My Way

"Have you still not fixed the Y-axis hit detection bug on the Phase 2 pattern?"

"Well... there are so many legacy issues tangled up in the code that adjusting the Y-axis range itself right now is going to be tough."

"If it's tough, should we just leave it as is?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Then find a solution. Either display the expanded range and lower the damage accordingly, or add a stagger mechanic so players can transition into a groggy phase. Do I really have to spell out every little detail for you?"

"U-Understood!"

Min-ha and Bo-hyun blinked, watching the situation unfold. It certainly hadn't started out this way. I had envisioned a picture where Seong-woo naturally blended into their relaxed pace. But right now, this scene looked no different from a chaotic, bustling marketplace.

"You two over there! Don't just stand there watching, come over here!"

Oh Euntaek, the development team leader who was running around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠directing the situation, pointed at Min-ha and Bo-hyun. The two of them glanced at each other, then stared at Euntaek as if doubting their own ears.

"Yes, the two of you! Come over here!"

"Wait, us?!"

"Yes, the two of you who just spoke!"

Min-ha and Bo-hyun shuffled forward hesitantly. Euntaek naturally guided them into two empty seats.

"You just need to copy all the code highlighted in red and move it over here. Got it?"

"All of this?!"

"There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are over ten thousand lines of code here!"

"It's just simple repetitive data entry. You'll be done in no time."

"In no time?"

"Are you insane?!"

I couldn't hold back and burst out laughing at Min-ha's comical scream. Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

'If I tie this in with Seong-woo's pre-interview, it'll be gold.'

Seong-woo, who decided to appear on the show to promote the game. Min-ha and Bo-hyun, who were called in to prevent any unexpected incidents. And now, the two of them being dragged into forced labor. What a hilarious picture. The editing direction instantly came together in my head.

"Unni! You think this is funny?!"

"Haha, it really feels like we're the only ones getting played here."

"Right? We can't just take this lying down."

Min-ha wore a sly smirk.

"Excuse me! This unni over here has her hands free and wants to know if there's anything she can do to help!"

"What? Since when did I—?!"

"Oh, fantastic! Come on over. We were just running short on hands."

"Wait, no, I...!"

"Now, now, just take a seat right here."

Dragged by the beaming Euntaek, I was forced into an empty seat. Min-ha and Bo-hyun were covering their mouths, desperately trying to hold back their laughter.

"If you click here... the format change option appears, right? Just convert all of them to TIFF."

"..."

"We're almost at the finish line, so let's power through and wrap this up!"

Did he plan all of this? I knew Kim Seong-woo wasn't an ordinary guy, but to think he was this calculating. What a terrifying man.

The update for Kay's Raid Hard Mode was completed smoothly. There were many twists and turns, but the result was a success. Though it weighed on my conscience a bit to see the filming crew crawling out of the building like zombies after we finished, as long as the footage turned out entertaining, that was all that mattered, right? This should be more than enough to capture both entertainment value and promotion.

With this, the main filming schedule was fully completed. The only thing left was the studio shoot. In other words, I had absolutely nothing to do until then. I was simply leaning back on the sofa, fully enjoying this leisure.

Ring!

A loud text notification went off, and I looked down at my phone.

My brain instantly short-circuited.

Return to school? How on earth was I, a high school dropout, supposed to do that?

And of all places, YS University? Wasn't that one of the most prestigious universities in the country?

I racked my brain for a long time to make sense of the situation.

"Are you kidding me?"

Ah, I remembered.

I had lied about being on a leave of absence.

I hadn't specified which university, but because I didn't want to look uneducated, I had insisted that I was taking a break from college. It seemed the lie I had blurted out in the past had manifested into reality.

By some absurd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twist of fate, I had suddenly become a student at a prestigious university.

"What do I do now...?"

College. I had never set foot in one, nor did I have any experience with it outside of academy-setting web novels. In the first place, did I even need to go to college? For what purpose?

A million thoughts crossed my mind.

I stood up and took another look at myself in the full-length mirror. As expected of a masterpiece I had poured my soul into creating, the reflection in the mirror was close to my ideal self. I was no longer strapped for cash, nor was I looked down upon by strangers. No one looked at me with contempt anymore.

"College, huh..."

It wasn't that I was dissatisfied with my current life. Being cooped up at home, showered in the blessings of capitalism, was comfortable and enjoyable enough. I should have been more than happy.

But why did a corner of my heart feel so empty, like a cold wind blowing through it?

"..."

Humans are truly fickle creatures. What was my past self like, when every single day felt like hell? Why did those lies pour out of me so unconsciously back then? To be honest, I couldn't really remember anymore.

I let out a soft chuckle.

I grabbed a freshly chilled can of cola from the fridge and poured it down my parched throat. Haha, now I'm waking up. This wasn't even something I needed to stress over in the first place, was it?

"Where was the campus located again?"

Because life is all about doing things my way.

I decided to return to school.

There were about three weeks left until the semester started. Honestly, what would a middle school dropout like me know about college? But I couldn't exactly show up with a completely blank slate. To gather some information, I signed up for the college community app, Every Universe.

Every Universe. Commonly known as EU.

It was a sanctuary for verified college students, requiring a student ID verification to join. Within it, there was a specific YS University category that only YS students could access. I had already found my student ID a few days ago, completed the verification, and received approval to join.

Every Universe was a community where nicknames didn't exist. Since every user's name was fixed as "Anonymous," no one could identify anyone else. As I was browsing the posts as just another anonymous user, one title caught my eye.

It was a post that radiated madness in more ways than one. I really, really hoped the author was a girl.

Brushing off the goosebumps that had broken out all over my arms, I continued browsing the posts.

"What the? I didn't expect much from a college community, but this is actually pretty fun."

Before I knew it, I was leaving comments, completely forgetting my original purpose as I lost myself in the joy of community trolling. As I immersed myself in the forum, the attention-seeking instinct dormant inside me began to squirm once again. My fingers were practically itching.

Ah, I just wanted to stir the pot.

In the end, I abandoned all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reason and surrendered to the sweet temptation of pleasure.

The raw, unfiltered toxicity of the comments made my head spin. Apparently, the people here had zero immunity to shitposts. Well, if that was the case, I just had to spam them with shitposts until they developed an immunity.

But before that, I could tolerate anything else, but I absolutely could not let a mom insult slide.

Crack.

Oh, so you want to play?

Scribble, scribble.

I grabbed a stray business card and wrote the current date and time on the back. Then, I slid it behind my student ID, lined it up with my face, and took a photo.

Click.

Verification ready.