Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Housewarming
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Go Myeong-gyu, chief programmer at Studio Rewind.
He was facing a major dilemma.
It wasn't about work.
The workload was, as always, a continuous series of hellish moments, and he had no expectation that the future would be any different.
Surprisingly, it wasn't because of Yu-mi and Hye-ji either.
Myeong-gyu was quite fond of this stagnant love triangle (?).
How should he put it? There was a subtle tension that came from a relationship that felt (in his opinion) like something between lovers and friends... For Myeong-gyu, whose life had only ever included his mother and his much younger sister, his time at Rewind was the most brilliant period of his life.
So, what was his dilemma?
As always, the answer lay within the problem itself.
“Is your little sister going through puberty?”
“Isn't Yu-ri sixteen this year? That's pretty late.”
Myeong-gyu sighed at Yu-mi and Hye-ji's comments.
That's right.
Go Myeong-gyu, age 33, was suffering greatly from the puberty of his much younger sister, Go Yu-ri, who had turned sixteen this year.
“She was such a good kid when she was little...”
He still remembered his little sister clinging to him, calling out for her big brother, but time had flown by, and now Yu-ri was a young lady going through puberty.
The reason this became a problem was that Myeong-gyu hadn't moved out of his parents' home yet.
Having felt no need to move out because his office was close to home, Myeong-gyu was now dying a little each day under his sister's piercing glares.
And so, he had reached a conclusion.
“I'm thinking of getting my own place.”
At that moment, a sly smile appeared on Yu-mi's and Hye-ji's lips.
Their eyes held the (wicked) glint of children who had just found a fun new toy, but Myeong-gyu was oblivious.
“Moving out is a great idea.”
“Moving out? You should start looking for a house to buy. You're Myeong-gyu the Savings King, after all.”
“...That's true.”
Programmers were in a high-paying profession.
Especially for someone like Myeong-gyu, who had become the chief programmer of a major game studio, the salary skyrocketed to a level incomparable to that of an ordinary office worker.
Besides, what was Studio Rewind's greatest strength?
It was that they paid you well for grinding you to the bone.
It went without saying how much a chief programmer suffered during development.
In other words, his bank account was bound to be flush.
Plus, wasn't Myeong-gyu the kind of guy whose only expense was gacha games?
He could buy a house right away if he set his mind to it.
To that, Yu-mi and Hye-ji said.
“We could...”
“...help you?”
Myeong-gyu beamed.
He was overjoyed, thinking they were the only ones who would help him at a time like this. He went straight home and announced his intention to move out.
His parents were delighted.
*Only* his parents were delighted.
“I hate you, Oppa!!!”
“Y-Yu-ri?!”
Go Myeong-gyu, chief programmer of Studio Rewind.
He was a man whose life genre was Japanese light novels, and a man hated by the entirety of Development Team 2 to the point of tears of blood.
“Eh? Myeong-gyu-san... has a little sister?”
“Yeah, apparently she's going through puberty and it's a whole thing. She cried when she heard the chief was moving out.”
“IMPOSSIBLE!!!!”
That day, Nishimura, the director of Team 2, defeated Copson with a furious Dempsey Roll.
***
Whatever the case, one of two things was certain.
Either Myeong-gyu had gotten weird, or I'd worked him so hard he'd gotten weird.
...Wait, not two things. Just one.
“Is that so.”
In any case, it seemed Myeong-gyu had gotten weird.
“Sigh, what should I do?”
Myeong-gyu sighed heavily as he talked about his sister.
As if asking me, an only child, would yield any answers.
I shot him a cold look, but it seemed to go unnoticed.
What followed was more of his personal counseling session.
“Yu-ri has always relied on me a lot. She'd call me often even when I was at work, and when I got home, she wouldn't be satisfied unless I played with her for at least an hour... I thought she'd grow out of it, but I guess she hates the idea of me moving out. Is there any way to persuade her...”
It wasn't a particularly important story, so I let it go in one ear and out the other.
The boss design for Chapter 8 was a more pressing matter for me.
As we were making a game that emulated the Soulslike genre, the intimidating design was an element we absolutely couldn't neglect.
Just thinking about this lately was enough to make my head split.
*I want it to be a little more grotesque.*
At times like this, I was reminded of the games from the originator of the genre.
Personally, my favorite among the Souls-type games wasn't the *Demon's Souls* series that founded the 'Soulslike' genre, but *Sekiro*, which wouldn't be released for another two years.
Not because of the systemic changes, but because of its uniquely bizarre and unsettling atmosphere.
You know, concepts like a headless ape swinging its own severed head, or reattaching it to its neck to roar—didn't they deliver both creepiness and shock simultaneously?
There were other unique concepts, too, like a dragon wielding a sword or a corrupted monk infected with a parasite.
I wanted to deliver at least that level of conceptual shock.
*The Chapter 8 boss is...*
Jaren Colment. According to his profile, a sex offender active in modern-day Europe. His form in hell was that of a human head on a lizard's body, with countless women's faces sprouting like scales, constricting his form. How to express that as a game mechanic was quite the puzzle.
*Should I use the legs?*
Jaren Colment's body didn't have four lizard legs; rather, women's arms and legs sprouted from it like a centipede's, allowing it to crawl.
What if I made that the main point?
*No, that's too common.*
Then what about the faces sprouting as scales?
Yes, the reverse scale was also one of the faces.
Chapter 8 used a 'weakness' mechanic, where players had to identify Jaren Colment's first victim and attack by tearing off the corresponding scale.
Since the reverse scale was a face-scale, the mechanic should also utilize the scales.
My thoughts were flowing.
“Sigh, I'm worried Yu-ri might go down the wrong path.”
Hearing his words, I spoke without thinking.
“Can't you just tell her to visit often?”
Ah, that's not what I meant to...
“That's a great idea.”
“?”
“That's right! That's all I have to do! It's not like I'm moving far away anyway!”
Thump!
Myeong-gyu shot up from his seat.
“Thanks, Yeon-ho! I'll give it a try!”
Watching his back as he vanished like the wind, I thought.
*Why even ask for advice?*
That guy... he really seems to be going through it lately.
***
As the year drew to a close.
Myeong-gyu, having found a new home, smiled in great satisfaction at having a space of his own.
He received a lot of help in the process.
The one thing he didn't understand was Yeon-ho's advice to "unconditionally buy a house in central Seoul." Not being a regressor, Myeong-gyu had no way of knowing this was his boss's considerate gesture, taking into account the Seoul housing prices that would skyrocket in a few years. He was simply puzzled.
Of course, he did buy a house in central Seoul.
In the end, it was farther from the office, but the transportation was excellent.
Above all, it was an undeniable fact that the infrastructure was concentrated in the central area.
Meanwhile, Myeong-gyu's sister, Yu-ri, who was beside him, spoke in a sulky tone.
“You're really going to visit often?”
“Yeah! Come over often!”
“I'm going to come every weekend, okay?”
“But I work on weekends too?”
“...I'm still coming.”
Yu-ri's lips jutted out in a pout.
Myeong-gyu felt a sense of relief at his sister's whining and replied.
“We're in the same city. It's not like I'm moving far away. Should we go get something to eat?”
“...Okay.”
In any case, the housing issue was resolved smoothly.
Just then, *ding!* A message arrived on KakaoTalk.
[Jeon Yu-mi: Housewarming go go?]
[Kim Hye-ji: For a gift, toilet paper?]
[Han Seo-rim: Let's each buy something different.]
[Jeon Yu-mi: Just toilet paper should be fine. He uses a lot, you know.]
[Kim Hye-ji: LOLOLOLOLOL]
[Cheon Yeon-ho: You guys are getting sued, gg]
[Yang Gil-sang: Instead of suing, how about we spice things up?]
[Jo A-yun: Lame;]
[Yang Gil-sang: ....]
[Han Seo-rim: Hye-ji and Yu-mi, you haven't submitted your reports. Finish them before you go~]
[Kim Hye-ji has left the chat.]
[Jeon Yu-mi has left the chat.]
[Han Seo-rim: ?]
*Pfft.* A dry laugh escaped Myeong-gyu's lips.
The group chat, created by the original employees, was active for the first time in a while.
Everyone was making time in their busy schedules to come to his housewarming.
“Oppa! Hurry up!”
“Okay.”
At that time, Myeong-gyu didn't know.
That Yu-ri, who he thought would leave after lunch, would end up staying until dinner.
And that she would pout the entire time, looking displeased whenever she saw Yu-mi and Hye-ji.
And that the two of them would provoke Yu-ri and giggle gleefully.
“I don't like them.”
“You don't like us?”
“But we like our Yu-ri-Yu-ri.”
“Our Yu-ri?”
“Kyahaha!”
It was awkward.
Yu-ri buried her face in Myeong-gyu's back.
Every time Yu-mi and Hye-ji teased her, Yu-ri's nails dug deeply into Myeong-gyu's back.
As if not to be outdone, the two women pinched Myeong-gyu's arms.
Myeong-gyu just laughed hollowly, while Gil-sang just stared at his smartphone, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
A-yun reached for a drink but got her hand slapped by Seo-rim, and Yeon-ho watched Myeong-gyu intently, muttering things like, “Ah, this is it.”
Development Team 1 at Studio Rewind was peaceful today as well.
***
Three days after the housewarming.
Seo-rim received art directions from Yeon-ho.
“So, the main body isn't the head, but the torso?”
she asked, and Yeon-ho replied.
“Yeah, he's a sex offender who fell into hell. The concept is that the people he killed have attached themselves to his body and are constantly inflicting pain on him.”
Seo-rim looked at the concept art Yeon-ho had drawn with his still-abysmal skills, which showed no signs of improving.
It depicted a lizard-like body with a man's face stretched out like a reptile's for a head.
Women's faces were embedded all over the body, and a dense forest of women's arms and legs, like a centipede's, were half-supporting the body and half-scratching at it.
Why was it that she could see Myeong-gyu from the housewarming party in this drawing?
And why did she suddenly remember Yeon-ho muttering, “Ah, this is it,” that day?
“The boss pattern will be divided into Phase 1 and Phase 2. In Phase 1, the hands on his body will move erratically, causing Jaren Colment pain. Jaren will then execute his patterns while writhing in agony. Like a pattern where he thrashes around when the arms choke his neck, or one where he spews acid poison when his body swells up so much his scales lift.”
“Ah, yes...”
“When he enters Phase 2, let's insert a cinematic. The hands will tear off all the face-scales. Blood will pour out, right? We'll make that an effect and add a motion where Jaren Colment charges forward, his body contorting. Now that he's free, he'll unleash his rage more violently. Oh, right. Let's have acid poison linger on his charge path for about five seconds. Poison, what else can we do with poison...”
Yeon-ho began to mutter, like someone floundering in a sea of ideas.
Seo-rim was lost in the thought, *Is this really okay?*
*He's still a colleague.*
Is it right to use him as the motif for a sex offender character?
...No, does it matter?
It's just a character, after all, and drawing inspiration from daily life is one aspect of creation.
More importantly, Seo-rim, whose screams had long been used as a source for game audio, had become desensitized to such things.
Seo-rim decided to just focus on her own work.
“So, what's the protagonist's reverse scale for this chapter?”
After completing each chapter, the protagonist's reverse scale is given as a reward.
Using the protagonist's reverse scale plays a video of the protagonist's memories from when they were alive.
Since Seo-rim had to implement every single one, it was better to hear about them in advance.
The answer that came back to her question was:
“A wedding.”
Flinch. Seo-rim's shoulders jumped.
Yeon-ho tilted his head.
“Why?”
Suddenly, the moments of embarrassing misunderstanding that had dominated the first half of her year flashed through her mind.
*No no no no!!!*
Seo-rim screamed internally.
The word "wedding" had triggered her PTSD again.
If she had a blanket, she would be kicking it furiously.
It was a huge relief she was at the office.
“Uhm, a w-wedding...!”
Seo-rim forced the corners of her mouth up as she replied.
But her vision was spinning.
“A wedding for just the two of them, that kind of vibe. A small wedding at a cathedral.”
Seo-rim hated her brain for imagining her own wedding at Yeon-ho's words.
A wave of self-loathing washed over her, feeling as though she was becoming conscious of Yeon-ho.
“...Are you really okay?”
“I'm fine! Okay! I'll be going now!”
Seo-rim shot to her feet and fled the scene with astonishing agility.
The fact that she stumbled after making eye contact with A-yun on her way out was a secret no one knew.
Seo-rim's internal wounds had not yet healed.