And so, the night deepened into the early hours of the morning.
****
The next morning, I took a taxi to the office.
I had finished working and gone to sleep at 4 a.m., then woke up around 7 a.m. to wash up and drag myself out. I’d only slept for about three hours, but I didn’t feel tired at all.
‘Working like that was fun.’
Until now, working from home had always felt like I was alone, staring at a wall. But the feeling of working with someone—with Rokhui, no less—was great.
I arrived at the office a little after 8 a.m.
I sent Rokhui a message letting her know I'd arrived, then grabbed an iced Americano with an extra shot from the company café and started working.
“Good morning, PD-nim!”
“Ah, yes. Good morning.”
My team members greeted me as they arrived one by one, and I responded with a pleasant smile.
Around the time most of the staff had arrived.
“Gwajangnim Jeong Yosep, Gwajangnim Heo Yuri, were there any issues yesterday?”
I checked with the two part leads to see if there had been any problems while I was out.
“Ah, no, there were no major issues. The plan was very good. But there was something I wanted to ask.”
Thankfully, they had understood my planning document and reported no major problems.
It just seemed there were a few parts they didn’t fully understand or wanted to add ideas to.
We had a quick team meeting in the conference room to sort things out.
With that settled, I could breathe a little easier for the next two weeks or so.
In the meantime, I just needed to handle my PD duties and prepare the documents for the next phase of development.
As I busied myself with work all morning, it was suddenly around noon.
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: PD Jo, you busy right now?]
[Me: No, I just finished organizing things. What’s up?]
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: The schedule for the first build delivery is out, and I wanted to talk to you about it. The Sajangnim is asking about sometime in March.]
The first delivery. Simply put, it was the first review point during the game’s development.
An indie developer wouldn't need something like this, but since this project was funded by the company, this process was mandatory.
‘March… after taking out Lunar New Year and other holidays, that leaves about 55 working days.’
[Me: What kind of volume are you expecting?]
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: Well, the Sajangnim said to just show as much as we can, but I think we’ll need at least four chapters.]
[Me: That’s a bit tight. There are a lot of holidays at the beginning of the year.]
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: That’s true.]
According to the scenario my team and I wrote, POD has a total of thirteen chapters.
Churning out four of them in three months might sound like a reasonable amount of time, but it wasn't that simple.
Three months seems long, but office workers need their weekends and holidays off.
On top of that, the hidden ambush of Lunar New Year at the start of the year meant the actual development time was much shorter.
And.
[Me: Considering we have to build the initial systems and basic framework, four chapters seems realistically impossible.]
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: Haa, I figured as much.]
Developing the early part of the game wasn't just about making four out of thirteen chapters.
Like with any project, breaking ground is the most important part.
This is especially true for games, a medium where poor initial structuring can cause a lot of problems with maintenance and updates down the line.
Therefore, it was common for plans, programming, and graphics to be completely overhauled until the system framework was established in the early stages.
I would plan everything in as much detail as possible, but that only served as a guideline to maintain direction.
Expecting no revisions at all during the development process was pure fantasy.
‘Bonbujang Shin Chihwan must be feeling awkward since the Sajangnim suggested it.’
No matter how much of a bulldozer he was, he was still a company man at his core.
While on Seo Donghyuk’s bad side, he couldn't afford to defy Oh Geoshin, whom he desperately needed as a backer.
<<Your understanding of Shin Chihwan has increased!>>
- A legendary figure who started as a regular employee at NB Soft and rose to the position of Bonbujang.
- Wants to win Sajang Oh Geoshin over to his side. (NEW)
‘Just as I thought.’
God Game Maker confirmed my suspicions once again.
[Me: Let’s aim for two chapters, with the first build delivery at the end of March. We’ll use these three months to properly establish the systems and graphic concepts. You know better than anyone that cutting corners now will lead to bigger problems later, right?]
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: Haa, yeah, you’re right. I’ll talk to the Sajangnim. I’ll let you know right away if it comes up again, so just be aware.]
[Me: If any problems arise, just let me know. The Sajangnim is fond of me, so I’ll see if I can smooth things over.]
[Bonbujang Shin Chihwan: Amazing, truly amazing. It’s like you walk around with your liver on the outside. You’re probably the only one in this company who can say something like that, PD Jo.]
[Me: Isn't that my charm?]
And with that, our conversation ended.
It was about time to head out for lunch.
*Ding!*
Just as I was about to get up from my seat, the messenger icon blinked again.
Thinking Bonbujang Shin Chihwan might have forgotten to say something, I opened the window again.
[Daeri Son Seokjin: PD Jo Hyunsoo, do you have a moment?]
The person who had contacted me was Daeri Son Seokjin, the concept and scenario planner who had been my junior on the Phoenix team.