Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Christmas
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Seo-rim came to a conclusion after deep contemplation.
‘This guy…’
Maybe it was because his name literally meant ‘natural,’ but his head was a field of flowers.
“Wow, a glow-in-the-dark tree…!”
“A-yun, trees are supposed to glow.”
“Oh…!”
That was the conversation Yeon-ho and A-yun had while looking at the giant tree erected in the middle of the square.
Given the season, you could find a tree like this anywhere you went in the city center, and conversations generally turned to appreciating them.
But that’s where it ended.
No other meaningful conversation followed.
‘Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?!’
Seo-rim was plunged into deep confusion.
Of the three of them, she seemed to be the only one who cared that a man and a woman were out together on this particular day.
It felt like being the only person with two eyes in a village of the one-eyed.
Lost in such thoughts, Seo-rim kept glancing at Yeon-ho.
Their eyes didn't meet.
Because Yeon-ho was completely absorbed in people-watching.
…No, to be more precise.
“W-Wow… I heard that if a middle-aged man and woman walk arm-in-arm, it’s an affair…”
“A-yun, sometimes there are relationships you just have to pretend you didn’t see.”
“Aha…!”
A-yun was the problem.
Every time the dazed girl was about to say something to Yeon-ho, she would manage to draw his attention elsewhere.
Would you believe it if I said that the series of terribly coincidental moments felt almost intentional?
On a hunch, Seo-rim looked at A-yun.
At that moment, A-yun looked back at Seo-rim, then tilted her head with pure innocence.
“What is it…?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking it must have been a while since you’ve been out, too.”
“Yes…! After graduating from college, I’ve only gone between work and home…”
Her beaming smile was, as expected, completely untroubled.
Feeling like she’d somehow become a bad person, Seo-rim could only offer an awkward smile.
Followed by a deep sigh.
Just as Seo-rim, in a state of resignation, decided to just enjoy the rare outing and turned her gaze to the crowd…
“Seo-rim.”
Yeon-ho spoke to her.
“How is it, being outside for the first time in a while?”
The question was posed in a soft voice, as if asking if she was glad she came out today. Seo-rim’s words caught in her throat.
For a brief moment, she faced Yeon-ho directly, her lips parting, and then she realized.
‘Ah.’
That she quite liked this hopeless man who seemed to have traded all his social awareness for a bowl of rice.
And that just him speaking to her once was enough to stir her emotions, albeit belatedly.
With realization came embarrassment.
Seo-rim averted her gaze and replied.
“…It’s cold.”
“Should we go to a café?”
“If you want.”
She found her own snappy words detestable, but what could she do?
Trying to act differently now would only be more embarrassing.
* * *
I know as well as anyone that you can't work all the time.
The human body is not so different from a computer; it requires proper cooling, reboots, and other processes to organize information.
Knowing this, I take breaks.
But when that becomes the reason, the act of resting can sometimes feel like an obligation.
Today, too, I had felt a bit of that before we left.
Of course, that wasn't the case now.
“P-President… over there…!”
“Yeah, they’re drunk and fighting.”
A sloppy fistfight between drunkards.
Useless for a fighting game.
Watching people is quite entertaining.
It felt like my world was expanding a little, and the thought that some of the many people outside my monitor could be my users deepened my interest in them.
‘No.’
Are my users at home playing games today, too?
Lost in thought, I found we had arrived at the restaurant.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Meat.”
“Always with the meat… I’m ordering a salad, too, okay?”
“I don’t like tomatoes. Not a big fan of lettuce, either. And I can’t eat bell peppers.”
“How old are you, being such a picky eater?”
I retorted to Han Seo-rim’s comment.
“Being an adult means having the right to choose for yourself. It’s not being picky, it’s having clear preferences.”
“You’ve got a silver tongue.”
Ah, the human Han Seo-rim.
If she were to cook, she’s the type to make kimchi stew without any meat.
She probably wouldn't make spam as a side dish, either.
She’d likely fill the table with nothing but seasoned eggplant and vegetable side dishes, nagging about health, right?
‘I feel sorry for whoever marries her.’
Jo A-yun, on the other hand…
‘…No.’
I wonder if this one can even meet someone and get married.
The human Jo A-yun, I knew her in my past life and this one, and she has zero interest in men.
She might say she wants to date, but she never even gives guys a second glance.
A-yun’s only marriage in life will probably be a MapleStory wedding.
Come to think of it, Jo A-yun’s life skills were practically zero.
A sense of crisis washed over me.
‘Are these two going to be okay?’
Suddenly, I understood the heart of a mother looking at her daughters of marriageable age.
They should be meeting people in their free time, but they all love their work too much.
They say they can meet someone later, but by then it might be too late to find a partner.
People talk about the non-marriage trend and how times are changing, but that's nonsense.
From my experience of living into my 40s, it's rare to find anyone who says that and doesn't end up regretting it.
Still, they are the founding members.
In a way, they are like treasured children I’ve raised with care. I don’t want to see them end up lonely in their old age.
But I can't just force them to meet someone…
‘…Meet someone?’
I flinched.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“…”
“Sunbae?”
Suddenly, a terrible thought crossed my mind.
‘But if they date and get married, won’t they take time off?’
They'd use vacation days for dates, take time off for trips, get busy with wedding preparations, and if they had a child, there would be maternity and childcare leave.
As a decent human being, I couldn't deny them that, but if two of my main directors disappeared, it would cause a huge setback in development.
The thought made my vision go dark.
My stomach churned.
I don't know why, but as soon as the thought occurred, the image of their future, unknown husbands saying, ‘Oh dear, you must be having a hard time since my wife is taking a break,’ made my blood boil.
‘This won’t do.’
My thoughts shifted in another direction.
‘As long as they’re not lonely, that’s all that matters.’
Isn't it enough to have companions to laugh with in their old age?
Even without having to meet someone.
There's always a solution.
“Sunbae?”
“…A silver town.”
“?”
I looked up.
My mind felt clear as I spoke to the two bewildered faces.
“Right, I need to build a silver town. We’ll have to live diligently.”
“???”
Let’s work hard in our youth and build a super-luxurious silver town.
It's not like these two will ever leave the company anyway, so I might as well guarantee their retirement.
Ah, by then, won't there be machines that allow us to develop games with just brainwaves?
Then I can help them satisfy their creative urges even when they're old.
‘That’s good.’
In other words, I need to start preparing for that now.
I said to the two of them.
“Guys. No betraying each other. We’re in this together for life.”
Let's start by working hard on our games.
For some reason, the atmosphere turned stiff after I said that.
Well, that's that.
“It’s almost time.”
7:51 PM.
The release date announcement was less than ten minutes away.
* * *
Christmas evening.
This was the hour when the ‘true gamers,’ unshakable in the face of any hardship, trial, or external turmoil, were active in the community.
An indomitable will, not seduced by a mere red day on the calendar.
A mind as calm and clear as a mirror, maintaining composure while others assigned undue meaning and emphasized the day’s specialness.
And an independence that did not yield to the judgment of others.
The community right now could be seen as a secret conference of masters who had reached an absolute state of being.
『OneStepAheadKing: Where the fuck did everyone go??????
Is today some special day?????
GloomyFuture: lol
ExamsAreScrewed: Ah~ this holiday is so sweet~』
…It had to be this way.
Otherwise, they would simply crumble!
In any case, the users, who were spending the end of the year in a proper manner, killing time until they had become murderers of time itself, were languidly slumping, dejected by the lack of any industry news.
It was then.
A piece of news was posted on Studio Rewind’s official social media.
『PoppyLetsGoForAWalk: ?????
(Screenshot of Hellic 4's official release date announcement)
It’s hereaaaaaa!!!!!』
June 29, 2019.
A single line of information swept through the community.
『WaitingForHellic4: AHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!
Yeon-ho, do you have any idea how long I've waited?!?!?!?!?!
OneStepAheadKing: Where's this guy been?』
『LordOfBloodFromBangbae: Wow, how many years has it been for Hellic lolololol.
It's been almost 5 years lolololol.
Let's goooooo!!!
JaeheeOnTheVergeOfQuitting: Ah lololololol.
OneStepAheadKing: Look who's crawling back…』
It was perhaps only natural that a release date alone would elicit such an explosive reaction.
Not only did the *Hellic* series itself have a massive fanbase, but this time, the development of *Identity* had extended the gap between releases, making the users' wait particularly long.
Of course, five years is not an exceptionally long time for a single game to be developed and a new installment in a series to come out.
But what kind of company was Rewind?
It was a top-tier “black company” in the industry, one that had created the worst working environment to achieve the highest work intensity, highest salaries, and highest quality products.
Just as some manga depicts creating a Philosopher's Stone by grinding up people in a human transmutation circle, Rewind ground up its employees to make games. How could their release cycles possibly be long?
Yet they had made everyone wait this long, and the few pieces of information revealed so far had filled the users with immense anticipation, making this news all the more welcome.
Besides, wasn't the confirmed 2019 lineup spectacular?
From the perspective of someone who didn't know the future like Yeon-ho, *Hellic* was being added to a lineup that was already more than sufficient with *End of Us 2* alone.
And that wasn’t all.
*Hellic 4* professed to be a Soulslite.
The originators of that genre, Flare Soft, had announced a new, distinctly Japanese-style Souls game.
Its expected release year was also 2019.
It was certainly a reason for any gamer's heart to pound with excitement.
『JaeheeWantsToQuit: So Rewind is going head-to-head with the originators?
They've got balls lolololol.
WaitingForHellic4: You think they get called motherfuckers on Blind for no reason? lolololol』
Three confirmed blockbuster titles.
The news, like a secret gift from Santa on Christmas, made the community atmosphere much warmer, allowing everyone to look forward to another year of fun.
That atmosphere carried into the new year.
Even as people were making their various resolutions for the year ahead, the flames of excitement showed no signs of dying down.
Amidst it all, a single question arose.
『GloomyFuture: But is it coming out on PS4? The 5 is coming out soon, so buying a physical copy for the 4 is a bit...
LordOfBloodFromBangbae: Yeah, it's a bit hard to buy it right away. They'll probably release a graphically enhanced version for the PS5 and sell it again anyway.』
The timing was what it was.
The console generation was about to change again, moving to the 9th generation, and its direct competitor, MS, had already announced its 9th-gen console.
It was the same from a corporate perspective.
Releasing a major title at the end of a console's life cycle might be good for immediate hardware sales, but it presented several difficulties when trying to secure additional revenue later on.
In short, it gave users a reason to hesitate before buying.
Should they buy the three big titles of the next year, or not?
What answer would PS provide?
On a day when such debates were setting gaming communities ablaze not just in Korea but around the world at the start of the year…
A rumor began to circulate.
[Luka: Heard the PS5 will be backward compatible with PS4 games?]
It was a rumor whose origins no one could trace.