You Come Out Here and Die
I got out here and was gonna die. We arrived at the game company in the guide's car I'd arranged in advance, and as soon as the girls appeared in the lobby, people started whispering. Especially the guys—their reactions were intense. Every man passing by had his eyes stolen by us, and a few even stood in the corner sipping coffee while sneaking glances. Beauty transcends borders; it always draws men's gazes.
But please don't look at me with those weird eyes.
With four women—and beauties at that—by my side, plenty of people were glaring at me too. Luckily, I didn't have to endure those stares for long. Just three minutes after reaching the lobby, a man came rushing down and straight toward us.
"Hello! I'm Nakamura, director of Grand Ragnarok. You're The Queens, right?"
"Yes, I'm Shin Soye, Im Haeun, and Park Minji of The Queens. This is our manager, Lee Sejin, interpreter Mr. Tachibana, and finally, our assistant manager, Yu Ga-hye."
I was a bit surprised by Yu Ga-hye stepping in with flawless Japanese for the greeting. She'd seemed incredibly capable during the ride over, knowing everything about the business, but mastering Japanese too? Is every secretary like this?
If someone like her finds out about me and the girls... Ugh, terrifying.
Poke.
As I shuddered and stared at Yu Ga-hye, Soye jabbed my side.
"You need to greet him too, Sejin."
"Oh, right. Uh... hello?"
"Hello, Mr. Lee Sejin! Let's head to the meeting room right away. This way, please."
Director Nakamura smiled at my clumsy Japanese greeting. I'd worried he'd be some weirdo since he directed a pretty otaku-heavy game, but his business manners were impeccable. Sorry for the misunderstanding—I figured game directors were max-level otakus who looked down on normies like, "You know nothing...!" or got lost in their own worldview with zero common sense or etiquette.
I apologized inwardly and followed him into the building.
In the elevator on the way up, Director Nakamura eyed The Queens thoughtfully.
Do these girls even care about our game?
He didn't want to drag clueless people into the world of Grand Ragnarok that he'd poured his heart into. Ideally, he'd only work with those who loved it and understood his vision. Im Haeun was a given—she'd done the ads, and her sync was perfect—but...
Hmm, this one's pretty good... She'd sync well with Oriana.
His gaze shifted to Park Minji as he sized up the remaining two. Finding a short girl with massive tits for modeling was tough, but here she was.
Visuals check out... But what's she like inside?
If she didn't get his worldview, no deal. With that in mind, he tested her.
"You're Park Minji, right? Do you like games?"
"—he asks, Minji."
"Uh, well..."
"Of course she does. Our Minji's a total gamer, haha."
"—says Mr. Nakamura."
"Yeah... What games do you like?"
"—he asks."
"Um... you know..."
"She loves Grand Ragnarok too."
"—she says, Mr. Nakamura."
"Hahaha, I see."
Nakamura felt disappointed watching me frantically answer for her. When he asked her directly, she couldn't respond, and her manager jumped in? That screamed zero interest.
Visuals were decent... Tch, no good.
He'd stick to the plan: just Haeun for the cosplay event, one group opening song on stage, done. That was his internal decision.
Meanwhile, Minji thought as she watched him.
If I laugh, it'll be bad... Can't speak up properly...
She'd seen Nakamura's face countless times in online communities while playing Grand Ragnarok. During gacha disasters, insane event difficulties, maintenance right when she finally had time, or sudden overseas IP blocks making it unplayable—she'd cursed him with other users: "Nakamura, you piece of shit! Trash!" using twisted memes of his face for jokes.
Maybe because of that, seeing him in person made her want to burst out laughing reflexively.
I wanna land a cosplay role too... But he's so funny-looking, it's driving me crazy...
She burned with work ambition but couldn't laugh at his face.
"...Whoa."
But the moment they stepped out of the elevator, Minji forgot all about laughing.
"Freyja life-size figure...!"
The massive life-size game character figure right outside the office stole all her attention. And it wasn't just that stimulating her.
"Whoa, 1/7 Astraia Moonlight version figure... and the full Black Knight squad chibis too..."
Every computer and partition in the open office was packed with merch—not just standard editions, but every limited one too. Minji's eyes darted everywhere.
"Hm?"
Intrigued by her, Nakamura wondered. Didn't she have zero interest? Or just charmed by the cuteness?
"Do you like Astraia?"
"Yes!"
Minji answered in Japanese without translation, startling him a bit.
What? Has she really played our game?
Was she just shy in the elevator?
"I, I really like it... 'Even in that flash of light, I thought of you' and...!"
Her laughter gone, her eagerness to impress burst out. She mimicked in-game lines perfectly.
"Ooh."
Not just Japanese, but with solid acting tone too. You had to know the game for that. Nakamura was impressed by her shift.
"Amazing! That's from Astraia's lines in this event, right?"
"Yes! R-right... It's fun... So good..."
"Ooh, yeah. Any other favorite characters?"
"Favorites... Number one is, uh... 'I'll live with you,' 'Hey, look at that amazing sunset,' and, and... Virtia from 'You come out here and die'...!"
Excited, Minji kept mimicking lines to prove her fandom. That's when I whispered worriedly to her.
"Minji, what was that last one? Never heard it."
"Virtia's line... 'I'll live with you,' 'Hey, look at that amazing sunset,' 'You come out here and die'..."
"Hey, hey, that's not canon!"
"Eek?"
"'You come out here and die' is just a meme! And the sunset one's from... a doujin, right? Neither's official!"
"Hic! H-ha, awawawa..."
Realizing her mistake, Minji panicked without recovery.
"Hahaha, truly impressive! A real fan!"
But that hooked Nakamura perfectly. Knowing not just characters, but doujin classics and memes? That meant deep research or genuine love—not surface-level. He'd assumed K-pop idols wouldn't care about this game.
With a true honmono like this, I've got mountains of stuff I wanna do together.
Not just tomorrow's event, but promos in Korea too—this group would shine. No skimming; load 'em up with jobs.
I hate the clueless, but twice the welcome for those who get it.
Cheered up, Nakamura scrapped his first impression instantly.
After negotiations with the director, we hit the dessert shop nearby that Minji wanted to try—part reward, part break.
"Tasty? Super sweet."
"S-so... delicious... ehehehe..."
"Don't overdo it. You two pack on fat easy."
"M-me? Haeun, I'm not like that. It all goes to..."
"Boobs, sure, but a bit to the belly too."
Watching the three relax over treats from afar felt heartwarming. Come to think of it, we hadn't had downtime like this lately. Tonight's YouTube live loomed, so no long break, but rewarding good work meant resting when we could.
That director was the real deal...
He got the doujin line and lit up, adding solo gigs for Soye and Minji tomorrow, plus two Queens songs for the group stage. Even wants ongoing collabs back in Korea. Life's unpredictable.
When Minji dropped that line, I thought we're screwed!—vision went black.
"Impressive, Mr. Lee Sejin."
Lost in thought about the girls, Yu Ga-hye suddenly praised me from across the table.
"Pardon?"
"You had Park Minji study Japanese and games ahead, right? For today's director talk."
"Uh..."
Couldn't say, No, she's just an otaku.
"...Yeah. Prepped her a bit."
"Used it well. Can only command one at a time, yet work over personal greed..."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Just mumbling."
Slurp.
"A personal question okay?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Mr. Lee Sejin, what's your goal?"
"The Queens' success, obviously."
"That's theirs. I mean yours."
"Uh..."
Honestly, just raising The Queens well. Beyond that... maintaining good 'relations' with the girls?
"Hmm..."
Stumped by the interview-style question, my nape prickled. Glancing sideways, the girls were subtly watching and glaring.
"""......."""
Any chat with Yu Ga-hye, and they do this. Girls, chill—we're hiding our relationship, keeping distance around her.
"...Well, grander ambitions are harder to voice publicly."
"Oh, yes?"
"Bad question. Forget it."
She sipped coffee quietly after. What was she thinking? Would I ever get a chance to grill her on deleting the CCTV?
First day, and I'm wiped.
I sipped my coffee in silence too.
What schemes is he plotting?
Staring at the man, Yu Ga-hye racked her brain.
CCTV showed him just satisfying urges at the company... but he's using the app for work, not sex slaves.
The app I gave Lee Sejin was the low-spec version—one command at a time max. Yet he used that single slot for business: making Im Haeun act despite hating it, Park Minji study for Japan.
Any guy would lose it over girls like that.
Making them work nonstop... Eunuch? Gay? Then why the alone time? CCTV caught them secluded, but not what they did.
Asked his ambitions outright, and he dodges...
He'd noticed her watching? No underestimating this guy. He'd grilled her right after getting the app, so yeah.
Can't use that method again... Have to dig directly, even if tough.
Plenty of time left. Yu Ga-hye composed herself and sipped her remaining coffee.