Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: New Connections (2)
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"Man, it's been a while since we had a drink just the two of us. Let's have a toast, Hyunsoo."
"Cheers."
We sat at a plastic table in front of the convenience store with cans of beer and a bag of shrimp crackers.
After a light clink of our cans, we took a swig of beer.
"Ah, the weather is sooo nice."
My sister stared blankly at the sky for a moment, then suddenly whipped her head toward me and spoke.
"Hyunsoo, what does your girlfriend do?"
"Ah, she's a webtoon artist at Greenhouse."
"A webtoon? What has she drawn?"
"She used to draw a series called 'A Fairy Tale within a Fairy Tale,' and now she's working on one called 'Märchen Queen'."
"Oh! I know that one. I've seen it around. The art is gorgeous, isn't it? What's she like? Is she nice?"
"Yeah, she's easy to talk to, has a great personality, and is very considerate."
At that, Hyunmi waved her hand dismissively and asked again.
"No, no, not that. I'm asking if she's pretty."
"Uh, of course? She is."
"You got a picture?"
"Um, here."
I pulled up an online news interview Rokhui had done and showed it to my sister.
A grin spread across her face as she lightly patted my back.
"Whoa! Jo Hyunsoo, you've got some skills, huh?"
"Hearing that from you feels a little weird."
"Hahaha, what's wrong? I'm just saying your girlfriend seems like a great person."
"What about you, sis?"
"Don't have one."
"So you did before?"
"No, I don't."
"But you did?"
"I said no, dammit!"
*Thump, thump, thump!*
As I pressed her, half-teasing, the hand patting my back turned fierce.
"Ouch, sis, your fists pack a punch."
"Of course, they do! You need this much strength to run a guesthouse by yourself!"
As I rubbed my back and groaned, my sister laughed heartily and showed me her fist.
We were both in our mid-thirties now, but she was the same as ever, from when we were kids to now.
"Hyunsoo, I have something on my mind. Can I talk to you about it?"
"Yeah, we were going to talk about that, weren't we?"
"Hmm, this might sound a little strange. I'm not sure if I should say it."
"Go ahead."
"Lately, seeing you do so well makes me really happy and proud, you know? But strangely, there's this part of me that feels a little uncomfortable, a bit uneasy."
"Uneasy?"
"You've always been chasing your dream, running forward, and things have been going well for you. So it suddenly made me think. Why don't I have a dream?"
"Ah."
The moment I heard that, I felt like I could vaguely understand what she was feeling, so I gave a small nod.
"So I thought long and hard about what my dream was. But I couldn't really come up with an answer. I kind of like working at the guesthouse, you're doing well, and Mom and Dad are healthy. Isn't that enough? That's all I can think of. It made me wonder if there's something wrong with me."
"What do you like about working at the guesthouse?"
"Well, it feels good to see the guests come to our place, make good memories, and have a great time, you know? Though there are some real jerks sometimes."
Hyunmi's answer made a vague thought I'd had become clearer.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I slowly began to speak.
"Well, I think I might know what kind of person you are, sis."
"Huh? How would you know that?"
"Sis. Do you know who gave me the most helpful advice, both when I was struggling and when things were going well?"
"That would be your girlfriend, I guess."
"No, I'm talking about you, sis."
It was true.
When I was stressed at the game company, or when things were going great and I was on a roll, my sister would often call to cheer me on.
*I'm rooting for you.*
*My little brother is the best.*
*I'm so proud of you for achieving your dream.*
*You'll succeed no matter what you do.*
Those heartwarming words.
Hyunmi was always someone who comforted others with such warm encouragement.
"You might not realize it yourself, but you've always had a talent for lifting people's spirits and cheering them on."
"Oh, really? I never knew that."
"Maybe you're the kind of person who finds more fulfillment in wishing for the happiness of those around you than in achieving your own dream. That might be why the guesthouse job is such a good fit for you."
"Wow, little Hyunsoo. You were just like a baby, and now you're saying some pretty mature things, huh?"
"I'm thirty-five. I'm not a baby anymore."
"Anyway, thanks for that. I feel like that uneasy feeling has been resolved. Cheering for other people's dreams and giving them strength… that sounds just like me."
"See?"
My sister smiled with satisfaction and gulped down the rest of her beer.
After that, we chatted for a while longer before cleaning up and getting up to leave.
"Hyunsoo, let's head in."
We went straight home, quickly brushed our teeth, and went to our separate rooms.
It was a short time, but just the fact that I'd had a deep conversation with my sister after so long filled me with a sense of contentment.
'Someone who cheers for dreams.'
Before falling asleep, I lay in bed and mulled over the conversation with my sister.
I had vaguely assumed that everyone has a dream, but thanks to our talk, it suddenly occurred to me that there might be people with different inclinations.
Just then.
'Wait a minute. I could use this for POD.'
I realized that my conversation with my sister had some overlap with Gogh, the protagonist of POD.
I recalled the story of Gogh, who silently walked the path of an artist despite being ostracized by the world for his eccentric personality, and his younger brother, Theo, who supported and sponsored him while living the life of an art dealer.
Since POD itself is a story about dreams, I thought that the idea of 'someone who cheers for others' dreams without having one of their own' could be used as a theme.
So as not to forget this flash of inspiration, I opened the memo app on my smartphone and wrote it down immediately.
Just then.
<< You have gained an idea for the production of POD. >>
<< This idea may affect your God Game Maker play pattern. >>
God Game Maker displayed a message window I had never seen before.
Just in case, I fiddled with the status window, but there didn't seem to be any changes.
"Whatever. Time to sleep."
Whether it was because of the alcohol or because my body was tired, my eyes started to feel heavy.
And so, the Lunar New Year in Danyang was passing by.
****
After the Lunar New Year holiday ended, I received progress reports on future tasks from each of the part leads.
There weren't any particular changes, so it was more of a confirmation of where things stood.
After finishing up with my team, I went straight to see Division Director Shin Chihwan.
First and foremost, I needed to quickly sort things out regarding Jang Ho.
"What, you found a balance designer? But we don't have an open position right now. What are you going to do? No, more importantly, are you really trying to perfectly nail the balancing in the first build?"
"We have to go that far if we want to beat Lee Hyeonho."
"Good grief. So, you want me to increase the headcount to hire that balance designer?"
"No. I'm planning to outsource the design."
"Huh? Outsource?"
Division Director Chihwan tilted his head at my words.
It might be different for a startup.
But for a company of our size, outsourcing was usually limited to graphic resources.
It wasn't common to outsource programming or design work.
"Yes. I'll handle all the other parts anyway. And since this will be a full-price game, there will be less need for balance maintenance, so I don't think we need to hire someone full-time."
"Hmm, but that will require a bigger budget. Where am I supposed to pull the money from?"
"No, I don't think we'll need a budget for it. I offered him different terms instead."
"Different terms?"
"We agreed to put his nickname in the ending credits, and I'll hire him when I start my next project."
"Well, I'll be. This crazy bastard."
It was absurd.
The idea of someone doing freelance work for free was ridiculous enough, but to make his hiring conditional on a future project?
Usually, when a game PD finishes one project, the odds of the team disbanding are much higher.
In other words, Jo Hyunsoo's statement was only possible if he was absolutely confident he would get to make a next project.
"So, which company does this person belong to?"
"I won't say exactly where, but he's at a company that's about the same size as ours, or slightly bigger."
"So you're telling me you're outsourcing work to an employee from a rival company, for no pay, just a mention in the credits and a promise of a job on a future project that may or may not even happen?"
"Yes! As expected of the division director. That's a perfect summary."
"Perfect summary, my ass! Do you have any idea how risky this is? What if that guy leaks confidential information? Hey! If you were going to do this, you should have just gotten support from another team."
"That will absolutely not happen. This guy is 100% trustworthy. Besides, even if we got someone from another team, there's no guarantee they'd be any good, and there's a higher chance they'd be a mole planted by Division Director Seo Donghyuk, isn't there?"
In truth, I had no way of knowing if a classmate I hadn't seen in years was trustworthy.
It wasn't that I trusted the person, but rather that I trusted the abilities of <God Game Maker> 100%.
Well, as long as the result was the same, it didn't matter.
"Sigh. Kid, where in the world is there a 100% guarantee? Sigh."
"So, is this not allowed? I thought it would be fine as long as you had the legal team check for any issues."
"Am I your janitor, here to clean up your messes?"
"If it's a golden mess, isn't it worth cleaning up?"
"Argh, listen to this punk talk. I can't even curse him out because he's not wrong."
Shin Chihwan pressed his fingers to his temples as if he had a headache, then let out a deep sigh as if he had made a decision and spoke again.
"You're absolutely, positively sure he's trustworthy?"
"Yes, don't worry."
"Does anyone else in the company know about this besides me?"
"Not yet."
"Then keep it that way. And make sure that friend of yours who's doing the freelance work—wait, is it even freelance if he's not getting paid? Anyway, make sure he keeps his mouth shut, too. If word of this gets out, this project will get twisted up like a pretzel in no time."
"Do we not need to check with the legal team? It doesn't seem like that big of a deal."
"Entrusting design to an employee from a rival company? You think the higher-ups would be thrilled to hear that? Those bastards upstairs are already looking for any excuse to tear us apart. And if the legal team hears about it, it'll be all over the company in a flash. That person you trust will be totally screwed if his own company finds out, too."
When it came to weighing the pros and cons like this, Division Director Shin Chihwan's calculations were second to none.
"Then I'll take that as your okay and proceed with the outsourcing."
"Seriously, don't get caught. Hide it until you're in your grave—no, at least until the game is released! Got it?"
"Yes."
After our conversation ended, I briefly opened the director's comprehension window.
- He sympathizes with your plan to reinforce the balance design to beat Lee Hyeonho, but at the same time, he feels anxious about using an external contractor.
- He has reluctantly given his permission out of his faith in you.
Reading that, I smirked and spoke.
"Division Director."
"What?"
"Trust me again this time. I will deliver the absolute best results with this first build."
"You and your words."
But Shin Chihwan, despite his response, knew it well.
That I was a man who always answered with actions, not just words.