Chapter 43
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Sales Plan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I ended the live stream and headed down to the parking lot.
I pulled the smart key from my pocket, pressed the button, and climbed into Abang.
"Let's go, Abang. Gangnam today."
I turned the ignition and gripped the wheel.
Today's destination was the Seha Corporation headquarters.
Unfortunately, it wasn't to see Eun Ha-min.
She was out on a business trip overseas and not in Korea right now.
Tch. What a shame.
The intense deep kiss with Team Leader from yesterday was still lingering in my mind, and I wanted to sort it out somehow.
When something's burned into your brain, the best way to overwrite it is with something new, right?
Eun Ha-min had said she'd kiss me anytime if I wanted.
That's why I'd planned to ask her if she were here.
But she's not, so no choice... Still, I can't go bother Lee Soo-yeon either.
Lee Soo-yeon had started seeing patients until 2 p.m. even on Saturdays lately.
I couldn't interrupt a working doctor just for a kiss.
Of course, she'd probably say it was fine and tell me to come over.
But I wasn't okay with that.
"Haa... This is really fine, right...?"
A sigh escaped me.
It felt pointless to worry now, but...
Somehow, I'd ended up in a situation where I'd deep-kissed three or more women on impulse.
Who knew what might happen down the line?
In harem stories, the guy swings his dick around until the girls chop his head off.
School Days, was it?
A game where you practice sex with your female friend, get her pregnant, and your girlfriend hacks you to pieces in the bad ending.
The funny part? Multiple bad endings, all involving getting dismembered.
Anyway, stuff like that made me anxious.
At least Eun Ha-min and Lee Soo-yeon won't murder me.
Who could be scarier than a doctor and a chaebol heiress?
In that sense, a logistics team leader, game director, and law firm head were a bit less intimidating.
Not that I was serious.
Yoo Yi-seol and Yumina, whose relationships were deepening, wouldn't kill me either.
"Whew."
I pushed through Gangnam's brutal traffic jam and arrived at the Seha headquarters underground parking.
I parked Abang neatly and headed up to the lobby.
I pulled out the access card needed to enter from my pocket.
It was the employee badge Eun Ha-min had given me.
Beep—
The gate opened with a cheerful tone.
"Good day, Director!"
The desk staff and patrolling security guards jumped up and bowed.
It might've felt awkward before, but now I just enjoyed it.
"Hello. Thanks for your hard work."
I gave an awkward smile and nodded back.
They called me Director because...
My name was currently listed as a registered director at Seha Corporation.
I'd handed over all real authority to Eun Ha-min with just the business card title, but the employees wouldn't know the details.
"Have a good one!"
I rode the elevator, ignoring the pouring gazes.
I pressed the button.
15th floor.
Home to Eclipse Studio, today's target.
For reference, Eclipse Studio didn't occupy the entire 15th floor.
From memory, four dev rooms lined up in a row.
"Huh. This game was from Eclipse Studio too?"
I checked the rightmost room first...
And there was the dev room for a game I'd played messily as a kid.
"Different publishing company, though."
Chrono Rea had a famous publisher.
But this game had been on some defunct portal.
On a whim, I peeked inside.
The dev setup visible through the glass wall looked decent enough.
"Hmm... Why do I feel uneasy?"
I walked down the hallway.
The lights seemed to dim, and the corridor felt narrower—probably just my imagination.
I moved slowly to the left.
At the end of the left hall...
In the most tucked-away corner, I found the sign I was looking for.
[Chrono Rea Dev Room]
"...Good grief."
A deep sigh leaked out the moment I saw it.
It looked pathetic compared to the other rooms I'd passed.
Smallest space, right next to the bathroom.
Even the door seemed worn—was that my imagination?
"Our game isn't a flop... Please don't shut it down..."
It hurt seeing the team behind my favorite game treated like this.
Companies shoved underperformers to the corner without mercy...
As a fan, it was bittersweet.
But what can you do? It's not a charity.
I had to set aside personal feelings.
Favoring Chrono Rea here wouldn't help.
It'd just put the staff in an awkward spot.
I grabbed the handle but hesitated.
Employees were probably working hard inside.
Is it okay to barge in?
Going into a dev room unannounced could cause issues.
With workplace communities everywhere these days, one word or action needed caution.
Plenty of whistleblowers around.
Knock knock.
I cracked the door and peeked in.
The room was cramped but buzzing with energy.
"Um, Mina?"
The woman in the center turned at my voice.
It was Yumina, my in-game friend and Chrono Rea's director.
She spotted me and her eyes widened.
"Huh? M-Min-jae?!"
She shot up, started toward me, then froze.
Team members' eyes were on her.
They'd been in a meeting, apparently.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt your meeting."
"N-No! We were almost done anyway..."
Yumina fidgeted, glancing at her team.
A sharp-eyed member waved it off.
"Director, go ahead. We can wrap up."
"Yeah, the big picture's set."
"Can't keep the Director waiting."
The team pushed her out.
Yumina nodded solemnly.
"I'll be right back. Coffee's on me later!"
She grabbed her jacket and stepped out.
In the hall, she stood before me and...
Bowed at the waist.
Bow.
"What're you doing?"
I panicked at the sudden formal bow.
Why this?
"W-Well, you're a director, right? Gotta show respect in the office..."
Yumina said seriously, face flushed.
She went wild over game talk usually, but so polite here.
Hard to get used to.
Not wrong, though.
"Nah, cut it out. Makes me uncomfortable. Treat me casually."
"But people might see..."
"No one's here. And don't think of me as a director—just your gaming buddy."
Her cheeks reddened more.
She hesitated, then nodded shyly.
"O-Okay... If you say so."
"Let's go somewhere comfy to talk."
We ended up on the 22nd floor.
Where the exec offices clustered.
Never been here, but she'd said it was this way.
"Oh. Here it is."
2216.
I opened the door at the far end.
[Director Kim Min-jae]
My name gleamed unfamiliarly on the desk plaque.
Top-grade desk, sofa, bookshelf—basics only. Nothing else.
First time here today, so obvious.
But spotless, not a speck of dust.
"Wow..."
Yumina gawked around like a kid in a museum.
"Not much here, huh."
"N-No! It's awesome..."
Her eyes sparkled as she caressed the sofa leather gingerly.
"Someday, I wanna succeed... Have my name on an exec office like this."
Sincerity rang in her voice.
She's ambitious, surprisingly.
I patted her back.
"With your skills, totally doable."
"...Thanks. You're the first to say that."
Her ears turned pink.
Shyness showed right away.
"Have a seat."
We sat facing each other on the sofa.
She placed her tablet PC on the table.
"Mina, how's the Darkness Soul Land schedule?"
Her eyes sharpened at my question.
Shy girl gone; pro gaze now.
She pulled up the screen and slid it over.
"The game itself... Could launch tomorrow, no issues. Quality's solid."
Dev logs and final test footage showed.
Done developing, so focused on anti-cheat, shields, etc.
Perfect.
God game guaranteed.
But her tone hinted at lingering problems.
"Platforms and launch date coordination, that's the issue."
"Reviews or tech problems?"
"None there. Server traffic's the worry."
She showed charts gravely, pointing at the graph.
"As you know, low file size... But launch day user surge could crash servers."
"Expected numbers?"
"Well... Brand account teaser views near 100 million, so... Hmm..."
Even conservatively, hard to pin down.
Overestimate, and they'd call it hype.
"Hold on."
I pulled out my phone.
Opened the AI app.
[Predict Darkness Soul Land's launch day downloads.]
[Analyze community buzz, genre traits, hidden public demand. Run sim.]
Hit enter.
Results soon popped.
[Analysis complete.]
[Projected launch day downloads: Min 45M ~ Max 52M]
[Server crash probability: 99.9%]
"Haa. Servers crashing is inevitable, huh."
"What's up?"
"Check this."
I showed her the screen.
Her eyes bugged out.
"F-Fifty million...?"
"AI prediction. It exaggerates, but half-true means 25M easy."
"Matches our estimate... Steam servers won't cut it."
"What if we rent extras?"
"Even Amazon hosting..."
She pondered, calculating mentally.
Her answer was cautiously optimistic.
"...If engineers grind two months...?"
"Hold up?"
"...Probably? But sales plan delays a bit."
I thought it over.
Compensate for the wait.
No sales announcement yet—no one'd feel waited.
Just apologize for late launch.
"...We'll prep a DLC."
"Huh!?"
"Free, one month post-launch."
Buyers rage when no value.
Generous comp first?
[This dev's chill],
[Worth the wait],
[Concepts on point lol]
Something like that?
Suddenly, Yumina bolted up from the sofa.
"That's it!"
She scooted next to me.
Close now.
Faint shampoo scent wafted.
Shy demeanor vanished; eyes burned with mad passion.
"I had a sub-story planned anyway!"
"Th-Then send it to me. What's it about...?"
"Prequel! Protagonist's holy knight days before corruption. Backstory on master's betrayal!"
She gushed her plot.
Having played it, perfect prequel setup.
"I wrote the full script—no plot holes, perfect! You'd love it, Min-jae!"
She yanked my arm to her chest, hugging tight.
Soft, warm feel on my forearm.
Too excited to notice.
"Um, Director? Calm down..."
"Huh? Why? DLC bad? No, listen—the awakening line's epic!"
"No, not that..."
My gaze went to her hand gripping my arm.
She followed, saw my arm buried in her chest.
Our closeness.
"...!"
She froze.
Face ripened to tomato red instantly.
Plot talk evaporated.
"Ah."
Short squeak.
She shoved my arm away in panic.
Nearly toppled backward but caught herself.
"S-Sorry! Got too excited and...!"
She fanned her face cluelessly.
Ears red too... Pretty...
No, very cute.
Losing reason over games...
That's why I trusted her with it.
Even flustered, her mind was on the DLC.
Irrepressible smile on her lips.