#Bridge New Year's Party
Grade:Good
Influence: 251
Fame: 288
Heartwarming story that warms the heart on a cold winter day
Day that brings back memories of first love
The gold standard of romance
Milder flavor compared to previous scenarios
Points: 8
Next work: Immersion Degree +10%
Next work: Dissonance -10%
Cooldown: 04d 06h 41m
This was the only scenario starring Maeng Soyul that had achieved Good rank.
"Guess it really was just a matter of time."
He hadn't been aiming for a top score anyway, so this was more than satisfying enough.
For starters, he was thrilled that he hadn't spent Christmas alone.
Though he had no idea how Maeng Soyul felt about it.
Maeng Soyul.
The snow that had fallen for days had melted into water and flowed away. Still, clumps of it lingered in the deep shadows, a reminder that winter lingered on.
Days piled into days, time flowed onward, and before she knew it, the year had turned. January had passed, and she was now twenty-four, but nothing had really changed.
"……."
No, if anything had changed, it was her emotions.
She kept vividly dreaming of Nam Siu's face, as if it had all really happened.
Whoosh.
Memories flooded in—of kissing him, of lying naked together—and her face flushed hot.
Even though nothing like that had ever happened.
Swish.
Sitting on the toilet, she pulled down her panties and found them strangely wet.
Something that never used to happen.
"Why is this happening……."
She knew the reason, even as she said it. Every time she thought of Nam Siu, her heart floated up, light and buoyant, and her core grew slick. She couldn't not know.
"……."
Whoosh.
She washed her hands and returned to her seat, trying to focus on work, but her gaze kept drifting to Nam Siu.
She found herself concentrating on his working figure.
"Something on your mind?"
He noticed her stare and asked. She shook her head in a panic.
"No."
Her heart said otherwise, but old habits produced curt replies.
"If you've got questions, ask away anytime."
"……Yes."
Nam Siu suddenly seemed to remember something and asked,
"Come to think of it, it's been two months since Soyul-ssi joined us, right?"
"Ah, yes."
Without waiting for her answer, he stood and turned to President Kim Woo-hyun.
"Woo-hyun-ah~."
"……?"
Kim Woo-hyun, who had been working, looked over.
"You planning to hire anyone in the first half of the year?"
"Huh? Not really thinking about it yet. Why?"
"Well, if you're posting a job opening, wouldn't it be better to just make Soyul-ssi full-time? I've taught her everything."
The unexpected comment left Maeng Soyul even more flustered.
She was plenty satisfied with her internship as it was. It was her first office job after escaping the factory, and it wasn't all that tough.
Compared to the factory, anyway.
"Hmm… no plans set in stone yet……."
"Hey, Siu-ya. Save that for the meeting."
Woo Da-young chided him. Nam Siu scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Just saying."
Won Yu-chan, who had been listening while brewing coffee, chimed in.
"I think Soyul-ssi would be great too. Her edits are clean, and she even does rough cuts nicely."
"That's 'cause I taught her."
The four of them chatted amiably.
She'd heard they were all university friends and seniors/juniors.
Compared to the factory, the office vibe was so warm and relaxed.
Maeng Soyul didn't show it, but deep down, she wanted to blend in with this crew.
"We'll talk about it at the next meeting."
Kim Woo-hyun mediated, and the topic wrapped up. The sounds of work resumed.
As she worked, Maeng Soyul's lips curved up slightly at Nam Siu's words.
It felt like validation—she'd studied her ass off, and it hadn't been for nothing. Maybe she really could go full-time.
Sunset came, and quitting time rolled around. They stood one by one.
"Good work today~."
Nam Siu slung on his bag, waved, and left. Kim Woo-hyun and Woo Da-young followed, arm in arm.
Now it was just her and Won Yu-chan in the office.
Come to think of it, she'd barely talked to him.
"Um… aren't you heading out, Yu-chan-ssi?"
She mustered her courage. Won Yu-chan, sipping coffee and staring at his monitor, shrugged.
"Got something due tomorrow. Wanna see?"
She got up and went to his desk. It was cluttered with books and snacks.
"Whoa… what's all this?"
"Personal hobby. There's a contest."
It was a cityscape shot from below.
"I do timelapses of city views as a hobby."
"Oh… ah… it's gorgeous."
"Right? Soyul-ssi, try making videos as a hobby. Your skills'll improve fast."
"Yes, thank you."
What could she even take up as a hobby? Nam Siu popped into her head.
Filming him… but that was too pervy. She clamped her mouth shut.
"No rush. Take your time finding something. Start with family videos."
"Um……."
She broached carefully.
"……?"
"Do you know what Sunbae-nim's hobby is?"
"Huh? Oh, Siu-hyung?"
"Yes…."
Won Yu-chan looked up at her with a warm smile.
"Wh-why?"
"You've been staring only at Siu-hyung even while working."
"M-me?"
"Yeah. It's pretty obvious."
Her secrets laid bare to a third party—she wanted to crawl into a hole.
"It's fine. I'll cheer you on."
"Ah."
Won Yu-chan made a fist pump of encouragement. One casual chat, and her face burned with embarrassment.
"Th-thank you……."
She trailed off with a quick bow. No need for it, but she had to say something.
She grabbed her bag and fled the office.
In the alley, she lit a cigarette and smiled shyly.
"Hee… was it that obvious……."
The silver lining: Nam Siu himself was still clueless about her feelings.
It was so obvious it was a problem.
"Sip. Influence issue, huh."
He'd used influence on Woo Da-young and forgotten about it.
Influence carried over from the previous scenario.
Since it had been a lovers' tale, it was subtly shaping Maeng Soyul's emotions.
"Not bad, though."
No guy hated a pretty girl showing interest.
"Let's see……."
That aside, he had a post-work ritual lately.
Spreading out his practice notebook and brainstorming synopses for various scenarios.
From normal stories to ones even he thought, Whoa, this is straight-up pervy?
"Got a few worldviews sketched out too……."
For example: a virus leaks somewhere, or war breaks out. Or monsters appear, and he becomes a powered human.
"This one's too heavy, that one's too kiddie."
Not all were apocalyptic, of course.
"Polygamy worlds, or ones where no one can lie."
He'd made a few that twisted everyday life by tweaking common sense.
Characters needed fleshing out too.
He had a feel for hitting Good or Masterpiece, but not for Magnum Opus or higher.
"Good and Masterpiece come with some plausibility in two days or so… but Magnum Opus……."
Probably needed detailed worldbuilding and characters from the ground up.
Pick the horniest one and role-play it out.
He considered fresh women but couldn't ditch the ones he'd groomed so far.
Besides, the thrill was in them remembering nothing after.
"No matter how I spin it, I'm a total perv."
He didn't know what scenario next, but for now, he focused on stockpiling ideas.
Life rolled on in ordinary days.
Except things picked up after New Year's.
"January means a ton of New Year's party edits."
Their main gig was freelance editing for YouTubers and streamers.
They produced some in-house, but mostly that.
So daily quests were pretty set.
Kim Woo-hyun's wide network brought in jobs from elsewhere too.
Like New Year's party videos from companies.
Big corps had their own teams, but SMEs didn't.
More fieldwork meant trudging around in the winter cold.
"Sunbae, let me take this one."
On jobs, he carried the heavy gear box; she handled camera and case.
Lighter than his load, sure, but cameras weren't light.
"Nice to meet you. Where's the section chief?"
They toured the company under the section chief's guidance.
"We want the full landscape from the entrance in one shot. Possible?"
New Year's parties weren't just boss speeches.
Often just promo videos in party guise.
"Yes, doable. Anything else to note?"
He jotted meticulously. Even SMEs had picky demands, eating up the morning.
After the site visit, Maeng Soyul slumped on a bench, rubbing her legs wearily.
"Tough?"
"It's okay. I can handle it."
He stroked her head, then flinched and stopped.
"Sorry, sorry."
"No, it's fine……."
He pulled away quick, and she pouted regretfully.
"Hang on, there was a vending machine earlier. I'll grab something hot."