Chapter 135
Chapter 135
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: The Pit (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Several assumptions could be made by piecing together the facts revealed at the time.
‘The man killed the woman due to some conflict between them.’
There was one reason not to consider it a ‘mistake.’
This was the Hell of Slaughter, a place where those who killed others of their own free will were condemned to fall.
So, the man had killed the woman with clear intent and was now tormented by that fact.
From there, I had to build a story.
What reason could he have for killing a woman he loved so much that it caused him such agony?
The most plausible theory, as speculated before, would be a conflict between the two—a murder caused by external factors surrounding them.
Perhaps the man’s profession as a police officer had been some kind of obstacle.
With a bit more of a leap in logic and imagination, the woman might have even been involved with a criminal organization.
Of course, the truth would be revealed soon enough.
If hell chose to shine a light on someone’s story, I would have to see the outcome whether I liked it or not.
Before I knew it, I had collected five Reverse Scales.
Considering they were all mementos, the items to come would surely hint, at least roughly, at what had happened between the man and the woman.
…Back then, unaware that I could visually confirm all his memories the moment his journey ended, I came to that conclusion.
Anyway, that’s enough rambling. Now for the story of implementation.
“Let’s go a little more grotesque.”
“More than this?”
“Yeah, think of it as creating it as if you’ve magnified fabric under a microscope.”
I had a long discussion with Han Seo-rim about the map design.
Rarely, a conflict of opinion arose between us.
Han Seo-rim was worried about the map's visibility. Her opinion was that if the map was too cluttered, it wouldn't be very interesting from a visual standpoint.
I, however, was on the side of pushing forward with it. The map's concept required that the true nature of this mountain range only be revealed after defeating the boss. To achieve that, we had to make the player focus on individual objects rather than the map as a whole.
The conflict was tense.
Our opinions weren't easily reconciled, but we couldn't stay that way forever.
“Go ahead with it. I'll take responsibility.”
I used the power of my position.
Han Seo-rim glared at me for a moment.
Then she soon showed her acceptance.
“…Well, I suppose you know more about this than I do.”
A sigh escaped Han Seo-rim's lips.
Before long, Han Seo-rim let out a small laugh and suddenly said.
“Still, you know how to state your opinion clearly. I thought you’d just stay clammed up.”
“?”
“I'll go revise it. Keep up the good work.”
Han Seo-rim patted my shoulder before turning away.
What on earth was she trying to say?
I was pondering that very thought.
“P-President…”
“A-yun?”
Jo A-yun came over and whispered.
“She seems really sick, doesn't she…?”
“???”
Jo A-yun grinned slyly.
…It was a little scary.
* * *
At Rewind, the person who directly managed the most staff was, without a doubt, Seo-rim.
It was no wonder. The art team at Rewind currently numbered close to a hundred, with over seventy members plus support staff from Team 2.
Of course, all the employees were under Yeon-ho, but since Yeon-ho only mobilized and received reports from the team leaders, the number of people Seo-rim directly managed was overwhelmingly larger.
In any case, for that reason, Seo-rim held a position within Rewind that particularly required charisma and efficiency.
Having handled such tasks excellently so far, no one ever doubted her abilities.
That was, until today.
“Doesn't the AD seem a bit strange lately?”
“I know, right? She’ll just be standing there, then suddenly laugh, then frown.”
“Is she dating someone?”
“You sure it’s not bipolar disorder?”
It is the subordinate who notices a change in their boss before their own family does.
It couldn't be helped.
The workplace hierarchy is one where you have to clash professionally and read your superior's mood all day long; how could family members, who live in their own spaces at home after work, possibly notice their boss's emotions before them?
The conclusion these employees reached was, ‘Seo-rim has been strange lately.’
Whether it was love or bipolar disorder, one thing was for sure: her emotions had started to influence her report reviews.
Her work performance itself was fine.
It was just her tone of voice that changed.
For example.
—Please revise just this part. Thank you for always working so hard.
This was her response when she was in a good mood.
However, her response when in a bad mood was the polar opposite.
—Why was this done this way? No, I'm just curious. Huh? I believe I included this as a special item in the instructions I sent, but it seems you've conveniently left out that exact part. Are you trying to get special attention? Oh dear, don't cry. I'm not angry, I'm just really, genuinely curious.
There are ways to mentally destroy a person other than just swearing.
Calmly pointing out mistakes and relentlessly picking them apart was certainly one effective method of mental assassination.
Seo-rim was a master in that regard.
If you went to submit a report when she was in a bad mood, unless the report was perfect, you were bound to get torn apart at least once.
The spectacular scene that unfolded as a result was this.
“AD! Here's the report!”
“Ah, thank you. Just a moment…”
“Oh, me too!”
“I've come to submit my report!”
At moments like this, when Seo-rim seemed to be in a pretty good mood, everyone without exception would rush to her desk and shove their reports at her.
The sight of dozens of haggard (from lack of sleep) employees lining up in front of Seo-rim's desk was reminiscent of a line of paupers at a soup kitchen in a movie (and in reality, the context was similar).
The fear of what nitpick she might find to launch a mental assault on them if they didn't act now was just that great.
Anyway, thanks to the employees' tear-jerking battle of wits, the reports submitted today were approved without any major issues.
There was a lot to cover.
Art concepts, map modeling linked to level design, texture-related tasks, and most importantly, the production and direction of the cinematic for the fast-approaching major deadline.
The last one was especially a problem.
The cinematic.
Yeon-ho's directive was, ‘We will create a cinematic covering the content up to Chapter 5.’
But it's not like a cinematic will just pop into existence if you shout, ‘Come forth!’
From small issues like modeling, directing, and rigging, to larger tasks like quality upgrades for textures and sound and recording issues, there was a mountain of work to be done.
Of course, there were no worries about the audio, as that was the sound team's job.
In the first place, a demon lived in Rewind's sound department.
Just like the joke that a demon always fulfills its contract, her work processing was on par with or even surpassed Seo-rim's.
It required someone's scream as payment… but that wasn't something the art team members needed to worry about, was it?
The problem wasn't the sorrow of someone who would be wailing.
It was the fact that Han Seo-rim was ultimately in charge of the cinematic.
Imagine one person receiving all those mountain-like reports related to the cinematic on top of her other heavy workload.
No matter how good a mood she was in.
Seo-rim's stress levels were bound to rise.
To borrow the employees' expression, Bipolar Mode: ON.
The employees began to scatter in an instant, like cockroaches fleeing from the light.
Game Studio Rewind.
For some reason, high-level ninjas were being mass-produced here day by day.
* * *
It was a time when the staff involved in cinematic production were ailing, like spirits on the verge of death.
Here, a still-youthful young lady sitting in the seat of honor in the sound team was also sighing with a similar expression.
Needless to say, it was Jo A-yun.
“A-yun?”
Seo-rim, who had visited the sound team for work-related matters, tilted her head at the sight of A-yun.
It wasn't that she had no idea what was going on.
Seo-rim looked at the calendar.
‘Aha?’
Current date: September 9th.
It was when the Maple Saga summer vacation event had ended.
Jo A-yun, Rewind's cute youngest member, often sighed like this when the summer vacation event ended, having lost one of her life's pleasures.
Of course, she couldn't let her postpone her work because of that.
“A-yun, I sent over the cinematic storyboard, so the BGM and recording work should also slowly…”
As the work instructions were hammered into her ears, A-yun's body twitched.
Seo-rim thought the reaction was quite cute.
How should she describe it? It was like watching a sleeping puppy that flinches when you poke it.
In fact, A-yun's hair, dyed pink only at the tips, did look a bit like a puppy's.
Meanwhile, Seo-rim noticed a small change.
‘Wait, now that I look, the amount of pink has increased.’
It seems she redyed it as her hair grew out.
Feeling pleased for some reason, Seo-rim stroked A-yun's hair.
“Your hair is pretty.”
“Ugh…”
A-yun, lifting her head like a zombie, rested it against Seo-rim's stomach.
Seo-rim unconsciously tensed her stomach.
However, there was something Seo-rim had overlooked.
“Uh…”
“Yes?”
“You've gained weig…”
“That's enough.”
Flinch. Jo A-yun's body jolted.
With a murderous glint in her eyes, Seo-rim stroked Jo A-yun's hair.
“A-yun, it's time to get to work now, right?”
During this busy period, she had neglected her workouts, and on top of that, had been subsisting on daily calorie bombs without any thought for nutrition, causing a bit of flab to appear.
She didn't particularly want to acknowledge it.
She didn't want to feel the pressure of having to exercise when she was already so busy with work.
“Well then, I'm counting on you.”
“Okay…”
As she left the sound team and headed back to her desk, Seo-rim spotted Yeon-ho.
His dark circles had deepened; it seemed he had started skipping sleep again lately.
She couldn't help but click her tongue.
‘Honestly, he's always like this if I don't look after him.’
No, could he be doing it on purpose, hoping I'll take care of him?
Seo-rim was startled by the thought that suddenly occurred to her.
Come to think of it, it was plausible.
The corners of Seo-rim's mouth crept upwards.
Seo-rim, lost in a grand misunderstanding, entered Bipolar Mode (as the employees called it) again.
This time, it was the manic phase.
“Sigh.”
This is troublesome… Why does he keep showing that he likes me?
Seo-rim crossed her arms, then raised one to cup her chin.
A pose that, to anyone watching, looked like she was completely smitten with herself.
Unfortunately, there was no one around to call her out on it.
‘Is he trying to act pitiful to stimulate my maternal instincts?’
He wasn't.
‘Or is he waiting for me to scold him and tell him to rest?’
That wasn't it either.
‘Ah, right. Is he waiting for me to suggest we get a drink today? He doesn't seem to have been drinking lately.’
Definitely not.
But in Seo-rim's mind, it had already become the truth.
‘Right, come to think of it, we haven't had a long talk since he came over to my place.’
He might be thinking that things have gotten awkward since then.
Based on this delusion-turned-fact, Seo-rim decided she would 'graciously' and 'reluctantly' be the one to speak first.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
“How about a drink tonight?”
She made the suggestion with a benevolent smile, and Yeon-ho simply stared at her for a moment before nodding.
Seo-rim's mood improved considerably, and all the reports that day were processed without incident.
* * *
Evening, at an izakaya.
At Han Seo-rim's suggestion, I had come out, and decided to take this opportunity to ask something I was curious about.
“Are you having a tough time lately?”
“What?”
“I was wondering if I've been giving you too much work. I heard you've been laughing to yourself and then frowning lately.”
“…Who said that?”
“A-yun did.”
I feel quite responsible.
It was rare for Han Seo-rim to suggest drinks first, so I was also worried.
To that, Han Seo-rim replied.
“…I'm not having a hard time, though?”
“Really?”
That's strange.
Even to me, she's seemed odd lately.
‘Hmm, was I mistaken?’
I've been so busy with work, maybe I wasn't observing her properly.
It seems I let my guard down just because her family issue was resolved.
This was something I needed to fix.
Just because I prevented the reason for her resignation doesn't mean Han Seo-rim suddenly has a will of steel.
I need to watch her more closely.
But it seemed today wasn't the day for that.
“Well, I'm glad you're okay. When you suddenly said you wanted a drink, I thought something was wrong. Should we just have a little and head out?”
“…Huh?”
“We have to work. I have a lot to get through today.”
The corner of Han Seo-rim's eye twitched.
“Oh…?”
Her hum was surprisingly sharp.