Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Calm Before the Storm
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Knock knock.
I cautiously knocked on the door.
The door with a nameplate reading "Digital Music Club."
- Jane Lee should be in the club room. She's usually there with her posse.
That was the lukewarm response from the admin office staff when I asked about a student named Jane Lee.
Luckily, the school wasn't too big, so I found the club room easily. But for some reason, my gut feeling was off.
Even as I knocked, I second-guessed if I'd come to the right place.
"Sounds like delivery. You go check."
"Tch, you need to stop bossing people around."
"You wanna get beat up on the way back, or just come back safe?"
"I'm going now, aren't I?"
The voices inside were loud enough to carry to me out in the hall. Soon, the door swung open, and a guy stepped out.
"Huh? Who are you?"
"Is this the Digital Music Club?"
"Yeah, but..."
He gave me a quick once-over, looking flustered, a white guy who had just shed his high school vibe.
"Is Jane Lee here by any chance?"
"Jane? Oh! Chi-Chi?"
Chi-Chi?
Before I could question the name, the guy turned back and yelled inside.
"Chi-Chi! Someone's here for you!"
"What? Those football jocks again? I thought I beat the crap out of them last time. Haven't they learned?"
"Nah! It's some Asian dude who looks like a total nerd!"
"Hey, I told you that's racist."
After a brief exchange, footsteps approached.
"No, it's not racist, he really does..."
"Yeah, he kinda looks like a brainiac."
A short woman stood before me, making incredibly rude comments right to my face.
Yep. Jane, the future sound director.
She looked so much younger than I remembered—enough to throw me off for a second—but it was definitely her.
"You're Jane Lee, right?"
"Huh? You're Korean?"
"Yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Seon Woo-hyuk."
I extended my hand naturally with the greeting, and Jane shook it.
"But who are you? I know all the Korean students here..."
"I'm not a Berkeley student."
She eyed me curiously, so I pulled a business card from my wallet and handed it over.
"Savior...?"
"Yes. I'm Seon Woo-hyuk, CEO of Savior Soft. Most people call me Huck."
As I finished my introduction, I looked at her face. Her eyes had gone wide, round as saucers—totally different from before.
"I didn't expect you to already know about our company."
"How could I not? Do you know how much time I poured into Dead Hills? And I blew all my allowance on the Village Maker demo package coming out soon!"
The second introductions wrapped up, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me deeper into the club room, gushing about what a huge Dead Hills fan she was.
"I had no idea Savior Soft's CEO was Korean!"
"Well, it's still a tiny company, so 'CEO' feels a bit awkward."
It felt weird hearing her use formal speech with me, too.
Back in my past life, she'd always called me "kid" or "Team Leader Kang."
"What made you get into game development?"
"I've always loved games. Nothing fancy—just wanted to make them, so I started the company."
"Me too! I love games so much!"
I know.
Not every game company employee is a gamer.
Plenty in management had zero interest in games. Even some developers didn't play them.
But Jane was different.
Do you know why I joined Nothing? Back then, CEO Kim Joo-hak told me we should make a Korean Remus.
Remus.
If Demon Slayer was the father of FPS games, Remus deserved the title for CRPGs.
Every CRPG that followed struggled to escape its shadow.
And Remus had an outsized influence on Korea's game scene. It was well-known that two of the Big 3 studios' CEOs were die-hard fans.
Jane famously joined Nothing in '97 because of the Remus Online release.
Kim Joo-hak, Nothing's founder, had scouted her from the game while she was studying music abroad and working as a composer. It even made his autobiography.
I love games. And knowing my sounds can make those games even better? That's what makes me happy.
She stuck with the job purely for the games, taking vacation days to play every new release. No exaggeration.
"So, have you ever thought about directing sound for a game?"
"What? Are you serious?!"
My sudden offer caught her off guard—the first time today.
It made sense.
Back then, most thought games didn't need dedicated sound direction. Sound effects were it.
"Right now, sound might just mean basic effects. But in just a few years..."
"Sound will be seen as a key element in games!"
She jumped in before I finished, her face lit up with excitement.
"Think about it. Super Daniel just has simple effects now, but what if each stage had its own themed music flowing like a soundtrack?!"
"Music matching the stages as background would help players immerse in the game world."
"Exactly! And that's not all. It could give each stage a unique feel or even guide the player's emotions."
As a music student, she nailed exactly what music could bring to games.
This is impressive.
I hadn't come looking for her as an immediate hire.
Her talent was undeniable, but she was young, and game sound design wasn't a thing yet. I figured she'd need time to grow into it.
But Jane already had the eye of a game sound director, surpassing my expectations.
"Just as you said. That's why I'd like you, Jane, to be Savior Soft's sound director."
"M-Me?"
"Yes, you, Jane."
Unlike when she'd been passionately explaining sound design moments ago, she went dead silent.
She stammered for a bit before snapping back.
"But how did you know about me? I'm just a college student, and you show up out of nowhere offering me sound director..."
"You submitted to Keyboard Magazine a year ago, right?"
"No way... You read that?!"
Of course.
I even had a subscription, not knowing when it'd drop.
Amateur composers back then had few outlets.
Submitting tracks to music mags was one of the big ones.
I must've been crazy back then. I composed background music for my favorite game, Legend of the Elves, and submitted it... But I don't regret it. It was good music.
That was from the one time she got drunk and spilled her past.
As a carefree college kid, she'd composed BGM for Legend of the Elves—her favorite—and sent it to Keyboard.
The mag's reviewers trashed it harshly, leaving her bitter for a while. She said it was fine, but she looked heartbroken.
"That music was great. The critics' opinions don't matter. I could tell instantly it was made for a game you loved."
"...Really?"
"I didn't fly from California to Boston to lie."
Hearing "Keyboard Magazine" jogged her memory; she'd shrunk a bit. But now, she lifted her head.
And I could see a smile tugging at her lips.
"Status report on progress."
"Initial run of 500,000 copies fully shipped. On-site staff confirmed all retailers are ready for display."
Hudson lit a cigar at his subordinate's report, taking a deep drag to steady his nerves.
-President Hudson, are you insane? Even if Dead Hills was a hit, burning special budget on one little dev for promo and packaging?
The board's criticism of AE's president was growing louder.
Of course, Hudson had built AE into the industry leader. A few gripes wouldn't cut him loose.
But a few more incidents like this? Could be trouble.
My instincts are spot on.
The reason? Savior Soft.
Hudson had lavishly funded their fame marketing at Huck's request, plus packaging costs.
It racked up expenses, giving the board ammo. But he didn't regret it.
He'd even approved more for their new title, Village Maker.
Initial print: 500,000 copies.
Nendo reserved that for surefire hits. For PC games? Ten times less was already "too much."
All his staff begged him to reconsider.
Hudson ignored them, printed the insane run, and shipped it all.
Tomorrow: Village Maker launch day.
He'd hounded his team repeatedly for confirmations, but the jitters remained.
The calm before the storm. Let the board—who mocked me behind my back—see if I'm the hack they think. Results will tell.
To calm himself, Hudson pictured Savior's CEO, shamelessly extracting cash with that brazen grin.
No way a guy like that made a flop. Hudson was certain.