A Competitor Emerges
"What's this?"
Sora looked at the cake box Park Sung-min had brought. On the surface, it just looked like an ordinary box. That's why she asked. She couldn't tell what it was just by looking.
"Oh? Sora, it's cake Grandpa bought. Go ahead and eat it."
"Ooh...!"
Sora's eyes sparkled as she took the box from Park Sung-min. With shining eyes, she said,
"Thank you so much, Grandpa. I'll enjoy it."
"Heh heh... You don't have to be so polite..."
Park Sung-min had noticed something after meeting Sora so many times. She was an incredibly polite child. Kids her age usually spoke casually as a default, sometimes tossing out words without any manners at all. But Sora wasn't like that. It wasn't quite the speech of an old person who'd lived a full life, but it carried the tone of an adult man. Maybe like the way staff on a filming set talked. But seeing Sora happily devouring the chocolate cake scattered those thoughts to the wind. When she ate something delicious, she showed a childlike side. Sure, Sora was a child with exceptional intelligence, but she still displayed behaviors like any young kid. You couldn't fool age. That's why the term "kidult" existed—kids were kids.
"Ah!"
Sora realized she'd been too focused on the cake with Park Sung-min right in front of her. With chocolate smeared around her mouth, she said,
"Sorry! I got too into the cake while you were talking."
"No, no. You don't need to apologize for something like that."
"Hee hee..."
With the cake talk wrapped up, they got down to business. Park Sung-min looked at Sora and said. Having read every scenario she'd written, there were no hitches in their conversation.
"Sora, out of the scenarios you wrote, I especially like this one."
"Huh...?"
Sora glanced at the paper Park Sung-min was holding. He'd printed out the scenario. At the top, in large letters, was the title Sora had penned. Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn't originally penned by her—it was borrowed from another world.
Parasite
Parasite was one of the films that swept through Korea. It had even won major international awards. Sora remembered watching it and being amazed. This is what you could achieve by making a film beautifully. Funny thing was, the early preview reactions weren't great.
But those reviews missed the mark entirely. It was like a 100-question multiple-choice test where not a single answer was right. The kind of psychic failure you couldn't achieve even if you tried. It went exactly the opposite of expectations. Divided into the poor and the rich, the lower class and the upper crust, but good and evil weren't clearly defined. Usually, the poor were pitied, the rich envied or viewed with jealousy. Media often portrayed the poor as good and the rich as evil. That was natural. Most of society consisted of commoners. The so-called chaebol were less than 0.01%. Since most viewers of films and dramas were ordinary folk, the industry had to cater to their tastes.
"I don't know how you came up with it, but... I couldn't help but be amazed reading it."
As expected from a veteran, Park Sung-min recognized the value in Sora's scenarios. He wanted to turn these beautiful scripts into films. Looking into Sora's eyes, Sung-min said,
"Would you give this old man a chance to share your beautiful writing with the world?"
Sora's expression turned ambiguous. Seeing her hesitate, Sung-min chuckled and said,
"Of course, I won't take it for free. I'll pay you properly, naturally."
Could it really go all the way to a film...? For now, Sora told Sung-min,
"Yes, you can use it. But could you keep it secret that I wrote it?"
"Huh? Why hide that you wrote such a great scenario?"
"It's a bit embarrassing..."
Sung-min nodded at Sora's demeanor. Some people wary of too much fame made sense. Wasn't the best thing in the world having lots of money while staying unknown? It showed modern society's preference for wealth over fame, position, or power. In the old days, you'd say there were far more important values than money. But after the IMF crisis, society turned ruthless. No money? Life loser. Lots of money? Success story. Self-actualization or proving value another way? Useless without cash. Society wouldn't acknowledge it. Many family heads were driven to the edge. Lifetime employment vanished, replaced by "non-regular worker." Workplaces were no longer like family.
"Got it."
But Park Sung-min had no intention of actually removing Sora's name. Her talent was too precious. For now, he'd pretend to honor her request while somehow drawing her into the film world. Writers who could craft scenarios like this were rare. To show such talent at her age... She could elevate Korean cinema. A blessing for Korean films.
Lee Yeon-ji unknowingly gained a new competitor.
Dad was busy preparing for job hunting. The IMF's aftershocks lingered, but there were still plenty of openings. At least it wasn't the AI era wiping out jobs entirely. As AI advanced and spread, developers' value would plummet. By then, Dad probably wouldn't need to work. Because I'd take care of filial duty! That era was still 20 years away. Plenty of time to earn enough for our family to live on forever. Time was on our side anyway.
"Hmm...!"
Dad was scanning job listings on his new computer. Demand for game developers was high, but... Dad's situation was tricky. His career had gaps. He hadn't stuck with development. He'd quit midway for day labor. Career breaks were a massive disadvantage in hiring. No wonder housewives with kids struggled to reenter the workforce. Korea was harsh—if you missed the standard path, you were culled. Other countries forgave breaks, but Korea whipped you relentlessly. Maybe that's why suicide rates were high. Anyway, that's beside the point. I secretly peeked from behind Dad. He was so focused on the monitor, he didn't notice me. But I got caught soon enough. Did he have eyes in the back of his head or what?
"Sora! Wanna look with Dad?"
"Eek...!"
Suddenly, I was scooped into Dad's arms. An outdated, clunky site window greeted me. Dad was browsing developer job postings.
"Even if I apply, I get rejected... What to do, what to do~"
Dad rested his chin on my head.
"Eek!"
"Sora, Dad really wants to get into this company~"
A first-gen fantasy MMORPG centered on siege warfare. Clan-based classic online game. Where a single sword could fetch the price of a house. In my old era, the company was mocked as "dog meat games." But now, it was ultra-competitive. Already a mega-corp. I had to listen to Dad's whining. Honestly, with his specs, odds were under 1%. He should aim elsewhere... But company names were different, so I couldn't know them all. And I didn't know everything either. I wanted to help Dad, but... no way to. Still, Dad didn't give up. Not that dog-meat company from before, but he landed a job elsewhere. A mid-sized firm, but one that paid on time. Dad used to go to work in shabby clothes for labor gigs, but now as office staff, he dressed neatly.
"Dad, what's the company name?"
"Uh... HappyGate. They make all kinds of games. Short-staffed right now, luckily. Dad got in."
"Ah... Got it!"
I made a mental note to look up the company later.