Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: #bridge Our Relationship
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While I was lost in thought, the door opened and U Dayoung walked in.
"Hii~."
Leaning back in my chair, I waved lazily, and she waved back with a weary look on her face.
"Annyeong~, all by your lonesome~."
"Yeah~. You look beat?"
"Ugh~, without you here, the three of us have to handle everything~."
"I just got back from work too, quit whining~."
U Dayoung waved me off and plopped down in her seat.
"You know~. So, is the filming all wrapped up?"
"Yeah, now it's just editing. Probably gonna take about a week?"
Excluding the first Lovers scenario, we'd done sex scenes in all three works, but it still didn't feel real.
The influence on her work had faded a lot too.
No, faded wasn't the right word—it was gone.
"......Guess it only affects the work it's applied to......"
It was a shame, but what could I do? On the other hand, I wondered if briefly mentioning the previous work in a new scenario would keep the influence intact.
"......Gotta test that out later."
U Dayoung got up and headed to the water cooler by the conference table.
"What the— we got a water purifier now?"
"Yeah~, it arrived while you were out filming."
"Whoa, nice."
I walked over to the shiny new machine.
She filled her tumbler with water, poked my side, and said,
"Must've been tough hanging with noona, huh?"
"Huh? Nah, it was fine. She's a pro actress. Did everything I wanted."
Of course, there was some double entendre in there.
Oblivious, U Dayoung just patted my shoulder.
"Seriously, it was okay......"
"It's fine~. I know her personality even if I'm the little sis~."
"......"
She said so herself, so there was nothing to argue. I just stayed quiet to avoid misunderstanding.
Then Kim Woohyun and Won Yuchan arrived one after another.
Once everyone was there, we jumped right into the meeting.
"Thinking about a week for editing?"
"Hmm, let me know if you need anything."
I didn't need anything right now, so I shrugged.
U Dayoung, looking exhausted, chimed in.
"Let's hire someone~. Too much work~."
Thanks to Kim Woohyun's connections and reputation, jobs kept pouring in nonstop.
Woohyun looked troubled, rubbing his cheek.
"I didn't think all those contracts would pan out, just threw 'em everywhere...... and they all did....... Haha......"
Usually, companies stick with existing clients, but word of Woohyun's promising startup had jobs flooding in from all sides.
Watching that, I figured the guy had real business talent.
His dad and brother were in business too, probably got a boost from them.
"Busy is good, right....... Oh, don't get me anything—I'm buried in editing."
As I slipped out solo, U Dayoung shot me a mix of envy and jealousy with an exaggerated "Euu~."
I smirked and stuck out my tongue to tease her.
She pretended to pout and glanced at Woohyun.
"Look at him~. Really pissing me off~."
"Hahaha!"
He just laughed at his girlfriend and friend bantering like that.
"Full-time might be too soon...... Let's try recruiting interns first."
Won Yuchan flinched at the word "intern."
"Why?"
"Kinda have bad memories about interns......"
"Like what."
"A lot of them couldn't last a month and bailed......"
Due to the job nature, fresh grads came in—young and all, they burned out from the intense workload.
"'Cause you worked at such a brutal place."
Heard they pulled all-nighters every day, so maybe it was natural for interns to flee.
"Anyway, I'll post the ad."
Revenue was decent, but with debts piling up, we could barely cover wages.
"Sounds good. Meeting over?"
"Yep."
Right after, Won Yuchan and I headed downstairs for a smoke.
Chik.
"Sssup, huu. Lots of intern hunting there?"
"Huu~. Yeah. Work's intense, pay's low......"
"You really went through it, huh."
No wonder Won Yuchan had packed on the pounds in a year.
Chubby in school, now he was full-on dad bod.
"Well, interns'll do fine."
"......That's not the issue......"
He was worried about something else.
"Gotta train 'em all...... Especially non-majors...... Ah, but since you're team leader, they'll work under you, right?"
"Juniors handle training."
"......That's junior hate."
"What're you on about, punk. That's insubordination."
Talk like that, but I figured some decent kid would show. No big expectations since they were interns—just not a weirdo, per Yuchan's vibe.
Weekend rolled around again.
Shwaaaah—!
Rain pounded down hard.
Sitting at my desk chair, notebook open, I doodled concepts.
"Dayoung and Dahee noona....... Hold up......"
Rumble!
Lightning flashed outside just as the idea hit, lighting up the room.
"Whoa, perfect timing."
Admiring the storm, I jotted new concepts in the notebook.
"Ssup, never done a threesome, but this could work."
Points were plentiful—anything seemed possible.
"First...... Gotta nail noona's character concept."
Immersion hit 100%, but only for that one work.
"This time, no points......"
Through Dayoung, I could see how to pull it off without them.
Average-grade was doable with cliches now.
"Ssup......"
Her sticking around after the scenario, doting on me—it left a surprisingly good memory.
"But straight-up couple would tank immersion and spike discomfort......"
Forcing a marriage setup without buildup shot discomfort through the roof.
Needed plausibility.
So she could play house with me believably.
"She's an actress, after all......"
Scribble scribble.
Tweaked the story I'd planned for Dayoung, adapting it for Dahee.
"Close Friends...... Season 2."
Did about 10 eps with Dayoung; now Dahee's turn.
"Husband hates his job, she said......"
My scribbling blended with the rain patter.
Surveying the rough plot, I grinned satisfied.
"Summarize the old scenario first...... Keep characters the same......"
Testing influence: recap prior scenario, reuse character setups.
"......Wonder if switching actors after a few runs changes the person......"
Curious how many roles as the same character it'd take to alter someone for real.
Scribble.
Concepts shaping up nicely in the notebook.
Next day—Sunday—I hammered out the scenario on the computer.
Transferring all my ideas ate up the whole day.
"Me actually becoming her husband later... ssup, that'd be hot as hell? Choi Hyuk? Yeah? Make him the ex...... Save that for later......"
Focus now: short story for influence test.
"Still 2 nights, 3 days though......"
No points meant a full day boosting immersion.
[Close Friends]
Content recreating viewer-submitted stories, then reviewing.
Stories by me, obviously.
"Time for proper couple play."
Set as a long-married pair, scenario flowed from there.
Sunday winding down, finally finished.
"......Hmm, story submitter needs a name......"
Couldn't use mine, so cooked up a catchy alias.
"Something that rolls off the tongue?"
Jotted the fake name.
Now, pick the perfect activation time.
"Weekday better......?"
Weekend ideal, but couldn't porn out all week.
"It's short anyway."
Pulled an all-nighter transcribing to the Scenario Book.
Scribble scribble.
Shaking out my wrist midway through.
[AM 01:45]
"Agh...... hurts, fuck.... Is this power even worth it? What era are we in, handwriting shit! Argh."
Shaking my numb hand, I started on props.
Printed the script onto a USB.
Next morning.
Stopped at the stationery store, printed the script, stashed it in my bag, and checked the Scenario Book.
[Loading: 100%]
Loaded and ready.
Activation: tomorrow afternoon.
"Lock in my relationship with noona first.... Then Dayoung."
Aiming for a sisters threesome, plotted connecting episodes.
Stepping out of the store, I looked up for some warm sun.
Shwaa!
Instead, a drizzly mist hit my face.
Guess I was too much of a loser to star in any story.