Chapter 36

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 36

Chapter Title: Washing Carrots

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Several days later.

I got a call from Eun Ha-min and drove to the meeting spot.

The destination was the Eclipse Studio headquarters.

It was a massive building squatting proudly on prime real estate in Gangnam, the area infamous for sky-high land prices in Korea.

Following the navigation, a familiar sight came into view.

'Huh. Isn't this near that cafe I go to a lot?'

Come to think of it, Yumina had mentioned coming here to buy coffee from that place.

Since it was right in front of the company, the employees must frequent it.

I pulled over onto the shoulder where temporary parking was allowed during daytime hours near the building.

Getting out of the car, I tilted my head back.

"Whoa... it's huge."

I'd thought it looked big from internet searches, but staring up at it in person, the sheer intimidation was no joke.

Just one game company using a building this massive?

How much money did they have?

Well, now the building belonged to Eun Ha-min anyway, so maybe it was just her being loaded.

I straightened my clothes and headed inside.

The first-floor lobby was decorated with clean, sleek interiors rivaling any major corporation.

The marble floors gleamed brightly.

A floor directory on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wall caught my eye.

[15F - 20F Eclipse Studio]

[10F - 14F Watson Inc.]

[05F - 09F Creambe Workshop]

[02F - 04F High Quality Ejection]

Familiar names jumped out.

They were all game companies that had once been big shots but were now on a downward spiral.

Eun Ha-min had swept up their shares recently, effectively making them family.

'I heard they were struggling just to pay rent.'

Yet they were holding on without even vacating their offices in this pricey Gangnam building...

Companies that had peaked really were different.

Or maybe they couldn't afford to move and were stubbornly eating the losses.

Thanks to that, Eun Ha-min had scooped them up cheap.

That's when burly men in security uniforms blocked my path.

"What brings you here?"

Without a word, I pulled a card from my pocket and showed it.

It was the VIP pass Eun Ha-min had given me in advance.

The security guard checked it, his eyes widening.

"Are you perhaps Manager Kim Min-jae?"

"Yes, that's me."

I wasn't sure about the "manager" part.

But I nodded anyway.

"My apologies. We've already received word from upstairs."

They must have notified the security team ahead of time.

His attitude turned extremely polite.

"The elevator is that way. Please make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks. Have a good one."

I gave a light nod and headed to the elevators.

I tapped the pass on the reader and hit the button.

Ding.

The doors opened right away.

I stepped in and pressed the top floor.

Just as the doors began to slide shut...

"W-wait a second!"

A frantic shout rang out, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and I saw someone sprinting across the lobby.

I hurriedly hit the open button.

A woman dashed in, panting heavily.

"Hah... thank you. Almost missed it..."

She looked up.

Our eyes met, and we both froze.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

A familiar face.

Yumina, the 15th director of Chrono Rea, Eclipse Studio's flagship game.

"M-Min-jae? What are you doing here...?"

"Uh, well..."

I cleared my throat and averted my gaze slightly.

How was I supposed to explain this?

"You'll find out soon enough. What floor are you headed to?"

"The top floor..."

"Oh? Perfect."

Yumina tilted her head, about to press the button, then stopped.

The top floor was already lit up.

An awkward silence filled the elevator.

Yumina kept stealing glances at me.

Her face screamed curiosity overload.

Ding.

We arrived at the destination before long.

As the doors opened, employees in uniforms emblazoned with the Hanbit Security logo blocked the way.

But they parted for me without a word.

Yumina's jaw dropped.

She cautiously poked my shoulder.

"Um, Min-jae... sorry to ask this, but... what's your real deal?"

"Pardon?"

"Are you... the Hanbit Group heiress who just acquired our company?"

"..."

I nearly spat out my drink.

More open-minded than some grandpa asking a Kong-go-in if their parents are from Jeolla Province.

"What kind of wild talk is that? Do I look like a woman to you?"

"No, but... this situation is just too weird...?"

We reached the CEO's office door while bantering down the hall.

Knock knock.

The door opened immediately, as if she'd been waiting.

"You're here."

Eun Ha-min stepped out.

She flashed a welcoming smile, then spotted Yumina beside me and smirked.

"What? Did my puppy bro go hunting on the way?"

"..."

"Kidding. Come on in."

Eun Ha-min clearly already knew Yumina.

Made sense—she was the one who'd called her.

We were shown to the sofa and sat side by side.

Yumina was tense, shoulders hunched up tight.

Eun Ha-min took a sip of the iced Americano her secretary brought and asked,

"Director Yumina? Why so nervous? Think I'm gonna eat you?"

"N-no, ma'am..."

Yumina swallowed hard.

"Um, President... did you call me because... of performance issues?"

Her voice trembled.

Chrono Rea.

Thanks to my videos lately, users had picked up a bit, but it was still a perennial money-loser.

Companies always axed unprofitable projects first after an acquisition. Company rule #1.

Yumina seemed convinced she was here for her shutdown notice.

Eun Ha-min gave her a baffled look.

"Do I look like someone who'd shut down your game?"

"But Hanbit Group... isn't ruthless with money-losers?"

"That's Hanbit Group. Seha Corp here isn't even an affiliate."

"Th-then..."

"Don't worry. No shutdown. What's a little maintenance cost?"

"...!!"

Yumina's eyes went wide.

Shocked that she brushed off the losses so casually.

"And Puppy Bro here—er, Min-jae—is the one playing it, right? You think I'd kill that?"

Yumina stared blankly.

Eun Ha-min continued.

"Keep servicing it. I'll assign more staff too, so go wild. Major patches, graphics overhaul, whatever."

"R-really?"

"Yes. But one condition."

Eun Ha-min picked up a file from the table.

Yumina's personnel record.

"Checked your profile, Director. Fun career. Double major in game business, sales and monetization design before Eclipse."

"Oh, yeah... ancient history."

"Hate to see talent wasted. So, proposal: keep your role, but take on one more project."

"...Project?"

"Sell one game for me. Full support."

Yumina looked dazed.

No clue what game would have the CEO personally begging.

I pulled my laptop from my bag.

Powered it on and double-clicked the desktop icon.

[Darkness Soul Land]

The loading screen brought up the title logo.

I turned it toward Yumina.

"This one."

She peered in, eyes bulging like they might pop.

"Th-this is..."

She gawked at the screen, then me, alternating in disbelief.

A full minute of silence passed.

Brain freeze from shock.

I patted her thigh.

"Hey. You're drooling."

"Ack!"

She snapped to, gasping.

"P-President! We can distribute this? For real?"

"Yes."

Eun Ha-min crossed her legs, smiling leisurely.

"Details after an NDA, but here's a teaser."

She pointed at me.

"Key dev behind this game? Kim Min-jae right here."

"Whaaaat?!"

Yumina's shriek echoed through the office.

"And you know the YouTube channel 'The Truth of the World'?"

"Of course! I'm subscribed!"

"That's him too."

"..."

Yumina looked out of shocks now.

Her jaw hung slack as she stared.

I scratched my head sheepishly.

"Sorry I didn't mention it sooner. Secret."

"N-no way..."

"This game needed someone reliable to grow it. Felt it when we first met. You're the one."

I grabbed her hands earnestly.

"Please. You're the only one I trust."

Her face flushed beet red.

Like a virgin gripping a guy's hand for the first time.

"N-no... I mean... when you say it like that..."

"Do it. Yeah?"

Unable to meet my pleading eyes, she bowed her head.

"O-okay. I'll do it. Let me do it!"

Finally, she nodded vigorously.

Thus, I successfully dumped everything on Yumina.

After that, things progressed smoothly.

I created a new YouTube account.

Decided to run game videos on a separate brand channel.

Main channel 'The Truth of the World' for the usual nonsense, sub-channel 'Darkness Soul Land' for gameplay and promos.

'I'll make the videos and send them over...'

Handed channel management to a new team.

Experts would handle it fine.

With game stuff off my plate, I had free time again.

Back to my main gig: Shorts production.

The world still had mountains of bullshit to spew.

'But... how do I handle this...'

Maybe because of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my recent cop-critiquing video, viewer reactions were off.

The comments had turned weirdly serious.

'Wait, I was just spewing nonsense?'

People started treating me like some social critic or woke intellectual.

Not the direction I wanted.

I just wanted to crank out AI videos for ad revenue.

At this rate, I'd end up worshipped for real.

To shatter this delusion, I planned a new video.

Utterly meaningless garbage to reveal the truth.

'Let's see... no AI help this time...'

Subject: carrot.

Pulled a dirt-covered one from the fridge veggie drawer.

Filmed washing it in the sink.

Dirt rinsing away under the water.

Edited in repeated fridge door opens and closes.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

'Meaning? None.'

Just shot it.

Title: [Washing Carrots]

Description: [Tried washing a carrot clean.] One line.

Hit upload, chuckling.

'Let's see if they call this social critique. Now I'll get the real psycho treatment.'

Went to bed light-hearted.

Fun to binge reactions at once.

Next morning.

Checked comments habitually upon waking.

But...

My expectations shattered spectacularly.

Reactions were nothing like I'd imagined.

Started normal enough.

But scrolling down, things got weird.

People were going insane.

The fridge door takes were next-level.

I rubbed my forehead.

"Ha..."

Spew nonsense, and now viewers spew collective nonsense.

Dreams mean less than interpretations, huh.

Curious about these brains.

"First shit, crowds will clap... or something?"

Chuckled hollowly, hands on keyboard.

Time to reply after ages.

[Mitochondria in your head?]

[Go drink water first.]

[What even is this...]

Replying gave me a headache too.

Get it together, you lot.