Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Lean on Me (3)
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You might ask how important a leader is to a project, but in reality, the absence of a leader often proves to be a critical blow.
No matter how skilled individual employees are, if there’s no one to look at the bigger picture, their work often fails to blend into the final product.
This was especially true for the art department, where each person was itching to express their own ego.
That was why Heo Yuri expected to find a mountain of revisions for her team’s work from the three weeks she was away. She also assumed the schedule would be delayed, since she hadn't been able to contribute.
However.
‘There’s nothing to revise, and the schedule isn’t behind at all.’
Heo Yuri scanned the work back and forth, a look of bewilderment on her face as if she were bewitched.
“This can’t be right. The work isn’t delayed at all? Even the parts I was supposed to handle are finished.”
At that, Kim Ho, the UI artist who had been watching her, smiled brightly and said.
“The PD helped us out a lot. He gave incredibly detailed feedback and made the design documents more detailed than usual. It cut down our thinking time, which dramatically increased our work speed.”
“Oh. Could you show me those design documents?”
Kim Ho briefly returned to his desk and sent the design documents from Jo Hyunsoo to their group chat.
Reading through them, Heo Yuri finally began to understand what had happened in her absence.
[Chapter 13 - Van Gogh’s Studio, Before His Suicide]
- A space filled with numerous hints and symbols of death.
- A color palette close to monochrome.
- The concept of the entire room should incorporate the form of ‘Tree Roots,’ the painting believed to be Van Gogh’s last work.
[OverallBlueprint.JPG]
[Area1_ReferencePhoto.JPG]
[Area2_ReferencePhoto.JPG]
“Th-this is a design document? This is almost—”
The moment she saw the document, a gasp of admiration escaped her lips.
Usually, the design documents a concept planner hands over to an artist are just enough to convey the general concept.
To put it bluntly, most of the time it was like being told, “Just make it feel right.”
Because of this, artists spend a considerable amount of time searching for references and conceptualizing what to create.
Once the work is produced, it’s common to go through a lengthy polishing process, exchanging feedback with the planner to achieve the precise result.
However.
“This is practically a blueprint.”
That was her honest impression of PD Jo Hyunsoo’s document.
He had always been meticulous with his documents, but this one was so detailed that the artist didn’t even need to think before working; they just had to follow it exactly.
Receiving a document like this would naturally cause work speed to skyrocket.
But there was a reason why most people didn’t write documents this way.
‘He handed over a design document of this quality to the art team while still doing his own work?’
As with any task, increasing the quality of a design document also increases the time it takes to create it.
“By any chance, what time did PD Jo Hyunsoo usually leave work while I was gone?”
“Hmm… I’m not exactly sure. He never once left before we did.”
It was painfully clear what had happened.
Jo Hyunsoo had poured his own time into covering for her absence, boosting the art team’s productivity.
But he had never left before 10 PM even before the accident. It was impossible to imagine just how overworked he must have been now.
...
Suddenly, a wave of emotion surged in Heo Yuri’s chest.
She had met many leaders throughout her career, but most were busy looking out for themselves.
When a problem arose in the team, they would shift the blame to the members and escape to a safer position. That was the reality for over 90% of leaders.
But Jo Hyunsoo was different.
He had filled her void, personally taking the hit and enduring for the past few weeks.
“Ahem. I don’t think I have any major feedback to give. Please just transfer my workload back to me, and everyone can continue with their tasks. Let’s end the meeting here. Good work, everyone.”
Heo Yuri quickly wrapped up the meeting.
She didn’t want to make a fool of herself by getting emotional and crying in front of her team members.
“Hoo.”
After barely calming her emotions, she sat down at her desk and peeked over at PD Jo Hyunsoo’s seat.
She was hoping for a chance to properly thank him.
However.
‘He looks busy.’
With earphones in, he was typing relentlessly on his keyboard as if possessed.
Not wanting to disturb him, Yuri decided to focus on her own work.
‘Oh, right. I need to check on that loan from the HR team first.’
Heo Yuri immediately sent a message to an HR employee through the company messenger.
[Me: Hello, I’m contacting you to inquire about the loan I received from the company~]
She explained to the HR employee that she had received a loan and asked how she could go about repaying it.
However.
[HR Lee Sangjun: Uh, Ms. Heo, I’m not sure which loan you’re referring to. Our company doesn’t have a system like that.]
[Me: Oh. But I’m certain the money was deposited into my account?]
[HR Lee Sangjun: I’m sorry, but I’ve checked the transaction records, and we never sent anything;; I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps you should ask your PD about it?]
‘What’s going on?’
Heo Yuri put her hands down and waited for him to take a break from his work.
About 30 minutes later.
When PD Jo Hyunsoo got up to go to the restroom, Heo Yuri waited for him in the hallway and spoke as he returned.
“PD-nim, if you have a moment, could we talk in the conference room?”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
After entering the conference room, Team Lead Yuri asked in the calmest voice she could manage.
“Excuse me, PD-nim. I was wondering if you knew anything about the 20 million won that was deposited into my account back then? I just contacted HR, and they said the company never paid it.”
“Ah, that.”
At her question, Jo Hyunsoo scratched his cheek, looking slightly troubled, before slowly opening his mouth.
“It was a hassle to explain everything to the company, so I handled it personally.”
“So you’re saying this money… is your money, PD-nim?”
“You could say that. Well, sorry for deceiving you. I figured you wouldn’t have readily accepted it if I said I was giving it to you, Team Lead Yuri.”
“Ah.”
He was right.
Heo Yuri’s personality was such that she hated being a burden to others, and she was stubborn in that regard.
Jo Hyunsoo must have known that, which is why he acted the way he did.
“I’ll do my best to repay you as soon as possible, PD-nim. Thank you so, so much.”
“No, you might have more expenses for a while, so just save it for now.”
This was also true.
On top of hospital bills, inpatient fees, and caregiver costs, Heo Yuri was also supporting her parents financially.
If she started repaying the money now, she would surely return to a tight and meager life.
But the desire to relieve the burden on her heart as quickly as possible was also strong.
“Still.”
“To be honest, you don’t have to pay it back. I’m not trying to brag, but I can afford that much, Team Lead Yuri.”
“Even so, my heart wouldn’t be at ease if I didn’t repay it.”
“Then let’s do this. When our POD project launches next year and we get a hefty incentive bonus, you can pay me back with that money.”
“What if we don’t get an incentive?”
“You think our project won’t even get an incentive? I’m disappointed, Team Lead Yuriii.”
Jo Hyunsoo grinned and playfully retorted, to which Heo Yuri waved her hands and replied.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”
“Well, if we don’t get an incentive, you don’t have to pay it back. So, let’s end this conversation here. By my authority as PD, I will not accept any objections.”
“Hey, that’s not fair! PD-nim, I really can’t live with debt.”
Like two elders arguing over who would pay for a meal, the two of them bickered back and forth.
Eventually, Jo Hyunsoo, slightly losing ground, crossed his arms and asked as if he had made a decision.
“Then how about this? Whenever I want, you owe me one favor, whatever it may be, Team Lead Yuri.”
“What kind of favor? Co-signing a loan? A crime? I can’t do anything like that.”
“Hey, what do you take me for? Of course, I’ll ask for something reasonable and within common sense.”
“Then let’s do that.”
Jo Hyunsoo stood up, turned his back, and walked toward the door.
Just as he grabbed the doorknob to leave, he turned only his head toward Yuri and added one more thing.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done so far, Team Lead Yuri. So when you need to, lean on me. That’s what a PD is for, and that’s my job. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Team Lead Yuri replied in a moist voice, thick with emotion.
“I’m just going to rest in the conference room for a bit, PD-nim.”
“Yes, come out whenever you’re comfortable.”
“Thank you so, so much, PD Hyunsoo.”
At Heo Yuri’s last words, Jo Hyunsoo simply smiled and left the conference room.
As the door closed, leaving Heo Yuri alone in the office, transparent liquid welled up in her large eyes before trickling down her cheeks.
****
Time flew by, and before long, December arrived.
Team Lead Heo Yuri burned with a passion to make the project a success, and her enthusiasm had a positive effect on the entire team’s morale.
Aside from a few assets for Chapter 13, the resources were over 95% complete.
The programming team was also keeping pace, proceeding with their work without any issues.
In effect, the initial pass would be finished before the end of the year, and we would have until the scheduled release in March or April of next year to polish it.
‘Now, it’s all up to me.’
There were two major problems left for me to solve before the launch.
First, how to direct Van Gogh’s final death and battle, and what kind of cinematic to include.
Second, how to effectively market the game with a budget of 100 million won.
Both were headaches with no easy answers.
While I was wrestling with these issues, I got a call from my friend, Yoon Byeongjong.
<<Hey, PD Jo, you busy these days?>>
“Well, I’m busy, but are you calling about the year-end? I have time to see you.”
<<Ooh~ Look at you, now that you’re a PD, reading your big bro’s mind like an open book, huh?>>
“It’s not just me; anyone could have predicted that.”
<<Whatever. Anyway, I want to do something big for the year-end party this year. What do you think?>>
“What do you mean by big?”
<<Instead of just you and me, I was thinking we could go on a double date with Ms. Yeon and Writer Seol. Don’t you think that combination would be pretty fun?>>
“Sounds good. If Ms. Seol is okay with it, I’m in.”
I actually quite liked the idea of meeting up with this group.
Since I make story-driven games and everyone in this gathering is a writer, conversations always flow well, and brilliant ideas sometimes emerge from them.
<<Great, I’ll get it organized then!>>
At my approval, Yoon Byeongjong replied in a cheerful voice and hung up.
I didn’t know it at the time.
That I would receive an unexpected gift at this year-end party that would change the trajectory of my life.