Chapter 128
Chapter 128
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Misunderstanding
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Han Seo-rim, the art director of Studio Rewind.
She had a problem.
"I'll figure something out with the company. You keep working there."
The problem that had plagued her for half her life was solved.
And far too easily at that.
All Seo-rim knew of the process was that she had told Yeon-ho she was quitting.
And that Yeon-ho, unable to accept it, had come to her house and said something embarrassing.
It was only natural for her to be flustered and filled with an unidentifiable emotion.
But before she could even do anything, the situation was over.
In truth, Seo-rim still didn't know how it had all happened.
Her father had shared a drink with Yeon-ho, and Jin-gyeong, unable to watch any longer, had taken him outside.
When Yeon-ho returned, he couldn't even stand on his own.
Whatever they had discussed, Jin-gyeong was back to his old self and had said to her.
"Take him home. Father, you and I need to talk."
Relief aside, she wouldn't be human if she wasn't curious.
Seo-rim tried to wake the struggling Yeon-ho to get the full story, but most of what he said was nonsense.
...Nonsense with a rather strange undertone.
"Seo-rim, we're in this for life. Got it?"
"We only get one chance now. What? We always only get one chance? What are you talking about, Seo-rim-Seo-rim?"
"I'm ruined without you. Don't go."
"Oh, your brother said I could have you. I said okay."
It could have been dismissed as mere gibberish.
But the circumstances were what they were.
He shows up at her house, drunk, and says, "Please give me your daughter's hand."
Then, dead drunk, he mumbles things like "Don't go," and "We're together for life."
Even for someone as dense as Cheon Yeon-ho, the timing was so coincidental that she couldn't help but read into it.
And it wasn't easy to write it off as just drunken antics; she had been with Yeon-ho for eight years.
In all that time, they had never been apart for more than a week.
The thought made her even more conscious of it, but setting that aside...
*'Has he ever been that drunk before?'*
No, she could say with certainty that he hadn't.
Yeon-ho was a light drinker.
If he felt himself getting drunk, he would use his authority to end the gathering.
It was the same even when he drank with A-yun.
Holding A-yun's LAN cable hostage, Yeon-ho had never once fallen for her provocations.
Therefore, the idea that "Cheon Yeon-ho's drunken habit is to spout confession-like nonsense" was a guess she could never verify.
If it were true and he was aware of it, that was an even bigger deal.
After all, what could it mean for him to show her his drunken habits, knowing what they were?
At least from Seo-rim's perspective, she had no choice but to assign meaning to it.
*'Could it be... for real...?'*
It was a biased assumption.
But without knowing that the real reason Yeon-ho didn't drink was 'to avoid accidentally mentioning his regression or Hell,' it was the most plausible guess she could make.
In any case, that was the situation.
Seo-rim called Yeon-ho out, determined to hear the truth about the previous day's events, whatever they might be.
"What's up? Oh, I heard the whole quitting thing is off the table."
Yeon-ho shook his smartphone.
"Jin-gyeong told me."
*'They text each other personally?'*
Seo-rim's eyes narrowed.
Why would he be in separate contact with an employee's family member?
Her suspicion was gradually turning into conviction.
At that point, Seo-rim found herself re-evaluating Yeon-ho.
She began to meticulously analyze the man who, for the past eight years, had been 'that bastard who just dumps work on me'.
His looks were pretty good. Very good, actually.
She'd made him exercise moderately and take supplements, so he had no health issues these days.
No money problems either. In fact, as the owner of a company worth hundreds of billions, he was incredibly well-off by any normal standard.
External qualifications: check.
Next, internal.
*'...Hasn't he always taken special care of me?'*
A fact she had once taken for granted suddenly seemed suspicious.
It felt like he'd given her more special treatment than could be explained by her being a founding member and the art director.
Come to think of it, Yeon-ho had never once said anything harsh to her.
Even though she hadn't always been particularly friendly to him.
That wasn't all.
*'Has he ever dated anyone?'*
She could say with certainty that he never had (Seo-rim was still unaware of Yeon-ho's blind date).
It wasn't as if he'd never had the time; he just seemed completely uninterested in that direction.
*'Could even this be...'*
Just as she was thinking that.
"So, why'd you call me? If you have nothing to say, can I go?"
"...Huh?"
"What's with you today?"
Yeon-ho tilted his head.
His face was indifferent.
*'Is he embarrassed?'*
In Seo-rim's mind, Yeon-ho already had a one-sided crush on her.
Seo-rim suddenly felt a pang of pity for him.
*'Of course I wouldn't know if he hides it that well.'*
If he'd shown any sign, she might have at least considered it.
She felt like covering his mouth, but that would probably just embarrass him more.
Showing what she considered to be thoughtfulness, Seo-rim cleared her throat with a "Ahem!" and asked, avoiding his gaze.
"What did you talk about with my brother yesterday?"
"Don't really remember."
"It's not that you don't want to remember?"
"?"
"Ah, well, never mind."
Seo-rim decided not to press further.
Meanwhile, the corners of Seo-rim's lips crept upward.
Her self-esteem was soaring.
*'Well, when you think about it, it's me we're talking about.'*
Han Seo-rim prided herself on being quite a charming woman.
She was passionate and skilled at her job, meticulous about self-care, and had a decent background.
With nothing lacking (as long as her online community activities weren't discovered), it was plausible that he would fall for her.
*'Hah, what should I do about this.'*
Seo-rim cupped her chin and fell into thought.
An office romance? Making a mistake that rookies might make, and with the company president no less, felt a bit burdensome.
...Delusion is an incurable disease.
Seo-rim conveniently forgot that, by age, she was practically a rookie herself, and continued.
"It's just that I'm not quitting anymore. It seemed like you helped out, so I wanted to ask what you did. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Anyway, thank you."
This much was true.
Whatever had happened, thanks to Yeon-ho, she could continue doing the work she wanted to do.
She felt she should probably give him a reward for trying so hard.
Seo-rim patted Yeon-ho's shoulder.
Yeon-ho's left eyebrow rose.
After staring at her for a moment, Yeon-ho let out a short breath and said to her.
"Well, I'm glad it worked out. I sent the script for the Chapter 2 reward cinematic and the directing notes to your email. Check it and draw up some drafts."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
Seo-rim turned away coolly.
She sat down at her desk, and the moment she checked the script, she let out another hollow laugh.
["I'm engraving myself onto you."]
Looking at it again, the line was so blatant.
Whatever the case, the line had come from Yeon-ho's head (it hadn't), and looking back, it felt like he had been making these subtle advances for quite some time (it was a delusion).
Seo-rim shook her head, blaming her own irresistibility.
But a problem was still a problem.
She wanted to get some advice, but she couldn't ask anyone at the company.
Jin-gyeong was an even worse choice for counsel.
So, where could she turn?
It was time to call on her private 'friends'.
『Anonymous (Studio Rewind): I think a coworker likes me, what should I do?
We've known each other for a long time.
We ended up having a few drinks together, and he started flirting with me. I'd never thought of him that way, but after realizing it, I started seeing all his past actions in a new light.
He's not a bad person, but dating him? An office romance seems a bit tricky ㅠㅠ』
An anonymous community for office workers.
A mundane post from Studio Rewind, a place usually filled with complaints about the president, actually piqued the users' curiosity.
『Anonymous (Neosoft): Wow, people think about dating even there. I guess babies are born even in wartime.
└ Anonymous (Nature Game): Are they slacking off?
└ Anonymous (NQ): If you have time to think about dating at Rewind, aren't you in the business department?
Anonymous (New Company): The way you're talking, it doesn't sound like you hate the idea lol?
Anonymous (Mirae Electronics): Don't do it. If I say don't, just don't.
Anonymous (Public Servant): Is he rich?』
Seo-rim's expression was serene as she savored the stream of comments.
For some reason (only Seo-rim, who dumps work on others, didn't know why), relationship problems at Studio Rewind were a rare case.
However, none of them offered a clear-cut answer.
This isn't very helpful.
Just as she was thinking that.
『Lady, just wash your feet and go to sleep lol』
"What the hell?"
A comment that made her blood boil in an instant had been posted.
She wondered what kind of person would write such a thing and looked at the name.
*Freeze—*
Seo-rim's body stiffened.
*'This...'*
『Anonymous (Studio Rewind): Lady, just wash your feet and go to sleep lol』
*'...That's from our company?'*
Fire lit up in Seo-rim's eyes.
She straightened her head and scanned the art team.
The herbivores hid behind their partitions under the predator's gaze.
Their survival instincts had kicked in.
However, for Seo-rim, such a reaction only amplified her suspicion.
All she could do was form a vague inference.
*'The culprit is in this room.'*
...No one knows the truth.
* * *
Studio Rewind is peaceful.
It's questionable whether one could call the silent demise of someone's screams and sorrow peace, but in any case, the absence of work-related difficulties was enough to be called peaceful.
Of course, this was only true for Development Team 1.
Their standard for peace was absurdly high, but being able to work in silence was still quite a stroke of luck for them.
However, it was a different story for Development Team 2 on the floor below.
They were at war.
"Hey! Found a bug! When hit by the lightning-whip attack, Amdusias's chest fires off!"
"I found one too! Orias has four butts now!"
"Dammit! Why aren't there any normal bugs!!!"
The official launch of Demon's Relic was only a month away.
Starting next week, the final countdown to release would begin.
There were quite a few events and ads planned.
This meant it would attract a lot of attention.
And yet, bugs were popping up at a time like this.
It was a continuous walk on thin ice, where a single moment of carelessness could lead to death.
It didn't take many words to describe how busy they were.
Team 2's sparring matches had been completely suspended.
Directors Nishimura Keisuke and Jelen Copson had, for the first time, implemented something called a 'verbal agreement'.
"Programming team! Just focus on debugging! We'll get support for the rest if we have to!"
"Hey! Art! Murmur's claw color isn't supposed to be this!"
The overwhelming workload was unavoidable.
The first, second, and third demos had involved expanding regions and adding a dozen or so heroines.
But this official launch would reveal 36 heroines—half the total—and the maps all the way to the ending.
Of course, they had handled a lot of work in advance.
As always, the thing strangling the development team in the final stages of game development was the debugging schedule, known only to the gods.
"Nishimura!"
"Copson!"
The two directors looked at each other.
"We can do this, right?"
"It's not 'can we do this'! It's 'we have to do this'!"
The two grew stronger in the face of crisis.
This was true not only against physical threats but also in the hell of a brutal schedule.
"Let's do this!!!"
And so, time passed again.
Now, the users were paying close attention to their progress.
『OneMoreMoveKing: Ah, the day has come.
The second coming of 'God'.
NotSoBrightFuture: Your future looks really dark
WannaQuitJaehee: Ah, the otaku bastards are going to be running wild again for a while...』
The launch event for Demon's Relic was announced.